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Thursday, August 28, 2008 |
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14°C
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14°C
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77%
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Riding the Obama express |
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Written by BRUCE STRACHAN
Citizen columnist
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Wednesday, 21 May 2008 |
Related Items
LOWER MAINLANDUSBRUCE STRACHANBARACK OBAMAHILLARY CLINTONSECOND WORLD WAR
For openers, electing Barack Obama as the next U.S. president would be the best thing to happen in American politics since former president Dwight Eisenhower, and for a lot of the same reasons. His election could be good for Prince George as well, and I’ll get to that later.
To open on Eisenhower, if he were alive today I think he’d be supporting Obama.
Eisenhower, a Republican and Allied commander during the Second World War, understood better than most the horrible cost of war, not only in the death it caused, but in the responsibility and consequences of its aftermath.
When he left the presidency in 1961, Eisenhower offered this warning: “We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence by the military-industrial complex.”
He went on to say: “Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defence with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”
Eisenhower would not be happy with the current gunslinger policy of the Bush White House.
To push the text of his warning, current American foreign policy has come unmeshed and the country’s security and liberty have not prospered in the least.
Now to Obama and his take on the Bush war on Iraq.
On the invasion of Iraq, Obama said this: “I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East and encourage the worst, rather than the best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaida.”
Wow, did he nail that one. Moreover, he made that speech in October 2002. The invasion of Iraq came less than six months later.
In one short paragraph, Obama not only correctly laid out the faulty military strategy of an Iraq invasion, but the terrible geo-political consequences as well.
Like Eisenhower, Obama knew military power must be kept in check. Failure to do so puts security and liberty at risk.
The U.S. wanted to show the Arab world its strengths; 4,000 body bags later it’s only shown its weaknesses.
Obama also nailed it with the recruitment arm comment; there’s no question George Bush has become a poster boy for the anti-U.S. terrorism movement.
Accordingly, I strongly reject the opinion carried on this page last week that Obama is running because he’s mad at the way blacks have been treated in the U.S. or that he’s “entitled” to run.
Obama is running for political office for the same reason people all over the free world run for office -- he’s running because he feels he has a lot to offer and that he can bring about positive change.
All the evidence I’ve seen tells me Barack Obama is intellectually superior to Hillary Clinton and far better suited than Republican John McCain for the top job.
On the Prince George connection to Obama: One of the organizations strongly opposed to the imposition of U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber is the National Black Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber correctly sees the duty as a fictitious charge, which only drives up the cost of housing.
I expect the National Black Chamber of Commerce would have the ear of President Barack Obama.
Go Obama.
* * *
The carbon tax tiff.
City council and The Citizen have come out opposed to the provincial government’s carbon tax, particularly as it impacts northerners. But don’t try to flog your carbon tax crocodile tears on any one who lives on the Lower Mainland, because you’ll be laughed out of the room.
We’ve got it good in Prince George when it comes to gas-related expenses. First, if you live in Prince George and work in Prince George and have a commute that takes more than 20 minutes, you need a new car -- or better directions.
Compare this to the poor sods slogging it out for hours in Metro Vancouver idling away on gridlocked freeways, all for the pleasure of filling up every couple of days while paying an extra transit tax on every litre of fuel.
If you’re not getting my point, get up early in the morning and watch the TV traffic reports from Vancouver.
Second, it’s reckoned the 2008 carbon tax increase will cost a person with one car about $45. But the Climate Action Rebate for 2008 will be $100 per person.
Use the extra money to install better weather stripping, or whatever it takes to reduce your heating bills.
Just don’t complain to a Vancouver area motorist about a small gas tax. Instead, smile smugly and enjoy your short drive to work.
Bruce Strachan is a former B.C. cabinet minister and Prince George city councillor. His column appears Thursdays. E-mail:
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 May 2008 )
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