Don’t just Boot Bush – Reboot

It’s pretty clear that the American people want to boot Bush & Co. out of the Whitehouse. Barack Obama’s message of change absolutely resonated in Iowa, stunning the country with an astounding win. Even on the Republican side, the insurgent who criticized the President’s “bunker mentality” beat the corporate Bush-apologist in Iowa. Change has been the recurring theme of this campaign so far. However, I think we need more than change. We need to not just boot out Bush: we need to reboot the system.

Let’s face it. If any of the Democrats are elected, change will come. There is little doubt that Barack Obama, John Edwards or Hillary Clinton would change some of the Bush policies. Let’s be honest here. If you read the position papers of all three Democrats, you will find that most of the differences in position are tinkering around the edges. The core messages are the same. Healthcare is broken and needs to be fixed. The environment is in crisis and must be healed. Education is weak and has to be supported.

We also need to restore America’s standing in the world. The pictures of Abu Ghraib still circulate on the internet as inspiration for would-be terrorists. The Bush Administration has held prisoners without trial, based on secret evidence, while Bush hides behind a veil of “state secrets” and executive privilege. It is shameful.

One difference between Barack Obama and his Democratic rivals is his ability to not just change the reputation of America in the world, but to reset it, to give us a fresh start, to reboot the political system. The election of Barack Obama as president does more than continue the conversation with different players and an altered message. It completely changes the context of the conversation.

There are times when a system doesn’t just need to close the old programs and open new ones. Until we completely reset the system, there are programs that can continue to run in the background unnoticed. We need to reboot with Obama.

Karl Rove’s Poison Pill

Tonight when Karl Rove makes his New Year’s resolution, I’m betting it has something to do with helping Hillary Clinton win the Democratic nomination. Rove’s suggestion of her inevitability has been picked up like a mantra by the GOP, Rove’s surrogates and even many in the media. Rove knows there is only one way for the Republicans to win the Whitehouse in 2008 and that is to divide the country.

Let’s face it. This country is roughly 1/3 conservative, 1/3 liberal and 1/3 moderate. It’s the middle 1/3 who choose a president. A Clinton nomination would be so polarizing; there is no way that the moderate middle will cross over to vote for her. Of course, the Republicans could also nominate a polarizing person, increasing the likelihood of a third-way political party led by Bloomberg and company.

As an independent voter in Iowa I’ve got a ringside seat to the fight for the presidency and I have to tell you it’s pretty ugly. I have supported Republican candidates in the past – before they decided that torture is a moral right; habeas corpus is an inconvenient legal technicality; and that they have the right to declare anyone they choose to be an enemy combatant. At the same time, as a moderate voter, I can’t see myself supporting Hillary Clinton for president.

So, now the choice for the Democratic Party is clear:

• There’s a divisive Hillary Clinton nomination.
  
• There is battlin’ John Edwards. I think he’s an amazingly good man. I supported him early on, but he’s run a take-no-prisoners campaign, and that’s not what it takes to unite the country. Sorry, John.
  
• And there’s the one candidate who stands for uniting red states and blue states – Barack Obama. Obama is the middle way. He is the one who can win my vote.
  

What exactly is a "conversation," anyway?

Barack Obama looked right at me and said, “I want to have a conversation.” This might have been a heart-stopping moment for any political junkie, but of course, he was also looking at 2,500 other people packed into the gymnasium at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, IA.

It's a nice sentiment to think that Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will be in my living room for a "conversation" - a two-way give and take - asking real questions and getting short answers. But as far as I can see, that's just not going to happen.

The term “rock star” candidate has been used excessively to describe Senator Obama. That’s shorthand for someone who can pack a large venue and still appeal to the crowd. When it comes to the music of politics, there are accessible candidates like Tom Vilsack and John Edwards, and then there are "stadium bands," like Hillary and Obama.

Since people are being fast and loose with their comparisons of Senator Obama, comparing him to John F. Kennedy, let’s try another analogy, the Rolling Stones. Hey, if he’s a rock star, then this might not be a bad comparison. The Rolling Stones have rabid fans, the same as Senator Obama. They can pack a stadium anywhere in the world, anytime they wish. At this point, Senator Obama can do the same. The challenge for both the Rolling Stones and Senator Obama is, just because it works in the stadium, does not mean it will work in your living room.

The Rolling Stones have been able to bring their large stadium show to more intimate settings, for example playing the Aragon Ball Room in Chicago in 2002. More importantly, the Stones have infiltrated our most intimate moments by being the soundtrack to our lives. We hear certain songs and we connect.

Senator Obama is trying the same thing with his web site, which by the way is very well done. I can go onto Senator Obama’s web site and use social networking tools similar to Facebook and MySpace, but that does not really connect me with Senator Obama. It might connect me with other fans of Senator Obama, but not with Obama himself. With the bus loads of journalists, the satellite trucks and the rabid fans, it is hard to see how Senator Obama will be able to make it to anyone’s living room. So, here’s a suggestion.

The answer to the “rock star” challenge might be as old as Socrates. If candidates like Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are serious about a “conversation,” then let’s have more sincere and sustained question and answer time. I’m sure the people at Kennedy High School would have stayed late into the night asking questions and listening to the answers.

