Politcs Plus - Mike's Blog - Victoria Advocate

Politcs Plus - Mike's Blog - Victoria Advocate http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike I will be writing the 2008 presidential election and anything political in between. Although I am a Democrat ,come on in and tell me where I am wrong. lol I will be writing the 2008 presidential election and anything political in between. Although I am a Democrat ,come on in and tell me where I am wrong. lol en-us Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9570 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9570 Team of Rivals: The political genius of Abraham Lincoln ;a book authored by Kearns Goodwin is the model most say Barack Obama is using for installing his cabinet. The saying” Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes” might be the objective. Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough said he was really showing his Christian side because this is the second time he has turned the other cheek. Barack Obama did not want Joe Lieberman stripped of his chairmanship, even thou Joe campaigned vigorously against him.   Barack Obama will probably nominate Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State after the Thanksgiving holidays. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are not that far off on their worldwide views, other than Hillary’s Iraq war vote and that controversial resolution to name the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. Even thou Hillary is more hawkish than Obama, I think she will be an asset when it comes to solving the Israel and Palestine situation. This cabinet position will put her out of the 2012 presidential race. She can’t campaign or raise money while serving as the  Secretary of State. It also removes her from the senate, where she could have become a torn in Obama’s side.<o:p></o:p> Retired Marine General, James L. Jones is a leading contender for the head of NSA .Foreign affairs will be in good shape with Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Mr. Jones.A lot of work to do ,before everyone is on the same page.... Defense Secretary Robert Gates might stay for while if Obama assembles a good team to work with.......Pappy] Bush's National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft is helping Barack Obama with the transition. The Iraqi security agreement was translated yesterday, and they will be able to run their own security and open our troop’s mail, and arrest and put on trial the military and civilian contractors if they break Iraqi law.<o:p></o:p> The same crowd will say “that’s not change” but where else is Obama going to get cabinet members, other than the last successful Democratic presidents former staff. Clinton and Carter tried to bring a slew of fresh faces and it got them on the wrong footing. Obama is a student of history, and it is serving him well.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> Want change? Business Week is reporting Barack Obama is likely to name Tim Geithner, president of the New York Federal reserve, as Treasury Secretary .When the news hit Wall Street;the market finished on an upbeat of 494 but those on the right only count the fall of the market due to Obama...Bill Richardson might be the Secretary of Commerce and Janet Napolitano (Governor of Arizona)might be the head of Homeland Security.</o:p> Bailout,loan, or Bankruptcy? http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9545 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9545 Bailout loan or bankruptcy are the options facing a big three automakers.  A reporter for NBC said America is feeling “bailout fatigue.” <o:p></o:p> Yesterday’s heated congressional hearings proved a politician can make exceptions to our current loan and bankruptcy laws on a fly.  In this economy, the free market principles are definitely lining up behind government for the next power move.  Bailout, loan, or bankruptcy are almost identical in Congress speak.<o:p></o:p> The big three automakers would prefer a bailout, even if it comes with strings attached like restructuring their companies from the ground up.<o:p></o:p> Carly Fiorina (former CEO of Hewlett-Packard) told MSNBC that Congress could persuade one of the nine banks we bailed out to lend money to the auto makers since they are not creditworthy.  This leaves those taxpayers at risk.  It’s funny how politicians can make good sense in the off-season,<o:p></o:p> Mitt Romney said bankruptcy was the best course of action, in order to restructure the existing contracts with the unions and vendors.  I see this as another attempt to break up the unions, who have already made concessions.  The union signed a new contract for less benefits and dropping their hourly pay demands from $28.00 to $14.00.When asked “why would a person buy a car from a bankrupt company?” Mitt said the government could back up the warranty…Free market with government backup.<o:p></o:p> “Good morning Joe” had a lively discussion and many good points were made.  They all agree if you’re seeking protection from your inevitable downfall the automaker should agree to a few suggestions.<o:p></o:p> 1)      They should immediately fire the current CEO’s and board of directors and replace them with outside successful managers with a salary cap of say $250,000 with incentives.