Blogosphere

Below will be a my responses to a variety of threads started in other threads. Njoy
Theme: Debate # 2 My Thoughts
Link
http://princetonprofs.blogspot.com/2008/10/debate-what-debate.html

When the debates started a few weeks ago Senator Obama had a "to do" list to assure victory.....#1 - look Presidential in the eyes of independent and so called Reagan Democrats...Polls suggest that mission accomplished. Since that first debate two things have happened:
1) Senator Obama has turned several "red" states "blue", while effectively fending off Senator McCain in crucial states won by John Kerry in 2004.
2) Viewers/voters are getting their arms around the idea of a President Obama; his job is to allow those viewpoints to get firmer. ….
Let's be clear “that one” has run a remarkable race for nearly 20 months and is less than thirty days from a transcendent and historical personal and political accomplishment, not to mention transforming the political landscape in a manner similar to Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Entering last night’s debate, ahead in the polls, in a climate that favors the Democrats, Senator Obama didn't need to take risks, his agenda was to stay on message ( his message discipline is one of his greatest assets) and counter McCain attacks - which he did quite effectively.
Senator Obama’s performance last night continued the narrative that he has the temperament, the intellectual capacity, and judgment to manage two wars, reestablish America's relationship with it's global partners, face new challenges in Russia, and old ones in Iran an economic meltdown, while at the same time, managing an ambitious agenda that includes, new initiatives in health care, energy, education, and redistribution of wealth to the middle class.
At a time where Senator Obama is still trying to close the deal, by establishing his economic bona fides with many undecided and independent voters, last night’s debate was not a time for theatrics.

Theme: Blacks conservative on values v liberal on social issues
Link

http://princetonprofs.blogspot.com/2008/09/race-gay-marriage-and-2008-bigotry-vote.html

Melissa is correct in theory that there is a split personality within the black community, liberal on social issues and more conservative on "value" issues...but let's not get it twisted....the combination of increasing sophistication of the black voter, and the visceral distrust of the GOP agenda is strong enough not to let those two seemingly irreconcilable interests, supersede basic self interests....there will be black voters on the margin that succumb to the madness, but in real terms they are marginal…this election will pivot on voter registration of which 80 percent will support Senator Obama, and new voters who will support Senator Obama in large numbers. This election will be decided by the millions of Americans who refuse to make an election of historical proportions about “small things”.

Theme: White People desiring everything about blackness “but the burden”
Link - http://princetonprofs.blogspot.com/2008/09/everything-but-burden.html

Your post nailed it, "Everything but the "burden" which speaks volumes....take a moment to digest the information....what that woman was speaking about was "blackness" in its most real form unfettered by societal rules, and the survival based need to conform to Eurocentric rules, mores and behavioral patterns, she was celebrating just "who we are in our realness" the "burden" is man made...so when whites embrace the blackness, without the burden, they are effectively in denial of their hue-maness, while embracing ours...

"white man's privilege" is their payoff...for their "burden"....they don't want to know what it feels like to drive down the street with up to date registration, insurance, and no warrants ect, and still feel like a criminal when a police pulls in behind you on the road...or any inherent stressful issues that come simply for being black....Yet I believe that if you told a white person that tomorrow morning there would be new rules in America that was color blind, and that racism was completely obliterated, and they could pick just "on the strength" what race to be in that environment...a high percentage of them would be black...

I am volunteering in an Obama office... the office manager is a very nice, personable white woman in her late 20's who has a son by a black man....yet on her watch the office lacked energy, passion, and soul until a free spirited and intelligent 40 something black woman showed up and injected soul, passion, and vitality. That's who we are, it's not all we are, white people when given truth serum know that...the "Everything" that they want is our gift the "burden" they don't want is their guilt.

The scary truth is that our gifts which are both innate and divine, endow the black nation for the greatest capacity for greatness....our inability to embrace our genius, and our divinity keeps us from successful navigating a culture of white privilege to the degree where its impact is negligible.

