Here are the reasons I'd vote Democrat in this election.

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H/T Charlie Sykes

Another must see video.  Thanks to Charlie Sykes.

Democrats are the majority party in Congress.  This means that if they want something to pass, all they need to do is vote for it.  Nancy Pelosi says that the Republicans are to blame for the bailout failure, because only one third of them voted to approve it.  Yet she only needed a few more votes for it to pass and nearly 100 Democrats voted against this package.  Sorry Nancy, this does not pass the common sense rule.  To top it off, she is the one that called for a vote knowing full well that they were short of the votes needed.  All morning and early afternoon the press said that they didn't have the votes. 

Barney Frank (the second coming of Elmer Fudd - has anybody listened to the way he talks?), Harry Reid and Pelosi have had their own agenda on this since the start.  First Reid says that the Democrats won't vote for anything unless McCain shows up to vote, then McCain calls his bluff and puts Country First to try and make sure that if something is done it gets done right, at which point Reid says don't come we don't need you.  The reason was they were trying to position Obama as the savior and leader.  Even during the big meeting at the White House, the other Democrats deferred to Obama so that he could show his leadership and take charge.  The Democratic leadership was appalled when he failed to do so.  Obama ready to lead?  There isn't one Democratic leader that thinks he is. 

McCain was not my candidate.  Not originally.  His close ties to, and having worked with very liberal democrats had me worried.  Once it was clear that he was going to be the Republican nominee, he was the best of what was left.  Let's face it, the Democrats were choosing a nominee that didn't believe he was ready to run on a national ticket.  Even Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, doesn't believe he is ready, and in fact would have preferred to run with John McCain.  Hillary Clinton also chose McCain over Obama.

What won me over?  Was it 2000 Democratic VP candidate turned Independent Senator Joe Lieberman's endorsement speech for John McCain?  After all, the Democrats still think well enough about Lieberman to have placed him in a leadership position as an important committee chairman.  His speech was convincing, specifically the line about how McCain could anger his own party, but he was doing it because of what he believed in.

Was it Rudy Giuliani's fantastic speech, where he compared the resumes of the two Presidential candidates?  The first candidate, John McCain has an extensive list of accomplishments and experience and even some things that provide a "Wow" moment.  The second candidate, Barak Obama, his biggest experience has been to vote present rather than make decisions on important issues, which was the job he was hired to do.   Obama has never led anything and, in fact, has been doing nothing more than running for the next highest office ever since being elected to the Illinois legislature.

Maybe it was Fred Thompson telling the fantastic biography of John McCain, including his tenure as a POW.  He contrasted that with the description of Obama as the most Liberal and inexperienced Presidential candidate ever, but may be a good match for the Democratic congress, which is the most unpopular congress in history. 

Could it have been McCain running mate Sarah Palin?  She was engaging, funny, and extremely comfortable in her speech to the RNC.  McCain has made a tremendous choice for a running mate.  She has leadership experience and is a serious reformer.  Her record for ethics reform and standing up to special interests in her time as Governor is a testament to a good leader.  She was very good at hitting Obama at his weak points with shots while smiling and having fun.  My favorite line was when she said, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities."

Possibly it was McCain's own speech to the RNC that got to me.  After a tremendous build up by the speakers leading up to the candidates acceptance speech, my expectations were pretty flat.  How could he possibly perform as the Headliner when the warm up acts provided headliner performances?  But he did it.  He knocked it out of the park.  I particularly liked hearing him discuss how he has worked with members of both parties to do what he felt was important.  It is for this reason that Democrats like Senator Feingold of Wisconsin, as well as Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden consider him a friend and someone they enjoyed working with and consider him ready to lead.

So what won me over?  It was a combination of all the above.  While the Republican platform and ideals are what I most closely identify with, it is the person at the top of the ticket that I have to believe will follow through on those commitments while leading and protecting this country.  That is why I am proud to endorse John McCain as our next President.

John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his VP candidate to help provide balance to the Republican ticket.  She brings with her a more conservative background as well as youth.  The amazing thing is that in Sarah Palin's and Barack Obama's relatively short political careers, the Republican VP candidate has accomplished so much more than the Democratic Presidential candidate.

Barack Obama chose Joe Biden as his VP candidate, thus admitting that he severely lacked any foreign relations experience.  Joe Biden brings that to the Democratic ticket along with experience and accomplishments that are non-existent by the Democratic Presidential nominee. 

