The first thing I want to say is that I am nothing special nor more intelligent then anyone else.  The one thing that I am is an independent thinker who analyzes a situation and acts based upon what I feel is best, as opposed to acting based upon being part of an “in-group”, the “first-group”, the “cool-group”, the “trend-setting group”, or jumping on a bandwagon.  By the way, how many of you saw Robin Williams on Law & Order this evening and the commentary on “sheep” mentality in America?

I have been greatly disappointed in the future of the United States, generally, and each of us, specifically, since John Edwards (the adult wing of the Democratic Party) dropped out of the Presidential race.  I last and only posted on January 30, 2008 re “Unity Will Flow Naturally From Integrity & Credibility” and  on January 21, 2008 re “The Country Needs John Edwards To Stay In The Race All The Way To The Nomination”.  I never intended to post again since it took 25+ years since my disgust with the Democratic Party following the 1980 Presidential Campaign and the defeat of my candidate of choice in the Wisconsin Primary, Jerry Brown, until this past year when the leadership ideas, backbone strength, and bold courage of John Edwards got me excited again in a President and the Democratic Party for the first time since 1980.  However, the recent sequence of events caused me to be unable to stay silent and to at least make a record that I did my part and tried.  I know that there are many other JRE supporters who feel as I do.

Interestingly, in the midst of the Clinton-Obama unveiling during the past few weeks, the Jimmy Carter of 1980 has resurfaced with a meeting with the terrorist organization of Hamas that seeks to push the Israeli’s into the Sea and destroy the State of Israel.  I guess the botched helicoptor blunder-Iranian Hostage Rescue attempt in the Desert that any Israeli military officer could have advised would be a disasterous failure before it ever began was not enough of a legacy for Mr. Carter nor sufficient damage to inflict upon the Democratic Party.

Now, I have to watch as Mr. Obama, the great questioner of the judgment of Ms. Clinton about going into Iraq, now attempts to squirm and slither his way out from under the exercise of his judgment in his chosen faith leader for the last 20 years, including officiating his marriage, performing the baptisms of his two daughters, and inspiring his book.  Meanwhile, Ms. Clinton continues ahead in the pursuit of the very things that John Edwards legitimately questioned during the debates.  Unfortunately, the mainstream corporate media of America and the significant majority of each of us failed ourselves in not questioning each of the candidates with intellectual honesty and legitimate cross-examination.  Instead, it was easier, less work, and more entertaining (and perhaps more self-serving) to jump on the bandwagon and promote the glitz and glamor of a woman and a black man running for President and ignore JRE, except to cover the price of his haircut, the size and cost of his residence, and his connection to a hedge fund.  Meanwhile, now that it is too late we learn that (1) the income of the Clinton’s and Obama’s is consistent with the income of JRE; and (2) per www.opensecrets.org, the connection of JRE pales in comparison to the campaign contributions received by Ms. Clinton and Mr. Obama from the hedge fund industry, the health care industry, the insurance industry, lawyers, and lobbyists.  I guess you “gotcha” on the haircuts…nice-going corporate mainstream media and the majority of Americans who either continue to be sheep, motivated by pure selfishness without any regard for our fellow human being, and/or too lazy to think for yourself.

Ohhhhhh, I am sure that many, many wish that JRE was still around.  By the way, neither JRE nor his supporters owe Ms. Clinton or Mr. Obama anything.  The job of Mr. Obama and his campaign and Ms. Clinton and her campaign is, was, and continues to be showing JRE and his supporters why they should put their support behind one of them.  Thus far, Mr. Obama and Ms. Clinton and their respective campaigns have failed miserably.  Perhaps, I set the bar too high, but merely saying you are better than John McCain does not cut it.  I could write pages and pages of why John Edwards is the better candidate, as an individual, and the best Democrat to defeat John McCain, but the time for that has come and gone.  I have yet to see any meaningful, credible, showing by either Ms. Clinton or Mr. Obama that they will carry the torch lit by JRE (although neither had any problem stealing his ideas while he was still campaigning).

I then look to our local election and observe the venomous remarks being made in our local Assembly race.  The self-serving agenda behind such remarks is so obvious, while the goal motivating such remarks moves further and further away.

In the middle of 2007, I was very excited for the first time in over 25 years about the future of our country because I finally saw a person who had the courage, intelligence, and strength to lead our country with integrity and honesty motivated by fairness and justice for all.  As we approach the middle of 2008, I am as disgusted as I was in 1980 and I have seen nothing on the national or local level to cause me to feel otherwise.  I am greatly saddened that the same circumstances that launched Reagan into the White House in 1980 will likely launch McCain into the White House…because of a haircut…unbelievable.

