Monday, January 22, 2007

The race is on

Goodness, goodness... Mrs. Hillary Clinton has made it official. She will now run for President. I knew it would happen - it was only a matter of time.

I like Hillary, and I think it's interesting that she's wanting to be on a first name basis w/ the voters... a strategic move on her part and one that, I feel, will make her seem more down-to-earth to many ppl. In her web video, it shows her sitting in the living room on the sofa w/ a nice lamp behind her... very common... don't you think?

She's a smart lady, that's for sure. I wonder if she'll be our first woman President??!! It could happen.... and wouldn't it be funny to see Bill as the First Man/Husband!?!! I sure hope he doesn't do anything stupid and keeps his willy in his pants... because that could make or break her in the eyes of many. But knowing Hillary, she's probably given him a good talkin to.... but... to think about it, I think he's been on pretty good behavior for a while now, and I think he knows better than to mess this up for her.

This will be a tough race because she's also up against someone that I feel could be a terrific President and that's Barack Obama from Illinois. I like what he stands for, his ideas, and think he could really help America get back on her feet.... if he were to take a seat in the White House.

I saw him on Oprah some time back and he's an amazing man. If you haven't seen his web video, you should watch it. Also, here is another video that tells you about the man, his life and his accomplishments.

This will be an interesting race, that's for sure. I just hope the candidates don't take it down the road of slur tactics, but instead decide to focus on the important issues facing the American population and the country as a whole. It's time for a change and I think both of these ppl can bring about positive change to America.

26 comments:

The Moody Minstrel said...

I, for one, welcome our female overlords.

Hmm...will things like maternity leave and day care be made constitutionally guaranteed rights?

(I know...that was terrible...)

Roop said...

Dear Madam, I wish Hillary to be the Next President, because we Asians have Women Prime Ministers and I wish to have a Woman as the President of US. I Forgot to mention your layout is very good.
Yours
Roop (www.mgrroop.blogspot.com)

Cerebralwaste said...

I doubt Hillary is electable. She is too polarizing of a figure with very little middle ground for her to draw upon. You either LOVE her or HATE her. If you want to energize the Republican base and moderate Democrats put Hillary on the ballot.

Obama hasn't said anything yet except look at me and don't make fun of my ears. So far he has taken no stand on any issue of relevance. Sad part is people will blindly follow based on the fact he is a good public speaker yet says little at the same time. I doubt if in the end he will be electable either. Not at this point.. Yet. He doesn't have the chops for it yet. The future may be brighter for him down the road.

Olivia said...

Isn't it amazing how the long-promised change to the candidacy has suddenly taken place this year. If you think about it, 2005/2006 have been years of great change, and I think it is the long term result of so many things that have happened since the late 90s.

Wow...

Anyway, I saw that interview with Obama on Oprah last month! I love him! He is accessible to soooooooo many more people than any previous candidate.

I don't yet have an opinion on Hillary, though it is obvious she is smart. I saw her speaking recently and she was in the serious politician mode, rather than the amiable First Lady mode that we all remember.
Other point i wanted to make was that it is clever of her to use her first name, not only does it personalise her, but it sheds any of the Clinton legacy, which would be a hindrance to the minds of future voters.

And finally, Omigosh, Roop makes a good point. WHY is it that in some nations where women are traditionally restricted, even to the violation of basic human rights, such as India and Pakistan, women have been leaders for decades? How is that possible? Indira Ghandi, Benazir Bhutto... Go figure!

Olivia said...

Another thought, having just read Cerebralwaste's comments, is that I must admit to knowing nothing of the platforms of the US candidates - I spoke from first impressions - and I feel that I am losing touch with the politics over there, after 4 years of absence. In fact, having no home address there anymore I may not vote this year.

I feel a bit sad about that, but change happens...

Um Naief said...

CW, you make good points, BUT... I disagree w/ you. I think Hillary is electable, but I'm not sure if a woman will become President this year... not sure that the public is ready for that or men for that matter, but I do think she'd make a good President. Obama.. well, like Olivia says, I have also lost touch w/ America and politics for the most part, but I do like him and find him to be very interesting and a very good candidate. I disagree that he hasn't said anything of relevance because I think he stands for change and has done a lot for Chicago in years past. Maybe he is good at public speaking, but is that a bad thing? I do think he has done some very positive things in Illinois, and I think he'd be a good President. I like what he stands for. I'd like to see what all he has to say in the months ahead... that will say a lot. Yes, he is new and maybe doesn't have enough experience in your eyes, but I think America needs change and maybe that freshness would be a good start. I really like him.

