make calls to pennsylvania, indiana, or north carolina. all you need is a phone line and a few minutes. find out how: barackobama.com

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2008 Election Views:

Who can go a day without weighing in on the 2008 primary elections? I sure can't. Even little kids (like the one pictured right) know what time it is! I am an Obama supporter but, will admit, I agree with Jeremy Scahill in that neither Democratic candidate will bring an end to the occupation in Iraq. Hillary, in my opinion, is too much a part of the corporate/political machine for me to ever have considered: 1)Too many Clinton associates have ended up mysteriously

Here are just a few of my thoughts on some of the recent election events:

In at least three speeches, including one in Washington on March 17, Clinton said of the Bosnia trip: "I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base." Later, footage of Bosnia would prove this to be an utter and complete embellisment of the truth.

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

Hillary Clinton is a liar. The only person who came close to saying this was MSNBC's Chris Matthews. The "Sniper Fire" story, I'm sorry, was a flat out lie. She told it over and over again, in great detail, and I don't understand how her sanity could not be called into question at this point. I don't necessarily dislike Hillary Clinton but, yes, I am concerned; wondering even, if she is all there...

It was impossible for me to look at her, listen to her, after seeing the footage of Bosnia, and not question the validity of every syllable that fell from her lips thereafter. It seems to me that her supporters have excused every ill of her candidacy. It was laughable to watch them slough over this bold-faced lie. "So, I made a mistake," she said, "I'm human." How cavalier she was, and unapologetic. In the same breath, she decided to take this opportunity to weigh in (for the first time) on the Jeremiah Wright controversy, on which she had been deafly silent. More or less she added to her pseudo-apology, "...but Jeremiah Wright would not be my pastor." Any shred of respect I might have had for her was lost at that moment. (What a fink!)

Days later we learned that one of her favorite podium tales (about a young woman having a baby, with no health insurance blah, blah, blah) was also a lie. At least this time she can partially blame her aides, but no one can convince me that she didn't know this story was embellished from the start. More recently, at the Compassion Forum in Pennsylvania, she told a misty-eyed story of a woman she ha met who had lost a son and grandson to street violence. This was the same face with which I had seen her tell the Bosnia story....and the other story about the pregnant woman. I was forced to wonder if it was true.

Now we all know that politicians lie about...well, their politics, their intentions, and who they were in bed with (literally and figuratively), but when I have to wonder whether a basic life story is true or untrue, then I can no longer hear you.

As for Obama's Wright Problem:

Obama giving a brave and historic speech on race in response to the Jeremiah Wright fallout. If you happen to have missed it, click HERE to see/hear the full speech.

I can only hope this issue is water under the bridge, but feel the remnants of it still hover over the American psyche - both black and white. This is not necessarily a negative though because, though many people were put off by his delivery, Wright wasn't entirely wrong. And, it's high time we talked about it!

Although, no one can predict the outcome for Barack, his speech on race was much needed, and uncommonly honest. There are just a couple of things I want to address regarding the Obama/Wright thing, and I'll let Tim Wise do the rest.

First of all, If Obama has to be held accountable for the words of Jeremiah Wright then McCain should have to answer for the words of his friend and spiritual advisor, Rev. John Hagee. Rev. Hagee most recently said, "The United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West… a biblically prophesied end-time confrontation with Iran, which will lead to the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Christ." Rev. Hagee, whose endorsement McCain says he was "very honored" to receive, has also called the Catholic Church "the Great Whore" and the "anti-Christ" - perhaps McCain should explain that one to Pope Benedict while he is here. Hagee also says the "destruction" of New Orleans' was punishment from God for gay rights. Where is McCain's denouncement, disassociation, and restorative speech?

At the same time, I did not see Hillary Clinton being held accountable for Ferraro's racially-insensitive comments. (I wrote an article about this HERE.) In fact, she did not end her relationship with Ferraro, it was Ferraro who decided to leave simply because she saw that her stubborn ways were hurting Hillary. Had she not left of her own accord, we can only wonder if Ferraro would still be a member of the Clinton campaign.

Secondly, I just wanted to address that fact that this type of anti-American sermon goes on in white Christian churches all the time. The media made this out to be a Black Liberation Movement thing, and that's not necessarily the case. Frank Schaeffer (Author of Crazy for God, lecturer, and Huffington Post contributor) wrote an article about how when his father - Francis Schaeffer, one of the founders of the Religious Right - made similarly inflammatory Anti-American statements from the pulpit, he was lauded and invited to lunch with the Presidents Ford, Reagan, and Bush, Sr. You can read the article "Obama's Minister Committed Treason But When My Father Said The Same Thing He Was A Republican Hero" HERE.

I'm just going to add a couple more links before turning this issue over to Tim Wise:

• Obama was greeted by 35,000 in Philadelphia,(the largest crowd of his campaign!) four days before the state's crucial election. Here's part of what he had to say:

  "It was over 200 years ago that a group of patriots gathered in this city to do something that no one in the world believed they could do," Obama said. "After years of a government that didn't listen to them, or speak for them, or represent their hopes and their dreams, a few humble colonists came to Philadelphia to declare their independence from the tyranny of the British throne." He went onto add the following about his opponent: "Her message comes down to this: We can't really change the say-anything, do-anything, special interest-driven game in Washington, so we might as well choose a candidate who really knows how to play it." - excerpted from The Seattle Times

• HERE is an Open Letter to Senator Obama I wrote after the Texas/Ohio primaries.
• I also appreciated THIS Letter to Obama penned by artist, John Sims.
• Clinton's "3am" ad little girl (now 18 and a staunch Obama supporter!) says she wants Obama to answer that phone ! Click HERE to see the interview with Casey Knowles. Click HERE to see the counter-ad she made for Obama.
• This video pretty much sums up the entire campaign in less than four minutes. BARACKY: THE MOVIE. WATCH IT NOW:

I aoplogize...this really should've been two pages....