In Orangeburg, SC last night, about 100 miles from my home, in the reddest state of a once red country (funny how words change; it used to mean communist, now it’s the exact opposite), the blue team battled it out in the first of what promises to be a long series of debates. I didn’t think that I was going to see much here last night. I thought that Dennis Kucinich would clarify his position (something the mainstream media is loathe to let him do), and maybe gain a few points in the standings. (See how much this is like a sporting event? Well, it IS called a race).
I was a little disappointed in Dennis Kucinich, he couldn’t quite achieve any type of charismatic stance, although that is not important to me, it doesn’t bode well for the campaign in general; many Americans demand charisma, it seems to be important, knowledge and commonsense seem to trail that media glow, as this were American Idol and not a Presidential Race. Joe Biden came out polished and smooth, too smooth for me...and also a little belligerent. I can only guess he is trying to get the centrists and right of center Democrats that feel comfortable with a President that won’t be afraid to get “tough” with other nations and “terrorists”.
Chris Dodd was surprisingly smart in my opinion, having good answers to questions that took a little fast thinking on your feet. John Edwards kind of floundered when asked a few questions from the hip. He also was extremely long winded and his answers sounded like memorization and a sales pitch, instead of heartfelt answers. I was extremely disappointed. Same with Bill Richards, with his wonderful diplomatic coups of the last year in North Korea and Darfur, I expected him to come out sounding a wee bit less jerky and disjointed. Still, he answered questions in a way that I probably would have answered them. He has a definite take on things and with him, you DO get the feeling that he speaks from his inner beliefs. He didn’t apologize for being the NRA poster child, but he did say that assault weapons and back ground checks including information about a person’s mental status should be a part of those checks, but after the incident in Virginia, that was a given.
Hillary Clinton was surprisingly good. Her answers were well thought out. She still sounded lame when she said that she voted for the authorization of force because she thought Bush was going to take that to the UN and demand that the World Body force Saddam’s hand. Either one: She was buffaloed into believing the unbelievable propaganda that Bush used in his race towards war, or two: She didn’t want to seem out of step with everyone else and voted for it so she wouldn’t stand out and therefore it was the politically expedient thing to do. Either way, it was a serious lack of judgement on her part if she believed either of these suppositions. She further aggravated me by just not admitting she screwed up.
Barak Obama was disappointing. He was defiantly the consummate politician. The man for all seasons so to speak. He promised everything to everyone and came out looking like a caricature of a politician. Some might say he was smooth, he was. I say he was very pat in his answers. It seemed to me that he was a little too vague. I don’t think that he has the experience to carry this campaign to it’s conclusion. I especially didn’t like the way his remarks to the South Carolina crowd all of a sudden came with a mock southern accent. That was a little over the top. I’ve lived here for awhile, and I don’t even talk like that. It was too damn condescending which his appearance on the whole seemed to be.
The surprise and the best I’ve saved for last. Out of the blue comes Former Alaskan senator Mike Gravel, who besides adding a little comic relief with his expressions and his biting wit, brought a breath of fresh air to the debate. He came out swinging about George W,’s “fraudulent war”. He then said that some of the candidates including Joe Biden want to tell the Iraqi’s how to run their country. He said that “Biden had a certain arrogance”. The best part of the entire evening for me was this statement from Senator Gravel when asked about the three most important “enemies” of the United States:
MR. GRAVEL: We have no important enemies. What we need to do is to begin to deal with the rest of the world as equals, and we don't do that. We spend more as a nation on defense than all the rest of the world put together.
Who are we afraid of? Who are you afraid of, Brian? I'm not.
And Iraq has never been a threat to us. We invaded them. I mean, it is unbelievable. The military-industrial complex not only controls our government lock, stock and barrel but they control our culture.
That would have been my answer almost word for word. As much as the press derided what he said there, it was one of the most talked about statement and he seemed to get more press than anyone. Another part of the debate that got a lot of air play was this answer by Sen Gravel when asked if he believed in the “French Style” of using nuclear energy:
MR. GRAVEL: No, not at all. I think there has to be a maturation process. And I'm the one that started the nuclear critique in this country. I'm also the one that denied the boots on the ground for George Bush today when I filibustered the end of the draft. And I'm also the one that brought about the Alaska Pipeline by one vote in the Congress.
