GOP outrage over Obama’s decision to forego funding

The GOP is feigning outrage at Obama’s decision to forego matching public funds for his campaign. Did the GOP or the McCain camp really, even for a moment, think that Obama camp would agree to public financing after the vast advantage they have had over McCain in fund raising. I mean who is being naive here?

It would be akin to fighting with one hand tied behind your back, especially with all the 527 groups getting their knives ready to stick in Obama’s back for upcoming fall campaign.

McCain Camp tries to paint Obama as Kerry

Ok, I am not the biggest Obama supporter out there, but my blood starts to boil every time one of the Republicans tries to paint any person as weak on terror or a flip flopper just because their decisions are based on facts and logic and not on some kind of party line, ideology or book.

Fox news has this article on a memo released by a McCain adviser Steve Schmidt who held a similar role in Bush – Cheney 2004 team.

Their basic premise is that Obama is a flip flopper for refusing public financing after saying last year that he would consider it. The other accusations, are a play on his statements regarding NAFTA, IRAQ, tax increases and Jerusalem.

My sense of outrage is because, any person who has followed the two campaigns closely and doesn’t just follow the sound bites knows where each candidate stands on issues, and knows when there is a change in position. I would take Obama’s flip flops on any day then take these seismic changes in policy positions from John McCain on

Bush’s Tax Cuts – He was against them before he was for them.

Torture - McCain denounces Supreme Courtfor ruling on GitmoDetainees. As per McCain we can hold people without cause for as long as we like, as long as we don’t drown them

Environment – but its ok to drill offshore.

Give me a break. I mean now I am starting to lose respect for Senator McCain.

On a side note – how many of you wish John Kerry would just disappear from the Obama Campaign. I for one believe the guy is just plan bad luck. They should name him “The Cooler”

 

John Edwards – Always the bridesmaid never the bride

The Obama team is reportedly weighing Nunn and Edwards as his running mates .

Details are emerging that members of the Black and Hispanic Congressional caucuses are floating former Senator and Presidential candidate John Edwards name as a prospective running mate to Barack Obama.

I have mixed feeling about it. I absolutely love John Edwards as a person and his hard work in bringing up the issues of poverty and healthcare to the forefront during his presidential campaigns, but I highly doubt that Edwards will add any strength to the joint ticket either in terms of experience or electability. For some reason John Edwards is possibly the most likeable guy but nobody votes for him. He barely won his home state in 2004 and lost it this time.

I don’t think Edwards is going to help Obama, get the White blue collar vote.

 

McCain’s just been had

John McCain just got sucker punched by Barack Obama. After months of going back and forth about whether he was going to accept public financing, as I am sure Senator McCain was hoping he would, Barack Obama finally comes out and refuses public financing giving himself the advantage of limitless spending.

This keeps getting interesting.

Three things that will bring down Oil Prices

All the current talk about drilling for oil in ANWR and wind fall taxes on oil companies to encourage alternative fuels will not have any effect on oil prices in the short term, so I made a list that I feel should have an immediate effect on oil prices -

Save the Dollar - Raising the federal interest rates will have an immediate effect on the price of oil per barrel because it will strenghten the US Dollar.

In case people havn’t noticed while the price of crude oil has doubled  over the last two years in absolute dollar terms for US consumers, the prices have only increased 60-75% for other countries due to the increase in the value of their currencies as compared to the dollar. The same barrel of oil that was costing the Chinese RMB560 two years ago when oil was at USD 70.00 is now costing them RMB960 when oil is closer to USD140.00/barrel a 72% increase as compared to a 100% increase for Americans. Same goes for the Indians as well as Brazil which are now demanding an increasing share of the oil

No wonder they don’t feel the need to cut back on consumption like we do.

Tell them to Just shut up: If only we could stop people like these

 

from opening their mouth – Oil shot up almost 10 dollars once news of these comments hit the wires

or things like these from happening - once again price of oil shot up that day

A lot of experts believe that at least 20-30% of oil price today includes a premium for geo-political tensions then just regualr supply and demand economics.

Limit Speculation: While not proven there are a lot of theories out their that believe that the recent run-up in prices is due to vast amounts of money chasing profits in commodities. A lot of this money is borrowed on margin. If they increase the margin limits a whole lot of speculative money chasing quick profits would be out of the market allowing oil prices to stabilize.

Alas in the political enviornment prevailing today, it is more important for our leaders to score political points then find actual solutions to our problems.

