Senator Obama on the O'Reilly Factor Part 1

Finally after about 9 months of waiting, if I remember correctly, Senator Obama has lived up to his word to appear on the Bill O’Reilly Fox News program, The O’Reilly Factor. There are going to be 4 parts to the interview, of which tonight was the first. And I must say that it was far too short. The rest of the interview will air from Monday thru Wednesday next week.

Bill O’Reilly was direct and confrontational, as he always is in interviews, but he was also the usual fair interviewer. The questions so far have been solidly based on what voters are most concerned about and included 4 out of 10 questions I expected him to be asked (including 2 that I am aware of for Tuesday).



Senator Obama answered the question on the Surge, finally admitting that it was a

“success beyond all expectations”

And there was the question about if America is involved in a war on terror where he again said yes. Further adding that our enemies include Al Quida, the Taliban and a network of other fanatical Muslims that have “perverted Islam”.

I am surprised by the answers as Senator Obama has been remiss to speak so directly on such issues. His prior stances on such aggressive actions by America have generally lead one to believe he is far more pacifist than his answers with O’Reilly revealed.

Now that is not to say that Senator Obama was on brand new territory with all the questions. He still maintains his latest view of Iran, that it is dangerous and a nuclear Iran is unacceptable. A far cry for his early descriptions of the nation. And I accept that how he would prepare for an Iran pursuing nuclear weapons could not be answered as since he potentially could be out next President and thus would be tipping his hand.

Though that raises an interesting question. If telling Iran about our plans is foreshadowing our actions, how is creating an exacting timetable not the same? If Iran could anticipate and counter our actions because we openly provided our plans, how can Al Quida or any other group not anticipate and react to a specific date of withdrawl – not unlike Saigon in the 1970’s?

Moving on, I’m also glad that O’Reilly admitted that history will likely prove that our initial action against Iraq was a bad idea. That Senator Obama, then unelected and unable to vote in the Senate, was correct to oppose the war. Though I continue to think that Democrats are far too fixated on that one event in the past, looking for people to blame without dealing with the pressing current issue at hand.

But in discussing Iraq, which I started with, I noticed something about Senator Obama I had not seen before. He refuses to admit he was wrong to any degree. He was adamant to point out how there are problems with the Surge, and that it has not accomplished everything it was supposed to. And that prior to the vote for the Surge (which he and Democratic VP Senator Biden voted against) he relied on the fact that President Bush’s strategies had been wrong.

Now given that he is absolutely correct, President Bush had run the war exceptionally badly, that does not change the fact that the Surge worked – as he admitted – and thus he and Biden were wrong in their vote. I have to wonder that if he cannot admit that, how is he different than how Democrats stated President Bush was intractable in his belief about pre-Surge Iraq? If one was bad, how is another not equally troubling?

Now another thing I noticed is the body language of both men. Bill O’Reilly was sitting in a very guarded position. And Senator Obama was sitting forward. As the conversation got headed, respectfully, Obama tapped O’Reilly several times.

I’m not an expert but I take that to mean that O’Reilly was on the offense. Senator Obama was intense, slightly uncomfortable and when he was touching O’Reilly he was trying to establish a sense of friendliness, deflection of argument, and asserting his strength of convictions. Both are not bad things and speak to the strong characters of both men.

Overall I have to say that the entire first part was far too short. I wanted to hear more. I’m anxious to see what else will be asked and how Senator Obama responds. I am especially interested in the Tuesday portion.

I do not feel that either man was disrespected. Both made intelligent arguments. And Senator Obama showed a determination that really has not appeared before.

Oh I mentioned Tuesday. That is when questions about Bill Ayers and Rev Wright will be asked. I previously stated I thought that this would be included in the questions asked. I was told that I was racist to hope for Obama to be asked these questions. We shall see if Senator shares that opinion, or my own.

Counting 5 years plus Part 2 - 9.10.2007.2

Continued from Counting 5 years plus Part 1 ...

But as for African Americans and Iraq. I have heard many say, this is not our war. That this is merely a war over oil, and something only the rich are concerned about. Some have said it’s a battle against other Black people and they will not support it. Yet I have never heard the media discuss this.

If this is a sentiment held by many African Americans then it needs to be addressed. Issues that separate America do not go away without being brought to the light and dealt with. The fact that only Dennis Kucinich is willing to support, and even speak about, reparations and or a national apology for Slavery should be example enough.

I will take a stab at this though. Iraq is not Bush’s war, its America’s. Al Queada attacked America. While some (Rosie O’Donnell) may not believe fire can melt steel, I and steel workers understand that it can thus when the Twin Towers were attacked it was an attack against me and you. Perhaps if more of the people questioning this fact were in NYC and had friends that were there they might realize this. Being Americans that are Black, which means they were attacking us too.

