© -Spring 2008- -Vol. 4 Issue 5- By Tony Arnold Sports Editor Everyday we are offered conflicting opinions on the Iraq War. Should we or should we not pull out? Is the troop surge working? Are 4,000 U.S. combat deaths too many or is this a paltry comparison to the almost fivefold figure accrued in the same time span during the Vietnam War? These are the questions that plague us as citizens of (once) one of the greatest superpowers of our globe. However, I think there is another (metaphorically) giant question we ought to be asking ourselves— the ones already listed will inevitably follow. Is America in its decadence? Yeses across the board. The U.S. is certainly no longer the global economic power. A pending U.S. Getting By Ed Brown Staff Writer < “If [Barack] Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position." And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”. The moment 1984 Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro said those words, jaws around America dropped. Did she just really say that? While people will not openly admit it, I believe that Ms. Ferraro verbalized the thoughts of a good portion of the American people. Whether we want to admit it or not, she is right. When the Obama campaign lashed back on Hillary only ask themselves, recession and transpiring credit crisis has the entire nation in an uproar, to the point where the economy has performed a political coup d’état of the Iraq War, Caught Clinton’s campaign, Ms. Ferraro’s retort was just as brutally straightforward as her original comment. “Every time that campaign is upset about something, they call it racist,” she said. “I will not be discriminated against because I’m white. If they think they’re going to shut up Geraldine Ferraro with that kind of stuff, they don’t know me.” Ouch. To be honest, I’m quite surprised that Rev. Al Sharpton isn’t drooling over this subject. However, Senator Obama himself must realize his celebrity has nothing to do with his accomplishments as a legislator. He said so himself in an address in 2006. “I’ve been very blessed. Keynote speaker at the Democratic convention. The cover of Newsweek. My book made the vaulting to the top of the average American’s list of concerns. The European Union has surpassed us in GDP figures, and we certainly of a balanced budget. On top of this, as a nation, we spend over 50 percent of the world’s nominal military budget. Put it this way: I had trouble deciding which words to italicize in that sentence. “Over 50 percent” is always an impressive figure when dealing with a large group, and “the world” certainly qualifies under that category. Considering that most of us are already about to ditch hunting guns and ammunition to absolve ourselves from any possible contribution, but here’s the real deal-breaker: that’s only our nominal defense spending. That percentage, which is obscurely conservative, does not include the spending packages for Iraq and Afghanistan, spending on nuclear weapons, military technology spending (thanks to our military- industrial complex), and veterans benefits (which, to be even more sobering, are pitifully low). Wow. All told, our government spends over one trillion dollars a year on “defense.” Military power is generally slipping. An overburdened army is now stretched across the Middle East in two open wounds that won’t stop bleeding: Iraq and Afghanistan. The majority of our other troops are taking up the task of a perpetual war on terror (an interminable war if ever there was one) in countries across the globe, from Pakistan to Somalia to our own homeland, where still more are recruited to prevent another catastrophic attack on our very soil. If anything, our soil is where the money should be spent. Indeed, more money should be spent on homeland security than on cowboy-like crusades for see Reflection page 2 best-seller list. I just won a Grammy for reading it on tape. Really, what else is there to do? Well, I guess I could pass a law or something.” He delivered the punch line with a broad smile on his face. This freshman senator has had celebrity, unfortunately none of which is an attribute to his work in the Senate. Senator Obama was received with a cold shoulder in the Senate, viewed as naive. In fact, after finished his first year in the Senate, Senator Obama was quoted as saying “I think it’s very possible to have a Senate career here that is not particularly useful.” Senator Obama, along the campaign trail, has made promises of a bipartisan government under his leadership. However, his voting record proves otherwise, showing he has stuck to his side of the aisle most of the time. The reality of the matter is, Senator Obama has zero experience in Washington, doesn’t know the politics game firsthand, and has a naive view of how things should be. Why should this man be elected president? Furthermore, why is he as popular as he is? One might assume that it is because his main demographic is the black community. This is incorrect. According to the latest polls, Senator Clinton at 53% has a drastic lead in support from the black community compared to Senator Obama’s 27%. Perhaps there is no set formula to see why Senator Obama has gained such momentum and support. When talking to friends who support Senator Obama, they all say it’s because he is a fresh face, and won’t play the Washington “game”. Unfortunately, it’s my personal opinion that we need someone who plays the Washington “game” well in order to settle this whole mess in the Middle East, and not someone learning the ropes as they go. Look at a history of Presidents with inexperience in Washington politics. Going back as far as Ulysses S. Grant, who had no political experience, and won the presidency. He wasn’t very experienced and had a relatively uneventful presidency. The next notable president with relatively little experience would be JFK. Unfortunately, JFK was see Obama page 2
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