Think About It

Hillary Clinton's Secret Plan to be President

 "Ernie" has some thoughts on Hillary Clinton candidacy for President of the United States.

"Forgive me my paranoia, but for all of you who are celebrating Hillary's defeat and revelling in the fact that she'll never become president, allow me a few moments of nagging doubt.  First of all, Hillary DID NOT terminate her bid for the nomination, she simply suspended it.  Also note that she DID NOT release her delegates to Hussein Obama.  Oh yes, she pledged her support and offered to do whatever she could to insure a democratic victory.  (She also grovelled for the VP job, just in case).  But remember, we're talking about the Clintons here.  They're the masters at dirty tricks and smear campaigns, and blaming it on the GOP.  If you think she's abandoned her hopes for the nomination, you've been drinking Koolaid.

The tip-off that more is yet to come occured about 10 days ago when she said lots of things can still happen.  As she pointed out her husband didn't get the nomination until June, and Robert Kennedy was assassinated in June.  While both are true, the latter point is the more interesting.  You've got to have that bit of data bouncing around in your brain to even make such a comment.
 I'm reminded of the emails that floated around during Billy Jeff's tenure about all the people around him who had died mysteriously.  The number of suicides was extraordinarily unusual.  If you believe Vince Foster killed himself in the park, have another glass of Koolaid.

We're hearing now about Mrs. Hussein Obama's "whitey" video that may or may not be in existence.   Does anyone have any doubts about who tipped of the right to Rev. Wright and other anti-white preachers associated with Barack?  I could be wrong, but I think I know who the culprit(s) are.  So stay tuned politico fans, I think there's a lot more yet to come.  The Clinton's are not going to go down in defeat until the last mudhole has been emptied and slung.  The interesting part will be how they'll convince the drive-bys that McCain is responsible."

What is Hillary Clinton's Future?

The mainstream news media has written off Hillary Clinton as a possible vice presidential candidate to run with Obama.  She may, however, have a couple of aces up her sleeve. 

Associated Press is reporting Hillary’s supporters are “ramping up a campaign to pressure him (Obama) to put her on the ticket.”  One of the aces is Bob Johnson, who is a billionaire and owns the Black Entertainment Television channel.  Johnson sent a letter yesterday to the Congressional Black Caucus urging them to apply pressure to Obama. 

Although Obama has kept mum, he did say he would welcome help from former President Clinton, calling him an "enormous talent."  Although Obama and Clinton met on Thursday night, no details were released.

So what will happen?  Hillary is exploring her options to hang onto her delegates to promote her causes, including a call for universal health care.

While it’s doubtful that Johnson’s call to the Black Caucus will have the desired result of getting her on the ticket, she will be left with some leverage at the convention.

Questions:

In that Hillary Clinton and Obama have similar views, will there be anything left to broker at the Democratic Convention?

Will Obama throw her a bone, such as a cabinet post?

Or will Hillary settle back into her senate seat and obscurity?

Does she have any future left in American politics?

Obama's Choice for Vice President

OK, Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee.  This leaves the big question open as to what happens to Hillary Clinton.  She has made no secret of the fact that she would like to run as Obama’s V.P.   Obama has a number of things to consider about his choice of a V.P.  A large number of Democrats do not like Obama and are threatening to vote for McCain in the general election.  Hillary would also bring needed money to the campaign, along with a cadre of campaign workers.  The other plus factor for Obama is the obvious – Hillary is a woman.  This sets up a dream team scenario of an African-American / Woman ticket, the first in history.

Hillary, however, does have her negatives, not the least of which is her husband Bill Clinton.  Obama may shudder at the thought of Hillary and Bill in the office next door, and he may not like the idea that Hillary is only a heartbeat away from the presidency.  If he selects Hillary as a running mate, he may be the first president of the U.S. to hire a food taster.

If Obama decides to take a pass on making Hillary his vice-presidential running mate, then who?    Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has been mentioned as a possible running mate.  She has some pluses, including the obvious fact that she’s a woman.  This would eliminate the sexism charges and keep the genitalia voters from defecting to McCain.  She’s attractive, she’s popular with ecologists, and somewhat of a populist, being a Democratic governor in a Republican state.  Time magazine named her one of the five best governors in the U.S.  If Obama selects Sebelius if would take some of the sting out of Obama’s statement about people in small towns clinging to their guns and religion.  The downside is she comes from Kansas, a Republican state that has a comparatively small number of voters.  She also is anti-gun and tracks along the same ideology as Obama. 

