Rudd and Obama compared

 I honestly have nothing to add.

Click here  for more sporting leaders pics at The Age.

 

Feminists need to stop being so self-centred over Obama’s win

With Hillary Clinton all but conceding defeat in the Democratic Party primary campaign, many of America’s top feminist activists have vowed to put their weight behind Republican Senator John McCain rather than man who beat Hillary, Barak Obama.

McCain will be pro-abortion, and will include far right-wing appointees to cabinet positions and the Supreme Court, so why throw the baby out with the bath water?

Feminism should be about putting women on a level pegging with men, not giving them a free ride over men. Women who are upset by Obama getting the nod need to realise that while Hillary fought a good, tough campaign, Obama has been the better candidate – do they really want him to step down?

There are also complaints that Obama’s victory was just another example of the boy’s club at work – which is a ridiculous suggestion considering the major hurdle of being a black candidate has been, and will continue to be, for him.

Surely the ultimate aim of feminists is to have a presidential race where no one questions the gender of the candidates – as was the case in New Zealand when both major party leaders were women and that was not even an issue.

Yet here we are at a time when many people around the world see past Hillary’s gender and recognise her brilliance, and its the feminists making a song and dance of the fact that she’s a girl.

Hillary came close, but not close enough. The reason she will not run for president is not because she is a woman, but because Barak Obama, who happens to be a black man, is the better candidate.

To back McCain over Obama, without studying their policies that affect women, would be a an ill-conceived show of sour grapes.

 

What’s right with this picture?

Barak Obama addressed a crowd of 75,000 on Portland Oregon yesterday. The first thing I noticed with the pics from the event is that there is a hell of a lot of “white” skin in that crowd.

It’s called diplomacy George

George W Bush stepped out from his role of lame-duck President to launch a scathing attack on Presidential hopeful Barak Obama, saying the Senator’s plan to engage in talks with the leaders of America’s enemies, including Iran, smacks of appeasement.

Of course he used Hitler as an example, an interesting analogy considering he was speaking to the Israeli Knesset on the occassion of Israel’s 60th anniversary of independence.

Bush said: “Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.

“We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: ‘Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.’

This is a bit rich considering the ”crusade” option Bush has taken on terrorism been an abject failure. Maybe he should get into dialogue with leaders of the so-called “Axis of Evil” instead of simply listening to God.

Today the Obama campaign noted that Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, had told the Washington Post only yesterday that the United States needed to “sit down and talk” with Iran.

Why Obama must win

If you have a few spare minutes please read the speech Barack Obama made today after being declared winner of the North Carolina primary.

I am a political romantic and just love the way this guy speaks. I pray that whatever happens he and Hillary will be able to run together. I’d say his graciousness towards her could hint at this.

Here are some selected highlights from the speech.

This has been one of the longest, most closely fought contests in history. And that’s partly because we have such a formidable opponent in Senator Hillary Clinton. Tonight, many of the pundits have suggested that this party is inalterably divided – that Senator Clinton’s supporters will not support me, and that my supporters will not support her.

Well I’m here tonight to tell you that I don’t believe it. Yes, there have been bruised feelings on both sides. Yes, each side desperately wants their candidate to win. But ultimately, this race is not about Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama or John McCain. This election is about you – the American people – and whether we will have a president and a party that can lead us toward a brighter future.

This primary season may not be over, but when it is, we will have to remember who we are as Democrats – that we are the party of Jefferson and Jackson; of Roosevelt and Kennedy; and that we are at our best when we lead with principle; when we lead with conviction; when we summon an entire nation around a common purpose – a higher purpose. This fall, we intend to march forward as one Democratic Party, united by a common vision for this country. Because we all agree that at this defining moment in history – a moment when we’re facing two wars, an economy in turmoil, a planet in peril – we can’t afford to give John McCain he chance to serve out George Bush’s third term. We need change in America. 

He then goes on to explain the hardships of the people he met in North Carolina and outlines his priorities to help people like them in a way that would make any Lefty gush red tears of joyous pride. Compare this to some of the anecdotes by Brendan Nelson on his recent mystery tour.

The woman I met in Indiana who just lost her job, and her pension, and her insurance when the plant where she worked at her entire life closed down – she can’t afford four more years of tax breaks for corporations like the one that shipped her job overseas. She needs us to give tax breaks to companies that create good jobs here in America. She can’t afford four more years of tax breaks for CEOs like the one who walked away from her company with a multi-million dollar bonus. She needs middle-class tax relief that will help her pay the skyrocketing price of groceries, and gas, and college tuition. That’s why I’m running for President.

This is West Wing good!