HAWTaction Endorses Obama/Biden... Because bin Laden Is Winning
This is a message from the founder and editor of HAWTaction.com, John de Guzman.
HAWTaction is endorsing Obama/Biden in the 2008 presidential election. Here's the list: I am concerned about the economy and the mis-directed, mis-managed "war in terror." I am concerned with the housing bubble and Wall Street's economically-crippling decisions. I am concerned about the unprecedented sizes of our budget and government. I am concerned with this country's criminal fiscal actions and disregard of the laws of our constitution and those of the Geneva Convention. I'm appalled by outing CIA agents as political retribution and denying photographs of the armed forces' caskets. I'm concerned about our corporate-friendly policies that bail out companies instead of individuals and a government that is spying on its citizens. This is our reality. Anyone who disagrees with any point can stop reading now. I, frankly, don't want your biased eyes on this website. (JLF agrees.)
What concerns me the most, though, is that all of those disasters are results from 9/11 and our response to it.
Osama bin Laden is fighting a different war than we are. He's floating like a butterfly and stinging like a country-dividing and country-crumbling bee. Even after seven years of strategy and war, George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet and the Houses of Congress and Senate have yet to realize bin Laden is beating us at his game. (Cheney, meanwhile, knows exactly what he's doing... handing money to his big-business buddies.)
While the U.S. is down for the count, we are refusing to stop to ask what, exactly, we are fighting. Are we fighting 12 men in 4 planes with a few hundred thousand dollars in funding who killed three thousand people on our soil? Bin Laden's goal wasn't to kill as many Americans as possible; he could have done much better than 2,999 casualties. Bin Laden was--literally and symbolically--attacking our economy, military and, if the plane hadn't gone down in Pennsylvania, the operations in our government. At the low end, bin Laden could have celebrated the downed twin towers, the damaged Pentagon and a destroyed jet plane. At the high end, he could have celebrated a rift between American citizens, the collapse of western economy, the loss of American confidence in their government, a stretched and stressed U.S. military, shattered international relationships, U.S. policy hijacked by greedy corporations like Halliburton and, most of all, a nation paralyzed by fear.
Mission accomplished, Osama bin Laden. On all fronts.
Granted, bin Laden's only been this effective because of Bush's policies and the hubris they were built on. Bush's insistence on using a heavy punch over a delicate touch has caused more collateral damage than good. (Are we really holding and torturing prisoners who haven't been brought up on charges?) This heavy hand was seen in everything from the Patriot Act to Iraq's "liberation." It is this aggressive handling, fueled by excessive pride, that brought us to our current, worst-case scenario.
In addition, Bush and Cheney have reigned with fear, wrapping Congress and the House in their "patriotic" cloak so tightly that consenting feedback was identified, vilified and labeled un-American. Bush and Cheney strategically escalated the terror threat level, flooding our cities with police officers and scaring our populous while Al-Qaeda was regrouping, with, I'm guessing, no concrete plans to attack in the U.S. Even the attacks in Madrid and London weren't planned by Al-Qaeda headquarters. Bush and Cheney used fear to convince "enough" people that electing Democrats would crumble this country's defenses. (That fear still persists.)
The administration pushed through their failed policies under a banner of mystery and deception. They refused outside input, whether international or American. Decisions were not transparent; some weren't even shared with the U.S. public. The results could not be questioned. We were blindly driven down the wrong track, leaving a pile of debris and wreckage behind. "Say it ain't so, Joe. There you go, looking back again..."
In addition, this administration has asked for no actual sacrifice from U.S. citizens. The only call-to-action that came from above was, "shop." To be honest, asking for American sacrifice would have clashed with the administration's refusal to admit that there is anything wrong. Even two months ago, at the Olympics, Bush still refused to admit that the U.S. had any problems. Why sacrifice when everything is perfect?
This denial of issues is a giant problem unto itself. With the military, our stubborn refusal to change tactics has led to additional dead Afghans, Iraqis and U.S. soldiers. With the environment, it has led to terrible injustices against the planet. With health insurance, it has led to 5 million more Americans uninsured since Bush took office. With international policy, it has shattered any leverage the U.S. had in the world. With Rawanda... it goes on.
The denial is most apparent in our economy, where all branches of government have done anything they could to keep the economy soaring, even if it meant artificially inflating it. Housing prices were propped up with policies no sound government would have approved. (Loans were given to people with No Income, No Assets?) To compound it, they felt no need to regulate default credit swaps that are tanking the global economy like nothing before.
This government has been most concerned with the image of success. Don't question anything in Bush's America. Don't look behind the curtain, Toto.
