I eagerly supported President Obama’s campaign to be the president of the United States in 2008 and the archives on this site explicitly show that I’ve had disappointment after disappointment with his administration which began with the choices he made for his senior advisors before the inauguration and became intense when he pardoned George W Bush and Dick Cheney (plus many others) for their illegal behavior in the eight years of the Bush administration.  I believe that mistake, on its own, has played a large part in the deterioration of civility in this nation as the line between those who face accountability in our system of laws has been (possibly) irretrievably blurred.  NO ONE in America should be above the law and when “we the people” aren’t completely SURE of that, it brings instability to the very foundation of this nation.

As Obama’s term has “matured” I’ve honestly come to the point where I’ve somewhat resented his rhetorical skills as just “hot air.”  I’ve tired of the speeches because I believe the actions and the words, in so many instances, have been dissonant.   I won’t belabor the point further, I just say this to preface the FACT that I was tremendously MOVED by Obama’s words at the memorial for the victims of Jared Loughner’s senseless murder rampage in Tuscon last week.  And, his speech provided me with a clear contrast between what we “have” and what we could “get” in the future, because I had read Sarah Palin’s words relating to her rebuttal of all the criticism to her inflammatory rhetoric right before I heard Obama speaking (I only heard the last portion of his eulogy – he was speaking about the little girl killed in the rampage).  The contrast caused me to feel a sense of thanks for our president’s seeming obsession with bridging “divides” which, at times, has driven me to MAJOR frustration.  On many occasions I’ve said, “I hope I’m wrong” in my criticism of this president, and I continue to feel that way.

So, let’s compare the two styles – and, before I “go there,” I read this morning that Palin is receiving “death threats” and I have to be clear that this, what I’ve termed “vile rhetoric,” is deplorable and unacceptable no matter who’s mouth it comes from.  While I want her to stop with the references to violence in her speeches and communication, we need to be clear that we ARE a nation of laws and not “men,” and threats to her are no different from threats to anyone else – UNACCEPTABLE!  I listened the other day to Rush Limbaugh (it’s really hard for me to do this) justifying right wing vitriol by using an obscure example of someone on the “left” doing the same thing.  Come on everyone, nothing reminds me more of the sixth graders I deal with than comments like that from Limbaugh – can we at least agree on that?  As a nation, we need to reject the rhetoric which gins up violence as well as the enablers of those who are putting it “out there.”  Civil debate over issues should be the 21st century approach to solving the many problems we face as a nation – a nation which is falling apart due to internal “fractures.”  I struggled to put up with the Bush administration for eight years, but never advocated violence to either George W or Dick Cheney, although I believe they – like anyone else – should have faced investigations for their questionable actions.  The truth is – we should examine the results of their decisions and learn from that as we go forward making future decisions.  It seems we, as a nation, keep repeating mistakes because our rhetoric is focused on division and power instead of issues and solutions, leading to an inexplicable disregard for the history which should be guiding our decisionmaking.

So, back to what Palin said and what Obama said.  As everyone who’s paying attention knows by now, Palin essentially attacked her attackers, unwilling to take any responsibility for the “crosshairs” over the legislative district of the victimized congresswoman which Palin had put on a website during the campaign.  In fact, Gabrielle Giffords, the congresswoman who was shot, even had mentioned at the time that she was uncomfortable with that depiction and said, “actions have consequences” hinting of what eventually was going to happen.  And, of course, to this point in time (and maybe never) we don’t know the motive of the shooter, but Palin – like Limbaugh and the rest of the right wing “water carriers” – refused to even consider there could be a connection between the inflammatory rhetoric and the upsurge in violence toward the “left” since Obama’s election.  It bothered me that Palin followed her usual routine of blaming the “liberal media” for the attacks against her vitriol, but the really unfortunate part of her “attack” was when she used the term “blood libel” to describe the actions of those who wish her to tone it down.

The definition of “blood libels” is; “Blood libels are false and sensationalized allegations that a person or group engages in human sacrifice, often accompanied by the claim that the blood of the victims is used in various rituals and/or acts of cannibalism.” The alleged victims are often children – and this usually refers to accusations of Jews killing Christian children and using the blood in religious rituals.  Yes, on top of all the racist comments Palin has to live with, she now has a MAJOR anti-semitic comment to answer for as she pushes herself into the “ring” in the next presidential election.  2012 could really demonstrate where the American people are coming from – to me, this woman is unbelievable.  Yet, there she was sitting with an American flag pin on her lapel, and an America flag off her left shoulder as if she was giving a presidential address from the Oval Office.  Are you kidding me?  These people, whoever they are behind this woman’s political future, are about as arrogant as they come.  Despite all the money they’re going to be able to raise with the help of our Supreme Court and “Citizens United” she – and they – must remember that someone, somewhere is keeping track of all these blunders.  Do they really think they can gin up enough hate to give this woman a chance.  If so, I will have lived long enough to see the United States implode from the inside out.

