Letters to the Editor
Mickey Kovars
Published Letters: 109 Editor's Choice: 4
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The Answer Is No
[Read the article: Can Democrats learn to talk about race?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It is Obama's own fault that we have reached a point where Democrats can't learn to talk about race, since the Wright business dredged up a lot of stuff not far below the surface. Before the Wright flap, a lot of voters were willing to look at this guy since he seemed to be a new type of black politician -- not resentful or confrontational, from a very different "transracial" background.
All that has changed, since even though Obama does not himself appear to be resentful or confrontational, his wife, his preacher and others are very much in the old mold. These are associations that continue to the present -- Wright's replacement at the church, for example, is much the same as Wright. The upshot of all this is that, despite Obama's congenial personal manner, we don't really know what he thinks.
A rightwing friend of mine forwarded me an email the other day in the form of a poster, alerting the public to the menace (Obama) who threatens to "take down America from inside the White House." For the benefit of the mass of people who don't pay attention to the campaign until it gets down to the final two contestants, I suppose. But Obama and the Democrats ignore this kind of thing at their peril -- Obama is very strange to many people. Unless he can overcome that, he will lose decisively. I'm not very optimistic about it, which is one reason why I supported Hillary.
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How Do You Focus on Your Strengths Without Noting the Other Guy's Weaknesses?
[Read the article: What should Hillary Clinton do now?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hillary's greatest strength is that she has a better chance of beating McCain in the fall. Poll after poll shows this. Inevitably, this points out Obama's major weakness, which is that he has a smaller chance in the fall. He can thank Jeremiah Wright, his own incompetent and disingenuous handling of Wright, and his glaring lack of experience for that. Whether or not Hillary directly references those things, she will always be accused of being "divisive" every time she touts her own strengths.
At bottom, all this talk about what Hillary should say is designed to make Obama supporters feel less nervous about their candidate. This is why many of them yell "racist" any time they see someone make a negative comment about Obama. But whatever problems Obama has with race were grossly aggravated by his handling of the Wright business, and will stay with him all the way to the election. Nothing Hillary says will make any difference whatsoever.
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What Would McCain Do About Iran?
[Read the article: Joe Klein exposes McCain's ignorance on Iran]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The idiotic question now is whether we should "appease" Iran, as Chamberlain appeased Hitler at Munich. We keep paying the price for most people not knowing history. The problem was not that Chamberlain met with Hitler, or even that he attempted to negotiate with him. The problem was that he caved in to untrustworthy assurances from Hitler and sold Czechoslovakia down the river. Does that mean that every time you meet with a bad guy you're going to cave in? What if Chamberlain had said to Hitler, despite threats of war, "No dice." History might have turned out differently.
All of this "we won't talk to you" is simply Bush's infantile attitude that he won't meet with people he doesn't agree with. It's apparently become a mantra of the Republicans, who use it as a way of showing how tough they are. It puts us in the position of not knowing what they would do. Attack Iran? Shouldn't we know if that's what McCain would do? An Iraeli paper reports today that BushCheney plan an attack before leaving office!
And what about the old Mafia saying, "Hold your friends close, and your enemies closer."
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McCain's Rovean Campaign
[Read the article: Karl Rove's sly deal with Fox]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]McCain's recent attacks on Obama's foreign policy positions -- "appeasement," etc. -- have all the earmarks of Rove: to wit, attack early and often, aim for the crotch and keep kicking. I suspect Obama is up for this, but he will have to be. Continuously.
The problem with Rove -- for his opponents -- is that he is very good at what he does, and he has few if any ethical limits. He is not a devil, just a very dangerous opponent. The Dems should deal with him as with any dangerous opponent -- just as roughly as he deals with them.
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McCain's Thin Skin
[Read the article: Senate passes expanded GI bill despite Bush, McCain opposition]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The back-and-forth between McCain and Obama reveals what a short-tempered irascible SOB McCain really is. He is apparently offended that Obama would dare to say anything on the subject of the military, veterans, patriotism and the like. And, he never really answered the question why he opposes Webb's bill -- after all, better to personally attack Obama.
Seems to me this trait of McCain's gives Obama a real opportunity, perhaps most of all in face-to-face debate. McCain obviously has total contempt for Obama. Obama, with his coolness and rhetorical skills, ought to be able to take great advantage of this and show McCain for the angry old fool that he is. Maybe he'll get him to go over the edge on live TV.
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Obama May Be Teflon, But He's Still Gonna Lose
[Read the article: A new low in Clinton bashing]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Everybody loves to pile on Hillary now, especially the Obamamaniacs in the media. But that's not going to help him win in November. Between inexperience, questionable associations and just plain racism, he's not gonna make it. And the Dems will once again have thrown away a golden opportunity by not nominating Hillary. I question whether the party as we know it can survive this experience.