With his speech today, President Obama has essentially agreed to continue the criminal occupation of Iraq indefinitely. He announced that there will be an occupation force of 50,000 U.S. troops in Iraq for at least three more years. President Obama used carefully chosen words to avoid a firm commitment to remove the 50,000 occupation troops, even after 2011.

The war in Iraq was illegal. It was aggression. It was based on lies and false rationales. President Obama’s speech today made Bush’s invasion sound like a liberating act and congratulated the troops for “getting the job done.” More than a million Iraqis died and a cruel civil war was set into motion because of the foreign invasion. President Obama did not once criticize the invasion itself.

He has also requested an increase in war spending for Iraq and Afghanistan, and plans to double the number of U.S. troops sent to fight in Afghanistan.

President Obama has asked Congress to provide more than $200 billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars over the next two years, in addition to increasing the Pentagon budget by four percent.

Based on President Obama’s new budget, the Pentagon would rank as the world’s 17th largest economy—if it were a country. This new budget increases war spending. Total spending in 2010 would roughly equate to an average of $21,000 a second.

This is not the end of the occupation of Iraq, but rather the continuation of the occupation.

There is only one reason that tens of thousands of troops will remain in Iraq: It is because this is a colonial-type occupation of a strategically important and oil-rich country located in the Middle East where two-thirds of the world’s oil reserve can be found.

Obama’s speech was a major disappointment for anyone who was hoping that Obama would renounce the illegal occupation of Iraq. Today, the U.S. government spends $480 million per day to fund the occupation of Iraq. Even if 100,000 troops are drawn out by August 2010, that means the indefinite occupation of Iraq will cost more than $100 million each day. The continued occupation of Iraq for two years or three years or more makes a complete mockery out of the idea that the Iraqi people control their own destiny. It is a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and independence.

It is no wonder that John McCain came out to support President Obama’s announced plan on Iraq. McCain was an supporter of former President Bush’s and Vice President Cheney’s war and occupation in Iraq.

Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld—the architects of regime change in Iraq—never had the goal of indefinitely keeping 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. They wanted to subdue the Iraqi people and exercise control with a smaller force. The Iraqi armed resistance prolonged the stationing of 150,000 U.S. troops.

Bush’s goal was domination over Iraq and its oil supplies, and domination over the region. This continues to be the goal of the U.S. political and economic establishment, including that of the new administration.

President Obama decided not to challenge the fundamental strategic orientation. That explains why he kept the Bush team—Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and Generals Petraeus and Odierno—on the job to oversee and manage the Iraq occupation. They will also manage the widening U.S. war in Afghanistan and the aerial assaults on Pakistan. There have been over 30 U.S. bombing attacks in Pakistan in the last two months.

We are marching on Saturday, March 21 because the people of this country are fed up with the status quo. They want decent-paying jobs, and affordable health care and housing for all. Students want to study rather than be driven out by soaring tuition rates. The majority of people want a complete—not partial—withdrawal of ALL troops from Iraq. They want the war in Afghanistan to end rather than escalate. They are increasingly opposed to sending $2.6 billion each year to Israel and want an end to the colonial occupation of Palestine.

A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
http://www.answercoalition.org/
info@internationalanswer.org
National Office in Washington DC: 202-544-3389
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February 27, 2009

Text

Obama’s Speech at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Following are the prepared remarks of President Obama about withdrawing from Iraq at Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Feb. 27, 2009, as provided by the White House.

Good morning Marines. Good morning Camp Lejeune. Good morning Jacksonville. Thank you for that outstanding welcome. I want to thank Lieutenant General Hejlik for hosting me here today.

Please click on the link below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/27/us/politics/27obama-text.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

Well I won’t totally unpack the entire speech here, since I’ve written an entire article about it.  Yet I will say that I believe the reason that the media jumped on the bandwagon almost immediately attesting that it wasn’t a Home Run speech was that it contained a lot of references to lowly slaves, especially at the beginning and first half, and yes, I’m suggesting that perhaps some latent racism had a hard time celebrating the truth about the horrors that America’s slaves endured.

