Jaded Sage:

Perhaps lost in the vast number of speakers Monday night at the Democratic National Convention was the performance of Republican Jim Leach. Being from the opposing party his speech was in sharp contrast to the speech given by Democrat Zell Miller at the Republican Convention four years ago. With the calmness and delivery of a professor, Leach explained why he was supporting Barack Obama. Leach was the only Republican congressman who wisely voted against the Iraq War. Though not delivered with the same emotion as either Ted Kennedy or Michelle Obama, Leach’s speech contained the most pragmatism. In case you missed it here is the video:

Back in the 19th century, during the heyday of what is known as the Age of Imperialism, the French were masters of a colonial policy known as divide and conquer. In possessions such as Lebanon, Cochin China (SE Asia), and Algeria the French would purposely play off one faction against the other in order to keep the colony fractured, disorganized and dependent on French rule.

In the Presidential race the McCain campaign is attempting to apply the divide and conquer strategy to the Democrats. With ample Hillary voters angered over the primary process, McCain is trying to claim sympathy for Clinton voters in order to woo them over to his side. This is a good strategy, no doubt, but if Democratic voters of any stripe are swayed by this tactic they must realize they are being manipulated by the same people that brought you George Bush who in turn persuaded most of America to support the invasion of Iraq. If I was a Hillary supporter, I  would feel manipulated by this tactic.

Hillary Clinton’s supporters should realize when the two debated there was a razor thin difference between the them. Sure there are personality differences. This will happen anytime two political rivals vie for the same position, especially if it is the most powerful position in the world. It is now time to stop squabbling and begin staring down John McCain, or the Democrats are going to stumble into another defeat.

The news that Bayh and Keane were out of the running as Barrack Obama’s running mates seemed to point in the direction of Joe Biden. As Friday turned into Saturday the news has begun to confirm that fact. Joe Biden would have been the best choice of candidates from either party to be President, so the notion of him being number two makes sense. His expertise in foreign relations compliments Obama’s weakness nicely and no one McCain chooses to be his vice president will be able to out debate (and certainly not out talk) Joe Biden. Though certainly slated to be a potential Secretary of Defense because of his knowledge of world affairs before being chose as VP, Biden will bring a sharp edge to the ticket that many in the Democratic establishment felt was missing in the campaign. Biden does not mince words. Some say he talks too much, which provides his opponents with ammunition. The Democratic party has been seen as too soft in recent elections and Biden’s tough East Coast temperament should give Obama the attack dog his campaign requires. 

One big question is can two Senators win at a time when the legislative branch has record negative ratings? Even McCain has tried to distance himself from the very government body that forged him. You have heard it, “John McCain, the real Maverick.”

Barrack Obama has chosen to forego Evan Bayh of Indiana. Bayh would have been a poor choice simply because he oozes mellowness and it would have landed like a pillow on announcement day. Virginia Governor Tim Keane (who grew up in Overland Park, Kansas) was too much of an unknown. The geography made sense. Obama is attempting to steal Virginia away from the Republicans. Joseph Biden, who commutes to DC everyday from Delaware, doesn’t bring a toss up state into the mix. Biden does, however, bring a feisty presence to the Obama campaign at just the right time.

There is no more diverse state politically than Oregon. Portland is as liberal as any city in the US including San Francisco but if you go east you find yourself next to Idaho and conservatism breathes in these locales. But this election is unique and the winds of change favor Barack Obama. One GOP senator seems to understand the nature of this election and he has hitched his wagon to the Illinois Senator in a new ad.

It is unheard of for a candidate from one party to identify with the nominee from the other party but Oregon Senator Gordon Smith has done just that. His ad shows Senator Obama’s website and also refers to Oregon’s Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski. The advertisement is intended to show Smith’s ability to be bipartisan but the message is much more than that. The waves sweeping on Oregon’s shores these days are much bluer than in the past and Senator Smith wishes not to drown in the high tide. The impact of this ad may very well work for Senator Smith but he won’t win any friends in his party for running it. But if he indeed wins and the scales tip favorably toward the Democrats in Congress, Senator Smith will be able to put his bipartisan experience to work.

There is another element to this tactic by Senator Smith. There is not a feeling of disdain about either Barack Obama or John McCain. This climate has allowed for the Oregon GOP senator to air his ad. The vitriol that has served as the sword of Damocles the past several decades has been tamped down in this election.  Thankfully, mouthpieces such as Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter and Michael Moore have been marginalized and with the nature and depth of the problems that the new President must face this can only be a good sign for our country.

An Obamacan is a Republican who supports Barack Obama

The best quote of the night came from the brand spanking new Democratic nominee:

John McCain has spent a lot of time talking about trips to Iraq in the last few weeks, but maybe if he spent some time taking trips to the cities and towns that have been hardest hit by this economy—cities in Michigan, and Ohio, and right here in Minnesota—he’d understand the kind of change that people are looking for.

