Mccain and Romney cancelled each other out at tonight’s Republican debate

Mccain and Romney went after each other tonight at the CNN’s Republican Presidential Debate.

But neither emerged victorious.

Romney, I must admit showed his proficiency on economic issues and how he would lead the country out of the current economic ‘crisis’ but I don’t think that he was able to overcome his huge likeablility deficit. As knowledgeable as he is when it comes to economic issues, he appears to be a mega rich, phony, flip flopper who’ll say anything to get elected.

And you know what I still don’t like the guy..he still comes of as a fraud..lol.

As for John Mccain. He’s a leader when it comes to the war in Iraq. He’s an honorable, LIKEABLE man and he’s someone that you could count on to lead the country even if the country doesn’t agree with him he will lead and he will lead to the best of his ability. But he doesn’t display his knowledge on issues other than the war in Iraq, foreign policy and the military. And after George Bush we need our leaders to know a lot about somethings and be verse in most things!

As for Ron Paul wrong time, wrong place. He has great ideas but come one now..it’s getting tiresome..I’m all for the Ron Paul Revolution but it’s over people!  John Edwards finally admitted defeat when will Ron Paul?

And Mike Huckabee, didn’t get much air time tonight but as usual he had the best jokes and sounded the most sincere and genuine. However, you can’t rely on that alone. He has got to show that he knows something about the issues and once again I didn’t get that impression. He might be on the right side of many of the important conservative issues but he’s not getting the traction that he needs in order to get those ’conservative credentials’ out there instead he’s seen as too liberal on immigration and taxes, two of the holy grail issues for Republicans.

None of these candidates, including the front runner John Mccain, is the whole package and if I were a conservative I would be quite disheartened!

Republicans at Regan library tonight..CNN debate..

  Romney is showing his ’skills’ on the economy as well as his fraud nature, that’s why nobody likes him…

Mccain is looking like a cat that ate the canary.

 Ron Paul looks like an angry old man.

  And Huckabee well, he’s just trying to get a word, begging to get a word in…

CNN projecting John Mccain is the winner..

CNN is projecting John Mccain is the winner with 51% of the Florida precints reporting!!!  I was right again!!! Man I love this game!!

Deal coming between Giuliani and Mccain..

 

Other than an endorsement what else could Giuliani offer Mccain, it’s not like he’s a good VP choice?

The jobs are not coming back, the illegals are never going home and the wars are going to keep on coming..

That statement , courtesy of the one and only Pat Buchannen..another old coot..lol and this is what he says John Mccain stands for or says..OMG!!!

Giuliani spent 40 million dollars in Florida…

Wow, Rudy Giuliani spent 40 million dollars for third place…man that’s gotta hurt! Jeff Tobin legal and political analyst for CNN says this is the worst campaign of the new millennium Ouch!!!

And I wonder if Brent Seaborn, Giuliani’s chief strategist, and the guy in the background, will get any work after this defeat..the worst campagin of the new millennium! I don’t think so..

Mccain wouldn’t get conservatives to vote for him in the fall..

Joe Scarborough says John Mccain wouldn’t get conservatives to vote for him in the fall!!

Wow, I know that they hate Mccain but don’t they want to win?

Haven’t they seen the numbers the only one that has a chance, a chance of beating any of the democratic nominees is Mccain?

Hmm..

NBC and CNN ..too close to call…

Florida primary too close to call with 20% of Florida precints reporting Mccain  has 34% and Romney has 31%!

And CNN is saying that Hillary wins Florida why are we talking about the democratice primary these delegates don’t even count!

Tonight in Florida Mccain is the winner, Romney is the fighter and Giuliani..well he’s the loser..

You know I hate to see politicians get down and dirty with each other, it’s tacky and in some cases it can be quite demoralizing but I must admit that it was really, really interesting to listen to the dirty words that some Republicans use to diss each other liberal and flip flopper..lol..

Sometimes politics can be so petty…

Anyway, as for the Republican primary today I think Mccain will emerge as the winner tonight but that Romney will not concede an inch to him instead he’s going to go on to Super Tuesday and fight Mccain every step of the way only to be beaten down by the tough old coot (is that right?) Mccain..

As for Giuliani he’s done. He soooooooo over..

His strategy has failed, by bypassing somewhat Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina to focus on Florida, as we all knew it would but I think that his failings have more to do with him and his positions.

Giuliani led in Republican national polls before this year’s primaries and national caucuses because of name recognition. He wasn’t  I think adequately prepared for the scrutiny that comes with being a candidate for office, constant searching into his background by journalists for the ‘gotcha’ story, he wasn’t prepared to debate and express opinions on topics other than terrorism and national security and he wasn’t able to reincarnate himself to be something bigger than just the mayor of New York City.

In addition I think his arrogance and belief once again that he was entitled to the nomination, just like another candidate in the other party, all contributed to his failure.

N.B..As usual i’ll be live blogging the results tonight hope you join me..please join me..lol..

Ted Kennedy endorses Obama..

Now that is a coup!

Ted Kennedy, one of the biggest lions in the Democratic party  by passes Hillary Clinton and endorses the guy that Caroline Kennedy, his niece, the daughter of John F Kennedy also has endorsed!

Now, I’ve said before that endorsements really don’t matter and in the grand scheme of things they don’t but when you get ones as big as Ted & Caroline Kennedy the support that these two bring from the establishment base of the Democratic party as well as their  money and connections you’ve got to pause and say maybe, just maybe this black guy could pull this thing off..

But we’ll see..we’ll see..

And  you know what it’s such a slap in the face to the Clintons even better in my opinion.

Clintons marginalise, minimize, ignore, snubb and disregard Obama’s win because he’s black

Well he just got that scholarship because he’s black!

Well he just got that job because he’s black!

Well he just got that grant because he’s black!

You know what? many successful black people have heard it all before but we just didn’t expect to hear it from the Clintons.  Keep showing those true colors, please keep showing them…

For anyone who disputes whether or not the Clintons have been the ones injecting race into this campaign check this out.. but the kicker is if he had lost they would’ve said IT WAS BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK!!!

Obama wins South Carolina; Hillary loses but wins the nomination but at what cost?

The Clintons have utilised and continue to use racial and ethnic politics to win the democratic nomination causing white supporters to abandon Obama due to their presumed concerns about electability. And the black guy who once garnered headlines in the Wall Street Journal as the Whites’ Hope is now being spurned and marginalised by white voters.

Tonight the Clintons will lose South Carolina but I’m sure that Hillary will be the clear democratic nominee come February 5th based on this specific strategy as explained by Dick Morris. A blogger friend, Robin, sent me the link and I couldn’t have articulated it any better than Mr.Morris. However, this strategy and by extension Hillary’s nomination will come at a cost.

Here are just a few of the possible consequences I foresee because of all the Clinton induced racial drama…

Lower turnout among Democrats but higher among Republicans because of their ‘hatred’ of Hillary Clinton come November 4th thus leading to a John Mccain presidency, another pro ‘war’ Republican in the White House and another humiliating defeat for the Democrats. 

More alienation of blacks and in particular YOUNG blacks from the political process and by extension the Democratic party.

I don’t think young black people will run head first into the Republican party but I would be willing to say this, if they were a fully functioning, viable, powerful third party like the European Green Party, that party would be getting first, second and third looks right about now and their enrollment rolls would be up considerably due to the massive influx of  young, liberal-minded, black people like myself as well as all of those people who are just sick and fed up with the establishment in the Democratic party.

Racial politics and marginalisation often come at a high price and I would dare to say that irreparable damage may once again have been done to the democratic party because of this and if I were a Republican election strategists  I would be looking on with glee and I would be actively seeking to capitalise on the strained relationship that will now develop between young (those under 40) blacks and the democratic party and the continued friction between Blacks and Hispanics. 

Believe me I haven’t lost complete faith in Obama or the prospect of him being the first black president but I’m a realist I can see the writing on the wall based on the polling stats. Yes, I know the polls have been wrong on a couple of occasions this political season but the Clintons haven’t stopped their racial attacks, the attacks have just become more coded and quiet.

Obama is critically wounded and I don’t foresee a recovery between now and February 5th unless he can show that white voters in South Carolina would vote for him in November.

Obama brought hope and it was extinguished by the Clintons maybe, just maybe it wouldn’t be forever..