I think we were so used to Obama’s prose and his cheerleading, that the repeated stark reminders of what some slaves endured decades ago–providing the very foundation for all of us–being revisited in vivid language was insufficiently uplifting to garner a home run accolade.

Believe me, in reading the text, there are significant and repeated references to those who fought for all of us–military and slaves.

He invoked God’s promise that “all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”

Ours has “not been the path of the faint-hearted…but rather the risk takers, the doers..men and women obscure in their labour who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.”

“They toiled in sweatshops….endured the lash of the whip” all referred again to the foundation that was laid largely by the slaves in this country.  Remarkably we celebrated the Inauguration on property and buildings where slaves once worked, and “worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life.”

He chastises those who have short memories, forgetting what “this country has already done,”  and urges us to consider “what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage.”

“We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord” was surely a line that will be quoted for decades.  “Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America” was another.

He masterfully wove a thread of hope through an assessment of America’s systemic wreckage, beseeching each of us to do our civic duties, to step up and act, and to make long overdue hard decisions.

I thought he did a masterful job, and so again, I disagree with the media.

Congratulations President Barack Obama.  And congratulations Malia; your dad’s speech more than fulfilled your “it better be good” challenge.

Obama es una de las palabras  más repetidas en el mundo en el último año. Y, en muchas ocasiones, se repite como una especie de oración, de salmodia, …como cuando en diferentes religiones se exhorta a la divinidad para pedirle que las cosas nos vayan bien.

Desde luego, es indiscutible: el fenómeno “Obama” se ha extendido por todo el mundo. Se ha convertido en una esperanza para mucha gente, no solo en EEUU. ¿Podría convertirse en una decepción? Lo que está claro es que una sóla persona no puede cambiar el mundo de la noche a la mañana. Pero, desde mi punto de vista, no puede hacerlo peor que George W. Bush. Bush nos dejó el mundo hecho trizas: nos metió en un par de guerras, utilizando para ello todo tipo de estrategias, mintiendo para justificar sus intereses, multiplicó los beneficios de los “Señores de la guerra”, llevó la economía a pique, malgastó la confianza de la gente que le apoyaba, justificó la tortura y la eliminación de los más elementales derechos humanos…..Mala herencia le deja a Obama.

Obama no podrá cambiar todo eso rápidamente: no es el Superman de las películas, por mucho que a veces se le otorguen poderes casi sobrenaturales. Ahora bien, en estos pocos días que lleva en la Casa Blanca está demostrando que las cosas se pueden hacer de otra manera: va a cerrar Guantánamo, lo cual era una “vergüenza” para el mundo,…va a cerrar las “cárceles secretas” que tenían desperdigadas por el mundo,…va a prohibir los métodos interrogatorios de los servicios secretos que eran métodos de tortura,…No está mal para llevar menos de una semana.

No sé si llegará a hacer todo lo que el mundo espera -difícil será-, pero a poco que sea una persona digna e “intente” hacerlo bien, va a ser infinitamente mejor que la época Bush.

Vídeo del juramento…en español:

Vídeo del juramento…en inglés:

 Transcripción del discurso: Inglés  Español

2009 Inauguration of president Barack Obama, barack obama speech

barack obama speech after being nominated as president elect of the United States.

barack obama speech after clenching the nomination as the presidential democratic candidate

The Yes We Can video produced by will i am

barack obama yes we can speech, barack obama speech

barack obama “ONE VOICE” speech, barack obama speech

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barack obama speech ( you tube)

So my question for all of you readers is the following.

How do you plan to spend your inauguration day?

It is going to be an historic day, I don’t think anybody would want to miss it.

Post answers and any comments you want about inauguration day at the bottom.

A New Day and Horizon in Our American Politics:

Yesterday was a monumental day in American history. On such a unique occasion, Barack delivered a passionate, honest, and heart felt speech to our the nation. From the streets of his Chicago, Barack painted a vision toward a more inclusive domestic policy and a less arrogant, more cooperative foreign policy. And without question his words will echo through the hallowed halls of our nation’s capital and in the hearts and minds of passionate citizens. I just hope and pray that we can heal our divides and together get to the honest business of fostering human dignity and compassion.

