Happy Thanksgiving

I haven't seen any official statements issued by the Office of the President-elect this morning so I don't know if the only Senator who voted against the Iraq war and the USA PATRIOT Act of 2000, Sen. Russ Feingold, has been announced for a job in the Obama Administration.

Lies We Can Believe In III

In addressing the economic downturn confronting the Country, today, President-elect Obama said, "Right now, our economy is trapped in a vicious cycle: the turmoil on Wall Street means a new round of belt-tightening for families and businesses on Main Street – and as folks produce less and consume less, that just deepens the problems in our financial markets. These extraordinary stresses on our financial system require extraordinary policy responses. And my Administration will honor the public commitments made by the current Administration to address this crisis."

His Administration is going to honor the commitments made by President Bush?

Is President-elect Obama really going to agree with President Bush on everything?

Darfur? PEPFAR? Gates? Petraeus? Faith-based initiatives? Commitments made to confront the economic downturn?

Change we can believe in?

Lies We Can Believe In II

This is an excerpt from an Associated Press story from yesterday reporting that SecDef Gates will stay on indefinitely in the Obama Administration; yesterday was also the day news wires began reporting that President-elect Obama is going to formally announce Sen. Clinton as SecState after the Thanksgiving holiday; I bold the key phrases:

"The apparent logic in keeping Gates for an extended transition -- but perhaps not for a full presidential term -- is that it would allow time for a secretary-in-waiting, who might come aboard in January as Gates' deputy, to assemble a new team of senior defense policy officials before the top boss departs.

"It also would reflect a widely held view among Republicans as well as Democrats that Gates has the experience, demeanor and policy priorities to manage U.S. defense under a president of either political party. On the other hand, he has said he supported President George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq in March 2003, whereas a central theme of Obama's campaign was that he opposed it from the start (Blogger's Note: BUT GATES DID NOT VOTE FOR THE WAR).

"One of the strongest indications of Obama's interest in possibly keeping Gates came in early October when Richard Danzig, a senior national security adviser to the Obama campaign and himself a possible selection to succeed Gates, told reporters that Gates has proved himself an effective Pentagon chief (Blogger's Note: A point the liberal extremists who control the media kept secret from Americans during the Presidential campaign. Who hired Gates?).

'"He'd be an even better one in an Obama administration," Danzig said. "Why do I think that? Because many of the kinds of efforts he's made are in tune with what we are trying to do." He mentioned, as examples, Gates' efforts to get more U.S. combat forces to Afghanistan and to expand the size of the Afghan army.

"Picking Gates, even with a tacit understanding that a Democrat such as Danzig would take over after a period of months, could be hard to swallow for liberals and strong critics of the Iraq war. Those groups nursed Obama's candidacy through an improbable infancy, motivated by his firm anti-war stance. (End of AP excerpt.)

Sen. Clinton VOTED FOR THE WAR!

Sen. Daschle VOTED FOR THE WAR!

Vice President-elect Biden VOTED FOR THE WAR!

The "liberals and strong critics of the Iraq war" must have scarred and bleeding throats with all they have had to swallow.

Lies We Can Believe In I

President-elect Obama is now being rumored to have settled on former Clinton deputy attorney general Eric Holder for the top job at Justice. Think Webster Hubbell. Change we can believe in?

Also, the news wires are reporting that former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has already accepted the offer to be Health and Human Services secretary. What I cannot find in any news stories of the Daschle announcement is any mention that Sen. Daschle voted for the war in Iraq. Change we can believe in?

Cannot President-elect Obama be rumored to hire even one person who had a vote on the war in Iraq who did not vote for the war?

For those wondering, Rep. Rahm Emanuel was not in the House of Representatives for the House's October 2002 vote.

A Mayor!

The news wires are reporting that Sen. Ted Stevens is going to lose his re-election bid to a mayor.

A mayor of all people.

Democrats are going to increase their hold on the Senate because of the elevation of an unaccomplished mayor.

The irony!

