Doris - these might give you a smile to start the day ..
Barack Obama: the new Great Redeemer
First it was Kennedy... now the US media are prostrating themselves before the saviour
Gerard Baker
Every decade or so the people who control the way we see the world anoint some American politician the Redeemer of a Troubled Planet.
In the late 1960s the media placed the halo on Robert Kennedy, the tragic dynast whose antiwar and civil rights credentials made him in life - as he remains to this day in death - a kind of devotional figure for most political journalists.
Kennedy at least had charisma and intelligence. But to prove that these were by no means necessary preconditions for the honour, it was conferred a few years later on Jimmy Carter, the plodding nonentity elevated by a willingly compliant press into Everyman, brandishing his steely sword of Truth against the Manichean mendacity of Richard Nixon's Republican legacy.
SNIP:
Mr Obama is portrayed throughout as an immanently benevolent figure. Not human really, more a comforting presence, a light source. He is always eager to listen to all aides of an argument, always instilling confidence in the weak-willed, resolutely sticking to his high principles and tirelessly spurning the low road of electoral politics. I stopped reading after a while but I'm sure by the end he was healing the sick, comforting the dying, restoring sight to the blind and setting prisoners free.
SNIP:
If the past 40 years have taught us anything they have surely taught that premature canonisation is an almost certain guarantee of subsequent deep disappointment.
:topicTimes columnist Gerard Baker is overtly to the right of Genghis Khan... even though I'm centre-right, ....
I am at the intersection of a right angled triangle whose hypotenues is a line between the Dalai Lama god bless his soul and the midget sarkozy. BTW the point is to the direct right of The DL , Right libertarian., not up in the Fascist zone. !!
lol
quite right
there are two right angled triangles that would match your first sentence -
one at 10 o'clock (halfway between Mugabe and the Pope) - and one at 4 o'clock
PS damned lonely down there at 4 o'clock
Interesting as that test is, I think its conclusions are flawed. On takingthe test again, many of the questions can be answered on a purely ideological, or purely pragmatic basis, with the answers diametrically opposed.Incidentally Wayne, you obviously came out left of where you think you are as well
(Wayne)I fundamentally believe in free enterprise with checks and balances to protect those without market power and reasonable protection of the environment... capitalism with a social payoff, rather than purely a profit motive.
Center-right seems to be the best fit for that.
lol
quite right
there are two right angled triangles that would match your first sentence -
one at 10 o'clock (halfway between Mugabe and the Pope) - and one at 4 o'clock
PS damned lonely down there at 4 o'clock
:topicDamned HOT at 6 o'clock rock..... LOL AJ
Yes, it does look curtains for Hillary, but she must be hoping that history will smile on her as it did Sam Houston (twice President of Texas), even if she has no chance of having a Capital State being named after her.Edwards’ endorsement also did another thing: It undercuts Clinton’s Florida/Michigan argument. As we know by now, Obama will gain a majority of the pledged delegates after Tuesday’s contests in Kentucky and Oregon. But if you award Obama Edwards’ 18 pledged delegates -- who technically can vote for anyone at the convention, but whom you’d also expect to side with Obama -- then Obama, if he picks up about 50 delegates on Tuesday (less than half of the delegates up for grabs that night), he would obtain a majority of pledged delegates even if you include Florida and Michigan’s entire delegations.
Here’s the math: 4,051 (the DNC convention voting total) minus 797 (superdelegates) equals 3,254 plus FL’s (185) and MI’s (128) delegates equals 3,567. Divide that by two (and round up), and here’s the number needed for a majority: 1,784.
Obama currently has 1,599 pledged delegates. Add in those 18 Edwards delegates, add in our low estimate of 50 for him Tuesday and that gets you to 1,667.
Now, add in the Clinton best-case scenarios in MI/FL, giving her the delegates with the voting as is, Obama would then reach a majority of the pledged delegates OVERALL. Assume a 105-67 split in FL and a 73-55 split in MI.
That gives Obama a grand total of: 1,789.
The numbers: Obama picked up 4.5 superdelegates delegates yesterday to one for Clinton.
PLEDGED: Obama 1599 to 1447;
SUPERDELEGATES: Obama 287.5 to 276.5;
TOTAL: Obama 1,886.5 to 1,723.5.
There are 233 superdelegates who remain undecided of the 797 total.
