BS: Colin Powell supports Obama

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: heric
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 06:49 PM

Individuals do millions of reprehensible things each day. To blame that one on McCain is escalation, imo.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: CarolC
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 06:57 PM

I didn't blame that one on McCain, and to suggest that I did is twisting my words.

I am saying that the McCain campaign are willing to start a race war in order to get their candidate elected. And we can see the results of that every day. Both in terms of the hate filled rhetoric coming out of their spokespersons, as well as the violent hate speech coming from their supporters. What this young woman did is an example of the climate of hate that McCain and his campaign are nurturing.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 07:10 PM

The name of the game is to win the election. Just imagine what would happen if Obama actually got elected.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: heric
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 07:13 PM

That's a nuanced view. I'll study it.

He nurtured the climate of hate that caused / was a catalyst to her doing it, but he's not to blame for her having done it.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Azizi
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 07:14 PM

heric, while McCain's national campaign cannot be blamed for the Pittsburgh hoax, his Pennsylvania campaign's communication director pushed this story:

"John Verrilli, the news director for KDKA in Pittsburgh, told TPM Election Central that McCain's Pennsylvania campaign communications director gave one of his reporters a detailed version of the attack that included a claim that the alleged attacker said, "You're with the McCain campaign? I'm going to teach you a lesson."

Verrilli also told TPM that the McCain spokesperson had claimed that the "B" stood for Barack."

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/mccain-spokesma.html

Also...

"The McCain spokesperson's claims -- which came in the midst of extraordinary and heated conversations late yesterday between the McCain campaign, local TV stations, and the Obama camp, as the early version of the story rocketed around the political world -- is significant because it reveals a McCain official pushing a version of the story that was far more explosive than the available or confirmed facts permitted at the time".

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/mccain_aide_gave_reporters_inc.php

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: CarolC
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 07:21 PM

He (and the Republican Party) are nurturing a climate of hate. That's what they can be blamed for. They are responsible for the hateful tone of their campaign. I, personally, wouldn't say that they can be blamed for all of the acts committed by individuals as a result of this climate of hate, but I would say that they are complicit.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: heric
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 07:38 PM

Oh.

I didn't know the campaign had even commented on it.

Yes, that sounds very bad.

Well thank our lucky stars these clowns are not going to run the country.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: kendall
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 08:33 PM

A few of my news sources: MSNBC, CNN, BBC, Air America and, on occasion Fox.
I'll match my political savvy with anyone here. Fire away, but be sure your shields are up!

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: artbrooks
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 08:35 PM

Just to drift the thread a bit further, Senator Obama is more "African" by ethnic heritage, at least in the sense that he can point to a specific bit of his ancestry, than golfer Tiger Woods (half Thai) or singer Sammy Davis, Jr. (half Puerto Rican) and much more so than Mr. Davis' children with his wife, Swedish actress May Britt. According to Wiki, General Powell's ancestry includes Scots and Irish, among others.

Yet, according to US usage, all of them are considered African-American/Black...as is anyone else who has an ancestor "of color", no matter how far back. Yet, DNA studies and anthropological findings indicate that every single one of us is descended from the same woman, who probably lived in Africa a while back.   Makes it kinda dumb for anyone to play a "race card", huh?

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: jacqui.c
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 08:45 PM

Too true Art, but it doesn't seem to be seen that way by too many people.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: freda underhill
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 09:34 PM

Art, as usual, you have made measured and informative comments. It is always great to read your balanced opinions on things.

(like so many of these great catters :-) )

freda

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Azizi
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 09:35 PM

It's not surprising that the story about the mugging/mutilation hoax is getting a lot of coverage in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburghers have been known to talk down our city, But we don't like it when non-Pittsburghers talk bad about us.