<o:p></o:p> 2)      The government should demand that automakers make green cars as a priority and raise their CAFE standards to a minimum of 40 MPG.<o:p></o:p> 3)      Develop a six months look back period at the company’s profitability trends, and if one is not meeting expectations, that company would either merge, go into chapter 11, or liquidate depending on the trend.<o:p></o:p> 4)      Make all the companies dispose all the luxury items like corporate jets condos and lucrative expense accounts.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Personally, I would like to see the big three automakers survive, because  three million jobs would be  lost and making good automobiles is what this country is all about.  True, the car industry’s vision for the 21st century was still in the 20th century mode.  These companies fought tooth and nail against mandatory seat belt installation and higher CAFÉ standards.  One company is still building Hummers.  <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> The democrats want the Michigan automakers with unions to stay afloat because that voting bloc is important.  The republicans would love to see another union  go down and they see a possibility of the south (their only power base) being a great location for making cars at a profit without union pay or benefits.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I think this Congress will punt and let the new administration deal with the problem.  I could be wrong.  <o:p></o:p> Baracknophobia http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9532 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9532 Jon Stewart’s “Baracknophobia” [The audacity of fear] is a humorous skit summarizing all the players like Laura Ingraham, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Dick Morris with their quotes forecasting gloom and doom starting January 20, 2009.  Jon Stewart said “If you think it is bad in America you should see it in Hannity’s America.” …Like the last eight years was a model of governing.<o:p></o:p> Jon Stewart had Bill O’Reilly as his guest.  In order to calm O’Reilly down, he offered him some cookies, chocolate milk and a small teddy bear, he could pet(which O’Reilly called a panda bear) while they discussed the culture war against Barack Obama.  O’Reilly started with the socialist tag, because Obama was going to raise his taxes.  Stewart fired back with a classic “Since Obama will raise your taxes from 36% to 39%, what part of that 3% is socialists?”<o:p></o:p> While I was driving around last week I decided to see what Rush Limbaugh was talking about.  He didn’t disappoint. Rush Bag was blaming the president-elect’s for the fall of the stock market, and the coming recession.  Amazing; ‘such powers of the main shock jock.<o:p></o:p> Since November 4, 2008 we’ve had more threats and Internet postings, of any past presidential elections. In Vay,Idaho; there was a sign on a tree with Obama’s name and an offer of a free public hanging, in North Carolina racist graffiti was found on the tunnel wall close to the North Carolina State university campus, and finally a Maine convenience store had a betting pool called “Osama, Obama shotgun pool” at a dollar per entry for correctly guessing the date the president or the president-elect might fall victim to an assassination.  One local poster wants to have racial harmony in case the unthinkable happens.  If it really was unthinkable, then don’t think about it.<o:p></o:p> Gun sales have gone up since Obama was elected.  We don’t have any pending second amendment legislation.  We do have a lot of gulliable and paranoid people out there.<o:p></o:p> Last night’s 60 minute segment with Barack and Michelle Obama had a large audience(25 million) in which he vowed to keep its pledge to bring our troops home back from Iraq, close Guantanamo Bay, and remove torture as an acceptable interrogation method. If only the naysayers could have taken such interest eight years ago,they would not be surprised when the whistle-blowers come out with their stories on January 21,2009. Where is the money coming from? http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9472 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9472 The conservatives keep asking the Obama transition team “where is the money coming from.”The answer should be, the same place we got it for the Iraq invasion ($10 billion month) or the overnight $700 billion bailout for the financial institutions.<o:p></o:p> The Obama team is indicating that it will be aggressive in coming out with a economic recovery program. Another stimulus package will be a priority, but this might not include rebate checks. First we cannot let the automakers fail (again) millions of jobs, dealers, and suppliers lost will only put a new stranglehold on this ailing economy. We need to repair the infrastructure from California to New York. Nothing rebuilds economic confidence more than construction sites. Let’s get American working again. Over 500,000 lost jobs in two months is unacceptable.<o:p></o:p> Yesterday, we found out that Treasury made a change in the tax code that will benefit the banks by $100 billion. There’s $100 billion of the $150 billion needed for the stimulus package. Bank of America and one other bank were forced to take the bailout money because the Treasury Secretary was afraid lenders would all flee to the solvent Bank of America. The secretary told Bank of America to lend to new home owners. That’s how we got in this mess in the first place.