It strikes me as odd that McCain makes an issue out of his feelings being hurt by accusations of racism. (Which many people would say are accusations based in reality.) Yet, Obama — who has actually been the target of real racism — hasn’t once complained about it or used it as a scapegoat.
Where does McCain get off playing the hurt feeling card? Grow up.
Who are these people? What is wrong with our country when people think like this:
Being the son of a white mother and a black father has come to symbolize Mr. Obama’s larger mysteries for many voters. When asked about his background, a substantial number of people interviewed said they believed his racial heritage was unclear, giving them another reason to vote against him.
“He’s neither-nor,” said Ricky Thompson, a pipe fitter who works at a factory north of Mobile, while standing in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store just north of here. “He’s other. It’s in the Bible. Come as one. Don’t create other breeds.”
That’s a shameful, hateful thing to say. Barack Obama and the millions of other mixed-race people in this country are people. Just like you and me. Their not another breed! Normally, we don’t hear this kind of insane blabbering in the media. But, we shouldn’t forget that people hear it every day of their lives. People — some of my friends included — can’t understand why so-called “liberals” care about being PC. Maybe if people would pay more attention to what they say and how it impacts others, absurd comments like this would diminish. One can only hope.
You may think I’m losing my mind by trying to make a connection between two of my favorites: politics and baseball. But, take this for what it’s worth. The same stats guy who shocked the sports world when he predicted that the AL’s worst baseball team, the Tampa Rays, would improve by at least 22 games this season is the same guy who is predicting an Obama victory. (Not a baseball fan? The Rays shocked baseball and are now in the second round of the baseball playoffs. Not bad for a worst-to-first story.) He’s making this up. He created this crazy-complicated statistical model that runs tons of scenarios. Based on those models, there’s a 90% chance that Obama will prevail on Election Day.
If you don’t believe me, check it out at www.fivethirtyeight.com. If you’re not reading this, you don’t know what you’re missing. For sure, add it to your daily reading list. It’s fascinating stuff.
Nothing like making a splash! Today, Barack Obama purchased a half-hour of air time on CBS and is rumored to be in negotiations with the other networks. On October 29, he’ll be talking directly to voters. For a half-hour. In primetime. Less than a week before the election.
If you were Barack Obama, what would you say? How would you use this opportunity for direct communication with voters?
I already marked it in my calendar. I can’t wait.
It seems the McCain campaign is out of ideas; instead they’re just making stuff up.
From Talking Points Memo:
It turns out that that “overhead projector” John McCain claimed Barack Obama tried to get a $3 million earmark for was actually money to rebuild Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, the oldest planetarium in the United States.
McCain’s “overhead projector” is the apparatus that runs the planetarium, which is a bit like calling the Palomar Observatory a new set of glasses.
Over the past week, I’ve often wondered why the financial crisis has been positioned as a Wall Street problem requiring a Wall Street bailout. There are trickle down effects that impact all Americans. We’re seeing it here in Central Florida. And, talking to some well informed community leaders, we’re going to see even more problems. Businesses already struggling are going to face even more problems. Think about it just from a real estate perspective. Say Developer A was going to build a new high rise. But, thier credit line all of a sudden was greatly diminished — so much so that they’ve decided to delay the project. That means the architects, planners, general contractors, cleaning crews, sales teams and lots more people suddenly don’t have work. Which means they can’t go out to eat as much, have to fire the cleaning lady and won’t shop. Stores won’t be busy, so the kids making minimum wage will be layed off as well. You see where I’m going — it’s a viscious cycle. It may start on Wall Street … but the crisis is quickly finding its way to Main Street.
When speaking about the bailout bill in the Senate this evening, Obama correctly portrayed this as an American Crisis … not just a Wall Street crisis. I hope people will understand that this bailout isn’t just to help protect the rich people. It’s about trying to find a way to stop the bleeding so the American people are protected. From Obama (transcript courtesy of Daily Kos):
When the House of Representatives failed to act on Monday, we saw the single largest decline in the stock market in two decades. Over $1 trillion of wealth was lost by the time the markets closed. And it wasn’t just the wealth a few CEOs or Wall Street executives. The 401(k)s and retirement accounts of millions became smaller. The state pension funds of teachers and government employees lost billions upon billions of dollars. Hard-working Americans who invested their nest egg to watch it grow saw it diminish and in some cases disappear. And while that decline was devastating, the consequences of the credit crisis that caused it will be even worse if we do not act now. We’re in a very dangerous situation where financial institutions across this country are afraid to lend money. And if all that meant was the failure of a few banks in New York, that would be one thing. But that’s not what it means. What it means is, if we don’t act, it will be harder for Americans to get a mortgage for their home or loans they need to buy a car or send their children to college. What it means is that businesses won’t be able to get the loans they need to open a new factory or make payroll for their workers. And if they can’t make payroll on Friday, then workers are laid off on Monday. And if workers are laid off on Monday, then they can’t pay their bills or pay back their loans to somebody else. And it will go on and on and on, rippling through the entire economy. Potentially we could see thousands of businesses close, millions of jobs could be lost, and a long and painful recession could follow. In other words, this is not just a Wall Street crisis, it’s an American crisis.
