It weighs on me. Sarah Palin, with little substance but high TV ratings, is distracting the national debate.
Selecting her was a political stroke, but also an act of singular irresponsibility by John McCain. She is clearly not qualified to be a heartbeat from the Presidency of the United States, especially when in John McCain’s case that heartbeat would be that of the oldest president we ever elected.
But there it is. The cameras like her. The public seems to be attracted.
This election will not be decided by the votes of people who, like me, are passionate and follow every day’s news. We decided whom to vote for years ago.
The election will be decided by the 5-8% of Americans, many in swing states, who will make up their minds in the final weeks. And they seem to like looking at Sarah.
The Democratic Party needs a specific strategy to attract these relatively uninformed, relatively uninterested voters. They are important.
In my view, we have to fight fire with fire.
Only one person can take on Sarah: that’s Hillary.
In order for the Democrats to win, Hillary should go to blows (figuratively) with Sarah Palin, day-by-day, state by state, from now until the election. Hillary has to show clearly that Sarah is no Hillary, and use her appeal to working class voters to compete with Sarah’s.
Joe Biden cannot do it. With Sarah, he will have to walk a tightrope. A man cannot be tough on a nice lady and win, no matter how abhorrent her thoughtless politics might be. He cannot appear to bully her. It won’t help that Joe is hugely more qualified and knowledgeable on the issues than Sarah. That will just make it an unfair fight, and attract sympathy to her.
This is important.
Bob
Showing posts with label Democrats Abroad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Democrats Abroad. Show all posts
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Convention Day 4 – Obama’s Acceptance Speech
I am so proud to be a Democrat.
The open-air event at Invesco Mile High Stadium in Denver was a show of Democratic unity and values.
The best way to understand this is to take the time to watch Obama’s magnificent speech.
I can’t anything to improve on what the man said. Please look at his amazing speech. Do it twice. These are words to remember.
For those of you who want even MORE depth, look at Al Gore’s speech. It rocks!
Remember: The most important thing is to Elect Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress. There is SO much damage from the Bush administration to repair.
Future Blogging
Writing this blog and communicating with the hundreds of you who read it has enhanced my experience of the Convention. I am grateful for the comments I received both directly and posted on the blog. Thanks to you all.
I'm going to stop for a while, but will resume when I return to Holland.
To stay reasonably brief (and to let me get to bed before 4 a.m.!) I omitted a lot of the things that happened.
For example:
At Democrats Abroad breakfasts we were honored to have speeches from two terrific members of Congress: Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Democrat from New York (who happens to represent my home district in Manhattan), who founded the Americans Abroad Caucus in Congress, and Senator Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well a being the ranking member on the Helsinki Commission for security and cooperation with Europe.
Senator Cardin’s best quote: The Bush administration has trampled on our civil rights, and destroyed our fiscal responsibility” We MUST elect Baraka Obama to repair this damage.
At the LGBT Caucus, we were addressed by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome, who started doing same-sex marriages in San Francisco in defiance of then state law.
The Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Gov. Howard Dean, also spoke to the LGBT Caucus. He is the best friend we could have. As Governor of Vermont, in 2000 Governor Dean signed the first legislation in the United States permitting same-sex civil registration.
Being a Delegate to a Democratic National Convention was a great experience, which I recommend to anyone.
I realize Obama seeks to be President of the entire country, and not just the Democratic Party. But I regret the Convention’s references to religion, and repeatedly to “America’s Warriors”.
Those are not my values. Religion should be kept out of politics. I yearn for secular, civil government, where no particular religion, or religious belief in general, is held above those who believe differently. And our military might must be used rationally, and only where needed. I admire and support those brave men and women who risk their lives for America. We disrespect them when we use them wrongly.
Where on earth will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.org
The open-air event at Invesco Mile High Stadium in Denver was a show of Democratic unity and values.
The best way to understand this is to take the time to watch Obama’s magnificent speech.
I can’t anything to improve on what the man said. Please look at his amazing speech. Do it twice. These are words to remember.
For those of you who want even MORE depth, look at Al Gore’s speech. It rocks!
Remember: The most important thing is to Elect Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress. There is SO much damage from the Bush administration to repair.
Future Blogging
Writing this blog and communicating with the hundreds of you who read it has enhanced my experience of the Convention. I am grateful for the comments I received both directly and posted on the blog. Thanks to you all.
