An awful lot of childish behavior has been on parade on the campaign trail this year. Well, yeah, pretty much every campaign season we see that, but this year has seemed even more juvenile than usual. Are we getting beyond that, at long last? Did we just take a big step?
There’s one way in which we certainly should be trying to grow up as a nation: It’s long past time for us to get over the racial issue. Do we really want our nation to cling so tightly to the bad old ways? Is it just that doggone critical to maintain the pout on our collective lips about a tarnished few still-cherished old grudges and grievances? Or do we really want to move forward? We come far enough by now – crossing over into a completely new millennium, numbering 350 million, venturing to the moon and back, presently on our way to Pluto, celebrating the first woman Speaker of the House, and honoring the first viable female candidacy for President. But can we push farther - can we go all the way – perhaps beyond the old boundaries of a societal solar system? Were we, are we, fully aware of the threshold leaped and the distance traveled on this third night of the Democratic National Convention?
There were two major events to distinguish the day, and the principals involved looked pretty darn grown-up. After a long and nauseating obsession on whether the Barack-versus-Hillary would slice the party like a sushi chef filets a fine fish, it seems a lot more cool to link arms with some strong leadership and kick our differences into the corner.
There didn’t seem to be any traces remaining of a family squabble. Hillary Clinton was hardly half-hearted when she spoke for the New York delegation, shortstopping the delegate tallies to nominate Barack Obama by acclamation. It was a vigorous and enthusiastic follow-up to her rousing speech of the previous night. Then, the rabid speculation about “What Would Bill Do” was firmly ended.
No wavering from him after his lead-off sentence, once the screaming standing ovation died down. President Bill Clinton’s second line was a straightforward declaration of support for Barack Obama, and then a pledge to work with Hillary and her “18 million” to help get him elected. He left no doubt about his resolve to join and work hard for the team. Throughout Clinton’s speech and that of Joe Biden afterwards, there were more detailed remarks – statements and phrases that the rest of us in the trenches in the days ahead are going to need to maintain our resolve and answer some nasty email or uninformed claim borrowed from conservative hate radio. More of the red meat that many of us have been yearning to bite into was indeed served, and on a fairly large plate. If not quite beefy enough to come with candles, good crystal, and Grandma’s sterling silver flatware, then at least it was presented on some nice place mats with clean stainless steel knives and forks.
I would have liked the knives on that table to have had somewhat sharper edges to them, however. Childish of me, maybe. It was elegant for Clinton and Biden both to praise John McCain’s service. Not sure I could have been so kind. Clinton didn’t dwell on his own glory days beyond a reminder of how many ways we were better off by the time his stewardship ended than we will be by the time George Bush gets through with us. But he did say those eight years of his convinced him that Obama is the man for the big job, and noted that people once said he also was too young and inexperienced to be Commander-in-Chief.
A really great part about the Third Night, in terms of making a public case for Obama’s eligibility came in two words from Bill Clinton: “here’s why.” For the first time in prime time, from both Clinton and Biden, we heard specific reasons why – as Biden’s litany put it – “Barack Obama is right and John McCain is wrong.” That was a clear delineation that had not been firmly established this week. They both spelled out in some detail how the economic and foreign policy blunders of the Bush administration that have left our country in such woeful shape would carry over into a McCain reign. For the first time, at least among the principal figures, we actually heard references to an assault on science, torture, Hurricane Katrina, and cronyism. Even so, these constituted a mere handful on a list of thousands of unmentioned reckless political, moral, and legal benders from which we will have a monster of a national hangover, and which we soft-peddle, overlook, or forgive too easily – at our peril.
The only enlargement which might have covered any atrocities committed by Dick Cheney and friends, came from a Joe Biden joke to those who uphold the law and honor the Constitution – “no longer will you hear those eight most dreadful words in the English language - ‘the vice president’s office is on the phone.’” Biden did come up with another one, inadvertently – a Freudian slip about the America that George Bush has left us being the America that George – oops – that John McCain is going to give us. I guess the Twin City Twins really are awfully hard to tell apart.
The night of Clintons Behaving Graciously and Joe Biden fighting with finesse was unexpected. The first half of it was a most welcome change and a big step toward maturity. We’ve been repeatedly told by the media about the Great Democratic Divide – that in reality seems only a vague memory by now. Perhaps we really are growing up in that regard. I must admit I would have liked to see Biden thrash around in the playpen a little more. John McCain hasn’t taken anywhere near the lumps from our side that his side will be shoveling at us with every bulldozer in Minneapolis (and some ceremoniously flown in from Iraq), and with an aim to bury us alive.
