Obama-rama

Idealism reborn
A political phenomenon is happening in America.

Watch the endorsement by Edward Kennedy of Barak Obama on You Tube -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZqpLpxE72k. There is a verve, style and passion in these speeches that has been absent from American politics for forty years. A young American woman, Jessie Hutchings,  who has recently settled in Newport sent her remarkable reaction to the revivalist spirit of the speeches  of  Obama and Kennedy.

"Their words sent shivers up my spine and made my eyes well up at least 5 times.  I feel so hopeful, so excited and, for the first time in a long time, so proud about what is happening in America.  America has always stood for change, for fearlessness, for hope and for dreams.  It was a country that was founded on ideas such as freedom and liberty, ideas that have, in my generation, been mutated by our government into words of war propaganda.  The past decade, it has been frustrating, sad and embarrassing to watch our "leaders" speak to the people of this country as if we are ignorant and gullible...and worse than that, it's been scary to know that they are out on the world stage representing Americans.

'The day that George Bush was re-elected I was so deflated, I figured; if this is what America wants, then let them have it.  For the first time in almost a decade, I feel like Americans have the desire and the passion to actually BE what everyone always said America is about....life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  A place where dreams can come true, if they are worked for hard enough. A place where your leaders represent the people, their hopes, their dreams, their plights and their wishes.  A place where people can feel safe knowing that they've put their lives in safe and strong hands.  A place where anything can happen, if you work hard enough for it.'

I am so proud and excited right now that America has finally come to a place in history where a woman and a black man are in the running for the presidency.  And I am so looking forward to what the next 10 months will bring."

So are we all. The emotional force of this occasion will be repeated nationwide. It’s a powerful brew that will re-awake the best in American idealism. I believe that there will be a profound chance for the better in American politics.

The Nasty 'Cons'

You could not make it up

The unfolding Derek Conway scandal could have scripted by the Labour Party as a piece of malicious fiction.

Can it be true that while handsomely rewarding his wife, two sons and one of their close friends he cut the wages of his hard-working secretary? She, of course, is a single mother who lives in a council house and has been forced to claim state benefits to supplement her income. For the first time ever, recent changes allow MPs to pay decent London wages to staff. The Daily Mail today says Conway halved her wages to just £7,875 last year, claiming that ‘money is tight’

Tight for some. Weeks earlier, he handed his son a massive bonus paid for by the taxpayer – despite no evidence that he actually done ANY work. And three months after halving his secretary's wages, he gave an £11,000 a year assistant's job to a close friend of his hoo-ray son Henry.

The 'loads of money' characters of the Conway sons are a nightmare deja-vu for David Cameron. Is this 97 again? Henry Conway hosted a party last November called “F*ck Off, I'm Rich “ All MPs' families could make similar claims if they abused taxpayers’ money to reward their kith and cheat the staff.

The images of luxury and dissolution reaffirm the Tories’ image of arrogant, contemptible buffoons. No surprise then that Labour is a point ahead of the Tories in a poll to be published tomorrow. The nasty party is back.

England 19: Wales 26

It’s the hope that is unbearable.

This morning the entire Welsh Media seemed to be going over the top by anticipating a possible Welsh victory. Had everyone forgotten?  The game is an away game, we have not won there since 1988 and they were World Cup finalists.

By half time our hopes were shattered and we braced ourselves for a second half stampede across the Welsh line.

The recovery was magnificent and the now mighty Welsh dwarfed England’s players. The Welsh nation will sleep happily tonight and dream of a grand slam. Ardderchog.

Comments

[Chris Gale]

The Obama idealism is very refreshing, fingers crossed for Super Tuesday,