From Beirut to the Beltway

Sarah Palin vs. Joe Biden

Today's debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden was a sad reminder how McCain's choice of VP is a threat to national security. Palin dodged most questions to recite what her tutors taught her in the past five weeks, proving once that McCain cares more about serving as president in the remaining years of his life than putting this nation on a better track. Joe Biden, on the other hand, and after an uncharacteristically subdued performance during the first half, was for unfathomable reasons coached not to "kill" her. And he could have, very easily, pointed out how she was unfit to become a vice president, rather than leaving it to the partisan imagination.

But the tragedy is not in Biden not going after Palin. The tragedy was in Palin being unable to effectively go after Biden, for she showed no signs that she understood or digested a single word of what she was taught. Instead, we got a lot of winks, fake kitchen table tales, and "darn rights". For the same reason she butchered the name of the commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, she couldn't answer the question pertaining to recent US policy towards Israel, specifically, when Biden accused the administration of not properly supporting the Jewish state after the US and France allegedly "kicked Hizbullah out of Lebanon"! (update: the full quote is: When we kicked -- along with France, we kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon, I said and Barack said, "Move NATO forces in there. Fill the vacuum, because if you don't know -- if you don't, Hezbollah will control it.Now what's happened? Hezbollah is a legitimate part of the government in the country immediately to the north of Israel)

Followers of this blog know what an idiotic statement that was, and how superficial and uninformed it is. But with Palin as an opponent, could you really expect someone to call him on it?

Another danger came when Palin faithfully regurgitates what the coaches told her to say about the "Surge". Apply it everywhere, they told her. Biden nailed her on it. But although the Obama-Biden Iraq strategy is riddled with fantasy, all Palin could offer was a weak argument about "winning" and how great McCain was in pushing for the "Surge". So Biden won the argument, as did Obama during his first debate, and the nation sunk deeper into ignorance about the country that is today very far from being a project for success.

McCain's Surge. What a travesty to ascribe this tactic to the Senator, when in fact it was a result of work done by people inside this very administration that everybody loathes. And how wrong it is to say that it led to a victory, or could lead to one. What is victory anyway? And victory for whom, and against what, and how do you measure it? The walls and fault lines that separate Baghdad neighborhoods today and the irreparable damage done to the US stature in the world, speak of a different reality than the one Palind an McCain paint. Sadly, and while Obama points it out clearly, the solutions that both he and McCain prescribe are detached from reality.

Going back to the core issue here. By picking Palin, McCain robbed this nation of a safety net, should his old body fail him. I can probably live with McCain in charge of foreign policy. But I cannot trust Palin's with the nuclear codes, or "nucular" in Palin-speak. If she couldn't handle the simple task of understanding the issues, instead accepting the role of a puppet, then she and the man who chose her simply do not deserve a vote.

Lastly, and this is a note to some of my readers, at least the remaining ones, spare me your partisan politics. What has been disheartening to me over the past few months was how quickly certain people can turn against you when you disagree with them, or when you attempt to think outside the ideological box. It is no secret to anyone that my posts about Hizbullah, and Obama's statement on Lebanon, were widely popular and heavily quoted by many "conservative" bloggers. Today, I stand in amazement at some of those bloggers' inability to get over their obsession with negating the other's point of view, and in the process denying themselves the truth they claim to seek or represent. The "left" often exhibits the same fanaticism and self denial.

It is the sad truth that to many, country doesn't and will never come first, and that change will unlikely come as long as we don't understand what it is we really need.

In the meantime, we're left to choose the lesser of two evils. And sometimes, that choice is made easier when confronted by the intolerance and racism of those who won't eat a doughnut if it's not dressed in red and blue, or won't accept questions from a black journalist.

Update. Now Lebanon on Biden's gaffe. He meant Syria!?

Joe Biden, the US Democratic Party’s vice-presidential candidate, condemned Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah on Thursday night, but mixed up Hezbollah with Syria.

Speaking in a debate with his opponent, Republican candidate Sarah Palin, he referred to the US’s Middle East policy by saying, “When we kicked - along with France - we kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon,” a statement assumed to confuse Hezbollah with Syria.

Biden said that both he and Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama had said, “‘Move NATO forces in there. Fill the vacuum, because if you don't know - if you don't, Hezbollah will control it.’”

Trapped

Bush had a very busy day today. Topping his agenda was the financial crisis that is threatening to plunge the US into a recession, turning us into something worse than the socialist disaster that the GOP used as scarecrow when they deregulated everything from the economy to the way wars are planned.

