A letter to Denise

Good Morning Denise,

I know I should have just let the Obama subject drop with Tommy, but it makes me so mad when a person states an opinion from their ass based on poor facts and general racism. He basically he does not like Obama because of his name. Tommy has never bothered to listen to what the man is saying yet feels certain that he knows everything about Obama.

That mixed with his newly arising anti- gay rhetoric makes it really difficult to talk to him in a civil manner.

I really do not care who someone votes for as long as they do it based on an educated, informed thought. Tommy’s Obama bash was based on ignorance and frankly if one of our friends, who I think is fairly intelligent, can be so fucking obtuse, well I found it very scary; it means there are a lot more like him out there.

All I was asking him to do was listen to the speech in its entirety before making an opinion. Make his opinion based on the speech and his right to agree or disagree; not an opinion stated as fact, formed by the right wing talk groups that he loves to listen to during the day. He was spouting crap that was taken out of context.

This is Garland Robinette’s response to Obama’s speech. I have always thought Garland to be fair minded, and this is not an exception. I agree to a large part with what he is saying. No doubt Tommy would start to change his mind if he took the time to realize that his favorite Garland was still supporting Obama.

Anyway sorry to have made the evening disruptive; good thing Scott, Pat and David L were not there, I think someone might have ended up dead :)

I just feel passionate about informed opinions. HOW can a person have an opinion on a speech if they never heard it? I guess that was my ultimate point.


this is the speech




Garland’s response:

Garland Robinette's commentary on Barack Obama's speech about raceGarland Robinette Reporting504-593-1888

-A few weeks ago I was for Obama.

-Last week after viewing the quotes of Obama’s pastor, I was for McCain.

-After watching Obama’s podium response to the controversy... I am for…Keep reading and you’ll hear where I’m coming from.

My thoughts are different than most I’ve heard following the Obama speech. My decision (thus far) is grounded in the Arab oil embargo of the United States in 1973. Picture the long lines at the gas pumps. Filling a tank could take hours. Much of the time the gas ran out before the line did. Picture the fistfights that broke out between those jockeying to get to the pumps first. Now, (stay with me, I know I think a lot differently than most) imagine going up to ANYone in line and saying…”hey, how you doin’, man--I can’t believe what they doing with this stem-cell research thing. Plus, how about abortion--man that’s murder…and don’t even get me started with the racist minorities!” (Truthfully now!) What do you think the driver’s response would be --at best-- I think they would think you were nuts. You would be totally oblivious to the problem that is threatening them and their family’s lifestyle…right now!. What does this have to do with Obama, McCain, Hillary and us? Everything!
We seem to have lost any ability to prioritize by risk assessment. I have spent many hours on radio and my personal life fighting racism and all the ignorance it represents. I have talked about it when many of your emails and calls said, enough!
But not now! I don’t think this issue is in the top 10 of those things threatening our nation. We are on the precipice of a gas line. All it will take is some sort of international crisis and there are plenty of examples that could explode on the world at any moment. If it does, I promise you will have no interest in racism, conservative versus liberal, or even cameras at stop lights. You will be afraid. You will be angry. You will need a leader.
For a moment, let’s switch gears. I did not believe what Obama said in most of his response speech. I suspect that most of his talk was what he had to say to retain his base. I don’t believe you can be “family” for twenty years with a person who verbalizes that much hatred for anything without being aware of his beliefs…especially someone as smart as Obama. His thoughts may not be exactly the same as his pastor, but at the same time similar (perhaps subliminally). I suspect this to be the case because he has traveled a road that no black man, or white man has been down. Obama is a gray man. Not white enough. Not black enough. But a gray man that found a place (church) to lend voice to his experience.
Obama is a politician. No politician can be elected without partially lying to us about many of the important issues. They all have focus groups and media pulse testing. If they choose to ignore those results and substitute with their true belief system, they will never be elected. Thus, in order to lead based on their true beliefs; they must lie in some form or fashion in order to get into a leadership position. Not their fault…ours. We don’t want to hear the truth. Don’t warn us about Social Security! Don’t warn us about Medicare! Don’t warn us that we may have to drive energy stingy cars! Don’t call on us to pay all benefits for injured war vets! We don’t want to hear the call of sacrifice!
So why in the world would I support (at least for now) a man I think did not tell the whole truth in what might have been the most important speech of his life? Because, I think I see a leader. A gray man standing in the middle of a firestorm, radiating calm and intelligence. I have seen this in war. I have seen this in business. I know this to be rare.
To lend irony to my view, I also think John McCain is a leader and I agree with much of his platform more than I do Obama or Hillary. But he is 70+ years old. I know his mother is a great looking 96 and he may well have her longevity. But he has health issues and I, as a “senior” citizen can attest to the fact that health issues can cloud your ability to function as you like. Plus, consider the fact that one in every three vice-presidents has become the leader of the United States. I don’t want to take the chance that someone we don’t Know…someone we didn’t vote for…can influence the future of our families at this crucial time in history.
As for Hillary, I am sure she is very smart. She may also be a leader, but I don’t want two families running this country for more than twenty years. It’s that simple. I am tired of the Bush. I am tired of the Clinton.
Yes, I want change. I want a leader.