By Rick Krug

Harry Reid, the Senator from Nevada is in a boat load of trouble. In the recently released “tell-all” book titled, Game Change by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, Senator Reid is quoted as making the comment, Barack Obama should seek — and could win — the White House because Obama was a “light skinned” African-American “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.” Oops, someone actually printed that!

To be fair, these pseudo-history-books-cum-tabloid kind of publications act more like fireworks than a long-life light bulb; they go up fast and with a huge bang, are gone even faster.

But at times – remember, All the President’s Men? – they actually go deep and make a mark. This one just might. But not because of Harry.

Let me warn you right now; if you are waiting for me to unload on Reid and castigate him for being a closet racist and level both barrels square between his eyes, then be prepared for a bit of a disappointment.

To be sure, Harry Reid is in trouble, but his slide into history should not, I repeat, not, be marked by this comment. Want more shock? I do not believe Reid is a racist; closet or outed. He is achromatic and maybe a bit addled. But racist? Nope.

Born in 1939, Reid grew up during the rapidly changing era of “what term is politically correct today?” American culture. When he entered his political career in 1966, the Civil Rights movement was but a babe and the Summer of Love was 3 years away.

Still, The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was brewing, race tensions were boiling over, gay rights were not far off, and the United States had just realized that in fact, we really did enter a war a couple of years earlier and were not just sending over “consultants” to the South Vietnamese.

A great case can be made for the 1960’s being the worst and best decade in America’s young history.

To the point – with an effort to be as neutral as I know how – humans who do not have ancestors in Europe, but do in the continent of Africa; and who tend to have more melanin in their skin than most other ethnic groups; and have lived in the United States have self-identified in the following “accepted” ways: Negro, Colored People, Black, African American, Black American, Afro-American, and People of Color. Fair enough; anyone should be able to call themselves what they want.

Further, no other ethnic group in America has experienced the amazing oppression these folks have since the day they were forced to live here.

Senator Reid came of age when the term “Negro” was not only acceptable but desired. The United Negro College fund was established in 1944 and the identifier meant nothing more than just what it said.

While out of date and clearly a poor choice of words, there was nothing in his speech reflecting an underlying sense of racial superiority.

I will point out there exist today both that organization and one with the initials NAACP. Remember what the “C” stands for? Again, I don’t care what anyone wants to be called, but imagine if Sarah Palin said, “The colored people…”

Here is what I heard Senator Reid say in just the words: “Barack Obama is a good candidate.

His looks will be acceptable to most voters, and he does not talk as if he is either uneducated or identifies too much with a very narrow segment of Americans; unless he is trying to relate to them.”

\The same contra positive conversation could be said for any candidate who, for example, carried excessive weight and had a deeply strong Boston accent.

Again, to his credit, President Obama was gracious and maintains his posture of not using race as an issue. Then again, it was Reid who called the former President of the United States “A Loser.”

Oddly, most media outlets agree with conservative me and are not all that concerned with this misstep in verbiage. They too, are willing to give him a pass. But for a different reason. Obviously if Reid had been a Republican, his tail would be hanging from the Capitol flag pole.

Had Harry been conservative, the next political cartoon would having him wearing a sheet and burning a cross. But, come on, we all know a liberal democrat can’t be racist, right?

I gave him a pass because I don’t really think this old man intended to express a racism; the media gave him a pass because he is one of them.

As I said, Reid is in deep trouble, but not because of using words from the ‘60’s, but from using an agenda from the far-left; an agenda most Americans have come to reject.

It has been difficult to grasp where Senator Reid gets his inspiration. Seemingly very insular, unaccountable for his words, and with a clear hatred of all that even edges on conservative values, Reid has run rough shod over all who oppose his bizarre trajectory. With unlimited resources – ala’, the American Tax Payer’s Pocketbooks – Reid went door to door and gained every vote worth buying to prop up his health care bill; even going as far as granting a Senator from Nebraska a little goodie which will ultimately become illegal.

Next November, unless he can pull out a Clintonesque re-birth, Reid will be “retired” by the voters of Nevada; and none too soon if you ask me. I, for one, am personally tired of the hatred and vitriol which has embodied the likes of Reid.

Oh, I know, there are plenty of Republicans guilty of out of bounds talk as well. But Senator Reid has been the leader of the Senate.

Yes, Trent Lott and Tom Delay were removed for their own hyperbole (don’t tell anyone, but I agreed with those “retirements” as well), but Reid’s slimy wording will not be missed.

