Day: November 6, 2009

Obama And Symbolic Anniversaries Of World War II And The Berlin Wall

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President Barack Obama is obviously a busy man, and cannot be everywhere commemorating symbolic historical anniversaries, but still there are regrettable mistakes made on priorities.

First, Obama was not available to commemorate the 70th anniversary of World War II’s beginning on September 1, 1939. Obama was represented instead by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in a European gathering to honor the sad anniversary.

Now, Obama will be unavailable to attend ceremonies commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which obviously is a strong symbol of the long struggle against Communism during the Cold War. He will be represented instead by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Of course, there is nothing horrible about our Defense Secretary and Secretary of State being present for the symbolic anniversaries, as both are highly respected. But there is a sense of regret, that somehow the President could not have rearranged his schedule to include direct involvement in these significant anniversaries.

The Reality For Barack Obama: Jobs Are The Issue!

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Today, it was announced that the unemployment rate has hit 10.2 percent, the highest since April 1983.

Unemployment is a troublesome issue, with the realization that the real unemployment rate, counting those who have stopped looking for work and are no longer getting unemployment compensation, and even those who only work part time, making it impossible to support their bills, is probably closer to 18 percent.

Stress and tension is rising, leading to more bloodshed and violence around the nation, and it is becoming very obvious that IF we do not see unemployment starting to decline and real work opportunities start to grow over the next nine months, it will be a devastating midterm election for the Democrats in 2010, and a sign of impending disaster for Barack Obama in 2012.

The American people only have so much patience, and Obama could be in danger of being seen as another Herbert Hoover or Jimmy Carter–smart person but totally ineffective when faced with a crisis.

So Obama has to, somehow, come up with a magic potion that creates substantial economic revival by the summer of 2010, or face the repudiation of his party by the American people in November 2010!

Health Care Reform, The AARP, And The AMA

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With all of the bitter attacks on health care reform legislation by conservatives and Republicans, the American Association of Retired Persons and the American Medical Association have come out in support of the House of Representatives bill, that has been denounced by one Republican Congresswoman as more dangerous than terrorism for America.

The preposterous nature of Virginia Foxx’s attack and similar ones by other GOP leaders and talk show hosts, and even entertainers such as Pat Boone and Jon Voight, is well documented by the strong support that health care reform is receiving from thoughtful Americans who realize that the lack of better health care is killing 45,000 Americans every year, and forcing many thousands into bankruptcy and other tragic results.

This is the most important piece of legislation since 1965 when Medicare was passed, after bitter attacks similar to the present battle. We are reaching the moment of reckoning as the year 2009 nears an end!

The Republican Odds After The Off Year Elections

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Many Republicans have been tooting their own horns over the gubernatorial victories of their party in Virginia and New Jersey.

But as a new poll shows, winning Virginia and New Jersey is far from winning the Presidency.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee leads a new poll over his potential GOP rivals, with Mitt Romney second, Sarah Palin third, Newt Gingrich fourth, Tim Pawlenty fifth, and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour in last place.

Huckabee seems to have an advantage because of his FOX News show where he comes across in a very pleasant, folksy manner.

But still only four out of ten voters plan at this point to support either Huckabee or Romney, while about a third would back Palin, 29 percent would be behind Gingrich, and less than one out of five behind Pawlenty or Barbour.

So the Republicans have a lot of work to convince the American voter to support a party which has no original ideas on anything, and spends its time being negative, and going out of its way to alienate moderates and independents and court the support of Tea Party and Freedom/Works extremists who stormed Capitol Hill yesterday and came across as hateful, racist, anti semitic, and extremist in rhetoric.

Sarah Palin’s Strange Book Tour

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Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is going on what could be termed a strange book tour to promote the publication of her memoir on November 17.

Already a smash hit in prepublication orders, her book is gaining a lot of interest but she will not be doing the usual book tour in major cities.

It is hard to understand how an author could miss major population centers, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, but that is the case with Sarah Palin’s plans.

Instead, she will be touring midsize cities that certainly deserve attention, but not solely. This is a very odd circumstance, particularly if Ms. Palin has any national plans for public office.

While probably it is true that a majority of people living in the big cities would not be supportive of Palin, still there would be a strong minority who would love the opportunity to meet and talk with her.

It is part of an odd strategy of Sarah Palin to avoid those she sees as her “enemies’, and to surround herself with fawning supporters on a full time basis. That is not the winning campaign of a national candidate, so one has to assume that she does not indeed have national plans, but is simply trying to make a small fortune on her notoriety.

Barack Obama And Native Americans

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President Obama yesterday hosted a Tribal Nations Conference with representatives of 386 tribal nations at the White House.

He acknowledged the terrible historical record of the US government toward native Americans over the past centuries, and pledged a change in attitude and policy as long as he was President.

He called for greater participation by native American tribes in decision making that affected them, and set a 90 day deadline for recommendations to be submitted in how to improve the lives of the first Americans.

The conference was an encouraging first step and it is hoped that Obama will take greater action than other Presidents who gave lip service to the issues confronting native Americans, but at the end did next to nothing to grope with their problems and challenges.