The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Maybe I should just trust the polls. In my gut it doesn't make sense what I'm hearing, but if the polls are the true barometer of what's going on out there, then maybe I'm missing something. Or maybe I'm missing a lot.

Because here's what I don't quite get; more than a few pundits, news commentators, and news stories have all been pedaling the story that  the general election race between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney is going to be a real nail-biter that will take us down to the wire. In earlier months, when the Republicans were doing their best to self-destruct, Obama was given a fairly comfortable lead over Romney and everyone else, but now that Romney is the clear leader the latest storyline is that the Republican troops have resigned themselves to the fact that Romney is The Guy and they are rallying behind him. And now that they are all united behind their guy, whatever reservations they may have - and there are plenty - the numbers indicate that this rallying of the conservative base around the Mittster is creating enough of a bump that Obama may have one hell of a fight on his hands come the general election campaign.

And I agree that in politics few things are certain except that they're not. The sure front-runner can be dog catcher within a matter of weeks - or days. But I must admit I'm having a  hard time understanding how this race is supposed to be so damned close. Sure, I'm an avowed Obama supporter and want the man to win a second term. But you don't have to be an Obama fan to see how much Mitt Romney has distanced himself from practically every voting constituency except for rich white folks like himself and angry not-quite-so-rich folks who just cannot stand Obama and want him out of there even if they're not that enthused about Romney. That does not equal the majority of voting age Americans.

Consider:

• Women voters now prefer Obama to Romney by a double-digit margin of at least 14 points according to one poll. More than a few say that it is virtually impossible to win an election with that many women committed to the other candidate.
• Hispanic voters favor Obama by a nearly 6 to 1 margin according to a poll conducted by FOX News Latino. Hispanics are becoming a critical constituency in states like Colorado and Arizona, let alone Texas.
• African American voters are once again expected to come out in large numbers (close to 90 percent) in favor of Obama.
• Although the rock star image has been tarnished somewhat due to the realities of politics and governing, which can be hard for the more idealistic young to stomach, it does appear that they will once again be more solidly in Obama's corner this time just like last election, although not as fervently as before. But even if they come out in lower numbers, the likelihood of them gambling on Mitt Romney this time around seems, well, remote to say the least.
• Not only are the Teamsters throwing their support behind Obama, which wasn't necessarily a shock, but they are committing thousands of door-to-door volunteers who now have the ability to knock not just on the doors of other union members but the general population. This could go a long way toward attracting the white working class that so many say are weary of Obama, especially in states like my home state Of Michigan and also Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

Once again, I'm not going to go so far out on a limb as to suggest that Obama is going to win this running away. He may not even win by the same comfortable margin as he did in 2008, due largely to the soon-to-be-seen impact of the massive voter suppression efforts that have been underway ever since Obama became President, and the disproportionate amount of funds being shoveled into the SuperPACs which Democrats simply cannot compete against. These are formidable barriers to be sure.

But even against those negatives, and factoring in disenchantment amongst the progressive block represented by those such as Prof. Cornel West, Tavis Smiley, Ralph Nader, and others, the embarrassingly tepid support of Romney amongst his base - and his pathetic campaign - make it hard to imagine how he's going to present such a massive threat to a campaigner such as Obama with a more than impressive record of achievement that is only now receiving the exposure that it should have gotten long ago. It's hard to imagine an army of enthusiastic Romney supporters swarming the nation, especially when it is Romney himself whose perpetual gaffes are providing the Obama campaign with the best negative political ads they could ever ask for. Even conservative commentator Joe Scarborough on his MSNBC show 'Morning Joe' blurted out publicly during prime time that none of the Republican political leaders and heavy hitters with whom he is in regular contact believed Romney was going to win in 2012.

As for those who want to trot out the losses of incumbent President Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan in 1980, and the loss of Democratic challenger Michael Dukakis to George H.W. Bush in 1988 to show how a Democrat can lose this, I say you can't seriously be comparing Barack Obama to either one of those gentlemen. And especially in the case of Jimmy Carter, where not only can you not compare Carter to Obama, you damned sure can't compare Mitt Romney to Ronald Reagan, whose actor's charisma and base of enthusiastic support were off the charts.