The Republican debate in Boca Raton..an introduction..

Tonight, the Republicans sang Kumbaya, toasted Ronald Reagan and played nice with each other, just like they were supposed to do..they were no body blows, few punches. It wasn’t a debate at all it was an introduction of the candidates to the Republican Primary voters.

Mccain is not too old..

Huckabee isn’t too old according to Huckabee…

And Mccain is going to send Sylvester Stallone over to fight Chuck Norris..not funny anymore Mccain..not funny at all…

Romney wouldn’t disclose how much of his own he’s spending in Florida..

Romney, can’t wait to run against the Clintons..he thinks the idea of Bill Clinton back in the White House with nothing to do is something he can’t imagine..he says that Hillary Clinton is Washington to the core and that sending the same people to Washington is not the way to change…

Romney wouldn’t tell how much of his own money he’s spending in Florida and he says he wouldn’t disclose that until January 31st…shady, shady, shady..says he’s the biggest contributor to his campaign…he’s not concerned about people saying that he’s buying Florida..nope, because he got people…lol..No, Tim he’s not going to answer your question..nah..he’s not going to..nah..nah..nah.. nah..lol..

Williams just told Giuliani he’s a loser..well just about…

Brian Williams just called Giuliani a loser, well at least based on the polls..Giuliani’s response..he’s going to come from behind to win it all even though the polls don’t back it up at all..

Joe Lieberman is Mccain’s favorite Dem…

Awww…. ain’t that nice..lol

I wonder if Joe got that warm feeling in his tummy after hearing that?

Have the retirees of Florida got to the Republican candidates?

I’m serious they all look half-dead (is this possible..lol) up there?

Romney gets two questions, one on the second amendment from Huckabee and now Giuliani asking about if he supports a National Catstrophic Fund and he says he does and that he wants to get everyone covered with some form of property insurance..hmm isn’t that an entitlement program? HMMM….I see..

But anyway, I must say this again..this debate sucks…and it’s not even that the issues aren’t interesting..I love every thing about politics and I’m willing to discuss most if not ALL issues relating to politics (which is about everything, because everything is political..) it’s just the way these men are articulating their positions…

Ask each other questions..I love this round..at least I used too..

Romney goes first who gets his question..ummm..now he’s talking about China and he poses the question to Giuliani..

He asks what type of relations should we have with China and Giuiliani responds by saying that we have to be careful about the products that are coming out of there..he says that we should be thinking about what we can sell to the Chinese and that we should be thinking about rebuilding our military..

Mccain poses his question to Huckabee about fair tax..how do you answer the criticism that a flatout sales tax wouldn’t cause unfair burdens to Americans..

These questions are boring just like this damn debate..OH MY GOD..these questions are boring as hell..there is no fire up there at all, is this what the Republican party has become a bunch of boring, old men? Come on people, lively up yourselves….

The Iraq was a brilliant idea..so say the Republicans….

mccain the war was a good idea…

Giuliani..war was a good idea and a brief mention of General HC…

Paul..the war was a bad idea and it wasn’t worth it….gets a short burst of applause..

Huckabee..the war was a good idea..

Romney..the war was a good idea but it was badly managed..like you could’ve done better, you know, I take that back..he probably could’ve…

 DID YOU EXPECT THEM TO SAY ANYTHING LESS..COME ON!!!!

Hillary again..

Romney gets the first applause of the night when he refers to the success of the surge is due to the American army and not General Hillary Clinton….

Mccain vs Clinton..

Mccain mentions Hillary’s name twice when talking about the war in Iraq and saying that she’s waving the white flag of surrender..hmm…here we go the Republicans are praying and hoping that she’s the nominee…man..oh man…

Republicans are better than the Dems cause…

Mccain..said he’ll give us straight talk based on all the lies Bush has told I guess we should be grateful..

Huckabee talks about how he was the only Republican to say that the economy for the poor sucks when compared to the rich and that he’s the only one that understands the American family..

Romney..Washington is broken and you’re a fraud!!! I don’t believe a word you say..la..la..la..la..oh, and the Republican is the party of change and now Romney wants to reign in entitlements (welfare..mainly to hell with fixing social security..the biggest entitlement program but whatever.)

Paul…We suck just as bad as the Democrats and the whole country is going to hell..lol..

Hat in hand question for the man who went hat in hand to Dubai…

Giuliani explains the check he returned to the Sauid Prince and then I have no clue what he said because he didn’t answer the damn question..lol..

Romney lands the first blow..

Romney hits Mccain about him not voting for the Bush tax cuts the first time..it was a soft punch thought..Mccain just shrugs it off..come on Romney you gotta do better than that this man has seen palm trees in Vietnam tougher than you..lol..

Huckabee and China..

Listen to Huckabee talking about the rebate benefitting China more..he’s right kind off..more later..

He’s talking about using infrastructure projects to generate revenue…good idea..kind off..

The economy is front and center..

I haven’t heard a great answer yet…and there goes Guiliani talking about NY how long before 911..sorry but it’s true..

Blogging the Republican debate in Florida..

Will there  be fireworks…I hope so..I really hope…

Air Force One keeps luring Bill Clinton…

Bill Clinton is an asset to his wife’s, Hillary’s campaign so she says but I think this is the real reason he wants to her to be President is so he gets to fly all around the world on Air Force One,..talk about job perks..lol, You know, I think that’s one of the main reasons they are all fighting so hard for the job..lol.

Punches galore in South Carolina last night and I loved it…

Last night I watched the South Carolina debate and I enjoyed every minute of it..

Unlike many doing the post debate analysis I don’t see anything wrong with Obama and Hillary going after each other’s jugulars. It was long, long overdue and it made for great television. I was literally jumping around my living room..lol

For the first time I can honestly say I got to see ‘true’ glimpses of how Barack and Hillary would respond under pressure and THAT was amazing! Barack gets really angry when others call him out and Hillary hates to be reminded that she’s not as great or as honest as she portrays herself  to be man I would love to see what they were like backstage after the debate.

And I just loved the looks she gave Barack, I’ve seen those looks on my mom many, many times..lol

Hillary and Barack attacked each other’s records and candidates SHOULD attack the record of their opponents and they SHOULD call out their opponents on behaviors that are unsavory or untruths that are being perpetuated by the opposing campaigns.

However, when surrogates are powerful spouses (former presidents) are used to do the attacking that’s grossly unfair and in my opinion unacceptable. However, I will say this I don’t think many of the attacks on Obama by Hillary were meant for the South Carolina audience or electorate.

I think that Hillary’s shots at Obama were targeted to show up Obama to her base and to cause a specific type of Democratic white voter to rally to her side.

You see, in the New Hampshire primary Hillary won because one of the main components of her base white, uneducated, women came to her defense and I think those barbs at Obama where aimed primarily to show those white women and men in other states (to some extent) that Obama is a black guy who doesn’t like to take responsibility wink, wink like so many other BLACK guys you know..wink, wink just like how Barack’s Wal Mart comment was meant to show that she’s not as concerned about the little guy as she says she is…one was punch to the face, the other was a punch to the stomach..which hurt more?  I don’t know.

At the end of the day I wouldn’t say that Hillary’s or Barack’s comments were unfair or unwarranted it was a fair and entertaining night of politics-American presidential politics.

And if either one of them can’t stand the heat they should get out the kitchen because it’s going to get a whole lot hotter between now and November!

BTW..Barack was the best candidate last night he won hands down and that’s a first for him at these debates….

Bye, Bye, Fred..we never got to know you..

 

The good ole boy Fred Thompson has decided to quit the race..big surprise.

I don’t even know why he got in in the first place, he never really wanted it, I think he just got in because of arrogance he probably that this was going to be like one of his movies but there’s no happy ending for him..well you never know a couple blogger friends have suggested a VP nod from John Mccain if he gets the nomination.

I’ll say this again, that would be ridiculous!!!

Hillary has lobbyists, Edwards has trial lawyers and Obama has slum lords..

Hillary says she’s better at National Security than any of her opponents and that she can beat John Mccain if he is indeed the Republican nominee since the election would be about National Security…

And here comes the evil boogeymen of America- LOBBYISTS….

Hillary just said that Edwards takes money from the children of lobbyists, the wife’s of lobbyists etc. and she just told John Edwards that he took money from trial lawyers and as Edwards responds Hillary rolls her eyes..

