Month: June 2009

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford already has a bad image after declaring that his state, one of the highest in unemployment during this recession, and certainly one of the poorest states in the Union in general, would not accept stimulus money.  In so doing, he provoked his own legislature and members of his own party, including his Lieutenant Governor.  You would think that his image could not get worse, but now it has.

Governor Sanford suddenly disappeared for nearly a week, leaving no information as to his whereabouts , to the Lieutenant Governor, his own staff, and even his wife and four sons!  How crazy and outrageous can conduct be by a governor, who has responsibilities to his state as well as his family!

Realize that Fathers Day passed and Sanford was nowhere to be found for his own sons along with his wife.  And IF a natural disaster had occurred, there would have been no way to contact the governor, since he left no information behind to ANYONE!

Certainly, any person, including those in elective office, have a right to rest and relaxation, but not without informing and notifying others of where he would be and how to contact him.

This is extremely odd behavior, unbecoming of any politician, and really of any father and husband!  And this man supposedly is planning to run for President of the United States, not that he would be seen as a likely choice based on his loner status and stupid and antagonizing behavior as Governor.

It is clear that Mark Sanford has shot himself in the foot as far as his Presidential candidacy is concerned.  When  he was in the House of Representatives, he also had great trouble relating to his colleagues and staff.  This man in so many ways is unfit for any public position, and I would suggest that he be investigated for his weird behavior, and that he possibly be impeached and removed from office if he does not resign under fire.  Mark Sanford is an embarassment to his state, his party, and to his family, and should be ashamed of himself and, at the least, be required to explain his behavior openly and completely at a news conference, but don’t bet on that based on his personality and behavioral characteristics.

This incident, by the way, only adds to the horrible image that the Republican party has displayed since the election of Barack Obama.  The broad question is, who has credibility to be a serious presidential alternative to President Obama?  Right now, the answer is NO ONE!

Despite conservative talk show hosts and Republicans in Congress criticizing a public health care plan as too costly and trending toward Socialism,  a vast majority of Americans in the latest NY TIMES-CBS NEWS poll support major changes including a public, tax supported plan to compete with private insurers.

The American people seem to have faith that the government can do a better job than private health insurers, and they are willing to pay higher taxes to guarantee that all Americans would be covered, as compared to  nearly 50 million Americans now having no health insurance.  72 percent want a public plan to compete with private companies, and even half of Republicans, along with 90 percent of Democrats and almost 75 percent of independents support greatly expanded government involvement in healthcare.

It is obvious that public opinion supports the Democrats, and it is time for moderate and conservative Democrats to stop putting barriers in the way of reform, and to seize the moment to bring about a real health care program, making Lyndon Johnson proud that his Medicare and Medicaid legislation of the mid 1960s is FINALLY being expanded to offer the same opportunity for health care to ALL Americans!

Senator John McCain, on FACE THE NATION this morning, gave a positive view of President Obama after five months in office.

He said that Obama had achieved his legislative goals, and overall had done "very well".

At the same time, he faulted Obama for not having bipartisan support in Congress, for not having formulated a plan for the detainees at Guantanomo Bay when he announced the facility would be closed within a year, and made it clear that he felt Obama should take a stronger stand in favor of the protestors in Iran reacting to the election crisis in that nation.

Overall, McCain saw the beginning of the Obama Presidency as positive, with room for improvement.

Earlier this week, Hillary Clinton was invited to dinner by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who served in the second term of Clinton’s husband.  This event occurred just two days before Clinton broke her elbow, which has now led to surgery and temporary sidelining for recovery.

But not only the two women met, but rather a total of EIGHT former Secretaries of State, all the living ones except Al Haig, who served for a year under Ronald Reagan, but was  not present.

What an historic meeting that was, including Henry Kissinger (Nixon and Ford), George Shultz  (Reagan),  James Baker  (Bush),  Lawrence Eagleburger  (Bush), Warren Christopher (Clinton), Colin Powell  (Bush II), and Condoleezza Rice  (Bush II), along with Albright and Hillary Clinton.  More diplomatic experience and expertise was in one house than ever in the history of the United States!  🙂

Certainly, all of these former Secretaries of State can offer advice and counsel to our present Secretary of State, who with President Obama, faces a daunting set of international circumstances unmatched since at least the closing days of World War II,  when Harry Truman was suddenly thrust into the position without experience or planning,  by the sudden death of Franklin  D. Roosevelt.

President Obama tonight put on quite a comedy show at the annual dinner of the Radio and TV Correspondents Association, with lots of quips,  and also ability to laugh in a nice way that makes people like him as a human being.

Obama displays great charm and excellent timing in his delivery of his jokes, and he made fun of everyone imaginable, including those who are his critics, but of course the audience took it in good cheer.

In the midst of great stress and turmoil in this country and overseas, it is refreshing to be able to stop for a while and just laugh and smile and be appreciative of the talents and abilities of the 44th President of the United States!

A real surprise is the announcement by conservative activist Ken Starr, the independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton and played a major role in the promotion of his impeachment in 1998, that he was backing the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court.

