Sunday, January 13, 2008

Obama/Paul Ticket?

I would vote for Obama if he picked Ron Paul as his VP. Why? I'm not sure I trust Obama. He hasn't been around long, and as far as one can tell he may just be pulling wool a la Kerry (as I considered in my last post). But if he brought in Paul as his running mate, now, that would be enough to sway me. It would prove he was in fact sincere about "Change". Andit would show that he is willing to cross the aisle to get things done, and, most importantly, that he actually has a clue about the serious situation our country is facing.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Is Obama the new Kerry?

No doubt, there are some obvious similarities between Barack Obama and John Kerry. They are both tall lanky men with character features every American readily associates to Abraham Lincoln. As benefiting as this association by stature is, it is very likely not the most important similarity.

Over the last four years I've become increasingly convinced that Kerry sold his supporters out; that his campaign in the previous election was mere show in order to maintain the status quo. The first clue to this deception was his amazingly underwhelming response to the swift boat attacks. Kerry has never given a decent answer to that failure. Indeed, the last person to broach the important question to him was carried away yelling the now infamous "Don't tase me bro!". The next clue was his lack of contention with the election results themselves. There was clear indications of vote tampering in Ohio, one of the pivotal states in deciding the election. If you recall, Fox News (and ultimately the rest of the news outlets) found it necessary to repeatedly inform us that the exit polls were flawed. Which is ironic since in other countries the exit polls are what our monitoring teams use to ensure fair elections. You will also recall, that Kerry promised every vote would be counted regardless of outcome. It never happened. Some months later, a mathematically rigorous statistical analysis of the results vs. exit polls conclusively demonstrated the likelihood of Bush winning the Ohio election was on the order of being struck by lighting...twice. But did Kerry raise any further objection? No. In fact, what is even more disturbing is to learn that Kerry was one of the Senators that refused to authorize a congressional investigation into the Floridian voter disenfranchisement of the Al Gore's election four years prior (a scene clearly highlighted in Fahrenheit 9/11) And if all this weren't enough, the final blow came when I ran across an old interview of Kerry in which he admonished Ronald Regan for the Iran-contra affair. One would think that would reinforce him as a true Democrat, but the thing about it, he lacked all signs of conviction. It was as if Regan's selling arms to the Iranians was merely impolite. It became clear, Kerry was just playing the old game of "good cop, bad cop". He actually couldn't care less what Regan did. The important thing was that he could use it to maintain his senate seat.

So what does this have to do with Obama? Look carefully and you will see History repeating itself. Remember Kerry came out of nowhere to supplant Dean, just as Obama suddenly overturned Clinton last week in Iowa. Is it a coincidence? Or was this in fact the same play from the same playbook? You also might want to ask where Obama has been getting all his early financial support and media attention. He had millions well before the sweep of popularity came along and even Fox news showed an odd tendency of favor for him. Furthermore, if you study his positions on the issues, they really stands out as larely uninspired regurgitation of the common refrains. There is little originality, nor any deep significance --they are all "safe" answers. Worse yet, much of it sound like it came right from a Republican talking point. A reoccurring theme is yet-another-tax-cut. Who does that remind you of? In the end, there is about as much change here as a pet rock. Go to his web page and see or yourself. He's all shine and no spit.

So is it possible Obama is a setup? A ploy to unseat the Democrats once again? Given the Kerry fiasco of four years ago it certainly seems plausible. It would be quite a crafty tactic, and interestingly, unlike Kerry, Obama himself might not be fully aware of his situation --a gambit move for larger political players.

Now, I will readily admit, my worries may be unfounded. Such things are all but impossible to truly nail down. It's a gut feeling really. But I've learned to trust my gut over the years --especially when it starts to wrench this hard. And if it is true, I point out the worst thing of all is that the powers that be are using race to further their dubious agendas --as if a black man in the white house is change enough. You can't get any lower than that. I hope Barack is sincere; that he's not just an opportunist, or being used knowingly or not by pre-established powers. Unfortunately I'm just not seeing contrary evidence below the surface. That's too bad. What our country so desperately needs is someone to dismantle the current power structure, so new and honest blood can take over Washington and real change can take root.