We need to elect a person with the capacity to admit that bin Laden knows us better than we know ourselves. We need someone with the capacity to understand that bin Laden, coupled with the administration's hubris, took a couple of hundred thousand dollars, a few years of planning and 2,999 lives and turned it into the spiraling downfall of the United States, the greatest modern global empire. We need a person in power with the capacity to plan 2, 5, 10, 20 years in advance. (Imagine us spending $200,000 in 2 years and, a day later, Al-Qaeda is on the path to destruction?) We need to elect a person who has an interest in getting to know our enemy, admitting that knowledge is useful. We need to elect a person with the capacity to admit that we are in an economic, political, international, civil libertarian and militaristic quagmire, but that this all could have been averted. It was our policies that snow-balled Osama bin Laden's attack into our current mess.
We need a person with the capacity to admit that our actions in Iraq have strengthened extremist Muslim organizations.
Of the two candidates, Obama's the only one with that capacity. He has the capacity to say, let's stop punching things and maybe just clap to catch this bee. We need to minimize attacks on our economy, infrastructure or government. They need to be strategic and effective, not panicked, insulting and reckless. Imagine some humility in the White House?
The future with McCain would only continue this fear control with no realistic goals or expectations and an obsession with painting an image of success. His calls to put "country first" are insulting as he has run a campaign so dirty, Karl Rove can pretend to be appalled. He hasn't handed over his medical records for us to gauge the severity of his conditions. He shows no interest in learning about our enemies. He refuses to acknowledge the complexity of global situations by presenting shallow plans to handle them. Of course, McCain's first appointee in his cabinet was a running mate that is, simply, inadequate, yet he boosts Palin up to the American public as a viable partner on his ticket. She can't talk to the press, yet she would be a viable understudy for him as President. We can't ask about her experience, because that's considered sexist and elitist, yet we are supposed to know it's there in case she's sitting across the table from Putin or, worse, Zapatero. Don't look behind any of these curtains, Toto. He will clearly continue Bush's charade of failed policies that have been spun as successes, admitting no faults.
Once in office, if campaigns are any indication, McCain will surround himself with the same crew Bush did. In fact, his campaign is being run by Bush's campaign staff, the same ones who used dirty tactics to seize the republican nomination from McCain's hands in 2000... when McCain was a different man.
Granted, Obama's not a perfect candidate. He needs to be in favor of gay marriage. I don't like his lame attempt to limit lobbyist influence last year: lobbyists can't share a meal with a representative if they are sitting down, only standing up. I don't like how he sits back while lies about him are spread through the press. He should come out and forcefully announce that he isn't Muslim. I don't like how he accepted the $140 billion pork earmarks on the $700 billion bailout plan. He should have voted no on that bill and said, "These earmarks are the injustice both McCain and I are talking about. Line by line. In fact, I'm not even supporting the meat of this bailout, the purchasing of toxic assets we can't even value. There is a better solution out there." (Even the government is realizing the issues with the $700 billion bailout as they are tactfully swapping the toxic asset purchases in favor of preferred stock purchases.)
If Obama's campaign is any indication of his Presidential cabinet and policies, I see hope. I see a government that values analysis and thoughtful planning. I see a government that values information. Knee-jerk reactions have no place in Obama's oversight (i.e., his V.P. pick). Just as he hasn't dropped down to McCain's dirty tactics, Obama will build up and not tear down. He is the candidate we need.
In short, McCain and his government will continue Bush's cloak of inflated perfection. Obama and his government will have the capacity to lift the cloak and say, "What, exactly, do we have here?"
In addition, Bush and Cheney have reigned with fear, wrapping Congress and the House in their "patriotic" cloak so tightly that consenting feedback was identified, vilified and labeled un-American. Bush and Cheney strategically escalated the terror threat level, flooding our cities with police officers and scaring our populous while Al-Qaeda was regrouping, with, I'm guessing, no concrete plans to attack in the U.S. Even the attacks in Madrid and London weren't planned by Al-Qaeda headquarters. Bush and Cheney used fear to convince "enough" people that electing Democrats would crumble this country's defenses. (That fear still persists.)
The administration pushed through their failed policies under a banner of mystery and deception. They refused outside input, whether international or American. Decisions were not transparent; some weren't even shared with the U.S. public. The results could not be questioned. We were blindly driven down the wrong track, leaving a pile of debris and wreckage behind. "Say it ain't so, Joe. There you go, looking back again..."
In addition, this administration has asked for no actual sacrifice from U.S. citizens. The only call-to-action that came from above was, "shop." To be honest, asking for American sacrifice would have clashed with the administration's refusal to admit that there is anything wrong. Even two months ago, at the Olympics, Bush still refused to admit that the U.S. had any problems. Why sacrifice when everything is perfect?