I only wish he would have worked in a rural component to that line since he will need to fight for these voters. He has the urban vote.

The hot button in the Presidential race these days revolves around the new “GI Bill”. This bill gives us a window on the soul of those who are waging the so called “War on Terror”. By any measure Democratic Senator Jim Webb’s version of the bill (and co-sponsored by Republican Senator Chuck Hagel) is quite generous. It would allow any serviceman who completed three years of active duty (or activated reservists or national guard) the ability to be compensated for four years of public university tuition. Sen. and Republican nominee John McCain is against Webb’s bill. McCain, like Bush, believes the bill would cause military retention rates to decrease. Many of America’s finest have served three, four and five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan (and sometimes swapping between the two theaters) and those who rightfully engaged the enemy in Afghanistan and those who wrongly invaded Iraq are now denying those who have sacrificed the most the ability to brighten their future; a future that for as long as they were serving in harms way was always in doubt. A future for some involves a life without a leg or an arm. Shame on George Bush, shame on John McCain and shame on any politician who doesn’t stand up in Congress and give these boys (and girls) what they deserve. For McCain to use his lack of support of this bill as a means to attack Barack Obama (who supports this bill) for not serving in the military shows a lack of integrity; a word I would never have used to define McCain in the past. Jim Webb’s bill may have an opposite effect. The prospect of having a full paid college scholarship may very well cause a number of kids to sign up for the military. These would be men who aspire to be college graduates, just the type of people we would like to fill the ranks of the US military. Those who have put their lives on the line for this country are exactly those we want to replace the aging baby boomers in the workplaces throughout this country. Jim Webb’s GI Bill is a start but in my opinion they deserve way more than that. Unfortunately those who most wanted to wage these wars don’t see it that way.

Breaking:  Scott McClellan, former White House Press Secretary breaks ranks with President Bush in new book.

Earlier today our revered President spoke to the Israeli Knesset on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state. In that speech Bush took the opportunity to slam the Democratic nominee on his policy of negotiating with adversaries. In front of many Jews who had lived through perhaps the most nefarious period in modern history the President of the United States chose to invoke appeasement and Hitler for political purposes. This act was flawed on many levels. First, the Dixie Chicks were lambasted for criticizing Bush on foreign soil. Their reputations were severely tarnished and death threats followed. President Bush not only did this on foreign soil but in front of the entire Israeli legislative branch. Secondly, Bush purposely didn’t give credit to the Senator with whom he quoted, isolationist Republican Congressmen William Edgar Borah from Idaho who said, “Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.” If Borah had been a Democrat I’m sure he would have been fully disclosed. Finally, talking to Iran, North Korea, Syria, et al is a policy proposed by Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense.

So now we are left with the fallout. McCain has hitched his wagon to the opportunism offered by Bush’s speech. And the Right Wing has begun to try to triangulate Obama as the second coming of Neville Chamberlain. Fortunately, many Conservatives are not very savvy when it comes to history. In fact, many right wingers I have argued with over the years have a hard time getting past what they hear on their favorite sycophant’s radio program. What do I mean, you say? Chris Mathews today tried to carry an argument with one such right winger and talking points seemed to get in the way of the facts. Enjoy.

This part of my blog appeared before under “Burning Sage” but after realizing that Jim Rome has a TV show entitled Rome is Burning I decided to change it. I can’t stand Jim Rome. Also, I like the title Raging Sage better.

Worthless Degree

The country is most likely in a recession. The components of today’s financial mess are complicated. From the mounting debt which has devalued the dollar to the mortgage crisis which has caused Wall Street to retreat. Of course this is just a quick summary but what is interesting and most people aren’t talking about is the fact that our current President holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Not only has this MBA recipient done little to forestall the recession he has failed to articulate the nature of the woes to the nation. I wonder how drunk Bush actually was during his years at Harvard. Here is a list of classes that one is required to take at HBS along with the list of electives:

Required Courses at Harvard Business School Term One

Required Courses at Harvard Business School Term Two

Elective Courses at Harvard Business School

I understand small business growth. I was one.

George W Bush  February 2000

Go Forth and Multiply, Frere Jacques

So Muslims have now passed Catholics in total population. Isn’t it about time the Catholics allow their priests to marry? If the Catholics don’t do something quick you can say goodbye to any chance at winning the next Holy War.

Honey Did You Pay the Electric Bill?

Sounds like Hillary might just know what it is like to be poor in America after all. It seems her campaign is stiffing some on the trail. How do you recover your money when the person that owes it to you is never in one place for more than two days? Will this affect her FICO score? For some reason I think not. The big question , however, does Hillary have to stay in the race to acquire enough money to pay off her campaign debts?

