Rehearsed lines and eye winks...

I suppose, nowadays, rehearsed lines, eye winks and a charming smile will get you to the VP post... Was comparing Hillary Clinton with Sarah Palin and it was the difference between day and night. Palin came to the debate with a script and answered not the questions posed to her but what she planned to answer... Ditched so many important questions with a charming smile, absolute lack of genuineness... Showed remarkable confidence despite remarkable lack of knowledge about important political issues. She has got no clue, that is all I can say! While she is passionate, her passion is translated into stubbornness too many times and her face sometimes shows inner insecurity and hysteria... It is simply inconceivable and absurd that she could in fact be the second to the President, so close to the highest post! Huh.

Very sad and pathetic... Try to compare her with Hillary... for women out there who are upset with Hillary-Obama race, do not make the mistake if you know what I mean...

'No way, no how, no McCain'

November, 2004... The American people made a mistake, reelecting Bush to the second term by a popular vote. The politics of fear prevailed. I gasped for air and wanted to scream in pain. A dear friend said, 'Never lose hope.' But the 4 long years went by very slowly and in great agony... The 8 years left an irremediable mark on the American history and world politics. Things that the next generations will be paying a heavy price for years and decades to come.

Yet, now we have McCain as the messenger of Bush, propagating continuation of those same 8 years, same mentality, same policies and politics of fear. Watching the debate the other night, lost all and any respect for John McCain. Insulting Obama, came with an indolent and arrogant behavior. Constantly boasting about his record and looking at Obama as a 'child' who does not understand or know anything... So rude and disrespectful. Sounded and acted very much like Bush debating with Gore and Kerry. Most importantly, all his ideology and vision have been proven wrong, wrong, wrong all these 8 years and even before...

Meanwhile, Obama displayed great self-control, self-reserve and statesmanship. Displayed enormous hidden power with his calm behavior. We, Hillary supporters, were so reckless in 'attacking' him so much and finding 'perceived' weaknesses in him... He has got none. This is a man with great power and decency. First and foremost, he has got the answer for all troublesome questions besieging this country... Will people be able to set aside their racial prejudices and judge him by the content of his character, and not by the color of his skin? Can America stand by its liberal principles and give a chance to this man who deserves it all? That is the question.

Do you love your country? Set aside your fears, open your eyes, and see the reality... We cannot afford repeating the mistakes of the past! Simply cannot! 'No way, no how, no McCain!'

Time for change...

When you go to the polls this November, think not about yourself, but about all those others that your decision may affect today and tomorrow... Look at those at the bottom of the economic ladder and whose livelihood has sunk to the lowest. The vast numbers of the poor and homeless, destitute and desolate, those who have become beggars and are surviving on the margins... Forgotten and unheard of... Invisible and oppressed. Disadvantaged and in misery...

It reminds me of the Great Depression era. In his wonderful book that encapsulated that era, "Grapes of Wrath" John Steinbeck wrote:

In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.
Chapter 25

How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched bellies of his children? You can't scare him--he has known a fear beyond every other. Chapter 19

And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away. And that companion fact: when a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need. And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed.
Chapter 19

They's a time of change, an' when that comes, dyin' is a piece of all dyin', and bearin' is a piece of all bearin', an' bearin' an' dyin' is two pieces of the same thing. An' then things ain't so lonely anymore. An' then a hurt don't hurt so bad. Chapter 18

Time for change?!

Why you and I should vote for Barack Obama!

I am a loyal Hillary supporter and I am still in great sorrow that she did not get the nomination she deserved the most! The race was all about dice-rolling, hair-splitting (and a great degree of sexism), and Obama got lucky... I have been angry and critical of him trying to support Hillary in the heated race... But now looking forward, we have to-- absolutely have to-- vote for Barack Obama! Why?

He does not have whole lot of experience, but he has what many American Presidents did not have: intelligence, great power to inspire, energy, optimism, ability to dream big... Most of all, he has the rare ability to think 'new', defy settled conventions, and take a whole fresh look at things... That is what I like in him the most... Most of the time, success depends not on gray hair or experience, but on vision and ideology... He does have the ideals, the vision and power, power to implement it... In specific policies, his entire platform is 'centrist.' In his quest to unify this divided country he has come to the 'vital center' (like Bill Clinton) and has tapped into the feelings of most Americans, liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat... I have seen stickers on cars 'Republicans for Obama'-- that is a wonderful sign... In foreign policy, he will be the smartest President we have not seen for a long time. The very fact that he was against the war in Iraq tells me how smart he is and how well he can assess the interests of our country... Is use of force always in the interests of this country?! I think, by now most should know the answer... The anti-Americanism is at its highest in the world... This is exactly the type of a President we need...

While I respect John McCain and do not really want to attack him like many Democrats, he has got the experience, but no vision in how to take our country out of the present crisis! He also does not have the right way of thinking and settles for the conventional ways... It is time for us to look forward and approach new horizons with someone like Obama and not to look back, feel sorry for ourselves and settle for little-- with John McCain...

Vote for Barack Obama! We would be fortunate to have him as our leader for the next 8 years...

People's choice

Power and greatness

Character is tested in crisis. One arrives at power and greatness after many tests, after a long cataclysmic journey. Hillary Clinton is my hero because she has emerged as the true leader, real leader capable of filling the leadership vacuum present in America for many years. She has got the power! She has got the character and strength to withstand all those challenges awaiting this country, this century. I respected her even more when she stood up to the podium and claimed what has never been claimed by an American woman. I respected her even more when she refused to drop out of the race that was tilting towards her opponent and is still not over. She refused to waver. She refused to be weak on the face of constant bombardment, sexism, bias, hypocrisy. She has arrived at greatness...