With Bush and some members of The House effectively surrendering the economy to a struggling presidential campaign, we, who hail from the land of the cedars, were told the US and Lebanon have a lot in common. This claim came courtesy of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, last seen deregulating the free flow of weapons from Syria to Lebanon. 

In remarks at the outset of the Oval Office meeting with President Michel Suleiman, Bush said he has watched carefully the public statements that Suleiman has made since taking office in May.

"Your statements impressed me and we're most impressed by the national dialogue that you're holding in an attempt to seek reconciliation," Bush said. "The United States is proud to stand by your side. Our mission is your mission: a country that is strong and capable, a country where people can make a peace."

Sitting beside Bush in the Oval Office, Suleiman said his country shares many U.S. values, including the promotion of liberty and the fight against terrorism. And he thanked Bush for his administration's support of the Lebanese government, particularly efforts to bolster the Lebanese army.

"There are so many things in common between the American people and the Lebanese people. We are here also to reaffirm our rights to have a prosperous Lebanon, a democratic Lebanon," Suleiman said. "Mr. President, we are also here to affirm the need to liberate all Lebanese territories and also to make it clear that the future of Palestinian refugees is in their homeland, not in Lebanon." (AP)

Bush obviously spoke too soon. I don't think he cares about Lebanon's "need" to liberate a farm that no one can tell for sure where it belongs.  What is the point of coming all the way to the White House and, instead of asking for assistance in things that matter, you "affirm the need" to fight an endless war on behalf of Lebanese cattle? How is this a reflection of commonality between Lebanese and Americans? The way I see it, Lebanese politicians have proven that they want to keep Lebanese prisoners of a cause, that's become unfit even for livestock.

But then, today John McCain took us all prisoners of his campaign. This isn't to say that the actions of American and Lebanese politicians are comparable. For at least in America, politics are rooted in something a lot deeper and meaningful than pasture. But today, many Lebanese, Americans, and Lebanese Americans, felt trapped.

McCain to campaign in Lebanon; Lebanese Americans unite

That's Lebanon, Ohio. You didn't think Lebanon was THAT important to the Republican candidate, did you?

Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, will appear together for a campaign rally Tuesday outside the Golden Lamb restaurant in Lebanon, his campaign announced today.

Despair not, fellow Lebanese Americans, spread out everywhere on this land. A coalition has been formed in our name to allow us to express our support for the Palin-McCain McCain-Palin ticket.

Here's an excerpt from the McCain website.

Welcome to Lebanese-Americans for McCain. Our coalition is the central gathering point for members of the Lebanese-American community to join forces and collectively endorse John McCain for president. As an organized and united force we can support John McCain by organizing our community and getting out the vote for the 2008 election.

    We are proud to endorse John McCain,a man whose character, judgment, leadership, and experience is precisely what all Americans need in their next president. His foreign policy experience is unparalleled, and most importantly he understands the issues facing the Arab world.

    As Lebanese-Americans it is imperative that we get involved.

    Please help us build support for McCain for president!  

I couldn't help but note the contradiction between "Lebanese" and "organized". "United force" also seemed to be out of place.

I also couldn't help but notice how McCain's Lebanese American group did not mention Lebanon at all on their page. Instead, they only mention the Arab World, which includes Djibouti and Mauritania. What's the point of calling yourself a "Lebanese American Coalition" if your mission statement does not even mention the country that supplied your identifying label? What the hell has happened to Lebanon in the past three years, and why isn't it part of what will get us to "organize" and form a "united force"?

Contrast the above with McCain's Jewish Advisory Coalition. These people have nothing to hide.

For nearly three decades John McCain has enjoyed a strong love, friendship and appreciation for Israel and her citizens. His affection for and understanding of the myriad of complex issues confronting the Israeli people runs deep, as does our nation's long alliance with the State of Israel.

During his most recent trip he visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial and vowed that he would never allow Jewish people to suffer another Shoa.

He recognizes Israel's right as a sovereign to defend herself against those who seek to harm and destroy her. John McCain will hold terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas, who seek to maximize civilian death and destruction inside Israel, accountable.

John McCain recognizes the threat that a nuclear Iran poses not only to Israel, but to the stability of the region and to the international community. On his watch, Iran will not be allowed to put its anti-Israel, anti-Western rhetoric into action.

For nearly 30 years John McCain has been proud to call the people of Israel, Chaverim! Friends!

I wonder if one should blame the "Lebanese American Coalition" for forgetting to include Lebanon in its statement, or just blame it on the lack of love McCain has for the country of cedars, which can never produce anything that can even come close to the above love affair with Israel.

