Two, count 'em, two nights in a row - Chris Matthews is my hero! Damn.
First, he stands up to Pat Buchanan's racist meltdown Wednesday night with an honest and simple but bombshell effective response. And, now, tonight, he rips down the historically-challenged right-wing radio nutjob Kevin James with simple facts and reality. Damn.
If you missed either, check these out:
What's happened? Did Matthews get a new sense of ethics in the mail? Size twelve? With an extra hard steel-coated toe?
I dunno, I dunno, but I hope he keeps it up. Probably all that time with Rachel Maddow is finally having a positive effect on him. But keep it up, Chris, keep it up.
Postscript: For those interested in knowing about the REAL Nazi sympathizers in our history, check out this bit at Daily Kos and then follow the link to the full story. Bush should be ashamed of himself. Should be, but ain't. And we'll be lucky if even one major media organization dares to run with this story.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
My Mind is BLOWN! (by Chris Matthews?)
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5 comments:
the question is not whether Obama is a man with good intentions. The question is whether good intentions are enough in this world.
There are some really bad organizations in this workld and really bad people running them. Given the weapons that are available, we might be past the point of no return in trying to come up with a peaceful solution.
You can't reason with a rabid dog. You also can't reason with an ideaology that preaches hate (for example, Hamas.)
It is disgusting, but the best hope the USA might have is for a McCain type... someone who is aware of the horrors of war (unlike our current "commander in chief") and yet, also willing to show force.
I just don't see our enemies taking Obama seriously... good intentions do not go a long way.
Nazz: Thanks for commenting. Hope I don't upset you with my response. I'm gonna keep it very civil but I'm going to say what I think.
You are right, McCain is aware of the horrors of war...but that doesn't seem to make him pause at all in his thinking, to wonder if there is any other approach to be taken. At least now, that he's irrevocably chained himself to continuing Bush's foreign policy disasters.
I don't think all of our "enemies" are rabid dogs. Though I think Bush's policies, especially if continued by McCain, will create more such. We face unending war under a continuation of Bush's policies. No discussion with those who disagree with us, just bombs. I don't want my son growing up in that world.
Not that the world will be instantly safer when Obama takes office, but I think his Presidency will give inspiration to our allies around the world, that it will help them remember why they had allied themselves with us in the past. And it will give some serious pause to potential enemies, seeing America once again strengthen itself through peaceful means around the world. We have failed miserably in the last eight years in maintaining our reputation and our friendships, relationships that we have spent decades building. We don't make friends with other countries just to be nice - we do it for real reasons - reasons political, economic and security oriented. I do not see McCain doing any of this from what he has said on the campaign trail to date. Instead, I see an ever more shattered series of international relationships and further weakening of America's status in the world. I see endless conflict in McCain's vision of the future.
As example, A few years ago, McCain went on record as saying that he'd be willing to talk with Hamas and Syria, that these are viable options. (The video on this first is flying all over the 'net today). But now he derides Obama for taking similar stances. And he is willing to go along with the Bush comparison of Obama with Nazi appeasers. That statement of Bush's yesterday makes him and his most trusted Cabinet members all Nazi appeasers, after the discussions they've had with N. Korea, etc. That's a seriously ethically challenged man. Not a man I can trust in office, I'm afraid.
But McCain's economic policies leave a great deal to be desired, too. As in leave everything to be desired. Independent analysis done on his economic plan suggests a staggering new level of national debt and substantial cuts across the board in public services. Only the Pentagon doesn't get its budget cut in McCain's future. More war, more war.
One final reason I support Obama: Because he is a black American named Barack Hussein Obama. Hear me out. This is not my idea, I'm paraphrasing from an article in the Atlantic (or Harper's?), but imagine yourself a young boy in Palestine being shown images of the hateful President of the United States - George Bush! Or John McCain! Or Hillary Clinton! What do you see - a white-skinned man or worse a woman, a creature of Satan, whom you are taught to hate on sight! Re-imagine now, that same boy a year from now being shown a picture of our new President - a dark-skinned man that looks an awful lot like everybody this kid knows and loves, and his name? Hussein? I think that would give pause to that young boy, would throw water upon the fires of hatred that someone is trying to stoke within him. It's a kind of silly argument, I'll grant, but I have trouble believing that there won't be moments like this, what we teachers call "teaching moments," out there, all over the world. I think we need a new face on this country and that face is Obama's. I'd like him to be America's new teacher.
Take care and thank you again for commenting. I appreciate it. And we can sure talk more if you want!