So when you ask about the energy issues or the other issues, let me just tell you -- I want to answer the question on the war and on what's going on. We are mischaracterizing terrorism. Terrorism has been with civilization from the beginning, and it will be there till the end. We're going to be as successful fighting terrorism as we are fighting drugs with the war. It doesn't work. What you have to do is to begin to change the whole foreign policy.
The Republicans who are charging Democrats about not going for the defense of this country -- my God, this invasion brought about more terrorists -- Osama bin Laden must have been rolling in his blankets, how --
MR. WILLIAMS: Senator --
MR. GRAVEL: -- happy he was over our invading Iraq.
Again he hits the administration with the truth, and the pundits and the other candidates thought he was “quaint. I thought he was correct on every point. When questions about foreign policy were being raised with other candidate, Se. Gravel raised is hand and got 30 seconds:
Tim was banned from the site for posting private email from the publisher to him on his blog, and then attacking the publisher and the site in emails and articles. OEN has no responsibility to publish articles from people who attack the site.
Tim's accusations that he was banned for his political positions are untrue. Check his articles. He repetitively wrote about and had published exactly the things he claimed he was banned for doing.
Former Chairman of the Liberal Party of America, Tim is a retired Army Sergeant. He currently lives in South Carolina. A regular contributor to OpEdNews, he is the author of Kimchee Kronicles and is currently at work on a new novel.
What I mean is not his rhetoric, but the way he comes accross. Just a touch of finesse would do him a world of good. I agree, we don't want him to change.
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Timothy V. Gatto (348 articles, 177 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 575 comments)
on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 6:38:09 AM
On a MYDD poll a few weeks ago, I voted for Gravel. I liked what I saw when he spoke in Nevada. He is a breath of fresh air, he speaks the truth and he's fearless.
That means he's sure to be mocked, treated like a crazy fool, disrespected and minimized by the mainstream media, which is exactly what they're doing. The give kudos to the other six who are moderate, don't step out of line, don't say anything that makes waves. Kucinich did a great job too, though he had to share the left wing stage with Gravel, overall a good thing for the left. If Kucinich and Gravel keep asking questions and raising issues it wil force the rest of the field to move left.
On the red state and communism comment, I have to disagree. The reds were undemocratic, power hungry control freaks who maintained their power by controlling the media, propagandizing, giving industry the protection and power of government. They manipulated the justice system to protect their positions and power, spied on citizens, arrested people without good reason and held them for long times without giving them rights. Sound familiar?
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Rob Kall (739 articles, 3816 quicklinks, 318 diaries, 1591 comments)
on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 6:54:17 AM
I wrote this a $:30 this morning and I made a few typos. There is no excuse for that. I was so excited about Sen Gravel that I jumped out of bed a little too early. I apologise. I believe I have corrected them
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Timothy V. Gatto (348 articles, 177 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 575 comments)
on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 8:37:14 AM
Plus, (and Rob's interest, too), keep watch on the 'mediaso-calledmoderators' being actually populist Democratic haters. For example, the deft quick response at Media Matters ORG: MSNBC debate questions on Iraq, immigration, and national security based on false premises
That said "false premises." That said Brian Williams is a LIAR, and brings heat on co-moderator David Stanton -- 'Where do YOU stand, David?'
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Tim, I ask why you advise Gravel, Kucinich, or fearless truth-speakers, to "tone it down"? My instinctive sense says to turn it UP, call to attention. Eh?
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meremark (1 articles, 3 quicklinks, 23 diaries, 461 comments)
on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 12:41:42 PM
My friend missed the debates, and sent an e-mail asking about it. I told her "Nothing earth-shattering, though Dennis K. came off pretty well, but the most impressive was the guy who was allowed little time to talk. Mike Gravel.He impressed me.I felt very bad when none would raise a hand to support Kucinich and his Bill HR333.
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Pat Herrick (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 145 comments)
on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 1:05:46 PM
I personally knew nothing about Sen. Gravel until last night. We need more truthful politicians. Unfortunately, they are like looking for a needle in the hay stack of Washington D.C. His remarks aout the mischaracterization of terrorism are on target.
Terrorist Acts are criminal acts not acts of WAR. The War on Drugs is another form of this nature. When it was declared was about the time this government was involved in the Contra Crack smuggling. As always when War is declared then a few stand to profit tremendously. They tend to be criminals that consider themselves above the law. It is pretty hypocritical.