I'm going to stop for a while, but will resume when I return to Holland.
To stay reasonably brief (and to let me get to bed before 4 a.m.!) I omitted a lot of the things that happened.
For example:
At Democrats Abroad breakfasts we were honored to have speeches from two terrific members of Congress: Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Democrat from New York (who happens to represent my home district in Manhattan), who founded the Americans Abroad Caucus in Congress, and Senator Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well a being the ranking member on the Helsinki Commission for security and cooperation with Europe.
Senator Cardin’s best quote: The Bush administration has trampled on our civil rights, and destroyed our fiscal responsibility” We MUST elect Baraka Obama to repair this damage.
At the LGBT Caucus, we were addressed by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome, who started doing same-sex marriages in San Francisco in defiance of then state law.
The Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Gov. Howard Dean, also spoke to the LGBT Caucus. He is the best friend we could have. As Governor of Vermont, in 2000 Governor Dean signed the first legislation in the United States permitting same-sex civil registration.
Being a Delegate to a Democratic National Convention was a great experience, which I recommend to anyone.
I realize Obama seeks to be President of the entire country, and not just the Democratic Party. But I regret the Convention’s references to religion, and repeatedly to “America’s Warriors”.
Those are not my values. Religion should be kept out of politics. I yearn for secular, civil government, where no particular religion, or religious belief in general, is held above those who believe differently. And our military might must be used rationally, and only where needed. I admire and support those brave men and women who risk their lives for America. We disrespect them when we use them wrongly.
Where on earth will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.org
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Convention Day 2
Maya, Dennis and Hillary
For Democrats Abroad, the day began with a breakfast presentation by Maya Soetero-Ng, who is Obama’s half-sister. Like Obama, Maya speaks with great charm and intelligence. It’s a real pleasure to listen to her.
Both Maya and Barack have multi-cultural backgrounds. (Maya’s father was Indonesian). How odd that Obama, with an international background, has been accused of lacking “foreign policy” knowledge. Nonsense! He (and Maya) have a deep understanding of this multicultural world that we live in.
--
At the Convention
The burning question for weeks has been: Will Hillary and her people support Obama? It’s important that they do, if we are to win this election.
Today she made it magnificently clear that she does and she will.
First, Hillary visited the Democratic pro-choice women’s group Emily’s List together with Michelle Obama. I wasn’t there, but I hear they made a great team, and it was abundantly clear that Hillary will work hard to be sure Obama is elected. He has her full support. There were smiles all around.
At the Convention, a series of speeches built up to Hillary’s own speech, the highlight of the evening.
For me, the pre-Hillary topper was Dennis Kucinich. See it if you can. His energetic presentation was based on three simple words: WAKE UP, AMERICA! – Wake up to the great damage the Bush Administration is doing to our economy, to the lack of health care for many, to growing income disparities, by creating reliance in foreign oil, and burgeoning debt, etc. An electric speech!
Elizabeth Kucinich, who is English, is a friend of Democrats Abroad and spent time with us during our meeting in Heidelberg. She was happy to see us again in Denver.
The theme of the evening was economic, entitled Renewing America’s Promise. It focused on the suffering of working people under Bush, and the need to rebuild America’s middle class, a term which stretches to include the working poor.
Speakers included eight state governors, two US senators, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, as well as AFL-CIO President John Sweeny ad the President of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards.
I like that we are not shying away from our values. The speeches made that clear. We are not afraid of being labeled “liberal”. This time, we are not letting the opposition determine our agenda. We are on “the attack”, as they say.
But we are only attacking on substantive issues. We are not making personal attacks (unlike the Republicans). In fact, at one point Hillary Clinton said that “John McCain is my friend and colleague, who has served honorably as a Senator for many years”.
We oppose McCain because his policies are wrong, are nothing more than a continuation of the destructive Bush years. But our side treats the opposition with respect.
Of course, Hillary’s speech was the high point of the evening. Introduced by daughter Chelsea, Hillary got a five-minute standing ovation when she entered. The profound love, respect, and gratitude that she engenders were palpable.
Hillary’s speech was close to perfect. Her work to advance the rights of women was a recurrent theme. She stated the values that propelled her work, and said that she supports Barack Obama because those values are his, as well. She gave him, Joe Biden, and Michelle Obama unqualified support. She was intelligent, gracious, and grateful for the support that is around her. You can read the speech online at www.nytimes.com. It’s beautiful.