The racial situation is fragile enough in Pittsburgh-and in other parts of the USA-without folks trying to stoke those fires. By far the largest population of color in Pittsburgh are African Americans. Unlike the more than 3 times larger city of Philadelphia {some 6 1/2 hours away from Pittsburgh}, and unlike the smaller capital city of Harrisburg {about 4 hours away from Pittsburgh}, there are very few Latinos in Pittsburgh. African Americans are only about 24% of the population of the city of Pittsburgh and about 12% of the county. And a lot of African Americans in Pittsburgh are strugglin. But a lot of White people in Pittsburgh are strugglin too. And, while there are some racial tensions, for the most part we are trying to get along with each other and survive these bad times the best we can.

Pittsburghers don't mind making the news for good things-our beautiful scenary, our sports teams, our commitments to the arts and pioneering health interventions like kidney transplant surgery. We knew that Pittsburgh was an important city for either John McCain or Barack Obama to win. We knew that both of these candidates would come to court our votes. But who would have thought that Pittsburgh would make the news in this way?

Here's the bottom line-Ashley Todd lied. She said that she was mugged and had a letter carved on her face because of her support for John McCain. She lied. She described her attacker as a 6'4" Black man. She lied. During her later talks with the police, Ashley Todd said that she had been sexually assaulted by the Black man who had robbed her and carved an upside down "B" on her cheek. She lied. None of Ashley Todd's story was true. Thankfully, in one day Ashley Todd admitted that she was lying. And thankfully, no one was directly harmed by her lies except for her {and, potentially, the McCain-Palin campaign}. But in the not at all distant past, Black people have been killed because of such stories.

Ashley Todd lied because she thought that inciting racial fears and anger would benefit the McCain campaign. The McCain campaign are on record as pushing this story. Now they're probably sorry that they did.

Am I the only one that sees the karmic elements of this story? You have John McCain indicating that he has to win Pennsylvania. And Western Pennsylvania is absolutely crucial to that win. Then you have a Democratic representative from Western Pennsylvania making a statement on the record that Western Pennsylvania has got a lot of racist people {echoing a similar statement about the entire state that Ed Rendell, the governor of Pennsylvania, had made during the Democratic primary}. Then you have the McCain campaign including John McCain oozing distain for Barack Obama with McCain's "That One" statement and Sarah Palin's rallies stroking the fires of racial and religious division and condoning supporters' out and out racism.

And then you have Ashley Todd...from Texas of all places-the adopted home of almost invisible President George Bush. Enter Ashley Todd, a young Republican who had only been in Pittsburgh for something like two weeks working the telephones for John McCain and at some point hatching this foolish and dangerous scheme that she might have thought would help John McCain win Pennsylvania. Maybe Ashley Todd is just mentally ill, and wanted her 15 minutes of fame or more than 15 minutes like Joe the Plumber is receiving on the Fox News television, and the right wing radio talk show circuit. But if she is just sick, why did she attempt to stroke the racial and political fires by alleging that her attacker was a Black Obama supporter?

Did John McCain and Sarah Palin have a chance of winning Western Pennsylvania before this hoax? Yes. The campaign probably wouldn't have won the city of Pittsburgh. But it might have been possible for the Republicans to win in the Western Pennsylvania counties. However, in my opinion, the McCain-Palin campaign's chances of winning have significantly decreased because of Ashley Todd's disgusting and dangerous hoax.

Ashley Todd FAIL=McCain-Palin FAIL


**

Here's a link to a CNN report of this hoax:   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IszjevYoS6A&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/24/172956/99/476/641269

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Big Mick
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 09:47 PM

The problem with that argument, friend Art, is that it ignores the sociological problems in our society that have evolved with racism for centuries. While I applaud the sentiment, the old saying, "If you have one drop, you are....." is exactly indicative of the problem. The real reason I react so strongly is that I believe that we are at a moment where we can make a huge leap forward in this area. But I believe that for that to happen, people of conscience must be completely intolerant of any type of code words, arguments, or attempts to mitigate the evil this shameful disease of society. I ask the white folks in this place, ... how many times have you allowed someone to get away with racially charged language (use of the n word, etc.) in your presence because no African descended folks were around?

