Riding a Wave: Barack Obama

There was an amazing rally in a town called Pendleton, Oregon. Seventy-five thousand people, came out to the rally yesterday, to hear Senator Barack Obama speak, as he laid out his aspirations for the country and all Americans. This was certainly the largest crowd yet, to attend a rally, to hear the Senator speak, since his campaign began, when he declared his intentions to run for president, in Springfield, Illinois. At the end of last week, the Senator was swinging back, at Senator John McCain, and President Bush, after the President spoke at a parliamentary meeting in Israel, which was in the midst of celebrating Israel's sixty year anniversary. The President included in his remarks, words to the effect that people should not engage in talks with known terrorist nations, which could be appeasement, such as was done with the Nazi's during World War 1, or which some wanted to do with Hitler, the President even mentioned someone possibly saying “Oh if I had just been able to talk to Hitler, maybe none of that would have happened.” Appeasement, as some have said is not talking. The president's position is we do not talk to heads of state, whose country, is known to practice terrorism. This is very interesting, because the same day or the day before, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was proffering, along with Secretary Rice, that the United States, try to engage or re-engage with Iran, in diplomatic talks, regarding particular matters, unrelated to nuclear weapons, as far as has been reported. So obviously, Secretaries Gates and Rice, did not get the memo from the President. What the President said, was then taken up by John McCain, who the President, was implicitly trying to help politically. Senator McCain took the stance that Obama was inexperienced, naïve, and reckless, to suggest that we talk to Iran without pre- conditions, Senator Obama term was a bit different than pre- conditions, but the talks would begin at a lower level than the presidency. Senator Obama took the bat and tried to hit it out of the park. By most accounts, Obama at least, hit in a two runner, out of the park. So by McCain's version, we stay in Iraq for one hundred years, don't talk to Iran who may be developing nuclear weapons, and this will make us safer here at home. There fore, it would follow then, according to Senator Obama, Ronald Reagan was wrong to negotiate with the Soviet Union, John F. Kennedy should have not negotiated, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Strange these views, certainly, because the United States, is currently negotiating with North Korea, and in the past, the government, negotiated with the country of Libya, over the shooting down of a plane, and then accepted Libya back into the fold of “allies”. Senator Obama asks the question, how is it that Iran has increased, its influence, its power and its danger to other nations, he feels it is because of the President's war on Iraq, which used to be a buffer against Iran, that buffer does not exist anymore, Iraq has been basically sown asunder. All this, according to Senator Obama, with Senator McCain serving as wing-man, for President Bush, McCain, wants to “double-down” on the President's policies, and endorses the President's war plan, according to Senator Obama.

Senator McCain did criticize the handling of the strategy of the war by former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, who eventually resigned. Mr. McCain also supported the “surge”, which he feels, has been a success. Senator Obama was thrust into the limelight, without asking, when the President and Senator McCain made their statements. Mr. Obama seemed to welcome the fight, and he said he was ready to have this debate about the safety and protection of the country, anytime, anyplace, anywhere, because he feels that the country has been made less safe, by the policies of the current White House, in the face of the Iraq war, and Senator John McCain, has backed the White House all the way. In the meantime, Senator Hillary Clinton, has been placed on the back page of many minds, the campaign purchased a newspaper advertisement last week, and had to call television commentators, to ask them to talk about the ad, it seems to have gotten to that point.

At this time, Senator Obama needs a little over one-hundred delegates to reach the needed, two-thousand, twenty-five to claim the nomination. There are fifty-two delegates at stake, in Kentucky, and one-hundred and twelve, in Oregon. Senator Obama's share will be around seventy-two or so, if my numbers are correct. He would then need about fifty-eight delegates to shut the race down. Senator Clinton says, she has the most popular votes, if you include Florida and Michigan, but that's another story. The Democratic party rules, state that the one who has won two thousand, twenty five delegates is the nominee.

Senator Clinton, will try to make the argument to the Super delegates, that she is the better candidate, who has won the most popular votes. The massive wave of seventy-five thousand, supporters at the rally yesterday, seems to belie her contention. Senator Obama by the dust up last week, his insurmountable wins, the undeclared, crowning of him as the presumptive nominee, has him, riding a wave of enthusiasm, forward to the General election against Senator John McCain. So now, let the race begin.