Hillary has lobbyists, Edwards has trial lawyers and Obama has slum lords..I guess we all have to have bedfellows? LOL..

Edwards just pronounced that Mccain will be the Republican nominee..

I don’t know what John Edwards knows but he just said that Mccain will be the Republican nominee. I guess Romney, (who currently has more delegates than John Mccain) and Huckabee should just pack up their bags and head home..and he now says that he can beat John Mccain everywhere in America and that’s why we should vote him..oh John..Oh John.. “He says that he can go anywhere in America and beat John Mccain..”

Why don’t we all write John Edwards a Dear John letter? lol…

Obama and Hillary playing to their ‘bases’..

Barack just highlighted the fact that substantive issues in regards to race must still be addressed i.e the criminal justice system and then Hillary pipes in talking about the gender gap that still exists in terms of wages……Obama played to race..Hillary played to gender..

John Edwards then talked about growing up in the segregated south and how that had a profound and transformative impact on his life and that he wants to work to make things better for all of us…

Calmed down..

Well, it looks like things have calmed down a bit up there and now Obama is talking about race and he’s saying that people want to move beyond race and create change in America..I love what he said,” In a race where you have a women, an African American and John…,”nice…lol

 And now here we go..John Edwards is talking about his work and now he’s talking about his fight with Bill O’Reilly..oh why, why did he do that? He’s making Bill O’Reilly feel important?..Oh John..now he’s telling us one of his stories, I don’t believe any of these stories at all…

How we view ourselves..

Just like I’ve said in a previous blog..if an African American is elected we would see ‘ourselves differently’ and whites would also see us differently as well..check out what I said here

Hillary isn’t about band aids….

Hillary and her soundbites..if I must say something I’ll say this about Hillary she speaks in soundbites and as a politician in today’s world that’s imperative.

In discussing her health care plan and comparing her plan to Obama’s she she said this..”I’m not about putting ‘bandaids’ on people’s problems,..” now that is stuck in my head..nice, clean, shot…..good one..

 That was fair..

South Carolina on fire!!!!

Man, was I wrong, I really thought the dems would come out and play nice..I was wrong..really wrong!!!

The only one who really didn’t get attacked was Edwards but he doesn’t really matter does he however he has been going after Obama with as much vigor as he did Hillary at one of the previous debates interesting is he trying to play both sides?

I wonder…

Clinton being booed after saying Obama doesn’t take responsiblity for his voting record..

Both Edwards and Clinton talking about credit cards and the interest rate limits,

Clinton is being booed after saying that he never takes responsibility for any vote and she says it very difficult to have a debate with him..talking about a particular bill and a postion he took on the bill for victims of sexual abuse,

Obama is explaining his record in the Illinois senate, he says that they have combing his record trying to present them in the worst possible light, Obama just said that most people would say anything to get elected!!!

Hillary looks like she could kill Obama..

John Edwards is trying to get his two cents in by asking why he voted present rather than showing up or taking difficult positions or vote against a bill..

 Edwards is going after Obama as well about his voting record in Illinois…

South Carolina, is the best democratic debate so far..it’s on fire!!!

Obama responds to slum lord comment

He responds by saying that his law firm worked for a group that this ’slum lord’ was part off and that he worked for this group for a total of five hours..

What do these things have in common slumlord, wal mart, Obama and Hillary?

The disagreement started out quite civil and then it progressed into if Obama record was correct, then to Obama accusing Hillary of being a corporate lawyer and then it ended with Hillary saying that Obama was in Chicago defending a slum-lord..It was a knock down, dragged out brawl between the two of them..OH MY GOD it was BRILLIANT!!!

I couldn’t even contain myself I was jumping around the living room!!!

JOHN EDWARDS GET OUT OF THIS ELECTION…

And now here comes John Edwards talking about health care and who this will help..OH PLEASE JOHN EDWARDS..GET TO HELL OF THE STAGE..

Barack calls out Clinton..

Barack just called out Hillary and Bill and said they have been asserted untruths about him…he’s on fire tonight!!! Whoa.. And now here goes Hillary talking about what Obama said about Ronald Reagan…and she said that Barack needs to explain his record more and she’s addressing him directly saying that he did oppose the war explaining that their is distinction between his words and actions when talking about the war..

 Obama was addressing Hillary directly looking at her directly..oh my god this is so good..I can’t believe it, she looks angry as hell..oh my god…this is amazing..I can’t believe it he just told her that when he was working in the field, she was a corporate lawyer of Wall Mart and now her comes John Edwards…he has to say something too…and now her comes Hillary ..this is great..

Edwards, Obama, trade deals…

There he goes mentioning his dad working in the mill I’m going to count how often he mentions that..lol and now Barack talked him enforcing the trade laws vs George Bush..good line..

South Carolina Dems debate..

This cash tax rebate that both Barack and Hillary are talking about will only ’jump start’ the economy if people spend it..and if times are hard people are more likely to save rather than spend..of course here comes ‘mr.popular’ John Edwards talking about how proud he is to be there..blah, blah and only answers the question about the stimulus package after Wolf prods him..lol

Wow Barack mentioned Edwards’s father working in the mill before he did.’..wow..lol

CNN/Congressional Black Caucus Democratic South Carolina debate…

Tonight the three, but really two ’cause Edwards really is a non-entity, Democratic candidates meet in South Carolina for their last debate before the South Carolina primary on Saturday.

I don’t expect any major controversies and I don’t think Hillary or Barrack will go after each other tonight, it’s Martin Luther King day for goodness sake to go after each other TONIGHT would be unaccceptable..I don’t think so but for millions of people out there it would…so I’m sure tonight will be cool, calm and basically uneventful.

But as usual I’ll keep you updated on the going ons….

CNN’s touch screen tv’s, part II

For all those who want to learn a bit more about those awesome, just awesome CNN touch screen TVs check out these great links provided by one of my blogger friends BigWorld. CNN’s Touch Screen are not only innovative they are just plain cool..just cool and check out the guy who developed them here too..I just love them…I want one..I want one…lol

Mccain’s victory speech…

He looks really, really good tonight..

He’s really not the best communicator is he? Or he just needs better speech writers…

Yet, another lack luster but better than his last speech but I’m sure the wind will be at his back after tonight’s win let’s see if the wind remains in his sails as he goes into Florida…

John Mccain wins South Carolina..

John Mccain wins South Carolina..my prediction of Huckabee winning was wrong. Fred Thompson is third..he’s dead in the water but he’s always been dead in the water..hasn’t he?

Hmm..very, very interesting..I guess evangelicals love Huckabee but they love Mccain a whole lot more…lol

And this makes John Mccain the front runner for the Republican Party, he hasn’t given his victory speech yet let’s hope it’s better than the New Hampshire speech..pleeeeeeeeeze let it be better..lol

Is this Bill Clinton’s race or Hillary’s?

According to Tm Russert of NBC Bill Clinton plans to go door to door, church to church in South Carolina to ensure Hillary Clinton wins the primary there on January 26th.

Now, I don’t know about you but but I’m sick and tired of seeing Bill Clinton on the campaign trail. I’m sick and tired of his comments and digs at Barack Obama. He should leave this up to Hillary or her advisers and from all appearances it seems that Bill Clinton wants this more than Hillary.

Why isn’t she the one saying that SHE’s going to go door to door in South Carolina to campaign for Black votes?

But I guess after picking up and carrying the Hispanic vote (3-1 in Nevada) I guess Blacks can go by the wayside for her. Maybe our votes don’t count as much anymore to her but I guess Bill wants to ensure that his legacy remains rock solid within the Black community.

I’ll just say this Bill Clinton has done irreparable damage to his legacy over the past two weeks and nothing he says or does in the meantime is going to change that fact or that Hillary is going to lose South Carolina. And if the Democrats (the main culprits are those in the Clinton campaign) aren’t careful at the end of this nomination process irreparable damage may have been done to the party as a whole because of their dividing the party so severely along ethnic lines and visibly exploiting those loyalties.

Told you so..Nevada goes to Hillary…

So Clinton wins Nevada..yup..well I’m not surprised and neither should you, the story of the brown-black divide continues and South Carolina will go to Barack leading to two for Clinton and two for Barack as they head into Super Tuesday.

Paulie Boy running second in Nevada..

