The Candidates In 2008

I know it’s two-years away.  I know that we have time before we change leaders, but perhaps my dreaming of a new president is a symptom of how much I dislike Bush and want to be rid of him.    I am ready to start thinking about our next president now.

There are some who have been speculating about Mrs. Clinton for quite some time.  God bless her, our former First Lady and current Senator.  She is class act in so many ways.  Hillary is smart and experienced.  I can imagine her being in charge and being able to analyze a situation from in every single place to consider the consequences before she acts.  She is a better woman than me, afraid I’m a little more rash than that.  But, the fact remains, she is a woman.

Now a lot of people talk the talk and say how great it’d be for a female to be president.  I wonder, while they may say that, would they actually vote that?  I don’t think so.  And so, while I think Senator Clinton is an awesome candidate, I worry that her running means we’d (the Democrats) be losing.

I don’t think that we can afford to lose.  In my opinion, this is too big a gamble for the current climate in America.  And I do suspect that voters will not take risks and will want to play it safe, meaning, they will vote for a man.

I do wish that Gore would run again, there is some part of me that still wants him to run and to win, like he did in 2000, but this time, I’d like to see him sworn in and not cheated.

According to various sources, Gore has stated that he would not run.  But then there was the time he stated that it wasn’t totally off the table either.  So, we’ll see, in time.

And all talk about Obama, well, it’s fun to listen too, but I doubt he could win.  He needs more time.

Overall, if Gore doesn’t run, my choice would be John Edwards.

He has been making himself very visable lately.  And I was thrilled when he ran as VP in 2004.  In fact, I had wished they had chosen him as President and Kerry as VO, but that’s another story.  Regardless, Edwards brings an understand of the people that many other candidates seem to lack.  He comes across as a real person with some old-fashioned logic and good values.  I think anyone and everyone finds that appealing.  Besides that, he is self-made.  I have a deeper respect for any person that made it on their own and had to struggle to get somewhere.  It says a lot about a person.  

We will see whether or not Edwards announces anything about a run in 2008 on his website sooner or later.  And if/when he does, I’ll be ready to support him.  I think he’d make a fine president and I think he is what America needs.

I Was Here.

Having recently discussed the fact that the United States did not respond to the 9/11 attacks with a nuclear weapon, some friends and I got into a heated debate over our response to those attacks.  We all had strong feelings, and naturally, most people cringed at the thought of the U.S ever using a nuclear weapon against anyone.  In fact, that I even mentioned it made some people very angry with me.  I understand where they’re coming from, and I understand their dislike for the topic altogether.  However, the individuals most angry with me happened to live outside of New York, but -

I was here.

They weren’t.

I was here when the attacks took place.  And it was outside my window that a thick, black plume of smoke rose into the sky.  I shut my windows and worried about taking my child outdoors for a long time.  I heard fighter jets flying over my house.  The attacks took place only ten minutes away from where I lived.  The phones were not working properly, the roads were closed and chaos was everywhere – surrounding buildings also fell by The World Trade Center – thousands were missing/dead.  This was not a good day for New York or its residents to say the least. 

My sister-in-law’s brother worked in the city.  He was there when it happened.  Body parts were falling from the sky to the ground before his eyes.  He now takes medications for a panic disorder that did not exist prior to 9/11.

I also met a beautiful little girl, about 5 or 6 years-old at the time.  Her father was killed in The World Trade Center.  Her mother told us that the child took on, or tried to take on, the role of her father in the wake of his death. 

Our city had changed.  Gone were the Twin Towers that we were all used to seeing.  Our skyline was different.  Our residents, thousands, had died.   This is not to say that the deaths of others from all over on 9/11 meant any less to me.  But somehow, my impression is that those outside of New York (or Washington) had a different experience on 9/11.  It didn’t happen near their homes, it didn’t change thier skyline, it didn’t kill their neighbors.  Maybe it was more “real” for those of us living here, maybe it hurt us more deeply because it happened so close to home.  Maybe this is why they fail to see how I can say that we should have launched a nuclear weapon and hit Afghanistan.  Yes, it is irrational, and it is cruel, and to say that killing the innocent in harming our enemy is something I’d be happy about is wrong.  But to know that the terrorists and those that aided Bin laden and his crew would have been incincerated the same way that our people were incinerated in the World Trade Center would have given me some comfort.

I love my country and I respect that those in charge must know better than me when it comes to all of this.  Well, I sure hope they do.  But, I’ve been reading Woodward’s book, State of Denial, and that doesn’t paint a pretty picture of what is going on with the war in Iraq.   But keeping a focus on Afghanistan for now, I have to say that we blew it.   We had the one and only chance to wipe out this vicious group of people that attacked us on 9/11.   We also blew it in that we did not show other terrorists what we’d do to them had they messed with us again.  So, if our response in Afgahanistan was weak, well then there is the logic behind the insurgency in Iraq.  This may be why the problems continue.  And now things with Iran are getting ugly too.   And for a White House that makes “cut and run” look weak, I have to question their smarts on how they’ve handled this from Day One.   Personally, I think we could have done better, and the manner in which we responded in Afghanistan may have created some of the tensions we are experiencing all over the Middle East today.

It seems that the current administration is content to blame it all on Bill Clinton.  Well, Bill Clinton was not in the White House on 9/11.  Bill Clinton did not call the shots on 9/11 and during the aftermath.  Bill Clinton did not execute the poor strategy seen today in Iraq, and Bill Clinton did not let Bin laden get away when we had him cornered in Tora Bora.  These disasters were done on Bush’s watch.  Suffice it to say, Bush’s response to 9/11 was too weak.