None of her opponents and no one among today's political elites have the greatness, the power, the character, the strength of this woman! We want, we need a leader like her! If we, Americans, do not bestow her with the ultimate leadership role, we will lose for many generations to come...

Join us in support for Hillary Clinton!

Three-party race?

The road to the White House has turned into a three-party race. Or at least that is the impression. Working class/lower middle class-- for Hillary Clinton. The elites/academia/professionals-- for Barack Obama. The rich and military-- for John McCain.

Democrat vs. Republican is not the point any longer. First, John McCain is not a traditional Republican. His record suggests pseudo-Republican ideology. At the very least he is a moderate Republican.
Hillary Clinton is a centrist, with a deep commitment to the middle class, specifically with a lifelong passion for health care reform. Even with her working-class platform, she is a centrist. The Republican whining that she is a 'socialist' is so off the point and totally ludicrous.

As for Barack Obama, he has issues that I cannot reconcile with. While he is running a pretty liberal platform, he often sounds like Reagan. In his quest to raise above partisan politics and refresh the ideological/dogmatic stalemate of our politics, he loses his identity and is lost in his own voice. In his quest to 'unify' and bring people together, he turns into a chameleon who changes his/her mind to please everyone at a given time. Or he simply tries to have a 'sophisticated' approach to everything, for example, to Affirmative Action. Too sophisticated! At a difficult moment, when a decision has to be made, you have to side with one theory over the other. I simply cannot get a straight answer from him on any issue. Sometimes he just looks like a law professor, using a Socratic method to confuse and berate a student. I do not think an ordinary individual is up for the Socratic method from a politician. It also looks a bit arrogant...

Three-party race? Pseudo-Republican, centrist, pseudo-Democrat... Huh...

'Health care-- fundamental human right!'

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

This potentially is interpreted to mean that everyone should have health care provided by the government. Yet the United States has been lagging behind in this. Countries like Sweden and Norway have pretty well-run universal health care systems (here) and (here).



The critics say that the quality of such a system would be diminished greatly. Well, currently, I do not think we have any quality in the health care system in the US. I dread visiting doctors foremost because I do not have health insurance and when I visit them once a year, I do not get to see a doctor. A nurse talks to me for 5 minutes and then I get a bill for a ridiculous amount without having gotten any medical advice. I am just hoping to remain healthy while worried about my parents. So to suggest that a government-subsidized program would lower the quality is simply nonsensical. There can be both quality and universal health care. Hillary Clinton is the only presidential candidate who is offering universal health care. She fought hard for it passionately in the past and will continue fighting for it. Indeed when she says, 'health care is a fundamental human right,' she reminds me of Eleanor Roosevelt, who supplied the great spiritual power for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Perhaps we need a modern Eleanor Roosevelt like Hillary to fill the gap of needed reform...

Bankrupt

Read an insightful article on why the US is in economic crisis due to its exorbitant military expenditures in Le Monde. Well, people should also read more about how really the Soviet Union collapsed-- its inability to withstand the crazy arms race. The US has not learned from the lessons of the Soviet Union and is dragging itself to the similar disaster. Unfortunately, the foremost Republican presidential candidate is not considering the situation when proposes continuation of the war in Iraq.

Electoral College

We all know, there are problems with the Electoral College system of presidential elections in the US. Low voter turnout, focus of candidates on 'states' vs. 'voters', disparity of popular vote and states votes, to name but a few. But the Founding Fathers had antipathy against direct popular vote, devising this system. Some have urged to abolish it. Interestingly, the Electoral College has worked to the advantage of the Republican party in the last two elections. You get many solid 'red' states voting Republican, but many 'blue' states turn into battlegrounds where the swing voters all of a sudden are bombarded with campaign ads. These swing votes become determinative of the elections. Hence, we have had pretty tight races, where the Independent parties took away many of the swing votes from the Democrats. Therefore, really the Republican party has been using the Electoral College to its major advantage.

Of course, the most funny thing is when the popular vote does not coincide with the Electoral College votes. It has happened:

• In 1876 there were a total of 369 electoral votes available with 185 needed to win. Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, with 4,036,298 popular votes won 185 electoral votes. His main opponent, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, won the popular vote with 4,300,590 votes, but won only 184 electoral votes. Hayes was elected president.
• In 1888 there were a total of 401 electoral votes available with 201 needed to win. Republican Benjamin Harrison, with 5,439,853 popular votes won 233 electoral votes. His main opponent, Democrat Grover Cleveland, won the popular vote with 5,540,309 votes, but won only 168 electoral votes. Harrison was elected president.
• In 2000 there were a total of 538 electoral votes available with 270 needed to win. Republican George W. Bush, with 50,456,002 popular votes won 271 electoral votes. His Democratic opponent, Al Gore, won the popular vote with 50,999,897 votes, but won only 266 electoral votes. Bush was elected president.

for more see here

These battleground states also have major voting irregularities and computer 'glitches', so to speak, making people wonder, whether things really work smoothly or the way they should work. Cynical people stop voting because of these problems. The Florida 'nightmare' of 2000 has made many of us very cynical of the electoral system.

Another anomaly of the Electoral college is that it is possible for a candidate to not get a single person's vote -- not one -- in 39 states or the District of Columbia, yet be elected president by winning the popular vote in just 11 of these 12 states:
California
New York
Texas
Florida
Pennsylvania
Illinois
Ohio
Michigan
New Jersey
North Carolina
Georgia
Virginia

Of course, many of these things change with changing demographics and voter characteristics. Voter turnout in light of this system is a subject of extensive studies in political science. Sometimes one wonders whether the whole system that was devised in the late 1700s is necessarily the right one for our modern times. America has changed dramatically and perhaps we can think of making some incremental changes without departing from the general vision of the Founding Fathers.

(above are the results of the 2000 presidential elections)