According to NBC Ron Paul is running second in the Republican Nevada primary..well allright then..look at Ron Paul my guy didn’t give up and although it isn’t quite a win, for him and his supporters it might as well be hurrah the Ron Paul Revolution continues…

Mitt Romney wins Nevada.

Mitt Romney, fraud guy, wins Nevada as projected by NBC News.. so he has three now.. Wyoming, Michigan and Nevada 3 golds and 2 silvers..lol..

Hillary wins Nevada, Huckabee wins South Carolina and it continues..

My predictions for the Nevada caucuses..

For the Democrats..

Hillary will win Nevada, Obama will run a close second and John Edwards will get demolished (and hopefully he’ll go away but I KNOW that wouldn’t happen..lol)

The reason behind Hillary winning is not going to be Obama’s lack of organization or his ’supporters’ not understanding caucus rules or being able to caucus at the casinos the reason is a lot simpler than that-Hispanics are not going to support a black guy for President.

Hispanics will/would prefer to support a white women with close ties to the Hispanic community than a BLACK guy who resembles one of their neighbors on the block or a fellow co-worker.

Hispanics and Blacks have often fought for the same crumbs that fell from the table and this has led to a power struggle between the two groups.

And according to sociologists who conducted extensive surveys in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Philadelphia they have generally found that ‘Latinos display more prejudice toward African Americans than African Americans do toward Latinos or than whites display toward African Americans.’

In addition a Duke University sociologist Paula McClain, working with nine other sociologists, found similar attitudes among Latinos living in Durham, North Carolina. According to McClain et al., “Latino immigrants hold negative stereotypical views of blacks and feel that they have more in common with whites than with blacks.” For instance, 58.9 percent of Latino immigrants, but only 9.3 percent of whites, reported feeling that “few or almost no blacks are hard-working.”

This bares repeating,“ Latino immigrants hold negative stereotypical views of blacks and FEEL THAT THEY HAVE MORE IN COMMON WITH WHITES THAN BLACKS.”

This is the numero uno reason Obama loses Nevada.

Although a number of Hispanics voting in the caucuses will not be foreign born a number of them will have parents who were and stereotypes are conveyed from generation to generation but they also at the same time can be shed and broken.

You see, Hispanics and Blacks have often fought for the same crumbs that fell from the table and this has led to a power struggle between the two groups and if you feel you have more in common with the white politician than you do your neighbor than this will definitely count against Barack Obama and I don’t see him overcoming this in just a few days of campaigning.

Black/Brown issues have always been closely intertwined i.e fighting racism and economic empowerment African Americans have often viewed Hispanics as late comers to the civil rights movement and have often viewed their accomplishments in this society as being built on their backs and this is one of the many sources of tension between the two groups.

Hispanics and Blacks are often competing in the same neighborhoods, with high levels of poverty, for the same social services and the same jobs leading to the greatest sources of friction between the two groups and with such high levels of poverty it often leads to increased criminal activities including gang formation and gang wars thus leading to numerous deaths on both sides.

In Nevada, Hispanics will have the chance to prove that ‘we’re all in this together’ and that we have to combine resources and organizations in order to get things done and issues resolved for the betterment of both our communities. I hope that many Latinos can put aside their negative stereotypes and views and vote for the best person for the job, Barack Obama, I really hope they do and that they prove my observations wrong once again.

Bill Clinton is not Black, has never been Black and never will be Black..

 

Andrew Young a prominent civil rights activist and Hillary Clinton supporter said this recently on a webcast:

“Hillary Clinton, first of all, has Bill behind her…and Bill is every bit as black as Barack.

This statement is quite bothersome to me and to lots of young black people in my community. 

I could never understand why prominent African Americans feel the need to say that Bill Clinton is black in order to enhance his appeal to our community. This statement should never have been made and it sure as hell shouldn’t have been adopted by us.

Bill Clinton and by extension his wife Hillary are not black.  Bill may have been a big supporter of our issues and causes but he will never fully understand the black experience in this country and when these prominent activists makes comments like the one above to us, to young people me like me, you unfortunately denigrate us and our experiences and belittle our fights.

To me it evokes the same feelings as when I’m talking to white kid/person (I live in the suburbs just to give you a better picture..lol) who is decked out in Hip Hop gear and because I’m black he or she starts to speak in a certain vernacular that THEY associate with African Americans or when some white people assume that because I’m black I know who all the latest rappers are, their songs or that I’m the biggest fan of Oprah or that I only watch shows that contain African Americans.

It’s insulting

You can never be black by association or by adopting certain fashions, or by listening to certain types of music…it just doesn’t work that way if it did I would be able to call myself white or East Indian orsomething.

Why do I say that?

Well, let’s see I grew up in a household with a biracial mother, my white grandfather, white aunts and great aunts where my babysitters, and played games almost every day with my East Indian uncles and cousins.

So, if you gain your race by adoption I guess I could pick one of these but I can’t or more importanly I would never do it.

I’m proud of who am I. I’m proud of my people. I’m proud of our accomplishments and I KNOW who I am.

So, my advice to those supporting Bill and Hillary Clinton is to stop refering to Bill as being black you’re not making it better for Hillary, you’re just making it worst.

Edwards wants no more coal plants..

Edwards doesn’t think we should build any more coal plants until we can capture the carbon emissions and store them underground..Clinton agrees as well..but she thinks a president is the person who can do it..Obama thinks we should become more energy efficient and that ordianary citizens need to take personal responsibility when it comes to our energy consumption.

Candidate question time..

Edwards had the first question which he directed to Obama. Edwards asked about money from lobbyist and PACs (Political Action Committees).

Clinton has a question for Obama..She wants Barack Obama to co-sponsor legislation to ask President Bush to bring any plans he has for Iraq to bring it to the Congress..Hillary is definitely extending the olive branch even further..my respect meter has just gone up a little..let the healing begin..

Obama’s response is yes..and it’s something he would definitely would like to work on..

Democrats on the economy..

All there candidates economic plans/policies all sound very similar. There plans might be able to jump start the economy in specific areas but I don’t know if would jump start specific economies, particularly state economies like Michigan’s.

Clinton, Obama, Edwards on the economy..

Clinton is talking about a moratorium on foreclosures for the next 90 days, freezing of interest rates, transparency and investigation sovereign wealth funds in Singapore, Korea and Japan who are being approached by CITI bank for funding.. (a sovereign wealth fund is a fund owned by a state composed of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, property or other financial instruments).

Obama, talks about an energy policy in helping to rebuild the economy again. Talking about restoring accountability and regulatory financial oversight over the markets.

Edwards,talking about jobs, universal health care and he’s talking about creating a million jobs and cracking down on ‘predatory’ pay day lenders..

He finally got one. Mitt Romney wins Michigan..

NBC projected Mitt Romney as the winner of the Michigan Republican primary..surprise, surprise!

How many millions did he have to spend to get one?

Obama, Clinton, Edwards, greatest strengths and weaknesses..

Obama’s greatest strength bringing people together..

Obama’s greatest weakness..he’s not an operating office.

Edwards greatest strength fighting for the little guy (give it up..that is not a strength)

Edwards powerful emotion response to pain that he sees around him (Ok..start crying right about…..now)..no tears..Edwards where are the tears..you suck…

Clinton, strengths, helping others, changes..these aren’t strengths..

Clinton weaknesses, impatience..

Now she’s going after Obama for having a vision but not being able manage..that you have to be able to manage the bureaucracy..really hard job..she’s saying that you have to have the vision and also be able to manage.

There is definitely no love lost between Obama and Clinton….the look she just gave him..if looks could kill..

Clinton-Bush is pathetic..

Nice one..Bush is over in Saudi Arabia begging to the Saudi’s and OPEC to drop the price of oil she calls that pathetic in discussing her energy polciy…

Hmm..Edwards just looked at her when she asked if Edwards and Obama are both ready for presidency and Obama was just staring staight ahead..

Interesting..

Audience member acts up..

OMG there is a comment coming from the audience..talking about race based questions…exciting..

Tim Russert looked momentarily stunned, now that was a good one..

Obama’s ‘you’re likable enough’ comment..

According to some it was Obama’s most inhumane moment of the campaign..whatever, it was one of the most honest moments of the campaign..

Now the Bob Johnson, Clinton affair..

Clinton will not fire Bob Johnson. It seems she accepts Bob Johnson at ‘his word’ that he was not talking about Obama’s cocaine use..she will still support him..she accepts what he said..

