Obama: Five E's

"Give me five reasons why you are voting for Obama." A friend of mine said that she had been asked that question and had to stop and think about the answer. Why think when one simply knows? Given the choice of Obama-Biden or McCain-Palin it is a no brainer. Nonetheless, it someone asked me, I'd give them 5-E's.

• ETHICS No time during my adult life have I watched a more corrupt and secretive government that that of the past 8 years. The Republicans in Congress have waged a mean-spirited and mostly effective campaign to block attempts at reform and real oversight of the Government. Additionally, the Bush/Cheney Administration is totally inept and corrupt with secret agendas, lies, half-truths, innuendo as well as the expansion of the Executive Branch as the sole source of governance of this nation. John McCain is tightly tied to all of this corruption and has participated in the same divisive tactics as other Republicans in the Senate and House.

Barack Obama is a breath of fresh air. Clearly, as a politician, he is not without stain, yet he offers a clear vision of open governance that has been absent in this democracy. He will bring in fresh faces and competent individuals to run this government. One can see his enthusiasm for change and one can sense his honesty. My intuition says he's the right man for this moment.

• ECONOMY Our economy is in the death-throes. People are afraid of using the word, recession believing that if they don't say it that it isn't a reality. It is. For the past 8 years, the deregulation of markets, banks, and financial institutions has allowed a massive transfer of wealth upwards from the middle-class to the very wealthy. The data is out there. Middle-class America is on the brink of extinction such that we may already have a 2-class nation. Corporations have been permitted to have their way with the American worker and the American consumer. Outsourcing of jobs, the NAFTA Treaty signed by Clinton, and enormous tax-give aways to the oil, coal and gas industries have left the American worker in a state of constant upheaval, hoping that they, too, are not outsourced.

Barack Obama offers hope for the middle class, a group that has been largely taken for granted by the Republicans and John McCain. Take the newest tax-rebates that both men offer: Obama offers 3 times the middle class rebate than McCain. McCain offers huge rebates to the quarter-million and up crowd, some as much as 7% of their income. He offers the middle-class, median income worker six-tenths of one percent. Lobbyists run the McCain campaign' one can easily assume that they represent that top-level tax bracket, the CEO's , the corporate heads. And why shouldn't middle class America expect the same from McCain as from Bush? There is little difference shown or promised. Although tax-cuts are clearly not the answer to the crisis, they indicate the direction that the candidates wish to take this nation.

Obama promises to bring in a fresh and smart economic team, one that can fairly access the problems of the economy and offer long-term solutions- solutions for the middle class, the backbone of this nation. A fresh look at the economy, new vision, and new ideas are sorely needed at this time.

• ENERGY Today Hurricane Ike is ravaging the oil facilities in Galveston Harbor and gas prices at pumps all over America have risen as a consequence. This should not be. Of course, two oil executives running the Executive Branch for the past eight years, hence our slavish dependence on oil. McCain's 'solution' is drill, drill, drill. That's feeding the disastrous addiction. Rather than investing in solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy sources, McCain offers more of the same oil-driven energy plan, keeping this nation hostage to foreign oil interests.

Barack Obama backs a comprehensive revision of our energy needs, promoting the new, clean and renewable sources of energy already being used in many parts of the world. These new 'green' technologies offer great potential for job-creation right here in America, not to be out-sourced overseas. The solar market is just waiting to burst forth onto this continent and onto our rooftops. Right here in Northwest Ohio, FirstSolar is running at full-capacity with over-seas orders for their solar panels. This concept can be duplicated throughout this nation and it its not tied to any geographic resource. Wind energy is just now awakening here in the States, although Canada has been using this cheap electricity for years.

The American auto industry, so devastated in the past few years, has a golden opportunity to manufacture top-of-the-line energy efficient cars if they are given a fighting chance and the opportunities to do so. Right here in Toledo, the short-sighted Chrysler corporation built a plant a few years ago to produce that gas-guzzling Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty. A few weeks ago, thousands of workers here were laid-off due to slumping sales. How stupid. These plants can be retooled to begin to manufacture cars that American needs- fuel-efficient, clean vehicles that solve our energy needs and free us from the hostage of Arabian and Venezuelan oil dictators. Obama sees this and has no ties to big oil or big energy. He will make this a top priority of his administration.

