This is all true stuff people so read carefully
The truth, eh? How True? True in the minds of those who wrote/said it? Or true in the minds of those who heard/read it and the perpetuated it??
As always around election time (in every country/state), there's accusations, innuendos, lies, defamation and casting aspersions on the opposition to gain an upper hand... and to be quite frank, that's what I see a lot of this as, Republican bullshit because they themselves have little or nothing to offer, other than another military incursion into Iran, perhaps.
And so what if Barack Obama says that he would open unconditional dialogue with Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it sure has to be the better alternative to placing restrictions and holding the threat of war above his head, should he not comply with the ideals of an ex-military president with bombs on the brain.
Furthermore, surely it would be better to have organisations such as Hamas, the PLO and others more amenable and open to more peaceful discussions with Obama as US President? The alternative, McCain, it seems, is none too popular with these groups, and that they believe it would just be more of the same... the same military-minded madness that prevailed under the Bush administration: ie; the invasion of Iraq, all based on a pack of lies... the invasion of Iran if Bush had more time in office. Of course the Arab/Muslim States don't want to see this, thus Obama is their natural preference as US President.
It is said that you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer, and who is to say that Barack Obama is not doing exactly that? And if he were to be successful in his dialogue/work with Ahmadinejad, Hamas and other groups, who is to say that they won't become more friendly towards the US and help to establish peace in the Middle East?
OK, so those are possibles and maybes, but I'd rather see Barack Obama in office than an old warlord who still has an axe to grind/bombs to drop. If Obama is preferred by those who are considered as enemies of the US, and his softer, non-military approach actually makes ground in resolving the terrorist threat, then he is the right man for the job.
When John McCain's war wounds and prisoner of war status have come up for ridicule, critisism and/or contemptuous jests, I have refrained from commenting because I will not belittle the horrors he endured. However, I will say this, that those horrors no doubt would have left him with horrible scars, mentally, emotionally and physically, and that in itself, for me, does not gel well with being the Commander in Chief of the most powerful military force on Earth. He must still harbour some bitterness, anger and resentment for what he endured, and that may be the only catalyst needed to spark off another unnecessary conflict.
Does Barack Obama hold all the credentials to become President? No! Of course not... and neither did anyone else who was elected to the Office. It is an ongoing process of learning and adjustment, but that is not something I see John McCain coming successfully to terms with, given he has been entrenched in the Bush regime for the last 8 years and has some old scars which may have detrimental effect to his (foreign policy and other) thinking. And then there's his running mate, a moose shooting hockey mom with a dubious background in Alaskan local and State politics... and then there was the Biden v Palin debate, which in several ways closely resembled the recent SNL skit.
While some think Palin scored very well against Biden, I personally thought that she was a huge political disappointment and the Republican Party ought to be worried.. very worried, given voters have real issues and need real answers to them. From what I saw, Palin wasn't particularly interested in debating politics or the economy, but more concerned with wowing the audience with her charm and frequent winks. When it came to discussing the economy, it came across more like Palin was trying to impress her neighbour over the back fence: "Well I can manage my household budget!"... and for those voters with serious financial issues created under the present regime/system, that just isn't going to cut it. To be frank, Palin came across as politically and economically naive - almost child-like in some of her anecdotes - and that, for me, does not make her a capable or responsible 2 IC.
Is Barack Obama completely honest? Nope! But then no politician ever born, created or hatched ever was... or is! The question is, however, is John McCain any more honest/trustworthy/reliable? Could Sarah Palin responsibly hold the fort if McCain passed on while in office? Palin's credibility aleady has serious holes in it... apart from the 'bridge to nowhere debacle, in which she reportedy pocketed Federal funds to finance other projects, she has no experience whatsoever in Federal politics and is unable to hold a serious political debate without resorting to 'small town' anecdotes and turning on the charm to blind observers to her inadequacies. Put bluntly, Palin is a small town girl with a small town mind, who has big aspirations to fill a position she has little or no hope of ever fulfilling adequately, efficiently or responsibly.... and God help the US and the World if she ever becomes 1IC.
I know there are some among you who might think I'm a proper twit because of my pirate talk and wacky stories about Palin and igloos, etc, but I am far from being a twit... not to mention that it'd take more than the imagination of a twit to come up with half the stuff I can conjour up in my mind. I am reasonably well educated and am far from being naive about politics and politicians (as in the US, they're tha same in Oz, all over the world...bloody LIARS), so I'm not just bumping my gums to have an opinion/say my piece. Further, some of you may ask why am I commenting on US politics when I'm a foreigner, in fact that has already been asked, and to that my answer is that events in the USA, considered to most powerful nation on Earth, often have a direct bearing on mine and other parts of the World, so yes, I like to keep abreast of things which may affect me/my family, etc... and thus, I have an opinion. Besides, I am not constantly being bombarded by confusing political campains/hype, daily/hourly media coverage or any other kind of persuasion to garner my vote... and sometimes it takes somebody (without the stress of "who do I vote for?") on the outside looking in to see what's really going on.
I may not direct knowledge of internal politicking, such as abortion bills and the like, but those are domestic issues for the American people and not directly my concern here. My concern is with the much bigger picture, the domino effect which could make or break the Oz economy... see more of our Aussie boys sent off to fight in another unnecessary war, to perhaps die or be maimed for life, to leave widows and fatherless children behind.
At the end of the day, the wealthy financiers, big industrialists and powerful lobbyists will still have some say in how the US is run, so it will come down to who you, the US people believe is most likely/able to resist them. Is it John McCain? Probably not, given historically that Republicans love to get into bed with money/influential entreprenuers... those whole help finance the US war machine. Is it Barack Obama? He no doubt likes money as well, but is he as likely to cow - tow as easily to the corporate giants, wealthy industialists and agenda driven lobbyists? At the end of the day, this is probably the most important question, if you want a government that's by the people and run by the people for the people.
I suppose we'll see come November... hopefully it's not a sad day we all regret.
