election 2008 from the eyes of an ebony mom

When you are driving and come to a stop sign what do you do? (A) Stop (B) Cruise through it or (C) Think about stopping. Well if you believe in rules you will stop. A stop sign is a command it is not a suggestion. We are a nation of rules and this is what keeps us from experiencing chaos. So let’s look at the rules regarding primaries. Michigan and Florida were told not to move up the dates for their primaries. If they did  move them up they would not be seated at the convention and their votes would not count. They knew this and they did it anyway. Now the Clinton campaign is calling for their votes to be counted. They clearly violated the rules, but she needs the votes so forget the rules. She even got a group of her well-healed contributors to put up the money to finance a re-vote, but that too has failed to work. Even if it had worked there is something innately wrong with private citizens financing elections. Clintonites claimed the people in these two states are being disenfranchised if they are not allowed to be seated at the convention. These people were not disenfranchised-these people broke the rules, and now they are dealing with the consequences.

The Clintons believe they can do whatever they want and things will turn out in the end. That will not be the case. If she manages to get the super-delegates to support her I hope she enjoys the moment, because that will be the only taste of victory she will experience this election year. I can not vote for Hillary Clinton under any set of circumstances. Seeing her stand at the podium and blatantly lie about her Bosnia trip was bad enough, but using the Wright situation as a diversion is a new low even for her. She seemingly labors under the misconception that black people are such loyal Democrats that they will vote for her no matter what tactics she and her husband employ. She is sadly mistaken; I have talked to so many people who say they will not vote for her. There is simply too much bad blood under the bridge and it can not be forgiven. I would hate to see black people stay away from the polls in November, but if she is the nominee it is a very real possibility. I for one will not stay away from the polls. We fought too hard for the right to vote, and I will be there to reluctantly cast my vote for John McCain.

Sen. Clinton wants the nomination and for her nothing is off limits. She and her husband live by the credo win at any cost. They will step over the carnage and plod on if necessary until the convention. They are fighting hard and they will say anything. Yesterday Sen. Clinton started re-igniting the Rev. Wright debacle. The things Rev. Wright said are indefensible. The media has analyzed his remarks for the past two weeks. Sen. Obama addressed the nation about the remarks last week. It is hard to move on from this, and we all know if Obama is the nominee we have not heard or seen the last of the Wright tapes, but we are trying to move on.   Senator Clinton has been caught in a lie. She has dismissed it a misspeak and decided to take the subject off herself and start talking about Rev. Wright again. I hope Sen. Obama will not try to get in the gutter with her. He can not win if he tries to out-Clinton the Clintons. He needs to talk about the real issues that affect Americans: jobs, housing, healthcare and the war in Iraq. We want to hear solutions; we are tired of all the sniping. It is time to tell us what he will do to address these issues. Sen. Obama has made his statement regarding Rev. Wright, now move on. One thing I learned about an argument is it takes two to do. Sen. Obama needs to simply move on and leave the politics of personal attack in the gutter where it belongs.

Over the past 48 hours Hillary Clinton has been in the hot seat. Her tale of heroics in Bosnia was shown to be a lie. She has simply dismissed it by saying she misspoke,but today in her effort to change the conversation she started talking about Rev. Wright again. Rev. Wright’s statements are and were indefensible, but the media have taken the tapes off the endless loop. Hillary’s plan is to re-ignite the controversy and take the attention off her major gaffe. This is not the first time she has used the Bosnia story, but this time she took it to a new level. The Rev. Wright controversy is a divisive issue and Hillary knows this polarization could possibly help her in Pennsylvania. She will do anything and say anything to get the nomination, and if racial division is the road to victory that is the road she is willing to take. During the height of the Wright issue she and her team were silent. When asked about Sen. Obama’s speech she simply replied it was a good speech, but she chooses now to make her statement. Her first remarks about Rev. Wright were made in response to a question, but when she repeated it at the press conference she was making a statement that the Wright issue is fair game and she plans on using it. Sometimes it is hard to believe that she and Obama are members of the same party.

Sen. Clinton did alot of travelling during her first lady days. So when she spoke of dodging bullets in Bosnia it was a “blip”. Nothing more, nothing less. So let’s just forget about it. This is the leader that has 35 years of experience, ready on day one, sitting by the phone waiting on the 3AM phone call. If you give her a cape she might be mistaken for Superwoman. What she said in reference to that trip can not be dismissed as a “blip”. What she said in very vivid detail was a lie. She has been embellishing her experience in the broad terms, but this is specific. If this area was as dangerous as she described why would the first lady and her child be allowed to visit?The answer is they would not be. This is part of a pattern of her and her team stretching the truth to the point that it can no longer be recognized. It was almost embarrassing to hear others who were also on the trip say it did not happen that way. Her aides have come to her defense and said she simply misspoke. To misspeak is to say I had eggs for breakfast when you actually had an omelet. To lie is to say you dodged bullets when you were actually greeted by an 8-year- old Bosnian girl.