• ENVIRONMENT Tightly tied to energy is our environment. The Bush/Cheney Administration has put the care of our environment into the hands of the energy and land giants. They have watched over the systematic rape of our environment, turning their backs on the citizens. They have appointed political novices to important watchdog positions, allowing industry and land speculators to have their way with our precious lands, water, and air. I have seen no outcries from John McCain during these past 8 years.He, unlike Bush and Cheney, actually mouths the term, global warming, although his running mate, Sarah Palin, doubts that it is man-made. Allis not well with McCain: the League of Conservation Voters, a group that monitors Congress’ environmental records, gave him a score of 0 percent in 2007 and 24 percent life time. Obama scored 67% in 2007 and 86% lifetime. There is the hope for a brighter [literally] tomorrow. McCain, a conservative by choice, naturally disdains government intervention that would impede business expansion and profits. His 'drilling' obsession indicates his disregard for environmental safety over business profit.

To me, the choice here is clear: Obama is the more environmentally-oriented as well as environmentally-friendly choice. John McCain cannot escape the reality that the hard core opposition to enhanced environmental protection and renewable energy comes from the conservative wing of the his own Republican Party.

• EDUCATION Our children have been left behind no matter what the glitzy banners say. That faux-education fix, No Child Left Behind, was more about image than substance. It covered the sins of incompetence of governance by the Bush/Cheney Administration. McCain's plan differs little from that mess. McCain’s main focus has been on 'school choice' and competition, which he says will bring about genuine accountability for our schools. By 'choice' he means opting out of public schools, taking public school money to charter schools. He says schools should be allowed to compete for the most effective teachers, and if schools fail to meet needs parents should be given the choice to send kids to another school. Of course, this plan appeals to those who don't fully understand this scam. What he and the GOP have been trying to do for years is to dismantle the Department of Education and the public school system of America altogether. The right-wing of his party, especially the fundamentalist Christians residing there, dislike many of the programs that the public schools teach and wish to 'christianize' the schools, adding their own set of quirky ideals to the curriculum.

Barack Obama wishes to strengthen the public schools of America, not destroy them. One of the weaknesses that he will address is early childhood education. He wants to put billions of dollars into early childhood education, believing that kids need a good start [Head Start] at the beginning of school if they are to succeed later on. The GOP often likes to cut such programs, castigating them as 'unnecessary and wasteful' of their precious tax dollars. At the other end of the education continuum, Obama wants to give $4,000 college tuition for 100 hours' public service a year. He realizes that college tuition is getting out of reach for many middle class students and he wants to give them a hand if they do the same. Service: quite a family value.

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I could say more about each of these 'E' issues but I don't have the time. If interested, the reader can find more in-depth information at the Obama website.

Another Busy Day at Toledo Obama Headquarters

The Toledo Obama Headquarters is beginning to become my second home. My wife and I spent a good part of Friday there along with dozens of other volunteers. It was refreshing to see that sense of service- participation in the political process- among such a variety of citizens. From high school age through senior citizen, black, white and brown-skinned people, affluent and poor, people did what they could for the campaign.

I was hoping to do data entry but all of those laptops were already being used. My wife was in phone bank along with 10 others. An 18-year-old student waiting to begin classes at Ohio State sat with me at the large table, he counted fliers into stacks of 25 while I alphabetized the 'M' file of new voter registrations, perhaps 300 of them. What a variety of names and handwriting! I never knew that the Toledo area had so many 'Mc' Irish surnames.

Behind me were 'training' sessions for precinct captains and other leadership roles. The phones never stopped ringing. One older lady, smile on her face, walked in and proudly announced, "Spaghetti!" as she sat her dish on the food table. Too late for me as I just finished a bowl of cold macaroni and cheese. She set her proud dish among a large bag of apples, fresh tomatoes, apple pie, and homemade caramel candies that had been donated earlier.

A sprightly couple in their mid-seventies popped in about 2 PM and asked, "What can we do?" "Do you like to alphabetize?" I shot back. "Hate it" the gentleman said. "So do I," I quickly added as I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes. A young man plunked down a large box of markers and a poster on the other side of the table and said, "Mind if I do this here?" he said. I asked, "Are you an art major?" "That answer will be quickly revealed," he quipped. After a while, he showed me what he had done and we both noticed that he wrote, 'neiborhood.' "I guess I need to add a few letters," he said, smiling. I retorted, "It really doesn't matter- the message is clear enough." Art was not his strong point, but this was not art class.

