The List

I just thought, you know, with the usual right wing clap-trap brigade all tying their underwear in knots in an attempt to discredit Obama SOMEHOW.....

His friends were terrorists

He's a Muslim
He was born in Kenya
No Fidji
No, The phillipinnes
Hawaii isn't really a state
He's a communist
A socialist
He's going to tax everyone to death

It was time just to put things in perspective. How often, in the past, have so many really crossed party lines to endorse a candidate. Here's a list of notable Republicans who have done just that:

Elected Officials:
Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican Senator from Rhode Island
Larry Pressler, Former Republican Senator from South Dakota
Phil Arthurhultz, a former Republican state senator from Whitehall
Lowell Weicker, Former Republican Governor and Senator from Connecticut
Jim Leach, Former Republican Congressman from Iowa
Wayne Gilchrest, Republican Congressman from Maryland
Richard Riordan, Former Republican Mayor of Los Angeles
Jim Whitaker, Fairbanks, Alaska - Republican Mayor
William Weld, Former Republican Governor of Massachusetts
Arne Carlson, Former Republican Governor of Minnesota
Linwood Holton, Former Republican Governor of Virginia

Government Officials:
Doug Kmiec a former constitutional legal counsel to two Republican presidents.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell
Charles Fried, Solicitor General of the United States under Reagan
Jackson M. Andrews, Republican Counsel to the U.S. Senate
Susan Eisenhower, Granddaughter of President Eisenhower & President of the Eisenhower Group Francis Fukuyama, Advisor to President Reagan
Rita Hauser, Former White House intelligence advisor under George W. Bush
Larry Hunter, Former President Reagan Policy Advisor
Scott McClellan, Former Press Secretary to President George W. Bush
Ken Adelman, served in the Ford administration
Lilibet Hagel, Wife of Republican Senator Chuck Hagel

Columnists and Academics:
Jeffrey Hart, National Review Senior Editor
Andrew Bacevich, Professor of International Relations at Boston University
David Friedman, Economist and son of Milton and Rose Friedman
Christopher Buckley, Son of National Review founder William F. Buckley & former NR columnist
Andrew Sullivan, Columnist for the Atlantic Monthly
Wick Alison, Former publisher of the National Review
Michael Smerconish, Columnist for the Philadelphia Enquirer
CC Goldwater, Granddaughter of Barry Goldwater

These are all, ALL, people the neocons respected for years - they've got the message:McCain and Palin are a train wreck waiting to happen - it's a critical time for this country which needs a strong, intelligent leader able to think on his feet, not a doddering old idiot who's main claim to fame is that he crashed about a billion dollars' worth of military equipment into the Vietnamese jungle and his partner, a shabby self-centred diva who is so addicted to feeling like a rock star that she uses inflammatory and blatantly slanderous language to incite hate and violence at her rallys.

One cannot simply dismiss the people listed above as being senile and cretinous. They are respected members of a community and they've made a choice and it is NOT for the person representing their party.That ought to tell the right wing pundits something.

To top it all, here are some memorable quotes:

"For conservatives, Obama represents a sliver of hope. McCain represents none at all. The choice turns out to be an easy one." -- Andrew Bacevich

"For me, the national interest comes before party concerns, particularly internationally. We do need a new direction in American policy, and Obama has a sense of that." -- Jim Leach

"I think we have in Barack Obama the clear possibility of a truly great president. I would contend that it's the most important election of my lifetime." -- Arne Carlson

"I'm still a Republican, but I still will always vote for the person who I think will do the best job." -- Richard Riordan

"Obama has a brain, and he isn't afraid to use it." -- Linwood Holton

"Barack Obama is a thoughtful visionary leader who as President will end the decline of American law, liberty, and fiscal responsibility that are the hallmarks of the extremist policies of the current Administration, now adopted by John McCain." -- Jackson M. Andrews

The Turning Tide?

I've been pretty certain so far, that Hillary Clinton will become the Democratic nominee and that she will then be elected President by the people of the United States. I personally wouldn't have any qualms about that except that she would be about as polarizing as Bush was. But my feeling was simply that there was a wider base that would support her.

My observations of the current election, bar the news come from a very, very small part of the country. In two relatively well off precincts in Oakland and Berkeley, I had in the past weeks noticed that about 25% of the houses had Clinton signs in the front yards, about 5% Kucinich signs, about 5% signs for Edwards and about 15% had Obama signs.

Yesterday, returning to both those areas - in the line of work and not as a scientific attempt at polling - I noticed that about 40% of the houses had signs that read: 'Obama for President.'I'm pretty sure that the number of houses with signs for Clinton had diminished but certainly, every other house almost had a sign supporting Barack Obama.

I appreciate that there's nothing accurate about this and it by no means reflects the entire country, but maybe it does signify a reversal as more people turn to the hope that real change will come. On this day, 'Super Tuesday', it will be certainly very interesting to see the vote distribution. There are so many factors involved with so many ghosts riding this wave - how many women will vote for Hillary because she's a woman and how many women will do exactly the opposite? Internalized oppression leads to strange choices and the same can be said for Barack. It is almost impossible to really predict how people will vote. D, an African female friend wanted to vote for Edwards! She will probably be voting for Obama she said. Either way, when the votes are cast, these primaries and the coming election will be electrifying. For the first time in the history of this country, either a woman or an African American will be the Democratic nominee.

I am convinced that one of those two will be the next President of the United States and that in itself and of itself, will be an incredible victory over prejudice and chauvenism and will mark a new era in this country.

Having read many posts here about the candidates, I've come to appreciate that Clinton, who will most certainly alienate the right despite being pretty conservative, may not be the best choice for America, but maybe, truly, the one person who can bring this country together again is indeed Barack Obama.

The Desperation Of The Right

The right is getting desperate. Hillary, who automatically embodies everything the right hated about Bill was an easy candidate to target. But along comes Obama as the front runner. Obama taking the lead in Iowa. Obama looking strong in new Hampshire.

I can just hear them in the neoconservative enclaves: “Think Goshdarnit, think! What dirt can we pull up on this guy?”

Because attacking Obama’s African American roots, much as they’d love to do so, could backfire radically, and attacking his drug use didn’t work, they’ve resorted to try to turn him into – you’ll never guess: a woman.

The New York Post, mouthpiece of the right and one of Murdoch’s little numbers, has produced a piece that portrays Obama as - well, they don’t actually ‘say’ “girlie-man”, but they do warn Americans, that by electing Barack, they won’t be getting a man in the White House:

Yet it's not only Obama's policies and strategies that appeal to women. He is like a woman: slim, good looking, with long elegant fingers, appealingly dressed - all terms more typically ascribed to female candidates.

Unfortunately for the right, with its dwindling support all over the country, this is not really going to have any effect: no one except those already engendered with the idea that being a man means "huntin’, fishin’ an’ …. Well huntin’ again" is going to be taken in by this salvo. Anyone with half a brain is going to understand that these are the words of a right that sees its grasp on the Presidency slipping day by day. They are one sentence away from calling him gay but that will come too.

This from the group that gets upset because we call Dufus stoopid.