Questions:

Will Obama be forced to accept Hillary as a running mate?

Who will Obama pick as a vice-presidential running mate?  And why?

When will Obama announce his pick?

What characteristics will the running mate need to bring with him or her?

Obama and the PC Police

Hillary Clinton, as expected, trounced Barack Obama by a 2- 1 margin in the West Virginia primary last night.  Probably the most interesting thing to come out of this primary is the spin that is coming out of the Obama camp.  Obama’s spinmeisters, CNN,  and the mainstream media are hinting the reason Obama lost West Virginia is because the state is inhabited by working class whites (code for a bunch of inbred Jethros who are clinging to their guns and their religion).  It’s interesting to note that Fox is the only network that questioned the fact that Obama pulled in 92% of the African-American vote in North Carolina.  The not-so-subtle racist charge is intended as a warning for potential voters in the remaining primary states who intend to vote for Hillary.   CNN and other networks are reminding voters that it is not PC to vote for the white candidate.  How could you?  Shame on you?  The PC police are watching you.

This message, of course, is intended to carry over to the general election; however, allegations of racism, no matter how subtle, can backfire.  Americans are weary of the likes of Sharpton, Jackson, and the Reverend Wright. 

Questions:

Does Hillary stand a chance of winning the Democratic nomination?

Can Obama deny her the VP spot if she wants it?

Hillary Clinton's Secret Plan for 2012?

As the Democratic primaries draw to an end, so does speculation about what the loser will do and who they will or will not support in the general election.  “Rook” has some thoughts on how this may play out if Hillary Clinton loses the primary.

“Some of the more experienced political pundits are saying privately that Hillary feels she would be better off with a one term McCain presidency than a two term Obama. She can come back after it in four years, since McCain is too old to do two terms. And she hates Obama for stealing her big chance.

If they’re right, and if she doesn’t swing the super-delegates at the convention, then she may refuse to endorse Obama and might even support McCain behind the scenes. She obviously doesn’t care about the party and nothing else matters to her except getting into the white house.

Food for thought…”

Questions:

Will Hillary refuse to endorse Obama if he is nominated?

If the Democrats lose in December, which of them would challenge McCain in 2012?

Should We Close our Military Prison at Guantanamo?

A friend and I got into a discussion the other night about our military prison in Guantanamo Bay.  He was outraged at the idea that the detainees were on American soil without having the rights and benefits of a detained suspect in our criminal courts.  Ah, where does one start.  Perhaps with this week’s news from the BBC in Iraq:  “Guantanamo Man' in Iraq bombing.”  It seems one Mr. Abdullah al-Ajmi, a former guest at our facilities in Guantanamo Bay took part in a suicide bomb attack in Mosul that killed several members of the Iraqi security forces on April 29.  Abdullah al-Ajmi had been in U.S. custody in Gitmo and because he was a Kuwaiti, the U.S. transferred him to Kuwait in 2005 where he was acquitted of terrorist charges.  More than 80 prisoners have been transferred to other countries, and over 200 have been released.

According to reports, Abdullah al-Ajmi and two alleged accomplices obtained new passports before going to Mosul through Syria.  Once in Iraq, the trio detonated two car bombs that killed the several members of the Iraqi security forces.

The ACLU  and an battalion of defense lawyers tried to make the case that these military combatants should be tried as criminals in the U.S. courts.  Apparently the Supreme Court cringed at the idea of seeing 400 O.J. style trials, so in a 6-3 decision they gave the U.S. Military Tribunals sole jurisdiction at this time.   

What exactly would the three presidential candidates do about our military prison in Guantanamo is unclear, but if Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton get into office, they are pledging to bring the troops home, so presumedly the prison at Gitmo would no longer be necessary.

Questions:

If the war in Iraq and Afghanistan continues, what should be done with the 400+ prisoners in Guantanamo?

If we withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, will the prisoners simply be released?

Do Military Tribunals provide adequate justice for detainees?
Should we close the prison at Gitmo and move it to Iraq or the Middle-East?

What will John McCain do with Gitmo if he is elected President?

What would Hillary or Obama do if elected?

Was Pennsylvania Obama's Waterloo?

