Current Events One

Commentary by Tony Sarrecchia The T-Files

President Bush lifted the Executive ban on off shore drilling last week. The lifting of the ban was purely symbolic, but future prices on oil dropped about nine dollars a barrel while the ink was still drying on the document. Imagine that. Just the thought of the US drilling for its own oil lowered the price per barrel. What would happen if we actually started drilling?

We may never know.

Socialist, sorry, I mean Progressive Democrat and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi refuses to allow a debate to expand offshore drilling to come up on the house floor. Pelosi and her equally partisan troll Harry Ried, (Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader) are ignoring the will of their party members (somewhat surprising), the Republican party (no surprise there) and the American people (again, no surprise there). Pelosi and Ried, would rather you and I continue to pay back breaking prices for fuel rather than reach across the aisle and work with the Republicans. She and Ried are invoking parliamentary procedures to avoid the discussion—much like spoilt birthday childen screaming ‘it’s our party and you have to do as we say’.

Pelosi is not thinking about you or your burden; she is thinking about partisan politics and saving face. According to an article in the International Herald Tribune, Pelosi is more concerned with how she is perceived than the will of the American people. (“Pelosi Stands Firm Against Offshore Drilling”, Carl Hulse, July 17, 2008 http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/17/america/pelosi.php): “In a private meeting last week, according to some in attendance, Pelosi told members of her leadership team that a decision to relent on the coastal [oil drilling] ban would amount to capitulation to Republicans and the White House.” Better you and I should pay four, five, ten dollars a gallon for fuel rather than the evil countess concede that the Republicans are correct. Peolsi needs to be reminded that she serves by the will of the people, not her obstinate desires.

Within the Democratic party, there is a group of reality based Democrats, The Blue Dog Coalition (http://www.house.gov/ross/BlueDogs/), who support fiscal responsibility and “mainstream” American values. The Blue Dogs are informally working with Republicans to “try to come up with a bipartisan response to soaring oil prices; [and] opening up new areas to drilling is part of the mix. Leaders of the Blue Dog coalition are openly pressing for drilling in the Arctic refuge and elsewhere.” Of course, the reality challenged Pelosi would rather listen to the Flying Monkey Brigade that is the rest of the Democratic party than appear to be agreeing Republicans. That the country suffers because of her partisan motivations and irrational persistence to an old-hippie ideal is of little consequence to her.

On Tuesday, July 29, American Solutions (www.AmericanSolutions.com) presented Congress with a petition of 1.3 million names in favor of the “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” movement. This group of concerned Americans knows that the time for action is now. The Sioux City Journal reports that, because of rising food costs, “Meals on Wheels” in Iowa may be forced to reduce their trips to once a week rather than every day; and 75% of New Yorkers say the cost of fuel is having a serious impact on their financial situation. And yet, Pelosi lives in a world where her reputation is more important than silly things like feeding shut-ins or the financial health of citizens.

Pelosi needs to join us here in the real world. If you think it’s time to open ANWR or drill on the coasts, call her office (202-225-4965) and let her know.

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Commentary by Tony Sarrecchia

Old. That’s how participants in an AP-Yahoo news poll see John McCain.

When people were asked to describe John McCain in one word, the most common was ‘old’. The second response was ‘military service’ (9%) and the third was ‘record, qualification’ (8%).

Things weren’t quite so rosy for Barack Obama. The first word used to describe him was the non-judgmental ‘change’. His second place response was ‘lack of experience’ (13%). And third? ‘Dishonest’ (9%).

According this article: http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-candidate-images “Obama is seen as warm and empathetic and McCain as stronger and tougher”. We get to choose between the somewhat effeminate, shady but hip uncle, or the no nonsense, grizzled grandfather. Thanks, major parties, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

The interesting part of this poll however wasn’t mentioned in many of the reports.

In a survey where the majority of the participants were Democrats (48% versus 36% Republicans) one would expect a large, if not overwhelming, number would vote for Obama if the election were held today. The actual numbers tell a different tale. Of those polled, 40% would pick Obama and 39% would vote for McCain (the rest were spread out over ‘Ralph Nader’, ‘Someone Else’ and ‘Don’t Know’.) A one percent lead for a democrat in a poll where voting democrats lead by 20% cannot be encouraging for the Obama camp. For McCain to rank so close behind Obama indicates that there is growing support among centrist (read that as ‘clear thinking’) democrats for the Old Guy.

As much as people are looking for change from the mediocrity currently in the White House, we should keep in mind that Obama has less than 48 months experience as a actual senator. Fewer months if you count the time campaigning for president, and writing books. Obama himself, on this CNN report, said “I am a believer in knowing what you’re doing when you apply for a job. And I think that if I were to seriously consider running on a national ticket I would essentially have to start now, before having served a day in the Senate. Now, there are some people who might be comfortable doing that, but I’m not one of those people.”

Yet, somewhere between 2004 and now, Obama has garnered that experience? As Oscar Wilde said, “Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.”

Or, to quote Bud Fox’s father from the 80’s movie Wall Street, ‘Course my son did work three summers as a baggage handler and freight loader. With those qualifications, why should I doubt his ability to run an airline?’

Obama did work as a senator for a couple of months—why should we doubt his ability to run a country.

Sources:
http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-candidates-descriptions;_ylt=AuQshnxgb5aeEi7d05faTZBxJZt4

http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-candidate-images

http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2008/07/ask-people-to-b.html