(see also: three Christian perspectives on the election Anne Jackson, Flowerdust, Darren Tyler, and Preacher Mike Cope)

Hello Chicago!

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled — Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House. And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics — you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to — it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington — it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime — two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor’s bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you — we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years — block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek — it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers — in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House — a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn — I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world — our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down — we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security — we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright — tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America — that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing — Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time — to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth — that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

– Taken from the public domain

(the emphasis is my own)

For those who would like to actually read Barack Obama’s acceptance speech instead of listening to it (those few includes myself, of course, even without youtube taking forever to load; I’m a reader, after all), it is available at http://newsbazaar.blogspot.com/2008/11/acceptance-speech-obama-president-of.html. Makes me wonder if the author listened to the speech again and again to type it out. Nonetheless, my heartfelt thanks to the author.

Yeay for Obama!!

Screw Malaysian politics man. Hahaha.

Yes we can!!

Oh, John McCain’s concession speech is available here.

Erm, this is said with a great reluctance; however, it needs to be admitted.

I found McCain’s speech more inspirational.

Can’t blame me alright!! Or call me crazy!!

However, he touched on something that is dear to me; look at our similarities instead of our differences.

He urged Americans, Republican and Democrats alike, to concentrate on their similarities–American citizenship–rather than their different political ideology.

And that… Well… Something I believe in, albeit about another country altogether, of course.

And why so cynical? Why think that it is impossible that McCain was sincere in his speech?

Both he and Obama ran for office because of their love for the country; if they didn’t have it, they wouldn’t bother running for the President post. It’s just that the decided to show their love for their country differently.

Just because you have different ideology from someone, doesn’t mean that person cannot be sincere to you.

I hate Republicans; I’ve always thought they’re a bunch of idiots. Their simplified economics thinking manage to lure the uneducated to think they could be rich and be lazy at the same time.

Nonetheless, regardless how bitter the pill is, I have to swallow it. McCain concession speech did inspire me.

And how childish of the Republicans to boo when Obama’s name was mentioned. Tsk tsk.

Click here to watch the video of Barack Obama’s Speech at DNC 2008

Below is the text of Barack Obama’s Speech (TEXT) at DNC 2008:

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama
“The American Promise”
Democratic National Convention
August 28, 2008
Denver, Colorado

As prepared for delivery

—-

To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation;

With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.
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Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest – a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours — Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night.

To the love of my life, our next First Lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and Malia – I love you so much, and I’m so proud of all of you.

Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story – of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren’t well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.

It is that promise that has always set this country apart – that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

That’s why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women – students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors — found the courage to keep it alive.

We meet at one of those defining moments – a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.

Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can’t afford to drive, credit card bills you can’t afford to pay, and tuition that’s beyond your reach.

These challenges are not all of government’s making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.

America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.

This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.

This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he’s worked on for twenty years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.

We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land – enough! This moment – this election – is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: “Eight is enough.”

Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we’ll also hear about those occasions when he’s broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.

But the record’s clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.

The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives – on health care and education and the economy – Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made “great progress” under this President. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisors – the man who wrote his economic plan – was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a “mental recession,” and that we’ve become, and I quote, “a nation of whiners.”

A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.

Now, I don’t believe that Senator McCain doesn’t care what’s going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn’t know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people’s benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?

It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care. It’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.

For over two decades, he’s subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy – give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is – you’re on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps – even if you don’t have boots. You’re on your own.

Well it’s time for them to own their failure. It’s time for us to change America.

You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.

We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President – when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.

We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job – an economy that honors the dignity of work.

The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great – a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.

Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton’s Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.

In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships.

When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.

And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She’s the one who taught me about hard work. She’s the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she’s watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.

I don’t know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.

What is that promise?

It’s a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.

It’s a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.

Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves – protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.

Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who’s willing to work.

That’s the promise of America – the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper.

That’s the promise we need to keep. That’s the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.
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Change means a tax code that doesn’t reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.

Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.

I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.

I will cut taxes – cut taxes – for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.

And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

Washington’s been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he’s said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.

Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.

As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I’ll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy – wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.

America, now is not the time for small plans.

Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don’t have that chance. I’ll invest in early childhood education. I’ll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I’ll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American – if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.

Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don’t, you’ll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.

Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.

Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.

And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day’s work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.

Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I’ve laid out how I’ll pay for every dime – by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don’t help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less – because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.

And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America’s promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our “intellectual and moral strength.” Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can’t replace parents; that government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.

Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility – that’s the essence of America’s promise.

And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America’s promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that’s a debate I’m ready to have.

For while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just “muddle through” in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he’ll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell – but he won’t even go to the cave where he lives.

And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we’re wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.

That’s not the judgment we need. That won’t keep America safe. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.

You don’t defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don’t protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can’t truly stand up for Georgia when you’ve strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice – but it is not the change we need.

We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don’t tell me that Democrats won’t defend this country. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans — Democrats and Republicans – have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.

As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm’s way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.

I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.

These are the policies I will pursue. And in the weeks ahead, I look forward to debating them with John McCain.

But what I will not do is suggest that the Senator takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other’s character and patriotism.

The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America – they have served the United States of America.

So I’ve got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.

America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can’t just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose – our sense of higher purpose. And that’s what we have to restore.

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America’s promise – the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that’s to be expected. Because if you don’t have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.

You make a big election about small things.

And you know what – it’s worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn’t work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it’s best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.

I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don’t fit the typical pedigree, and I haven’t spent my career in the halls of Washington.

But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don’t understand is that this election has never been about me. It’s been about you.

For eighteen long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said enough to the politics of the past. You understand that in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same old politics with the same old players and expect a different result. You have shown what history teaches us – that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn’t come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it – because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.

America, this is one of those moments.

I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I’ve seen it. Because I’ve lived it. I’ve seen it in Illinois, when we provided health care to more children and moved more families from welfare to work. I’ve seen it in Washington, when we worked across party lines to open up government and hold lobbyists more accountable, to give better care for our veterans and keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands.

And I’ve seen it in this campaign. In the young people who voted for the first time, and in those who got involved again after a very long time. In the Republicans who never thought they’d pick up a Democratic ballot, but did. I’ve seen it in the workers who would rather cut their hours back a day than see their friends lose their jobs, in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, in the good neighbors who take a stranger in when a hurricane strikes and the floodwaters rise.

This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that’s not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that’s not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that’s not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

Instead, it is that American spirit – that American promise – that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.

That promise is our greatest inheritance. It’s a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours – a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.

And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln’s Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.

The men and women who gathered there could’ve heard many things. They could’ve heard words of anger and discord. They could’ve been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.

But what the people heard instead – people of every creed and color, from every walk of life – is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.

“We cannot walk alone,” the preacher cried. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.”

America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise – that American promise – and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.

Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.

Surrounded by an enormous, adoring crowd, Barack Obama promised a clean break from the “broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush” Thursday night as he embarked on the final lap of his audacious bid to become the nation’s first black president.

      “America, now is not the time for small plans,” the 47-year-old Illinois senator told an estimated 84,000 people packed into Invesco Field, a huge football stadium at the base of the Rocky Mountains.

      He vowed to cut taxes for nearly all working-class families, end the war in Iraq and break America’s dependence on Mideast oil within a decade. By contrast, he said, “John McCain has voted with President Bush 90 percent of the time,” a scathing indictment of his Republican rival — on health care, education, the economy and more.

      Polls indicate a close race between Obama and McCain, the Arizona senator who stands between him and a place in history. On a night 45 years after Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a Dream Speech,” Obama made no overt mention of his own race.

      “I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don’t fit the typical pedigree” of a presidential candidate was as close as he came to the long-smoldering issue that may well determine the outcome of the election.

      Fireworks lit the night sky as Obama accepted the cheers of his supporters. His wife, Michelle, and their daughters Malia and Sasha joined him, and the country music sounds of “Only in America” filled the stadium.

Joe Biden and Barack Obama and their wives at Invesco Field post speech

      Campaigning as an advocate of a new kind of politics, he suggested at least some common ground was possible on abortion, gun control, immigration and gay marriage.