Contrast Palin’s words with those of President Obama.  His words were thoughtful, they were the opposite of divisive, he avoided being judgemental TOTALLY, and he spoke specifically about his desire that the words people speak would be intended to promote healing instead of “wounds.”  He compared the innocent political ambition of the nine year old girl killed (Christina Green) to the ideal “climate” he would wish for America’s politcal debates.  I looked, and there in the front row of the auditorium (I believe it was the McHale Center on the University of Arizona’s campus) was Jan Brewer – the republican governor of Arizona who gained fame by signing the unconstitutional immigration bill in Arizona which has created so much division in a state that has many many residents of Latino descent.  Right behind her was John Kyl, the Arizona Republican Senator who has a history of some of the rhetoric which people are so tired of, and – essentially – Obama was in a heavily republican state as he spoke (oh yes, John McCain was there as well) to a heavily republican audience.  And, you wouldn’t expect a lot of applause during what amounted to a eulogy for 6 people, but the president’s words were so moving to the people in this auditorium that he was interupted several times by spontaneous applause – ending with an extended standing ovation that actually looked to me as if it embarrassed the president because he was not expecting that type of reaction.  (What I gathered from that was maybe republicans, when you get beyond all the “No’s,” want civilized debate on issues as well.)

Idealistically, the words Obama spoke that evening were words that we all should take to heart.  Yet, it wasn’t even 24 hours until reality swept in.  The Limbaughs and Palins of this world were quick to be on the attack, finding one lie after another to insert into the dialogue in a way to undermine any “good” that might come from Obama’s speach.  I’m not going to quote any of Limbaugh’s comments, you can easily find examples of what he was saying, but the FACT the right wing is obsessed with defeating President Obama – at the expense of this nation if necessary – was even more clear after this speech than it was before – and, it was REAL CLEAR before!  Here’s the problem I’m having with all of this.  As I’ve stated many times around here, it seems to me that our “leaders” simply ignore history – or they’re ignorant of it, which – to me falls into the category of when I get stopped for making an illegal turn by the police at an intersection where I believe it to be allowed – ignorance is no excuse – and, our history suggests that the republican party and/or “conservatives” in general have been fighting against government supporting social justice since the beginning of this nation.  These people are pulling out ALL the stops to make sure this BLACK president FAILS!  My point, the democratic leadership needs to address this straight up – quit “soft shoeing” the subject because it’s too controversial and seemingly being afraid that FOX will lead the backlash.  We need that backlash – we need to have this discussion – the American people need to be presented with the FACTS regarding our racial history!

I’ve read almost 50 non-fiction books since the point in time following the invasion of Iraq by Bush/Cheney that I realized I HAD to start speaking out – even in this small way (I have children and grandchildren).  To feel somewhat responsible for my words while speaking out, I decided I needed to re-educate myself about contemporary government, politics, AND American history.  I’m finding this REAL American history to be quite a bit different from the image I got while reading the textbooks while I was in school.  In fact, I’m just finishing Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book on the Roosevelts during World War II and one of the most significant things I’m learning from that book is the role Eleanor Roosevelt played in the challenge to “Jim Crow” during the war and the Civil Rights movement which followed the “New Deal.”  The more I read about American history, the more disgusted I get with the treatment of African Americans from the days of slavery right up to what is happening today.  In today’s world, the “conservative” politicians have learned to be much more subtle about their prejudices and how they manifest them – although their constituents are sometimes not nearly as subtle.  In the last few years I’ve learned about “code words” used to assure the racists that certain candidates are “on their side.”  Do you remember John McCain referring to Barack Obama during one of the debates as “that one?”  Well, what message do you think he was trying to send to all the voters out there who can’t stand the idea of a Black man as the Commander in Chief?  (I’m totally certain that McCain is one of those voters)

What’s really sick to me is how they also use the Bible to rile up “Christian Conservatives” to do and support things that are totally antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.  Yes, I realize there are those out there who manage to twist what He said into something virtually opposite of the TRUTH, but we’re all going to have to figure that out on “judgement day” for ourselves what that TRUTH is – that is, just because Ted Haggard, or James Dobson, or Chuck Colson, (or me for that matter) or anyone else makes a claim, doesn’t make it so – ultimately, none of us can justify our actions by blaming them on someone else’s interpretation of God’s Word.  In my case, I’m determined not to allow Palin or Beck or anyone else to convince me that Jesus was for the “rich” and that he was in favor of violence – I’ve read the Bible several times and that just isn’t the case!  It just makes me cringe when members of the “tea party” claim to be Christians while holding racist signs depicting our president as a monkey – and joking about it with their children (I’ve seen this exact thing more than once).  These same “Christians” have been bringing guns to political rallies and are at the forefront of the vile rhetoric which many think is destablizing this country.