With McCain's Lebanese ashamed of their own country, one might as well consider Obama's "community of Arab Americans". Here, they actually list the issues, whether your agree with them or not.

    We are a community of Arab Americans who are working nationwide to elect Senator Barack Obama the next President of our nation. We believe in Senator Obama's message of hope, action and change. We believe that Senator Obama has the judgment to lead and the courage to renew America's promise.

    Senator Obama is committed to the issues that our community cares deeply about: civil rights, profiling, a just peace to the Arab-Israeli conflict, a wise withdrawal from Iraq, closing Guantanamo, immigration reform and promoting human and civil rights in the Arab World.

Sarah Palin and McCain's good ol' basket

Watching Sarah Palin last night, I couldn't help but wonder how her family would have been be able to afford health care had she not been governor. A child with Down Syndrome and an unemployed and pregnant 17-year old daughter, would break any middle class family.

For that, it was interesting to me that she has never broached the issue of health care. Instead, she has been using her family to prove points about abortion and conservatism, as seen by the religious right.

It became more apparent after yesterday's convention episode that McCain's choice for running mate was to appeal to the crowd that brought Bush into office. It did not matter what Palin's record was, whether or not she really fought the "big ol' boys" network, big oil companies, earmark spending, etc. All these claims are being disputed. 

Picking the Alaskan governor, to quote Karl Rove, was a "campaign decision", not a "governing decision". 

Proving this point is lack of any real information on Palin on the official McCain website. Apart from a photo, a title claiming "a fresh perspective", and a transcript of the press conference that announced her to the world (which she re-recited last night), there is little information about her or her "record".

McCain hopes the people will supply the narrative. Many will indeed, and she will surely be a polarizing but eloquent figure, proving to be a good Republican answer to Obama when it comes to presentation skills. But unfortunately for McCain, many will rely on the "elitist" and "evil" media as the Republicans like to call it, for more information about her. What I found so far isn't encouraging. Palin comes across as someone who uses her children to draw "conservative" voters, and who has extremely wild and worrying views on science and evolution. Her speech last night was mostly combative, though impressive in style. Ironically, it was her who accused her opponent of being all talk.

So what about health care?

Both Palin and Guiliani, the stars of last night's performance, failed to mention health care or McCain's health care plan. They spoke about terrorism, the need to attach "Islamic" to the term to make it sound more realistic, and McCain's courage eons ago as a soldier. McCain will fight for us, etc. But can he help pay my health care bill? I don't need a socialist solution. But what I don't appreciate is a plan that will make it worse for me.

Affording health care is one of my main concerns. My employer's justification for raising premiums every year, and making HMO plans extremely expensive for families, sounds a lot like McCain's plan to "Restore Control To The Patients Themselves." In fact, both my employer and John McCain use the same language. What this means, simply, is that patients will no longer have access to plans that pay 100% of the bill. Families have to pick plans that pay a certain percentage, and that force you to pay out of pocket until you meet a deductible. Kind of like car insurance plus you still have to fork out 20% or more of the total bill. So, if your wife has a baby, expect not being able to afford the hospital bill. If you get cancer, good luck.

Unlike Obama, who provided tons of details on this issue on his site and during his speech, McCain doesn't seem to think it's worthy of details. Obama might be taking it to the socialist extreme, but there's at least a solid plan to discuss.

I wonder if Palin's pregnant daughter will wed her presumably unemployed boyfriend AFTER giving birth. It makes sense. Let mommy take care of the bills while she's governor/running for VP.  And how will the "families of special needs children" find a friend in Washington (as she proclaimed) if they elect Palin, given what McCain is proposing?

It gets worse with McCain's plan.  His alternative to the "expensive" (wonder why!) employer-based insurance is to pay insurance companies directly through a "tax credit". So your employer is off the hook, your paycheck is the same, and your private health care provider gets richer. So no to big government, but yes to corporations feasting on my hard work and penalizing me for having children, healthy or with special needs?

I wonder if McCain, and Palin, know that doctors and hospitals in this country charge patients more than they end up getting paid by insurance companies? We, the middle class, get no "negotiated rates".

There are other issues, of course. Foreign policy might be one of them, and in the past, I have criticized Obama harshly for uneducated statements on Lebanon. Guiliani made a strong case, but he is not the VP, Palin is. And I don't buy what Cindy McCain said about Alaska's proximity to Russia making Palin experienced in national security. Like Guiliani said, we can't afford "on the job training". This applies to Palin too.

I don't know how many will be willing to forgive McCain for failing to present the people with a real governing team. We are simply being asked to place all our eggs in his good ol' basket, to wish him long life and good health (and health care), and accept Palin as a necessity to get him elected.