I appreciate that some (or maybe many) of you will not like the content and/or tone of this message.  Perhaps, I could have written this more eloquently and been less direct and candid.  I wrote this the only way I know how.  Therefore, I hope that you will take a look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself the tough questions raised by this message before the tempting immediate knee-jerk reaction to just say that I am a jerk expressing sour grapes.  You see, I do not think I am much different than the very people Mr. Obama or Ms. Clinton need to win the Presidency and calling me a jerk or full of sour grapes is going to lead to the other John (McCain) being the next President of our United States of America.

I feel that each of us have failed the generation of our kids.  By the way, the more power, influence, and/or money that you have reflects the greater failure that you have been because you have had a greater opportunity to make a positive difference.  I hope that our kids can overcome our failure.

A few weeks ago, I wrote in about the promotion of celebrity, glitz, race, and gender issues directly by the media and subtly by the campaigns of Senators Clinton and Obama.  Interestingly, Senators Clinton and Obama and their respective campaigns have both stated that neither of them are promoting the gender or race, respectively, card.  Then, lo and behold, it comes out that the Clinton campaign set a “trap” for the Obama campaign on the issue of race and the Obama campaign bit “hook, line, and sinker”.  Only time will tell whether the strategy of  pandering to bigotry by the Clinton Campaign and foregoing South Carolina by promoting race as an issue and the extreme willingness of the Obama campaign to bite without any questions asked will pay off for either Campaign and/or hurt the Democratic Party on Tsunami Tuesday, February 5 and beyond.

More below the flip…

Regardless, the much bigger and underlying issue is integrity and credibility, which is why before I go any further I must point out that I am a supporter of John Edwards, the adult wing of the Democratic Party.  Senator Edwards, as most of you know, last summer was confronted by the national media that he was subtly pandering to the white, male vote in the context of electability in November, 2008.  John, without any hesitation or equivocation, responded directly and forcefully to the effect “If you are voting for me because I am not a woman…because I am not African-American…then I do not want your vote”.  Before that time, during that time, and since that time, JRE has continued to lead the Democratic discussion (and to some extent the Republican discussion) on the issues being addressed during the campaign (i.e. universal health care, economic stimulus package and the economy, predatory lenders and the home mortgage crisis-these are just examples as the list goes on an on).

Recently, I hear the candidates and their campaigns talking about unity.  If the candidates and their campaigns will stick to a discussion of the issues like Senator Edwards has done, then unity will likely not be an issue at the Convention and there would be no reason to discuss such an issue at this time.  However, when candidates and their campaigns welcome, condone, and encourage the media promotion of celebrity, glitz, race, and gender as issues, then I suspect that unity will be very hard to accomplish since these issues are deep-rooted, filled with strong emotional feelings, and very, very divisive.  The City of Los Angeles, the host of the debates this Thursday night, provided our country with a very visible example of the tragic consequences that can result from such divisiveness following the Rodney King state court trial.

Therefore, it seems somewhat prophetic that the Thursday night debate is in Los Angeles and Senators Clinton and Obama have another opportunity to follow John Edwards by doing what he did last summer…by truly being transparent, enhancing credibility, and demonstrating integrity…by showing that this is not about YOU THE CANDIDATE, but rather about US THE PEOPLE…by instilling unity before the nomination process is over rather than later when it will likely be too late even if it may not be politically, strategically in the best interests of YOUR CAMPAIGN and you might not be the next President of the United States of America (but it will be best for the United States of American and each of US who call it home).  The opportunity will be there on a national stage at the debate in Los Angeles for Senator Clinton to tell the voters “If you are voting for me because I am not black…because I am not a white, male, then I do not want your vote” and for Senator Obama to tell the voters “If you are voting for me because I am not white, then I do not want your vote”.  And, mainstream corporate media, for one of the few times in this campaign, show why you were once looked up to in this country as the Fourth Estate and confront Senators Clinton and Obama on this issue if they will not address the issue voluntarily and/or directly and do not accept any non-responsive, non-direct, “beat-around-the-bush” answer.  As a sidelight, the respect Senator Obama would have right now if he had come out and said the foregoing BEFORE the South Carolina Primary and got the same results he obtained would make unity a non-issue right now.

When the candidates and their campaigns directly, expressly, and unequivocally take race and gender out of this Democratic Campaign, the glamour of celebrity and glitz will also fall by the wayside.  The mainstream corporate media will then have no choice but to follow the real issues (and hopefully all of the candidates) that are truly important to the substantial majority of America.  If, or when, that happens, unity will flow naturally following the nomination no matter who the nominee is.

