Mother Jones - Comments for "The Dems Debate in South Carolina: Ugh"

Riddle me this. Why does every tv program cattering to African Americans portray whites as dumb and latinos as lazy? Can we eaxpect this type of stereo typing from a black controlled white house? Talk about wrong!

Talk is cheap. And there's a handshaking, backslapping war of words contest underway. Folks, we've got a president to elect!

Their voices drip with honey, boom with confidence and are packed with promises. Not a white knuckle among them has gripped a podium in fear so far.

And their body language is just soThe hallowed hands. The long look. The casual cackle. The forceful fingerand it's not too distant cousin, the thumbpoint, and of course, the tell-tale tear. On display among the candidates for president are the "best of the best" in oratory and rhetoric that is.

They've been blogged, roasted and toasted. Tee-veed, You Tubed and My Spaced and are now ready for their fifteen minutes of fame, plus eight long years. Every gesture they make and sound they bite is dissected into, like James Frey's book, A Million Little Pieces.

But, picking a President can be like picking a melon. You can thump, squeeze and smell, but you won't know what you have until you can sample what's inside. And as this analogy goes, by then they're in the White Houseand it just might be too late!

I zeroed in when Senator Clinton said she "found her voice" after winning New Hampshire's Democratic primary. I wondered if what she meant was she found the ability to tell her truth. That would be a good thing. Or, take Senator Obama who, after sparring with Clinton after the Congressional Black Caucus debate said:

"There's a set of assertions made by Senator Clinton as well as her
husband that are not factually accurate."

Could he have saved a few breaths and said simply, "They lied."

A politician's skill at great oratory and rhetoric is like peanut butter and jelly. They just naturally go together. Ronald Reagan, when asked, 'How could an actor become President?' responded 'How can a president not be an actor?' That, too, makes me wonder.

When it comes down to it, what we're given as a test drive of a potential president's abilities to lead is whether he or she is a good speaker, can rehash their "atta-boys"off the cuff, and verbally annihilate their opponents on a regular basis, with class and good manners intactthank you very much. Surely, we want substance over style and not just entertainment!

Words have meaning. The right words have changed history when a president has had something to say and the ability to say it.

I'm reminded of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown's song, "Talking Loud and Saying Nothing" whose refrain goes:

Like a dull knife that just aint cutting
You're just talking loud and saying nothing

Just this week in the Orlando Sentinel, my hometown newspaper, there was the story of an 82-year old man who died in a nursing home with maggots in his eyes and an infected feeding tube.

What I want is a president whose heart is big enough to figure out how a policy made or initiative supported in the White House lessens the chance that another senior will die in such indignity, and one who believes that domestic issues such as what happens to seniors in nursing homes should be among a president's concerns.

I also want someone skilled in conflict resolution and diplomacy.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was only 275 words. Of those, 196 had one syllable:

The dead shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Given where we are as a nation, our next president will inherit a moment of historical significance. What they have to saytheir voicewill resonate long after they are gone.

You have one voice. You have one vote. Talk is cheap.and so is life, all it costs is one bullet.

Talk is cheap. And there's a handshaking, backslapping war of words contest underway. Folks, we've got a president to elect!

Their voices drip with honey, boom with confidence and are packed with promises. Not a white knuckle among them has gripped a podium in fear so far.

And their body language is just so?The hallowed hands. The long look. The casual cackle. The forceful finger?and it's not too distant cousin, the thumbpoint, and of course, the tell-tale tear. On display among the candidates for president are the "best of the best"? in oratory and rhetoric that is.

"There's a set of assertions made by Senator Clinton as well as her
husband that are not factually accurate."

Could he have saved a few breaths and said simply, "They lied."

When it comes down to it, what we're given as a test drive of a potential president's abilities to lead is whether he or she is a good speaker, can rehash their "atta-boys"off the cuff, and verbally annihilate their opponents on a regular basis, with class and good manners intact?thank you very much. Surely, we want substance over style and not just entertainment!

Words have meaning. The right words have changed history when a president has had something to say and the ability to say it.

I'm reminded of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown's song, "Talking Loud and Saying Nothing" whose refrain goes:

Like a dull knife that just aint cutting
You're just talking loud and saying nothing

Just this week in the Orlando Sentinel, my hometown newspaper, there was the story of an 82-year old man who died in a nursing home with maggots in his eyes and an infected feeding tube.

I also want someone skilled in conflict resolution and diplomacy.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was only 275 words. Of those, 196 had one syllable:

The dead shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Given where we are as a nation, our next president will inherit a moment of historical significance. What they have to say?their voice?will resonate long after they are gone.

You have one voice. You have one vote. Talk is cheap?.and so is life, all it costs is one bullet.