Last night we witnessed the first State of the Union Address delivered by President Barack Obama.  The tone of his message was clear, direct and purposeful.  He wanted to convey to the American public that his presidency would not be defined by poll numbers alone and a mess that was created before he walked in the door.   He addressed congress in a non-partisan way and charged them to be better representatives of the office they are holding and not to play politics while trying to legislate on behalf of the American people.

Some notable issues he addressed was first and foremost the job crisis.  He acknowledged how serious the situation has become and also how he does not plan to let it be an on-going situation, he was projecting a light at the end of the tunnel, which is promising.  He specifically referenced certain cities across America being hit hardest and how dedicated the administration would be to rectifying this crisis.  The president stated, “I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay”,  but he does not fail to acknowledge that a new bill cannot make up for the 7 million jobs that have been lost over last 2 years.   He also proposed abolishing capital gains taxes on small businesses and ending tax breaks for businesses that “ship jobs overseas”.  The chamber full of congress and cabinet members were particularly receptive to this issue and roared in applause several times during the speech.  Post-speech regarding the jobs crisis, the Republican response came from the brand new Virginia Governor, Bob McDonald and he expressed the sentiment that he was “encouraged about the need to create jobs”.

Another hot-button issue for congress and the rest of the nation was the Healthcare debacle.  The president approached this topic with extreme humility and immediately took the blame on the health care fiasco and provided a very strong statement in response, “I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people.” “I don’t quit!”  He quipped with some humor as well by explaining his plight for even tackling Healthcare by saying, “It’s clear by now I didn’t take this on because it’s good politics…I took it on because of the stories I’ve heard”.  It’s obviously an important issue that needed addressing and it remains to be seen how it will play out, but he also sent a clear message to the senate about holding out on votes simply because they have the power in defeating a possible resolution.  He implored the audience by saying, “If anyone has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured…let me know”.  This response slightly targeted his many critics as the administration is currently juggling so many important issues at this time with a relentless microscope on his every move.

The president also addressed the war by declaring, “This war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home.”  There was a mixed response as some people find this declaration a little hard to believe. He discussed the deficit going up as long as the war continues.  He was “just stating the facts” when mentioning that as a nation, we were going from a budget surplus in 2000 to a $1 trillion deficit in 2009  and attributes the “policies of the last 8 years” as “what helped lead to these deficits, and we cannot do it again.” He then suggested, “Let’s try common sense”.  On the bank bailouts, the president noted that, he “hated the bank bailouts”.  He also used humor as an analogy when saying, “It was about as popular as a root canal”.  Overall, the tone of the speech was promising and he closed on a positive note, stating that because of America’s “decency and great strength – I have never been more hopeful about America’s future”.  Let’s see how year two progresses and where the poll numbers are today.

Elsewhere in politics, it was also released yesterday that Senator and former Presidential-Candidate John Edwards (D-NC), and his wife Elizabeth Edwards would legally separate amidst his admission to fathering an illegitimate child with an ex-staffer in his campaign.  This comes just before another former Edwards campaign aide will releases a tell-all book about the Senator’s indiscretions and other issues that will I’m sure will be a best-seller.  Seems to me that Edwards needs some new staff workers, some that will be more in-line with his moral standards because the few staffers known to the public have an asterisk next to them, not for good reasons.

Instead of worrying about shedding those holiday pounds, our nation is faced with addressing a failed terror attempt (that’s right more long lines at the airport), fleeting Democrat seats (in an election year) and the issue of Economy.

Is it too much to ask to have a safe flight on Christmas Day?  Talk about dodging a bullet, those passengers of NW flight 253 really had something to be grateful for.  I can be pretty sure a 23-year-old Nigerian terrorist was not expected to raise a flag for any of those passengers, however, someone must have been looking down on those Christmas Day travelers and it wasn’t Sully to the rescue this time, it was the man upstairs.

It’s not as if the airport security lines aren’t already long enough, but what seems to bother me most is that the intense scrutiny that I’m always given [at the airport], gets relaxed to the very folks who are causing all of the problems.  The negligence of the TSA and other security administrations are at fault, while the president takes the blame.  Ask Dennis Miller, former SNL alum, who has gone from actor/comedian to loud-mouth Fox News contributor with a resume absent of politics but rather a resume of trash-talking the folks implementing policy in government.  The criticism always comes from those who have no clue of how to really effect change.  Dennis Miller thinks the cure is putting on a “mean face” like Bush/Cheney of the previous administration to curb the terror attacks on the United States – especially since there were no terror threats prior to this Christmas Day incident [please note sarcasm here].

