Bravo Gen-O Bama!

Considering that President Bush's success in gaining two rapacious terms in office was largely due to the mass of first time votes from money-mad and gung-ho Gen-Y (born 1979-1986), Minnie is heartened that the first time votes of those born after 1986 presage a new generation of caring, sharing Americans -- Gen-O after their inspirational leader Obama.

"My grandchildren voted for the first time in the 2008 election and they volunteered their time and energy all year to get the message out," says Minnie. "71% of first time young voters came out for Obama compared with 53% for Kerry in 2004. Doesn't that prove that Gen-O is very different from Gen-Y?"

"They were heartbroken, like I was, when Bush won a second term because they were old enough, by 2004, to understand that the Iraq War was a personal Bush vendetta to 'get' Saddam and was made popular by massive looting and pillaging opportunities for those who supported him -- but being under voting age in 2004 there was nothing they could do about it."

"No wonder Gen-Y voted for Bush a second time," sighs Minnie. "They were making a killing from his administration, if not in job opportunities then in a mass of real estate and financial scams; and the absence of concerted anti-war sentiment among them was shocking."

"I don't want to tar every Gen-Yer with the same brush because my generation, the 1950s Boomers, had its goodies and baddies, too," explains Minnie. "It's just that I think Gen-Y stands out as a really money-grubbing greed-is-good lot. All of the real estate and financial enterprises around here were run by them. They flipped their houses, took their loot and are now set up for life at the age of 30."

"They thought they were the masters of the universe or something. I've never seen such a distinct group of young people with such big ideas of their own importance, and they were rude, mean and arrogant to go with it. Successful, yes, but at what price to the rest of us?"

"I truly believe that the generation born after 1986, represented by my grandchildren, is a more caring and sharing lot, compassionate about the plight of poor people not just at home but around the world, too," says Minnie. "And they hate war, just like my generation does."

"That Barack Obama came to the fore when he did, to lead the new generation of young voters, is a miracle," enthuses Minnie. "Hillary Clinton could not have done it. And that's why I call these first time voters Gen-O."

"They were looking for someone with vision, someone who wanted to change our society from a greed-is-good, dog-eat-dog society to one that better represents their caring values, and they worked their butts off like previous generations never did to ensure Obama's victory."

"We're embroiled in two unwinnable wars on the other side of the world, we have massive debt, our economy is in recession, the gulf between rich and poor is now virtually unbridgeable and it's horrible, too, that race and religion have raised their ugly heads in this election."

"Obama has a hell of a mess to clean up after eight years of the Bush administration," sighs Minnie, "but he can do it, and he will do it with the support and enthusiasm of Gen-O and all of the young people coming up to vote at the 2012 election."

"Congratulations Obama and bravo Gen-O for putting your country before your pocket.”

Barack Obama Smokes?

Barack Obama’s losing fight to rid himself of the smoking habit is now public knowledge and is causing a stir among the chattering classes and Sissy wants to know why on earth it should matter.

“Many voters did not even know that he had ever smoked and are righteously indignant and shocked that a person with such an ‘abominable, filthy and disgusting’ character flaw could ever stand for office,” says Sissy. “But, in view of the legality of the habit, and his quitting smoking not being a requirement of nomination, what business is it of anyone’s?”

“As long as he can perform the duties of office and uphold the social contract we invest in him,” says Sissy, “then I really cannot see why a smoker in office would be worse than a drinker or a drug-taker, especially when tobacco calms the nerves and aids concentration.”

“I don’t understand why he ever bothered to take it upon himself to do the ‘quitting’ thing in the first place,” says Sissy. “And why is a presidential candidate’s smoking habit more important to voters than slaughter in Iraq or the state of the economy?”

“I would say that drinking, drug-taking, womanizing, gambling, lying, violence or abuse of women and children are far worse character flaws than smoking,” says Sissy, “and I certainly wouldn’t vote for anyone with those flaws.”

”To my mind, Obama risks being considered a wimp for trying to fit in with the Politically Correct herd mentality if he went on the quitting train,” says Sissy. “I’d rather that he remain his own smokin’ man.”


Read more by Sissy on this issue:

once a smoker always a smoker

backing a winner?

addictive friends

peace up in smoke?

walking on water

a life changing vote

who’s the boss?

candidates and spouses

and check out:

Secrets of Barack Obama’s Age

Obama, Clinton or McCain?

once a smoker always a smoker

Reports that Barack Obama has broken his pledge to quit smoking by sneaking a few cigarettes now and again – and comments about his deteriorating performance - do not surprise Sissy as much as his ridiculous decision to quit smoking in the first place.

