Obama mania has started again. Barack Obama announced today, as expected, that he will run for President in 08. He made his announcement from the state capital building, the same place that Abraham Lincoln worked at.
“We can build a more hopeful America. And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America,” Obama said, “For the last six years we’ve been told that our mounting debts don’t matter, we’ve been told that the anxiety Americans feel about rising health care costs and stagnant wages are an illusion, we’ve been told that climate change is a hoax, and that tough talk and an ill-conceived war can replace diplomacy, and strategy, and foresight. And when all else fails, when Katrina happens, or the death toll in Iraq mounts, we’ve been told that our crises are somebody else’s fault. We’re distracted from our real failures, and told to blame the other party, or gay people, or immigrants.”
And as people have looked away in disillusionment and frustration, we know what’s filled the void. The cynics, and the lobbyists, and the special interests who’ve turned our government into a game only they can afford to play. They write the checks and you get stuck with the bills, they get the access while you get to write a letter, they think they own this government, but we’re here today to take it back. The time for that politics is over. It’s time to turn the page.”
For a complete text of his speech click here.
Hillary went to New Hampshire for the first time in 10 years. Instead of a big welcome, she faced tough questions about her stance on the Iraq war. She set up some small town meetings allowing for questions. At one meeting voter, Roger Tilton asked, “I want to know if right here, right now, once and for all and without nuance, you can say that war authorization was a mistake,” Tilton said. “I, and I think a lot of other primary voters — until we hear you say it, we’re not going to hear all the other great things you are saying.” Hillary answered with her same ole, if I had known what I know now bullshit answer which didn’t seem to impress Tilton. For the most part Hillary received a warm reception. It was in New Hampshire that her husband Bill Clinton got the name “the comeback kid” because he got a second place showing there in 1992 despite allegations of all kinds of hooliganism, and went on to win the presidency. Hillary said that Bush has been incompetent in Iraq.
Rudy Giuliani went into California this weekend to speak before the California republican party faithfuls semi annual meeting. Also at the meeting was governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Both Scharzenegger and Giuliani face pressure from the right side of the republican party for their views on social issues. Giuliani has been trying to fix that and has slid his views on abortion a bit more toward the right. Giuliani said he hates abortion, but also respects the womans right to choose. Giuliani said in an interview with Fox’s Hannity, “I think abortion is something that, as a personal matter, I would advise somebody against. However, I believe in a woman’s right to choose. I think you have to ultimately not put a woman in jail for that.†On the other hand he has indicated he would appoint “strict constructionist†judges to the Supreme Court, the same kind that would ban Roe V Wade, making abortion illegal. John Kerry gave the Democratic Response to the President’s weekly radio address. Kerry blasted the republicans for blocking debate on the troop surge plan. He also said, Bush’s proposal for more troops was “nothing more than the escalation of a misguided war.” Mitt Romney and Sam Brownback are in Michagan this weekend. They both where there to speak before Michigan Republicans during the Michigan GOP Convention in Grand Rapids. Romney talked about his father, who was the governor of Michagan. Romney spoke about the economy, and offered a solidly conservative fiscal program. He wanted Bush’s tax cuts to become permenant. Brownback said he was conservative, and wants to protect the traditional family. Brownback also wants to cure cancer in ten years. Bill Richardson gave a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies last Thursday. He called for a “new realism” in America’s foreign policy. Richardson said, “Prisoner abuse, torture, secret prisons, renditions, and evasion of the Geneva conventions must have no place in our policy….. “If we want Muslims to open to us, we should start by closing Guantanamo.”