Theme: America’s Middle Class real or imagined

Link - http://negrointellectual.blogspot.com/2008/09/somebody-please-help-me-immagined.html

Insightful post...my feeling is that the middle class real or imagined has been a necessary segment for those in the shadows who are actually in control. It is from the lower middle class where a bulk of your military pawns, and the upper middle class which produces military leadership...but more importantly the middle class is the target for mass media disinformation, mass marketing, and brainwashing. The middle class is the portal through which the illusion of the American dream and the belief of democratic principles are communicated to the lower class. The people at the top of the economic ladder understand this system institutionally is designed for their benefit, those at the bottom realize those institutions are inherently predisposed to lower the glass ceiling.

As a result of extensive brainwashing, crumbs from the master's table, and self induced slavery stemming from massive personal debt, America’s middle class harbors the illusion of the American dream. In addition, the middle class spends trillions of dollars in the sports and entertainment industry which allows them to be distracted, as their world crumbles. The true function of the middle class is to pretend the emperor has no clothes, therefore mitigating the anger of the lower class. The secondary function is to serve as a role model for the lower class basically class version of “keeping up with the Joneses”.

As long as there is a happy, well fed, entertained, and debt riddled middle class, the potential for revolution is low. As long as the lower classes follow the lead of their middle class brethren the potential of their visceral anger to erupt in any thing beyond burning and looting their own community is low. America needs a cleansing, a purging from a broken system, but a complacent and nascent middle class stands in the way of a new 1776.

Will Senator Obama get a Hollow Prize?

Hollow “lacking in real value, sincerity, or substance”

this blog was inspired by thread on this page

http://princetonprofs.blogspot.com/

“Hollow Prize”. Mos def an interesting concept and one that I have wondered about for several years. As inner cities fell more in the hands of African American mayors there seemed to be a corresponding decline with respect to infrastructure, education, tax base, support services, and just plain relevance. It was almost like “ya’ll can have it – Peace!”

Where I live, we have had African American political leadership which included two of the last three mayors, yet the city is in decline, and still racially divided. Yet the organization which runs the city is a business organization consisting of CEO’s and business types that only recently included African Americans. To their credit those organizations have been the patron of many African American institutions in the community. Currently the city has a white mayor who raised a lot of money to get elected, who is now at odds with many in the black community on several issues. When one thinks of the true value of urban centers one word rears its ugly head - regentrification. With the price of gas, the issue of urban sprawl, many whites are moving back to the city, coffee houses, bars, entertainment areas are being developed in many urban areas – therefore what once was a hollow prize is regaining its lost luster – at least to those running for office and those who profit from development fees.

My speculation on a local level then begged the question if African American would become president would that be a hollow prize? Meaning if Senator Obama wins the election will he be given the wheel to a ship that lacks value, rudderless and adrift? To answer that question I reminded my self that value is a subjective term often seen through the eyes of the beholders.

So what through what lens do we see value? Elementary civics taught me that “we the people” own America. However Dealy Plaza taught me something different. I begun to see America in a different light. My observations suggested that the true owners of America, the true king makers see America and the American Presidency through a different lens. Those king makers and their assigns have co-opted the American government through the use of lobbyist, secret societies, and other relationships that too often lack transparency. Those folks also realize that the American President is no more than a mere appendage whose primary function is to make sure that at the end of the day, their interests are served. They take no issue with political party, or ideology because in their eyes all politicians are beholden to them.

Through the lens of America’s true owners there is still value to be extracted from this country. Our military protects their interests, the American brand and “democratic principals” replaced Christian missionary work as a portal to dominate third world cultures. There is value in this country as long as the American people are too dumbed down to see the truth. There is value in this country as long as Americans buy into the illusion of the two party system or the illusion of democracy. A nation of two hundred fifty million potential functionaries ready to die for the oil of others, cannibalize their young, enslave themselves with massive personal debt, and whose best solution of energy independence is “drill baby drill” has great value. A nation that is willing to participate in the destruction of other cultures by using political tools like NAFTA, while at the same time increasing their profits has real value.