She said that his comments were out of bounds but yet she keeps him on her campaign?

Hypocrisy?

Obama wants to be judged on the issues..

Obama wants to be judged on the issues and how well he communicates the issues to the people. You go bro..hammer that down..

They are all laying down the olive branch..

And now it’s Obama’s turn, and now John Edwards talking about his time in the South and now he’s mentioning Dr.King and now he’s talking about his personal experience of segregation..OMG John Edwards..you felt the pain of the civil rights movement..I know, I know..you were a young, black man working in the mill..ok ok…

The Democratic debate in Nevada..

So Hilliary has laid down the olive branch..mentioning Dr.King’s birthday and highlighting the background of her opponents and she mentions Dr.King’s birthday again…

To hell with the Clintons..

I’m ashamed of Bob Johnson for allowing himself to be used not just on Sunday but for the past 30 years he’s been willing to do and say just about anything for the almighty dollar at the expense of his people.

I know he’s not the only one and I also put a lot of other black leaders, artistes and business people into that category as well. It’s a shame because with so much power comes great responsibility and Johnson has shown that he has none of the latter. 

I’m ashamed of the Clintons for allowing this tactic along with the fake tears to become part of their campaign strategy. I had always admired, Hillary, for her grace and candor but now I see that she’s just like the rest of them she’ll do and say anything to win, she’s no different instead she’s just as bad as the Republicans.

I am ashamed of my people, particularly those in the Hillary camp who have risen to defend Bob Johnson’s comments and

I am ashamed of the Obama camp for falling for their ruse. 

But I’m not at all surprised.

The Hillary campaign machine is desperate, they can see their fates looming on the horizon. The writing is starting to form on the wall regardless of how well she did in New Hampshire she knows that’s a one time deal. She wouldn’t be able to pull that BS with women again, well at least most of us I hope and she has to stop the Obama machine some how and this is the only way she can by using youthful indiscretion to create adulthood doubt.

I’m not surprised at all many campaigns have utilizes this tactic what I’m bothers me is the way, whom and how she did it..

The Clintons like most of the major members of  the ‘establishment’ Democratic party in general are willing to utilize the African American community to enhance and solidify their power base but when their major opponent happens to be an articulate, honest and charismatic African American they are suddenly confronted with a quagmire.

How do we take him down without losing African Americans?

Hillary showed us that when all else fails, she tried to go after him policy didn’t work,  she tried to go after him on inexperience it didn’t work go low, real low. So now she’s willing to get dirty, real dirty because the one thing that she can use is the image of a scary, drug using black guy with his finger on the ‘red button’ to scare half of the US, particularly the white part into not voting for him.

But the clincher for me was the fact that she got another black guy to do it for her!

The richest black guy in the history of the United States.

She sent Bob Johnson one of the biggest villains, in my opinion, in the black community to do it for her because her campaign knows that you could always claim his words were taken out of context. He meant this instead of what the media is saying, the media is pushing something that isn’t there etc, etc..whatever.

We all know what he meant and we all know that Bob Johnson the man who when he was head of BET didn’t create any original programming but pushed and solidified stereotypes of black men and women in the minds of millions of people including his own for profit. BET the only channel to accept hard-liquor and refused to adopt the voluntary TV ratings system for his station for profit, that Bob Johnson the former president of BET, the first black billionaire is always for sale.

The Clinton’s paid up and Bob Johnson did as he was told.

This isn’t a one way street. Bob has a lot to gain if she wins maybe ambassadorship, lucrative business deals who knows what the deal was/is between them but whatever it is the Clinton’s paid a price. A big price.

She’s lost a lot of African American women including me completely and believe me I’m not the only one.

I don’t know but until the writing of this post she still hasn’t spoken out against his comments and Bill continues to make the rounds defending Hillary while berating Obama.

It’s amazing I read in one post that he’s even trying to insinuate that maybe their might be some strife between Obama and Bob. That’s right Bill pull the old divide and rule tactic set one black person againt another black person trick and suggest that it’s just two jealous black guys and one is just talking sh#$ about the other.

You know what that might have worked in the 80’s and 70’s bro but it isn’t going to work today.

Johnson’s comments were low, so low that nothing the Clinton camp or Bill Clinton, the one president the black community has identified with in the last 20 years says will work to quell the anger and disappointment we all feel and the only thing that could work would be an Obama presidency and we’re all going to work on making that a reality.

And then we’ll really have the first black president.

Clinton won, a crying shame.

Clinton won in New Hampshire, this week because uneducated, lower income white women sympathised and related to her and her so called ‘human moments’. 

I don’t believe for a minute that Clinton’s tears were real. Those tears were planned and dropped on cue.

Her team told her simply if you want to win you have to connect and you have to connect big and she chose to connect with the one group that would sympathize with her-women particularly uneducated women. 

I just have one question for my female friends out there for arguments sake let’s say you found out while you’re on the biggest job interview of your life 10 mins before you meet with the interviewer that your partner is cheating on you, you’re about to get evicted and your mother is dying of cancer would you let the interviewer know that you couldn’t handle the pressure by tearing up and letting them know that your problems are getting to you or would you simply be energetic, engaging and articulate and do all the things required of you during the interview because so much would be riding on doing well and getting the job?

I think most women would chose the latter regardless of what was going on in our lives we would suck it up and deal with it put on the game face and keep on moving. 

Now, I can’t say or would I ever say that it’s unacceptable for a woman to tear up in public..we’re women we cry at times.  I just don’t think Clinton is that type of woman. Clinton has never, ever shed a tear in public under any other circumstances and they have been numerous occassions in her life that would have forced you and me to our knees and forced us to tear up a bit but she never has NEVER until last week.

Listen, Clinton suffered and endured the public defeat and humiliation of her first major national policy initiative the Clinton health care plan, in public-no tears. She’s watched and repeatedly endured her man’s embarassing philandering in public-no tears (before, during and after that ordeal I would have needed a whole damn truckload of Kleenex).  She suffered and endured half the public’s particularly Republican hatred of her and her family-in public-no tears. She’s had media investigation after investigation into her private and public life, Ken Starr’s investigation the list of ordeals goes on and on and yet at a diner in New Hampshire she decides to show us that she’s a woman like you and me, she feels, she’s human too..come on give me a %^&* break?

As my mom would say, ” Those crocodile tears aren’t going to work with me baby,”

Clinton says she’s found her voice, what I will say is if she keeps playing to this demographic she surely might find a way to win, if they fall for it each and every time but I’m willing to bet on the old adage that goes fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me and guarantee that she wouldn’t have the opportunity to use her crying game again.

Kerry’s endorsement means nothing and everything….

John Kerry is a political loser but he’s a smart, influential loser.

Kerry wants to be on the historical winning team and he wants to continue or enhance his role in any future Democratic presidency. That’s why he has endorsed Obama if I were him I would’ve done the same thing..lol. He also brings quite a lot to Obama’s campaign, his contacts, money (his own contributions and that of his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry we can’t forget her and their ability to raise vasts sums) and the ability to help Obama negotiate the ‘establishment’ world of the Democratic Party of which he is a key player.

Obama wants to change the way that Washington works and he wants to bring about great and long lasting beneficial changes to the American people and the world but he has to win the nomination first. He doesn’t need to convince all of the established interests and sections of the Democratic party to come over to his side but he does need to have some support from some key influential persons within this section of the party in order to solidify his nomination even before it happens and Kerry could be the man to help him do that.

If Kerry can help convince a few more heavy weights to join Obama and help him solcit and win, the key word win a few more big union endorsements between now and Super Tuesday we could be looking at an entirely different playing field for Obama- a better one.

So although Kerry’s endorsment means nothing on the surface, it could mean everything in the long run.

Obama lost because he was inevitable…

BARACK OBAMA LOST BECAUSE HE WAS INEVITABLE!!!!

THIS IS MY POST FROM JANUARY 7TH  THIS WEEK!!!!! SEE WHAT I TOLD YOU?

Barack Obama’s nomination is not inevitable. It’s possible-quite possible but not inevitable. 

Just a couple of months ago Clinton’s nomination was also inevitable and now look what’s happened.

