Monday, November 03, 2008

An Obama-nation

I am affected by what happens in USA.


Most of the readers of this blog are from there. My Google Analytics tells me that. I care for those who read this blog be they agree with it or disagree.


Leadership has two components - it is character and competence. These two interplay specially in hard situations.


If the polls are correct, it looks like the USA is on the road to becoming, ah wattyamakalit? ... "an Obama-nation".

19 comments:

Past Elder said...

American elections get far more attention overseas than overseas elections get in America. Poking around the world on the Internet these last few years, I think the entire rest of the world is aware that in many ways their lives will be as affected by elections here as their own, with the realisation that while they have a say in the latter they have no say in the former, recognised with varying degrees of frustration.

Even the reference to the US as America implies this -- the US is one country on one of two continents that is "America", but say "American" and it means US.

The situation here reminds me a lot of the 1970s, when an unpopular Republican President with controversial decisions and economic problems (Nixon pardon and inflation, respectively, then) was followed by a rather different character in whom many saw the hope of change. Jimmy Carter, who ended up a symbol of ineffective governance. I think Obama is headed for a win much like Carter's, with nearly everyone here (including myself, and I'm a Republican!) breathing a sigh of relief that Bush is out. But it remains to be seen whether another previously unkown Democrat promising change will be successful or become our next Carter.

If he's successful, great, and if he's not, well, the tide will turn again. Ron came after Carter.

I wonder if some other Republican, a laughing stock to many at the time, will morph into a conservative standard bearer and become President?

Anonymous said...

Ronald Reagan was a laughing stock much of America and the U.S. media.

They called him a buffoon, a nit wit, niave about the'complex world'.

Time and history have changed much of the naysayers opinions of Reagan.

George W. Bush is treated in much the same way. Was he a perfect President? Has he made some mistakes? Of course.

But he recognized the evil that is radical Islam and has kept this country safe after 9/11 (not one successful attack here in the U.S. since).
He has tied up the terrorists in another part of the world and at the same time created two more fledgling democracies. Maybe not democracies in the way that we know the meaning of the word, but democracies in a part of the world where they did not exist and were sorely needed.

Bush has presided over a long period of growth in the U.S. economy (even after 9/11).
The fact that this boon period has ended largely due to a lending crisis that was mostly precipitated by the quasi-government lending institutions of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and that Democrats in the House of Representatives kept Republicans from reforming those agencies with tighter lending policies, should not tarnish the overall record of a successful wartime Predident.
But the left-wing media has been out for Bush since day one and has never let up.

Well, their guy looks like he'll win.

If that is the case...I believe the whole world loses. And maybe loses something that will never again return.

Past Elder said...

It wasn't Bush I had in mind. Here's a hint -- she looks great in heels.

Wartime President? That's the whole Bush presidency -- illusion based upon illusion.

It ain't a state of war in this country until Congress declares it. They haven't. The head of state here does not have the power to declare a state of war, and the Congress has that power vested in them not to be transferred to the Executive branch, and doing either is against the Constitution. So it's peace when that is attractive and war when it isn't, and neither in reality.

The rest goes downhill from there. A boom based on unrealistic market values is no boom at all and will, as it has, eventually burst. No denying the effect of loose lending practices, however, there is a synergy between them and inflated market values which will eventually burst.

They're all for better living through government, the only question being where and by what means. McBama, Ocain, doesn't matter.

Magotty Man said...

As the French say: The more things change, the more they stay the same...

But you're blessed: If it grabs headlines in Aussie, just imagine how much we in Canada are made to suffer! Do you think a class-action lawsuit would work.. (lol!!)

Past Elder said...

Really. About the only time "Americans" pay attention to Canadian politics is when they think one of our elections is The End of the World As We Know It and jump the border.

What province are you from? When I was a kid in Minnesota, I loved it late at night when most of the stations signed off and you could pick up these French stations from Quebec playing great Jazz!

Anonymous said...

Past Elder,

You might be right as to the reason for the boon in the economy. But one cannot ignore the fact that it did happen as well as the fact that it is over. Presidents do not have a lot of control of market forces for cyclical swings in the economy.

Whether the Congress realizes, or declares it, or not...we are at war. We didn't start the war, in fact our enemies were engaged in it long before we realized the nature of their intentions. Many still do not realize those intentions, or the lengths that they will go to achieve their goals.