      Obama delivered his 44-minute nominating acceptance speech in an unrivaled convention setting, before a crowd of unrivaled size — the filled stadium, the camera flashes in the night, the made-for-television backdrop that suggested the White House, and the thousands of convention delegates seated around the podium in an enormous semicircle.

      Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden. of Delaware, leave their convention city on Friday for Pennsylvania, first stop on an eight-week sprint to Election Day.

      McCain countered with a bold move of his own, hoping to steal some of the political spotlight by spreading word that he had settled on a vice presidential running mate. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty canceled all scheduled appearances for the next two days, stoking speculation that he was the one.

      The McCain campaign also produced a TV ad that congratulates Obama for his nomination:

      “Senator Obama, this is truly a good day for America. Too often the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed. So I wanted to stop and say, congratulations. How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day. Tomorrow, we’ll be back at it. But tonight, senator, job well done.”

      For MORE of this report, go here.

watch Obama speech

Tonight, Barack Obama was a mile high and on top of the world. In turn Obama elevated this country to a new level and may have altered the political landscape for decades to come. For months liberals have shouted from the roof-tops for Obama to fight back as McCain repeatedly painted him as a light-weight celebrity with no plans and no political chops. It turns out the chattering classes misjudged Obama. HE knew what he was doing even if we didn’t. I mentioned before that Obama may have been letting McCain punch himself out while no one was paying attention and lying in wait for the real season to begin. Tonight in Denver, with the eyes of the country on him, Barack Obama took McCain’s attacks and turned them around in 44 minutes, then delivered the knock-out blow.

This was a no-lose situation for Obama because McCain’s attacks featuring Paris Hilton inadvertently actually ended up lowering the bar for Obama, making it even easier to win over skeptics. I think the McCain camp is in absolute disarray now. McCain himself is cranky and lashed out at a reporter during an interview with Time Magazine this week. Reports continue to come in that there is an internal struggle over the VP pick. And now months of work by the McCain campaign have been leveled like Pompeii in an instant by another mountain eruption, only this one in the Rocky Mountains. McCain has been so busy painting Obama in a negative light that he hasn’t bothered to flesh out a platform for the American people grab on to and rally around, and now McCain staffers are floundering. Most telling was the response to Obama’s speech by McCain ball washer, Tucker Bounds,

“Tonight, Americans witnessed a misleading speech that was so fundamentally at odds with the meager record of Barack Obama. When the temple comes down, the fireworks end, and the words are over, the facts remain: Senator Obama still has no record of bipartisanship, still opposes offshore drilling, still voted to raise taxes on those making just $42,000 per year, and still voted against funds for American troops in harm’s way. The fact remains: Barack Obama is still not ready to be President.”

This is just a remarkably weak counter to one of the most inspiring and clutch speeches given in my lifetime. When Obama absolutely had to deliver, he hit it out of the park and left assholes like Tucker Bounds grasping at straws. Even notable conservative critics like Pat Buchanan and Bill Kristol gave it high marks and the best Tucker can come up with is the same tired refrains about experience? Not going to win anyone over because not only did Obama clearly answer those questions this week, but so did Hillary and Bill. Barack then went out and put a resounding exclamation point on it tonight at Mile High.

After pathetic attempts to steal Obama’s thunder by playing “coy” games about their VP announcement schedule, the McCain camp is about to lose the only thing that has ever gotten the media to pay attention to them–they are going to announce McCain’s VP selection tomorrow. This is bad news for Republicans because the choice is likely to annoy at least one faction of the party and possibly every faction if McCain gets his way. The real problem though is that after this is announced McCain is going to have a hard time holding on to the limelight, even with the Republican convention coming up. The VP buzz was the best thing to happen to Johnny Maverick because the most interesting thing about the McCain campaign has always been the promise of someone else. Now that promise is about to expire and the results are likely to yield such leftovers as Tim “who?” Pawlenty and rehashed Mitt Romney, a Mormon who is supposed to be strong on the economy but in reality is as elite as they come and is responsible to the loss of plenty of jobs.