“People lapse and lose focus when they quit smoking, so why did he put himself through all this totally unnecessary public humiliation?” asks Sissy. “Frankly, his timing to quit smoking – running for office - was atrocious, as was his estimation of his willpower.”

“He doesn’t seem to have much insight into why tobacco smoking first attracted him and always will,” explains Sissy. “He’s not so much a nicotine addict as a smoking addict – chewing Nicorette isn’t going to help him when he needs to see and smell smoke and take it into his lungs. Can’t he see that?”

“It pains and embarrasses me to see him so unfocused,” sighs Sissy. “I’m sure the other candidates take a shot of something or other before they go on stage, and if this guy needs smoke in his lungs in order to function at his best then he should just do it – and do it openly (it’s legal!) We are sick to death of hypocrites in politics.”

“On the other hand, if he is serious about quitting for good then being the type of smoker he is it may take him several years, and many relapses, before he succeeds,” says Sissy, “but even then he will always be a ‘smoker’ and just like a drinker on the wagon it will be a day at a time, a personal fight against a personal demon for as long as he lives.”

“Obama ignored all of the basic principles of giving up smoking,” says Sissy. “You do it because you want to quit not as a promise to someone else; you choose a calm, stress free time to commence the quitting process; and, if you’re a lifetime smoker (as he was) rather than a social smoker, you must have realistic expectations about your success.”

“That he’s now falling off the quit wagon and performing badly doesn’t surprise me,” says Sissy, “but it does make me feel angry that some idiot has compromised Obama’s chances by filling his head with so many illusions about what he is capable of doing, and what he is not capable of doing without a great deal of pain, effort and help.”

“His deteriorating performance since quitting smoking is so painfully evident that I shudder to think what he would be like in office, with more stresses than ever,” adds Sissy. “If he doesn’t pull himself together right now, while the race is still on, recant his pledge to Michelle and announce to the world ‘I’m a smoker, take me or leave me’ then I don’t see how he can win.”

“Even if he beats Hillary, he has ultimately to face McCain and the formidable Republican machine and things are going to get really dirty and nasty,” sighs Sissy. “But, since the GOP is in league with the tobacco companies perhaps Obama may have won himself a get out of jail free card on his smoking!”


Read more by Sissy on this issue:

Barack Obama Smokes?

backing a winner?

addictive friends

peace up in smoke?

a life changing vote

who’s the boss?

candidates and spouses

and check out:

Secrets of Barack Obama’s Age

Obama, Clinton or McCain?

Obama, Clinton or McCain?

As a woman, Jocasta feels compelled to support Hillary; as a woman and a civil rights campaigner she is attracted by Obama the man and Obama the visionary; and, as a younger person who respects age and experience, she also feels that John McCain has the right stuff to be president. It’s a dilemma that a lot of people are feeling right now and she has tried to come to a conclusion via various methods, the latest being on their ages.

“According to their ages, and an analysis of their performance – what motivates them, what’s dragging them down and what magic ingredient they hold up their sleeve,” explains Jocasta, “Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain become very different people by late 2008 and more different than ever the year after.”

“Barack loses his political baggage by early August and becomes spiritual; Hillary loses her fiery aggression by late October and becomes uber possessive; and John loses his spirituality in late August and becomes uber aggressive.”

“A man with a calling, a venal woman and an ego maniac – the choice is yours!” laughs Jocasta. “It’s nothing personal, it’s just their age, a phase we all go through when our time comes.”

“In the same periods next year, 2009, Hillary Clinton is communicative, Barack Obama is aggressive and John McCain is conciliatory,” adds Jocasta, “so, if we are looking at the Iraq War, for instance, McCain and Clinton will be in passive mode and Obama will be in active mode, able to do something to end it.”

“On that basis alone, I’ve decided to back Obama.”

Read the surprising full analyses at:

Secrets of Barack Obama’s Age

Secrets of Hillary Clinton’s Age

Secrets of John McCain’s Age

smoking president, new deal?

Dilly comes from a generation that remembers FDR, and the prospect of having a new smoking president in the form of Barack Obama really lit up her life because a New Deal is exactly what this country needs in relation to smoking.

"When I heard that Obama had quit smoking I couldn't believe it," says Dilly, "and I refuse to believe that he, too, had succumbed to the lies and exaggerations of the anti-smokers or had sold his soul for votes."

