African-American Legacy

The race for the Atlanta mayor's position, as discussed in a previous blog, has come to a conclusion: the African-American Kasim Reed has come out on top, with less than a 1% lead in the votes. Reed is the fifth consecutive black mayor for Atlanta. But this race has highlighted the failing Atlanta politcal machine.
The city has a history of electing blacks to politics, and whites to business ventures. However, the population is increasing, the white community in particular, and the newcomers are unaware of the customs. Also causing the failing politcal machine is that the black politcal community is not as united as it once was, and more whites than ever are running for politcal office.

The changing of the dynamics of Atlanta's politics are a good thing, I feel. It's 2009, for goodness' sake. The candidate that best represents the beliefs of his constituents should be elected, no matter what race they are. The lasting political dynasty of African-American mayors in the city was a very close call for this race, and who knows what will happen the next time the mayoral seat it up for grabs?

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/78620642.html

New health-care bill on President's desk by 2010?

President Barack Obama met with the Democratic senators to talk about the passage of the health-care reform. The forty-five minute meeting apparently gave President Obama reason to believe that his deadline of the new year for a health-care reform bill will be met, because on his way out, he stated, "They're going to get it done." A new proposal was also presented; this new proposal would have a health plan similar to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan. The Office of Personnel Management would oversee the plan, and all of the options would be non-profit.

Senator Olympia Snowe (Rep - ME) says that she believes that this will be a good compromise, because it will give the public options to buy insurance from private companies.

I really think that this idea is a good one; obviously, this is not the whole extent of the bill, but this little summary makes the proposal sound good. There should be the option for consumers to buy their own health insurance, instead of everyone having to do the government's option. Personally, I think that in the future (this could very well change once I get there) I will buy privately, as long as I live within a community like this currently, with a good, solid company such as RMHMO, that has gained national attention.

http://www.examiner.com/x-4383-Portland-Progressive-Examiner~y2009m12d6-Politics-on-Sunday--Obama-to-Dems-Pass-health-care-reform

Palin backs "birthers"

Sarah Palin has lent her support to people that are questioning President Barack Obama's citizenship. "Birthers" are the people that don't believe that President Obama does not have a US birth certificate.

Palin went on "The Robert Humphrey's Show" on Thursday, December 3, to talk about her book, "Going Rogue."

"I think it's a fair question," Palin says, "just like I think past associations and past voting records - all of that is fair game."

"I think the public is still rightfully making it an issue."

She later went on Facebook to declare that she merely supports these people, and has not raised questions about it herself.

Even in the article, it states that this idea is a "conspiracy theory," an secret plot that the general public is largely unaware about. This is a ridiculous idea; being a prominent politition, even before he was elected President, there has to be checks into his background. I do support Palin that past voting and associations is a very big deal, because when senators or representatives have changed their voting patterns it can cause a scandal and that might not get the incumbents reelected, but a politician's birthplace? Really? Can we get more paranoid?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/04/AR2009120404214.html

Black vs. White Turnout

The race for the next mayor of Atlanta might be dependent on which race votes for a candidate. The two candidates are Mary Norwood, a city councilwoman, and Kasim Reed, who resigned from the Senate to run. In the city of 38% whites and 57% blacks, one strategist claims that the race could hinge on Norwood getting more black votes than Reed gets white votes. As for spending money, Reed gained momentum and money from a recent media blitz, and, according to the latest financial report, spent $790,000, and Norwood spent $566,000.

The strategist that claimed that Norwood would have to get more black votes than Reed gets white has a very good point; some ignorant voters, and I emphasize the "some", may vote for either candidate because of their race. However, other voters claim that race didn't pertain to their choice; as one voter said, "I can't necessarily say that weighed heavily into my decision, it was an added bonus."

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/US_Atlanta_Mayor.html

Ambassador to Afganistan explains reservations on troop increase

The Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, has contacted the President to express his concerns about the plan to increase troops. The recently elected Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has since contacted the US Embassy in Afghanistan to try to determine exactly what was said. Officials have not confirmed the contents of the cables, instead merely saying that Eikenberry "expressed concern and reservations about troop increases in Afghanistan." The reason for his concern is that he is not quite sure how exactly Karzai is going to implement his hand in the government, and exactly what type of government Karzai is going to bring. Eikenberry has, in the past, expressed his concerns about corruption in Karzai's government, and how effective he will be in working with the US to fight the Taliban. Eikenberry also feels that Karzai has not been consistent in his behavior, which is worrisome for Obama.



http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/12/obama.afghanistan/index.html



Although the article did not say much about Karzai's questioning about the documents (who's existance has been confirmed by White House officials on two seperate occasions), this paranoid behavior seems to say that the Afghan president is indeed flaky, as Eikenberry had expressed. Even though the United States has managed to implement a democratic voting system in Afghanistan, there is still a lot to do before the corruption, etc., are out of the system.
To fight the Taliban, the US is going to definitely need to cooperation of the Afghan government, which, as Eikenberry states, is not definite.

Palin's Oprah interview.... in the Politics section?

Even though the whole country, I'm sure, is obsessed with the Palin family's fued with almost family-member Levi Johnston, there should be no reason that Sarah Palin's interview with Oprah should be posted in the "Politics" section of CNN.com. While the topic is interesting (why would the Palin's still condsider Johnston as "part of the family" after the war of words that has persisted between the two parties?), it would be better placed, say, in the "Entertainment" section of the site. This is not political news, despite the fact that Sarah Palin

is still making headlines for multiple reasons. There are much more important stories that are actually politcally-orientated that would be much more use to the site, such as the President of Afghanistan relaying his feeling about an increase of troops to the region to Obama, or the number two Republican in the House, Eric Cantor, denying reports that he will run for President. The article about Palin held absolutely nothing about anything political, unless you count the fact that Palin declares that the campaign staff encouraged her to do the Katie Couric interview that she said was a "bad interview." We really need to relegate posts such as these to the "Entertainment" section, and let REAL political news take the headlines.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/11/12/palin-were-not-really-into-the-drama/

Congress to miss health-care deadline

President Obama set a deadline of the end of the year to get a health-care reform passed. Dick Durbin, D-Il., the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, said that while the President's deadline wont be met, he at least hopes to pass a health-care bill in the Senate by that time.
Former President Bill Clinton visited the White House to discuss the bill with the Senate Democrats. After trying and failing to get a health-care overhaul passed while in office, Clinton told the current Senators that they had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to push through a reform package that is crucial to the country's long-term health.
The Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, D-Nv, has in the past expressed his doubt that the deadline could be met. Right now, the most crucial obstacle is whether or not to include a government-public run option.
However, leaders in both the House and the Senate have agreed on a couple broad changes that would be included in the bill: subsidizing insurance for a family of four for up to $88,000 per year; expand Medicaid and create health insurance exchanges; and limit out of pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/10/health.care/index.html

The Dems need to hurry and try to push their bill through both the House and the Senate, before the elections coming up next year.
It's also my personal opinion that they should indeed add a stipulation for a government-run public option, because the states would have till 2014 to decided whether or not to accept this. That will give the states time to take polls, and determine if it would be beneficial for the people in their states.