Actually this is timely, based on a phone call I just got from my 16 year old. We live in a rural community with few folks of color. Ciara has been raised with the same types of values as her Da believes in. She just called me because she is taking a lot of heat for supporting "a nigger". I have always taught her that to live a life of integrity and honesty means having to take heat for one's principles and that at times it would hurt. This is one of those times for my little girl. The Dad in me wants to rush out and protect her, but this kid is willing to go toe to toe for what she believes in, and in the end result will be better for it. Ciara recognizes the ignorance of these young folks, but she still has to pay a price socially for her views, but that is a burden she is willing to bear in pursuit of what she believes. She is quite a remarkable, and resilient, kid. And she has integrity. I am a lucky man.

Mick

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 09:48 PM

Azizi said,

Ashley Todd lied because she thought that inciting racial fears and anger would benefit the McCain campaign.

Perhaps. Or perhaps in part.

I'm tempted to suspect that the real story of the cutting is something she didn't want to get out for other reasons, and she seized on the political possibilities as an afterthought, as a way of covering up the "real story".

Still just as discreditable, of course, but to me more believable.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 10:36 PM

The whole thing is pretty stupid, it seems to me!

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Ron Davies
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 11:08 PM

"Jeez, what's with you guys?"

Pobre cito.

If good ol' Doug is not in fact a racist, he certainly does a very believable impression of one.

He would be advised, on a left-of-center site like Mudcat, to refrain from sarcastic comments on all the Republicans have done for a black man--especially if he shows no sign of realizing that black man's own talent and work was the actual reason for his advancement.

Such a sarcastic statement might well give some posters the idea that Doug is in fact a racist--and we've established that he does not want this impression left.

Perhaps on the Limbaugh-Hannity-oriented sites Doug may frequent, such an approach may be fine. Not fine here--and the sooner he learns this , the better.

At the risk of blazing a trail his hero GWB never frequents, he could even take my earlier suggestion and actually think before opening his mouth.

And if he does make a mistake anyway, he'd be best off not to "stick by my post". If your unseaworthy ship is going down, you may possibly not want to lash yourself to the mast--though this does seem to be a habit of Teribus and other GWB defenders.

Just a bit of friendly advice.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Donuel
Date: 24 Oct 08 - 11:25 PM

Ron, I too risk making posts on days when I probably should not, such as when I have a migraine.

What seperates me from people who give a believable impression of something despicable, is that after the headache I get better.


Certainly I have changed over 9 years while people who seem totally misinformed, mindless and bereft of any meaningful intelligence keep rolling on the same track as if by some perpetual motion of biologic inertia.


PS

I am on occaison misinformed but make an effort to admit it.
After being hit by lightning I even felt mindless but felt better a year later.
As for meaningful intelligence others will always be the judge of that.


or as grandpa Schatz used to succinctly say,
"Ya can't fix stupid!"

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: artbrooks
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 12:06 AM

Friend Mick, I truly think that the world has come a long way in the last couple of generations.   For the most part, our fathers thought nothing at all of racial differences - that is, it was entirely normal for most of them. Our generation, the children of the 60s and 70s, has realized that these things are just plain wrong and we have done what we can, in our own ways, to eliminate them. Our children, your daughter and mine, don't see these things - like color - as being really major differences between people. Daughter Karen lives in Pittsburgh and, from what she says, her generation sees a very different city than does Mr. Murtha, Friend Azizi and my wife (who is a native Pittsburgher). It is unfortunate that Ciara has people at her school who are socially retarded like that, and I agree that you are lucky.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Azizi
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 02:51 AM

artbrooks, just for the record, I want to clarify that I don't think that a person's skin color should be a factor- major or minor-between people. However, I live in a world where a person's skin color can and sometimes does cause different attitudes {accepting and rejecting} and different treatments {or an omission of treatment i.e. services}. I am talking about the reality that I have experienced and still experience of both personal racism and institutional racism. Because of my perceptions and experiences of an African American female who has lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for 40 years, I agree with Representative Murtha {and your wife?} that there is a great deal of White racism in Western Pennsylvania. And I also will state for the record, that a significant number of African Americans in Western Pennsylvania have varying reactions to White people including distain, and anger because of the real mistreatment or potential for maltreatment by White people in authority {including some police} and the fact that for the most part, Black people are excluded from most good jobs in the area-including union jobs such as liscensed electrician, construction, and plumbing union jobs.