But while we agonize about whether to hit hard and keep hitting, or to try a more adult approach, we do have one thing that makes us all very grown-up indeed. Tactics and individual convention highlights aside, we all took one giant leap for American-kind on the Third Day. The smiles, the tears, the rapt expressions, the bliss – from faces of all skin tones throughout the arena – told the full story. Our country evolved tonight. We grew up a little more. We reached farther. We stood just a little taller and took a longer, deeper, more deliberate breath. We knocked 18 million cracks in one glass ceiling and utterly shattered another. We are not the same America now. We’re a nation with an emotional, cultural, societal, and historical wound that we’ve nursed for centuries – and a whole lot of us just made it official – that we’re getting over it and putting it behind us.
There is a person of color just one election away from possibly winning the biggest, most powerful, and most important job in this country. We should all stop a moment in the midst of this partisan madness and appreciate that. Hey, world - we’re growing up. It’s a huge first in American history that some Democratic party elders stated today that they thought they’d never live to see. Joe Biden put it nicely – “these are extraordinary times. I’m ready, Barack Obama’s ready, this is his time, this is our time.”
Stop perpetuating the false left/right paradigm that legitimises what can only be described as a branch of an organized crime ring.
If there is any "growing-up" to do it should be the people of this country that still recognise this two-party-as-one-party farce of a system that puts on a show to fool the gullible into thinking they have a choice in whose governing them.
If we had truly fair and honest coverage of all the different political parties, Green, Constitutional, and others, both the Democratic and Republican Parties would be regulated to the back of the list as being the least likely to represent the wishes of the people.
But of course that will never happen under our current system of mass media brainwashing and the gullible will continue to praise false leaders who will lead them further away from the ideals this country was founded on.
Praise these fools if you wish, those of us that have wakened to this farce hold whom you praise in disdain and think little of those still blind enough to follow these criminals masquerading as leaders of people.
by
Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 51 diaries, 2028 comments)
on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 8:08:41 AM
This statement from the article reflects one aspect of the naivete afflicting many Americans …. The author still -god knows why- believes and election is about "...... winning the biggest, most powerful, and most important job in this country"
Oh really?
Elections are preordained. The candidates are preordained. What will happen in government subsequent to the election is preordained.
Elections are designed to distract YOU. They are designed to create the illusion of choice. They are designed to legitimize plutocratic rule.
Get a clue, Mary.
There are none so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free. -- Goethe
by
richard (0 articles, 5 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 976 comments)
on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 1:43:04 PM
Every Bush admin "blunder" has been aided by the same Dems
you're now cheering for. Without the Dems' collaboration & political cover, the Bush admin couldn't have invaded Iraq or Afghanistan. They couldn't have funded the occupations, or passed the PATRIOT Act, or gotten away with torture, or instituted spying on American citizens. They couldn't have gotten away with paying no political price for invading another nation based on pure lies. They couldn't have packed the Supreme Court with reactionaries, or gotten away with the cronyism, or the no-bid contracts & hiring of outfits like Blackwater.
The Dems have helped with saber-rattling towards Iran, & now Russia. The Dems backed up Bush's lop-sided support for Israel, even when it bombed Lebanon & continued building illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories. You could hardly find a single Bush crime where the Dems didn't help him out -- and now you're acting like justice has triumphed at last, just because a few of the very same Dems give typical political speeches in a hall packed with corporate lobbyists, & guarded by battalions of police in riot gear.
Are you aware that Obama only won the nomination because he falsely presented himself as someone who would "end the war"? And now we see that his idea of "ending the war in Iraq" simply means transferring a limited number of troops to Afghanistan.
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Richard Mynick (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1293 comments)
on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 2:42:56 PM
For instance Pelosi voted against the October 2002 Authorisation To Use Military Force. (Which was not, by the way sufficient to authorise an invasion order against the terms of a later UN Resolution). And to be honest I'm not sure that that was a blunder at all - I think it was UNreasonable to empower the President of the day with a full range of options and to expect that the President of the day would not exceed the bounds of the authorisation and of his constitutional oath.
Steny Hoyer voted for that authorisation. I bring this up because Hoyer and Pelosi are rivals of a sort within the Democratic party and it was Hoyer that popped up in the media to say with respect to impeachment and Kucinich's efforts, "there might be hearings, but not impeachment hearings".
Its possible that Pelosi found it harder to make room for actual impeachment hearings because of Hoyer. If impeachment failed Hoyer could attack Pelosi for, as Speaker, allowing House time to be wasted.
Please note this comment in no way absolves or praises Pelosi for her failure to do her duty and to defend the constitution.
The 109th Congress and the 110th were different beasts (sets of people). You may say slightly only, but I'll insist that those changes in the elements of the two sets actually matters.