I've been ticking this over in my head a bit and something I realized just now is that the last 6.5 years or so have made us feel - thanks to the splendid work of our Commander in Chief - that we have always been a beleaguered and threatened nation, with enemies constantly circling our borders, pawing at our doors and windows, knives drawn and ready to slit our throats the second we blink. But that's an inversion of reality, a dark and unreal reflection that's been created to make us be afraid all of the time. And we've bought it. The whole shebang! It's hard to remember already that it didn't always used to be like this, that a whole lot of the world liked us and still wants to like us. All we remember is the fear.
It reminds me that I read a recent article by Erica Jong, not a favorite but something made me do it. And I'm glad I did. In it she wrote about speaking in Italy recently, something she does frequently I gather, and the enthusiastic response she got when she told her Italian audience that she was sorry, sorry that America had given them and the world two terms of George Bush. (I may be slightly misquoting her). The response she got was overwhelming - they were so grateful to hear an American say that because they so love and respect this nation and its laws and ideals and the last two Presidential terms had confused and hurt them so much, seeing the America they love and support act so differently and wrongly from the way they expected it to act. This made me remember that there was once a different way of seeing things, a different way for America to be and act in the world.
And I think Obama can help us find this way again. We have to stand up with him and maybe sometimes to him, but I think the leadership he'll bring will re-engage the United States with the rest of the world. That's something that can only make us safer. There's safety in numbers, eh? We are not alone.
McCain is more than ethically challenged, he is a complete panderer to the worst elements of this country. The very fact that he has bent over backwards to be seen with Bush, after Bush completely railroaded him in 2000; is absolutely reprehensible.
Bush took all of the goodwill that the world had for us post 9-11 (remember... even Cuba was on our side!) and threw it all away... obviously his campaign into Irag had nothing to do with 9-11 and everything to do with his political cronies.
I think Obama is unelectable in this country ... that isn't to say that a black man or woman couldn't be elected... in fact, I wish Colin Powell ran; it's just that the name Barack Hussein Obama is unelectable... so many people think (wrongly) that his is Muslim.
Hillary was right about his chances in a national election. Clinton is even more unelectable than Obama. In my bizarro world, I see McCain taking Condy Rice for VP that than negates the Obama race issue. Than McCain croaks in a couple of years and we end up with the first black woman president!
Do I want a better world for my kids? F#ck yeah. I just see Obama as being somewhat naive... he needs to be be very careful with regard to what he says... the Repugnikkkans will twist everything he says. The reason that Bill Clinton was elected was that he played to the center and was able to lure the Reagan Democrats back to his side. Clinton knew that the leftists had no choice but to vote for him, and he could lure the middle of the roaders.
McCain understands that, and is actually positioning himself as a centrist... he knows the Holy Rollers will have to vote for him.
You'll see, the middle of the road democrats are gonna go Repugnikkkan in novemeber... it's sad but true.
I was talking to a friend yesterday who said that Bush would be able to beat Obama if he was able to run again.
Sorry for the long windedness, but hey, it's my day off!
I completely understand your argument here but I also completely disagree with it. I think the demographics of the electorate are in a state of flux the likes of which have not been seen ever before. Only the 60s could have matched this - but 18 year olds didn't have the vote soon enough for us to know. Think about a '68 election with voting 18 year olds! Wow. Talk about change!!!
The wild flipover in Mississippi is only a harbinger, I think. I don't think it's the complete predictor like the media is saying, but it does show that something different is going to be at play in the coming election. There was even some old white guy Democratic in Colorado who just endorsed Obama based almost wholly on his analysis of the numbers and the demographics. He decided that Obama had a better chance than Hillary of turning Red states Purple or whatever the hell the phrase is. And he may be right. I'm willing to lay my vote down to see if it happens this time.
I did used to favor Powell, too. But the recent revelation that he was in on the White House's torture scheme from day one, whether or not he approved of it, and did nothing to stop it rather soured me on him. That's a hard lump to swallow for me.
The image of Rice as the first woman and black President is pretty wild. Wish I didn't dislike her so much. In fact, I like Hillary more than I like Rice and I can't stand Hillary.
Well, we'll have to see. Hillary's out, I think. Not going to be either POTUS or V-POTUS, not this time. I do think that if she decides to try and get her base behind Obama, she could actually come out a hero in this election. I still won't like her, but she'd be doing the best thing she can for her party. We'll see.
Thanks for responding, too. I appreciate it.
Have a good weekend!
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