"What this country needs is a strong and true leader -- not a puppet," says Dilly. "He needs to be representative of the common man -- someone who smokes, drinks and likes a good time -- and puts forward his vices as strengths, not weaknesses to hide from the public or swear off."

"Obama is an attractive candidate in own right and didn't need to quit smoking for health reasons or anything else," says Dilly. "I don't believe non-smokers would have turned against him because he smokes, and even if some of them were so petty that they did this, their votes wouldn't have been worth winning."

"If a third of this country smokes, then at least one of the three candidates for nomination should be a smoker in order to represent our rights," says Dilly. "We don't want an anti-smoker like Hillary Clinton representing us and maybe going as far as banning the sale of tobacco products (if only to wean Chelsea off the habit, as if any parent can stop an adult child doing things they want to do!)."

"Everyone knows that Bush is a former alcoholic -- and may have been a former crackhead, too -- and while he necessarily had to give up his vices in order to run for the presidency, I don't see why Obama has to give up smoking in a similar bid to become pristine."

"There's a huge difference between an alcoholic and a smoker," says Dilly, "and if Bush had been able to continue drinking without getting drunk he would have been a lot more acceptable to the average Joe. There's something about a 'reformed' person that's irritating, right? And in an important job like the presidency you wonder whether they're paying more attention to fighting their demons than keeping an eye on the ball."

"For instance, in that shot of Bush at the school when told about 9/11 was his delay in acting due to respect for the kiddies or a fuddled brain?"

"One thing I know about cigarettes is that after a smoke I can focus my attention on a task more clearly than anyone I know who doesn't smoke," laughs Dilly, "and that's the sort of focused attention I want my president to have."

"Frankly, I think Obama has done more damage to his reputation by quitting because now the opposition is using his former habit against him in a manner that nobody dared use against Bush," sighs Dilly. "The anti-smokers have no manners or common decency whatsoever. If they can turn two-thirds of the nation against the other third -- just because they smoke -- then they can do incredible damage to Obama, whether he smokes or quits."

"For that reason, I think Obama should have stood his ground on smoking."

"It would be refreshing if any public figure -- and especially a presidential candidate -- actually stood up and defended their choice to smoke," says Dilly. "Because tobacco is a legal substance I don't really believe anyone should have to defend smoking it, but if he had to I would have liked to have heard Obama say: 'Yeah, I know smoking is a health hazard, but thankfully, because I live in a free country, I am able to make a personal choice about it -- and because choice is something we seem to have less of every day under the present regime, it's important for me to make this stand'."

"He might have gone on to say to all those highly impressionable people out there that he didn't encourage smoking -- it was a personal choice he had made, not to be seen as a sign that it's okay for everyone else to smoke -- and imagine the impact he would have had on a nation that's fast becoming a PC mess."

"By qutting, it almost looks as if Obama is admitting it was stupid of him to smoke -- so he's playing into the hands of the anti-smokers who make out all smokers are morons," sighs Dilly. "Frankly, I'm tired of being told by people who barely graduated from grade school that they are smarter and stronger than I am because they don't smoke and I do."

"Sometimes I feel like pinning a picture of a smoking Einstein on my front door so that people who knock and are greeted by myself in a similar mode have something to think about," laughs Dilly, "but I don't think most of the anti-smokers have the brains to make the connection."

"No, I don't wish to denigrate the anti-smokers -- that would make me as bad as they are," sighs Dilly, "but if they believe that our silence and refusal to quit equates with stupidity or weakness then we have to divest them of that thought."

"So why did Obama quit?" asks Dilly. "On one television show was it put forward that Obama was henpecked into quitting by his wife? Oh dear, more bad publicity because who wants a henpecked husband for president?"

"Obama himself said something about 'health' being his main reason for quitting, but come on, Obama, you're too intelligent to swallow the 'health' propaganda."

"We're electing a president -- a strong person to lead us -- and nobody should care if you smoke or not," says Dilly. "There are a lot worse things than smoking."

"Which brings me back to Hillary," sighs Dilly. "OMG, at least the Bush family isn't as anti-smoking as the Clintons -- I hear that Laura Bush and the twins enjoy a puff behind the scenes -- whereas the Clintons are supposedly old friends of John Banzahf of the relentless ASH organization."

"I choose to believe that Obama knows what he is doing and that all the bad publicity comes from a certain camp within his own party," says Dilly, "and whether he smokes or not, I still think he is the best person for the White House."

"Go Obama!"