 

Crazies to left of me, Crazies to the right

The Western world may not know this guy but I think now he absolutely lost his mind . He should be arrested and prosecuted for inciting violence but it will never happen. This is the same guy who said few years ago that all the Sikhs in Maharashtra should be rounded up and thrown in the sea.

 And then we wonder why there are Hindu-Muslim riots in India every year?

Why drilling in ANWR only means cheaper oil for the Chinese

In midst of the recent drumbeat to lift restrictions on offshore drilling as well as ANWR, I feel an important point is being missed. If we do lift the restrictions, the parties that will benefit the most, apart from the oil companies will be the Indians and Chinese.

I say this because by even the most optimistic accounts the increased production, however big or small that may be, is not expected to come online for at least another 5 years. Americans facing the increased prices of gas at the pump are already making changes to their lifestyle to adjust to this new world – opting for smaller cars or adopting hybrids, changing their driving habits, using public transport or by simply walking more. This is leading to a reduction in demand for oil in the United States and this reduced demand will stay in place(one can always hope) for the long term as all these changes will become habits for this generation.

On the other hand by all accounts the consumption is not even close to peaking in China and India. Most experts believe these two countries have reached only about half their potential. This only means increased demand for more oil that no amount of increased drilling will be able to meet.Accustomed to subsidised oil the populations of these countries are making no effort to reduce consumption and will continue to demand more oil as more people are able to afford cars fueled by increased economic prosperity.

By the time the increased production from ANWR and offshore drilling comes online, Americans will not benefit from it because it will only be enough to satisfy the increased demand from the Chinese and Indians so we will basically be hearing the same argument from the government of that time that we need to increase production to meet demand, only their would be no more ANWR to drill.

What is needed at this time is not increased production but demand destruction? Americans have always been used to cheaper gasoline and have always consumed it as a limitless resource but the increased prices which is still cheaper then many other parts of the world is finally forcing people to make adjustments. Nobody needs an SUV to drive oneself to work everyday. The market forces are already making alternative forms of energy more viable which had always been an excuse not to act in the past. It is absolutely amazing that having lived through this in the seventies we have not made any efforts to wean ourselves of oil in the past and are willing to go down that road again. For all the talk about American entrepreneurship and innovation this has to be the most shortsighted ideas one has seen emanate from our leadership. For people demanding that drilling be allowed in ANWR are only putting off the inevitable and will only weaken us for the future when we still haven’t found any alternatives for our energy needs and their is no more oil to drill.

What is next for Rudd – A Botox injection

This is what they are talking about in Australia …

Shouldn’t he care more about inflation and interest rates then his looks. You didn’t get voted in for the GQ magazine Mr. Rudd

Maybe John Howard should get a facelift and his eyebrows tweaked and run for PM again.

This is absolutely hilarious

I can not stop cracking up.

And he actually loses his temper in the middle.

Why McCain is wrong?

I tried to give Senator McCain the benefit of the doubt in light of his long history of public service, but I can not even fake the support for him any longer. In his zeal to please the lunatic right wing of the Republican party, I believe the Senator has truly lost his bearings and grown out of touch with the reality. I find it unbeliveable that the Senator with a record such as his own, does not understand the complexity of the Supreme Court decision, and went out not only to denounce the ruling but to praise the Chief Justice Roberts for dissenting.

What the Senator has failed to grasp is that it was the Bush adminsitration that finally pushed the Supreme Court’s hand, which after being given repeated chances to explore different options for trying the detainees, failed to come up with any idea short of running out the clock and leaving the problem for the next administration. While I am no legal expert, the excerpts that I read of the ruling pertain to fact that you cannot hold anyone, U.S. citizen or not, indefinitely. It has been six years since the first of the detainees were caught. The Senator should infact be happy that the court made the decision and saved him a whole lot of trouble in case he ever became the President. For the Senator to say that they will now have the same rights as U.S citizens is nothing more then fear mongering and an attempt to pander to a certain segment and does not justify his claim to “Straight Talk Express”.

Please, Please, Please … Damn I am fat

Japanese government introduced a new law where people between the ages of 40 and 74 must meet national guidelines for waist size or, face hefty fines. This guy failed the test becuase he was just over the limit of 33.5 inches.

Normally I would be all for something like this but 33.5 inches waist limit for men???  Come on !!! How much is the fine?? I may need to get an extra job to pay for the fine every month if they ever introduced the law here in the States.

McCain – Bloomberg Ticket

If Obama-Hillary or Hillary-Obama ticket was considered a dream ticket at one time for the Democrats, I believe if Senator McCain really wanted to bring it on to Senator Obama he would pick the New York mayor as his running mate. I don’t think any republican ticket would have more appeal to independents, moderate Republicans and Democrats as these two.