And it boggles the mind to hear most of the Republican presidential candidates in various forums, debates and on the stump as well as members of the press discussing his nomination as being inevitable and it bothers me because they are disregarding the majority of the voters in the party who haven’t even voted as yet, if I were them I would be quite offended by their arrogance. 

How dare YOU assume that you know how I am going to vote? Polls are one thing to discuss but to say it’s all over…please.. 

Now it’s quite different when Obama or any candidate speaks about being the nominee it can be viewed two ways as either being a tiny bit arrogrant and presumptuous or simply as a candidate trying to rally his suppporters. Obama I believe since Iowa has walked the line perfectly.

But when I hear the Republicans and the press choosing Obama over Clinton I get worried because there could be a backlash toward their presumptuousness and I wonder if this could not be a strategy by those in the Republican party to get voters riled up so that they respond negatively towards Obama and move towards Clinton. She would be the perfect candidate for the Republicans to run against. It would be a dream come true for Karl Rove and all his people I know she could beat them but it would be an uphill battle.

Also when the anchors and reporters discuss Obama’s inevitablity it shows quite a lack of objectivity and that bothers me I expect analysts and consultants to prognisticate (love that word..love it..lol) more than the average reporter or anchor but reporters and anchors really do need to show a bit more restraint..come on Super Tuesday is still around the corner mates so keep your opinions to yourselves or to your personal anonymous blogs.

John Edwards really needs to give it up..

I don’t believe a word John Edwards says not a single word..he’s for everything and for nothing..

When is he going to quit?

Really, I’ve had enough of him..really enough…

Raw numbers..Clinton up among women and Barack up among men..

Clinton was up based on the numbers so far 13% among women and Barack 13% among men..that’s so far hmm…interesting…

I’m going to go ahead and say that Hillary is going to win..

Looking at the lead she continues to have over Obama..I’m going to go ahead and say that she’s going to win New Hampshire that makes the real battleground South Carolina just like what I said it would be I want to see the numbers though and see how she broke with women and independents..I can’t wait to become a strategist..one day, one day…let’s see how long it takes before the it’s official..

Clinton still ahead..

Clinton is @ 39% and Obama @ 37%…with 42 percent on the precints reporting…

Round 2..the Mack is back..

Mccain is having a ball up there..good for him..the Mack is back..

He’s talking about making the world better for all us..

He’s esctatic..I would be too if I were him..people wrote him off for ‘politically’ dead and then he went on to fight and win the biggest fight of his political life…good for him..good for him..once again New Hampshire saves him..

Now he’s talking about shaking up Washington and becoming President..he so looks like the cat that ate the canary up there…I wonder what he’s ‘really’ thinking right now? I bet he’s thinking that I really did this..I really did this..I really could win this thing..

Now he’s reaching out to Democrats, playing in the middle aren’t you John Mccain? Nice…

He’s not the greatest orator nevertheless he did a good job..

.

Gentle Mike…

Gentle Mike is giving his third in place ‘victory’ speech in New Hampshire…..this guy is so charming and sincere, he’s such a great guy..I’ve never met him and I disagree with almost everything he says but he just reaches out and grabs you..listen to him speak..ok he’s talking about how wonderful New Hampshire has been to him and how great the people are..what a difference between him and Romney, one’s genuine the other is a fraud!

Romney and his another silver speech..pleezzzz

Romney is giving his concession speech and once again not saying anything substantive at all let’s see if he does..

It’s amazing that even when he’s trying to look modest and humble he fails, ok..I get the vibe he’s still going on to Michigan..he’s talking about changing Washington and getting the job done so that means he’s still up for a fight and he’s willing to loose some more money..ok then and now he’s talking about his next and final battleground Michigan..

Ok..I thought he was going to tear up there for a minute his voice cracked..ok..he didn’t cry..I wouldn’t have been surprised though if had..

New Hampshire still too close..

With 19% reporting Hillary is @ 40% and Obama @ 38%

Ron paul could overtake Giuliani

Oh my goodness that would be something, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews is saying that based on some reports Ron Paul could place ahead of Rudy Giuliani hmm New Hampshire definitely showing their libertarian streak..

Mitt Romney lost, we won…

I’m so glad he lost..He’s such a fraud, he’s such a flip flopper and he plays nasty even with his teammates. It’s unacceptable when you’re in kindergarten and it’s unacceptable when you’re an adult.

In the long run this is the beginning of one really, really exciting GOP race not as momentous as the democratic race but exciting nonetheless..

Also, this says a lot about us the people..we’re telling Romney that your money can’t buy us or fool us not at all..the real winners here are us!! Yeah..us..lol…

And now they are going to Michigan…

The Mack is back…CNN projecting John Mccain wins..

John Mccain wins..the Mack is back..

Huckabee is going to do pretty well…

Nice Mike..is going to do pretty good in the granite state good for him I hope he get’s a big push from this..really, I do..

Soledad is back….

She’s baaaaaaaaaack…

CNN’s Soledad O’Brien is back..haven’t seen her in a while it’s nice to see her on TV again..

too close to call New Hampshire..

The polls are closed in New Hampshire and MSNBC is projecting it’s too close to call for the democrats with Hillary leading by 2 points with 11% reporting

Hillary is at 38% and Obama at 36%..

And for the Republicans Mccain has an early lead over Mitt Romney..

Mccain 37% Romney 29% 

The battle of New Hampshire..

Hillary and Obama are both at 36% with 6% of precints reporting in New Hampshire…

It’s all up to black people in South Carolina. Will we finally vote for one of own?

With Obama winning New Hampshire, according to most polls and pundits..(I still want the voters to decide regardless of what they say..) the next and I believe the ultimate test for him will be South Carolina.

Obama will have to convince his own people that he can ultimately win the presidency.

Some would think this would be the easiest part of all but believe me it isn’t.

Black Americans have been skeptical of his electability since 2004, even I was one them although not for the typical reasons. I promise to elaborate on a later date.

African Americans are notorious for their distrust of politicians and the US government. Thus by extension African American politicians have to confront a two edged sword. 

Politicians often promise the moon but deliver nothing but sawdust but African American politicians on the other hand are expected to promise everything, sacrifice nothing, deliver most if not everything and keep it real all at the same time and this for any politician is impossible and this is what most if not all African American politicians encounter before winning the trust and loyalty of his/her respective African American communities after winning it’s a different stroy all together..just check out the story of Marion Barry the mayor of DC. Now imagine a black politician having to do this on a national scale?

That’s why I hope Obama and his strategists have started to line their ducks all up in a row because the Clinton campaign is going to pull no punches when it comes to South Carolina because he’s going to get it both ways from his own and from the Clinton machinery.

I’m sure the Clinton campaign has already positioned itself to use clandestine divide and rule tactics and destructive trench warfare which have been inordinately successful since slavery days in separating and diverting black people from common mutually beneficial goals not just in the US but throughout the entire black diaspora.

The Clinton campaign has already siphoned off prominent African American donors, activists, politicians and religious leaders and I’m sure they will be utilising them to their fullest effect between now and then but they must do all their dirty activities in the dark or walk a very thin line because if the majority of black voters in South Carolina were to ever believe the Clintons were trying to stop the march of the first ever viable black candidate towards the presidency of the United States it would be all over for Hillary. The blacklash towards her would be so immense that not even Bill with his office in Harlem and his saxophone playing could stop black voters from marching lock step and barrel towards Barack Obama shouting and singing the late James Brown’s song..I’m Black and I’m Proud…lol..

I can only hope that come January 26th, South Carolina will make us proud by voting for Obama and the state with the motto, while I breathe, I hope, will not kill the aspirations and dreams of millions of Americans and global citizens by voting for his opposition whomever it maybe.

N.B I’ll be live blogging the New Hampshire results..make sure you check back here regularly..let’s see if he makes it two in a row..

****update****

Apparently the Clinton campaign has decided to give up South Carolina based on recent polling which shows,  “Her once-strong support in the state’s large black population eroded and Sen. Obama opened a big lead in polls after Iowa’s caucus results energized many blacks with the prospect that a man of their race stands a realistic chance of being nominated.” The campain has decided instead to put all their chips on Super Tuesday hmmm interesting….

Bill Clinton is Hillary’s kryptonite

This is what Bill Clinton said last night…

“ We can’t be a new story, I’m sorry. I can’t make her younger, taller, male.”