I watched the debate this evening following my reading of news articles that John Edwards should drop out of this election because his continuing presence is divisive to the Democratic Party.  The debate demonstrated that Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are clearly capable of being divisive on their own, while John maintained the dignity of the forum and was by far the most Presidential of the three.  In fact, it is John Edwards who has led the way ensuring that the Democratic Party ideals of equality and fairness for all, giving the economically disadvantaged a fair chance at the American Dream, and restoring the moral integrity and leadership of the United States are the issues being discussed in the campaign for the Democratic Presidential nomination.  Many “political experts” have said that John Edwards has shaped the issues of the Democratic Primary and Caucus campaign.  In accordance, we, as Americans and Californians, need John Edwards to stay in this race to the end (and I hope into the White House).

I have spoken at many Democratic Club meetings over the past few months on behalf of John Edwards, as well as tabled at shopping centers and street fairs.  I am very concerned about the focus of the media and what I have been hearing in the debates in the context of what I have heard when speaking and/or tabling in the Coachella Valley about the reasons people are voting for a particular candidate.  Everyone knows that it is politically incorrect to advocate voting for Senator Clinton merely because she is a woman or Senator Obama merely because he is an African-American, and thus such comments are not expressly made in this context.  However, the subtle message I continue to hear is real change will come from a woman in the White House or real change will come from an African-American in the White House.  These under the radar views are ignorant and damaging to We The People of the United States of America because real change will come only from Progressive Democratic ideas put forth by someone who is willing to fight to implement and follow through with the Progressive Democratic ideas.  Obviously, I am a John Edwards supporter, and thus feel that JRE is the best Democratic candidate to accomplish this real change because of (a) His life experiences growing up; (b) His professional life experiences as a trial attorney taking on the “Big People” and always battling for the “Little Person” in the courtroom, at the UNC Poverty Center, and on the streets of America; (c) His leadership of ideas coming out first with a Universal Health Care Plan, an Economic Stimulus Package, a Global Warming Plan, and the list goes on and on; and (d) His unwillingness to take money from PAC’s and lobbyists because he knows the fight that lies ahead is a fight for middle class Americans and below and not about compromising their interests.  I appreciate and respect that you may disagree with me that John Edwards is the best Democratic candidate to accomplish such real change provided that you are basing your decision on the position of your candidate of choice on the issues and ability to implement and follow through in this regard, rather than because your candidate is a female or an African-American or because the corporate mainstream media told you who to vote for, either expressly or implicitly by limiting the coverage of a candidate relative to the two (2) celebrity and glitz candidates.  

I will close my remarks with a story that I think is so essential because what I hear from people who I am out talking to about John Edwards is that they want “bullet-point” literature on the issues because the 80 page “The Plan To Build One America – Bold Solutions For Real Change” by John Edwards is too much reading.  I ask these people if you were going to have surgery, or buy a home, or make an investment, then would you want “bullet-point” information or all of the information and details available.  This next election is more important than surgery or buying a home and you are making the biggest investment of your life, and the lives of your children and grandchildren, because of the issues at stake resulting from the past decades of Presidential Policy.  My son, a junior in high school, is a typical teenager and like most teenagers is aware of but not very interested in the upcoming Presidential Election.  However, on New Year’s Day I was watching a CSPAN recording of John Edwards speaking before the Iowa Caucus and my son was in the same room, laying on a couch reading a book (“Eragon”).  I caught my son, out of the corner of my eye, put down the book and proceed to watch John Edwards.  I kept waiting for my son to stop watching JRE and return to reading his book.  Instead, my son watched the entire speech (approximately 45-60 minutes) and when John Edwards had finished his speech my son, spontaneously and without any solicitation or comment from me, says “How could you not vote for the guy?”  The following week I am tabling at the Palm Springs Street Fair where all of the Democratic Presidential Candidates who have a representative are present.  Near the end of the four (4) hour evening, a Hispanic family consisting of a mother, father, and middle-school aged boy approach the Senator Obama representative next to me.  The mother and father ask about buttons, bumper stickers, etc., which they are provided with.  The Senator Obama representative asks the middle-school aged boy if he wants a button and the boy politely responds “No”.  The Senator Obama representative asks “Why not” and the boy responds he “likes John Edwards”, which perked up my ears.  I asked the boy “Why do you like John Edwards?” and he responded “I saw him on C-Span and I liked what he had to say.”

If a middle-schooler and a high school junior have the attention span to watch C-Span, then the least that we adults can all do is take the time to visit the web sites of each of the candidates and see what they have to say, as well as hear each of the candidates out when they speak, rather than follow the mainstream media like a bunch of sheep or vote for someone because they are the first woman or first African-American with a legitimate chance to be the President of the United States of America.  Do not cheat yourself by doing anything less and you owe it to your children and grandchildren to give them a better country then was given to you.