The other problem with terrorism is that no matter who is at fault for the breach domestically, people are always looking for someplace to lay the blame.  The question now seems to be are we any safer with this administration?  In reality, most presidents have had to deal with terrorism in some form and no matter who is in office, the United States has a reputation that precedes itself throughout the world that makes America vulnerable when it comes down to it.  You would be kidding yourself to believe that we are less safe with this president as opposed to a previous administration.  If anything, the shift in perception of the U.S. around the world has become slightly more favorable just by electing President Obama, as witnessed by media around the globe after the historic election.

The issue of terrorism will not go away, we are dealing with times where religious extremists believe in their cause more than any human life (including their own) or logic, so unfortunately, it may be some time before we breeze through those security lines again.

Senator Joe Wilson

The climate of politics and government relations in America has taken a sharp turn where the tolerance of many for the administration has decreased drastically.  Everyone is looking for immediate solutions and results that are just unrealistic.  The voters took a chance on electing President Obama against the odds and then expected him to magically turn around the mistakes of the previous eight years in only one year.  This attitude is demonstrated in the acts of disrespect that we’ve seen over the past year when people like Senator Joe Wilson blurted out “You lie” at a speech given by the president.  This is an example of things not witnessed previously at such a level.  A sampling of America shows the public are intolerant and want to blame, criticize and vilify policy makers.  I don’t recall having poll numbers reviewed so frequently during any other presidential administration.  Maybe there was a “Flash Forward” and the majority of the population blacked out and don’t remember years 2000-2008.  Leading me to my next topic, the very important election year we’re entering into.

Over the past several days, we’ve gotten news of a significant amount of Democratic seat holders abandoning their posts.  This could mean trouble for the Democratic Party, but it also may not, with news of several members of the GOP also vacating seats.  Where it will be tricky is determining the weight of the offices being vacated.  Senate seats and Governorships are key for the Dems to keep control of the senate.  Democrats having control of the senate is what helped to push through the very tumultuous healthcare bill where many Republicans were unwilling to budge on their positions, without the solidarity of the Democrats, we might still be waiting on the outcome of the very important bill.

Another area of concern for pundits is the issue of the still collapsing economy.  Upon entering a new fiscal year, no signs of unemployment rates improving in the near future.  Projections from a few major companies seem to hold promise but for most, things are still bleak.  The CEO of GM today announced profit is inevitable for the company in 2010.  The Obama administration is still focusing on job creation and diminishing the unemployment rate significantly.   Only time will tell how things will play in this fiscal year, but many companies are still stifled by the economy and can only hope the market improves. Happy New Year, Happy New Problems?

Amanda Simpson - Transgender Presidential Appointee

It may seem like all problems that have kicked off 2010 but, we wanted to make sure to point out one piece of progressive good news. Congratulations to Amanda Simpson, one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government by the Obama Administration as a Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce. She’ll be working in the Bureau of Industry and Security. Simpson has worked in the aerospace and defense  industry, most recently serving as Deputy Director in Advanced Technology Development at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona. She has a degree in physics, engineering, and business administration along with an extensive flight background. She is a certified flight instructor and test pilot with 20 years of experience. Once again, congratulations Amanda and bravo to the Obama Administration for advancing qualified individuals from diverse minority groups. For this we are truly hopeful for change in 2010!

P.O.W.?
President of War?  The President last week announced that he would be sending a surplus of troops (30,000 to be exact) to Afghanistan to assist in the efforts there while announcing an exit strategy and projected date of 2011 to pull out.  This decision has prompted much discussion and disdain over the President’s decision to deploy additional troops when many thought he would be pulling all troops from both Iraq and Afghanistan sooner than later.  The supporters of this most recent deployment to Afghanistan are few and far between. The criticism is loud and clear, there’s no mistaking the dissenters.  Sen. John McCain was on this week’s Meet the Press with David Gregory discussing the choices of President Obama and surprisingly, he was not overly critical.  He was more in a position of strategizing and leveraging and trying to make the U.S. appear strong than suggesting immediately pulling the troops out of the war zones.

The timing of this announcement could not have come at a more ironic time, the irony being that the President is in Oslo, Norway to accept a Nobel Peace Prize today.  There is expected to be thousands of anti-war protesters on hand to stage a peace rally in the wake of the news of the additional troops being sent to Afghanistan.  President Obama is fully aware of the state of things involving the surge of troops and is preparing his Nobel Peace Prize speech to target his position as the U.S. being a Nation of leadership and upholding the responsibility of promoting peace throughout the nation.  Though the president doesn’t feel worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize, nor the company of fellow winners of the award, he’s using the opportunity to propel the nation to a higher standard of culpability.