Mayor Bloomberg brings decades of experience running a very successful business and that experience would go a long way in burnishing McCain’s credentials on economy. You would have two independently viable candidates with vast experience in economy and foreign policy

I think that would be something to get excited about.

Obama or McCain…Obama or McCain… Obama or McCain

For the Clinton supporters who have just seen their candidate vanquished in the primaries and are still licking their wounds and nursing their pride their are very few choices on the horizon.I liked all three candidates, I would have voted for any one of them any day. I finally decided to take the plunge aound Feburary and back Senator Clinton, and since then differences between Obama and Hillary have become increasingly glaring. She was much more experienced and brings so much more to the table then the other guy. If my reason for supporting Clinton were that she had much more experience I don’t think my reason should change now that she is no longer in the picture.

Which brings me to title of this blog I am trying to decide who between the two of them will do less damage to the country. My take on this so far is if McCain wins in 2008, given his age Clinton would be able to mount a good campaign in 2012 against him even if he is the incumbent. If Obama wins, he would have to be really good President, I mean better then JFK (given the current situation) for him to be able to run for a second term unchallenged within the Democratic Party. No average, can not do this time. I tend to believe that while democracy may suck it is the best form of government out there and their is no such thing as Utopia like Senator Obama would like us to believe. You need some of the the things that the people are criticising today, for government to function, to have a proper debate about issues and policies.

Here is my list of issues with the Obama campaign -

Lobbyists – Nothing has brought more shame to this profession then the likes of Jack Abramoff’s, Duke Cunnigham’s, but we would be naive to think that Washington could function without lobbyists. Lobbyists are an absolute necessity for the government to function as they provide a view(no matter how lopsided) into the functioning of a business. Businesses need lobbyist to explain to politicians how business works and vice versa. In their zeal to rid themselves of lobbyist both Obama and McCain are falling over each other to see who can get rid of the most, where anybody and everybody is being painted with the same brush and frankly it is starting to concern me.Everybody in Washington is a lobbyist at some time or the other. If you are a politician worth you mettle and have a cause you believe in you should become a lobbyist after you come out of politics in order to further that casue. Now I am not that naive to believe that all these people are saints but are n’t we getting carried away a little.You and I could be painted a lobbyist if we worked for the federal government and the private sector. This alone should not preclude one from working for any administration. It is getting to the point of being ridiculous where are lot of good people are being kicked out of their positions. I want smart people running the country not necessarily the untainted ones.

So for Senator Obama to make lobbyist a political issue gives me pause for two reasons – if we get rid of all the lobbyist we get rid of a lot of smart people and, if we don’t, and, let them play a role then the Senator is being disingenuous by making this a political issue while at the same time claiming to be above politics.

Inspiration – That is one word I am starting to get so tired off, if I hear it again I swear I will decide not to vote. No doubt Senator Obama is inspiring a lot of people, question is inspiring them to do what?? Never thought I would say this in my lifetime – a lot of his supporters are far left wing people who call themselves progressive and open minded yet refuse to listen to reason or have an amicable discussion. I couldn’t believe the kind of ridicule and hatred they spewed on Clinton supporter’s during the campaign. They believe that if you yell loud enough and drown out the other voices you would be somehow right. I am starting to believe if Obama wins, the next four years would bring an administration full of left wing ideologues and it may not be any different from the current one which also has a vast majority of ideologues. It stands to reason that the very loud small minority of the democratic party which with the help of the media refused to let Clinton make her case for the nomination would not allow any kind of sane reasonable discussions on any other issues before this country unless it is meshes with their agenda. In the same manner is which the right wing of the republican party made it impossible for any kind of reform on immigration policies I don’t believe the left would be any different. A vast majority of the independents is about to get shafted again.

Leadership: A lot of people have put forth their case comparing Obama to JFK and MLK, the case made ever so strongly by Caroline Kennedy and Ted Kennedy drawing the comparison themselves. With no small amount of trepidation in my heart I say the reason Kennedy has been so immortalised in history is because he lived for such a short time. Had Kennedy lived to finish his presidency and beyond I am not sure the world would be holding him in such high regard. While no doubt a great President, Kennedy also had a lot more experience in politics and government (6 yrs in House and 7 yrs in the Senate) as well as military career before he decided to run for President. Senator Obama doesn’t even come close. He is a great orator and speech writer but that is not the sole qualification for the job he is applying for.