The press was everywhere, looking for signs of conflict or harmony between Obama and Clinton. WABC TV, the New York City affiliate, wanted one of us to give live comments on Hillary’s speech.
CNN’s Jonathan Mann (a very nice guy) interviewed several of us, and said he wanted to report on Democrats Abroad as a matter of public service.
Just like yesterday, when CNN caught me dancing, today Fox TV caught me studying my palm. I got emails and calls from friends in New York about it.
Bob
Where on earth will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.org
For Democrats Abroad, the day began with a breakfast presentation by Maya Soetero-Ng, who is Obama’s half-sister. Like Obama, Maya speaks with great charm and intelligence. It’s a real pleasure to listen to her.
Both Maya and Barack have multi-cultural backgrounds. (Maya’s father was Indonesian). How odd that Obama, with an international background, has been accused of lacking “foreign policy” knowledge. Nonsense! He (and Maya) have a deep understanding of this multicultural world that we live in.
--
At the Convention
The burning question for weeks has been: Will Hillary and her people support Obama? It’s important that they do, if we are to win this election.
Today she made it magnificently clear that she does and she will.
First, Hillary visited the Democratic pro-choice women’s group Emily’s List together with Michelle Obama. I wasn’t there, but I hear they made a great team, and it was abundantly clear that Hillary will work hard to be sure Obama is elected. He has her full support. There were smiles all around.
At the Convention, a series of speeches built up to Hillary’s own speech, the highlight of the evening.
For me, the pre-Hillary topper was Dennis Kucinich. See it if you can. His energetic presentation was based on three simple words: WAKE UP, AMERICA! – Wake up to the great damage the Bush Administration is doing to our economy, to the lack of health care for many, to growing income disparities, by creating reliance in foreign oil, and burgeoning debt, etc. An electric speech!
Elizabeth Kucinich, who is English, is a friend of Democrats Abroad and spent time with us during our meeting in Heidelberg. She was happy to see us again in Denver.
The theme of the evening was economic, entitled Renewing America’s Promise. It focused on the suffering of working people under Bush, and the need to rebuild America’s middle class, a term which stretches to include the working poor.
Speakers included eight state governors, two US senators, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, as well as AFL-CIO President John Sweeny ad the President of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards.
I like that we are not shying away from our values. The speeches made that clear. We are not afraid of being labeled “liberal”. This time, we are not letting the opposition determine our agenda. We are on “the attack”, as they say.
But we are only attacking on substantive issues. We are not making personal attacks (unlike the Republicans). In fact, at one point Hillary Clinton said that “John McCain is my friend and colleague, who has served honorably as a Senator for many years”.
We oppose McCain because his policies are wrong, are nothing more than a continuation of the destructive Bush years. But our side treats the opposition with respect.
Of course, Hillary’s speech was the high point of the evening. Introduced by daughter Chelsea, Hillary got a five-minute standing ovation when she entered. The profound love, respect, and gratitude that she engenders were palpable.
Hillary’s speech was close to perfect. Her work to advance the rights of women was a recurrent theme. She stated the values that propelled her work, and said that she supports Barack Obama because those values are his, as well. She gave him, Joe Biden, and Michelle Obama unqualified support. She was intelligent, gracious, and grateful for the support that is around her. You can read the speech online at www.nytimes.com. It’s beautiful.
The press was everywhere, looking for signs of conflict or harmony between Obama and Clinton. WABC TV, the New York City affiliate, wanted one of us to give live comments on Hillary’s speech.
CNN’s Jonathan Mann (a very nice guy) interviewed several of us, and said he wanted to report on Democrats Abroad as a matter of public service.
Just like yesterday, when CNN caught me dancing, today Fox TV caught me studying my palm. I got emails and calls from friends in New York about it.
Bob
Where on earth will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.org
Michelle Obama and Gay People
The big LGBT event today was the luncheon for delegates, hosted by Rep. Barney Frank, Rep. Tammy Baldwin and the Human Rights Commission. Le tout LGBT world was there. Close to 1,000 people, I’d guess, for a fancy sit-down lunch at the Sheraton Hotel.