Despite the fact that Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, other conservative talk show hosts, Senator James Inhofe, Senator Pat Roberts, former Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese and many other conservatives and Republicans are organizing to fight her nomination, Starr declared that he "thinks very well" of Sotomayor, although he wants her statements and record fully investigated, of course.

It is clear that there will be some conservatives and Republicans, including some in the Senate, who will recognize the superior credentials of Sotomayor, and will vote to confirm her after hearings in July, conducted by the Senate Judiciary Committee.  The character assassination that is going on about her will ultimately fail, and we will get the first Hispanic woman on the Supreme Court, a body which has only seen two African American men, two women, and only seven Jewish justices, and only a small number of Catholics in its 220 year history.  It is time for diversity on the Court, even more than just Sotomayor herself. 

The country is changing in its population, and the Supreme Court over time needs to reflect that change!

As if he did not have enough on his plate already for the first year of his Presidency, President Obama indicated today that he wanted to tackle what seems like an intractable problem–immigration– particularly the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants that live within our country.

He seems ready to pursue a bill similar to the one proposed by President Bush and backed in its details by Senators John McCain and Ted Kennedy, but gaining great opposition in  2007 and failing to pass.

This bill would provide for illegal immigrants (undocumented workers) to pay a penalty and back taxes, be required to learn English, and to go to the "back of the pack" behind those immigrants who played by the rules and came into the country legally.  This would be combined with greater border security,  and enforcement measures for a "temporary worker" program.

The chances for passage of such a series of measures seems doubtful, but again, Obama is not missing a beat in pursuing all of the goals he set forth during his Presidential campaign in 2008.  It will be interesting to see if he can overcome what I call the "Tom Tancredo" lobby, which is vehemently opposed to any so called "amnesty" of illegal immigrants and any temporary worker program.  Tancredo, of course, is the former Colorado Congressman who was one of the many GOP candidates for the Presidential nomination of 2008, and has come out vehemently against the nomination of Hispanic judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court.  It is likely the sparks will fly on this issue when and if it comes up for debate in both houses of Congress.

President Obama today held an event at the White House commemorating Fathers Day, and emphasizing the importance of dads in the lives of their children.

Obama pointed out how, with the absence of his father from a young age, his male role model was his stepfather and his maternal grandfather, but that 23 percent of all children today do not have a dad or father figure at home as they grow up, and that at least half of African American children face this reality.

He talked about the joys of fatherhood, and how it is the most enjoyable aspect of life, and that no role or job is as important as a dad being part of the household.

This event highlighted how the President is trying his best not only to set himself up as a role model, but to be, in a sense, the "Father In Chief", giving advice and counsel to the many men who have shirked their duty to be there for their children.  This kind of campaign, certainly, cannot be faulted by anyone.  So let’s give plaudits to the President of the United States on this issue!  🙂

President Obama is rightfully avoiding getting more directly involved publicly in the Iran election crisis, with the view that we don’t want the Iranian government uniting its citizens by making the United States the whipping boy which is promoting disunion and chaos. This is a time to let Iran’s hard line Islamic government deal with the crisis on its own, with the hope that there might be revolutionary change, but that it must come from within.

At the same time, many Republicans in Congress are now calling for more direct intervention and statements by the President in the name of promoting freedom, but of course, they forget that when President Eisenhower was in office, and the Hungarian Revolution was in process in 1956, he decided not to intervene more directly, in the name of trying to avoid Soviet Union allegations that we were promoting chaos and revolution.  While that Hungarian revolution sadly was crushed, and with the reality that the Iranian revolution going on now might be crushed, Obama’s view is that ultimately we need to deal with whatever government emerges after this crisis, in order to promote the possibility of diplomacy to deal with the many issues that divide the US and Iran.  This was the feeling that Eisenhower had  53 years ago, that promoting relations with the Soviet Union was the ultimate goal in promoting world peace.

So if Obama is following the lead of Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he cannot be seen as unwise!

Former President George W. Bush, who has until now avoided commentary on his successor, last night criticized the plan of President Obama to close the Guantanomo prison in Cuba, and to end the torture method that Bush contends, like his Vice President Dick Cheney, actually helped protect America.

He also was critical of Obama’s decision to intervene heavily in the economy, and to promote extensive government regulation and intervention, with Bush declaring that leaving capitalism unimpeded is best for America.

It is quite amazing that Bush is now following the lead of Cheney, considering that he and Cheney left America in the worst condition economically and diplomatically of any President in American History.  The card that Barack Obama was dealt, in many ways, is the worst inheritance EVER, as even Franklin D. Roosevelt did not have the diplomatic problems that Obama now has.

While it is true that FDR had to, over time, deal with Fascist Italy, Imperial Japan, and Nazi Germany,  the future crisis in international affairs was not evident when he took the oath of office in 1933, so he could focus his attention on the domestic economic crisis.  Barack Obama does not have the luxury of doing that, as we are involved in two wars and have other nations, such as North Korea and Iran, which are extremely antagonistic toward this country.

The world is more complex now than ever, and Obama, therefore, has a greater burden than ANY President of the United States upon taking office, and a lot of it is due to the incompetence and mistakes of George W. Bush, who now is making money by giving speeches critical of his successor.