Also, because of segregated neighborhoods and segregated schools within Pittsburgh, and because of the small number of Black people in many Western Pennsylvania towns, White people and Black people have little opportunities to really get to know each other. And it's been my experience that most Black people don't attend social or public events or venues where there will be few if any other Black people. This may be partly because of the cost of such venues. But also I think that this is because a lot of Black people {but not me any more} are [still] insecure around a majority of White people -especially when they are or may be "the only one" {meaning the only person of color in attendance}. By feeling "insecure", I mean feeling unsure about how they will be accepted by White people. Because of this, I believe that many Black people are much too insular, living in their "world" and having their own interests and social activities, and not wanting to venture out of their comfort zone to experience "other worlds" and other interests. And yes, there are some Black people who are prejudiced against {racist toward} White people. But I don't think that is the majority of Black people. And I think that the majority of White people are as I as insecure about {around} Black people as Black people are around White people, although because there are usually so many more White people in this area than Black people {depending on where you go} that except at certain times and places, White people rarely have occasion to socially interact with Black people. In some public social settings. I get the sense that some White people are out to proof that they aren't prejudiced-and the interaction isn't as natural as it would be if they didn't have a concern that they might accidentally say something or do something that might offend a Black person.

In the opposite situation, when there are just a few Black people around a majority of White people {outside of interactions with persons in power such as judges, police, social workers, and doctors}, I don't get the sense that we are worried about offending White people. Because of the way the USA is, I definitely think that Black people know more about White people than White people know about Black people. That said, I have found that there are often real differences in colloquial expressions, children's rhymes, ways of singing the same religions songs, dancing, jokes, etc etc etc. between many White people and many Black people...

All of this to say, art, and with all due respect for you and for what I believe you were trying to say, I'm still concerned about race because I believe that White racism has negatively impacted me and my family and has the potential to negatively impact me and my family in the future mor than Black racism has impacted you and your family and more than Black racism has the potential to impact you and your family in the future.

I don't believe in being color blind. I believe that people should hope for and work for a time when race and ethnicity have no plus or minus valuations, but are just descriptors. But until institutional racism is eradicated in the judicial system, welfare system-including child welfare, educational system, health care system, corporations including finacial lending systems, and mass media to name some institutions,there will be people who are socialized to hate people who are different from them.

There was a time {in the mid to late 1960s} that I was desperately seeking good White people because I wanted to believe that all White people weren't like the segregationists in the South who attacked demonstrators with dogs and water from fire hoses-to name some present day examples that accosted my spirit and then there were the assault on my spirit by the accounts of slavery that I read in history books, not to mention my hurtful personal experiences with White racism as a youth and as a teenager and as a young adult...

But during the mid to late 1960s {as a result of being only one of 6 Black students who lived on campus at a New Jersey college}, I got to know a few good White people relatively well. And since that time I have got to know many more good White people, including members of this forum. And thankfully, I don't need to meet White people for the same reasons that I needed to meet them in the 1960s.
I know that all White people aren't like those segregationists down South {and elsewhere} who didn't think that people of color were as human as they weree, and who were socialized to look down upon and to fear Black people. I realize that I was socialized to feel inferior because of my skin color. To the best of my ability, I have worked on those feelings of inferiority and I don't believe that I feel inferior at all to White people any more. And that is a blessing that I partly owe to some White people who are my friends and are closer to me than some of my biological family.