Obama voted against the 2002 Authorisation to Use Military Force too. But he voted for the FISA retrospective stuff.
by
Brett Paatsch (0 articles, 2 quicklinks, 22 diaries, 1175 comments)
on Friday, August 29, 2008 at 2:38:35 AM
Please watch Alex Jones' "Endgame" free online now
Um.
"Growing up" means:
Realizing that -- in the U.S. -- left & right are one & the same thing.
"Growing up" means:
Realizing that U.S. elections are completely staged.
"Growing up" means:
Boycotting the U.S. mainstream media (MSM) propaganda machine completely.
"Growing up" means:
Learning the real issues through the alternative media & the foreign press.
Racism is not the issue.
Racism is the distraction.
Don't buy into it.
I would tell you what the real issues are, but you wouldn't believe it, because you haven't heard it on the MSM. This is how well they've done their job. They've got millions of people believing that they're getting the real news. Check out the alternative media sometime. You will probably find that they're talking about things that you've never even heard of. You will say to yourself, "What they're saying cannot possibly be true, because I would have heard it on the news." You won't even bother to do any internet research on what they're saying -- so easy to do in this day & age -- because you just KNOW it couldn't be true. You don't why, or how, you know -- you can't explain it -- you just know that you know that you know. They couldn't trick you. Not savvy you. No way!
But, if that's true, then how is it possible that those of us in the alternative press knew that gold was going to $1000? How did we know that gas was going to $5.00/gallon? How did we know that people were going to lose their homes in record numbers? How did we know that banks were going to fail? How did we know that endless war was going to walk hand-in-hand with the implosion of our economy? How did we know that 911 was going to occur? How did we know the scientific facts of 911 wouldn't line up with the official story? How did we know that 911 would lead to massive & unprecedented loss of liberty? How did we know that the war on terrorism was going to morph into the war on the American people? How come we weren't surprised when it came out that the U.S. gov't was wiretapping ordinary U.S. citizens en masse? How did we know about the SPP, the Amero & the loss of sovereignty? How did we know about Real ID & the move to put everyone & all their personal, biometric, financial & medical data into international databases? How did we know about RFID, Verichip & implantable brain chips? How did we know about their plans to track & control everyone, everywhere? How did we know that vaccines would become ubiquitous & mandatory despite increasing deaths & irreversible side effects like autism? How did we know about the FEMA camps? How did we know about the railcars with shackles & chains? How did we know about the federalization & militarization of our police departments? How did we know that we would turn into a surveillance society? How did we know about Bilderberg & the shadow gov't? How did we know about HAARP, chemtrails & weather modification?
Don't these sound like important issues to you? But all you hear about in the MSM are the he said/she said rumors about racism & a lot of hoo-hah about abortion, global warming (which has been proven to be a fraud) & gay marriage ad nauseum. Our economy is already in worse shape than it was during the Great Depression & the only think the MSM can think of to report on is who wants to exchange wedding vows & who wants it stopped? Or, God forbid, endless voyeuristic coverage about the latest bimbo's booboo????? This is news? Since when! Something is terribly wrong with this picture. FIGURE IT OUT.
Time to grow up, Mary.
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Kim McDaniel (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 30 comments)
on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 5:36:27 PM
I viewed this article in the hopes that some intelligent people had commented on it and set the record straight. I was not disappointed. It is a shame that so many people are living in a destructive dream world where they believe that the Democrats will save this country, but fortunately, more and more people are fed up with the BS and getting their facts from other sources than the mainstream media.. thanks in large part to those, like yourselves, who woke up long ago and realized the true nature of this leviathon. Keep calling a spade a spade. People are listening. Do you notice that there is not ONE person defending Obama in the comments? Damn straight!
by
Ferdinand (17 articles, 4 quicklinks, 39 diaries, 259 comments)
on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 7:09:51 PM
I did want to say, so that you would not be too offended, that you wrote an article - which I have yet to do, so kudos for that. You also put your thoughts and heart on the line which takes courage. You also write well. And you did mention many of egregious sins committed over the last 8 years (though the sins have been occurring for many many years). But you fail to realize many dems have been every bit as bad as the repubs.
It's just... it's simply that you are not aware of the degree to which you and all Americans have been so brainwashed. You don't know about Operation Mockingbird and the continuing control of the media. You probably have not thought about the myriad ways in which we are psyop'd day in and day out. And you haven't looked at how every administration, certainly at least since WWII has pursued the dark fantasy of global hegemony murdering and eviscerating the world's people in the process. While increasing dictatorial control here at home.
Please go out and study. Look at all of the data. Come back and write again.
by
richard (0 articles, 5 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 976 comments)
on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 8:06:55 PM
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