Here’s an interesting clip from YouTube: former Presidential hopeful Ron Paul discussing his idea of “Obama Fever” and pointing out that it isn’t necessarily all Obama’s job to change everything in America that everybody wants change: it’s also the American peoples’ job to hold the President, whoever it is, accountable for that change.
watch the video here [this video has been un-embedded due to a recent YouTube Virus that works when a video is embedded on another site. If you're running Internet Explorer, do not click on any link that may pop up or install any software, especially one called "Antivirus 2009." More info at crunchgear.]
I couldn’t agree more with Ron Paul. I feel that many of Obama’s supporters think that simply putting somebody new in the White House could actually have a huge impact. Well, I think it’s easier for that person to have a huge negative impact than a positive impact, but such is the case with almost everything. 2006 saw a shift in Congress to be a democratic majority. What has happened since then? Phone taps, the Patriot Act still there, troops still in Iraq – and that is 2/3 of the decision-making power in our government.
“Keep your politicians honest”
So let’s try to avoid the “first day of school” excitement, an analogy which I’ll use to describe the initial excitement of everybody followed by the usual apathy for the next few years. Obama won, yippee. But it’s more than just gathering votes, and I sort of get the impression that a lot of first-time and young voters think the “struggle” is over. It’s not, as America is a financial mess, and relations with other countries are strained, to put it mildly. So keep your politicians honest – if you think the troops should be out of Iraq, make sure Obama will do it. If you think Bush and Cheney should be tried as war criminals, watch for Obama to do that. If you think the Patriot Acts I and II are wrong, pressure Obama and your Congressmen to get rid of them.
It’s time to make change, not bumper stickers
But we saw the same thing with Clinton earlier: everybody was so in love with him that his support of the bombing in Kosovo, or his refusal to put an end to the genocide in Rwanda after lying and denying the knowledge of it, and lying again under oath and ultimately getting impeached for perjury. So please don’t idolize Obama this way: the change hasn’t happened yet; it’s up to Americans to push for that change and to hold those whom they elected accountable. Because Obama, despite popular belief, is no magician or messiah, and doesn’t have magic powder or the Midas touch to suddenly make everything the best it’s ever been – the change that he wants and everybody should want isn’t putting a black man in office, nor is it getting Bush out. The change that America needs will take time, and more importantly it will take effort and it will take every American to do their part to try to once again make this the greatest country ever. And if it takes putting Obama in office to make everybody join together again, fine. But I’m sure everybody will agree that this country has never been more divided – perhaps it was Bush’s fault, but I’d also blame Americans for tearing ourselves apart and just whining about it for the past 8 years. It’s time to make change, not bumper stickers.
…oh, and for the record, I NEVER said nor inferred that Obama is a terrorist, or he and his African-American church family will rise up against “Whitey.” I’m simply suggesting that I wouldn’t want to know anybody who keeps such shady and bizarre friends as Jeremiah Wright or Bill Ayers, yet less hand them the keys to the White House, making them the most powerful person in the World. But again, if that’s what it takes to make all you liberals happy and America to have the unity it should have, fine. But for all of you who did vote for him, you’d better keep up with him and watch what he does and not just kick back and forget about politics for another four years. Just because there may not be new US bombs exploding in foreign countries doesn’t mean that everything is great.
One last thing: it looks like Russia ALREADY is about to have missiles pointed at us. Awesome.
I won’t live in fear. Fuck Russia, fuck China and fuck the terrorists. I’m not scared and nobody should be because that’s what they tried to do for the last 7 years and for so many poor souls, it worked. Bush won an election based on it. I just don’t get why everyone that for whatever reason is against Obama thinks that we should have stayed with what we had? This sucks….let’s keep it. Huh? You know what? If it does not work, so be it. But we ALREADY know that this Conservative appraoch failed miserably. So why not give someone else a chance to clean up the mess? Nobody is perfect and none of us will ever agree on everything. But if the worst thing ‘ol Bill did was get a hummer from a intern and lie about it, well that’s a lot better than lying about weapons and starting a war. I wasn’t comfortable with a elderly cancer survivor with a half ass VP. I actually love Ron Paul and would have voted for him in two seconds. I am actually the one who introduced him to most people I know last year. But his party would never allow him to get that far. Way too moderate and smart. I mean he actually went on Real Time with Bill Maher a while back. Nobody is more liberal than Maher and he and Paul agreed on almost everything. Strange he is in the party he is. He should really be independent or Demoratic. I had fortune or misfortune of living in Georgia for two years after growing up in the very different climate of NY. So I have seen both views and lived among them for some period. After being around those people that’s when I knew I would never be on that side. Besides I don’t like kahki pants and don’t go to church.