moody, oh man, wouldn't that be heaven!! :) hehehe if so, those would be some good rights to have!

roop, thanks Roop! i think it would be great to have such a change in America... to see a woman as President, but i'm not sure that there are many out there ready for that. too many ppl are used to the same ole, same ole and can't see it any other way. i like what Hillary stands for. i like her attitude and think she'd bring great change to the country.

olivia, i feel as you do and have to watch news programs constantly in order to get any type of idea of what's going on in the States politically. i feel like i've lost touch in a big way... but, even while saying that, from the things i've watched lately, i believe in both of these candidates. even though they're fresh... it's time for a change. new faces... new ideas... new goals. the time for change is now. CW makes good points and he's not an easy target to argue w/, as i found out long ago, but... i do believe that both of these candidates stand a chance. at least i hope. and i agree about the woman thing... why is it that America hasn't gone down that road long ago? the glass ceiling and male chauvinism come to my mind. i think times are changing though. i saw an interview w/ diane sawyer a few days back. she was interviewing all the female senators... if you get a chance, watch it.

Cerebralwaste said...

By no means my dear Tooners is being good at public speaking a bad thing. In fact it is a good thing. My issue rests in the fact often these "good speakers" sound GREAT but don't really say much of substance. Clinton (Bill) was the master of it. He looked good and sounded good, ergo he must be good. It harkens back to the Kennedy/Nixon debate. If you saw the debate on TV.. Kennedy won. If you listened to it on the radio Nixon won. Looks and good speaking seem to over rule the fact of just what the candidate is saying and what he or she stands for.

Obama is at present having a "courting period" with the media. He has not had his feet held to the fire and no real hard questions have been asked of him. How well he does will depend on that and he does carry a general lack of experience. He has literally no management experience either as an elected official or in the business world that I can see. 2 years in the Senate is barely enough time to get your feet wet. Down the line he may be viable but I don't see it happening now.

Hillary at present is just to polarizing to be elected. I am not saying she can't overcome this. It will be an uphill road for her. Not impossible but uphill. The situation with Hillary is what I call the VAGINA VOTE. Many will vote for her based on the sole fact she is a women. This is wrong and generally stupid. If you agree with her and you base your vote on that there is nothing wrong with that at all. We should all be informed voters.

Sadly there is a general problem of voter apathy in the US that lends itself into along "Party Line" decisions. All the while forgetting the issues and proposed policy of the candidate. Couple that with only 50% of those eligible to vote do and you can see the problem.

I started a new blog. You might or might not like it. It is at www.lyrichut.blogspot.com. It shows off my softer less "evil" side!

Just Jane said...

I'm glad that she is throwing her hat into the ring. I admire her. She's been through a lot of sh*t but has managed to keep her dignity fairly well intact. I don't know if I'll vote for her yet. Have to see what she has planned first.

All that aside I think it is rather embarassing that the US has never had a female or person of color as president. Surely there have been at least a few qualified non-white, non-male candidates sometime in the past two hundred years.

Olivia said...

CW makes a good point. I didn't know Obama had only been in the Senate for two years. He has the legal/political foundation but not the length of service, so yea I guess he is a bit young and unseasoned. Still, you never know what might happen these days with the widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo/old school because they always take us down the same roads.

LuLu said...

I like both Hillary and Obama but can't see either or them winning. The US is just not ready for a woman or minority president. The metropolitan minority fringes maybe (NY, CA, MA) but definitely not the South or the Midwest (bulk of voters). As much as I hate to say this, I wish the Democrats would actually pick a candidate that is a non-polarizing white man, if they wish to defeat the Republicans.. otherwise we may be in for another right wing disaster :(

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

It's time for a new President for sure and both of these candidates look good to me - from the distance of not knowing much about either.
One thing I cannot understand is how can a President do things that the majority of the politicians on the parliamentary floor disapprove of?
W.

The Moody Minstrel said...

I remember just before the Gore vs. Bush election word got out that Bush was seriously considering Colin Powell as his running mate. It wasn't long before some white supremacist threatened Powell's family, and he was forced to pull out. (Frankly, I'm surprised they let him serve as Secretary of State!)

And now we have a woman running for President. Cerebralwaste correctly brings up the issue of the "vagina vote", but I think the opposite is true, too. With all the surging megachurch Christian fundamentalism of the 2000s, what do you think the odds are that some nutcase (or organization of nutcases) will start screaming "God made MAN master! Break the spirit of Jezebel!" (quoted from a preacher that appeared at my college campus one day) and decide to act to carry out "God's will" through superior firepower?

