One of the most disturbing questions that Barack Obama's candidacy raises is this: What if he were murdered? If Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination and was gunned down before November, what effect would this have on the presidential race? In this uncomfortable op-ed from Mexico's Excelsior newspaper, Francisco Martín Moreno outlines what he sees as the danger to the … [Read more...] about Obama Assassination ‘Would Leave Road Paved for McCain’ …
Clinton Supporter Kathleen Kennedy Townsend Says Obama Will Get Nomination
Political Wire has this item about comments by Clinton supporter Kathleen Kennedy Townsend -- and Townsend's analysis makes us wonder if she reads The Moderate Voice. Most of this analysis is what we've been saying on this site: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, spoke at St. Mary's college in Maryland last week and offered a very frank … [Read more...] about Clinton Supporter Kathleen Kennedy Townsend Says Obama Will Get Nomination
He can’t be President of Black America!
Taylor Marsh just doesn't get it. She says Senator Barack Obama ducked out of today's State of the Black Union conference basically because he's "misaligned and hypocritical". The meat: This is all so predictable. Even taking Clinton out of the equation -- because not everything is about Hillary Clinton -- there is nothing about Obama's choices that are surprising. Again, … [Read more...] about He can’t be President of Black America!
Obama’s Crossover Appeal
I just came back from a local Precinct Meeting for Obama in preparation for the Caucus on Election night March 4. Of the the 10 of us there, half were not Democrats. Two of us were around 60. Two were around 20. 4 were women. One from Israel. One from Ethiopia... … [Read more...] about Obama’s Crossover Appeal
Candidates on Public Financing of Elections
Here is a summary of the relative positions of the leading Presidential Candidates and Public Financing of Elections We are realistic about promises and charges made in the midst of a campaign. We know all the candidates have made and will continue to make the pragmatic choices that best fit their strategy for winning the presidency. I wish I could tell if McCain is still … [Read more...] about Candidates on Public Financing of Elections
America’s Democratic Primaries: As Transparent as the ‘Theory of Relativity’
From WORLDMEETS.US, some more evidence from abroad of the perplexing nature of the Democratic primaries. Dieter Degler of Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung writes, 'Until a few weeks ago, I though myself fairly well-versed in American electoral laws. … So what is my current state of knowledge?: The nominating procedure used by Democrats is as transparent as a combination of … [Read more...] about America’s Democratic Primaries: As Transparent as the ‘Theory of Relativity’
Hillary Clinton for VP
This week's debate pushed front and center the question of whether the Democratic Party can do what it did in 1960, nominate an inspiring young leader paired with a Washington veteran in the workings of government. John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson persuaded voters that they could open a New Frontier with the first Catholic president in American history. This year, the … [Read more...] about Hillary Clinton for VP
Talking Smack
(Hat tip: Saint in Exile) … [Read more...] about Talking Smack
Is Negative Campaigning Losing Its Positive Punch? (UPDATED)
It's a given that when things get tough in a campaign, or when a candidate needs to drive up a popular opponent's "negatives" that he or she will be advised to "go negative." But has Campaign 2008 underscored negative campaigning's risks and limits? McClatchy Newspaper's David Lightman thinks so and details some of the reasons why negative campaigning this season ain't what … [Read more...] about Is Negative Campaigning Losing Its Positive Punch? (UPDATED)
The Saga of the Cedars: When Bad Things Happen to Good Christian Conservatives
Harvey and Harriet Cedars are not just the breadwinners in a typical conservative Christian Republican family. They're hard working middle-class folk who have been going through some very difficult times but were confident that their president, his government and the Supreme Court that he has molded over the last seven years were on their side, which is to say God's side. This … [Read more...] about The Saga of the Cedars: When Bad Things Happen to Good Christian Conservatives
We Need an International Afghanistan Study Group
We need an International Afghanistan Study Group, modeled after the Iraq Study Group, but with representatives from Europe and Asia as well. To save the NATO mission in Afghanistan, we have to conduct a thorough, frank and honest evaluation of all our political and military strategies in Central Asia. We have to debate fresh and controversial policy alternatives, which … [Read more...] about We Need an International Afghanistan Study Group
Fatima Bhutto……Who?