While at the food table getting a piece of candy, I chatted with a woman perhaps in her early 50's. I asked her if she also worked on the Kerry Campaign, four years ago. "No," she said, "this is my first political activity." "Is that so," I muttered. "Yes," she went on, "there were a few issues which recently drove me to become active." I asked, "What if he doesn't win?" Her face lost all affect. "I've thought about that, she said," and I don't know what will become of this country if we have another four years of a Republican in the White House!" "Want to go to Canada with us?" I asked. She didn't answer because she got called back to another desk. But, as she walked away, she turned her head and said, "Maybe!"

My wife and I donated the 'Hope' drawing to the office, a gift from the young men who stayed with us during the Primary. We need to look at that often these days to keep us moving forward.

This afternoon we 'get trained' for our new role in our voting district. That should be an interesting meeting as I have no idea of the role of 'Neighborhood Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator.' Whatever it is, we'll do it.

How Catholics Can Oppose Abortion, Back Obama

Twice in the past week I've received comments on this blog suggesting that Barack Obama is a 'baby-killer.' They came from self-identified evangelical Christians. There are quite a few people who will not vote for a Democrat because of their historic support for the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. My mother was such a person.

These are one-issue voters: their mind is made up solely on this issue. Yet Catholic social teaching rejects one-issue voting suggesting instead that the voter take a broad look at all of the issues. I find these so-called 'pro-life' voters curious in that many pro-life voters are also pro-preemptive war, pro-death penalty, and pro-assault gun. Others are pro-tax cuts that affect the quality of life itself. The 'culture of life' of which they speak often goes against tax programs enacted to help the poor and disadvantaged.

Below is an article in the Chicago Tribune which caught my eye. I find it quite informative and I hope that perhaps the two people who suggested that Obama 'kills babies' might gain some wisdom.

How Catholics can oppose abortion, back Obama
By Douglas W. Kmiec
September 9, 2008

The Roman Catholic Church in Chicago, and indeed the world, is blessed by the thoughtful teaching of Cardinal Francis George. It gives me special joy to say that years ago his mother and my grandmother were over-the-fence neighbors in St. Pascal's Parish. Truth be told, I heard more than once in my childhood, "Why can't you be like the 'saintly Francis George'?" But let's not go there.

For the last several months, conservative bloggers have been lampooning me for endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president—admittedly, a somewhat unusual thing for a Republican to do—so some political paddling is fair. What is unfair has been those Republican partisans who have tried to close the door on Obama in the name of the Catholic faith.

Obama does not advocate the reversal of Roe vs. Wade, and orthodox Catholics do. We do for the very clear reason given by George in a Sept. 2 letter—namely, "one cannot favor the legal status quo on abortion and also be working for the common good."

That's exactly right, but what's wrong is for Republican partisans to claim this to be Obama's position. It's not. Rather, Obama believes there are alternative ways to promote the "culture of life," even given the law's sanction of abortion.

The central hope of the Obama campaign is to find common ground—not by "favoring" that which can never be acceptable, the taking of innocent unborn life, but by dealing with the legal reality in a way that at least reduces the likelihood of abortion. Chicago is only Obama's adopted home, but in this he represents the best of her "I will/city of big shoulders/let's get something practically done" spirit.

Unlike Obama, I regret to say the current Republican Party thrives on demonizing its opposition to win elections. Without ideas, there is only name-calling. That's too bad because additional avenues for strengthening a culture of life open up when we avoid demonizing those who disagree with our Catholic view that life begins at conception. Talking strongly pro-life, Republicans often do little, promising that some judge not yet appointed is the answer or advocating leaving it all up to the states to decide, seldom acknowledging that many, perhaps most, states would end embedding the "legal status" of abortion—exactly contrary to the cardinal's thoughtful instruction.

Obama seeks to extend a helping hand (increased funding for prenatal care, maternity leave and less cumbersome and expensive adoption) with an astute understanding of how closely economic circumstances and abortion are related. Both reasonable extrapolations from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics and a recent Catholic in Alliance for the Common Good study find that improving the economic well-being of the average family in general, and of the women facing the abortion decision in particular, can save unborn lives.

From 1979 to 1990, during a difficult inflationary economy, the annual rate of abortion increased by 14.2 percent, resulting in an additional 740,000 abortions. In the more economically stable decade following, the annual rate decreased by 34 percent, meaning that approximately 2.3 million children who would have been aborted are alive today.

