January 27, 2008 archive

For the past week or so, the Clintons have demonstrated what a continuation of dynastic politics would be like in our federal government …a continuation of the divisive politics that has so characterized the past twenty years …Bush senior; Bill; W; and now, God forbid, Hill. America, the world cannot withstand another eight years of this type of politics. Nor can America live the next eight years in a foxhole as the Republicans, especially John McCain, would have us do. It is time for America to lift its sites, return to the time when America was indeed, the shinning light on the hill. America, as represented by our government, has a responsibility to its people and to the people of the world to rise above the fray and lead the world into the future. We cannot be that nation if we lower our sights to defending out of the Republican foxhole or bumbling along with stale ideas, ill-conceived policies, misspeaking and misunderstood presided-over by a two-headed leadership team. This country needs a singular voice to rally-around, who is responsible and capable of leading us into the future, mindful of the past but not constrained by its failures …a leader who is capable of bringing us along in quest of a higher vision for America and who accepts accountability for getting us there. The only acceptable choices are John Edwards and Barack Obama.

This is an Open Thread: There is no time limit

Sunday’s Headlines: At Florida Polls, Touch Screens and Crossed Fingers: Pundits in early rush to judge Bush’s legacy: Dozens die in Kenyan riots: A rough guide to Hebron: The world’s strangest guided tour highlights the abuse of Palestinians: Margaret Thatcher told navy to raid Swedish coast: Top agents in secret trip to Pakistan

Obama Wins South Carolina Primary

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Senator Barack Obama won a commanding victory over Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday, drawing a wide majority of black support and one-quarter of white voters in a contest that sets the stage for a multistate fight for the party’s presidential nomination.

In a bitter campaign here infused with discussions of race, Mr. Obama’s convincing victory puts him on equal footing with Mrs. Clinton – with two wins each in early-voting states – and gives him fresh momentum as the contest plunges into a nationwide battle over the next 10 days.

(Iglesia is a serialized novel, published on Tuesdays and Saturdays at midnight ET, you can read all of the episodes by clicking on the tag.)

Previous episode

Abraham got up off of the grass and started walking, he had no reason to, and saw no purpose in, ever stopping.

Tears were streaming down his face and he could not remember ever feeling so sorry for himself. And he could not remember ever acknowledging that he felt sorry for himself…while feeling sorry for himself. That’s how sorry for himself he felt.

An old salty Irishman, half Pagan, half Catholic, a bootlegger by night and a blue collar man by day…he’d take me for drives in his K-Car or Escort wreaking of stale cigarettes and Old Spice.  The car would round a special bend that reminded him of his homeland and he’d give me wink and say “This here is God’s Country”.  That phrase meant a lot to me because I knew my grandfather was very serious about his religion…he crossed himself every time he drove by a Church…so I figured he had a special in with The Lord for doing all of that heavy lifting down here on Earth.  Well grandpa…I finally finished the chain that you started when setting foot aboard that ship so many years ago.  I have me a piece of God’s Country and I’m bound and determined to make it work.  My life is half gone, the first half wasn’t special by anyone’s measuring stick, but maybe this last half was what I was meant for.

The horses are fed and bedded down for the night the dishes are done, the barn cats and birds are fed as well.  The dog has been walked he’s passed out at my side.  He loves the horses, gave them both kisses on their first meeting.  It’s snowing just a bit, making the light reflect off the snow.  The house is small but cozy, needs some work but don’t we all.  Hey they got intertubez in God’s Country by the way, just gotta use some of that satellite love to do it.  I’m sure the Holy Rollers will be pleased to hear that.  Found some tapes left behind from the previous owner…now I know who buys soundtrack recordings of pop movies…and yes Celine Dion was in the mix.  

I’m fading fast,  g’night Grandpa.

Tonight’s victory of Barack Obama was a lot bigger than anyone expected. Most pollsters expected a victory of around 10 points; only one predicted a victory of 20 points. While they correctly predicted the uptick in support for Edwards, they did not predict the huge margin of victory that Obama would take.

The X Factor in this race was the attacks of Bill Clinton on Obama this week. However, it turned out that these attacks created a huge backlash against Hillary and led to Obama’s unexpectedly wide margin. Obama’s victory will undoubtedly give him momentum going into the next race; however, the big question is how much?

The reason that I ask this question is because the next battle will be totally different than the four battles that came before it. In the previous four battles, the winner was the candidate who could do the best at practicing retail politics — this was a turf that clearly favored Obama. With his huge gift for oratory and his ability to draw some of the largest crowds ever for political campaigns, Barack Obama was able to generate the kind of grassroots support that propelled him to convincing wins in Iowa and South Carolina, a narrow loss in New Hampshire, and a tie in Nevada.

But this will be a totally different battle than the one before it, because it will be decided on the airwaves. Stump speeches will be important, but the candidates will have to try to appeal to audiences much bigger than the small audiences that they appealed to before. The battle will be won and lost based on who can create the best commercials that appeal to voters. So, if Obama cannot give people flashes of his oratorical skills in 30 seconds, then he will be in even more hot water than he is already — he trails by double digits in the all-important state of California. And that is on top of the fact that he is still trailing the delegate count to Hillary.