I want to add this disclaimer that I am not saying that all or even most African American {Pittsburghers or residents of other cities, and towns, and rural areas} have the same or similar takes on race and racism that I do. But I do think that many African Americans may "hear" and agree with a great deal of what I am saying.

And I've said more than I expected to say. And, I'm going to leave it right there. I'm not going to re-read this because if I do, I'll probably delete it. And I don't think I want to delete this post-though when I do re-read this, I might think differently.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 06:45 AM

One reason to hope that Americans will vote for Obama, aside from the fact that he looks as if he will make a pretty good president, is that after he has been there a bit, a certain kind of racism will become increasingly recognised not just as evil but as totally absurd, which is probably a more effective way of eliminating it.

It won't vanish overnight, its roots are too deep - but I would predict that for an increasing number of people the idea that black people are inferior will be seen as akin to thinking the earth is flat. Which of course is the truth, and is already how a lot of people see it.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: kendall
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 07:19 AM

Mick, I have a problem with my oldest daughter. I'm sure she will vote for McCain/Palin not because Obama is black, but because he is a democrat!

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: artbrooks
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 12:56 PM

Azizi, the point that I was trying to make - and I have a very bad habit of trying to say things in brief sound bites - is that each generation moves a bit closer to my ideal of a color-blind nation. And, just to clarify, I don't mean that people shouldn't be aware of their histories and heritages, but that this should not/will not really matter in terms of their personal interactions, job prospects, where they live and go to school, and so forth.

The experiences that you and I have had, each in our own ways, are different from those our children are having, and different yet from what my grandchild-to-be will encounter. Things are better - I can remember separate-but-equal drinking fountains - but they certainly haven't gotten to where I think they should be. Places like Pittsburgh may well be (ok, they are) further behind in this transition than others (in the deep south, for example) and, since I am a westerner, I won't/can't make a judgment as to why that is.   Jenn, who moved into the city from Harmarville when she was 11, has nothing much positive to say about the attitudes toward minorities there when she was growing up - especially among blue collar "ethnics" - and I don't know that her generation there has changed much. Hopefully, the next generation has moved on, at least a little.

Where we live now, in Albuquerque, the under-30 generation seems to socialize freely across groups. Of course, we are about 40% Hispanic, 45% "white" non-Hispanic and 15% "all other", so situations differ.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: DougR
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 03:14 PM

Kendall: don't look on it as a problem. Just be proud that you have a free thinking daughter who shows very good judgment!

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: kendall
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 04:48 PM

She has opposed me all her life and one way or another she must prove me wrong about something.
I did teach all my girls to think for themselves. They are like Russian toilet paper, they take no shit off nobody!

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 06:06 PM

Kendall, here is your solution. Join the Republican Party and tell your eldest daughter you are going to vote for McCain! She'll switch around right away. ;-D

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Amos
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 07:23 PM

LOL!! There may be something to that reverse=psychology advice, there, Kendall!! :D


A

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: artbrooks
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 07:35 PM

...I think he lost his voice again.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 25 Oct 08 - 07:41 PM

Jules Feiffer once did a strip about that. This middle aged man telling how all his life he'd made out to his son that he had these rightwing views about everything, so as to ensure that the lad grew up reacting against him, and adopting right-on views instead. So they were always arguing about everything.

And then when his son was old enough he told him that he had convinced him, and at last he was able to come out as the liberal he had always secretly been.

And the last frame had him sadly saying that now they agreed, they never seemed to have anything to talk about.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 12:26 AM

Azizi, thank you for not deleting that.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 03:05 AM

Thanks from me, too, Azizi. That is a beautiful manifesto.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Azizi
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 09:27 AM

Thanks, Becky and Ebbie.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 11:35 AM

Back on April 17, Bobert posted this: "Hey, folks... I've been thinking that after Obama gets hillary off hos back that it would be a very good idea for him to approach Colin Powell about returning as Secretary of State, but with a new "mission"... Powell, interestingly, has not endorsed McCain and I think that Powell would shut up the folks who are saying that Obama doesn't have any foreign policy experience...