This denial of issues is a giant problem unto itself. With the military, our stubborn refusal to change tactics has led to additional dead Afghans, Iraqis and U.S. soldiers. With the environment, it has led to terrible injustices against the planet. With health insurance, it has led to 5 million more Americans uninsured since Bush took office. With international policy, it has shattered any leverage the U.S. had in the world. With Rawanda... it goes on.
The denial is most apparent in our economy, where all branches of government have done anything they could to keep the economy soaring, even if it meant artificially inflating it. Housing prices were propped up with policies no sound government would have approved. (Loans were given to people with No Income, No Assets?) To compound it, they felt no need to regulate default credit swaps that are tanking the global economy like nothing before.
This government has been most concerned with the image of success. Don't question anything in Bush's America. Don't look behind the curtain, Toto.
We need to elect a person with the capacity to admit that bin Laden knows us better than we know ourselves. We need someone with the capacity to understand that bin Laden, coupled with the administration's hubris, took a couple of hundred thousand dollars, a few years of planning and 2,999 lives and turned it into the spiraling downfall of the United States, the greatest modern global empire. We need a person in power with the capacity to plan 2, 5, 10, 20 years in advance. (Imagine us spending $200,000 in 2 years and, a day later, Al-Qaeda is on the path to destruction?) We need to elect a person who has an interest in getting to know our enemy, admitting that knowledge is useful. We need to elect a person with the capacity to admit that we are in an economic, political, international, civil libertarian and militaristic quagmire, but that this all could have been averted. It was our policies that snow-balled Osama bin Laden's attack into our current mess.
We need a person with the capacity to admit that our actions in Iraq have strengthened extremist Muslim organizations.
Of the two candidates, Obama's the only one with that capacity. He has the capacity to say, let's stop punching things and maybe just clap to catch this bee. We need to minimize attacks on our economy, infrastructure or government. They need to be strategic and effective, not panicked, insulting and reckless. Imagine some humility in the White House?
The future with McCain would only continue this fear control with no realistic goals or expectations and an obsession with painting an image of success. His calls to put "country first" are insulting as he has run a campaign so dirty, Karl Rove can pretend to be appalled. He hasn't handed over his medical records for us to gauge the severity of his conditions. He shows no interest in learning about our enemies. He refuses to acknowledge the complexity of global situations by presenting shallow plans to handle them. Of course, McCain's first appointee in his cabinet was a running mate that is, simply, inadequate, yet he boosts Palin up to the American public as a viable partner on his ticket. She can't talk to the press, yet she would be a viable understudy for him as President. We can't ask about her experience, because that's considered sexist and elitist, yet we are supposed to know it's there in case she's sitting across the table from Putin or, worse, Zapatero. Don't look behind any of these curtains, Toto. He will clearly continue Bush's charade of failed policies that have been spun as successes, admitting no faults.
Once in office, if campaigns are any indication, McCain will surround himself with the same crew Bush did. In fact, his campaign is being run by Bush's campaign staff, the same ones who used dirty tactics to seize the republican nomination from McCain's hands in 2000... when McCain was a different man.
Granted, Obama's not a perfect candidate. He needs to be in favor of gay marriage. I don't like his lame attempt to limit lobbyist influence last year: lobbyists can't share a meal with a representative if they are sitting down, only standing up. I don't like how he sits back while lies about him are spread through the press. He should come out and forcefully announce that he isn't Muslim. I don't like how he accepted the $140 billion pork earmarks on the $700 billion bailout plan. He should have voted no on that bill and said, "These earmarks are the injustice both McCain and I are talking about. Line by line. In fact, I'm not even supporting the meat of this bailout, the purchasing of toxic assets we can't even value. There is a better solution out there." (Even the government is realizing the issues with the $700 billion bailout as they are tactfully swapping the toxic asset purchases in favor of preferred stock purchases.)
If Obama's campaign is any indication of his Presidential cabinet and policies, I see hope. I see a government that values analysis and thoughtful planning. I see a government that values information. Knee-jerk reactions have no place in Obama's oversight (i.e., his V.P. pick). Just as he hasn't dropped down to McCain's dirty tactics, Obama will build up and not tear down. He is the candidate we need.
In short, McCain and his government will continue Bush's cloak of inflated perfection. Obama and his government will have the capacity to lift the cloak and say, "What, exactly, do we have here?"
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Bravo, John.
I'm the best blogger, ever.
- JLF
McCain has capacity! This post is just a mess, John... &-O
Palin/McCain 2008!! ;-)
Jenn, you're crazy.
John - and extremely intelligently written, insightful piece. I'm on board with Obama/Biden.
Keep up the though provoking posts.
JLF for President in 2016. Let's start the campaign now.
Good read. Congrats and thank you for writting a responsible, informative, insightful and inteligent article for all of us to read. Helps get the truth out there. very much needed.
get out and vote folks!!!