The Day After
We've only just begun. SELAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Election Day
The big day is finally here. If I were an alien looking on . . . wait a minute, according to the government rolls I am an alien; a legal alien but an alien nevertheless. (Note to self: petition to have that title amended some time in the further.)
As a documented permanent resident I am unable to vote in this historic election so technically I don't have a horse in this race. But I have been engaged in this election from early on because for the first time since I've been in this country , my adopted home since 1980, I felt that the Presidential Election conversation involved me.
I've watched both campaigns and listened to both candidates. From the unique vantage point as both an insider (28-year resident) and outsider (not a US citizen), I can tell you that the choice is clear. Senator Barack Obama has my moral vote . Firstly, he comports himself in a presidential manner__unflappable, respectful, dignified. Secondly, he has the economic interests of ALL Americans at heart. Finally, he will restore respectability to the name of America and Americans abroad.
He has fought a good fight and has fielded all the fiery darts that have been unleashed at him from all sides.
John McCain has sunk to depths that frankly have been embarrassing. He keeps citing his POW status which by all accounts everyone has applauded. Everyone has given him his just deserts. However, reciting the mantra that he has been tested because of his imprisonment is dishonest. To say that his imprisonment has qualified him to be POTUS is akin to my saying that because my ex-husband left me and our then 18-month-old daughter 20 years ago. qualifies me to run an orphanage or a shelter for abandoned woman. Suffering does not qualify one for leadership. It may give motivation and impetus but the necessary skills for leading will still have to be acquired.
Also, his running mate, has given me pause. I wanted to root for a woman. God knows I did. In fact, I was rooting for Hillary Clinton long before Barack Obama came on the scene. But Governor Palin, too, proved to be an embarrassment. She shot out of the gate at lightning speed, reminiscent of the wonder horse Big Brown. All eyes on her, much excitement in the air, she put fear in the hearts of the competition. She aced the Derby and was on a tear on the second leg, however, the third leg approaches. As the record shows, Big Brown sputtered and suffered a stunning loss at the Stakes. The stakes here on this Election Day are high. Palin and her Dutrow have set their sights on the prize but time will tell and history will record their final showing.
As for me, I will go with "the one" who has the better economic plan, the CFO that this country needs in this time of economic crisis. Yes, originally from the Caribbean island of Trinidad, I will go with Barack Obama. I, too, am a CFO, a Caribbean For Obama. SELAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As for Governor Palin and her fellow maverick, this may not be their career-ending race but time will tell who eventually goes out to pasture.
It's been a heck of a ride and I've been engaged in every minute of it. God bless the US of A.
Next stop: US CIS. This insider/outsider must apply for my citizenship. America has officially won my heart and my vote.
Final Debate
Senator John McCain's demeanor is telling. It's telling me all I need to know__about the man and his mission.
John McCain's Shameful Debate Behavior: Second Debate
I am incensed that John McCain stooped so low as to refer to Senator Barack Obama as "that one" during last night's debate. No, I am furious.
I was hoping that Senator Obama would look him squarely in the eye and call him out on his unnecessary sniping and his deliberate attempt to continue to plant seeds (or are they weeds) of distrust in the minds of listeners by repeating known and documented lies about taxes and other issues. His tone, to me, coupled with an obvious seething between almost imperceptibly clenched teeth, spell rancor, disrespect and utter disdain. Is it that Senator McCain so despises Senator Obama because he is his opponent or does he somewhere in the not-so-deep recesses of his mind think that Senator Obama is unworthy of respect and the office that they both seek? I'll tell you what it feels like to me__ a veiled sense of superiority and entitlement on the part of Senator McCain. Whether intentional or not, it feels to me like a subconscious but insidious racist indictment.
I cannot help but sense that John McCain does not care much for the average individual. Based on his and his running mate, Sarah Palin's actions, their snide, snarky remarks and their condescending attitudes, I cannot begin to imagine that the current Republican ticket would have my best interest at heart.
Furthermore, I think that any self-respecting minority__ be it African-American, Latino, Asian, Native American or even Caribbean like myself__ and morally upright majority should take a closer look at John McCain's attitude in this race. I find him arrogant and his behavior distasteful. Those two qualities alone would be enough to disqualify him from the highest office in the land in my opinion, but in concert with his proposed policies, I would definitely not give him a shot at bomb, bomb, bombing Iran or sinking my ship before it comes in.