If John Kerry had won the last election, we would have already lost the war and terrorist and their allies would be in control of Iraq and would be enbolden to carrry out further attacks on the U.S. and other Western nations.

An Obama Presidency will not be more of the same. I believe him when he says that "he wants to fundamentally change America". He will...and it will not be for the better. He will turn us into a nation of cry-babies who need a nanny and he will make this nation into a cowardice nation afraid of facing down evil.

LPC said...

Scylds,

In Oz, we are isolated so we are eager to know what is happening outside us.

Here in Oz, if your cat gets stranded in an electric pole and could not come down, the rescue operation will be televised on TV.

I am not kidding.

LPC

LPC said...

P.E./SM,

My grand parents are beneficiaries of the American Liberation of WWII. My grandma, would sing Star Spangled Banner, with tears. The Filipinos mourned Gen MacArthur's death for a week. He could have been our president.

My dad and uncle live in California. The uncle served as a special forces soldier in Vietnam and discharged with the rank of major.

Not to even mention the American missionaries who nurtured me, I do have connections up there.

But there are a few things you can learn from Filipinos, it is called defensive politics, think of defensive driving here.

This is anticipating what a politician will do when he/she lands in power.

Obama is more compromised than McCain because the former accepted funding from many sectors. He is likely to be a man more manipulated.

He is just too good to be true and it is being naive to believe that.

My prayers are with youse.

LPC

Past Elder said...

My comments about war were meant not a recognition of the world's state of affairs, but a declaration by Congress that allows changes in what may be done. That's what a declaration of war does. We've tried to act as if we're at war with a peacetime government before, and it doesn't work very well. Being 58, Vietnam comes to mind.

What a dictator who had nothing to do with 9/11 and who was despised by those who did and whose models were derived from Stalin rather than the Koran means toward some "War on Terror" is yet to be demonstrated right along with the WMD. It was funny to watch Fox News and Comical Ali function on about the same level.

Iraq, like Afghanistan, as a modern entity is our invention -- our being the Brits first and us stepping in after WWII. Saddam, atrocities and all, was just fine with us until he quit taking orders from us.

Almost everything on the world stage to-day, from Southeastern Europe to the Middle East including Israel, to the Asian Subcontinent, derives from the world the allies tried to construct after World War One for God's sake. Nobody knows that because "history" in schools is having some 58 year old talk about civil rights marches.

We're already a nation of crybabies. Any notion of actually living a life has been eroded for many by the thought that they're entitled to some of someone else's money. In the neighbourhood where I was born, you're actually better off living that way than if you take an entry level job.

This isn't going to come about because of Obama or go away because of McCain. You see it everywhere, from the "I'm here and I'm owed" mentality of workers to people going about anywhere in public appearing like when I was a kid you'd be ashamed to answer the door. It's McWorld now. No going back. Hell I may even have a Quarter Pounder for dinner!

Seriously, the Revolution happened some decades ago, and they won. Our times are those when the last of those who remember another world are dying out.

The Christian's comfort in all this is not who gets elected, but knowing our home isn't here anyway.

Kurt Onken said...

We all need to be reminded of who the real winner will be on Tuesday.

Read it here...

http://redeemer-fortwayne.org/blog.php?msg=10033

Anonymous said...

Past Elder,

Obama will be the first 'Leftist' President in U.S. history. Things will go much faster (downward) under Obama.

You are right on many points, I'll grant you that.

But I don't agree on all points. Vietnam wasn't lost because we didn't formally declare war, it was lost because of a left wing media and not letting the generals fight the war. I say some old N. Vietnamese generals say that"if the U.S. had kept up the bobmbing of N. Vietnam for three more days they would not have been able to take it."

Saddam Hussein needed to be taken out. Period. And now that we are there all the terrorist's focus is there. If we weren't there do you think they would all be selling lemonaid in Aman? They'd be plotting and working to attack our interests at home and abroad...just like they were doing before we met them on the battlefield.

I agree, the Left has wom in America. But that doesn't mean we don't stop fighting and just rollover.

Anonymous said...

I hope that the people voting for Obamba get what they wish for.

Augustinian Successor said...