The Afghanistan situation was further explored by General Stanley McChrystal as he gave his opinion on the climate of the war in an interview to CNN where he expressed confidence in the President’s decision to deploy more troops and that adequate time and resources were in tact to complete the necessary task.  The outcome of the war in Afghanistan will also be very essential for the security of Pakistan and will establish whether or not Al Queda will be able to thrive and re-up for any terrorist attempts.  Only time will tell how the situation will play out, but not without criticism and disdain.

Still On Healthcare?

Senate Majority leader, Harry Reid (D-NV)

For as much as I’ve talked about healthcare, I almost feel like a qualified medical professional, but since we know that I’m not, I’ll stick to the science of the latest update on the Healthcare bill.  So, it passed in the house, Senate – your turn.  We have a mild roadblock, some GOP senators are determined to drag this out (as if we can afford that).  So far it seems that a broad agreement has been reached based on outlining a new healthcare reform initiative.  However, that doesn’t mean we’re close to a unanimous decision on the bill.  It seems there is a lot of negotiation on this particular process as the senators are voting to compensate for those early backers of the public option that didn’t quite get their way.  Though controversy still swirls this whole conversation when senate republicans are determined to shoot this bill down despite changes made by the democratic senators to the bill thus, going against the grain of compromise.  We may be a ways off before we see healthcare passed.  The latest issue for the republican senators is disagreeing on reducing the age of Medicare down to age 55, citing it will cause financial ruin for the government by making this change.  Senate Majority leader, Harry Reid (D-NV), seems to remain firm on his ideals for this bill with the support of the other liberal senators and even support from few republicans.  This process seems to be a hurry-up-and-wait type of deal.  Stay tuned for the next edition of “As the world waits for healthcare to be passed”

Healthcare in the House!!!
T’was the night before Healthcare passed, and all through the house, many bi-partisan creatures were stirring, trying to get closure on the bill.  Sorry, there’s no meter to my first line, but you get the drift.  A historic bill was passed on Saturday in the house that will become President Obama’s trademark during his term.  After many tumultuous months of speculation and public dissent, the President’s Healthcare bill passed in the house with a vote of 220-215.   The interesting part about this vote is that it was not in the favor of all democratic representatives, and a lone member of the GOP helped to get the bill passed.  Freshman Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA), who represents a very democratic district in New Orleans voted for the passage of the healthcare bill to the chagrin of his fellow Republican House members.

There was a lot of aisle-crossing going on the night the bill passed, close to midnight, when Representative Maxine Waters, (D-CA) cast the last vote that stamped the bill passage.  The way the 220-215 vote panned out was 176 Republicans and 39 Democrats rejected the bill to the 219  Dems and 1 Republican that passed the bill.

Whatever the case, Healthcare reform will be underway shortly pending the passage in the Senate.  The landmark vote in the House speak volumes throughout congress and provides some leverage for the President as his first victory was won during his term.  This bill has been compared to the landmark Social Security bill passed in 1935, and later Medicare in the 1960’s.  This healthcare reform will definitely go down in history, that’s for sure.  We are guaranteed to see immediate changes in the economy once this bill is enacted as Insurance Companies will no longer be able to deny coverages based on gender or pre-existing medical conditions that currently eliminate the possibility of some Americans to afford necessary healthcare.  This government mandated healthcare bill will finally take Americans out of Bedrock (Flintstones reference) and into the real world where regardless of your financial situation, healthcare should be affordable.  With this new plan in place, 96% of Americans previously uninsured will be able to have what should be expected – the right to affordable medical treatment.

Corporate America has to be mandated in order for them to act responsibly in terms of treating humans with the respect they deserve.  The Insurance industry will finally be regulated to a degree that will cut down on the number of deaths caused by (working-class) poverty and corporate greed.  Medicare’s spending will reduce by the billions over the next decade and this will undoubtedly help our national debt, among other things.  We need to wake up and get over the sensationalism over this President and get to the real issues that are affecting our morality.

In honor of Veteran’s Day, it’s important to note a statistic that I found earlier that noted more than 2,000 veteran’s died in 2008 because they were refused medical treatment due to the lack of healthcare afforded to them.  This has got to end!  Hopefully, we’re on our way to a more ethical and economic solution.