Steve Sovern did an admirable job of being the gracious host of the event in Cedar Rapids, and as such pitched the Senator some nice softballs. The five questions from the audience were well worded, showing a sophisticated level of political understanding. But Senator Obama's answers were so verbose there was little time for the pretense of a conversation.

If candidates are sincere about having a conversation, then let’s have a conversation. As the people on the campaign stops, let’s do our homework and ask great questions. Candidates, answer the question and then shut up. That gives us time for more questions. Here in the heartland, that’s what a real conversation looks like.

Four Questons For John Edwards

As a blogger I was lucky enough to be invited to sit in an intimate setting with John and Elizabeth Edwards and ask them some questions. I've uploaded a video of four questions I asked John Edwards along with his answers.

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN-Iiumg-3o

The issues we asked about included

1. What should we do about the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba?
   
2. Would you make the US a States Party of the International Criminal Court?
   
3. Would you sign the Kyoto Protocol, dealing with the causes of global warming?
   
4. Should there be parity between mental and physical health insurance?

Take a look at the video to see Senator Edwards’ responses.

Are you ready to be an Activist?

Picture it - You're sitting in a living room of someone's house talking about...talking. Talking (more like complaining) about how things are wrong, bad, and sad. The furniture is covered in a stiff clear plastic and you keep sliding down the cushion of the sofa. Little doilies with rings of coffee stains cover any surface that is not wrapped in plastic.

The people around you are talking about how unfair the world is, and how we’re all doomed. “It’s not like the old days,” says one lethargic man in a torn t-shirt. He takes a swipe at the 14 hairs he is trying to use to cover the top of his head. “By god, we used to have a great country. Now it’s all gone to hell in a hand basket.”

OK, that’s enough torture. But before we leave this scene, let me ask you, what does that make you feel like? Dry? Bored? Feel like jumping up and running away?

Now, let's replace that picture with a different picture. Let's picture ourselves in a meeting, no let's think of it as a rally, or an event, not just a meeting. We're taking massive action. We're making posters for an upcoming event, or making phone calls to rally the troops. We're talking to the press instead of talking to ourselves. We're making a direct impact on someone's life, like the life of a family that is down on their luck. We're not TALKING about doing something - we're actually doing something. Now how does that make you feel?

That's the difference between a movement and a club. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I need is one more club meeting to go to. I have not time, or interest in wasting my time with a group of stuck-in-the-mud do-nothings. A club sits still and talks. A movement, you guessed it, moves!

The question we get to ask ourselves is, what kind of activist do we want to be? Do we want to be a member of a club or part of a movement? Are we ready to make an immediate and real impact, or are we satisfied with watching from the outside and complaining. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to move!

So, if you’re ready to move, here are five suggestions for you.

1. If you haven’t signed up for a local chapter of One Corps, do so today. This is where John Edwards' organization for putting boots on the ground.


2. Once you join, there’s a link on the right-hand side for you to invite your friends. Here’s one case when many of your friends will appreciate some Spam. I don’t know if you’ve ever volunteered before or not, but volunteering is addictive. You could change a friend’s life by connecting him or her with fellow activists.


3. Be more than a passive observer in your local One Corps group. Make suggestions for activities like a food drive. Here’s a crazy idea. Hook up with a local comedy club (or local bar). Let people come to the club and do 3 minutes of stand-up comedy if they donate cans to the One Corps food drive. It will help the club to get people in the door on a slow night, it will help the local food bank, and it will help get out the word about your local One Corps group. Oh! Here’s a good name for it. Are you ready for this? “Laugh your cans off!” No? Well, anyway, this is just one example. The point is to be active in your local chapter and get others on your team to be active.


4. Schedule a movie night. Brave New Theaters has a wide selection of movies that you can screen along with tools to help you invite people. Here in Cedar Rapids, IA we’re going to screen the movie Money Talks to open a discussion about the cost of health care.


5. C-O-N-N-E-C-T. Just in case you haven’t heard, you are Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, that is if you are one of the millions of people who participate in Blogs (you’re reading this, aren’t you?), Meetup, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, etc. If you haven’t set up an account on any of these services, do it today! And then link back from there to your One Corps group. It is incredibly easy. Also look at local non-profits who might be aligned the same way you are and who would want to connect with you and One Corps. Examples might be churches, Amnesty International, Moveon.org, etc. There are also other new tools on the web specifically designed to help you connect with other activists such as http://www.volunteermatch.org/ or http://www.idealist.org. The more you connect, the more you can grow the impact of your local One Corps group, and the more you can change the world. And after all, isn’t that why you’re here?

OK. So, what do you say? Do you want to be a club, or are you ready to be a movement! Get active today and see how many other people you can challenge to also get active.

Warm Regards,

Tony Loyd
Click here to see my One Corps group
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Cedar Rapids John Edwards Meetup

Join Me in Des Moines!

I'm inviting you to join me in Des Moines, Iowa on December 28th at 4:30 PM to watch John Edwards on the first stop of his candidacy for presidency.

WHERE: Iowa Historical Building, 600 East Locust, Des Moines

WHEN: Thursday, December 28th 4:30pm

For tickets go to http://www.johnedwardseven
ts.com. This event is free and open to the public.

Also check out http://www.iowaforedwards.
com/.

Here is the video of John Edwards announcing his plans.