<o:p></o:p> Now is the time to throw health care and alternative energy into the boiling pot. The Big Three automakers list union demands and health care as their biggest concerns. GM’s CEO not believing in climate change is a big concern. His mindset delays building the cars for the 21st century. Want another bailout? Fire your CEO.<o:p></o:p> Obama’s health plan does not call for Universal Health Care but this would be a great time to fund electronic record keeping of the health records, negotiating a new drug deal with Canada and Mexico for our seniors, and enlisting all children into a health plan. Preventative care instead of curing diseases as they accrue and misuse of the ERs will bring costs down.<o:p></o:p> It wouldn’t be popular, but I think raising the price of gasoline to $4 a gallon and leaving it there would keep us conserving and make it easier for the innovators to feel confident that their ideas would be funded. Put a cap on the barrel of oil anything less than $100 a barrel should be taxed and used for funding alternative fuels. We made the mistake of remaining on fossil fuels in 1970 when OPEC assured us of it’s abundance of cheap oil. We forgot to read the fine print.<o:p></o:p> Like the Republican Party, the Teachers Union needs to overhaul their platform. The Republican Party needs to get back to old principles and be more inclusive. The Teacher’s Union must get back to putting the emphasis on the students rather than their demands.<o:p></o:p> Am I asking for another FDR New Deal? Not really, we already passed a $700 billion bailout, why not cut out a slice out of that to pay for a ground up strategy. It’s all about jobs.<o:p></o:p> I have noticed a lot of demands, wants, and criticism of our new president-elect. Most of the  posters were silent during the Bush Administration.<o:p></o:p> The country rebooted http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9446 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9446 Now that election is over, I’ve had time to reflect on what this will mean for our country.  I think the transition of Barack Obama to president of the United States will go smoothly. Some posters are still fighting the old wars but for the most part the forum wants to move on.<o:p></o:p> The left seems to be happy and united. I have not seen any indications of Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid thinking they have a mandate.  Remember in the year 2000 the George Bush administration said “we have a mandate.” In 2004 immediately after the election George Bush said “I have capital, and I intend to use it.” He went around the country for six months trying to convince people that privatization of Social Security was a way to go.  He got his hat handed to him because his own party disagreed with his ideas.  I do realize it's still early.<o:p></o:p> The far right is still fighting the good fight insisting that their brand of conservatism is the only way to go.  John McCain and Karl Rove and other right wing pundits said Obama was running as a left wing liberal during the campaign but now that he has won they say it was because he ran on a center right campaign.  That arrogance will continue to be their doom.<o:p></o:p> The USA Today published an impressive after election results edition.  This was an inside baseball article detailing all the counties in United States showing an up tick for the Democrats, in just about every county from 2004.  If the Republican Party really wants to regain its former self, they need to stand up to its base.  That 28% base will never win the national elections.  The Independents voted with the Democrats because they did not like all the negative campaigning and are not that interested in the social issues.  The overreach of the base cost the Republican Party two Supreme Court judges and some governors.  Texas is close to having a majority in a house.  Why is this so important?  The new judges will not be conservative ideologues for the future and a friendly governor along with a house majority goes a long way in realigning the gerrymandered districts of the south.  The south is the only strong hold the Republican Party has today.<o:p></o:p> During Barack Obama‘s first press conference yesterday he was surrounded by 17 high caliber centrist advisers.  This is an indication of how he will govern. Is this country center left or right? I think we just want results and those are the arguments of the past. I copied this list from an AP article on what the Obama team might look like...I highlighted my choice...What do you think? DEFENSE SECRETARY Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., member of Senate Armed Services Committee. TREASURY SECRETARY Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. Lawrence Summers, former treasury secretary and one-time Harvard University president. SECRETARY OF STATE Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., former U.N. ambassador and energy secretary. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., 2004 presidential nominee. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., former chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate. Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. ATTORNEY GENERAL Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., member of House Judiciary Committee. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, former assistant U.S. attorney for civil rights. ENERGY SECRETARY Former Rep. Philip Sharp, D-Ind., president of Resources for the Future think tank. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. EPA ADMINISTRATOR Lisa P. Jackson, commissioner of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Mary Nichols, head of California Air Resources Board. Kathleeen McGinty, former secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. Howard Dean, chairman of Democratic National Committee, physician, former Vermont governor. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY Jane Garvey, former head of Federal Aviation Administration. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of House transportation committee. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore. Mortimer Downey, former deputy transportation secretary. INTERIOR SECRETARY Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber. Former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., former executive director of Colorado Natural Resources Department. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY James Lee Witt, former FEMA director. Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton. Former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, chairman of 9/11 commission. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., chairwoman of Homeland Security intelligence subcommittee. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER James B. Steinberg, former deputy national security adviser. Susan Rice, former assistant secretary of state for African affairs. EDUCATION SECRETARY Colin Powell, former secretary of state, former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff. Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt. Arne Duncan, chief executive officer of Chicago public schools. Inez Tenenbaum, former South Carolina schools superintendent. AGRICULTURE SECRETARY Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. Tom Buis, president of National Farmers Union. Former Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas. OFFICE OF BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR Rep. John Spratt Jr., D-S.C., chairman of House Budget Committee. Gene Sperling, economic aide to President Clinton. Jason Furman, Obama's campaign economic policy director. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn. HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY Valerie Jarrett, Obama friend, chairman and CEO of Habitat Co. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C. LABOR SECRETARY Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of House Education and Labor Committee. Former Rep. David Bonior, member of Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board. Andy Stern, president of Service Employees International Union. The right reacts http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9425 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9425 It’s entertaining to see and hear the last remaining social conservatives spin Obama’s victory as being gloom and doom. The 56% who voted for Obama were dead wrong. This must be the group that clings to the issues of the past.<o:p></o:p> Bill O’Reilly had Dick Morris and Karl Rove as his guest for their expert right-wing spin on the election results. Why? They were both wrong every step of the way up until Ohio went for Obama. If the GOP wants to keep losing seats, these are the people to turn to.<o:p></o:p> Sean Hannity was stunned when General Franks did not agree with him when he said “Obama will be bad for our troops.” General Franks actually served, so he knows the military will fall in line with the new commander-in-chief without missing a beat. The general knows the constitution gives the civilians authority over the military on foreign policy.<o:p></o:p> The outgoing McCain camp is not leaving any prisoners. They are speaking freely to the press about Sarah Palin and the failures of the campaign. <o:p></o:p> From todays “Good Morning Joe.”<o:p></o:p> 1)      Sarah Palin lacked a degree of knowledgeability to be a worthy candidate. For example, she did not know Africa was a continent…My grandchildren know that<o:p></o:p> 2)      She could not name the countries inside NAFTA.<o:p></o:p> 3)      Newsweek reported than the Palin clan spent thousands more than what was reported such as $40,000 for Todd and the children’s clothes. Did that include the 13 suitcases? Don’t know but it caused a senior McCain staffer to call them “The looting Hillbillies from Wasilla”<o:p></o:p> 4)      McCain rarely spoke to Sarah Palin. He only spoke to her once a week.<o:p></o:p> 5)      McCain assured us that Sarah was suited to be president if need be..How would he know?<o:p></o:p> 6)      Today there is talk that Sarah Palin might resign so the on coming Lt. Governor can appoint her to convicted felon Ted Steven’s senate seat. Ted Stevens (a convicted felon) might win but the senate will probably expunge him.<o:p></o:p> 7)      Was Sarah Palin the most qualified Republican woman to run as a vice presidential candidate? Not by a long shot.