And it really, really bothers me the only adjective missing from this statement is black and this is exactly what I spoke about in earlier blog as much as Bill Clinton talks about his and Senator Clinton’s deep roots and connection with the black community he’s all about himself, his family and their respective mission(s) in life.

I understand that they are trying really, really hard to win but his comments and attacks are becoming careless and nasty and I guarantee if her handlers and campaign officials aren’t careful this campaign is going to do some serious long term damage to her image.

In addition I really do hope they start to limit Bill’s appearances because he’s doing more harm than good..

Man tries to eat girlfriend, man rapes 8 year old step daughter….to die or not to die?

Christopher Lee McCuin, 25-years-old

I’ve often debated with myself and others the death penalty and I’m going to be honest with you I still haven’t found a moment of clarity and this comes even after understanding the history of racial prejudice and discrimination that existed and currently still exists in our criminal justice system but in cases like this  and this I must say the needle keeps moving closer and closer for rather than against……

Obama lost..Obama’s nomination not inevitable..i told you so…

BARACK LOST BECAUSE HE WAS INEVITABLE!!!!

THIS IS MY POST FROM YESTERDAY!!!!! SEE WHAT I TOLD YOU?…YESTERDAY…

Barack Obama’s nomination is not inevitable. It’s possible-quite possible but not inevitable. 

Just a couple of months ago Clinton’s nomination was also inevitable and now look what’s happened.

And it boggles the mind to hear most of the Republican presidential candidates in various forums, debates and on the stump as well as members of the press discussing his nomination as being inevitable and it bothers me because they are disregarding the majority of the voters in the party who haven’t even voted as yet, if I were them I would be quite offended by their arrogance. 

How dare YOU assume that you know how I am going to vote? Polls are one thing to discuss but to say it’s all over…please.. 

Now it’s quite different when Obama or any candidate speaks about being the nominee it can be viewed two ways as either being a tiny bit arrogrant and presumptuous or simply as a candidate trying to rally his suppporters. Obama I believe since Iowa has walked the line perfectly.

But when I hear the Republicans and the press choosing Obama over Clinton I get worried because there could be a backlash toward their presumptuousness and I wonder if this could not be a strategy by those in the Republican party to get voters riled up so that they respond negatively towards Obama and move towards Clinton. She would be the perfect candidate for the Republicans to run against. It would be a dream come true for Karl Rove and all his people I know she could beat them but it would be an uphill battle.

Also when the anchors and reporters discuss Obama’s inevitablity it shows quite a lack of objectivity and that bothers me I expect analysts and consultants to prognisticate (love that word..love it..lol) more than the average reporter or anchor but reporters and anchors really do need to show a bit more restraint..come on Super Tuesday is still around the corner mates so keep your opinions to yourselves or to your personal anonymous blogs.

Edwards and Obama teaming up..

Oh my god..Obama and Edwards are teaming up against Clinton..I wonder if that was preplanned?

And now Richardson just said that he’s been in hostage negotiations that are more civil than this..lol..and now he’s talking about staying positive..oh my what a diplomat…and now he’s throwing the experience card out there..ok Richardson we know what you’ve done..ok..la, la, la..lol..

I know you’ve raked leaves for the old lady down the street we know you’re a nice guy..lol

Mitt Romney is left black & blue…

Mitt might need an icepack after Saturday’s New Hampshire Republican debate.

He really took some punches above and below the belt even from “Gentle Mike’ who went after him with almost as much gusto as Mccain and Thompson.

I don’t think any of the Republican presidential candidates can stand Romney and I can’t blame them cause I can’t either..he’s such a fraud..don’t mess up my hair Romney…good god!

I must say that this debate was the first ‘real debate’ of the the entire election season. The candidates had enough opportunities to answer all the questions posed by ABC’s Charlie Gibson and then to debate among each other.

 It was great!!!

The highlight..hmm watching Mccain beating up on Romney on almost every issue..it was brutal and watching all the guys and the one gal on the stage shaking hands and making nice, great photo op but fantastic nevertheless!

N.B Every Republican is the agent of change now…let’s see how long that lasts!

‘Background’ people behind Clinton..

Is it just me or have the people ( i call them ’background’ people..) behind Senator Clinton suddenly got a whole lot younger/younger looking?

She was just on CNN answering a question posed by Bill O’Reilly at one of her New Hampshire rallies and I couldn’t help but notice all the young people in her background audience..

I wonder if she’s taking a page out of Obama’s book? hmm…..

Just gotta love him..

You just gotta love Congressman and Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich. Earlier today he filed a complaint with the Federal Communication Commission after ABC News excluded him from it’s debate on Saturday in New Hampshire. 

You sooo… have got to admire his determination, he knows he’s fighting a losing battle but he keeps on fighting.

I hope ABC includes him ’cause the debates just haven’t been the same since Mike Gravel and now to lose Kucinich would be absolute murder…..Come on ABC…

Dow drops 200 points..

This is bad. Along with the bad jobs report, the unemployment rate rising to 5% and all of this occurring in these first few days of year this does not augur well for the rest of the year.

I don’t even think with an interest rate cute we will be able to avoid a recession…

How Obama can win in New Hampshire..

I don’t know if I’m officially an Obama ‘girl’ but I will say that I would be ecstatic if he wins. His win would mean so much for this country, the black communities here and across the globe and the entire world as a matter of fact. 

Now, I think the way he has to do it is not only by staying on message but also by highlighting some critical policy changes that he would implement if he becomes president domestically and internationally.

I don’t think the politics of hope will be as successful in the New Hampshire primary as it was in the Iowa caucuses since New Hampshire voters are an entire different breed and the climate there is entirely different. They care about different things and aren’t as traditional as Iowa voters even though I do believe they are just as capable of voting with their hearts as easily as Iowans did Obama must appeal to their wallets and their minds as easily as he can capture their hearts.

And according to many of those reporting in New Hampshire the issues that resonate with residents are taxes, national security and health care.

Also Obama needs to once again bring independents over to his side, according to the Daily Trail, independents “Constituted 20 percent of the caucus electorate in Iowa on Thursday, but four years ago in New Hampshire they cconstituted nearly half (48 percent) of the Democratic electorate.”  

If  Obama can convince them to vote for him and vote for him in record numbers like they did in Iowa and still win all the  other demographics like he did in Iowa, based on all the polls from Iowa Obama beat Clinton and Edwards in almost every single demographic,  then I believe he will go on to win the Democratic nomination and ultimately the presidency.

Clinton on the other hand faces an uphill battle but she has the money and the organization to best Obama but I do think she’s not connecting with voters as much as she would like and that ‘lack of connection’ is her achilles’ heel.

But in a state that prides itself on it’s independence who know she may just beat back Obama and then leave it all up to those in South Carolina.

And that would be extremely interesting!

N.B I just found out who Obama’s foreign policy adviser is it’s Susan Rice..

I was wrong…kinda..

Well, I didn’t think I was going to have to write this blog and since I was only wrong on the Democratic side (the one that really mattered you say..cheeky..lol) can I write half of a blog? LOL..

To catch my new readers up, on a previous blog I predicted Edwards would win- I was wrong.

 I guess Iowa voters DO vote with the hearts and that they DO want change just as bad as the rest of us.

To all my friends who said Obama would win you can go ahead and say, ” I told you so..” whenever you see me I swear not a word, not a single word will leave these lips..honestly.

To my faithful readers feel free to ridicule my predictions I will not slink away I will faithfully sit here and eat my humble pie. 

Tonight, my friends is one night I don’t mind being wrong!

Obama wins, true acceptance, true equality, has finally arrived…

Where do I begin?

As I write this post tears are streaming down my face I simply cannot believe it…

Really, I can’t. This man, this BLACK man actually has a real shot at becoming the first black president and it’s within MY lifetime.

His win tonight in one of the whitest states in the Union tells me and says to millions of people like me that being smart and black wouldn’t and is no longer being seen as an oxymoron within the white community and that black people can now rally behind a man that looks like us and reflects our values and that sooner rather than later we can look to the highest office in the land and see one of us and finally, finally, view ourselves as true citizens in this land and be viewed as equals in every sense of the word.

Others may claim that true equality was reached long ago and many smart black people would pay lip service to this idea in public but when we, smart black people, ever talked among ourselves behind closed doors we always viewed politics more so than any arena with cynicism. Accepting that we could only go so far and knowing that some doors were still closed and closed tight to us and anyone who looked like us regardless of how smart we are or what party we belonged too.