What do you all think???"

Is the man prescient? Let us hope so!

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Amos
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 12:05 PM

I don't think Colin Powell want's a job per se, but that he is willing to act in support as a consultant.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 06:32 PM

This morning, Robert Rubin (Sec. of Treasury under Clinton) said the same thing... that he is willing to consult, but does not want to go back to Washington.

He HAS been advising Obama...

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: CarolC
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 06:59 PM

Robert Rubin is one of the Wall Street people who helped to engineer the current economic meltdown. As Naomi Klein said, we need to make Robert Rubin as much of a political liability for Obama as the Reverend Wright. Throw him under the bus and get Josepth Stiglitz as economic advisor.

http://fora.tv/2008/10/16/Naomi_Klein_Disaster_Capitalism

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: heric
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 07:14 PM

The power brokers will tell us who's going to head Treasury. It's not up to you me or Obama.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: CarolC
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 07:21 PM

Maybe we can change that.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Bill D
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 08:07 PM

Hmmm.. Rubin gets lots of praise (in some quarters) for helping Clinton's administration leave office with the budget in good shape. What am I missing?

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: CarolC
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 08:14 PM

Robert Rubin is the person who persuaded Bill Clinton to sign the Gramm - Leach - Bliley act.

And I would recommend watching the video I posted at 26 Oct 08 - 06:59 PM.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: CarolC
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 08:15 PM

...also the Commodity Futures Modernization Act.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Bobert
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 08:21 PM

First of all, I'll repeat that Colin Powell would, IMO, be the best choice for Secretary of State that Obama could make... He knows the players and he has the humility to admit that he was on the wrong side of history over Iraq...

Secondly, my hat's off to MiziAzizi... Glad you didn't elect to dump that post... It's important for everyone to understand that for many of us who came up in the 60's we are in the midst of a social experiement... Okay, I'm kinda biased (no, not prejudiced) to think that we are doing okay... Sure, we could be doing better but, all in all, we are hopefully about to elect Barak Obama and I think that, at the very least, gives out nation high grades in the experiement...

With that said, I am disappointed with the South... I grow tired of hearing my fellow Southerners sound all smug about how they have lived with Black folks longer than Northerners and they get it when it comes to acceptance... As far as I can see there is a lot more talkin' of the talk than walkin' of the walk...

And sometimes not even the talkin' of talk... I pick up my Washington Post every morning on the way to work at a gas station/general store where a lotta White folks hang out... I try to use my sense of humor and my status as a local musican to cajole the folks who hang out in there but many are very racist... They know I am working for Obama but there are a couple who go out of their way to say that they would be very happy if Obama were killed... One says he'd supply the rope... This is my world... Yeah, I say, "Hey, man, don't be like that 'er I'm gonna have to have Barak come in here and talk with ya'" which gets the usual laugh but this guy may think he's jus' makin' a joke but...

Anyway, I'm glad you didn't erase that post, Miz....

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: artbrooks
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 08:45 PM

And...who else supports Obama?   The Anchorage Daily News, among others.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Azizi
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 09:45 PM

Thanks, Bobert. My post is what it is.

I wrote something about bigotry this morning on this Mudcat thread because I was asked to and because I felt it important to do so. But I really don't want to talk about or write about racism, race relations, prejudice, bigotry, or bias anymore for a looong time.

I recognize that if {make that "when"} Barack Obama becomes the 44th US president, that does not mean that America has reached a point where racism is eradicated. Yet, I agree that Barack Obama winning this election will mean that many Americans have turned our backs on the old order of race baiting and race hating.

I know that there are lots of Mudcatters who know that racism hurts us all. I know that there are Mudcat members who have worked in the trenches much more than I have and are still working to eradicate racism and other inequities. And I know that there are Mudcatters besides me who have written on this forum about racism and probably will write other posts about this subject if & when they feel that the need arises.