The pretense that the GOP is now an agent for change for what it, itself, instituted is far too Orwellian to be accepted. The Obama-Biden team says to the average working person in America: Your work matters, and it will be compensated at a family wage; your retirement will be safeguarded from corporate fraud and manipulation—be it by cooking the books a la Enron Corp. or the legal abuses of a shadow banking system that by profligate lending practice has precipitated massive government bailouts and the takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Sen. John McCain is an honorable man caught between a failed presidency and the tired ideas of his party that only invite repetition of that failure. There's no reason that failure should be extended in a way that blocks the greater protection of unborn life.


Douglas W. Kmiec is the author of "Can a Catholic Support Him?—Asking the Big Question About Barack Obama" and former constitutional legal counsel to President Ronald Reagan.

Early Voting Location: Toledo-Lucas County Residents

Voters in Toledo and Lucas County Ohio can participate in Early Voting this election.

It begins September 30 and runs through Nov. 2

The location is near-downtown Toledo at Jefferson and 22nd St. at the EMS Training Center.

A photo ID is required or the appropriate documents that would be required on voting day itself.

Hours are 8:30 - 4:30 M-F

Two weekends will be open:

Sat Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 [8 - 4:30]
Sun Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 [1 - 5]

No victory in Iraq, says Petraeus

That's the BBC headline on this 7th anniversary of 9-11. Not only that, but the mastermind of 9-11 still inhabits the caves of Afghanistan. What a pitiful situation. What an incompetent Bush/Cheney Administration.

BBC reports: The outgoing commander of US troops in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, has said that he will never declare victory there.
In a BBC interview, Gen Petraeus said that recent security gains were "not irreversible" and that the US still faced a "long struggle"

Odd that both Palin and McCain have been using the 'victory in Iraq' theme for the past several days. Do they know something that Gen. Petraeus doesn't know?

About osama bin Laden- I heard that John McCain knows how to 'get him' but he won't reveal that strategy unless he gets elected. There's a real hero. 'Country First!'

Brzezinsky On Morning Joe

Brzezinsky, a former national security
adviser to the president, again today
warned of an increasing U.S. involvement
in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In a long
interview for a show like 'Morning Joe'
Brzezinsky covered the world in his
assessment of what U.S. foreign policy
should attempt to be. If a copy of his
remarks could be found, posting it would
be of great educational value. One area
which he pointed out for improvement was
the U.S. education system. He said that
U.S. students are woefully inadequate in
geography of the world. He asked how can
we be meaningfully involved in the world
when U.S. schools don't provide the knowldege
of world geography. From my personal
experience, it is difficult for college
students to take a blank map of the U.S.
with only the boundaries of the states showing
to name all 50 states. We are to compete with
the rest of the world? We are to have a
successful foreign policy with such widespread
ignorance? Do schools teach georgraphy any
more?

A REAL ISSUE

Education is a real issue to the electorate.
It is expecially important to the blue collar
working class voters, those voters known as
"sam clubbers". The working class generally
do not have a college education. These are
line workers, business support staff, health
care, office administration, etc. Many belong
to unions. Now, one of their great fears is
that their children are cut off from advancement
and a college education because of the backwardness
of U.S. education. They are tired of failing
schools, inept teachers and administrators, bad
or wasteful spending with no results.

In the elections, the blue collar workingclass has
been swing voters. They supported Reagan to defeat
Carter, they swung to Clinton to defeat Bush I, and
then to elect Bush II. Basically, both Democrats
and Republicans have neglected this electoral group
or have taken them for granted and it is figured to
be 49% of the electorate. They have been especially
bamboolzed by cultural war issues of Rove, Reed
Falwell, Robertson, and the like. However, education
remains as a real concern for this group.

The working class has come to believe that they are
being held down and back by inadequate education
policies. Democrats have given this group nothing to
vote for. They seem themselves and their children being
held down by elitist policies of both the right and the
left. Have to keep in mind, this workingclass is not
poor; in many ways they are prosperous. They want what
was available to the working class in the '50s and 60's.
The opportunity to reach college for their children and
to have the education needed for success in college and
the scientific and technological community they are in.
Today, what is interesting, the working class in defined
by those who lack education, than by income or wealth.
This has the markings of a slow-burning crisis For the
Democrats to be viable they will have to have new programs
keyed to these large group of voters. This group is
aloof; they don't where to turn. They would like to be
Democratic, but then move right as they see no help coming
from the Democrats. These people are not poverty stricken
and don't want food stamps, or a war on Wal-Mart, or a
natiionalization of some industry as the Democratic Left
talks to them about.