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Sleeper (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 272 comments)
on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 1:55:40 PM
I think it is time for a firebrand in the White House. Someone who is fearless and owes nothing to the entrenched in Washington. I have had all the sugar coated pablum I can handle. People are dying all over the world while the candidates are trying to be polite to the murderers. The robber barons of ages past ,pale in comparison to the neo-cons assault on our nation and the world. They have undermined every principle We the People want to hold dear. And when called on our objections they tell us to sit down and shut the hell up. We need someone like Mr Gravel to shout to the rafters the stupidity and calumny of these interlopers. People, this is what it is going to take to get our country back. Anger and truth. I will look for Mr Gavels blog and want to hear more.
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cluelessfl (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 184 comments)
on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 2:31:02 PM
When I wrote the article and talked about Mike Gravel, I wrote that while firmly in his corner. I also wrote that he "might want to tone it down - a bit". Not a lot, a bit. We have to understand that many in this country do not think like us. In order to be taken seriously a candidate must seem "in control", if not, he will not be taken seriously and be derided. I'm sure Sen Gravel knows the score and that he wanted to be noticed, and he succeeded. I also don't want him to stop speaking his mind and be fearless, but not to alienate people and have him labeled as a crackpot (which they probably will do to attack him anyway). I believe that whatever he does, I'm rooting for him.
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Timothy V. Gatto (348 articles, 177 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 575 comments)
on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 2:44:25 PM
Gravel = gravitas. Which attracts people of matters.
Tim, in case you have yet to discover Wayne Madsen Report in Senator Gravel's support, please, look into it. You are going to enjoy the lift of reading truth.
April 27-29, 2007 -- WMR endorsed former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel for President last April when he first announced his candidacy. After last night's Democratic presidential debate, the editor is assured that our endorsement was a wise one. Gravel was the only candidate to voice public indignation over the fact that this country has been lied to incessantly and that most of the Democrats on that stage last night have been enablers for the GOP liars. The exceptions are Bill Richardson and Dennis Kucinich ...
The two insidious "Democratic" controlled opposition blogs this editor has time and again pointed to as serving the interests of the neo-cons ... posted some sarcastic comments about Gravel last night and this morning. However, the expected barbs on the two sites were the same kind of sarcastic language used on the right-wing sites. As a result of Gravel breaking loose from the bottom of the eight candidates and pulling ahead of Kucinich, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, and Bill Richardson and practically tying with Hillary Clinton in on-line polls, the Democratic Leadership Council and elite Democratic circles began pounding on Gravel.
Madsen further warns(?) of the surreptitious support for BushCheney neo-con-ism, by such 'believable' liberal-looking celebrities as Keith Olbermann. Appropos of "Olbermann's snotty "joke" last night that Zell Miller was endorsing Mike Gravel."
He never responded to this editor's email after he castigated me for my reporting on election fraud in Ohio in the 2004 election. The paper trail and evidence now points to the very well financed fraud to tip Ohio to the Bush column -- exactly what this editor's sources were reporting then and what has been proven since. Olbermann said if any of what I reported was true he would carry me on his back to the Pulitzer award ceremony. Well, now that the facts on the election fraud ... are being uncovered from Columbus to Cleveland ... I have one thing to say to you Keith, "Giddy-up horsy."
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I know, I know, Madsen misspelled 'horsey.' But, hey, cut him some slack, just try out what he has to say, day after day after day shaft straight in the heart of the political corruption, and its Bush lies Bush lies Bush lies ...
Earlier, after I cited where Brian Williams is a LIAR, looking at the video, can't we agree, ladies, it is hard to mind a LIAR faulty who is just the hunk-i-est dreamy dream boat ... swoon ...
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meremark (1 articles, 3 quicklinks, 23 diaries, 461 comments)
on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 4:56:12 PM
I believe Gravel also said something not noted yet in this thread, something which made me fall off my chair. I don't remember his exact words, maybe someone can post them, but it was to the effect that the US troops killed in Iraq were indeed wasted lives, as wasted as the lives of those killed in Vietnam. They all died for nothing, Gravel seemed to say, and we ought to be honest enough to recognize that.
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Kuzminski (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 73 comments)
on Friday, April 27, 2007 at 3:21:46 PM