These people are blaming President Obama for EVERYTHING that they perceive to be wrong – this is TOTALLY irrational.  It was George W Bush who lied us into the Iraq war and who abandoned the chase of Osama bin Laden in order to justify the Iraq War.  It was George W Bush who was instrumental in the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens and instigated the “Patriot” act along with the Military Commissions Act of 2006 which attempted to eliminate the right of Habeas Corpus – one of the most basic of human rights (yes, Obama has inexplicably sided with Bush on this one, but that’s a story for another day), and most importantly to most of the people who are HATING Obama, it was Bush/Cheney who led the calamatous economic policies which resulted in the loss of 8 MILLION jobs and what is being called the “Great Recession” and could still, in my view, become the “Great Depression #2.”  It was Dick Cheney who said, “Reagan proved deficits don’t matter” while helping to create the largest deficit in American history.  While I want our government to “live within its means” now is not the time to be worrying about the budget deficit – the government is the “spender of last resort” – but what is really RIDICULOUS are republicans blaming the deficit on President Obama.  You’d think that if our “liberal media” was really “liberal” they’d be pointing out the truth about deficits and how the economy really works.  It was Bush/Cheney who funneled TRILLIONS to Wall Street preventing them from feeling the impact of the deplorable decisions they were making during Bush’s reign which led to the collapse of the real estate market and the financial system as well.  TARP was a result of George W Bush’s economic policies and his treasury secretary Hank Paulsen not President Obama (in fact, Obama used the TARP “bailout” funds to save General Motors and Chrysler – and 3+ MILLION jobs).  OK, back to my point – there is no logical reason for all the HATE aimed at our president – except RACISM!  These conservatives, and their parents and grandparents, and great grandparents, have been doing this (racism) for generations.  Let’s quit pretending some other force is at work here.

After first listening to Palin and then to Obama, the contrast makes the above point even more clearly.  How could any American voter, with the exception of the totally partisan and loyal republican, choose Palin over Obama?  I’ve been, as stated above, very disappointed in President Obama on several occasions (he’s what I call republican-lite in his decisionmaking).  He’s been allowing himself to be pulled farther and farther to the “right” since his election, culminating in the “tax cut compromise” which I fear is the first breakthrough for the republicans in their 70 year quest to undermine Social Security.  Obama’s lack of will to fight back against the republican onslaught only encourages it to get worse (this brings me back to the “original sin” of pardoning Bush/Cheney – which was like a shot of adrenalin to republicans)  But, with all his reaching out to republicans, what other explanation can you come up with for people like Limbaugh, McConnell, Boehner, Palin, and others being willing to ignore the real needs of the struggling workforce in this country and instead have, as their STATED number ONE goal, the defeat of the president in 2012.  Everyone knows what the problem is, but no one wants to say it because being a racist is not “nice” in America anymore!

Reality tells me that Obama may continue to get “run over” in his “negotiations” with republicans as we move ahead – I’m just not sure he has the gumption to take a firm stand with them and they will keep pushing until he does (I hope it’s not too late if and when that happens) – but, on this one day, the constrast between Obama’s message of unity versus Palin’s message of DIVISION was abundantly clear!  It’s not my nature to “fall in line” and I will continue to monitor the decisions which are made by the leaders of this great nation and speak out.  And, I will try to practice what I preach to my sixth grade students and that is to explain the “why” regarding my conclusions.  I will also continue to hope that President Obama succeeds in creating an atmosphere of respectful debate over serious issues with the desire on BOTH sides to find the best solutions for the most people – while strictly upholding the rule of law.  Yet, I’ve spent almost 50 years following my instincts as I observe politics in America, and things don’t look promising to me.  Soon, I will be commenting again on the decisions of our president – and, those comments will be critical I’m afraid (once again, I hope I’m wrong) – but, as stated – on this one day – January 12, 2011, he came across as the type of leader which spurred me to feel a sense of hope during the 2008 campaign – and, I continue to wish nothing more than that he would succeed.