So, in November, if the Democrats hold on to the Senate Majority, or if the Republicans gain it, I am begging both parties to not allow the Breed of Reid to reproduce….please?

Source: Rick Krug

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@goldcoastchronicle.com

By Rick Krug

When Senator John McCain announced he would suspend his campaign for President of the United States and return to Washington DC to tend to the budget crisis, the Obama camp jumped on that news like college freshman finding the last Krispy Kreme in the box.

Then Senator Obama proudly took to the airs waves, sans teleprompter, nearly giddy, and cool as ever, to tell the American people that he had no intention of leaving the campaign trial for, “a good leader can chew gum and walk at the same time.”

It was reminiscent of the first televised Kennedy-Nixon Presidential debate of the 1960 presidential campaign; the young man from Chicago made the Senior Senator from Arizona seem a bit overwhelmed, tired, and maybe not up to the task.

For the record, those of us on the inside of McCain’s campaign knew otherwise, but the Press had the narrative they needed and gave Obama the bump he needed to finally take the commanding lead. I suppose that’s why it’s called gambling.

So, how about that gum and walking thing? Truly, the leader of the most powerful country in the world should be able to (pardon the mixed metaphors here) keep a few balls in the air, spin a few plates, and yes, gnaw the Wrigley’s while ambulating.

But just as putting one foot in front of the other remains a fairly easy task, one would expect the presidential multitasking to at least have a few bright spots to offer as victories.

However, Mr. Obama has as many trophies as he did when he was first offered the Nobel. To date, Obama might want to think about how many pieces of gum he can really stuff in his mouth.

Just to really stretch this metaphor thingy painfully out of shape – taking on an incredibly ambitious agenda, President Obama has been more of a “swinging-for-the-fence-at-every-pitch” kind of guy than a “let’s-get-on-base” steady player.

With the great expectations of his oratory prowess prior to the election, many thought he might actually pull off all his promises and demands pretty much anytime he wanted.

To be fair, we all know Obama has feet of clay, but who would have thought his particular clay would be his own abilities?

Stringing up a series of lack-luster speeches abroad, backing off point by point his stated goals for health care reform, doing the “oopsy Two-Step” with the closing of Guantanamo Bay, leaving “Guantanamo Bay” on the cutting room floor and now failing to find his place in history at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen.

President Obama is losing the support of even his own team; the Far-left.

I have said before one of Obama’s greatest weaknesses is his ability to believe that his mere words would bring to reality that which did not heretofore exist.

That is, he seems to think that his power to achieve is Descartian; he speaks, therefore it happens.

Except that it doesn’t….really….at least not yet. In fact, the more this man speaks, the less things seem to come to pass at all!

At an emergency session of the major countries represented at the Climate Summit, Obama sat as equal to the assistant deputy ambassador of China.

OK, this is the president of the United States having a man-to-man with a man who has no power whatsoever to offer any decisions on the matter at hand.

China did worse than boycott – they sent the water boy of the Little League team to negotiate with the owner of the Yankees!

It was less than an insult; it was ignoring.

Maybe Obama’s handlers should inform him he needs more than his golden pipes to move heaven and earth.

What he needs is credibility, what he really needs is to apprehend is reality, what he really needs to offer are real answers.

While the President’s approval ratings naturally dip post honeymoon, it is usually boredom and malaise pushing the numbers down.

In Obama’s case, it is reality that has the masses leaving their hope – that is, his mouth has written checks his hind quarters can’t cash.

It may not be so much that he has taken too much on, than he does not actually know how to accomplish what he has taken on in the first place.

One can only imagine the day after the election of November 2007. McCain went back to Arizona, Palin found the tundra of Alaska, and Obama was handed the same United States Security briefing President Bush had been receiving since the day he was elected.

I can just see him standing there, silent, stunned and muttering to himself, “Oh, that’s what they meant…hey Joe, when did I say we would close Gitmo?” To be sure, America needed a shot of hope.

But we needed real hope of real helpful change. We may yet get it, but as long as reality and elocution don’t run parallel courses, Obama will continue to slide in the polls and America will grow more and more cynical.

If President Obama ever asked for my advice (I know, snowball’s chance and all) I would offer this: “Mr. President, slow down, tell us the truth, and listen to the American people.” Oh yes, and maybe give him permission to put his gum away for a while.

Source: Rick Krug

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@goldcoastchronicle.com