Honest Obe

In the November 12 issue of Time, Joe Klein had a nice commentary on the "attacks" on Clinton at the recent debate. He said that while Obama was able to deliver a few decent jabs, Edwards was much more effective in landing a good one on her, and that Obama seems a little uncomfortable with people urging him on to attack her harder. I agree, and I don't think that is Obama's strength. Ken and I have both read his latest book, The Audacity of Hope, and while neither of us agree much with his economic ideas, we certainly don't mind his social leanings, and we definitely like his honesty. As Klein points out, Obama insists "on delivering bad news when necessary." I find that so refreshing. He won't make empty promises, and he won't tell people what they want to hear. Klein also writes that Obama "assumes a maturity in his audiences, and in the press, that simply may not exist." Again, I admire that. Raise the bar! Expect people to be informed and speak to them accordingly. Voters in New Hampshire and Iowa take great pride in being informed about each candidate, and are fully engaged in the voting process. While many of us live in states with late primaries--which means that our votes in primaries mean next to nothing--it's still important to be informed.

Will I vote for Obama? I honestly don't know who I will vote for yet. I see problems with all the candidates, but Obama is pretty high in my esteem right now, because I get the impression that he truly cares about what happens with our country, and that he truly loves it and the opportunities it offers. I'm a little dismayed that Giuliani is the Republican front-runner. I also read one of his books, Leadership, and I liked it a lot, too. But I'm a little leery of his ability to be a diplomat. In talking with our friend RaQuel in NYC, she said that while she loved him right after 9/11, and he was exactly what the city needed, his arrogance and heavy tactics caused most New Yorkers to despise him. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming year. It's quite a dilemma at the moment, believe me.

By the way, I'm not trying to influence anyone in one way or another. I really don't debate politics with anyone these days, because we all have our own feelings and opinions (as we should), and it's your decision. I may make a remark about things, and if someone pulls a bonehead move, I'll probably comment on it, but it's all up to you as to how you vote. Just please vote!

COOL! It's about 15 minutes to the Notre Dame-Air Force kickoff, and for the last 10 minutes, two fighter jets have been circling the area. They flew pretty high up, but once they were a lot closer, and WOW, they're loud! I always love seeing the jets do a flyover before games. It's amazing. Oh man, they just flew right overhead. I stood out on the deck and waved, just in case they were looking down. I doubt it, but you never know!

We've had a productive day so far. After reading the paper and puttering a bit, we went outside and got a few things done. The deck furniture cushions are brushed off and stored in the basement, the furniture covers are on, I got all the trellises and stakes out of the garden, Ken blew the leaves off the driveway (it's a dirt driveway, but he's found that it's easier to snowblow it if the leaves are off of it), just a lot of little things to get ready for winter. We still need to drain the little pond in the yard, but I saw a frog today, so I hate to do it yet.

Addendum

Based on the recent comments for this entry, I looked up a few things. Yes, I found a picture with Obama not holding his hand over his heart, but it stated that it was for the National Anthem, not the Pledge of Allegiance. I honestly had not heard anything about this, and I'm a little reluctant to judge someone on the basis of one photo. I don't for a moment question his love for this country. Again, I am not endorsing him--like this little blog has any kind of influence on anyone--I'm just saying that from what I've read, he's a pretty good guy, and he's certainly not anti-America. (And despite recent forwards I've received, he is not a Muslim, he is an evangelical Christian.) The bigger controversy, from what I read, was that a reporter noticed that he was not wearing an American flag lapel pin. When asked about it, his comment was:

"I'm less concerned with what you're wearing on your lapel than what's in your heart. You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who serve. And you show your patriotism by being true to your values and ideals. And that's what we have to lead with, our values and ideals."

I just don't have a problem with that. In fact, I really like that sentiment. There is nothing wrong with values and ideals, and I think it's important that policy be driven by values, ideals, and sound fiscal plans. (The fiscal part is where I have a problem with the Democrats.) There are many months to go, folks. There might be candidates who go down in a burst of flame, there might be those that go down with a whimper, but in the end there will be only two (with perhaps a third in there to muddy the waters). Who will be...the next American Idol?!

Wait...what were we talking about?

Tags: Joe Klein, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Notre Dame, Air Force Academy