Letters to the Editor
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Why do Republicans do what they do?
Perhaps the fact that they're permanent pre-pubescent 13 year olds has something to do with it? That and the fact they lack frontal lobes and opposable thumbs and prove by their existence that there are indeed two species of hairless biped on the planet - homo sapiens (us), and homo sap (them).
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Clinton, Inc.
likely Democatic primary- and caucus-voters nationwide said they preferred Clinton over Obama by a margin of 45 percent to 25 percent.
Name recognition uber alles. People have learned nothing from the Bush Years, apparently. I guess Jeb Bush will be president for a couple of turns after Clinton's run, and then Chelsea Clinton can run, and then Barbara Pierce Bush, and so on. Lord knows nobody in America would want anybody they weren't superficially acquainted with in the White House. Go with names you can trust: Clinton and Bush. Brand names goooood, new names baaaaad.
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Who cares about polling?
It's six months out. If we care about polling now, why not condense this painful election season so I don't have to be depressed about my democratic choices for so long.
I haven't seen anyone show me how a Clinton or Obama presidency would be that different from a Bush presidency.
Yes, they would probably spin much better and appear more competent. But in the long run, will the oil, arms and banking industries still not control our major policies?
Will healthcare still be determined by hospital conglomerates and insurance companies?
Will small flaws in foreign leaders who buck rampant capitalism be blown out of proportion while evil tyrants who kill their own population to protect global business get away with little to no scrutiny?
The answers to all these questions are obvious to any honest observer. Whether or not I have a slightly less embarrassing president that feigns fealty (at least on the margins) to a handful of small liberal issues really doesn't matter at this late hour for the human race.
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And why did we "elect" GWB 2 times?
If people can't get over Obama's name sounding like "Osama", we are truely screwed - and it probably tells us a lot about how shallow the veneer is that covers our societal racism.
I had a next door neighbor who was an Iranian named Mohammed, and he called himself Mark and said he was Persian. I said that neither of those things should be a problem in the San Francisco Bay area. He gave me a look that mixed irritation, sadness, and fatigue and assured me that he had had many unpleasant encounters before he went "under cover." I then said "Well, everyone should know that Persian and Iranian are essentially the same thing..."
He smiled and said that he hadn't had anyone who would give him a problem make the connection between the two. This was 3 years ago.
I just met a new co-worker last week. She introduced herself and said she was Persian. I related the story about my neighbor. She said that of course - people would thing that an Iranian named Mohammed was a terrorist. She then went on to say that she was very happy to be in the U.S.. I explained that I was more than a little familiar with the history of Iran and Iraq and the region. I said that I knew about the Shah of Iran and the SAVAK and the United States support for the Shah. She was surprised that I had heard of the SAVAK and that family members and her finacee had been killed by the SAVAK. She said that she had never met an American who knew about these aspects of Iranian history. I felt embarrassed and ashamed for myself and my country.
The question is: how do we teach the truth about US involvement in foreign countries and the often corrosive effects it has had upon their histories? Why does the inflicting 30-180 9/11's on Iraq's civilian populations not cause more concern among the American populace as a whole? The only answer that I can see is the deep seated belief that their lives are not as valuable and important as ours.
Sometimes, I feel like crying....
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Huh?
I'm getting tired of this. How pro-clinton are you? Let it go man. Where's digby?
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And why
is Ron Paul continually marginalized even though he gets some of the highest poll ratings and is the only one proposing solutions to end our current [massive and growing] problems?
We can continue to whistle past the graveyard, but if we keep maintaining our tacit consent to this one party money-and-power system (masquerading as two parties), God help us, but this country will continue to spiral down the tubes ever faster while we were all (supposedly) on watch.
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Doubt about polls
Its too early for polls. Teh majonrity of voters ae not paying any attention right now. they jsut anouced a new poll results in in CA showing Clinton a claer fornt runner wiht a moe than 25% lead over of Obama and that all 3 leading Democratss Clinton, Obama, Edwards could beat any republican. Of cours ethi sis CA. I always wonder who they poll as I have never been polled, of course most people I know are on the "no-call".
As far as history. Most People in U.S. know very little aobut thier own history, so why would they be up on other countries?
I amin a areading gorup of popel who consider themslves well educated, yet the know nothing about history. A fe wyears ago, we ahd a raltive coe to live wiht us. she wa sinhig school, and I was amzed tht her AP U.S history class did not cover or touch on the womene's movement or the gay rights movement in 70s in the U.S. They are still teaching teh same old stuff have mad ei politically correct, but not indepth and have even dumbed it down.
One thing most people do not know that is Iranians are Persions and NOT Arabs. In fact not all Arabs ae Islamist and not all Islmist are Arabs. It seems ignorance and racism cannot be erased.
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It gets worse for Obama
His middle name is "Hussein", and he has a glancing association with the Muslim religion (does anybody else remember the fake madras scandal?). Given today's political climate, these are significant strikes against him. Names matter in a society where a large minority will never know anything about the candidate besides their name and superstition reigns supreme. Any association with the Muslim religion right now is toxic to many people. The right has already started a whisper campaign about Obama being a "sleeper". It's totally, obscenely ridiculous, but I have very little faith in the critical thinking skills of the American people.