I'm glad of that. All I can say to you is "Good on you and keep on keepin on". And maybe I don't need to say this, but I feel the need to do so-if & when the subject of race and racism comes up, like everyone else here, I reserve the right not to comment.


Best wishes,

Azizi

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: meself
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 10:23 PM

"I don't think Colin Powell want's a job per se, but that he is willing to act in support as a consultant."

Sounds like a few folkies I know ... !

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 26 Oct 08 - 11:31 PM

Since he back-stabbed McCain, he could probably have anything he wanted.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Amos
Date: 27 Oct 08 - 12:29 AM

Ya kknow, Rig, Colin POwell endorsing the candidate he chooses as best for good and sufficient reason cannot truly be characterized as "backstabbing" unless you think Powell was boughten and shoulda stayed boughten. It is possible both Obama and Powell have more integrity than that.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Riginslinger
Date: 27 Oct 08 - 07:22 AM

It's more probable they both have less!

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: Bobert
Date: 27 Oct 08 - 07:56 AM

No, Rigs, as per sual you just don't (can't) see things the way they are... Colin Powell didn't "backstab McCain"... McCain backstabed McCain by running from pillar to post trying to be whatever he thought voters wanted him to be... Powell gets no credit for McCain allowing himself to become a human pinball...

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: kendall
Date: 27 Oct 08 - 08:49 AM

McCain is going to lose this election. Whose fault is it? MCCAIN'S. and no one else's. His choice of Caribou Barbie was the last straw. She is clearly a clueless airhead.

Subject: RE: BS: Colin Powell supports Obama
From: CarolC
Date: 27 Oct 08 - 08:56 AM

Another life long Republican voting for Obama...


Former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), who was the first Vietnam veteran to serve in the United States Senate, is the latest Republican to back Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, Politico learned Sunday.

Pressler, who said that in addition to casting an absentee ballot for Obama he'd donated $500 to the Illinois senator's campaign, cited the Democrat's response to the financial crisis as the primary reason for his decision.

"I just got the feeling that Obama will be able to handle this financial crisis better, and I like his financial team of [former Treasury Secretary Robert] Rubin and [former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul] Volcker better," he said. By contrast, John McCain's "handling of the financial crisis made me feel nervous."

The former senator added that he hoped the next president would help place restraints on executive pay, and said: "I don't think [McCain] will take action in that area, or he's as likely to."

Pressler, who said that he had never voted for a Democrat for president before, added, "I feel really badly. I just hate to go against someone I served with in the Senate. I voted and I got it mailed and I dropped it in the mailbox, and it tore at me to do that."

Currently an adjunct professor at Baruch College in New York, Pressler served in the Senate from 1979 through 1997, and prior to that spent two terms in the House of Representatives.

During the 104th Congress, from 1995 to 1997, Pressler chaired the Senate Commerce Committee. When Pressler was defeated for reelection in 1996, McCain took over his chairmanship.

After leaving office, Pressler formed a legal and lobbying firm, The Pressler Group, and in 2002 unsuccessfully sought election to South Dakota's sole seat in the House of Representatives.

He joins a growing list of Republicans who have thrown their support to Obama in recent days. Last Sunday former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Obama on NBC's "Meet the Press." On Thursday Obama picked up the support of former Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson, who was joined on Friday by former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld.

Like some of Obama's other Republican supporters, Pressler said he had concerns about his party's fiscal policy, particularly the war in Iraq, that went beyond the presidential campaign.

"We have to be a moderate party. We can't be for all these foreign military adventures. We have to stop spending so much money. My God, the deficit is so high!" he said. "The Republican Party I knew in the 1970s is just all gone."

Despite his support for Obama, however, Pressler emphasized that he intended to stay in the GOP and described himself as a "moderate conservative."

"I'm not leaving the Republican Party. We're going to reform it," he said, but added: "In the general election, if you have disagreements, you should not vote the party line."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14963.html