(Please don't miss Random Musings below, also published today)

Random Musings

The Iraqi parliament is set to vote on legislation that could keep US troops in Iraq for three more years. The need for Iraqi authorization is necessary because the United Nations' authorization expires December 31, 2008. Again, the United Nations' authorization expires at the end of this year. Illegal occupation?

I've asked before but is President Obama going to fire Gen. David Petraeus? Is President Obama going to replace Gen. Petraeus with one of the generals that President Bush fired (and who couldn't prosecute the war in Iraq) and who also endorsed Sen. Obama during the campaign?

I've asked this before as well, which powers added to the Executive Branch by President Bush will President Obama cede back to Congress?

I see Sen. Lieberman is going to retain his Chairmanships in the Senate. I wonder how much hostility encountered by Sen. Lieberman from his Democratic caucusmates was founded in anti-semitism.

I have no problem with President-elect Obama tapping Rep. Rahm Emanuel for the Chief of Staff position. The occupant has to have the trust of the President and if Emanuel has the President-elect's trust than that's who should be CoS. Emanuel has all the necessary tools to be successful in the role.

As Sen. Obama accomplished exactly nothing prior to being elected, he has not yet led for a single day and he's already the very best of Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy. How great is must be to accomplish absolutely nothing and to be so revered. I now get the sense the media is completely incapable of questioning and will only cheerlead for the next four years.

The Congressional Black Caucus

The Congressional Black Caucus has not disbanded; I don't know what its 43 members are waiting for.

Oops! I meant President Barack Clinton Bush Obama

Just another short place-holder post.

G-20 dinner tonight and some meetings tomorrow. I guess the leaders of the economies that comprise 95% of the worlds wealth are going to try and figure out how "stupid" President Bush was capable of bringing down their respective economies without any of the "smart" people here in the United States or in the other 19 countries being able to stop him.

Picking-up on Tuesday's post, today's rumors are that President-elect Obama is considering Sen. Clinton for SecState. Recall, Sen. Clinton voted for the war in Iraq and voted for funding the war through her last vote on the matter in September, 2007.

Change we can believe in!

President Barack Bush Clinton Obama

I'll keep most of my powder dry on the early rumors swirling about President-elect Obama's Cabinet members and the people he's already tasked with major responsibilities but the rumors should be very troubling . . . for the people who just elected Sen. Obama and who hate Sen. Hillary Clinton and President Bush.

First, John Podesta and Rep. Rahm Emanuel? They're Clintonistas! Change we can believe in?

Second, my ridiculous (news)paper, the Boston Globe, suggested yesterday that President Obama is considering asking Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to stay on. Gates? He was appointed by Bush! This would be change we can believe in?

Third, Gen. Colin Powell in any position in the Obama Administration? He was President Bush's Secretary of State! Gen. Powell made the case to the United Nations for war in Iraq. Change we can believe in?

Fourth, the most stupid Senator in the history of the United States, my junior Senator, Sen. John F. Kerry, is also on a short list for the top State position. Kerry voted for the war! Twenty-two months after his vote for war and 17 months after the war in Iraq started, Sen. Kerry said he woud have still voted for war if he knew at the time of the vote that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction. Change we can believe in?

Fifth, I've asked it many times here, but is President Obama going to fire Gen. David Petraeus, who won the war in Iraq, and replace him with one of the generals who supported candidate Obama but who were also fired by President Bush because they were not winning the war in Iraq? If the answer is no, that's change we can believe in?

Just some preliminary observations based on the swirling rumors.

Black Racists? Yes. Election Deciders? No.

If you can’t handle the truth, go pick up any newspaper and read another article, column or editorial about the President-elect.

After I settled on the concept for this post, I read an AP story at ESPN.com with these excerpts (I give the example before I share my thesis):

Days after the election of the country's first black (Blogger’s Note: The skin-color obsessed cannot stop noticing skin-color) president, a study shows the number of African-American coaches in major college football is not growing.