Sometimes I think you have to question the polls...

It's coming out next week! Make sure to go to http://barackobama.com to sign up to receive the full video!

• The POTUS Cannot Control US Gas Prices! (thedspotredeux.blogspot.com)
• Obama Campaign Releases New Footage From The Road We've Traveled Campaign Documentary (mediaite.com)

Yeah, Fox News admitted as much in 2008, and even urged the US to do more to promote mass transit options! Of course, that was when the President was a Republican while gas prices approached $4/gallon in the spring of 2008.

Now that Barack Obama is president as gas prices approach $4/gallon in 2012--it's ALL HIS FAULT!

• Fox News in 2008 - "No President can Control Oil Prices" (climatecrocks.com)
• Obama Mocks Fox Correspondent Who Asks Why He Wants Higher Gas Prices (thinkprogress.org)
• Fox News On Gas Prices In 2008 vs Fox News blaming President Obama in 2012 (tribuneofthepeople.com)

Our POTUS gets hit with complaints, arguments, and downright lies from both sides, but like the old watch commercial says, he takes a lickin' but keeps on tickin'! Classy all the way and every day!

I LOVE this man, and my husband knows it! (He loves him too...and you know how I mean when I say "love"!)

I, for one of tens of millions, am very glad that Mr. Herman Cain has "suspended" his presidential campaign.

(By suspending, not ending, his campaign, he is still free to raise and spend money. We, the American taxpayers--including the 99%, are paying for his Secret Service protection for at least another 9.99 weeks. Why is it that government is only supposed to work for YOU, Mr. Cain?)

There are a lot of Republicans and very right-wing people who continue to support Herman Cain and actually think he would've made a good President. Not.

The reasons I am glad Mr. Cain's gone are not totally because I am a proud liberal and progressive Democrat. It is deeper than that. 

5) He may have been a successful businessman and motivational speaker and all that, but how can you truly "motivate" people by denigrating them and calling them lazy and worthless? ("If you aren't rich or don't have a job, it's YOUR fault!" said Mr. Cain.) I, for one of tens of millions of fellow liberals and progressives, believe in "Sankofa": reaching back and helping others up, not pulling up the ladder once you've personally reached the top.

4) I resent being called "brainwashed" and "living on a plantation" just because I don't think like Herman Cain does. Again, it seems like Mr. Cain and his campaign just ran on "applause lines". It is precisely BECAUSE I can think and analyze for myself that I made an INFORMED choice to be a liberal progressive and not a conservative.

3) I prefer my President to be readers AND leaders. Maybe if Mr. Cain "read" a little more, he'd know the name of the President of U-becky-becky-stan-stan and the successful Libya policy of President Obama, AND he would know and understand that it is NOT politically prudent to denigrate and make fun of another sovereign state.

2) I also prefer for my President NOT to play the "victim" at every turn. Every time Mr. Cain had a problem, it was always someone or something else's fault: the Democrats, the "liberal media", "unsubstantiated accusations", the middle class, the Black people who were "scared" of a "real Black Man"...yada, yada, yada. Mr. Cain may not have noticed, but there is already a "real Black Man" in the White House. I almost laughed when Mr. Cain said in his farewell speech that the "lies about him" were "hurting his family". More lies have been told about President Obama and his wife and family than Mr. Cain can shake a stick at--many of those lies told by Mr. Cain himself. But do you hear the President whining and complaining at every turn? No--Barack Hussein Obama is the role model that Mr. Cain should follow. Our current president just "brushes the dirt off his shoulder" and keeps on working for the good of ALL Americans.

1) I am equally incensed that Mr. Cain has set himself up as judge and jury of other Americans by stating that he would not "have any Muslims in his administration". On the one hand, Mr. Cain boldly states that there is no longer a "race problem" in America (of course, he then plays the "race card" when it is convenient for him), but he perpectuates other racial/religious/cultural stereotypes such as all Muslims are terrorists and Muslims cannot be "real Americans" nor can they be trusted. Well, it seems as if it is Mr. Cain who cannot be trusted. 

