2008: July 2008 Archives

Representative government fails when corrupt politicians mostly serve corporate and other special interests. Then it is crucial for citizens to have direct democracy opportunities. This means having the right to place initiatives or referenda on ballots that can make new laws, amend constitutions, recall elected officials, or control taxes and government spending.

Sen. John McCain on Friday demonstrated that he is making progress on crystallizing his hopefully damaging critique of his opponent, Barack Obama. Like Hillary Clinton, McCain appears to be finding his voice, all negative, all the time. Apparently, McCain's advisers are telling him that if he can't tear down Obama's growing popularity, he will lose. And McCain's campaign speeches are now reflecting this effort.

During Obama's discussion with the Sunni Vice President, and Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, they did not discuss Obama's plans for withdrawal. However, after their meetings in press conferences, both of the Iraqi leaders said in unequivocal terms, we want the U.S. troops out by the end of 2010. Which happens to be, 16 months after our next president takes office, and when Barack Obama said we needed to be out of Iraq.

In the over half a century that I have been politically engaged I have never seen such an unqualified presidential candidate as John McCain. There are tens of millions of Americans in their seventies and beyond that have been smart enough to become technology literate, but not McCain, who is unable to even use the Internet. The man has a medical history that makes Dick Cheney look like the picture of great health.

What does the dictator of Zimbabwe have that Pres. Bush does not? The title, nothing more. The President is claiming unheard of breadth in Executive Privilege that purports to immunize anyone working for the White House from the powers of Congress to subpoena them to either turn over documents or, testify before Congress.