This morning I was watching CNN and an exchange between anchor John Roberts and Roland Martin struck me. The caption read “Wright’s Comeback” and they were talking about Rev. Wright’s scheduled appearance  at a church in Tampa, Fl. Roberts commented that the church was prohibiting any recording devices at the service. He thought this was strange, and Martin let him know that plenty of churches have this rule. What struck me was the nerve of a station to think they had the right to hear what the Rev. has to share with that congregation. The difference in the Wright debacle is his church offered those tapes for sale so they released his messages to a broader audience. This is not the case this time. Now I am sure that someone in the crowd will try to record some portion and peddle it to the network. There is a Judas in every crowd, but hopefully the network will take the high road and reject it. Yeah right, who am I kidding they would put it on continuous loop like they did the other tapes, but only if he said something controversial. If he just speaks of the love and hope of Jesus we will never hear that because it does not further the networks’ goals of stirring the political pot.

Today, I heard Sen. Clinton speak about her 1996 visit to Bosnia. She talked of dodging bullets and running for cover. She says there was no greeting ceremony because of the imminent danger. This proves she is battle-tested. She has seen war up close and personal. This would be impressive if it were true! All the networks showed footage of what really happened. It showed First Lady Clinton doing what first ladies do. She got off the plane and was greeted by a welcome committee which included a child who gave her flowers. Clinton’s daughter Chelsea also joined her on this trip. We know Hillary would not have taken her daughter to a war zone. This scene was nothing like what Mrs. Clinton described. Her campaign team says she was referencing the violence in the area not the immediate area of her visit. Right. If you believe that I’ve got some swamp land you might be interested in purchasing. What she did was tell a lie. The thing that made this lie so ridiculous is it was so easy to find the truth. This lie just demonstrates that both she and her husband will say anything to get the nomination. This was supposed to further beef up her foreign policy credentials. What it showed is her role in her husband’s presidency was the role of the traditional first lady. Nothing more, nothing less. She needs to stop trying to be looked at as the co-president of the Clinton era. It like so many things she has said in the campaign is simply a lie.

Over the weekend I saw clips from the tirades of Rev. Wright. I saw clips of the new pastor at Trinity defending him. There were clips of President Clinton questioning Barack Obama’s Patriotism. There was a blog entry that referred to President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. While all of these things are newsworthy they do not solve our bigger problems. The economy is at an all-time low and 4000 lives have been lost in the Iraq war. That means 4000 people who lived 5 years ago who had dreams for the future are dead. Their families have lost something that political mud-slinging can not bring back. The Democrats have lost their direction. They are no longer on the high road they are in the gutter. Both campaigns are getting lost in the fight and have seemingly forgotten what the fight is all about. We need real solutions, real change not slogans and taglines. We want to hear real plans that can help solve our very real problems. It is time for them to google the high road, and once they find their way back we might be able to come up with plans that can make our future brighter.

“An act of betrayal,” said James Carville, an adviser to Mrs. Clinton and a friend of Mr. Clinton. “Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic,” Mr. Carville said, referring to Holy Week. This is the over- the- top reaction of Clintonite James Carville. It borders on being an act of treason for Governor Richardson to support Sen. Obama. To be compared to Judas– the most notorious biblical character– is absolutely insane. The Clintons’  desire for fanatical devotion is almost comical if it were not so frightening. Gov. Richardson is an American who has the right to make up his own mind. Carville throws out the 30 pieces of silver analogy. What did the Gov. get for the endorsement? As far as we know nothing. He decided it is time for a change. It is time for a new breed of leadership. If Gov. Richardson is Judas, is Hillary the Savior? I think not. She is a candidate that believed she had the Gov. in her pocket, and he decided to move in a new direction, and for that he is called a traitor. No, for that he should be called an American.

Former President Clinton is at it again. Today, he said that his wife and Sen. McCain both love this country without all this other stuff. Throughout this campaign Senator Obama’s patriotism has been questioned. He has been questioned about not wearing a flag pin, not putting his hand to his heart when the pledge is recited, the fanatical musings of his former pastor and finally his middle name.  Former President Clinton reminds me of the boy that throws the stone and then hides his hand, and when questioned about it he gives the “who me” look. His job is to just put it out there and see where it lands. It is similar to when Sen. Clinton was asked if Sen. Obama was a Muslim, her response was “not that I know of”. President Clinton is again out of line to question Sen. Obama’s love of country. His wife has even said Sen. McCain would be a better president than Sen. Obama. Both she and her husband have forgotten they represent the Democratic party. They are now completely self-centered. They have seemingly gotten to the point that if the party has to be destroyed for them to get their way so be it. The statements they have made will live long after this election is over. We will not forget the Clintons, and at this rate we will have a difficult time forgiving them too.