Election Day Results
As if you didn’t get enough of the partisanship from the Healthcare reform bill, Election Day 2009 was very telling in terms of where America stands in response to the current conditions of society post 2008-Election-of-the-Century.  Many Americans miffed by the economic status and healthcare issues prominent in the National discussion played out their frustrations in the polls.  The most outstanding elections were in New Jersey and Virginia, two states led by Democratic Governors, credited with the success of helping to elect President Obama, now overturned by Republican Governor-Elect candidates ready to make changes once their term begins.  Pundits speculate these elections results were a direct connection with personal feelings and reactions to the President himself and/or his policies.  It will remain to be seen how these states perform under a new regime and how it may play out of a 2012 President re-election of President Obama.

Another relevant Election Day race that took place was the Mayoral race in New York City where incumbent Mayor Mike Bloomberg changed term limits so he could run for a 3rd term and beat out President Endorsed William Thompson.  Many New Yorkers were not in favor of the term limits that Mayor Bloomberg tailored to have changed so he could directly benefit from the outcome by running and holding office for a third term.  This was another defeat to the Dems overall and definitely a noticeable blow to President Obama.   2012 is around the corner, it will be interesting to see what happens between now and then.   A recent poll conducted shows that support behind the President is maintaining though some reports have previously released information that suggests waining support.

Remember our Veterans.  This post is dedicated to Harold & Robert Childress.

Popularity is a funny thing, it’s based on a majority of people who decide to feel a certain way at a certain time that can either work for you or against you.  It’s magnified to an overwhelming level if you happen to be the President of the United States playing clean-up to a catastrophe left for him as soon as he took office.

Seems like our President can’t catch a break between Healthcare and Afghanistan, and the American people are not having it.  It feels like the Great Depression but the extended version.  The Great Depression Remix is the soundtrack that’s playing across the country right now.  Low morale all around, but in the midst of this demoralizing time, the Congressional Black Caucus convened in Washington, DC last week and I was there to take in the sights.

For the first time ever, the Congressional Black Caucus was addressed by a former member of the caucus who happened to be the President of the United States.  The CBC received President Obama with a very warm reception as he was the guest speaker at the Phoenix Awards dinner that wrapped up the organization’s week long conference.  The dinner was hosted by actor Jeffrey Wright and former Essence Magazine Editor, Susan Taylor. Actor Danny Glover received a humanitarian award while the Congressional elite of Washington also filled the room.

After days of seminars and panels discussing the agenda of the Caucus and the issues paramount in Congress, delegates were letting their hair down at the black tie affair.  President Obama chose to give words of encouragement as he addressed the Caucus, giving instruction on how to be better as human beings and how to continue being an example for the young people eager to take over the reigns on what has been established by the Caucus.  Overall, it was an eloquent speech (like all the others), but there was a genuine sense of appreciation for the President even showing up at the Caucus as the previous President couldn’t ever find time to show up at the annual conference.

Healthcare seems like the never ending debate.  Every week there’s something to report on how the plan is not working or going to work, but now there’s Afghanistan.  Everything seemed so conquerable this time last year, pre-Election Day.  Now it seems like everyone has forgotten that feeling and now is in attack mode straight to the Oval office.  The Afghanistan situation has now culminated to a place that is reminiscent of Iraq, it’s not going away.  America does not want to see more dead soldiers return to U.S. soil.   It seems that President Obama has recruited a strategic task force to tackle this issue as the possibility looms that more troops could be sent to Afghanistan.  We need something to go right in this Administration.  It started out very promising, but I think the nostalgia has worn off and there are only so many comments that can be made about the First Lady’s arms and wardrobe.   The alleged love affair with President Obama is clearly finished and we’re seeing what looks like a bad marriage played out in the press, or maybe it’s more like a soap opera – drama and conflict.  Let’s hope so, meaning this current climate won’t last forever.  I’m reminded of a quote I recently heard that seems appropriate – “No matter how good or bad a situation is, it will change.”  -Unknown.

How’d you spend your summer break? Strategizing? Re-organizing? Well, if you are a Democrat in Congress, you’re spending it tightening the reigns on the Health Care Option in battle mode like you’re a college football team fighting against a rival.  The likes of a North Carolina vs. Duke brawl with the national title on the line.

If you tuned in to any town hall meetings last week where average American citizens showed up in hopes of voicing their opinion (and making the news for some) you would understand the rift the entire country and congress is experiencing right now during a congressional recess with an unsigned health care bill.  Somehow, in the span of a week, there has been a significant shift in the tide of the Congress and a lot of the Health Care Option supporters, none of which you saw on television last week.  It’s like there has been an eclipse and everyone is jumping on board in support of the bill yet to be passed that will re- enact the Health Care Option that President Obama is firmly sticking to.