Through the lens of the candidates running for President, most of them harbor no illusions that they are nothing more than puppets. I often tell people immediately after taking the oath of office Presidents are shown an unedited version of the Zapruder Film, as a friendly reminder. Unfazed by their relative impotence and driven by ambition and ego, they go after the brass ring. So while the office may be hollow in relative terms - prize is not. The fruits of being President extend far beyond time in office. Even if you resign in disgrace or get summarily dismissed after one term, there is still a gravitas that comes with being an ex-President. Bill Clinton is a prime example of how one can increase his wealth exponentially especially if one leaves the office at a relatively young age. Jimmy Carter is an example of one repaying his karmic debt after being a willing participant in a fraudulent system.

But who wins when America is valuable only to serve corporate/imperialistic agendas or personal political agendas? Who pays butcher’s bill when America hits rock bottom?
Looking through unflinching eyes of history what kind of America will Senator Obama inherit if he is elected President? Last summer I read American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips, a very interesting read. Kevin Phillips compared the decline in other “empires” Britain, Spain, Rome, to the current forces in play in America.

Phillips wrote
“The inevitable twenty first century global transition from oil to a postoil regime .…..could see the United States replaced by a new leading economic power probably an Asian one”

Stripping away the veil of distractions, and denial what do we see? A country on the decline, but doesn’t know it. If the 20th Century was an American Century, the 21st Century has all the ingredients of being dominated by China. The world is much different and more complex then it was when a product of the “Greatest Generation” John Kennedy was elected. America is less safe and more vulnerable both economically and militarily as a result of machinations, mistakes and malfeasance of past presidents. The burden of public and private debt undermines our independence, our three branches of government have become wholly owned subsidiaries of major corporations, and Americans refuse to think critically preferring to download massive doses of misinformation. Our obesity is a national shame, and our greatest health threat, and then there is our energy dependence. There are folks who joke that Senator Obama is being set up for failure, indeed if elected he must pick his friends wisely.

This is a critical time in America; Senator Obama if elected may go a long way in restoring America’s reputation as a world citizen. His vision hopefully will inspire innovation and technology, his ascension to the nation’s highest office may motivate young African Americans to dream, and finally he can use the White House as a forum to unite rather than divide.

As a cynic, I have lowered my standards for any American President, hoping for vision and leadership rather than systemic change. I truly hope that the vision and leadership of Senator Obama inspires many Americans to see themselves as change agents, and bring about a new way of thinking.

Yet as a cynic, until Washington effectively breaks it’s addiction to the blandishments of corporate largess, real change won’t happen. America is not a hollow prize in 2008, but unless America awakens from her slumber, one day soon an American President will be given the wheel to a ship with all the markings of the Titanic.

The Election Fundamentals – September 17, 2008

If you track key battleground states there is a similar trend. Senator Obama's numbers started trending down in July and August as Senator McCain's numbers were going up. The threshold question is who has the highest ceiling McCain or Obama? That McCain's numbers seem to be stabilizing is bad news for McCain campaign and good news for the Obama Campaign. What those trends underscore is that even with the excitement of Palin, two months of intense body blows thrown at Senator Obama, the race is a dead heat. It reminds me of a basketball game when a team is down, makes a strong run to get back in the game, but doesn’t have enough gas to close it out. McCain may have reached his high water mark while Senator Obama may be hitting his stride. Instead of building on his Palin/Convention bounce, in many key battleground states McCain’s numbers are going down and or flat lining. So how does Senator McCain close this election out? Act II of McCain the attack dog? It may be risky, what worked in the summer may backfire in the fall. My instinct tells me that Senator McCain may have reached the laws of diminishing returns with trying to make the election about personalities and “small things”. And on the stump Senator Obama is warning the American voter, not to be fooled by a campaign of distractions, which may lead to another four years of the same failed policies - they seem to be listening.