In January this year the CNN interviewed the 25-year-old Fatima Bhutto, a claimant to the legacy of her grandfather former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. She is the neice of the late Benazir Bhutto, from whom she was estranged. She is an author/poet and also writes column for a wellknown Pakistani group of newpapers. Does she have a political ambition? More here... … [Read more...] about Fatima Bhutto……Who?
Iraq Attack: From ‘Shock & Awe’ To ‘Duck & Cover’
On Saturday rockets and mortars were fired towards the U.S.-protected Green Zone, leaving huge scars on the citadel of US occupation forces, and sending yet another strong signal that this immoral war begun years ago would have no end until the US troops go home. It is becoming clear that the continued US presence has spawned resistance groups that have become bolder by the … [Read more...] about Iraq Attack: From ‘Shock & Awe’ To ‘Duck & Cover’
Message In A Bottle: Scottish Thoughts on Election 2008 USA… Rock & Roll, Baby
This is one of the funniest/most cringe-poignant articles I've read recently. It's 'good medicine' after a week when a good deal of media 'news' about candidates looked somewhat like a two parakeet flap-fest going on inside a single-legged trouser. This article that bobbed across the ocean and landed on the shore of my desk, is about USA political contenders' tastes in … [Read more...] about Message In A Bottle: Scottish Thoughts on Election 2008 USA… Rock & Roll, Baby
Australia’s Murray River-System: A Looming Crisis…
The river-systems in the world are under heavy strain with many facing serious crisis owing to a variety of reasons. Many civilisations prospered on the banks of the mighty rivers...and then perished when the rivers suffered. Although Murray-Darling is Australia's longest river system, draining a basin the size of France and Spain combined, it no longer carries enough water to … [Read more...] about Australia’s Murray River-System: A Looming Crisis…
So Why Did Barack Obama Rise And Hillary Clinton Tumble?
The Christian Science Monitor looks at a question political scientists will be studying: why did Barack Obama suddenly rise and Hillary Clinton suddenly tumble in the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination race? You can boil down the answer to: a feast of the assumption on the part of the Clinton campaign that gave them food poisoning: What happened? On Clinton's part, … [Read more...] about So Why Did Barack Obama Rise And Hillary Clinton Tumble?
A question of leadership
Not much evidence of leadership in any of the three principal presidential candidates today. The closing question at the Austin debate addressed leadership, and what "leadership" meant at a time of crisis. I wanted to hear one of the candidates explain that leadership is principle-based, but situational, dependent on some combination of courage, integrity, confidence and … [Read more...] about A question of leadership
U.K.: Much To Be Sorry For Over CIA Rendition
Brits are not happy that they were, er, misinformed about the use of U.K. territory by the CIA for so-called rendition flights... From the British dailies, the Guardian and the Independent, the story is here; Official Apology after CIA "Torture" Jets Used U.K. Base and the reactions are here; The Excuse that America Didn't Tell Us Doesn't Wash Much To Be Sorry … [Read more...] about U.K.: Much To Be Sorry For Over CIA Rendition
Betting on a Dead Horse, Again
Political chaos in Pakistan could bring nuclear headaches for the US, and what our government is doing to prop up a failing regime recalls efforts three decades ago on behalf of our old ally, the Shah of Iran. The McClatchy Newspapers report: "The Bush administration is pressing the opposition leaders who defeated Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to allow the former … [Read more...] about Betting on a Dead Horse, Again
Instead of Primaries, U.S. Would Be Better Off ‘Drawing Straws’
Is the system of American electoral primaries really in the national interest? According to some on the other side of the Atlantic, the answer is an emphatic no. Philippe Marliere writes for France's Rue 89, that not only are people around the world 'exasperated,' and demanding to know, 'why the BBC is paying such costly attention to non-decisive votes more than ten months … [Read more...] about Instead of Primaries, U.S. Would Be Better Off ‘Drawing Straws’