The idea of either of these two going head to head with Joe Biden in a debate is laughable. If you think “Noun, verb, 9-11″ was eviscerating, wait until you see what Biden does to the likes of Romney. I couldn’t even watch Biden debate Pawlenty because it would be like watching Mike Tyson beating an old lady (which might be a pay-per-view event soon). Pawlenty would be a gift to the Democrats because he has even less experience than Obama and would nullify that argument completely if they put him within a heartbeat of the Oval Office. There is always the chance McCain picks Ridge or Lieberman, but that would be like Christmas in August for me so I am not even thinking about that yet. If they pick a pro-life VP this election is going to be a blow out for Obama. Is McCain that stupid?

Guess we will find out tomorrow.

Tonight Barack Obama set the bar high. He had a structured outline of what he needed to communicate to the American people and had calculated in what his opponents might offer in terms of a rebuttal. It was a brilliant first move. Rest assured, the battle for the White House began tonight.

Outside of my own self-adulation, I use the term ‘brilliant’ sparingly. Here is why I believe Obama’s speech was brilliant, sans hyperbole. He began and ended his speech deep within the patriotic confines of the very Constitution which bestows upon each of us explicit rights. How could a Republican, even a fork-tongued one such Rove, undermine the ideals of the foundation of our rights?

Here is what I mean. Obama talked early in his speech about American promise. This would equate to American pride or Rah-Rah USA in GOP-speak. He linked it, necessarily so, to the concept of individual responsibility. He has taken two core concepts from Republican thought, Jingoistic Flag Waving and Get the Government Out of My Face-ism, and presented them in a reasonable format entirely at ease with a liberal audience. He proclaimed that our country has a history of greatness and is something to be proud of but part of that pride comes from individuals doing their part for the greater good.

The Republican attack manual will require McCain, at some point next week, to accuse Obama of being another big government liberal. Obama used his speech tonight to acknowledge that he has some big ideas, even going so far as to say that:

America, now is not the time for small plans.

He did this but made certain it was within the context of personal responsibility:

Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves.

He lays out that we should have the kinds of freedoms we consider essential, to make our own lives, to engage in a free and open market, but that there is an element of personal responsibility there that will be required of each of us. We are individuals but we ‘rise or fall as one nation.’

This clearly hearkens back to Kennedy asking us to ask ourselves what we can do for our country. We have a responsibility as a citizen to treat one another with respect, conduct business responsibly, to parent our own children and then our government, in turn, can focus on the things which are beyond our means.

As I was listening to him, the Preamble to the Constitution began running through my mind:

We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America

These are the words of a young nation, ill at ease with a centralized form of government, agreeing to come together to do the things beyond the means of the individual: provide defense, insure justice, promote general welfare. Senator Obama is asking of us nothing more than our founding fathers asked – be an individual, be responsible and be comforted knowing the government will only step in to handle that which you cannot.

How do even the most rabid attack-yderms criticize a candidate for echoing the thoughts of Madison and the rest of the brave people who gave birth to our great nation? It was a stroke of brilliance – patriotism, individual accountability and government programs wrapped together in the pursuit of a more perfect union.

This was merely the backdrop though, a preemptive shot across the bow of all the Repub’s foaming at the mouth, desperately hoping to keep their powder dry. Obama, while demonstrating the tie between his ideas and those of our founders, also talked about righting our most recent history of failures, mostly those of Bush. Within the framework of discussing how we can work together to fulfill our promise, he described the way our government is broken.

Again, this anticipates a standard rebuttal from the GOP, accusing Obama of being big government, but he assuages those fears one might have of the government by saying the problems we have today are not necessarily the product of government, but rather of a government broken by the mismanagement of its principles by Republicans such as Bush, Cheney and McCain. He highlighted some of the successes of Clinton’s term and then contrasted them against the abysmal administration of George W. Bush. He even gets to reemphasize our American pride when he chides Bush and company by saying:

America, we are better than these last eight years.

He refuses to allow the idea of patriotism to be the sole domain of Republicans, as they would have us believe. This will be an important point towards the end of his speech.

Once he established that our current government is broken he wasted no time in pointing out that John McCain, though a good man and a war hero, has lined up with Bush to push through these broken policies over 90% of the time. McCain the man is to be respected but it is part of our individual duty to call into question his judgment and the decisions he has made. By straying from the Bush flock less than 10% of the time, McCain represents nothing in terms of a solution to our current troubles.

