Day: October 27, 2008

It’s time to get serious about this election, and the most serious question is why would anyone who isn’t rich, racist or totally clinging to God, guns and gays vote for John McCain?

Let’s grant one point first: Barack Obama doesn’t have a tremendous amount of experience.

Let’s grant another one: Obama is a liberal.

Fine, but why would anyone hire a conservative to clean up a mess made by another conservative, especially one who would do almost everything the same way?

SOCIALISM, for SOME
[col. writ. 10/22/08] (c) ’08 Mumia Abu-Jamal

Stimulus package. Bailouts. Banking rescues.

It has been generations since we’ve witnessed scenes such as these.

Government officials spin like jacks, as they proclaim a policy one day, only to renounce it the next. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rushes up and spirals downward in a matter of minutes, visual, measurable reminders of the volatility in the markets.

No matter who wins the vote for the next squatter-in-charge, how many people will be saying that a week from tomorrow?

Ambassado Peter Bridges writes a great piece about how people in the foreign relations business support overwhelmingly Senator Obama for POTUS.

We Know the World and We Support Obama

A friend and former colleague of mine in the Foreign Service, Kevin McGuire, some time ago drafted a short statement of support for Obama and began to ask retired Foreign Service officers if they would sign it. So far 334 of us have done so, including by my count 66 former American ambassadors.

Troy Davis is spared for at least almost another month. Several very short stays in his execution date invigorated especially his local supporters. All of Georgia keenly aware of the difference between old Georgia and new Georgia. But in Philadelphia we have the saga of Kevin Brinkley and of Mumia abu-Jamal and Philadelphians not as keenly aware that Philadelphia under the late Frank Rizzo was almost an entirely different place.

This will be the most interesting week of the election as far as I’m concerned. It is the week that the candidates have to sum up all the issues and charges they have raised for months in order to firm up the support they have generated with voters.