I think the "fundamentals" of this race now favor Senator Obama. A recent New York Times poll show most voters don’t see Senator McCain as a true change agent, nor do they think he is the best in either managing the economy or feels America’s pain (the out of touch ads are taking hold). As for Governor Palin, many voters are not impressed with her as a potential Commander and Chief and see her selection as a political choice while viewing Senator Obama’s choice based on qualifications. More alarming her appeal doesn't extend far beyond the GOP base -effectively she is preaching to the choir. Senator McCain may be getting the most he is going to get out Governor Palin. The Obama camp is ignoring her as a non issue. To be fair, that same poll shows that Senator McCain still leads when asked who would be the best Commander and Chief. Unfortunately for Senator McCain, the war that Americans want leadership on is the economy - another of the election fundamentals that favor the Democrats and Senator Obama. The final fundamental that should give Senator McCain supporters pause was the internal belief within the McCain camp that using the experience argument against Obama and a traditional Vice Presidential pick they still would have trouble hitting 50 percent. Now the McCain team has thrown away their experience argument, and has an nontraditional and historic pick, and they still aren’t closing in on the 50 percent mark.

But the ball bounces funny ways. The GOP caught a break during the Georgia “crisis” which put the focus on foreign policy, another break when Hurricane Gustav was not the terror that many thought,” but enough of one to keep President Bush and Vice President Cheney from appearing at their convention. They may have gotten a final break when the right wing of their party threatened open revolt if McCain picked his first VP choice, Democrat Joe Lieberman.

Now the Wall Street meltdown has effectively marginalized Sarah Palin, and created an opening for the Obama and Democrats. I think this race will look close on paper until the first debate, and will widen after that. Another lucky bounce was the Warren Forum this summer. I think Senator Obama will be much sharper and crisper in the debates as a result of that experience. The final break may have been the long hot summer of July and August. My gut tells me that Senator Obama may be a better candidate when running behind rather then in front. There was certain amount of swagger that he and his team had after dethroning the Clintons, but when they were having their collective hats handed to them this summer it woke them from their hubris.

How this unfolds? Stay tuned, this election is one of historic proportions already, but I have a feeling the stretch drive will be one for the record books.

Obama's Acceptance Speech

It’s the enthusiasm stupid!

In football; speed is the uncoachable asset that is often a game changer, a difference maker. In politics the same can be said for enthusiasm. Take away the issues, the ads, even the candidates; it comes down whose party is more stoked. One can pick apart Senator Obama’s speech to the nth degree, make jokes about the venue, but don’t “sleep on” the impact.

Columnist George Will may have gotten it right; Senator Obama’s campaign peaked in March, but struggled to bring closure to the primary season. Lacking real post primary season down time, the Obama Campaign got hounded by the McCain team to go abroad only to be lampooned as a lightweight celebrity, called out for being presumptuous, and finally labeled as a risky.

If that wasn’t enough, there was the never ending drama of the Clintons. Soon, there were whispers of buyer’s remorse within the ranks of the Democratic Party. Quietly, the Democrats were hearing echoes of past August meltdowns and visions of what many would call effete responses from the Gore and Kerry campaigns to GOP body blows.

Then came Thursday night. On the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s historic “I have a Dream speech; Senator Obama may have freed the Democratic from their internal malaise. Senator Obama’s acceptance speech now has Democrats emboldened. Commentator and former Nixon speech writer Pat Buchanan anointed the speech as “manly”. Not since William Jefferson Clinton, have Democrats seen their nominee “man up” to the Republicans. More then the litany of policy statements, and the glitzy backdrop, Democrats wanted to see testicular fortitude from their guy, and on that midsummer night, he didn’t disappoint them. Senator Obama’s muscular speech gave his supporters confidence. That speech unleashed pent up passions and now the Democrats are brimming with confidence.

John McCain is on the clock, and while he hopes that his Vice Presidential selection of Alaskan Governor Palin will energize the GOP, it may not be enough. The enthusiasm gap between the Republicans and the Democrats in my opinion will be the difference maker. Simply put, after being charged and challenged by Senator Obama, the Democrats may simply want it more.