Obama needs 139.5 to reach the magic number of 2,026; Clinton needs 302.5. Since last Tuesday, Obama has picked up 31 superdelegates to Clinton's 1.5.
US General Election Polls for California, from USAelectionpolls.com:
Obama - 48.5%
McCain - 35.4%
Nader -- 5.10%
Paul --- 4.10%
UNDECIDED - 6.9%
Clinton - 50.6%
McCain - 36.7%
Nader -- 3.9%
Paul 5.3%
UNDECIDED - 18%
Obama needs 2,026 delegates to clinch the nomination, and he moved within 100 of that goal after contests in Kentucky and Oregon Tuesday. Clinton was more than 250 delegates back.
The New York senator commended Obama and called for a cessation of hostilities after the nomination is settled. "While we continue to go toe-to-toe for this nation, we do see eye-to-eye when it comes to uniting our party when it comes to electing a Democratic president," Clinton said.
She defeated Obama 65% to 30% in Kentucky. Obama was leading 58% to 42% in Oregon, with about three-quarters of the returns counted.
Each state was suited to the candidates' respective strengths.
Today, she plans to campaign in Florida, a trip she scheduled after Obama announced his intention to spend the next three days in the Sunshine State.
Three contests remain: Puerto Rico on June 1 and Montana and South Dakota on June 3. Together, they offer 86 pledged delegates.
McCain disclosed he had $21.7 million in the bank at the end of April, compared to....
...Obama’s $46.5 million.
As Obama made his way to the podium just before 1 p.m., the cheers reached rock-concert decibel levels.
They stood and cheered wildly when he promised to unite the country. And they pumped their fists in the air and chanted "Yes we can" when Obama pledged to bring together all Americans — black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay and straight.
"He has been spending the last week describing his foreign policy by describing who he won't talk to," Obama said. "That's your foreign policy?"
Obama said he would meet with both friends and enemies.
"We have to communicate with countries if we want to make a difference," he said. "That's what John Kennedy did. That's what Ronald Reagan did. That's what Barack Obama will do."
• A $1,000 per family tax cut paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.
• A $4,000 yearly college-tuition credit to every student in exchange for community service.
• Eliminating income taxes on Social Security payments.
• Changing corporate bankruptcy laws to protect worker pensions.
• A $150-billion investment over 10 years in alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power, and biodiesel fuel.
Investing in alternative energy will create new jobs, protect the environment and lessen the country's dependence on foreign oil, he said.
Obama also said he would put 2-million people to work by investing in improvements to roads, bridges and mass transit. How to pay for that?
"If we can spend $10-billion a month in Iraq we can spend $10-billion a month right here in the United States of America," he said.
by Donna May 22, 2008 2:30 PM
I'm a Trinidadian and I've been following the American Elections for some time. I believe that Obama as president can not only unify Ameria, but the world. I have been so excited about this I wish I could go out and vote for him. Obama 08. Yes We Can
by jaymzz May 22, 2008 1:50 PM
as european living in the states, i believe obama's the best choice not just 4 u.s. but 4 the world. his kennedy-esq approach 2 politix is so refreshing u ppl should congratulate urselves u have a guy like him. he'll change the world n so will u.
by Carol May 22, 2008 1:41 PM
He will win Florida this November if he campaigns there more because he has so truthful. He does not flip flops and he does not pander. He listens to reason and will act based on intelligence. What more can we ask for from a POTUS.
"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it," she said, dismissing calls to drop out.
Obama, the first African-American to advance so far in the race for the White House, has faced threats, sources have said.
But in a campaign in which voters have voiced concerns about the safety of the first African American front-runner in history, it was a surprising choice of words by Clinton, whose best hope for seizing the nomination now would be a major setback for Obama. Clinton has already faced harsh criticism for allegedly exacerbating racial divisions in the nominating process.
"The context of the question and answer with Sen. Clinton was whether her continued candidacy jeopardized party unity this close to the Democratic convention," he said. "Her reference to Mr. Kennedy's assassination appeared to focus on the timeline of his primary candidacy and not the assassination itself."
yuck!!! :bad:HILLARY RAISES ASSASSINATION ISSUE
DEFENDS LONG-RUNNING CAMPAIGN
...
Hillary Clinton today brought up the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy while defending her decision to stay in the race against Barack Obama.
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