Talk about political posturing. I thought McCain picking Palin was a political stunt … but his latest move is even more outlandish. As everyone has heard by now, McCain announced that he’s going to suspend his campagin to focus on the economy.
My head is swirling with reactions. A stream of random reactions:
McCain’s chief economic adviser - and perhaps his closest political friend - is the ultimate pure play in free market faith, former Texas Senator Phil Gramm. If McCain follows Gramm’s counsel, and most of his current positions are vintage Gramm indeed …
This is a political stunt –plain and simple. Voters have already fallen out of love with Sarah Palin — realizing that her nomination, too, was just for political gamesmanship. Hopefully, they’ll also realize that this is nothing more than McCain trying to find any excuse to slow Obama’s momentum.
Former HP CEO and outspoken McCain campaign surrogate Carly Fiorina said that Sarah Palin is not qualified to run a Fortune 500 company. (I would venture to guess that that’s probably true, but that’s a different topic.) Presumably after the McCain campaign told Fiorina that she needed to undo the damage caused by this “foot in mouth” slip of the tounge, Carly took to the airwaves to declare that it’s not just Palin. In fact, according to Fiorina, none of the candidates running for president or vice-president could run a major corporation. As the campaign’s economic advisor, Fiorina has spent a lot of time with McCain, so I guess we can trust her judgement on his abilities. However, she’s spent virtually no time with Obama or Biden, so she’s just guessing … she has no real authority on the subject.
In any case, the whole situaiton is ironic since the statement came from the same woman who was outsted by HP’s Board of Directors. Pot, meet Kettle.
Update: Maureen Dowd makes the same point in Wednesday’s column.
Carly Fiorina, the woman John McCain sent out to defend Sarah Palin and rip anyone who calls her a tabula rasa on foreign policy and the economy, admitted Tuesday that Palin was not capable of running Hewlett-Packard.
That’s pretty damning coming from Fiorina, who also was not capable of running Hewlett-Packard.
I know … two videos in one day. That’s right … prTini is going high tech!
At work today, there was a lot of discussion about Sarah Palin’s speech last night. A number of people commented on the harsh tone. Myself included. Last night, I was struck by the negativity. When I watch the Clintons, Obamas, Joe Biden and other speakers — I am reminded of what a great country we live in. No, everything isn’t perfect … but we are blessed to call this home. I am inspired to want to be a better person and to do my little part to help others however I can. On the other hand, when I watch Republicans, I don’t have that sense at all. Republicans use the same tried-and-true fear-mongering tactics.
In fact, as I’m writing this, the GOP convention just showed a video — supposedly billed as a tribute to 9/11 victims. It was anything but. It was an attempt to scare people into thinking that another terrorist attack is about to hit us. And, if you listen to them, the Republicans are the only people interested in keeping us safe. The video was exploitive and completely uncalled for. It wasn’t a tribute. It was playing politics with a tragedy. In fact, MSNBC’s Keith Olberman just said the video shouldn’t have been aired on television. He rightly pointed out that if a network aired that much graphic footage of 9/11, they’d rightly be “eviscerated for exploiting the memories of the dead and perhaps trying to evoke that pain again.”
Those aren’t the types of leaders this country needs. It’s difficult to articulate — but I want a leader in the White House who inspires others to be better … to work a little harder … to give thier time and resources to those in need … to understand those who are different than us. Not someone who relies on scare tactics to win some votes. I know being president is a much bigger responsibility than just being a cheerleader. I don’t want a cheerleader. But, I do want a leader who makes people better — and in turn makes the country better.
This video starts to explain that. I hope you like it.
Take this for what you will …
According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has Republican John McCain, and the fiercely anti-war Ron Paul, though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago, has received more than four times McCain’s haul.
Whether your guilty pleasure – or livelihood – is politics ... celebrity ... or entrepreneurship, you understand that perception is reality. And, managing that perception is critical.
prTini offers musings on world news and trivial events, plus easy-to-use PR how-to's. So, sit back and enjoy. Maybe even pour yourself a beverage. Plus, feel free to leave your own observations and tips. (If you're in Britney Spears' entourage – take note.)