What does Joe Biden think of his running mate?  Just a few months ago he stated that Barack Obama is not ready to lead.

While John McCain and Sarah Palin on the Republican ticket are a slam dunk winner over their competition, Barack Obama will do well next year on the Speaking circuit.  After all, that's the one and only thing that he does well.

What else has Obama lied about?  Anything that might help line his pockets or those of his friend’s maybe?

For one thing, not all of Obama's support comes from the little donor he likes to tout with increasing frequency. "Industry PACs may not give directly to his campaign, but employees of industries may do so, and many of his contributors have come from executives and their spouses," the Wall Street Journal noted. "For example, Mr. Obama leads all candidates in donations from the pharmaceutical industry and commercial banks, among other industries.

This is the dirty little secret of the internet financing that the Obama campaign enjoys, but doesn’t want us to know about.  He is accepting huge sums of money that are directed to his campaign by companies and industries that are buying his influence.

This is simply the large-scale version of a shakedown.  Seems that Obama and former Milwaukee Alderman Michael McGee have read from the same Democratic playbook and have an awful lot in common.

The further removed we get from that time, the more difficult it is for younger people to appreciate just how chaotic those times were and how dangerous it was for a man like Martin Luther King to fight for what was right and speak out the way that he did. 

Coming into the 1960’s, African Americans still had to deal with the Jim Crow laws, which had been created and enforced by White Democrats during the past 90 years.  These laws mandated separate but equal status for African Americans, but resulted in inferior service and accommodations. They also were designed to restrict their civil rights, thus disenfranchising African Americans by restricting their ability to vote. 

If that weren’t enough, there was the feeling of superiority and fear on the part of some European Americans (my preferred term for Whites), and the desire to keep African Americans down.  Like most beliefs, there were differing levels of how passionate people felt on this subject, and that included many who were ready to commit violent acts to support their beliefs.

While these laws have been eliminated and tensions and attitudes have improved with time, it makes it harder for today’s youth to fully understand how great a man Dr. King was.  He was a great leader and a hero for all of Mankind.

If Dr. King could pop in on us today, I think he would be proud of what changes and improvements have been made, but disappointed by how long it has taken and how much more work needs to be done.  But, beliefs and attitudes that have been built up and existed over generations, will also take time to be corrected.  This is similar to the changes that the US is trying to implement in the Middle East.  Our presence may be required for longer than some people desire, but that is the only way to accomplish long lasting change.

Dr. King would be proud to see an African American playing an instrumental part in this presidential election, but he would be disappointed by the fact that there is so much attention paid to the fact that Barack Obama is an African American.  Dr. King deserves better.  Like all of our heroes, he should be remembered and celebrated for all they have accomplished, and not more so just because some pretender reminds a few people of him.

During this year’s celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr., I heard many people trying to compare him with Barack Obama.  This is not a fair comparison.  The only place that the two are close is in their oratory skills.  While Dr. King was a hero and a great leader, Mr. Obama is the poster child for the “Peter Principle”.  He is already incompetent as a Senator, but now some are ready to promote him again. 

Yes, it has to be said, comparing MLK to BO stinks!

Hillary Clinton wants a do-over in Michigan and Florida, because those two states had primary elections that the Democrats decided wouldn't count because the states did not follow the Democratic party rules.  Hillary Clinton is behind in the delegate count for the Democratic Presidential nomination, and those are two states that she would likely win and move her closer to Barrack Obama and improve her chances in convincing "Super Delegates" (no they are not action heroes) that she should be the Democratic nominee.  Obama does not want a do-over, because it could only hurt him.  Instead, he favors splitting the delegates from the two states 50-50 so that they are counted.  Never mind that this is not how the states would actually have voted.  If their positions were reversed, Obama would be fighting for the do-over and Clinton would want to leave it as is.  Neither really cares about everybody being represented, unless it benefits them personally.

 The Democratic Party already has the most convoluted rules for selecting delegates.  I think you can get college credit for taking the course in understanding how it works.  After this year, you can bet that they will make major changes in the system again.  If the Democrats had a similar system to the Republicans, Hillary Clinton would already have clinched the nomination.  The Democrats ruled out the peoples vote in Michigan and Florida, because those states moved their primary elections to an earlier date, against the wishes of the Democratic Party.  Apparently it is the Democratic Party that doesn't want to count every vote.