Obama then turned directly into the heart of darkness, the vaunted domain McCain claims as his own: National Security. Obama knows that if he has a weakness against John McCain it is national security. McCain has cut his chops throughout his career on the fact that he is a war hero. Obama turned the argument from McCain’s service in Vietnam to McCain’s judgment in more current affairs:

For while Sen. McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing it would distract us from the real threats that we face.

By demonstrating that McCain’s service record will not be the ‘decider’ but we will have to rely on his judgment and that his judgment took us away from the real enemy and landed us in a quagmire called the Occupation of Iraq, Obama demonstrates that McCain’s security credentials are perhaps overrated. The real enemy is still at large and McCain, to the bloodthirsty cheers of the GOP faithful, extolled his willingness to follow bin Laden to the gates of Hell but Obama points out that bin Laden was actually in a cave and McCain chose to leave him there.

Obama tonight refused to give McCain a free pass on security credentials merely because McCain was a POW. His service is admirable but it will be his judgment upon which the safety of our country relies and that judgment has been lacking. Obama framed the national security debate in these terms:

That’s not the judgment we need. That won’t keep American safe. We need a president who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.

This also marked a shift into a subtle attack on John McCain. Obama began focusing on moving forward, on taking American promise into the future, and as he was doing so he cast McCain as a relic. McCain is a war hero, but those days are behind him and now he is just another Washington insider making bad decisions. By aligning McCain with Bush and the failed policies of the last eight years, when the discussion shifts to the future there is a stark contrast between what McCain represents, broken government, and what Obama represents, American promise.

Obama then returned to patriotism and, as I mentioned earlier, he states that ‘patriotism has no party.’ He framed the upcoming election in terms of civil debate and civil disagreement in which neither party should challenge the other’s character or patriotism. Obama insisted that:

We all put country first.

He again denies McCain one of the few tricks he has left, abject patriotism. Obama gave a moving talk about soldiers, regardless of party, fighting and bleeding together. They fight as Americans. We are all Americans. We all put our country first. By offering up this vision of unity he also sought to mitigate the polarizing topics of abortion, gun control and same sex marriage. All three of these will be targeted by the GOP but again Obama took the preemptive shot.

He conceded people do not agree on abortion but asked that surely we can all work together to reduce unwanted pregnancies. This is entirely reasonable. Then he pointed out that rural hunters may have a different view of guns from inner-city families but certainly we can all work to keep AK-47’s out of the hands of criminals. Who would argue with that? Lastly, he mentioned there are varying opinions on same sex marriage but we should all insist that this is no ground for discrimination. He took three very polarizing topics and gave people on each side a reasonable common ground.

He then went one step further and anticpated another attack. Obama clearly stated:

I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk…And that’s to be expected. Because if you don’t have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters.

Obama knows that people will say he is pie in the sky hopeful, but just because an idea is novel does not mean it will not work. We are to expect grave fear talk from the GOP starting tonight, I am sure.

Before coming back to his Constitutional beginning, Obama made a key point in his speech. He rejects the idea that this election is a referendum on Barack Obama but insists it is about the American people. It is all the people who worked for Obama and who worked for Clinton. It is about all the people who want a better life and can’t see it right now with the way things are working. It is about all the folks facing a dead end but believe there is something better. This election is not about one man or one idea but is about all of us working together.

And suddenly, there we are. He is ending his speech, focusing on the future and fulfilling the American promise first dreamed up by Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison and letting each of us know that we too have a part to play. We are part of that promise. We are a key to tomorrow. We have the ability, working together, to change our nation and then change the world and never have we seen that change so necessary as it is today.

It was never about him. It was certainly never about McCain. It is we the people of the United States of America – working together to form a more perfect union.

Brilliant.

God bless America.

In front of a crowd of Democrats, Barack Obama accepted his party’s nomination for President. Once again it was filled with rhetoric and platitudes but very short on policy. America still does not really know what his message of change means — accept it will cost us a lot more for it. (Full Text here)

“Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I’ve laid out how I’ll pay for every dime – by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don’t help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less – because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.”

“As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I’ll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy – wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.”

“I’ll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support.”

“Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.”

“And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day’s work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.”

Obama’s costly entitlements and hand outs will be our burden for decades to come. Once again a Democratic Presidential candidate promising the moon but delivering a lump of coal.

If you listen carefully to Obama’s words you will see that he preaches Marxism and Socialism. He wants government to control how much you and corporations earn. He wants to redistribute wealth and control every facet of your lives — just like Lenin, Stalin, Chairman Mao and Fidel Castro. Is this the change you really want?

The Washington Times in “Obama votes cast him left of his own party”, says, “Sen. Barack Obama will portray himself Thursday night as an agent of change for mainstream America, but his eight-year voting record in the Illinois Senate shows the Democrat was on occasion an agent of isolation who took stands – particularly on anti-crime legislation – that put him to the left of his own party.”

So he spoke once again before an adoring crowd of devotees in front of a a set designed to look like a Grecian Temple.

The New York Post reports that the set was designed by Bobby Allen, who built Britney Spears last concert sets.“We’ve done Britney’s sets and a whole bunch of rock shows, but this was far more elaborate and complicated and we had to do it in far less time,” said Allen, of RDA Entertainment.

I’m waiting for the real campaign to start — where I hear how Obama answers tough questions on how he will lead. Crunch time is coming and we’ll finally see if he can walk all this talk.

Posted: 2040PT 08/28/08
autone.wordpress.com

Resident John McCain fluffer Jill Hazelbaker went on Morning Joe on MSNBC to get us all atwitter over a new ad McCain is releasing tonight to counter Obama’s speech. This ad is really being pumped, but look at what Jill actually says;

“This is a historic ad. I think this is the first of its kind. Senator McCain is going to speak direct to camera to Barack Obama. I’m not going to give away many more details than that. But suffice to say it’s going to be a very exciting ad, and I think it’s going to get a lot of attention.”

Okay, so let’s recap. John McCain’s very exciting ad is going to feature….John McCain! Looking directly in to the camera! And…talking! Wait–what the fuck? That’s not exciting at all. Has anyone here ever heard McCain speak? Do you people not remember the green background fiasco featuring such hits as “hehe…That’s not change we can believe in…*awkward smile, weird chuckle, full creep-out*”

How is this supposed to historic. Oh wait, I think I get it. It is historic because Obama is speaking between 10pm and 11pm and McCain is usually in bed after Jeopardy but is making an exception tonight. Oh, cranky, sleepy McCain is staying up late to scold the whipper snapper. Now I see the historic nature.

Memo to the McCain campaign, “exciting”? Honestly, why not try to set the bar lower so your candidate doesn’t look like such an out of touch old coot. There is zero chance that McCain is going to be actively involved in anything that even remotely resembles the word exciting, so let’s go ahead and retire that one. And your candidate while you are at it.

Exciting? The Princess Bride said it best;

*UPDATE: There’s been a leak of the ad and I can now tell you that the ad itself is McCain congratulating Obama on accepting the nomination on the anniversary of MLK’s I have a Dream speech. The ad is meant to cast McCain as generous and a gracious, but one has to question whether McCain is wise to invoke MLK given his persistent opposing of both a federal and state holidays honoring Dr. King. Either way, McCain goes on to say that tomorrow they will be back at it so this is a temporary cease-fire.

Exciting? Um…not exactly. I’m probably supposed to say that this is a nice gesture, but it really isn’t. This is just a piece of political theater and designed to make McCain seem magnanimous instead of cantankerous. The voters who already support McCain will like it and the voters who don’t won’t. This is a net zero for McCain. Hazelbaker cried wolf on this one and I expect the media to keep that in mind the next time she wants to roll out something…”exciting”.

Interactive video and transcript of Senator Barack Obama’s speech in Philadelphia on March 18 on race.

Did Obama show out or did he show out??? He made sure we understood that he would not be pushed into a stupid box whose boundaries are defined by media chatter! His speech was truly presidential and he continued to focus on the issues. I particularly like the way that he took the issue and helped them pinpoint the real reason behind the furor – the issues of race and ethnicity in America. You can read the information about it here and watch the speech Draw your conclusions and decide for yourself if he looked presidential.