A lot of people have tried to make a case by comparing how the military selects officers based on a certain criteria which they say Obama meets but here is my problem with that argument, yes Obama has a lot of leadership skills but is having a skill set only enough? The military does not select the officer based on the leadership skills displayed during the interview and put him in charge of 5000 men right away. Have we forgotten the time spent at West Point and process of promotions. This guy wants to run the country, no where else on this planet have I seen any country elect the most powerful person just on a prayer and a hope. I am honestly afraid for my future.

For those asking why I don’t hold Senator McCain to same standard – I have McCain’s career history to look at, in order to make my own decision, not so in Obama’s case.

Given all of the above points I am seriously considering if I would vote for Obama or McCain. My best case scenario is vote McCain at the top of the ticket and Democrat at the bottom. This will ensure that while we may have Republican president we will have a Democratic congress in order to ensure proper checks and balances.

Now if McCain really wanted to clinch my vote he would chose Bloomberg as his running mate.

 

 

Supreme Court backs rights for Gitmo Detainees

By now you have probably heard that the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Gitmo detainees for the third time making way for them to challenge their detentions. Leaving aside the morality and the legality of ones position what I want to know is who on earth is the one advising this administrations regarding the legality of their positions and do they still hold their jobs. Any other place if you gave your boss the incorrect information or advise that caused your employer to look bad you would not only be fired on the spot but would most likely be hunted out of the industry so fast that you would be unemployable to for the rest of you life where as in this case I can name a few who not only left the adminsitration but also found jobs afterwards despite their fiascos.

As for the prople still in the administration I fail to understand how these people’s mind works, do they just wake up every morning and dream up different ways to embarrass George W Bush. I have by no means the slightest bit of sympathy for this administration but even I am starting to feel sorry for the guy. Every day he is humiliated in public by one or the other gaffes of his subordinates. It seems former employees are lurking in dark corners waiting to stick a dagger in his back. It is bad enough having to live with the specter of being relegated in history books as one of the worst administrations America had, but to be humiliated every day in the media makes me even feel sorry for the guy. So much so the guy has even started expressing regrets for things he did in the past

I don’t think this is what he wanted to become President for and if I were the media I did be careful not to push too far in case he decided to go ballistic and say you ain’t seen nothing yet and decide to invade Iran just to mess everything up for everybody.

Dick Morris should be Unemployed Now

If there is any good that will come out of Hillary Clinton’s loss in the Democratic Primaries, it will be that Dick Morris should be no longer required, over at Fox News to put forth his bullshit, pseudo-analysis while promoting himself. For some reason Dick Morris generates the greatest revulsion inside of me and I don’t even know the guy. I guess it is more so a combination of him and O’Reilly on FOX putting forth this drivel they call commentary every night.

Dick Morris could only talk about the Clintons, they were his fascination and obssesion and with them out of the picture now, there should be no reason for him to be employed at FOX anymore and thank goodness for that.

Obama speaks about Israel, Troop Withdrawl and Iran

Obama is on CNN in an interview with Candy Crowley. Is it just my feeling or does he really look like he is thinking “What the ***k did I get myself into ?” His positions and opinions are evolving on every issue every single day -

On the Israel – Palestine issue he has managed to piss off both parties in one day by stating the Palestinians have no right to Jerusalem and to make matters worse the Israelis don’t like him, at least not yet.

On Iraq – Now He is open to hearing what Gen. Petraeus has to say so if the good general tells him, we need to stay their for a few years  which I think we need to, their goes the troop withdrawl.

On Iraq – From unconditional meetings, to meeting of low-level diplomats, to meetings with pre-conditions, to now only if it promotes America’s interest

Do you know one old guy who sounds like that ??

I suddenly hate Arianna Huffington.

Ok folks it’s over. Time to pack your bags and call it a night but while I am adjusting to the fact that Clinton has lost and contemplating having to support Barack Obama, Jamal Simmons and Arianna Huffington are on CNN and gloating about Obama’s victory, and all of a sudden I realize it is not Obama that I am against it’s his supporters who get me all riled up. I am an democrat leaning independent but their is no way I’ll be voting McCain, especially not after listening to his views on “League of Democracies” but oh they make it so hard for us to support Obama. Much worse then the gloating, it is their  stifled smiles on CNN basically flicking us off. Oh the agony, I am going to drown my sorrows tonight in a bottle of Maker’s Mark Bourbon and smoke a cigar. So difficult to be on the losing side. Tomorrow will be another day.