Good riddance, Mr. Cain. You are now reduced to a trivia question on "Final Jeopardy". Don't forget to ask Ann Coulter if she still feels that "her blacks" are better than "our blacks". "Our Black" is the scandal-free President of the United States of America, and you, Mr. Cain, are a joke and an embarrassment to all Americans.

• Herman Cain Goes Down Swinging The Stupid Stick As He Quits The GOP Race (kaystreet.wordpress.com)
• Garrett Quinn: Good riddance to Herman Cain (boston.com)
• The Black Conservative Candidate Hits The Immovable Liberal Object (fullback23.wordpress.com)
• Goodbye Herman Cain! (murraymsilveresq.wordpress.com)
• Poll: Herman Cain Can't Even Quit straight. (culturalhealth.blogspot.com)

Perennial Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a native of Michigan and son of former Michigan governor George Romney, famously said in December 2008: "Let Detroit go bankrupt." He was referring to the then-on-the-brink U.S. auto industry. He didn't care about the tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs that would be lost. He didn't care about the lost manufacturing base of the American auto industry. He didn't care about Detroit.

Of course, AFTER President Barack Obama and the Michigan Democratic Congressional leaders, including John Conyers, Debbie Stabenow, Carl Levin, and Sander Levin, as well as former Democratic Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm led a government-sponsored loan (not 'bailout") program, the U.S. auto industry is doing better than ever. All of the big three are reporting repeated quarterly profits, tens of thousands of saved and/or new jobs, exciting new car models, and additional investments in plants and R&D, Mr. Romney said saving the auto industry was "his idea" all along.

No, Mitt, it was not. You are famous for wanting to throw ordinary people and companies under the bus. You are most famous for flip-flopping.

Please help this video go viral as Mitt "comes home to Michigan" for a GOP debate in metro Detroit on Wednesday night to try to make us forget that he wanted Detroit to go bankrupt. We are NOT forgetting, Mitt. Hit the road.

After President Obama revealed his "Can't Wait" campaign early this week, essentially utilizing the power of issuing executive orders to accomplish what reason and compromise never could with a Republican party held hostage by a certifiably insane rightwing, I have been told any number of times by friends - and foes - from the more progressive left that this is nothing to celebrate because these gift-wrapped deceptions are nothing more than chess pieces in a well-crafted yet evil campaign strategy orchestrated  by a smooth politician who wants to get re-elected in 2012.

Yep, you heard it here first; President Barack Obama is a politician behaving like a politician as he plays the political game of timing-is-everything as he greases the wheels for the  2012 presidential re-election campaign by delivering the goods at an opportune time that is likely to benefit him  politically.

So what?

The toxic word here is the word 'politician', a word now considered equally repugnant as the words 'Washington' and 'liberal'. Ever-conscious of  being on the right side of the ever-changing political word game, the demonizing of these three little words has resulted in the oft repeated lies spouted by so many national-level candidates that they are repulsed (repulsed, I tell you!) by Washington, are 'outsiders' to the Washington game, and that they are not politicians. For Democrats, who long ago caved to the Republican rightwing instead of standing up for all the benefits of liberalism, most are now obligated to maintain an arm's length distance from the 'L' word. This is the same 'L' word that is one of the cornerstones of the Democratic Party and is responsible for some of its most significant milestone accomplishments such as Social Security and Medicare. Personally I believe this Democrat buy-in to the demonization of liberalism is what laid the groundwork for the so-called Blue Dog Democrats (DINO's), who have frequently proved more than useless when it came to crunch time and we needed their support. The compromises that had to be made with the Blue Dogs to achieve passage of Obama's Health Care bill is a prime example of that.

But I'm getting off track. Here's the point; hell yes Obama is a politician. When are we going to understand what that means? Did we not know that he was a politician when he was running for office? Did we not understand that the only wayany candidate gets elected to office - especially the presidency - is by being an extremely good politician who knows how the game is played and has the ability to play it better than the competition? Did we honestly expect Obama to accomplish anything at all without acting like a politician?