With the recent dismissals of Ty Willingham at Washington (Blogger’s Note: Washington is not Notre Dame, so absent the opportunity for Catholic-bashing very few people know Mr. Willingham was fired) and Ron Prince at Kansas State, the number of black head coaches in the 119-school NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision was reduced to four (Blogger’s Note: A study had to be conducted to assess if 4 was less than 6, I guess) . . .

“. . . the general picture is still one of white men running college sport. Overall, the numbers simply do not reflect the diversity of our student-athletes. Moreover, they do not reflect the diversity of our nation where we have elected an African-American as President for the first time,” said Richard Lapchick, the report's co-author (Blogger’s Note: and a man who knows 4 is less than 6). (End of excerpts.)

Once America is done congratulating itself for electing a person whose skin color it cannot stop noticing America is going to come to the realization that race relations in this country are not going to improve until we have an honest conversation on race. Black militants will still continue to shame guilty whites into concessions whenever the tactic can be implemented. I fear for the white who defends any prospective race related event with, “But we just elected a man whose skin color we cannot stop noticing as President.” Electing a man whose skin color we cannot stop noticing is not going to be satisfactory penance for the militant blacks and guilty whites – see the ridiculous study above as Exhibit A.

If Sen. John McCain won the states of North Carolina, Indiana, Virgina, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania he would be President-elect.

With the liberal extremists who control the media ignoring the war in Iraq, gasoline prices at $2.39 a gallon and the President of France denouncing Sen. Obama, it is very difficult to assess a single election variable on an election result. Nonetheless, I try, assuming all other election variables constant except race.

Sen. McCain lost North Carolina by 14,053 votes (2,123,334 to 2,109,281). Exit polls say whites voted for McCain 65 – 35 while blacks voted for Sen. Obama along the national average 95 – 5. Digging deeper into the numbers though, black women voted for Sen. Obama 100 – 0! Black women made up 14% of the electorate in North Carolina. If they voted for Sen. Obama 98 – 2, Sen. McCain would have won the state by more than 7,000 votes. I don’t know what percentage of black women in North Carolina are racists but I’m quite positive more than 2% cast a racist vote on election day. Black racists definitely were the difference in the election results in North Carolina.

Sen. McCain lost Indiana by 26,163 votes (1,367,264 to 2,708,365). Exit polls say whites voted for Sen. McCain along the national average of 55 – 45 while blacks (just 6% of the electorate) voted for Sen. Obama 90 – 10. If blacks voted for Sen. Obama at a less offensive rate of only 80 – 20, Sen. McCain would have won Indiana by 20,000 votes. I don’t know what percentage of blacks in Indiana are racists, and I don’t suggest it was 10%, but clearly the monolithic black vote for Sen. Obama was the difference in the election results in Indiana.

The story repeats in Virgina. Sen. Obama won by 155,164 votes (1,792,502 to 1,637,338). If blacks (20% of the electorate) voted 80 – 20 instead of 92 – 8, Sen. McCain would have carried the state. Clearly, the monolithic black vote for Sen. Obama was the difference in election results in Virginia. Whites, by the way, voted McCain 60 – 40.

The story repeats in Florida. Sen. Obama won by 194,902 votes (4,103,638 to 3,908,736). If blacks voted 75 – 25 instead of the eye-popping 96 – 4 they did, Sen. McCain would have won the state. Clearly, the monolithic black vote for Sen. Obama was the difference in election results in Florida. Whites, by the way, voted McCain 56 – 44.

Alas, the story does not repeat in Ohio. Sen. Obama won the state by 204,414 votes. Blacks (11% of the electorate) would have had to vote less than 75% for Sen. Obama to win the state and this is about the point where I think blacks still cling to some Democratic Party principles such that it’s unlikely, in the short-term, that Republicans can honestly get more than 25% of the vote. Blacks voted for Sen. Obama at another eye-popping clip of 97 – 3; whites voted for Sen. McCain 52 – 48.