So, for those that think my logic is somewhat crazy and somewhat cruel, and for those who are against fighting back with force to put a stop to a growing threat that gets uglier by the minute, I was here.  And perhaps it is that alone that gives me a different perspective. 

New York still remains the Number One target for terrorists.

They Were Their Own Worst Enemies

With the mid-term elections now behind us, I got to thinking about why I got involved this time?  Why was it so important for me to see the Democrats re-elected?  Well, I came to this conclusion – the Repbulicans made me do it.

You see, first there was all that stuff about Monica Lewinsky, and while Clinton was not an angel, I still think that Ken Starr’s actions were nothing less than a “vast right-wing conspiracy.”  It was wrong to humiliate any human being in that manner, let alone the president.  So, shame on you Ken Starr, but also, thank you Ken Starr, for planting the seeds of protest.  You alone sparked outrage among the people, and made them cherish what real public servants were – patriotic people that brought justice, not dirty little weasels who wasted millions to smear and humilate our president.  Your sick and hateful personal agenda had no justification to be made public.  Yet, you did it anyway, and in doing so, you let the world know what you and your party were really about. 

Next, the 2000 election and Al Gore.  Another Republican public relations disaster.  I can’t even talk about this without getting upset, six years later and it STILL makes me furious.  Not just the outcome, but all the steps taken prior to.   And the actions of Bush and his team were just plain ugly.  It said a lot about who the Republicans really were – preaching “values” but violating them in the same breath.  Not exactly the type of people I wanted to vote for.  But, once again, shame on you all for acting that way, but thank you all for making me sick with your lack of morals, because wihtout feeling that disgust for your party, I may have never cared enough to vote against you.

Fast forward to 2006.   Iraq war a huge disaster, corruption galore; Foley, Rumsfeld, no WMD, no real leadership, just a bunch of posers who can talk the talk but can’t walk the walk.   Enough was enough, so I got out there and I worked HARD to get Dems back into office.   But it wasn’t only me that felt this way, there were MANY.  Many Americans that were as fed as as me and stood up to make a difference.  We did it, and we have only you – the Republican party- to thank.  It was you and only you that sparked so much outrage we all took action to get you back into the majority. 

We Made It!

Election day 2006 was a crazy one for me.  I found a local Democratic candidate running for state senate.  This was my first job on a campaign.  The work seemed endless; not enough time in the day and not enough hands to get it all done.  No matter how many people were there, we still needed more.  I knew it would get crazy as we got closer to the big day, but I had NO IDEA it would get as crazy as this.

Novemeber 5th was a 10 hour day for me, and I got  home late but had to be up by 5:30AM to get ready, get out and vote and head for the office by 6:30AM.  I voted roughly after 6:00AM and got into the office about fifteen minutes later.  

Chaos immediately.  Campaign workers started calling my cell while I was still home actually.  Phones ringing, people in and out, questions to answer; flyers to be delivered, press calling and one nervous pacing man also known as the candidate right there making me even crazier.  The pace was fast, but my coffee kicked in.

There was one crisis after another to fix all day and night, but we all got through it and lived.

Finally, the polls closed by 9:00PM, and the numbers started rolling in.  Now this was the fun part.  Very exciting.  Calls were coming in like crazy and they were all asking what we knew about the outcome, but we wanted to know the same thing that they wanted to know.   The place was packed.  No where to stand barely.  Paychecks to campaign workers to cut, at a time like that!  Somehow, the secretary managed to pay some 35 people amid the chaos; some of those people, I later learned, went upstairs and found booze stored and started drinking, without me mind you.

Then, we has some sneaky Republican from the opponent’s side barge in.  What the hell was that about?  Because at this point, my guy was winning, and we were all dying to get some closure.  Did this strange man with the funny tie know something that made him come over? Should I sneak near the back office and listen?  Can’t I just ask him directly?  Of course not.

Hmmm.  Call the local news station, they are posting results online too slow for me.  “Uh, nothing on your district yet.”  Call the opposing side and pose as a supporter from outside so they won’t hear the noise and catch on – they are clueless as well.

Call the news station again.  Some bitch answers that doesn’t want to tell me anything.  Hey, I want the nice guy back on the phone!  No use, she’s cold and she’s staying cold.

Put someone else to call this time, someone with a different voice, a man, and YES, the nice guy picks up! I talk to him.  Still close, nothing new or final yet.

It is midnight.  I am delirious.  I am hungry.  I need a shower, a pillow, and my bed.   I have a child at home that will not sleep until I get back. Finally, without knowing the outcome, I leave the office.    In the taxi, I realize that in 6 more hours, I will have been awake for 24 hours.

About an hour later, I see the results online.  They are some 600 or 700 votes apart with my candidate losing.  It is two days later, and paper ballots have not been counted yet.  I do believe he will be seeking a recount. 

What an experience.  It was hard, but I knew I wanted to support my party, and it felt GREAT to be a part of it.  I think that we all did good, we being Democrats, this year.  We had all had enough of Bush and the Republicans, so we fought back.  And we DID IT!  One by one,  step by step.  I think it was a massive effort made on the part of so many people across the country that worked even harder than me.

I don’t know all of these people individually, but how can I thank them?  To all of you that got out there and invested of yourself to make this change happen, feel proud of yourself.  Feel proud that we’ve restored faith in checks and balances; we’ve put Bush and company in their place at last.  I don’t know anything else – at the moment - that can make any of us more proud.  We made it happen!  And now the real work begins.