Anyone with an open mind who heard Barack Obama’s speech on race today recognized the brilliance of the words. He is able to explain the anguish of the generation before him and the great strides that have benefited his generation. I have listened to a lot of right wing radio today simply because I wanted to hear how they were going to attack his speech. It was fascinating to hear them dissect and assault Obama They used the same tactic to attack the speech as they used to go after Reverend Wright. Don’t get me wrong, no person with intellect could condone the manner in which the Reverend said what he said. The “radio right” clung to two parts of this magnificent speech to criticize Obama. First, they said he threw his white grandmother under the bus by saying:

“I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.”

If he cared so much for his grandmother how could he possibly criticize her publicly like that?, they decried. But Obama was pointing to the fact that the generation that came before mine saw racism at almost every corner. My father had a Black friend at Kansas University in the 1950s and he would drive him to the African part of Lawrence to get a haircut because his friend couldn’t get his hair cut in town. This occurred in what is now the most liberal town in Kansas. I went to kindergarten in a school that was formerly the Black high school in Liberty, Missouri in 1969. When the school was converted to a kindergarten at the time when schools were integrated, the building, which had been battered and worn from years of neglect by the city was renovated to make it usable by the mostly White kindergartners. These events that are etched in my distant memory are nothing compared to the decades of injustice that has consumed this nation in the last century, never mind the two centuries prior. Are men such as Reverend Wright simply to forget this climate that surrounded their existence for most of their lives? Obama said it succinctly: 

“And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright’s sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.”

The second criticism of Obama was best expressed by Dick Morris, the right winger on TV tonight. Morris said Barack Obama is too weak to be President because leaders need to be able to throw people under the bus, even when they are close friends. Well as we have learned Barack Obama is not your normal politician. He could not disown Reverend Wright because to do so would be to disown the entire generation that Wright speaks for; the generation that lived in pre-civil rights America. For us, it would be like disowning the WW II vet and all he has done to save us from fascism because he, to this day, can’t stand Blacks. But Obama does not identify with this generation. He doesn’t use race as a crutch. When he started his candidacy most African Americans were weary of him. You heard on the news that he was not “Black” enough because he was not running like all Black candidates had done before him. In past campaigns, like that of Jesse Jackson’s, he spoke primarily to the Black man with the hope that others would join. Others did not. Barack Obama spoke to everyone and the Blacks bought in. In this way he has transcended race.

As the Conservative right ties the beliefs of Reverend Wright with those of Barack Obama, they continue to be ignorant of African Americans and further distance themselves from creating a nation where all citizens are truly equal. It seems they think Barack Obama, once he becomes President, will somehow metamorphize into a bitter Black man with a chip on his shoulder instead of someone who understands the Black experience and who fully comprehends the direction this country needs to go.

“For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances - for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans — the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.”

Barack Obama is the embodiment of the change that is going on in this country in regards to race. It seems it is those who wish to cling to the battles of decades ago; the culture war, Vietnam and racism, that engage with great vigor the issues that bring divisiveness. You will hear it from Reverend Wright and you will hear it from right wing radio; but you will never hear it from Barack Obama.

As we know Barack Obama is attracting unprecedented numbers of Black Americans to the polls during the primaries. The notion of a Black President enfranchises these voters in ways never seen before. Barack Obama, the junior Senator from Illinois, seems to have an affect on Black voters like that other Illinois politician, Abe Lincoln had in the 19th century. Obama is the zeta to Lincoln’s alpha; the pinnacle of nearly 150 years of the struggle to be free but never quite equal might end with the 2008 election. If Obama does win the Democratic Primary, what impact will he have beyond the Presidential race? If large number of Black voters swamp the polls on November 2, what will be the secondary effect? If Blacks go to the polls for Obama it can only help incumbents like Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. Her seat in the Senate is the one most in jeopardy to be lost by the Democrats. Landrieu, however, is playing it close to the vest. She has not endorsed either candidate thus far. You would think that in her most private moments she cheers on Obama like a rabid NASCAR fan. Another key seat up for grabs is Trent Lott’s old slot in Mississippi. Ronnie Musgrove (D) will be running against Roger Wicker (R). Already said to be a close race, a huge African-American turnout could turn the tide in a very Red State. The most interesting race that involves the “Obama Factor” will be in Alabama. Jeff Sessions, a two term Senator, would normally be a shoe-in but recent events swirling around the incarceration of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman around spurious information and involving Karl Rove aired recently on CBS’ 60 Minutes. If you didn’t catch the episode watch it here. Jeff Sessions pressured CBS to not air the program. Why would he do this if he has nothing to hide? Sessions will be running against a Black female candidate named Vivian Figures. What will Obama’s impact be on this race if he is on the Presidential ballot in November? Will Red States turn black in 2008 under the weight of interested African American voters? If so, the party will owe a debt of gratitude to them along with Barack Obama for making it possible. Never in the history of this country have African Americans been in a position to have this much power…and this much equality.  It has been a long time in coming.

Democrats Dream of a Filibuster Proof Senate