Although Barack Obama received 92% of the African-American vote in Pennsylvania, it didn’t blunt Hillary’s sweep of the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary last night.  With 99% of the vote tallied, she won with a robust 10% lead.  Has the average voter caught on to Obama’s lack of substance?  A breakdown of the Pennsylvania vote shows Hillary won big in the rural and blue collar areas of the state.  Interestingly enough, these were these same areas George W. Bush won in 2000.  Anything can happen in a political campaign, but the experts are predicting Hillary will have a similar win in Indiana in another couple of weeks.  It looks as though the only state left that Obama can win is North Carolina, which has a substantial African-American population. 

So what does all of this mean?  It appears that several deductions can be made from these events.  If Hillary wins by a similar or larger margin in Indiana, then it’s clear that Obama is losing some of his mojo with voters.  When the two go into the Democratic Convention, the super delegates will have to consider that Obama will be vulnerable in all areas except in heavy urban areas with substantial African-American populations. 

The questions are:  Will enough of the Super Delegates defect to give the nomination to Hillary?  Will the Super Delegates go with Obama for fear of being called a racist?  If Obama is the Democratic nominee, will a large percentage of those who voted for Hillary defect to McCain?  Will there be enough defections to swing the election to McCain?

Gun Control Coming in 2009?

  It’s pretty clear where Obama and Hillary Clinton stand on gun control.  Both are given a grade of “F” by the National Rifle Association, despite Hillary Clinton’s new found love of duck hunting.  If either is elected President, gun owners can be assured there will be renewed efforts to further restrict gun ownership.  A friend send me some interesting information on countries that imposed gun control.

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
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In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
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Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated
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China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
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Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
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Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
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Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million 'educated' people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
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Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
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  I can't vouch that all of these statistics are 100% accurate, but one thing is clear: It's much harder to take over a country whose citizens are armed.  Meanwhile, in the U.S., forty states have passed “Right to Carry” laws that allow citizens with no criminal records to carry concealed firearms, once they pass a prescribed training class.  Gun control advocates fought against passing these laws, predicting an apocalyptical vision of shootings in the streets, wild west style.  Of course none of this came to pass.  Actually, there was a decrease in crime in those states. 

However, with all of this being said, there are many questions that deserve discussion: 

Should handgun sales be restricted to those without criminal records?  What should be done to filter out persons with mental problems?  Who should not be allowed to own a handgun - a long gun?
Should semiautomatic weapons be outlawed as some gun control advocates suggest? 

Hillary and Bill Clinton's Tax Returns

   I see Hillary Clinton has disclosed their tax returns.  Bill and Hillary have reported they made $109 million since they left the White House.  Half of that income is from Bill’s speeches. 

  The Clintons reported $20.4 million in income for 2007 as they gave the public the most detailed look at their finances in eight years. Almost half the former first couple's money came from Bill Clinton's speeches.

  Always  ones to put the best face on their skeletons, Hillary said, "As a matter of fact, my husband — much to my surprise and his — has made a lot of money since he left the White House doing what he loves doing most, talking to people."

  The Democratic presidential candidate and her husband paid $33.8 million in taxes from 2000 through 2007. They listed $10.25 million in charitable contributions during that period.

   Probably the most interesting item is Bill Clinton’s income  from his partnership with Yucaipa Global Opportunities Fund, a Los Angeles-based investment firm founded by longtime Clinton fundraiser Ron Burkle. Between 2003 and 2006, the returns show total Yucaipa partnership income of $12.5 million. The 2007 summary provided by the campaign lists $2.75 million in partnership income.  Yucaipa Global manages the assets of Dubai and other foreign countries.   Any conflicts here?

Why Did Obama Decide Not to go to Memphis?

There was much press given to the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination.  It is interesting to note that with the passing of each year, the legend gains more and more distance from the real person.  I doubt that most of the current generation has taken the time to research the facts on MLK.  I also found it interesting that John McCain showed up in Memphis to pay tribute, and Hillary Clinton was there recounting the time when she, as a young girl, stood in line for hours to met MLK.  And he was so kind...and you get the picture.

Although Obama honored King, he did it from Indiana.  I found it interesting that Obama wasn’t in Memphis doing the balcony scene.  Was this by design?   Does Obama feel he has the African-American vote locked up, so why dredge up old feelings of white anger by standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel?   Is this an attempt to distance himself from the militant rhetoric of MLK?