I'm venting a little, but I feel like some of the people supporting Obama are the reason I'm not embracing his candidacy (oh, well that and the positions that I feel he's moving further and further right on). They're crazy. I actually fear getting into the conversation about third-party options with them. It's a legitimate threat to my ability to voice my damn opinion. So I keep my mouth shut in social gatherings. Which, if you know me, is a really hard thing to do.
I woke up to C-SPAN today, with a Hillary supporter calling in saying she's voting for McCain. "I heard him say he's been to all 57 states. I don't know where he's been, but the U.S. has 50 states. If he doesn't even know that, he shouldn't be president." WTF?! That's the reason to dismiss the candidate?! I guess even the party Dems aren't that faithful to the Dems when their candidate isn't the chosen one. But this is a bit nuts, isn't it? And I don't know the quote, but was he talking about Guam, Puerto Rico, D.C., and the range of other U.S. "assets" that don't rise to the status (or rights) of states? This may just be unnecessary details for the voter looking for a way out of saying "yo, he's black, are you kidding me?!"
I guess I'm more conflicted about this than anything else. I thought McCain didn't have a chance, but I'm reminded about how much racism there is in this country, and how threatened the middle-of-the-road white person feels (based on what, I have no idea, but maybe they are too stupid to read the signs: i.e. statistics of incarceration vs. education, AIDS and other other health indicators vs. prosperity, and all the other things out there that suggest the status quo isn't going to change anytime soon).
It's going to be a long few months.
Aug 15, 2008
Endless Campaign
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3 comments:
i mad feel you on this. i can't say i am an obama-head, but the excuses people find to not vote for him are just ridiculous.
and then neocons online are saying "if john mccain said there were 57 states, he'd be crucified by the media..."
really? he would? didn't he sing a song at a rally that went "bomb bomb bomb bomb iran..." i don't remember anyone upset about that in the news, and that is waaaaaaay more disturbing.
and yeah, i don't know if obama has been to all of them, but by my count, you could legitimately claim 57 places that matter at least: the 50 we know, DC, VI, PR, AS, GU, Northern Mariana, and Minor Outlying Territories. And the 58th could be Guantanamo Bay. why not add all the military bases across the caribbean, asia and europe to that list as well.
I wish we could turn this discussion into one about the rights denied the residents of these additional "states," instead of how un-American Obama is.
i know it seems like everywhere, people expect obama to win, but once they debate, it's over for him. white people will find anything wrong with the black man, and will forgive and excuse the white man.
it's really weird to be rooting for obama because all in all, a presidential election means very little about changing anything of substance abotu american empire, but i can't help but get drawn in by how offensive the anti-O stuff has been.
Thanks Giles. I'm hoping that someone starts really looking into the allegations that McCain was a full-on collaborator with the Viet Cong, selling out the U.S. to ensure his own safe return as a "hero."
Interestingly, as an APA activist, and someone who believes that the Vietnamese were engaged in a battle of self-determination against the American colonists, in a twisted way, if it wasn't McCain, maybe that info verified would gain *more* respect from me. But I don't think that would play well with the middle-lane American voter.
It's a weird world we're living in, brother.
Here's a working link to some allegations. I think Counterpunch pulled the link to the story.
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