Iowa Caucus Participants--A Vote for Hillary Now May Lead to "Present" Vote in General Election

The latest ploy of the Hilton attack machine has been to cite Senator Obama's "present" votes during his tenure in the Illinois state senate--ignoring how infrequently this occurred and the underlying strategy for such actions. Most commonly such a vote reflected a dissatisfaction with flawed legislation. My fear is that if Hillary's politics of fear and personal destruction succeeds in swaying the Iowa caucus participants and ultimately propels her to a successful bid for the Democratic nomination she will have left so much bile and poison in the political bloodstream that many Dems and independents will also choose to vote "present" and abstain from participation in the election process altogether due to their dissatisfaction with a seriously flawed candidate whose election would offer nothing more than more of the same rancor and vitriol that has paralyzed our government for the past two decades. We can expect an opposite, energizing effect on the Republican base and, with her at the top of the ticket, we jeopardize not only our chances to retake the White House, but also the opportunity to maintain or improve our majority in the Congress.

Kudos to Chris Matthews and Hardball 12/21/07

Kudos to Chris for his hard-nosed confrontation of Romney's spokesman for the latest in a series of fabrications this candidate has offered up to the voters (he and his father marching with MLK). This episode raises even more questions regarding the credibility of this duplicitous chameleon. And I appreciated his correction of the record regarding the NYT's reporting of the accounting for public funds used to provide security for Giuliani's then girlfriend, Judith Nation. Giuliani has more than enough baggage to sink his candidacy, but when you get it wrong you should clearly acknowledge it and not bury the story in the back of the paper as the NYT did.

Hillary Clinton and the politics of fear and personal destruction

Well, the Clinton machine has kicked it into high gear...a sure sign their internal polls tell them they have serious reason to be concerned. I can only hope and pray that the Iowan audience they are playing to possesses sufficient sophistication to see through the deceptive and malicious attacks on Senator Obama because the choice they make on January 3 may shape the direction of this presidential campaign and ultimately our country's future. My Christmas wish is that they will reject the politics of fear and personal destruction and take a leap of faith and hope by voting for Senator Obama--a man of character and vision who offers the promise of a new and different way of addressing our national and global priorities. Waxing a bit nostalgic here during the holiday season--remembering a time when we came together as a nation to address wrongs and achieve lofty goals, a time when all the world looked to America as a beacon of liberty and freedom and courage. I know in my heart Senator Obama can take us back there.

Senator Obama and his vision for our country

Our dreams unlock the door

To a place we once called home

Where full of life’s sweet promise

Our spirits freely roamed

Back to a time when we still believed

In all of life’s possibilities

Our dreams can lead us

To a future all our own

bjw

Senator Obama and his campaign can unlock the door to the realization of our dreams for ourselves and this great nation that we are blessed to live in.