President Lyndon Johnson was one of the most effective presidents in history. This was largely because he had a virtual super majority in both the House and the Senate (something Obama can only dream about), but Johnson was also one who didn't even bother trying to cast himself as an outsider to Washington ways. He was a creature of Washington in every sense of the word - both good and bad - but he never ran away from it. Nor did he run from his Texas roots and the rough-and-tumble political tactics he learned in his early days. Johnson had served as both a congressman and a senator, and he had been an aide to some of Washington's most powerful and influential political figures prior to becoming president. Johnson capitalized on his extensive knowledge of the Washington political game - and his noted arm-twisting ways - to make it all work for him. He may have been a ruthless son-of-a-bitch who throughout his career frequently exchanged political purity for expediency, but he was our son-of-a-bitch. And in the end? It was Johnson who actually got the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed, followed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. No way could he have accomplished any of this as an ideological purist who tried to pretend he wasn't a professional politician. And he definitely could not have gotten it done trying to be more of a Republican than a Democrat.

Because when it comes to the heavy lifting, you don't want an amateur; you want a professional.

While the Republican candidates continue to gnaw at each other's ankles as they try repeatedly - and unsuccessfully - to claw their way out of a barrel, and as the rest of the Republican party continues to meekly bend over, close eyes, and spread cheeks before the unrelenting onslaught of the Tea Party, President Obama's long term strategy of backing the enemy into a corner with nowhere left to turn continues to unfold.  A good friend of mine recently questioned the often debated point about whether Obama is actually a three-dimensional chess player who thinks and acts several moves ahead, or is he being given too much credit by the Obamabots who refuse to face the fact that the president would rather sell the family store and call it a day than stand and fight for what's right. And for what's ours.

At least in this instance - and I would argue there have been others as well - it is becoming clear Obama has seen much further down the road than the opposition. With the unveiling this week of the 'Can't Wait' strategy, where Obama has essentially announced plans to toss the let-us-reason-together approach overboard, bound and gagged, into the cold waters below in favor of the far simpler middle-finger extended approach, my guess is it may just now be dawning on the Republicans who they're dealing with.

Here's the abbreviated version of how we got here: Obama first announced his  $447 billion jobs bill  on September 8 with one of his more masterful media performances given before the full Congress. Possibly his best to date. He knew he had a good plan, a great  plan, but he also knew by now that it didn't matter if God Himself  had co-written the bill because so long as Obama's name was anywhere to be seen on it then the Republicans were going to shoot it out of the sky and then torch it. And so they did. But it was during that address to Congress when Obama offered a glimpse of where he was headed when he instructed Republicans in the obvious, that Americans did not have the luxury of waiting until 2013 before any action could be taken to offer them jobs relief. He knew the Republicans didn't want to give him a win, but this wasn't about giving Obama a win so much as it was about addressing the jobs crisis. People  need jobs right now, and they can't afford to wait and gamble their lives on the slim possibility that one of the Republican presidential candidates just might succeed in unseating him - and then come to the rescue of the struggling middle class whom they have scorned and ignored for so long.

"Pass this jobs bill," said Obama.

Kiss our ass, replied the Republicans.

But for awhile now the polls have shown that a majority of the American people are  growing more and more in favor of Obama's jobs bill the more they learn about it. One, because it's a good bill that offers quite a few good things, and two, because the Republicans have no plan of their own. They rarely do.  The primary two reasons Republicans can't support the bill are that  it's an Obama bill and that rich folks will be required to pay their fare share in taxes to help fund the program. Republicans claim Obama is engaging in class warfare, but an increasing number of Americans are beginning to realize that this is Grade A bullshit. As disorganized as the Occupy Wall Street movement may be, I think it's safe to say the sheer numbers of pissed off Americans involved is either inspiring or intimidating, depending which side of the fence you're on. And I think it's also safe to say the Republicans will not be the beneficiaries of this movement - a movement which currently enjoys much more popularity and support than either the Tea Party or the Congress. A movement which most definitely lists as one of its many demands that the wealthy corporations start handing over their fair share.