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Yesterday’s anti-Obama posts were quite amusing, anything from impeaching a president –elect to standing proud because (as expected )Victoria voted overwhelming for the losing candidate…Small victories. Want a good chuckle ? Scroll down to the vid clip of last night's Jon Stewart/Chris Wallace interview Vietnam Vet provided.<o:p></o:p> I hope the Democrats will be humble and gracious http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9414 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9414 The Democratic Party should take a lesson from John’s McCain’s concession speech last night. Just because the Democrats have the numbers to ram any partisan agenda through; they must remember last night's win was day one in the race for congressional seats in two years.Virginia, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are still purple states.<o:p></o:p> A historical night for obvious reasons but it also put many issues and way of doing politics to rest. First time in about 58 years since a Dole, Bush, or Clinton has not been on a presidential ticket…That era is gone…Last night was the third straight time a Vietnam Veteran has gone down in defeat…Perhaps we will stop fighting that war…The Rovian (dirty politics) did not work…A lesson learned, I hope..We now know an African –American or a woman can be elected to the highest office in the land….About time…As I viewed the large crowds at Grant Park (Chicago), New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta it represented a broad spectrum of races celebrating as one. Last but not least the Third Party candidates did not make an impact at all….Is this good or bad?<o:p></o:p> The exit polls all pointed to George W. Bush as the major reason John McCain lost but I don’t think the voters noticed the tremendous ground game of the Barck Obama campaign. This model of using the internet and for the most part staying on a positive message with limited attacks served Barack Obama well. A pundit said Barack Obama must have used more than 10 million words and his only mistake was the “bitter “comment…Remarkable.<o:p></o:p> I hope Obama replaces the Attorney General,CIA Director, Secretary of State,FBI Director,SEC Chairman, Treasury Secretary ,gut the Patriot Act, and close down Gitmo but most of all get our troops out of Iraq in a safe and responsible way.<o:p></o:p> Just 8 more days of these posts of desperation. http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9327 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9327 Brace yourself or sit back and laugh as John McCain and his surrogates pull out all the stops to try and slow down Barack Obama. The local posters are just is blindly posting material without fact checking. Yea, I know what’s new?<o:p></o:p> This is a summary from the Washington Post fact checker wrote about the “Redistribution, bombshell.”<o:p></o:p> With very few exceptions, all American politicians, including both presidential candidates, are in favor of a progressive income tax system and welfare policies (such as Medicare and Social Security) that "redistribute wealth." Barack Obama is more enthusiastic about "spreading the wealth around" than his Republican rival. But that does not make him a "Socialist." The McCain camp is wrong to suggest that the Illinois senator advocated a "wealth redistribution" role for the Supreme Court in his 2001 interview. <o:p><a href="http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/?hpid=topnews">http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/?hpid=topnews</a></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p>Barack Obama was talking about civil rights and the constitution that could not be satisfied by the Supreme Court. He was right.The right wingers have taken this issue completely out of context.</o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Notice, it’s about birth certificate, redistribution, Marxist, socialist, and Black Liberation but not a peep about the economy. And they wonder why, they are are on their way to being swept. People have access to the fact checking sites and they see these acts of desperation for what they are.<o:p></o:p> Think about it, what has changed besides poll numbers? We have a tax progression tax system and social programs that have been available forever. ..So has that EITC (40% that do not pay taxes) that the McCain camp keeps talking about....Check it out.<o:p></o:p> What is happening to the GOP? http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9293 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9293 Don't get me wrong I am not getting too cocky because I'm well aware of my Democrats snatching defeat from the jaws of victory but the daily fiasco of the John McCain campaign is causing me to get overconfident. Is this just another new tactic of John McCain? Mike the poster wants to know.<o:p></o:p> Drudge did his part by posting a story about the McCain supporter (Ashley Todd) getting beat up and sexually assaulted by a black man. She said, he also scratched a “B” into her cheek because she had a McCain bumper sticker on her car.  The McCain campaign; in a televised statement said “we are shaken up by this.” Yesterday, this story was made out to be a version of the “Willie Horton” ad.  Today, the police are charging her with filing a false report.  I am not blaming the McCain campaign but just imagine if the story would have dragged on.  