Fantasy Politics USA

Barack Obama gave an interview last Monday with the Reno Gazette-Journal which just keeps giving his opponents ammunition. Hillary Clinton was the first to use a part of the interview where Obama says he is not an “operating officer,” and has a messy desk. Clinton said we needed a “hands on” leader, and not a delegator. Next up was John Edwards who jumped on Obama’s praise of late President Ronald Reagan. Obama told the board of the Reno-Journal Gazette, “I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn’t much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing.” Edwards responded saying you would never catch him giving praise to President Reagan in that way. “He was openly — openly — intolerant of unions and the right to organize. He openly fought against the union and the organized labor movement in this country,” Edwards said during a campaign event in Nevada. “He openly did extraordinary damage to the middle class and working people, created a tax structure that favored the very wealthiest Americans and caused the middle class and working people to struggle every single day. The destruction of the environment, you know, eliminating regulation of companies that were polluting and doing extraordinary damage to the environment.” Then Edwards added, “I can promise you this: this president will never use Ronald Reagan as an example for change.” But that wasn’t all the praise Obama had for Republicans in his 80 minute interview. “I think it’s fair to say the Republicans were the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time there over the last ten, fifteen years, in the sense that they were challenging conventional wisdom,” Obama said during the interview. “Now, you’ve heard it all before. You look at the economic policies when they’re being debated among the Presidential candidates and it’s all tax cuts. Well, you know, we’ve done that, we tried it.” Hillary Clinton took these Obama thoughts and used them against him. “That’s not the way I remember the last ten to fifteen years,” Clinton said while campaigning in Nevada. “I don’t think it’s a better idea to privatize Social Security. I don’t think it’s a better idea to try to eliminate the minimum wage. I don’t think it’s a better idea to undercut health benefits and to give drug companies the right to make billions of dollars by providing prescription drugs to Medicare recipients. I don’t think it’s a better idea to shut down the government, to drive us into debt.” An Obama spokesperson responded to Clinton by saying, “It’s hard to take Hillary Clinton’s latest attack seriously when she’s the one who supported George Bush’s war in Iraq, the most damaging Republican idea of our generation.” It looks like Obama is trying to reach across the aisle to get some of those disenfranchised Republican voters. Giving praise to their modern day hero, and calling the Republicans the “party of change” could only mean that. He really should get bold and suggest a Republican V.P. like Chuck Hagel if he is so enthralled with Republicans. Or maybe he could pull a Lieberman. When Clinton beats him in the delegate race he can jump out and become an Independent, and thus guarantee a Republican win and 8 more years of the “party of change.”
Alan Cosgrove

Here is a video of Barack Obama talking about President Ronald Reagan;

On a recent trip on Hillary Clinton’s campaign plane with traveling press Clinton played the role of flight attendant. As the plane taxied down the runway Clinton welcomed the press over the plane’s intercom with the standard flight attendant speech, except with a few changes. “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and welcome aboard the maiden flight of Hil Force One,” Clinton said over the plane’s intercom. She contiued, “My name is Hillary and I am so pleased to have most of you on board. FAA regulations prohibit the use of any cell phones, Blackberries or wireless devices that may be used to transmit a negative story about me. In a few minutes, I am going to switch off the ‘Fasten Your Seat Belt’ sign. However, I’ve learned lately that things can get awfully bumpy when you least expect it—so you might want to keep those seat belts fastened. And in the event of an unexpected drop in poll numbers, this plane will be diverted to New Hampshire. If you look out from the right, you will see an America saddled with tax cuts for the wealthiest and a war without end. If you look out from the left, you will see an America with a strong middle class at home and a strong reputation in the world. Once we’ve reached cruising altitude, we’ll be offering in-flight entertainment: my stump speech. Once again, thank you for joining us on Hil Force One. We know you have choices when you fly, and so we are grateful that you chose the plane with the most experienced crew. And so we are grateful that you chose the plane with the most experienced candidate.”
Alan Cosgrove

Here is a video of Flight Attendant Hillary Clinton;

Speaking to a crowd in Michigan Mike Huckabee said he would like to rewrite the U.S. Constitution. He wants it “changed” to “fit God’s standards.” Huckabee told the cheering crowd, “I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that’s what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than trying to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family.” That means he wants to include amendments like a marriage amendment, and a pro-life amendment. Maybe we could even strike any references to a separation of church and state. If he gets a second term we could even create a state religion based on Huckabee’s version of Christianity.
Alan Cosgrove

Here is video of Mike Huckabee telling the crowd he wants to change the Constitution to fit God’s standards;