Not to keep on this but all you need to see is this. This could have been our president at some point. That’s all you need to not go to the right. We all must agree on that. 2012? Is this woman insane?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27568141/?GT1=43001
I believe Obama stands for change… a change in traditional politics that have been fucking us over for too many years. He himself maybe not be that change. I personally do not expect him to be able fix EVERYTHING, and if he fails to fix anything and does a bad job, I’m perfectly fine with removing him and finding someone else who represents CHANGE. Current politicians are douches with agendas that most Americans do not support. Hopefully a different type of politician will show up starting with the election of Obama.
Holy crap! She’s 44? She looks damn good for 44!
And in response to you, Mark, Mc Cain was chosen as the Republican candidate because the GOP thought he had the best chance of getting the moderate and independent votes. Turns out they were wrong – but the truth is, Mc Cain is not the same as Bush. Sure, they’re in the same party and agree on some policies, but like you pointed out about Ron Paul: he’s a Republican, yet can agree with and have a civil conversation with Bill Maher.
Which brings me to my next point, which is all you people who got what you want criticizing the Mc Cain voters for feeling a little salty after all of this. Of course we all think this sucks; our candidate lost. But if I recall, in 2000 Democrats were so up in arms about Bush winning that the matter had to be decided by the Supreme Court after all the recounts. And what happened in 2004 if everybody hated him that much? You all could have gotten your change then.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that yeah, for a lot of Americans they think that a huge mistake was made, myself included. However, I am willing to give Obama a chance in the spirit of getting this country freaking unified again to a point of not tearing our own selves apart anymore. And if it takes a Democrat in the White House to pacify all the liberal outrage, so be it.
What we all need to realize is that the election is over, and there’s nothing we can do to change it. I think every American would agree though that even if Mc Cain did get elected, there is a lot of change that needs to happen in America. And I, for one, while registered Independent yet usually on the conservative side, am willing to put differences aside in order to get our economy back, our freedoms back, our security back, and our status among foreign countries back, and to do that we can’t be a country divided by political beliefs – in my opinion it’s all relatively pointless to argue things like animal rights, marriage rights, and yes, even abortion rights to the point of self-destructing our own country that was built for us by the Founding Fathers through our own blood shed. They never would have wanted that.
…though I am always up for a good debate.
My point is this, why can’t everyone just be glad that for the first time in 8 years the nation is hopeful and optimistic? 8 years of misery and worldwide humiliation is a long time. I can’t remember the last time people were excited about anything. Let’s enjoy it. Another thing that has me a bit salty is that I know that down south and in the midwest there are still rednecks that would not vote for a black man just for that reason alone, he’s black. At least now the world now knows we are finally on board with the future and not stuck in the past. I feel like a lot of the conservatives are like Nirvana (grunge anti fun rock) and they want to ruin the fun of Van Halen (good old fashioned rock n roll fun) Liberals. Don’t ruin the nations fun. Some of us still want to rock. I also agree that people that worry about stuff like gay marriage and all that crap need to stop. There are way more important things to worry about than Frank shacking up with Joe. Who cares? It is crazy to me how one area of the nation (south) that is so far behind in many ways, trust me, can have so much control. They tend to vote more on moral issues, aka the Bible, instead of what really matters. That shit has to stop. Sometimes what they think does not live up to their moral standards has to take a backseat to what good for the entire nation. Glad to see even some of them are moving forward.