For a country that we have lived in since it’s inception and suffered inumberable injustices for it and at it’s hand we often viewed this land as not being completely ours, in recent past we pointed to Katrina, tonight one man showed us, showed me that white people are finally willing to share all the spoils of this country and that we may finally be considered true equals.

Black kids, black young people can now look to the highest office in the land and say with a loud voice and a proud heart and believe it to be true that one day, “I can be president!”

Barack if he’s president, wow i’m actually saying that, will be the president of all of America but no longer will the black community have to settle for the candidate that acts the most black (Bill Clinton) or the candidate that has the closest ties to the black community (Bill Clinton) instead we will have a black president that didn’t come in through the back door..he fought and worked for it just like any other candidate and instead will be walking straight up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, hand in hand with his wife and kids and opening the door.

This moment is what Dr. King, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, my parents, your parents and millions of others like them fought for, died for-TRUE EQUALITY, TRUE ACCEPTANCE!!!

Obama projected to win..

I need a moment here…

Romney, Iowans can’t be bought…

Although I’m not a Republican or Republican leaning I applaud Iowa republicans and their choice Mike Huckabee.

Huckabee reflects their views, beliefs and he’s a likeable guy.

Although I disagree with most of his opinions I’m completely convinced that if I met him and discussed our opinions I could walk away saying, “I respectfully disagree with you Governor but stop by my house for a cup of coffee the next time you’re in town,” and I’m sure I’m not the only liberal that says this or would say this.

Romney on the other hand is a fake. Pure and simple.

He may indeed end up with the Republican nomination but in my opinion he courts conservatives by offering falsehoods and flip flops.

Romney wants to be president to right the wrongs done to his father by any means necessary.

This time it didn’t work but who knows money, to many, is the ultimate elixer. 

Three way tie..

Obama is at 35%, Edwards, 32% and Clinton 31%…

CNN is projecting Huckabee..

Ok..one down one more to go..I was right about Huckabee CNN is now projecting Huckabee will win the Republican Iowa caucuses..

First results are in..

Ok..with 2% of the Iowa precents reporting their results CNN is reporting for the Democrats.. Edwards has 42%, Clinton 33% and Obama 25% of the votes…so far…on the Republican side there is Huckabee at 33%, Romney 24%, Thompson 17% and Mccain 11%…

A whole lotta people..

So based on these early entrance polls a lot of these people showing up to caucus are young, women and independents hmm so these talking heads were right…you go smart people!!!

CNN’s touch screen tv…

I just love CNN’s touch screen tv’s..is that what they are called? They are huge and you can make them do stuff..lol

Early NBC entrance polls..

According to early entrance polls Obama and Clinton are neck and neck as well as Romney and Huckabee..

the press really want Obama to win..

Chris Matthews and his panel really seem to believe that Obama has Iowa locked up..I really do hope that they aren’t surprised..

Blogging the caucuses….from my couch…

For the entire night and hopefully not into the early morning I’ll be blogging my opinions and thoughts about the caucuses results every thing I find a bit interesting or should be off note I’ll let you know.

Now we’ll really see where Iowan’s hearts and heads really lie…

Candidates vs Rappers…

Have you ever wondered what the rapper equivalent of the presidential candidates would be?

I must confess I haven’t but if you want to see who Obama and Clinton would be in the world of hip hop give this a look.. and that Dennis Kucinich/flava flav comparison cracks me up everytime…

 P.S I have to do something between now and 7pm..lol..

A genie in your cell phone; answers via text..

Search site ChaCha launched a free site for mobile users that allows you and me to get any question we have answered via text message.

This is brilliant I don’t know or haven’t heard of any other provider offering this ‘free’ service but the idea that I can get any question answered for me while I’m on the run, away from the PC and that no question is too mundane and best of all it’s FREE is wicked cool..I can’t wait to use this service.

Obama wins Iowa caucuses….

It hasn’t come to fruition and I don’t have the post written yet but I just might have to write it if these pollsters are correct.

And so it begins…

Today as thousands in Iowa caucus for the person or persons they believe in I am reminded of this quote from Noam Chomsky

There are no magic answers, no miraculous methods to overcome the problems we face, just the familiar ones: honest search for understanding, education, organization….and the kind of commitment that will persist despite the temptations of disillusionment, despite many failures and only limited successes, inspired by the hope of a brighter future.

To all the candidates good luck and to the people of Iowa thank you so much choose wisely and remember it’ll soon be over…lol.

Who’s winning and who will win Iowa

According to The Des Moines Register Obama and Huckabee are leading Clinton and Romney respectively.

And Edwards, on the democratic side, is close third.

But I really do believe that because Edwards has basically been campaigning in Iowa for the past 4 years that gives him an advantage over the other three democratic candidates and this should not be discounted.

Think about it this way if you were an Iowan the two other democratic candidates could be viewed as johnny-come-latelies while Edwards is seen as a familiar face somebody who has been working for and wants to work for you, the people of Iowa so when you go into that caucus room you will be thinking about change, passion, idealism but ultimately the person who resonates most and has left a lasting impression and who believe worked the hardest to convince you that they would be the best person for the job as president is the person that could ultimately win.

And I believe Edwards has done that for Iowans. 

According to the NY times ‘Edwards has since 2005 spent more than 100 days in Iowa’ and he has ’fiercely courted rural voters in particular, visiting all 99 counties — twice’.

John Edwards has been working extremely to hard to garner Iowans votes and I do think it will ultimately pay off tomorrow.

Although the polls have either Clinton or Obama in the lead I think Edwards is the practical choice to practical Iowa Democratic voters. He says all the right things, he is white (although nobody wants to say that..I will..) and he makes you believe that he actually will change things in Wahsington. So he’s all things to everybody in the Democratic party and you do need to be that if you’re going to be a poltician and I believe that in any other election year Edwards would have had the nomination locked up.

However, this time it’s different and although Obama or Clinton could ultimately become the party’s nominee Iowa Democrats see Edwards as their choice because his platform core issues resonate with them and also he’s the one that could win a general election. Practicality.

Their hearts might be with Obama or Clinton but their minds and their votes will go with Edwards.

As far as the Republican goes I see Huckabee winning all the way because Huckabee embodies all that Iowa republicans stand for he’s on the right side of all the issues they care about and although some of his statements on immigration might be a bit too ‘compasssionate’ for their liking, he’s a pastor therefore he get’s a pass on that regards.

Romney is a flip flopper i.e John Kerry..lol and even though I’m willing to say his money and machinery might ultimately pay off in the end I believe Huckabee’s likeablity, his religion and his position on all the core issues will push him across the finish line.

But hey I’m known to be wrong check back here tomorrow to see how wrong I am…

Oil hits $100 a barrel..

Oil prices hit $100 a barrel briefly today before falling back.

If oil prices continue to rise and we see sustained oil prices at $100 a barel in the short term this is going to mean higher gas prices for me and you and higher heating oil prices in the long term higher prices across the board for every day items. I could also talk about the impact this is going to have on specific industries and in the long term this could fuel a recession that although we’re technically not in doesn’t stop the everyday person from believing we are.

Although I have my doubts, I really do hope this inspires people to start pressuring their elected officials and the car makes to spend more on developing alternative fuels and to put more into hybrids. Detroit MUST go greener sooner rather than later because after reaching the $100 mark the $120 and $150 naker might not be that far away.

Check out the story here.

Santa is on his way…

Santa Claus has come and gone for many but for me Santa is on his way..

What am I talking about you ask?

Well in two days the Iowa caucuses will be held and I along with a couple thousand people will be glued to our TV sets and various websites (can you be glued to websites? hmmm..) trying to predict the winners and losers of Iowa for many of us this is our Christmas!

I know, I know it’s not the iphone but you hey know what to me this election will be unlike any other election and for the first time I actually believe this election will have a direct impact on my life and the lives of millions of people not only here in the US but also across the globe.

I don’t believe that whoever wins Iowa will be their party’s nominee check out one of my earlier blogs (and if you want to see who’s in the lead check out the latest Iowa poll) but this is the beginning of something great and hopefully wonderful in the world of politics and based on who wins the presidency this could be a momentous occasion so how could I not be thrilled?

And this time around I hope many, many more people will join me in watching and monitoring the wonderful world of politics.