But the big surprise was the visit by Michelle Obama, who was received with a powerful standing ovation.
We were so grateful that Michelle had come. Her visit was a statement that Barack is aware and concerned about our problems, and she made that clear in a thoughtful speech.
This was different than the speech the night before at the Convention, where Michelle focused on family and general values. In this speech of over 20 minutes, Michelle showed the good lawyer she is. She discussed the legal issues that affect the LGBT community, and showed her sincere concern and desire to help.
She pointed out that Barack has:
- voted to overturn the so-called Defense of Marriage Act which bars the Federal government from acknowledging any same-sex relationship,
- voted against the Federal (anti-)Marriage Amendment to the Constitution
- opposes the don’t ask/don’t tell rule in the military
- opposes discrimination in the workplace
Some of her remarks brought tears to my eyes. I was so very moved to see our possible future first lady standing strong and clear for LGBT rights. Michelle rightly said that, “discrimination has no place in a nation founded on equality” and encouraged us to work for the world “as it should be”. Alluding to the political issues surrounding LGBT rights, she said “We can win if we can move people away from fear and toward hope.” How true.
I was lucky enough to shake her hand as she left the hall. I thanked her for visiting our community, and told her how much it meant to us. I also asked her to think of us Americans who must live abroad because we have a foreign partner we cannot get a US visa for, and she looked me in the eye, and said, “We have to get you back home!”
That ended it for me. My eyes got moist.
Michelle is terrific.
Bob
Where on earth will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.org
But the big surprise was the visit by Michelle Obama, who was received with a powerful standing ovation.
We were so grateful that Michelle had come. Her visit was a statement that Barack is aware and concerned about our problems, and she made that clear in a thoughtful speech.
This was different than the speech the night before at the Convention, where Michelle focused on family and general values. In this speech of over 20 minutes, Michelle showed the good lawyer she is. She discussed the legal issues that affect the LGBT community, and showed her sincere concern and desire to help.
She pointed out that Barack has:
- voted to overturn the so-called Defense of Marriage Act which bars the Federal government from acknowledging any same-sex relationship,
- voted against the Federal (anti-)Marriage Amendment to the Constitution
- opposes the don’t ask/don’t tell rule in the military
- opposes discrimination in the workplace
Some of her remarks brought tears to my eyes. I was so very moved to see our possible future first lady standing strong and clear for LGBT rights. Michelle rightly said that, “discrimination has no place in a nation founded on equality” and encouraged us to work for the world “as it should be”. Alluding to the political issues surrounding LGBT rights, she said “We can win if we can move people away from fear and toward hope.” How true.
I was lucky enough to shake her hand as she left the hall. I thanked her for visiting our community, and told her how much it meant to us. I also asked her to think of us Americans who must live abroad because we have a foreign partner we cannot get a US visa for, and she looked me in the eye, and said, “We have to get you back home!”
That ended it for me. My eyes got moist.
Michelle is terrific.
Bob
Where on earth will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.org
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A Duel of Words
The European American Instituted hosted one of the most impressive panels on international relations I have ever attended.
The panelists: American Ambassador Richard Holdbrooke, Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, Former Bosnian Prime minister Zlatko Lagumdzija, the French Ambassador to the US, the former Prime Ministers of Chile and Norway, a Russian professor, and others.
The topic: How can we restore confidence in American Leadership in the world?
How can we repair the current dissonance between America and its allies?
The broad consensus: America will lead when it works in cooperation and consultation with its friends. The Bush Administration’s bullying attitudes of “My way or the high way”, and the “Coalition of the willing” and the “pre-emptive strike” policy of the United States as expressed in Iraq, are only going to cause long-term problems for both the US and the Western Alliance.
We clearly need a new direction.
There was also a pithy discussion between Ambassador Holdbrooke and the Russian professor about: Why are Russian troops in Georgia, and what are Russia’s true intentions? Has America responded correctly? Did US provocations by placing missiles in Turkey and Poland lead to the crisis? Is the proposed expansion of NATO to include Ukraine and Georgia a mistake? Are we heading toward a new cold war?
Consensus was not reached.
Most impressive: ALL of the questions from the audience came from members of Democrats Abroad, mostly people who live in the countries affected. One after another, DA members stood up, said they were from DA __ and DA___, and asked probing and knowledgeable questions. The question/answer period was extended 20 minutes to fit them all in. The questions were of a very high quality, and showed that DA members understand and care about international relations.
