Obama, Paul Net Most Military Donations

Did you see the recent article in USA Today about which presidential candidates are receiving the biggest military donations?

Click here for the full article.

For Democratic candidates, America's soldiers are donating the most to Barack Obama. For Republican candidates, it's Ron Paul. It seems significant that these two candidates are calling for an end to combat in Iraq.

I wonder if our soldiers in Fort Drum are endorsing Obama?

"Experience" is bait set out by the Clinton campaign, and Democrats are biting.

Words can lift a people, words can inspire a people. Eight years of Bush have made Americans believe that a President must be an action figure.

Perhaps one of the factors that should determine our vote is which candidate is a motivator that can inspire the people of America.

Barack far surpasses Hillary as a motivator. Make a nation hopeful again, and the work and innovation will get done by the people.

When Barack calls people to action, people WANT to provide results.

Hillary’s words just make Americans want to sink deeper into their armchairs.

Promises of Universal Healthcare

Hillary promises “universal healthcare” without providing essential details behind her plan. I believe absolutely that if she becomes President, her version of "universal healthcare" will not be what Hillary voters expected. It will be a huge disappointment. Hillary’s version of "universal healthcare" will have horrendous short-comings -- short-comings that she knows about, but isn’t telling people before Election Day. Hillary is one of the highest paid politicians on the health insurance lobbyists’ payroll -- how “universal” do you think her healthcare will be?

In my opinion, Obama -- who is NOT one of the highest paid politicians on the health insurance lobbyists’ payroll – has a very doable healthcare plan for Americans. And Obama recognizes that the only way to universal healthcare is to approach it incrementally. Hillary wants voters to believe that universal healthcare can happen in one fell swoop on Day One, but that - given the government’s longstanding loyalties to the health insurance industry - would be impossible.

Obama recognizes that his healthcare plan will be an “under the radar,” but effective first incremental step towards TRUE universal healthcare.

To Jefferson County Democrats: Please help me understand.

My Republican friend called me up this morning. He had already checked the Jefferson County primary results: “Looks like the Democrats in your county played right into the hands of the Republicans.” He explained that Clinton had garnered more than 70% of the votes. All I could do was shrug, and agree with him.

So Jefferson County Democrats, I need a little help understanding your vote for Hillary: You knew that McCain would be the Republican front-runner. And you’ve learned how the average American voter thinks, after the voting results for the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004.
So please, explain to me how Clinton will have any realistic chance of defeating McCain in a presidential race.

Your ultimate goal was to keep a Republican out of the White House, right? Well, have you never played chess? Never played billiards? As you know, good strategy means, before you make a move, you anticipate your opponent’s reaction to your move.

For months now, impartial political strategists have been making it known that if the race is between Obama and McCain, there’d be no way to stop Obama. These were impartial political strategists – am I the only Jefferson County voter who watches C-SPAN?

And when I say “opponent” I don’t just mean Republicans. Based on the 2000 and 2004 election results, “opponent” for Democrats should also mean the swing voters of America’s heartland.

The “Anti-Hillary for President” revolution has been decades in the making. Ever since Hillary was a blip on the political radar, millions of Americans have enthusiastically put their money and passion into burying her.

(Don’t ask me why Hillary inspires such hatred. But if you thought Swift Boating John Kerry was ugly, it will be nothing compared the Hillary smear machine. I know Hillary has thick skin, but I’m making an additional point here: what good will it do this country to go through a second Clinton hate-a-thon? It will bring out the absolute worst on all sides, and the country will be the worse for it. Think the Starr Report for Hillary. Think mainstream-ized misogyny. This country is suffocating in partisan politics, and a Hillary vs. McCain campaign, and a Hillary win, would only drag our country deeper into partisan purgatory.)

But beyond preventing the prolonging of Republican rule in the White House, Jefferson County Democrats need to provide concrete evidence explaining why Hillary is a better presidential candidate than Barack Obama.

I read a Letter From the People in today’s Watertown Daily Times with the headline, “Sen. Clinton attentive to North Country issues.” Yet the writer did not produce a single concrete example of how Clinton has been attentive to the North Country. Please Jefferson County Democrats, please provide me with examples of Hillary bringing prosperity to the North Country.

Hillary voted for the Iraq War. Are there military families in the North Country that feel her vote wasn’t in the best interest of the sons and daughters of the North Country?

If you plan to respond, please abstain from saying it is time America had a woman president. I could not agree more that having a woman American president is past due – but having Hillary as our first woman president will establish an ugly precedent: Imagine your young daughter asking her guidance counselor, “What are my chances of being President like Hillary Clinton?” And the guidance counselor responds, “Well, it depends on who you marry, whether your husband is a popular former President. We certainly haven’t had any woman Presidents who won the Presidency on their own merits.” I’m not saying Hillary has no merits apart from Bill, but how do we stop future generations from making that generalization?

So please, someone help me out. Explain your vote for Hillary. I’m not a Hillary hater - she’s been a decent ambassador for NY - and I don’t necessarily think Barack was the best of the Democrat presidential candidate lot -- I thought Joe Biden was the Democrats’ best choice to handle the Iraq War.

I just need an explanation why – considering what we’ve learned from the swing voters of America’s heartland, and considering all that we know about Obama, Clinton, and McCain – why did you believe voting for Hillary would ensure a brighter, prosperous future for America?
And I’m not saying a brighter, prosperous future for the Democrat Party; I’m saying a brighter future for our country.

"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter" - Winston Churchill

As November 4th, 2008 nears, we see Republican, Democrat, and third candidates stumping for votes.


We live in the greatest nation in the world, our patrotism is strong, we're protecting our borders and our values -- and here in the North Country, we're the proud hometown of Fort Drum. But I believe democracy in our nation has become stagnant. We are lacking in keen critical judgment.

Too many Americans are easily persuaded by political pundits -- how much faith can you have in democracy when we've become eager buyers of sensationalism and partisan trash-talk. Too many Americans are seduced by celebrity-watch -- how industrious can our society be if we're so easily diverted by Britney. We'd rather go shopping, looking for the best deals, than spend time learning about each candidiate.

Politicians at every level - local, county, state, and nation - set "the agenda." But Americans themselves deserve blame. Politicians wouldn't be where they are if they didn't get votes.

In this election year, our democracy depends on the active, responsible, and discerning voters. It can be challenging to navigate through all campaign spin and rhetoric. But that is what a democracy should be for every citizen -- it should be a challenge. Keeping democracy alive and thriving requires work.


In this blog, I will not pretend to know the best direction for our county, state, and nation, but I will offer suggestions, and try to prescribe positive action.