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September 4, 2008
Slamming
Minority Groups & History -
What Were They Thinking???
How dare
Gov. Sarah Palin and Mayor Rudy Guilliani
laugh at the
concept of "community organizers."
The fact that we should see her as much more than a former
beauty queen
is rooted largely in the hard work of 1906 organizers
known as the "suffragettes." They changed a nation's
thinking by
doing the impossible, mustering the clout to get
women the
right to vote. I guess organizers like
Cesar Chavez and
Martin Luther King
Jr. wasted their
time too, let
Palin and Guilliani tell it. When they scoffed
at Obama's
organizing efforts they insulted many great
people who've
moved millions to action in ways no
governor or
president ever politically could..
If Republican
governors have the upper hand with
their authority and skill, why is California's "Governator"
looking so impotent right now, two months into an impasse
over
the state budget? He couldn't even attend his
own party's
convention. If the Alaska Governor knows
better, try
solving this mess Arnold has helped create
in Sacramento
before tackle the big stuff in Washington, D.C.
John McCain
also planted his foot firmly in his
mouth
Thursday during his acceptance speech.
When several protestors disrupted his comments,
McCain, for a while, lost control of his convention.
If that didn't look bad enough, when the crowd
simmered down as guards dragged a woman protestor out,
the new leader of the Republican party said
"please don't be diverted by the ground noise and
the static."
So that's
what he and they think of most of us.
So much for free speech, freedom of expression,
and country first. Apparently people who make less than
five million
a year are noisy irritants to the powers-that-be
and his
party. Who cares if the rest of us played by the rules,
struggled to go to college, raised a family, stayed out of
trouble,
bought homes, etc. I guess McCain really meant what he said
in an interview with
Diane Sawyer
on Good Morning
America.
"America doesn't want someone like that being Vice-President."
So what chance do the rest of us have if he's running this
nation.
Finally...
For the so-called party that's kept America safe
since 911,
did you notice apparently how easy
it was for
protestors to sneak past convention security with their
signs? No
wonder American cargo ports
are no huge challenge to breach when this party's in-charge.
Media folks,
please do your job this election and don't
be scared off
by the wild, self-interest complaints of the
GOP.
Scrutinize
Palin and McCain exactly the way you
did Obama and Rev. Wright. The conventions are over.
Replace their PR blitz with something Americans know and
trust,
quality reporting and fact checking. Then leave the
rest up to us
this year.
Trust me. Many are ready, eager and organized
to act on
November 4th.by Bob Rucker
Journalism Professor
San Jose State University
GOP Convention:
Video - Gov. Palin Speech
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The African-American Impossible Dream
No More
August 28,
2008
by Bob
Rucker
When we watched that throng of people envelope Barack Obama
and his eloquent charge in Denver, so many Americans choked up.
My 94-year-old mother and aunt both stared at the TV screen in
quiet amazement. For them it was like watching an absolute miracle.
When that "skinny kid with a funny name" said
" I accept your nomination for the Presidency of the United
States,"
I drew a deep breathe and felt the slavery chains of despair finally
snapped and fell away. For African-Americans
everywhere, the ultimate despair, built up for centuries like a
curse,
now exploded like those dazzling fireworks after the speech that
finally showcased the "American Promise" for all of us.
Those horrible memories of lynchings, beatings, rapes,
separate lunch counters, white and black water fountains and
bathrooms
all were now overwhelmed by a much more meaningful image of power
and strength. A black man, a kindred
spirit, who chose education
over drugs and guns, public
service over greed, and determination
over hopeless surrender, had forge more powerful weapons in the
lifelong
battle of America's continuing civil war on racism.
In school for many many years, black children like me have dreamed,
just like millions of others, that someday we might run for
president.
Quietly we knew and resigned ourselves immediately to the sad belief
and hopelessness that that day would never come. So for all my
ancestors,
classmates and friends who didn't survive to see
Barack Obama take command of that football field and finally even
the score for
all of us, I cried tears of great joy knowing thousands
of black sharecroppers, maids, butlers, shoe shine people,
performers
and many others must be looking
down and cheering wildly along with Martin Luther King Jr.
and Our Creator himself.