Across the world, African Americans are seen as Americans first, color second. That’s not a guess, it’s what I have lived. So when Al Quida says they want to destroy us, they mean everyone that does not believe their fanatical brand of Islam. So we are as involved in this war as anyone. Another thought to keep in mind. Many Africans do not see Black Americans as being the same as them. We are Americans, not Africans. Some may feel Al Quida is Black, but this is not a reciprocal thought. Moreso, they wish us dead not because of race, but because of religion. Even if they might agree on color (which the German men - arrested prior to attacking Americans in Germany – were white to my knowledge but were of the same fanatical faith) faith trumps all. So for those it applies to, don’t fool yourself that an agent of Al Queada would spare Harlem any more than Wall Street.

As for oil, I’ll grant it was probably one reason among many. Just as freeing slaves was one cause of the Civil War – though probably 5th on the list no matter how time has romanticized the facts and improved its importance. Is that a bad thing? No. America uses a lot of oil. There is no difference in race when it comes to electricity to run the lights, computers or gas for the cars. All Americans use oil, and more of it available is good for America, until we find a separate energy source. To claim that oil is of no benefit to any group in the nation is a lie. It may not be the best reason, but the reality is that it is a reason all the same.

So what will happen in the next 5 years? Will we still be fighting the Iraq War? Will Michael Vick be just getting out of jail, or returning to the NFL? Will R Kelly finally go to court and stand trial for his actions – and will the family of the girl that was raped still be working for him? Will Wesley Snipes have cleared his name and proven the government’s claims false? Will there finally be coverage of issues and events that African Americans find important, or just the spotty headline grabbing tidbits that fall far short of real journalism? Or will the major news media still be chasing and incised by OJ Simpson.

The latest lawsuit against Michael Vick - 8.14.2007.1

Ok, this is too much. I’ve heard wild stories and the like over my nearly 40 years but this has gone too far.

It started after Michael Vick was arrested for running a dog fighting ring. A big deal and many were quite upset. Some though were upset because they somehow concluded that this was just an attack on a rich African American. While I will submit that Mr. Vick is rich, and Black, neither takes away from the crime he is alleged to have committed. Dogfighting is a vile crime, and ANYONE who is involved should face the legal penalties that are available. As much as some may wish, Mr. Vick is culpable on some level at the least and probably guilty as charged based on the facts known.

But the story does not end there. The latest news is not about his ongoing legal dilemma. It’s not about the fact that sponsor have fled from him like rats on a sinking ship. It isn’t even the debate on whether or not he should play football this season (come on, of course he won’t and should not). No, the latest news is that Mr. Vick has been accused of being an agent of Al Quida.

Yes, court papers have been filed stating that Mr. Vick swore an oath to Al Quaeda, ran the dog fighting ring as a means to generate income and used those proceeds to buy missiles off of eBay to be used against America. This has all come out of a lawsuit seeking $63 billion billion dollars in damages.

I’m not making this stuff up. It’s real. Notice I didn’t say credible or serious. All of this was found in the legal documents filed by Jonathan Lee Riches. Riches is a ‘guest’ of South Carolina penal facilities. He accuses Mr. Vick of violating multiple laws including:

• Copyright infringement (what possible copyright does Riches own that Mr. Vick infringed on I really want to know)
  
  
• Violating the 14th Amendment – which determines national citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons – (how can Mr. Vick affect Riches 14th Amendment rights?)
  
  
• Violating the 8th Amendment – cruel and unusual punishment – (I’ve not heard of that being applied to animals before but I’ll almost give him that)
  
  
• The 6th – speedy and public trials – (when did Mr. Vick become a judge?)
  
  
• Not to forget the 5th, 4th, 2nd and 1st Amendments as well – I just don’t need to go on do I?
  

It gets better. Mr. Vick is accused of stealing this convicts pit bulls, and after having them fight, sold them on eBay. The proceeds from these dogs were used to buy the missiles mentioned above from Iran. But Mr. Vick was not done with inmate Riches, the then stole his ID to buy dogfood and supplies under the assumed name. But this has been a long term fued with Mr. Vick as inmate Riches alleges that some of the crimes were from 2001.

Now I have to say the best one is that Mr. Vick is alleged to have used microwave testing on imate Riches. That is just the icing on the cake.

By the way, inmate Riches plead guilty to credit card fraud.[As best as I’ve been able to confirm his identity.]

Mr. Michael Vick has enough real problems to keep him quite busy. This fluff will obviously go nowhere. But perhaps it will give Mr. Vick, and you my readers, a moment of levity in your day. Beware the jailhouse lawyers, they are almost as bad as the real ones.[Had to pick on lawyers, it was just too easy.]

This is what I think, what do you think?