I hope John McCain wins. I'm not standing in as a single-issue voter, but abortion is great deal. Protecting the rights of conservative Christianity ought to matter to conservative Christians. It's a tough choice ... but it's a choice between the real McCoy and the counterfeit thing. It's the choice between conviction and political correctness (PC). And at least for Christians, we know where our choice lies ...

LPC said...

Pr. K.

What he says in that blog is true, we win in the end. God can use and ass (in the case of Balaam) to rebuke humans.

I hope that does not mean we can afford not to vote because the outcome is determined by God anyway.

LPC

LPC said...

In P.I. whoever gets into power is immaterial, it is just a question who is going to do less damage on the coffers.

We have been screwed by our politicians many times over. The one who steals the most always has noble plans for the disadvantaged and the poor.

LPC

Anonymous said...

Obama is different. He will destroy the fabric of America and replace it whole cloth with another.

The world, let alone the U.S. can afford this radical change in what has been (with all it's faults) one of the greatest forces for good in the world in the last century.

Imagine what the world might look like today if there were no America.

Imagine what it might look like in 50 years if America loses it's spine and becomes afraid to face the evils of the world (as much of Western Europe is afraid).

This is the difference between Obama and the other Democratic Presidents in America's past.

There is a big difference between a liberal and a Leftist.

Anonymous said...

This from talk show host Dennis Prager:

"Leftists by definition want to fundamentally transform America. That is their primary reason for voting for Obama. His intelligence, charisma and being black are only bonuses. Most important to the left is changing America. The further left you go, the greater the disenchantment with America as it now exists and the greater the yearning to fundamentally transform it in the image of the vision they have for it.

If Barack Obama wins and he is given a Democratic-controlled Congress, the United States will indeed be transformed.

There will be, in Charles Krauthammer's words, "an unprecedented expansion of government power."

Economic growth will be slowed in favor of achieving economic equality.

Unions will be allowed to abolish secret ballots.

Serious attempts will be made to shut down the most effective opposition to the left – talk radio.

The defense budget will be severely decreased.

Judges will be chosen based on their commitment to empathize with the downtrodden (Obama's own stated criterion for choosing judges), not based on their commitment to judging according to neutral rules that are blind to the individuals' status in life.

Same-sex marriage will become national law as the Defense of Marriage Act is repealed and liberal judges rule that defining "marriage" as man-woman is unconstitutional.

Coal, nuclear energy and new drilling will be discouraged, and dependency on foreign oil will therefore rise while rationing of energy is instituted.

Companies will seek to do more and more business abroad as they become taxed more than in any other Western country.

Israel will be pressured to make "peace."

America will leave Iraq whether or not Iraq is ready for us to do so, thereby increasing Islamic terror there and elsewhere.

Parents will have fewer years to instill their values in their children, as earlier and earlier education becomes the norm.

Judeo-Christian values, the founding values of America, will continue to recede in influence as America becomes more and more a secular-left country like those of Western European.

And when all this – and much more – transforms America, no one American will be able to argue they didn't know. Barack Obama promised it."

David Cochrane said...

I of course do not want Obama. Mccain is nothing to write home about but he is less anti death than his opponent.

Having said that if Obama wins I will pray for him as I have been. If Mccain wins I will pray for him as I have been.

One of my favorite preachers said a couple of weeks ago in a sermon about rendering to ceasar and God;

"You say, “But Caesar wasn’t godly. He isn’t even a believer.” Well neither was Cyrus, the Persian king about whom Isaiah was speaking. Yet God calls Cyrus “my anointed one,” my messiah. Go figure. Cyrus the pagan Persian king is God’s “anointed one.” God is even holding his right hand and opening doors for him. Why? It’s all for the sake of God’s Anointed One, Jesus the Messiah, the Christ. So God uses a pagan Persian to return His people to the land so that in fulness of time His anointed Son could be born in Bethlehem of Judea to save the world. God literally has the whole world in His hands, and He really doesn’t care who Caesar is. He can use any Caesar we throw at Him. Remember that on November 4th."

Pr Wm Cwirla, Holy Trinity Lutheran Hacienda Hts Ca.

http://www.htlcms.org/sermons/sermon/gotcha/

God's peace. †

J. K. Jones said...

You all might be interested in commentary by Al Mohler:

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=2715