Um Naief said...

moody, i've wondered the same thing. even though i like barack obama, i can't see the country allowing a black man to win. i hate to say it, but the States are still very racist, especially in the south. even in Indiana, where i grew up, the KKK is still very active.

i also agree w/ so much of what you're saying CW. i just wish we could get some fresh meat in the White House instead of the same old fuddy duddies that we've been having in years past. it would be so nice to have fresh ideas and a newness that allows for significant change.

wendy, sadly, that's been happening for years!

lulu, thanks for coming by! i so agree w/ what you say, but... a lot of these white guys you're speaking of tend to be a little stiff under the collar. i don't know, maybe there is someone out there. let's hope.

Cerebralwaste said...

lulu

I disagree with your contention the US isn't ready for a women President. We are and have been. There just hasn't been a viable candidate to fill the void.

Moody

That is a load of BS Gen Powell pulled out over threats because he was black. Powell didn't want the job and it had nothing to do with race. Please don't spread BS when you don't know what your talking about. Do you honestly think racist threats would scare Gen Powell? Come on use your God given brain and THINK before you say something that is just factually wrong. My challenge to you is PROVE me wrong. You can't.

And your statement about allowing him serve as Sec of State smacks of racism in itself. Powell's service to this country goes back to the Nixon Administration. Gen Powell is a man of honor and a great American. You don't rise the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and be a five star General because your black. You get there because your the best man for the job and capable and willing to do it.

Tooners.

We need fresh meat. No doubt about it. Two people I have my eye on are Mitt Romney and Bill Richardson.
Sadly there is still racism in the US just as there is and will be everywhere. The general populous as whole is not racist. Pockets still exist here and there but please don't leave the impression the whole BLEEPIN nation is that way. I have seen more racism in tiny Bahrain than I have ever seen in the US from coast to coast.

Um Naief said...

CW, well, you are right about racism here in bahrain. it's very much alive and thrives in many.... but i think that this part of the world breeds this type of hate and is happy for it. or many are happy for it.

as far as racism in the States... well, i saw a lot of that while working in Texas. i spent all of my working life there matter of fact, and was shocked by what many said and did. i remember working for this very well known acctg firm and had one of the partners call me into his ofc one day and ask me if i saw that monkey out on the street. i didn't realize what he meant until he pointed the guy out to me - it was a black man. they used to write or mark the 15th on their calendars every month so they could make fun of black ppl for celebrating june 15th. when i worked at AA&Co., there were tons of racist ppl there who made fun of blacks on a daily basis... but... there was also a lot of racism towards whites from the blacks at that company.

i saw racism in most jobs, but really, it seems to be a part of life in the south. they're even racist towards northerners... i had my fill of that when i was in high school.

but you are right about racism here. it is alive and well in the worst ways.

re: colin powell, how do you know he wasn't threatened?? maybe that's why he didn't run. i've not heard this, but... i wouldn't put it past those groups to do such a thing.

Cerebralwaste said...

Racism is often a two way street as you mentioned. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Lois Farakhan if not racist they are at the very least RACE BAITERS. Whipping up their collective flocks blaming all on the white man.

I never said Gen Powell wasn't threatened. I said it wasn't the reason for his decision not to run as President and Vice President. Powell retired from public service, despite being asked by Clinton to stay on. He stated often, he desired nothing more than to spend time with his wife and family and work on his non profit organization. After a career of 30 some years he was tired and his wife was tired of him not being home. Can you blame her? In fact I am very surprised he came out of retirement to become Sec of State.

I honestly think if Powell would have run for President himself he would have won. He polls in the mid 80% on the positive to this day. The Oval Office was his if he wanted it.

Men like Powell aren't going to respond to a threat by not running for office. It is not in their nature to run from anything. Besides as VP he and his family would be given the single best protection provided any public politician in the world and that is the US Secret Service. These men and women are the best of the best in what they do.

Olivia said...

Even if neither of them win, it shows huge progress has been made if a mixed race man and a female are even considering running for office.

(On a side note, yes blacks can be racist. I read an article in McClean's magazine about all the black spokespeople who say he is "not black enough". Say what??? Just because he is mixed? As I said in a previous comment, his variety only adds to his viability.)

Olivia said...

Sorry, i didn't mean "viability" I mean "accessibility".

Gaz said...