They want education per se. Forget the whistles, the gongs,
and the bells. Education gives them and their families
upward mobility. They see themselves as having their
children locked in to a lower economic and social group.
What they see is that the elites, Democrats and Republicans,
have held education back from their children. They see it
as a method of keepting them in their place, preventing the
age old American spirit of upward mobility. A person becomes
ambitious with education, and the elites don't want to share
position and power. Elites want obedience to them. By cutting
aid to education and college assistance the elites maintain
their position.

Do politicians ever LIE or do they always MISSPEAK?

"About that bridge to nowhere: I said, 'Thanks, but no thanks!'" Sarah Palin delivering that same line for the 8th time. Or, "The governor's jet- I put it on Ebay." The problem with both statements is that they do not represent the facts. I have no doubt that these two lines have 'energized' the far-right group that hides in the shadows of the GOP. It was like raw meat thrown to the wolves.

How many other Americans, beyond the far-right, were influenced by those two statements? How many were led to believe that Sarah Palin is a real reformer, a person who watched carefully how tax dollars are spent? How many may be inclined to vote McCain/Palin based on those two lines?

Sadly, I think many. I'm not sure that the American voter is too much smarter than where they left off back in November 2004. We are an easily led lot of people, making rash judgments and easily influenced by chicanery. Those two statements typify the tactics used over and over again by the Karl Roves of the political world. Tidbits of faux-fact thrown out for consumption.

The facts are: the jet was not sold on Ebay and was sold at a loss. Sarah Palin promoted the bridge, then, when public opinion changed, she was against it. But, she kept the money.

What fools we are. I'm afraid we will do it all over once again this November.

6 More Pesky Question For Mrs. Palin

There's no polite way to say it: Sarah Palin has been hiding out from hard questions. It took 10 days from when John McCain announced his pick until the McCain campaign agreed to schedule Palin an unscripted interview with a serious journalist....

• You present yourself as a Republican maverick who took on your own party's corrupt political establishment. In November's election, your party is running an indicted U.S. Senator, Ted Stevens, who is awaiting trial on charges he accepted more than $250,000 of unreported gifts from the state's most powerful lobbyist. Will you vote for his opponent? Will you urge Alaskans to help you change Washington and vote him out of office? If not, why not?

• Sen. Ted Stevens' trial is still pending; he has declined to say whether he would accept a pardon from President Bush before he leaves office Jan. Do Alaska voters deserve an answer to that question before they cast their vote for or against Stevens in November? What is your position on a president pardoning a public official before a jury has ruled on guilt or innocence?...

• Why have you reneged on your earlier pledge to cooperate with the Alaska Legislature's investigation into Troopergate?

• In spring of 2004, the Daily News reported that you cited family considerations in deciding not to try for the U.S. Senate: "How could I be the team mom if I was a U.S. senator?" What was different this time as you decided to run for vice president?...

• If you were a fully qualified vice-presidential candidate from the get-go, why did you wait more than 10 days to face reporters?

• McCain spokesman Rick Davis told Fox News the media didn't show you enough "deference." How much deference do you expect to get from Vladimir Putin or Hugo Chavez?

John McCain's Tax Gift to the Rich

I wonder when the Obama Campaign Team will run the ad comparing the 'tax relief' of each candidate. McCain touts that he's lowering taxes on everybody; he is. The bad news is that the rich get a huge tax cut while the middle class get crumbs. Of course, he's a Republican.

Here are the numbers:

............... ............... McCain............Obama
Over $2.9M...... -$269,364...... +$701,885

$603K and up.... -$45,361...... +$115,974


$227K-$603K...... -$7,871...... +$12


$161K-$227K...... -$4,380...... -$2,789


$112K-$161K...... -$2,614...... -$2,204


$66K-$112K...... -$1,009...... -$1,290


$38K-$66K...... -$319...... -$1,042 [median income $52,000]

$19K-$38K ......-$113...... -$892

Under $19K...... -$19...... -$567

Source: The Tax Policy Center

Let's do the math. As the median American income hovers around $52,000 that would be a good comparison for the so-called tax relief offered by the two candidates. McCain offers these people $319 while Obama offers $1,042. That's 3 times what McCain gives back. It's 7 times for the $38K and under and 30 times for the under $19K. Even the $112K get more tax relief.

The $113K and upward income group benefit from John McCain, but that is a given. Take that over half-million group, the $603K folks for example. Their McCain tax cut of $45,000 represents 7.5% of their income. On the other hand, the $319 he offers to the $52K median income earner represents 6/10 of a percent of their income.

Math doesn't lie.