Combine this story with other lies and conspiracies.<o:p></o:p> Is the current GOP still the party of Goldwater, Eisenhower and William F. Buckley? Granddaughters Susan Eisenhower and CC Goldwater and son Christopher Buckley don't think so.  They will be voting for Barack Obama because they refused to follow the social conservative ideologies of divisive politics.<o:p></o:p> I hope John McCain will change his tactics and regained his respectability, before it is too late. He may have already crossed that threshold.<o:p></o:p> The old Republican Party of fiscal discipline and sound financial principles has become a party of code words   like “redistribution of the wealth”, “Joe the plumber”  and “Socialist “using them to divide the, us from them. The Wall Street Journal devoted a column for those that have jumped ship. <h2 class="post-title">Obamacans: Prominent Republicans Line Up Behind Obama</h2> <div class="post-info"></div> <div class="post-content"> Susan Davis reports on the presidential race. Since Colin Powell crossed party lines to endorse Barack Obama last Sunday, a steady stream of prominent Republicans have endorsed the Illinois senator over rival John McCain. Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld is endorsing Obama today at a press conference in Salem, N.H. Weld was a public supporter of Mitt Romney in the Republican primaries. In a <a target="_"blank"" modo="false" href="http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/10/weld_backs_obam.html">statement</a>, Weld called Obama a “once-in-a-lifetime candidate who will transform our politics and restore America’s standing in the world.” On Thursday, former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson <a target="_"blank"" modo="false" href="http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/president/32973804.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr">endorsed Obama at the state capitol</a>. “I think we have in Barack Obama the clear possibility of a truly great president,” he said. “I would contend that it’s the most important election of my lifetime.” Scott McClellan, a former spokesman for President George W. Bush, also endorsed Obama Thursday. <a target="_"blank"" href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-10-23-campaign-wrap-thursday_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip">USA Today reported </a>that McClellan told CNN in a taping to be aired this weekend that Obama has “the best chance of changing the way Washington works.” Ken Adelman, a prominent conservative on foreign policy matters announced his support for Obama on Tuesday, <a target="_"blank"" href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/georgepacker/2008/10/not-quite-colin.html">telling the New Yorker</a> that his decision was based on temperament and judgment. Adelman called McCain “impetuous, inconsistent, and imprudent; ending up just plain weird” in his handling of the U.S. economic crisis. He also was unsettled by McCain’s choice of running mate. “Not only is Sarah Palin not close to being acceptable in high office—I would not have hired her for even a mid-level post in the arms-control agency,” Adelman wrote. UPDATE: Add Charles Fried, a Harvard Law professor and former Solicitor General in the Reagan administration, to the list of <a target="blank" href="http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/10/24/reagan-appointee-and-recent-mccain-adviser-charles-fried-supports-obama.aspx">Republicans supporting Obama</a>. Fried’s vote for the Democratic ticket is particularly harsh, as he was associated with the McCain campaign. Fried voted absentee for Obama this week, and informed McCain campaign general counsel Trevor Potter of his decision in a letter where he stated he could not support McCain in large part because of his selection of Palin as his running mate </div> Ashamed of my home town http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9281 http://community.victoriaadvocate.com/home/Blog/Mike/9281 For months I have noticed posters calling Victoria a backward city. I disagreed for the most part until I saw the letters –to the-editor this morning about Barack Obama. This is just a start, more will be coming. The same unsubstantiated lies. I cannot believe we have that many dumb people in Victoria.<o:p></o:p> I can understand a Republican voting for John McCain or an Independent voting for McCain for his experience or policies.<o:p></o:p> Think about it, these people actually sign their names and list their city. These low information voters seem to think being a Muslim is a bad thing and Barack Obama is a Muslim. One poster even compared him to Hitler. They are flat wrong on all three counts and so easy to disprove; why can’t they see that? Personally, I think it is bigotry, ignorance or both.<o:p></o:p> Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? I don’t think so, because I can imagine a company representative or a new comer reading our opinion column and coming away thinking “this is one dumb city.”Perhaps, that’s why our children and grandchildren don’t want to live here,. This goes far beyond liberal, Democrat, Republican or conservative. How many people want to relocate to Vidor, Texas? Barack Obama said he can take the next 12 days of attacks but I think people that sent that garbage and signed their names to it, will be remembered.