So now, feeling the momentum gaining, Obama announces that since it appears the Republicans are determined to obstruct anything he does to help the American people, he plans to take matters into his own hands and begin implementing as much of his agenda as possible via executive orders. In other words, taunting Republicans into a direct, full-on, come on mf show me what you got kinda battle. Do the Republicans really want to be on record vetoing the president's attempt to offer relief to the majority of American people so desperately in need? Truth is - and Obama knows this - they very possibly will have no problem being that coldly calculating. But if so, Obama more than likely wins. And if they cave and say, "Fine. Bread for the masses. Whatever." then Obama wins.

Obama has laid the Compromiser-In-Chief to rest, and has very possibly buried Republican hopes for an Obama one-term presidency right along with him.

This 6-minute video is a MUST-SEE! This gentleman quietly, decisively, and succinctly sums up why President Barack Obama is the epitome of "Promises Made and Promises Kept" and why some progressives and liberals are misguided in their expectations and criticisms of the POTUS.

Please forward this to every Democrat, Progressive, and Liberal person you know.

I mean, you just have to wonder how Mitt Romney must feel right about now. Once the stage lights are off and the last interview for the day is through, the last campaign stop completed, what must it feel like?

And you know where I'm going with this. Here's a man whose father,George Romney, was a governor (Michigan's 43rd governor, 1963-1969), Republican Party powerhouse (U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1969-1973, candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1968), and a bigtime businessman  (CEO of General Motors 1954-1962). Then along comes Junior, who goes on to essentially follow in his father's career footsteps; in addition to being 70th Governor of Massachusetts (2003-2007), Romney Junior also  became successful in the business world when he eventually rose through the ranks to become CEO of Bain & Company, a company which he is said to have rescued from fiscal crisis. He later co-founded Bain Capital.

So Romney comes from lots of money. He himself has lots and lots (and still lots more) money. His dad had government experience. Junior has government experience. Junior is good-looking. Junior is clean-cut. Junior's wife is an attractive blonde, and together they have five great-looking kids. Junior has a strong campaign organization. Junior has a fat campaign chest. Junior has a Colgate smile. I don't know if the family has a dog, but if they do I'm sure the little feller can perform countless amusing tricks on queue and is faithful, obedient, and can recite the pledge of allegiance in six languages.

How can this guy not be running away with the Republican nomination? Even worse, how in the hell can he be losing to a black former pizza chain owner with no government experience and a three-digit laughable excuse for a campaign platform? I think it's pretty safe to say that the Republican Party as it stands right now is essentially the rich white man's party. This party is tailor-made for fat white cats with fat bank accounts. Even many of the hundreds of thousands of Republicans who don't match that description at all still seem to be okay with that. Let's just call it guilt by association.

So then why is the black guy still at the top of the polls? The black guy with hardly any money in his campaign war chest, with no real campaign organization to speak of, and who most definitely is not a rich white man? How did this happen?

At the end of the day, sure, everybody pretty much knows Herman Cain will not be allowed to pass 'Go' on the campaign game board. The rug will eventually be pulled out from underneath his feet and the Republican troops, such as they are, will grumblingly accept the pathetic inevitability that is Mitt. That's why Cain is spending so much time selling his book and being entertaining is because he knows those entertainment fees are what is going to butter his bread once this charade is over. But even given that eventuality, how must it feel to be Mitt and to be running neck and neck with Engine Number 999 -after the almost-but-not-quite savior Texas Governor Rick Perry fell on his face and after the almost-but-not-quite-savior-who-never-was Gov. Chris Christie refused to be begged into the race. And both of these men were targeted by the Republican multitudes who wanted anybody but Mitt.

This may not last much longer, but it has already lasted more than long enough to make Mitt wonder this one simple question; when was being a wealthy white man in America with connections and family pedigree not enough to stave off a challenge from somebody like Herman Cain?

And then? Once Romney does get the nomination (assuming Ranger Rick doesn't mount a 4th quarter game changer),  he's got to go up against another brother. And this one got skillz kid!

Just what kind of an America is this, anyway?