Hillary’s Hypocrisy

From Unlimited Access (copyright 1996) by Gary Aldrich, chapter six, page 87:

Early in the Clinton Administration, the media was full of stories
about FOBs — "Friends of Bill." But many of the appointees I
investigated were really FOHs — Friends of Hillary. Nowhere were her
thumbprints more pronounced than on the Health Care Task Force — the
most important domestic project of President Clinton’s first term.

The health care debate looked very different inside the White House
than it did to the public. While the public was inundated with
hard-luck stories of suffering poor people who had lost their
insurance, the Clintons themselves were behaving like the most
cutthroat corporate downsizers.

In an effort to make good on candidate Clinton’s promise to cut the
White House staff by 25 percent — a target the administration never
reached — many longtime federal employees were fired. To staff the
White House, the administration brought in a flood of interns and
volunteers who worked not only without insurance, but also without pay
(and frequently without professional standards of behavior).

Kept very quiet by the Clintons was the fact that many White House
employees were hired as officially "part-time" staff to be paid at only
thirty-nine hours a week or less, even though there was plenty of work
for them to do and they wanted to work full time. But denying them that
extra hour of work a week allowed the White House to deny them a
variety of benefits, the chief of which was health insurance!

This is someone we would entrust the White House to after eight years of the Bush disaster? I sure hope not….

Stark Difference Between Hillary, Obama and JRE

The differences between Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama and John Edwards can easily be summed up. Hillary is "In to Win". Obama has implied and clearly believes that the Presidency is his destiny. John Edwards has clearly stated he is in this to lead and change America for the better.Apparently politics has been reduced to a game where the object is to win or due to some notion that it is one’s destiny. Whatever happened to candidates who are "in it" to serve and to lead?

Well, friends, that candidate still exists. His name is John Edwards and he is exactly what this country needs to move forward in 2008.

JRE On Hannity And Colmes

I just had an opportunity to watch John Edwards appearance on
Hannity and Colmes from the night of the SOTU address. Wonderful job.
He was well spoken, polite, respectful, clear and concise in his
responses. He did a smart thing I believe, in that when asked about the
President’s speech, he actually praised some of the points Bush made,
while still being critical at the same time. He took the high road in
being critical yet respectful towards the President. It’s a tone that
we need to see, its what folks appreciate. You can disagree, without
being angry and disrespectful of the other side.

Great great interview, loved it!

Edwards Response To State Of The Union Address

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards released the
following statement in response to President Bush’s State of the Union
address.

"President Bush’s address tonight was heavy on
rhetoric, but light on everything else. The American people said they
wanted change and what they got was more of the same – small ideas that
won’t make a difference in the lives of working Americans.

They
said they wanted straight talk and a vision for the future, what they
got was a rationalization for the failed policies of the past.

The
next President will have to do more than just undo this President’s
mistakes – the next President must offer a vision for fundamental
change that will transform America and ensure our greatness in the 21st
century.

America needs leaders who will do more than propose
half-measures and baby steps; President Bush has left us a legacy of
challenges that can only be met with courage, conviction and bold
change.

And that change must begin in Iraq. President Bush’s
decision to adopt the McCain Doctrine and escalate the war in Iraq is
terribly wrong. There is no military solution to this civil war.
Instead of increasing the number of troops in Iraq, we should
immediately withdraw 40-50,000 troops. In order for the Iraqi people to
take responsibility for their country, we must show them that we are
serious about leaving, and the best way to do that is to actually start
leaving. Since the President refuses to change course, Congress must
use its power of the purse and block funding for an escalation of war.
Over 80,000 people from across the country have joined me in calling on
Congress to stop President Bush’s misguided plan to escalate the war.
Congress has the power to stop this escalation – they should use it.

We
also need real leadership to address the health care crisis in our
country. Since President Bush took office in 2000, the number of
uninsured Americans has increased by 8 million. While it is nice that
he is finally talking about America’s health care crisis, President
Bush’s proposal will do little to help working Americans, and is it
unlikely to reduce the number of uninsured because it encourages
companies to drop coverage, but does nothing to help people buy their
own insurance. President Bush’s proposal offers much more help to a
family making $300,000 than one making $30,000. The time for patching
up our health care system has ended. We need universal health care in
this country and we need it now.

Finally, America will never
break its dependence on foreign oil without bold leadership. After
years of catering to the oil industry, President Bush says he is
finally ready to take action and curb our dependence on foreign oil.
But neither his actions nor his proposals match his rhetoric. The
President has the authority now to raise fuel economy standards if he
wants to, but the standard has been at 27.5 miles per gallon since
1985. Under his leadership, we are now importing 60 percent of our oil,
up from 53 percent in 2000. In order to curb our dependence on foreign
oil and address global warming, the United States needs a major
investment in energy innovation, on a scale that this President isn’t
talking about. We need to ask Americans to be patriotic about something
other than war and involve everyone – government, industry, and
individuals – in the solution.

Tonight, the president once
again made it clear that we cannot count on him to be honest about our
challenges or offer the bold solutions we need to meet them.

But
we know that the great power of America lies in the hands of the people
of America. If we take responsibility and take action together, we can
build a nation that lives up to the greatness of America’s promise."

Iraq, Its Ties to Vietnam and JRE

President Bush’s so-called new strategy for the war in Iraq is actually more of the same — only it commits more U.S. troops to a region being devoured by a civil war. It is unconscionable that more American soldiers will lose their lives in a last-ditch effort that Bush knows won’t work. There is no good reason to escalate the war, unless you’re a president whose poll numbers are sagging. Bush needs to explain to the American people how his latest plan differs from his previous stay-the-course policies — all of which have failed.

The President and those supporting Iraq keep peddling the notion that if we don’t stop the terrorists in Iraq now, we will be overrun and it will be more difficult if not impossible later one. However, this is the same propaganda fed to the American public during Vietnam. It was said, if we don’t stop the North Vietnamese, communism will continue to flourish and all of Asia will be overrun. Well, it did not happen and in fact, the fall of communist Russia not long after proved that our effort in Vietnam was wasted as were the lives of great American soldiers.

I wholeheartedly support the efforts of our Congressional leaders to move towards bringing troops home, and giving responsibility to the Iraqi people for their future. I believe that John Edwards needs to continue to pound away at this administration and those in Congress who refuse to speak out against the war and any increase in troops at this time. JRE is right and just in speaking out against the war and his efforts will be proven correct. Importantly, he will stand out amongst the other Presidential hopefuls, whose leadership on this issue has been lacking at best.