Bob
The panelists: American Ambassador Richard Holdbrooke, Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, Former Bosnian Prime minister Zlatko Lagumdzija, the French Ambassador to the US, the former Prime Ministers of Chile and Norway, a Russian professor, and others.
The topic: How can we restore confidence in American Leadership in the world?
How can we repair the current dissonance between America and its allies?
The broad consensus: America will lead when it works in cooperation and consultation with its friends. The Bush Administration’s bullying attitudes of “My way or the high way”, and the “Coalition of the willing” and the “pre-emptive strike” policy of the United States as expressed in Iraq, are only going to cause long-term problems for both the US and the Western Alliance.
We clearly need a new direction.
There was also a pithy discussion between Ambassador Holdbrooke and the Russian professor about: Why are Russian troops in Georgia, and what are Russia’s true intentions? Has America responded correctly? Did US provocations by placing missiles in Turkey and Poland lead to the crisis? Is the proposed expansion of NATO to include Ukraine and Georgia a mistake? Are we heading toward a new cold war?
Consensus was not reached.
Most impressive: ALL of the questions from the audience came from members of Democrats Abroad, mostly people who live in the countries affected. One after another, DA members stood up, said they were from DA __ and DA___, and asked probing and knowledgeable questions. The question/answer period was extended 20 minutes to fit them all in. The questions were of a very high quality, and showed that DA members understand and care about international relations.
Bob
Monday, August 25, 2008
Stonewall Democrats
Stonewall Democrats, the LGBT group (http://www.stonewalldemocrats.org/ ), is having its convention here, just preceding the Democratic one. I attended their awards dinner last night. Really inspiring! Their values and supporters are progressive and right in line with Democrats Abroad, in my view. We should work with them more closely.
The featured (and only non-LGBT) speaker was Kansas Governor Kathleen Sibelius, a fantastic Democratic governor in a really red state. She is an expert in “cross-over” Republicans, who made her election possible. Even her deputy governor was a former head of the Kansas Republican Party!
Kathleen, a committed progressive, highlights the values we have in common with most Republicans. That's how she wins in a Republican state. We should learn from her. She was named as a possible vice president for Obama, and is clearly is future presidential material.
Other excellent speakers included E. Denise Simmons, the lesbian, black mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts; a gay congressman from a very straight suburban Denver district who poked holes in the notion that people even care if their reps are gay or lesbian,; and finally an amazing man named Keith Boykin – a great thinker, journalist and speaker. The head of the California Teachers Union was there, and the AFL-CIO also sent reps.
The MC was a wonderful transgender woman named Donna Rose, whose humor, grace and intelligence left no one unmoved. She made me realize I have always skipped over the transgender part of LGBT. We shouldn’t do that.
But best of all were the hundreds of members and supporters who attended. These people are fighting in the trenches, in hand-to-hand combat with the religious hate-mongers. Wonderful people, who are doing yeoman’s work to advance human rights. Well done!
Bob
Where in the world will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.org
The featured (and only non-LGBT) speaker was Kansas Governor Kathleen Sibelius, a fantastic Democratic governor in a really red state. She is an expert in “cross-over” Republicans, who made her election possible. Even her deputy governor was a former head of the Kansas Republican Party!
Kathleen, a committed progressive, highlights the values we have in common with most Republicans. That's how she wins in a Republican state. We should learn from her. She was named as a possible vice president for Obama, and is clearly is future presidential material.
Other excellent speakers included E. Denise Simmons, the lesbian, black mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts; a gay congressman from a very straight suburban Denver district who poked holes in the notion that people even care if their reps are gay or lesbian,; and finally an amazing man named Keith Boykin – a great thinker, journalist and speaker. The head of the California Teachers Union was there, and the AFL-CIO also sent reps.
The MC was a wonderful transgender woman named Donna Rose, whose humor, grace and intelligence left no one unmoved. She made me realize I have always skipped over the transgender part of LGBT. We shouldn’t do that.
But best of all were the hundreds of members and supporters who attended. These people are fighting in the trenches, in hand-to-hand combat with the religious hate-mongers. Wonderful people, who are doing yeoman’s work to advance human rights. Well done!
Bob
Where in the world will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.org
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