And, the story does not repeat in Pennsylvania where the racist and redneck whites in western Pennsylvania also proved that there is no insult you can dump on them that would offend them. So, let’s call them stupid as well. Sen. Obama won by 600,688 votes. Blacks make up 13% of the electorate and even if they voted 75 – 25 for Sen. Obama instead of 96 – 4 as they did, Sen. Obama still would have won the state of racist, redneck and stupid whites by 400,000 votes. Rep. Jack Murtha was re-elected by 58 – 42 over a 28-year Army veteran.

There are most certainly many black racists but black racists did not elect Sen. Barack Obama.

I do not know if blacks are more racist than whites. I’m not aware of any study that has contemplated the question. An honest discussion on race would contemplate the question.

An honest discussion on race would acknowledge that there are black racists. Race relations are not helped when black racists are shielded by the pleasant sounding “pride”; good luck to the white who exhibits any skin-color related pride. There is no such thing as “good” racism. All racism is bad.

This story is anecdotal but I know it played out many times on election day. I overheard a white woman at work tell co-workers how she cried in the election booth as she voted for Sen. Obama. She couldn’t help but notice the color of his skin; how could she not?; it’s all this skin-color obsessed nation can see.

As I wrote some time ago, the answer is Cold Turkey. We have to stop noticing today (I think people who notice the skin color of college football coaches are going to be noticing for a very long time).

I’m not going to cut and paste my March 4, 2008 post titled “Cold Turkey” here but please go read it. I think it might be one of my best posts on race relations.

If you have a comment on the post above please hold it until after you read the Cold Turkey post; I suspect there may be something there that is relevant to any comment you would make here. My first question to any person who makes a comment will be, did you read Cold Turkey?

The Lowering of Expectations Begins

The headline in the Boston Globe today was: Heavy load for Obama.

Uh, isn't the load exactly the same load that President Bush is carrying?

And, President Bush has to contend with a nasty Congressional leadership.

And, President Bush has to deal with a hostile media.

The Boston Globe is already lowering expectations for the affirmative action hire.

The absence of the "heavy load" empathy for President Bush might mean that President Bush made carrying the load look easy. Of course, someone with a record of accomplishment would make the difficult look easy.

I can definitely see how someone with no record of accomplishment might think the load "is above his pay grade".

I'm working on a substantial race relations post (gee, what else is new) but there are so many ideas and numbers that it's going to take me until Saturday to finalize.

1-20-13

1-20-13

The "Holy Crap!" Effect

I'm standing by my prediction that Sen. John McCain will defeat Sen. Barack Obama for President tomorrow (or early Wednesday morning or even some few days later due to Sen. Obama's law suits).

I think just too many people are going to get in the voting booth and suddenly have the realization, "Holy crap!, I almost voted for someone with absolutely no experience and no significant accomplishments," and then they will vote for Sen. McCain.

The Electoral College vote will be 281 - 257 with the slight possibility that Sen. McCain breaks 300.

Good-bye Israel!

The Los Angeles Times is not releasing a video where Sen. Barack Obama praised Rashid Khalidi, who served as a spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization when it was a U.S.-designated terror group.

Also present at the event where Sen. Obama praised the spokesman for a U.S.-designated terror group were domestic terrorists William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn.

The Los Angeles Times endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for President of the United States of America.

Does anyone doubt for s second that if the video of Sen. Obama praising the spokeman for a U.S.-designated terror group helped the Senator that the Los Angeles Times would release the video? “See, look how Presidential Sen. Obama is!”

Given the cast of characters at this event and the anti-Israeli comments that the Los Angeles Times did report, can there be any doubt there were more harsh comments directed at Israel that were not reported?

I also suspect the video shows contact between Sen. Obama and domestic terrorists Ayers and Dohrn greater than “he’s just a guy from the neighborhood”.

When Sen. Joseph Biden says Sen. Obama is going to invite an international crisis that earns a U.S. response that many Americans will question, I wonder if the Americans doing most of the questioning will be Jewish Americans who had affinity for the former State of Israel.

Another McCain endorsement, it comes from an Iraqi war vet so I know it doesn't carry the weight of a former domestic terrorist like Bill Ayers but maybe it will get one or two people to consider voting for Sen. McCain:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8