Like any other clear losing team, a strategy must be put into place to avoid a massive defeat to save the reputation of the one team clearly not favored.  Republicans are trying to have some semblance of unity by reacting to the Democrats solidarity on supporting President Obama’s Health Care option.  The GOP members are now going after Obama Senior Staffer and Campaign Strategist David Axelrod as a point of contact for two private interest groups that are benefiting financially from Obama’s proposed plan.  These agencies are linked to Axelrod from the campaign trail and the GOP doesn’t trust the connection – they smell something funny and are looking for any reason to take the Dems down along with the Health Care Option that is steadily gaining support from voters and the House Dems.

With the economy still in the can, the Health Care bill unsigned and the job market so uncertain, criticisms are flying far and wide, though a resolved Obama stands his ground as the elements to all of the simultaneous disasters fester.  There have been comparisons made between Obama and former President Reagan about the state of affairs during an extreme depression and how they parallel in their position that they can’t take the blame for all of America’s problems.  As the hope of the people fade in and out, everyone is standing by for a miracle and waiting out the worst of times.

Short of moving to Canada or France for a more developed and functional health care plan, waiting is all that can be done.  It proves to be an interesting match between the two sides of the house of political parties and a good source of news for an otherwise slow end of the summer.  Everyone loves their options, but it’s important to weigh priorities before options.  Let’s take that one on.

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Health Scare? The country seems to be in an uproar over the debate of health care and the media fueled with right-wing fire is not short of criticism.  Naturally, health care is a heightened concern for all Americans at this time, but it doesn’t help to see a $9 million ad campaign, sponsored by none other than the Republican National Committee (the same folks that funded Sarah Palin’s wardrobe during the ’08 election)  to make Americans even more uneasy.

The ad campaign makes viewers think that they will lose all of their rights to choose their own doctors and their premiums will skyrocket continuing with the plan President Obama is proposing.  There is also concern that if a government regulated healthcare plan is put in place, it will diminish the quality of care that people are used to receiving with the current system in place.

As this issue effects everyone, the thought of a government overhaul is not favored by a vast sampling of the population, whereas as a percentage of people are more optimistic about President Obama’s decisions concerning health care.  Though the prez is pushing for a decision before congress recesses for the summer, it’s looking more and more like the bi-partisan congress will be stalling because of the split opinions.  If no bill is signed before a congressional recess, this will delay the decision-making overall and possibly extending any legislation on a bill until early 2010.

Though the right-wing is busy fueling their renowned propaganda machine, does anyone recall Michael Moore’s brilliant documentary ‘Sicko’?  This healthcare system did not falter because of the President, (well, not the current president at least), our robust RNC as we know it, fails to realize that America may actually have a memory and doesn’t think that all of our problems began on January 20, 2009.

Beer Anyone? How much more uncomfortable is this Cambridge arrest of Professor Gates going to get?  Are you really going to the White House to drink beer because you arrested someone in their own residence?  And do we as a nation have to witness this prolonged discomfort of our nation’s long history of awkwardness over race?  Why don’t we make it comfortable for everyone and just pretend like it doesn’t exist like the Cambridge Police Department is obviously comfortable with?  What are they really going to discuss?  Yankees vs. Red Sox?  I think it’ll be the battle of the egos (the same thing that got us in this mess) and then there’ll be awkward drunkenness and who knows what will come out then? Just for the sake of awkwardness, will invitations be extended to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh as well?  I say we shift the focus to something more important like the real reason Sarah Palin is resigning – ethics probe anyone?  Geesh…who are her handlers?  Both situations seem like a Public Relations nightmare to me.  Did our forefathers have to deal with this same type of drama?

Reign Supreme! Has all of the hoopla finally subsided over the long overdue appointment of another woman to the Supreme Court?  Well, it’s about time!  Sonia Sotomayor has been confirmed in a Senate vote of 13-6 to make her the 111th justice to be named to the Supreme Court, the 3rd woman and the 1st Hispanic American.  Wow!  It’s 2009 and still so many firsts and rare records, we’re slowly progressing but not without a fight and a lot of propaganda.

Republican supporters made news by their support of the newly appointed justice, but not without throwing a few jabs before offering their vote favoring the confirmation of Sotomayor.  Lindsey Graham and Orrin Hatch were a few notables that commented on their vote in favor of Sotomayor, how noble of them.  Now that we have that out of the way, we can focus on breaking down the other barriers in our great country.  But what a great day to see another woman added to the roster of the highest court in the land!  Congratulations Justice-elect Sotomayor!