John McCain: "Who's your Daddy?"
Barack Obama: "Joe Biden."
Early Saturday Morning (August 23) presumptive Democratic Candidate Barack Obama sent a text message to his faithful revealing his Vice Presidential choice. Six term Delaware Senator Joe Biden was his pick. Biden is older, and has much more experience than the four year Illinois Senator. Clearly, the Democratic Candidate's weakness in foreign affairs was addressed with this decision. The new running mate will add experience to Obama's very short political resume, but come November, Biden's presence will not make a difference.
Obama's decision to communicate his important choice seems very curious. Instead of normal channels, the use of cell phone texting was used. This appears to be a brilliant way to get his people out to vote come election day: "Don't forget to vote for Obama today." One wonders how effective that could be since there are probably more rich republicans with cell phones. By text messaging at 3:00 AM the morning newspaper headlines where missed. A mistake? No, not really, since newsprint is becoming much less important. Obama and Biden will rule the rest of the weekend cable news cycle.
The Obama campaign should be very worried that Biden will be seen as a father figure, and that could magnify even more the lack of experience of their candidate. Omaba has risen to the top of the party on the theme of "change." One can easily question why choose someone who has been a part of the system for three and a half decades. With that in mind, one wonders if the Biden pick a reaction to recent polling data suggesting the Illinois Senator's numbers are not doing so well due to his weakness of only four years as a national politician?
The Delaware Senator also presents some other problems:
1)Biden has said many controversial things in his 35 years in the Senate. Here are a few examples:
"In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."
"[Obama is] the first mainstream African American [presidential candidate] who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
In the heated campaign of the next two months or so, Biden surely may say something he should not.
2)Twenty-one years ago the senator was accused of plagiarism when he borrowed lines from British politician Neil Kinnock in one of his speeches.
I believe Barack Obama best choice for running mate would have been Hillary Clinton. It would have patched the differences between the two and the democratic party would be completely united and very hard to defeat in November. In reality, there is an unspoken split between the Clinton and the Obama camp, and Joe Biden, a person Clinton does admire, only puts a band aid on the wound.
Joe Biden has served the public in the senate for 35 years, almost nine times longer than Barack Obama and almost twice as much as John McCain. He gives the 2008 Democratic Ticket great experience, especially in the areas of foreign policy and national security. The problem for Obama that it highlights his main weakness: his lack of experience. For a candidate that is running on the word of change, the choice is almost contradictory. This is a losing ticket.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
TWENTY YEARS OF RUSH LIMBAUGH
Why am I a conservative? It is very simple. It is because of one man: Rush Limbaugh. There has been no one who has influenced me as much as him. Today(August 1, 2008)he celebrates twenty years as host of the nationally syndicated The Rush Limbaugh Show. There is no one still living in the conservative movement that has more sway than Rush Limbaugh.
The first time I heard Limbaugh's voice was over the car radio in the Southern California Desert when I was moving to San Diego. At the time I was the typical so-called liberal who consumed the anti-conservative meat the main stream media dished out. I don't remember exactly what he was talking about, but I can recall that it was a bit offensive to be at the time. I quietly filed it away and thought "such a right wing wacko."
A few years passed before the opening riffs of "My City Was Gone," by The Pretenders, caught my ear one day. The rock classic is the theme of The Rush Limbaugh Show. Granted, I considered myself left wing at the time, but my convictions were weak. I wanted to hear 'the other side.' I soon found out this other side was entertaining, as well as making some sense.
The defining slice of wisdom from the Conservative Icon that clinched it for me was when Rush spoke about the environmental movement: "They are the same people..." Limbaugh was referring to the fact that you will see the same faces at a green rally, at an anti-war rally and at a democratic rally. Yes, I thought, they are! He is so right!
The early nineties saw a political rebirth for me, all as a result of Rush's radio show. Politics began to fit neatly like a jigsaw puzzle. As crazy as it may seem, I felt a sense of patriotism like I never had before. I was ashamed for some of those crazy and stupid thoughts I had when I was a Democrat! Yeech!
For Americans like me, Rush Limbaugh is the balance of political thought in the country. Our world twenty years ago was dominated by the major news networks, the best selling newsprint, and the Hollywood culture. All of whom were slanted to the left. On the right were only a hand full of entities until Rush came along. It was no surprise that Limbaugh would be successful, and end up with an audience of fifteen million listeners and 650 radio stations.
It has been written that Rush Limbaugh saved AM radio. Absolutely! The AM band is swarming with Conservative Talk Shows. At least 25 of those draw audiences of over two million listeners. Two decades ago there only a few, none of them slanted right, that were heard coast to coast. Just a few months ago the Conservative Icon signed an eight year contract for $400 million, a figure that is unmatched by anyone in the media. As Rush celebrates his twenty year anniversary, he stands alone at the top of his game.
There are many, so many stories of lost souls, believing they are liberal, due to the influence of the left wing, mainstream media, that have been saved by the harmless little fuzzball, as Limbaugh would call himself. Count me among them. I owe nearly all of my political philosophy to him. Cogratulations on twenty years, Rush!
The first time I heard Limbaugh's voice was over the car radio in the Southern California Desert when I was moving to San Diego. At the time I was the typical so-called liberal who consumed the anti-conservative meat the main stream media dished out. I don't remember exactly what he was talking about, but I can recall that it was a bit offensive to be at the time. I quietly filed it away and thought "such a right wing wacko."
A few years passed before the opening riffs of "My City Was Gone," by The Pretenders, caught my ear one day. The rock classic is the theme of The Rush Limbaugh Show. Granted, I considered myself left wing at the time, but my convictions were weak. I wanted to hear 'the other side.' I soon found out this other side was entertaining, as well as making some sense.
The defining slice of wisdom from the Conservative Icon that clinched it for me was when Rush spoke about the environmental movement: "They are the same people..." Limbaugh was referring to the fact that you will see the same faces at a green rally, at an anti-war rally and at a democratic rally. Yes, I thought, they are! He is so right!
The early nineties saw a political rebirth for me, all as a result of Rush's radio show. Politics began to fit neatly like a jigsaw puzzle. As crazy as it may seem, I felt a sense of patriotism like I never had before. I was ashamed for some of those crazy and stupid thoughts I had when I was a Democrat! Yeech!
For Americans like me, Rush Limbaugh is the balance of political thought in the country. Our world twenty years ago was dominated by the major news networks, the best selling newsprint, and the Hollywood culture. All of whom were slanted to the left. On the right were only a hand full of entities until Rush came along. It was no surprise that Limbaugh would be successful, and end up with an audience of fifteen million listeners and 650 radio stations.
It has been written that Rush Limbaugh saved AM radio. Absolutely! The AM band is swarming with Conservative Talk Shows. At least 25 of those draw audiences of over two million listeners. Two decades ago there only a few, none of them slanted right, that were heard coast to coast. Just a few months ago the Conservative Icon signed an eight year contract for $400 million, a figure that is unmatched by anyone in the media. As Rush celebrates his twenty year anniversary, he stands alone at the top of his game.
There are many, so many stories of lost souls, believing they are liberal, due to the influence of the left wing, mainstream media, that have been saved by the harmless little fuzzball, as Limbaugh would call himself. Count me among them. I owe nearly all of my political philosophy to him. Cogratulations on twenty years, Rush!
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