To take you off the subject for a mo,their was a tv prog,i think it was called what kids say,and it was about interviewing kids,they took the mike to a lad who said he could do pesident clinton,then the boy burst ou "i did not have sexual relations with that woman"went down well

Um Naief said...

gazza, NOW that's funny!!! you made me laugh out loud... that was cute! :)

Cerebralwaste said...

Tooners

Drop me an email when you can.

skunkcrazy@aol.com

THANKS!
mark

Um Naief said...

you know, i was just sitting here thinking about racism and how i was affected by it. we sat in cubicles at AA&Co., and there was this black guy who sat in front of me. once i came in from the weekend and had been out in the sun, and he started making comments to me about how i was dying to be black and how all of these white ppl are dying to be black because they lay out in the sun (i laughed at him)... i think i had even curled my hair and that may have sparked it.

sadly, for as much as i like this obama, i doubt seriously if the states are ready for a president that is black, spanish, a woman, or even a bi-racial person. i can only imagine the death threats that you'd hear about... imagine if someone gay tried to run.

The Moody Minstrel said...

That is a load of BS Gen Powell pulled out over threats because he was black....My challenge to you is PROVE me wrong. You can't.

I don't know why you're going so ballistic over this, and, frankly, I'm not interested in trying to prove you wrong. It's not worth arguing about, especially because I'm actually hoping that you're right! All I know is that, at the time, it was all over the media that he was threatened, but no explanation was given for his pulling out. After it happened, speculation was rife that he did it out of concern for his family. That's all I have to go on, and if it's inaccurate, so much the better.

I don't understand why you're accusing me of racism, either. That came totally out of the blue! You seem to be making some very rash and hasty judgments concerning my character and political orientation (which seems to be happening a lot lately in blogland). My comment "I'm surprised they allowed him to serve as Secretary of State" was a reference to radical right/white supremacist groups, not the government. For what it's worth, Cerebralwaste, if he'd run, I'd have voted for him without a second thought. He was and is one of few political figures I've ever truly respected.

Jeebus H. Kee-rist and his brother Ned! Why is it I'm suddenly being accused of being a leftist radical one day and then a racist the next? Is something going on that I don't know about?

Um Naief said...

moody, i was waitin' to see if you were gonna reply.... i'm so glad you did.

me knows u no racist! and U know... that's all that matters... but, leftist radical... i had heard those stories about ya! ;)

Cerebralwaste said...

Moody

Pull your head out of the sand and read my comment. I never called you a racist. I said your comment smacks of racism. BIG DIFFERANCE. And I stand by it. Don't try to cloud the issue. If you can't see the problem with your statement than you need to do some soul searching.

Your comment "Frankly, I'm surprised they let him serve as Secretary of State!" is the issue. What is Gen Powell? A Dog? A leper? He is a person. Your premise implies Gen Powell was being used as a "tool" or "token" If that was not your intention than you should clarify it.

Don't pop off with silly statements and then act surprised and righteous when someone calls you on the carpet over it. And don't try to put words in my mouth when clearly they were not said.

The Moody Minstrel said...

Don't pop off with silly statements and then act surprised and righteous when someone calls you on the carpet over it. And don't try to put words in my mouth when clearly they were not said.

Fair enough. Naturally, the same applies to you, as well. I'll invite you (without the juvenile slurs) to take a couple of deep breaths, relax, and read my last comment again.

Ready?

Okay, you're right, you didn't call me a racist, and I'll apologize for that if you like. However, you did say (and verified that you said) that my comment smacked of racism. Now, logically, if I make racist comments, that would make me a racist, right? But I'm not. (I'm married to a Japanese woman, after all!) Actually, racism was the issue, but not racism on MY part (or even on the government's part), but rather the behavior of racist organizations.

I've already explained what I really meant by my "I'm surprised they let him serve..." statement. It would be best if you read that explanation again (since you apparently either missed or misunderstood it), but I'll reiterate to save time. Drawn out in full, the statement would have read, "I'm surprised radical right and white supremacist groups let him serve as Secretary of State without causing trouble."

Are we clear on that now? You see, in that respect the fact of General Powell being a person (as opposed to "a tool to be used", as you put it) is totally irrelevent to the point in question. His value as a human being, or how he was so judged in politics, was never an issue here. I was talking about the behavior of racist organizations.

I will also reiterate my comment that General Powell is (was?) one of very few political figures for which I've ever held any real respect, and I would've voted for him had he run for President. I also still fail to see why you're getting so out of joint over this.

There are no clouds in the issue, sir. No sand here, either. If you don't want me to act "surprised and righteous", maybe you should be a little less quick to stereotype what people say. Toning down the bad-mouthed demagoguery might help, too.