America is finally the one place on earth where EVERYONE
can reach for the stars, work hard to grab them,
and hold dear in our heart any dream, with none
being all that impossible anymore.
by Bob Rucker
Journalism Professor
San Jose State University
Barack Obama's
Democratic Party Acceptance Speech 8/28/08 :
Media Reviews
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The VEEP Choice
2008 ???
VS
My Prediction: VEEPSTAKES WINNERS ALREADY
August 16, 2008
It's anybody's
guess who John Mc Cain and Barack
Obama will choose to be their vice-presidential running mate.
But out west, some of us think it's a no brainer for obvious
reasons.
No matter who's ultimately chosen on either side,
Mitt Romney and Joe Biden
are the big also-ran winners this year. These two former
presidential
rivals of their party's presumptive nominees have proven this summer
how smart they are to bury the hatchet quickly and move on
gracefully.
They are political pros and heavy hitter, party leaders who
seem destined to play a major role this fall in stirring up
the heat in this election.
Truth be told, of course,
neither man would ever want to be anybody's #2.
Just a few months ago, they were fiercely fighting it out
for the number one slot. But now it's a whole new
ballgame. Clearly both men have future goals and
aspirations, and now is no time to be licking their
wounds and sulking about not getting the nomination.
Are you listening Hillary Clinton?
For former Massachusetts Governor Romney
it's all about showcasing swallow-hard loyalty to the GOP faithful.
He made clear last spring how irritated he was with
John McCain's existence in the race. But now it's "suck-it-up"
and show-me-some-love time. The business savvy Romney
knows if he stands out front and takes what comes like a good
party shoulder, and McCain crashes and burns in November,
Romney will be front and center to help pick up the pieces
immediately. That will endear him to the down-and-out
Republicans. The handsome former corporate and government
chief executive looks like Ronald Reagan to the teary-eyed
party, and probably puts him at the top of the early 2012 list
of GOP presidential want-to-bees.
Senator Biden articulates foreign policy and explains
international leaders and situations better than
a graduate level poly sci professor. Barack Obama
and he seem to have a natural, comfortable
interactive friendship, like kindred spirits. Unlike
Clinton and Gore, this duet likes working with
and looking out for one another.
Both know
their impressive intellects and
unique styles feed off each other. Biden offers Obama
"instant cred" on world affairs and military issues.
Obama gives Biden star status and a diehard following
the Delaware Senator has longed for since the early days
of his first failed bid for the White House.
Biden was great in the spring democratic debates early on.
No one out talked him, you learned from his experience,
and his down-to-earth, common sense talk like the 'average joe'
abruptness was very refreshing.
Biden's personal enthusiasm and pitbull attack dog energy
would also keep the similiar Mitt Romney on his toes
in any Vice Presidential debate this fall.
If it comes
down to these two for VP,
look for the fireworks in their debate to fly better
than the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Finally, it
also seems quite obvious that both men
could care less about being VP, but each would love to have
the exclusive ear of the President of the United States
whenever he wanted it. No doubt the normally testy McCain
would grow weary of Romney's "I know better than you" ego,
but the national media would love being the ringmaster
of that fiery administration.
Truly Romney and Biden bring pluses and minuses
to each ticket, no doubt...but the bottom line,
'It's all about winning the White House stupid,'
as Bill Clinton might say. You could learn
to put up with almost anything, including President Clinton
himself as the VP spouse,
IF ( and this is a huge IF ) you could truly count on your
VP choice to work selflessly and tirelessly this fall to
champion the party's goals and the standard bearer
at the top of the ticket.
If only Hillary had played nicer earlier on.
The VP slot would be hers to turn down today,
probably for the same reasons
Romney is dying to be asked.
We'll see.
+ + + + + + +
Bob Rucker
Former CNN Correspondent
Broadcast Journalism Coordinator
A West
Coast Leader in Journalism Education
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