Sarah Palin receives a gift from John McCain

Let the music of flip-flops begin. We know McCain's flip-flops, he was against the Bush tax cuts for the rich and now wants to make them permanent, he was for the environment and now he wants to warm up the globe with offshore drilling, he was against GITMO and now he's not so sure about it.

McCain's VP, Sarah Palin, has her share of flip-flops too. On the notorious "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska, she now touts her opposition to it, but actually she was earlier in favour of it, "she was for it before she was against it."

It is clear that McCain chose Palin to pander to Hillary Clinton and women voters - this is condescending to women, McCain's mentality is "just put any woman on the ticket and women will automatically vote for you." McCain might as well have put Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, they're better known. Or Madonna, but she does not like McCain and used the "H" word on him.

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Sarah Palin: Some feel more secure now

Sarah Palin, McCain's VP candidate, says she loves moose meat. She also brags that she can kill a moose with her bare hands. Now that she is busy with the campaign to be VP, moose will feel safe.

Other than killing moose, what national experience does she have? What federal experience does she have? It looks that McCain was desperate after the success of the Democratic convention and went for a Hail Mary Pass.

Click here to read the story.

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Democratic Party Convention: Day 4, The Final Night

One of the highlights was the Martin Luther King Jr. video commemorating the 45th anniversary of his "I have a dream" speech in Washington DC. I thought it was well done and it inspired many people in the crowd of 85,000. Just before the video, Congressman John Lewis, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., gave an impassioned speech. After the video, Martin Luther King's son, Martin Luther King III, gave an excellent speech.

Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, also addressed the convention. He gave a great speech as well. There were also some great singers, including Stevie Wonder who entertained the crowd.

Then Al Gore addressed the crowd, he was exceptionally well received. One of his great lines was, "I believe in recycling, but four more years of the same is ridiculous" in reference to McCain's promise to continue Bush's policies if elected.
Then, of course, was Barack Obama’s acceptance speech. It was a superb political speech. He laid out his agenda and highlighted the weaknesses of his opponent. All in all it was a great night.

It is interesting to point out that some neo-CONS were praying for a big storm for Colorado to disrupt the outdoor fourth day event. Instead, Gustav showed up which could wreak havoc on Louisiana on the anniversary of Katrina. Republicans are considering to postpone their convention because of this storm, this will remind voters of Bush's mishandling of Katrina in 2005. God heard them in reverse.

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Democratic Party Convention: Senator Evan Bayh addressing the crowd earlier in the week

What was he thinking when he raised his hand like this? Sorry, too sleepy to write about Day four. Maybe later.

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Democratic Party Convention – Day 3

It was a very successful and memorable day. Hillary Clinton’s move to make Barack Obama’s candidacy unanimous was received with thunderous applause. I gave some details of it in my previous post.

There were some great speakers on Day 3. But I will say Bill Clinton stole the show. He was at his best. The crowd went crazy. He had a hard time starting his speech because the crowd kept on in its standing ovation. He asked them jokingly many times to calm down and sit down. He then gave a superb and gracious speech.

He proved many pundits wrong that he was bitter. He showed no bitterness and was very generous in praising Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Pundits had predicted that Bill Clinton would have difficulty saying the words "Barack Obama." He said "Barack Obama" repeatedly and said Obama was ready to lead. I thought it was one of the best speeches of his career as a politician and, after Ted Kennedy, the most moving speech at the convention. He brought the audience to their feet many times. He said America is at its best when it uses the "power of example and not the example of power" referring to quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan. I believe his speech will go a long way to bring the Democratic Party together.

John Kerry was another great speaker. He used an interesting approach of comparing Senator McCain with Candidate McCain and how these two (personalities of McCain) are at odd with each other. He added that before there is any presidential candidates’ debate, Senator McCain and Candidate McCain must debate to reconcile their differences. Through humour and eloquence his speech was well received.

The final speaker was Joe Biden. His introduction by his son Beau Biden, who will be sent to Iraq soon, was very moving and touching. Joe Biden himself gave a great speech. He offered some of the sharpest criticism of John McCain – first he said "George..." then said "sorry I mean John McCain."

At the end Barack Obama made a surprise appearance. He spoke briefly and thanked Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton for their support. I thought it was a smart move.

Overall, it was a great night for Democrats.

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Barack Obama Nominated by Acclamation: Historic Day

History was made today as the first African American became the Presidential nominee of a major political party in the United States. Obama is highly likely to be the next President, and thus the first African-American President. It was a moving experience for many. When Hillary Clinton moved for the nomination to be made by acclamation, there were tears in the convention centre. One has to admire American democracy where people who once faced segregation and slavery now have opportunities open to them to get elected to the highest office in the land. All the kudos to the United States, it was moving to witness this.

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John McCain Was Seen at the Democratic Party Convention ;)

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Democratic Party Convention – Day 2

It was another great day. Many great speakers. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick gave a great speech and the Governor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer, rallied the crowd. Former governor of Virginia Mark Warner, now candidate for US Senate, gave a remarkable keynote speech. Many other great speeches were delivered as well.

However, the closing speech of the night by Hillary Clinton was especially memorable. I thought it was her the best public speech yet. She was gracious in praising Barack Obama and gave him her full endorsement. Any doubters must stop parsing her words now. She emphatically told her supporters to back Barack Obama when she asked them whether they supported only her, or the causes she stands for. She said that if they supported the causes, then it was time to get behind Barack Obama. She said repeatedly that the country couldn’t afford four more years of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney through their surrogate John McCain. Moreover Bill Clinton was beaming through the speech of Ms. Clinton, putting his stamp of approval. It is about time the political pundits stopped making wild speculations about major divisions between the Clinton and Obama camps. It is about time that the McCain camp starts worrying. McCain’s ads using Hillary Clinton look meaningless and humourous at best.

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Saakashvili’s Dilemma

He lost all his goats.

Since I first saw Saakashvili on CNN, and many times after, I felt he reminds me of someone, but I wasn't sure who. Then I remembered watching a few episodes of the situation comedy Taxi and the character Latka Gravas played by Andy Kaufman.

Saakashvili sure reminds me of Latka Gravas – the way his character talks and behaves. Saakashvili is a comedian, but a very dangerous one. When he poked the sleeping Russian bear, he not only miscalculated his own military muscle, but the whole global geopolitical situation as well.

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Democratic Party Convention: First Night

I thought there were some great moments and great speeches given. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s speech was remarkable. He is one to watch, he is up and coming and might replace Barack Obama in the Senate if Obama is elected President.

Then, of course, there was the speech by Michelle Obama. It was a very moving speech and brought many to tears when she talked about her first child and her husband’s devotion. All in all it was a winner and great closing speech for the night.

However, the most moving moment was when Ted Kennedy showed up. He did this against the advice of his doctors as his chemotherapy had lowered his immune system, thus making crowds a risk for him. He brought many to tears including his own clan. He made an extraordinary appeal for unity in the Democratic Party and praised Barack Obama profusely. I thought he stole the show. He also promised he would show up in January 2009 for Obama’s inauguration ceremony.

Ted Kennedy had his own problems in the past, but after 1980 he devoted his life full-time to the Senate and introduced many reforms. May he have great health and long life.

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