Obamapalooza Day 2: All About the Hill

Surprisingly a relatively Obama free zone…

So Hillary Clinton’s speech was pretty good, though I found myself laughing at some of her obvious pandering to DNC leftists. She’s definitely one to inspire on her own but some of her speech sounded a bit jingoistic and uninspiring. As expected she pushed her support to Obama, but she sounded more like one backing the Party Line rather than Obama himself.

Some of my comments on the speech:

• OK. Video time. Better than the MO one last night I guess aside from the cheesy “American Girl”.
• “My friends, it is time to take back the country we love.” What, did Russia invade us too? Sorry, I actually did think this when I heard that line.
• “No way, No how, no McCain.” For this line, how about: how lame? Seriously, she really hasn’t gone all pit bull on McCain which I’m sure some Dems will be disappointed in.
• Health care. Health care. Health care. Which is ok, since that’s been Mrs. Clinton’s thing for a while now.
• Supreme Court in right-wing headlock? If that were truly the case abortions would be banned, police and government agencies would be arresting everyone in sight on trumped up charges, there would be suspension of habeas corpus, rampant torture, blatant suppression of speech and press, etc. etc. Partisan gridlock? Last I heard the Dems controlled the Congress. And is it not true that the Dems quashed attempts to put forth energy policies before conveniently departing for the summer break. Biggest deficit? Yes, but Congress is responsible for government spending in addition to a war going on. And lets not forget that before 9/11, the Bush admin was actually doing a good job of lowering the deficit and debt with the help of Congress. Borrowed from the Chinese to buy from the Saudis? Well that was (again) Congress, not the President’s, purview. I certainly didn’t go to a Chinese bank asking for money so I can fill up my gas tank. Didn’t see many Dems squawking about oil much during the last decade, save Al Gore.
• “Affordable college.” Ah the old myth that you can only be successful if you have a college degree and it has to be affordable. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for people going to college if they are capable (intelligence wise) but a college degree should not be required to have a decent job and successful career. Once upon a time that was the case in the United States before we turned away from an manufacturing based economy to a service side one.
• “To promoting unionization” Well what if I don’t want to be in a union? What then? I get left out of getting a decent job for not becoming a union drone without any protections from union bosses giving jobs away as has happened recently in the auto industry.
• “To make America once again a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.” How about we enforce current immigration laws! Two birds, one stone. We are a nation of immigrants- legal ones.
• “fiscal sanity back to Washington” snort.
• “restore America’s standing in the world” Seems the world turned to the US nad our NATO allies rather quickly when Russia invaded Georgia. I think our standing is safe.
• “And when Barack Obama is in the White House, he’ll revitalize our
  economy, defend the working people of America, and meet the global
  challenges of our time” with his magic fairy dust and a toothy grin right? Sorry but the economy will right itself without government guidance (unless you think communism is the way to go), civil libertarians will defend the people not the President, and try to deal with challenges as all Presidents and leaders do.
• Attempting to equate McCain = Bush. LOL! (Sorry for the net speak) Trotting out that tired line is as the kids are wont to say: Epic fail!
• Nice to mention the anniversary of women getting the National right to vote. A lot of states and territories, particularly in the west already allowed women to vote in local elections well before Congress deigned to give women the right to vote. Being from Arizona I have a slightly different view on the history of women’s suffrage.* Yes it’s been 88 years nationally but some states have much deeper traditions of women’s suffrage than politicians care to be reminded of.
• “We don’t need four more years of the last eight years.” So what were the Dems doing in Congress if Bush was the anti-Christ of Democracy?

Anyway, it was good speech, inspiring in part, and very much in line with Hillary Clinton’s style and agenda. Doesn’t change my opinion any on Obama, but I already decided not to vote Obama a while ago. He’s got potential, but he’s not yet ready.

So thus ends day 2. Day3 looks like it is going to be a snooze fest. I might pass on watching any of it tomorrow.

*On Women’s Suffrage in Arizona and the western United States:

Arizona as a territory viewed women’s voting much differently than many contemporaries, particularly those east of the Mississippi River, at the time. A large part of this was due to a combination of Spanish legal system influence that afforded women a number of rights not recognized at the time in many U.S. states and the general independent nature of the west. In fact, the Arizona legislature voted to give women the right to vote in 1903 but was vetoed by the Territorial Governor on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. Arizona (alongside eight other states) gave women the right to vote eight years (or sooner for others) before the rest of the nation, not through decree or constitutional amendment but by a public vote that passed in every county. So for someone from Arizona like myself I see suffrage in this state as something achieved since at least 1903 (and obviously much earlier in other states) but denied by Washington D.C despite state after state (Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington, California, Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona) approving women’s suffrage by 1912. So when I hear Easterners chatting up suffrage I cringe a little knowing how some of the eastern U.S. dragged its feet on (if not outright vehemently opposed) the issue.

Of course it was only the first of many steps on the path for civil liberties, equality and freedom in this country. A fight that continues to this day.