Reform * Prosperity * Peace, by Korelenna

I have used words from John McCain’s website for the title of this thread. If only we could actually have what John McCain wants!!

http://www.johnmccain.com/

Reform = to improve by alteration, correction of error, or removal of defects; put into a better form or condition.

First, I would like to alter who is in the White House and that would not be another person just like the one who is there now. Second, I would also like to have someone who could at least begin to correct all of the errors that have been made these past eight years, but that would most likely take a deity. Even though many of the Clinton supporters think those of us who support Obama believe he is God, we know he is merely a man trying to bring badly-needed change to our country. Last, I would like to see all of the defects from this administration removed. So, in those regards, I agree with McCain or at least the definition of reform because we do need some new conditions.

Prosperity = a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition, esp. in financial respects; good fortune.

Are we living in a prosperous society today? Maybe where you are that is the case, but where I am it is not. I believe most everyone who is reading this site would agree that we are not the prosperous nation today that we once were. China could probably buy or sell us right now. I do agree with many that during the Bill Clinton administration things were better for many people. We may have one of the best nations in the world, but for many Americans it is now tough making a living. Lately, though, we have been told we are a nation of “whiners”. Many have something to whine about.

Look at the job cuts just this year. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with job networking sites, but I’m on several of these sites. I believe most of them are built on the same premise of the six degrees of Kevin Bacon for job networking purposes (definition below). One of my job networking sites is www.linkedin.com. My third degree on that site has 2,311,500 people connected to me. These are people to whom I’m connected who are connected to another to try to help them (or me) get a job, especially if they work in a company where you want to work. Do you think these people are on these sites to chit chat? Not hardly; many are losing or have lost their jobs. Some of my contacts are people, even vice presidents, from DHL, which was recently taken over by UPS for their US flying operations. I read where 6,100 people will lose their jobs in Wilmington, OH due to this change. Others have been like me – through several downsizings. You can always tell when something is about to happen within a particular company because you receive an email from people working there asking you to link up with them. They’re going to need you!

http://www-distance.syr.edu/bacon.html

The average gas price today is $4.11 and diesel fuel is $4.83. Bush, making remarks about offshore drilling today, says that he “concedes it won’t produce a barrel of oil tomorrow, but it will reverse the psychology”. That psychology seems to go hand in hand with the whining. Wonder if that psychology can drive us to work and back or to the doctor? Bush says “It’s been a difficult time for many American families…[but] the nation’s economy continues to grow”. That’s great but it may take the average American sometime to realize that growth. Wonder what will pay their bills and buy their food until they realize that growth.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH?SITE=OHCOL&rfr=nwsl

Peace = (some of the definitions) the absence of war or other hostilities; an agreement or a treaty to end hostilities; freedom from quarrels and disagreement.

Well, we have a war; actually, we have two going on now and the Middle East is in chaos. We need an agreement or a treaty to end the hostilities. We need freedom from quarrels and disagreement. We even have quarrels and disagreement within the Democratic Party because some within the party will not vote for the presumptive Democratic candidate who will be running for President of the United States of America this year.

Maybe it is because I never was a Hillary Clinton supporter, but where is all of this anger about Hillary being treated so badly coming from? If her people had run a campaign worthy of a presidential candidate possibly she would be the candidate running in the general election. Her staff made many mistakes along the way while Obama and his people ran a campaign that even the conservatives are saying has been one of the best run in history. One of those mistakes from the Clinton camp was not strategically placing Bill Clinton, who does not ever think he needs to play by the rules, in areas of the country where he would not cause so much controversy. I did not care whether he had sex with another woman while in the White House, but look at the risks he took with that; and, look at what happened? If that episode had not happened late in his presidency, he would definitely go down as one of the best presidents in history, but this indiscretion will most likely be associated with his name forever.

Here we are going into the general election with our presumptive candidates Obama and McCain. We have a choice in spite of what some people say. People say they won’t vote. Some will but if they had their druthers, they would rather be voting for Clinton; at least they are exercising their right and privilege to vote. What if we had the choices some countries have for candidates? Many want a roll call for Clinton at the Democratic convention. What will this do? It will do nothing more than ensure that McCain has a better chance to win in November by showing that the Democrats are again in chaos, divisive, and hell bent on beating themselves, as has happened in the past.

We could change this country in November. It won’t be fast and we may not see much change for the next president’s term of four or even eight years, but it would be different than what we currently have. This is very personal for me because right in my own family there are individuals who have voted Democratic all of their lives and now say they will not vote at all in this election because their candidate did not win; and, in my opinion, it is also because many of them will not vote for a black man (who is also half white). There is so much at stake with a McCain presidency. Just think of what we have been through these past eight years and try to imagine four or eight more years of it. I think with Obama we have the chance to bring change not only to the United States but to the entire world. These next two weeks I intend to try to get a glimpse of what the world thinks of Obama during his travels overseas and to see how he reacts to them as well. Now, if we could only make some in our own party realize, as does Hillary Clinton, what might be possible we may actually have reform, prosperity, and peace again some day as we had in the Clinton years.

Karolenna