I think Senator McCain needs to revise his campaign slogan and learn to put "people first" because countries would be nothing but geographical wastelands if they were not inhabited by people.
In Defense of Sarah Palin
Yep, I really do mean it. I am defending Sarah Palin. I do not think for one second that she is dumb, dim or doltish as detractors are making her out to be. Tina Fey's dead-on and humorous bit notwithstanding, I think Governor Palin is quite a capable woman. She would have to be to have been a mayor and now a Governor, wife and mother of five.
Regarding her answers to Katie Couric, I think she was just not in her element. The Governor was a relative unknown to most of us, and I suspect, to John McCain and his camp also, a mere four weeks ago. In Wasilla one day and then plucked out of her comfort zone and plunked down into unknown territory the next.
Whether she knows it or not, Sarah Palin is being used by John McCain solely as a pawn to ratchet up support for his anemic campaign. The immediate response proved that she did just that__ in the short term. I don't think Senator McCain truly assessed her capability. He simply picked her based on her gender to siphon away the female voters from the Democratic base in the face of Hillary Clinton's absence. That, to me, is sexism of the highest order. I see John McCain as nothing more than a raving opportunist with an "at all cost" do or die attitude which ensnared Sarah Palin and got her caught up in this tangled web that he is weaving.
McCain Again
Why don't I trust John McCain's motives here? Bailout? Walkout? Or cop out? As Arsenio Hall used to say, "things that make you go Hmm!!!!"
Crisis Resolution
I'm back on track you all. I may not be able to vote but I CAN take action. I can ensure that all my citizen friends, relatives and acquaintances register to vote BEFORE the deadline I can launch an email reminder campaign. I can knock on doors. I can talk to my fellow Caribbeans and let them know that this is our future and our kids' future at stake. I can take a page out of a former administration's book and ask one very pointed question:
"Are you better off than you were eight (8) years ago?"
Answer that and then do what you MUST do, ladies and gentlemen.
I must go now. I have to go take ACTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Crisis in the making
No, not the financial crisis. Like everyone else I am just waiting and watching helplessly while the Feds who got us in this mess, try to wrangle themselves and the big boys out of it.
The crisis of which I speak is not as insidious and as apparent. It is the personal crisis with civic implications. How does one wade through the clutter, the garbage, the he said, she said, she didn't say accusations that are flying back and forth between the candidates.
I grew weary of the mudslinging and scatological antics of both parties. Fatigued. Annoyed. Disillusioned. Almost to the point of losing interest. ALMOST! But not quite. This race is too big. Too important. Too crucial.
But I pulled myself together and made a conscious effort to listen for any mention of the issues. My concern: that a few others may also tire of the lies and innuendo and become apathetic. But, in my case, I still am not allowed to vote__ not in this race anyway. So my action or inaction really does not count. But what about you, dear citizens?
On Sarah Palin
I have nothing against Sarah Palin. I know nothing about her. Like all of America, I want to hear "her story". I am neutral here. What does she bring to this historic campaign?
Her speech brought energy, excitement and a generous helping of vitriol, I think. It was a particularly brilliantly strategic (read calculating) move on John McCain's part to inject her personage into the mix.
Let's see, put a woman in the "second" spot and try to capitalize on the "18,000,000 cracks that Hillary put in the ceiling". Suddenly, that line is being bandied about by everyone on the trail (or is it the hunt?).
Arm Governor Palin with distorted facts, a laundry list of personal attack quotes, a hatchet, a smirk here, a snipe there and the gender card and VOILA! you have a recipe for a Republican reprise.
The Republican party has anointed itself a saviour. Young, attractive, energetic, charismatic, exciting. Celebrity? "Second sight", I call it.
Sadly, I think Sarah Palin is being used by John McCain solely to buttress his chances at winning the White House. Because for him, it is nothing but a contest, a game that he must win.
A few thoughts:
If Sarah Palin, by her own party's admission, has brought much needed excitement to the campaign and, with it, a chance at the White House, what then does that say about their front man?
On a completely other note: I wonder what would have happened had the unmarried and pregnant teenager been Black. Just a thought.
