The Eagle's Nest Blog

Obama May Have Just Lost the Democratic National Convention!

If Hillary Clinton wanted to steal the DNC convention next week in Denver, it has just been handed to her on a silver platter.

In a election cycle that by all indications was to be a Democratic cake walk, Barack Obama goes out and picks Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential running mate. His selection drives a stake threw the heart of all his impressionable left wing "We Want Change" followers. Joe Biden has been in the Washington DC establishment since the 1970's. Biden's son is a lobbyist on K Street for crying out loud. Some "real change" here! Can you hear the jingle jangle of PAC and ear mark money?

Joe Biden dropped out of the Democratic Presidential race after three contests where he gathered a whopping following of less then 10,000 votes. Compare that to Hillary who was destroyed by a very sexist and race baiting Obama/Axelrod attack team and still managed to win 18 million votes. If Democrat delegates really want to win the White House, they need to change their pledged votes and give Hillary the nomination.

Joe Biden will be the gift that will keep on giving to the McCain campaign. Biden's own words about Obama's lack of experience and needing on the job training will sink any chance Obama had of winning. As I have repeatedly said, Obama is a fraud and a rank amateur. He is a "old style" Chicago politician wrapped up in a slick Madison Avenue ad campaign. As the real Obama has been outed, his numbers in the polls have taken a nose dive. Good luck Barack in Denver! "You go Hillary - You go girl!" 

Veterans for John McCain

This morning in Minnesota and other states around the country the McCain Campaign rolled out Veterans for McCain news conferences. I gladly attended the one at our Capitol in Saint Paul at the request of my long time friend Brigadier General (USAF - Retired) Dennis Schulstad. The guest speaker was a former 6 year POW in Hanoi, North Vietnam with John McCain, Lieutenant Colonel (USAF - Retired) Leo K. Thorsness. Colonel Thorsness was awarded the Medal of Honor from combat action in Vietnam in 1967 and is a Minnesota native from Walnut Grove.

My good friend Ed Morrissey from Hot Air has a great post with video (here).The event was covered by all four Twin Cities television stations. It was an honor to meet a true hero, Colonel Thorsness, Minnesota's only living Medal of Honor recipient.

Obama to Eliminate the World's Nuclear Weapons?

I've seen some snake oil salesmen in my day, but the latest from Barack Obama has me stymied. Are there any educated, racial, thoughtful people out there that really believe that Barack Obama can eliminate the world of nuclear weapons?

I realize that there are many people who have bought into the "Change" bull feathers that Obama has been preaching, but lets get real now. This national security and foreign policy rookie wants everyone to believe that he possesses the charm and persuasiveness necessary to get Russia, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Britain and Israel to give up their nuclear arsenal. Oh, and he can convince Iran and Syria to not develop these weapons either.

The height of naivety by this rank amateur has no bounds. How can rational people believe him? There are nations in this world that want to destroy western civilization as we know it. If they can't develop nuclear weapons, they will develop biological or chemical weapons. America needs a seasoned leader who understands that diplomacy only works when it is a two way street.

All the naive good intentions in the world will not work with these despots. Look how Kim Jong-Il played Bill Clinton for a chump by obtaining a nuclear reactor that helped him develop a nuclear bomb.

In Indiana today, Obama reverted back to the Bill Clinton position that the War on Terror is really a law enforcement matter requiring new bureaucracies for intelligence gathering and law enforcement infrastructure to stop terrorists. That concept gave us Al Qaeda and September 11, 2001 if my memory serves me correct.

If this is Barack Obama's idea of national security and foreign policy, he may just receive a very cold reception from the leaders in the Middle East who have the wolves at their door steps. It just might be time for Obama to be optioned to the minor leagues to gain more experience to the real ways of world reality. Rookies!

Barack Obama's "Plan for Defeat in Iraq!"

In today's New York Time's (here) Barack Obama enlightens us with an OP - ED piece called "My Plan for Iraq." I suspect that his friends at MoveOn.org & Code Pink took Barack to the wood shed for a spanking after he stated he was going to wait until he met with the general's on the ground before finalizing his plan for Iraq. So today he unveiled his "Plan."

After reading it, I believe it is more of a "Plan for Defeat & Disaster!" I agree that I'm not Harvard educated, but I have fought in three wars starting in Vietnam in 1970 - 71, Desert Storm 1990 -91 and Operation Iraqi Freedom 2005. I think my life experiences have given me some insight into the nature of geo-political conflicts. More importantly, as a student of history, I believe Obama's plan will result in even worse death and destruction then the three million slaughtered in Southeast Asia after the Democrats forced America to cut and run from Vietnam in 1975.

As Obama has pointed out, he has been against the Iraq war from the start. Yet he has continued to vote to fund the war while he has been in the US Senate. Some would say that it is not an example of a principled stand on Obama's part. Now, when it appears that we have turned a major corner in Iraq with the success of the "surge" and we are preparing to make a major reduction of combat troops from Iraq, Obama wants to give the Army a new Iraq mission: "end this war." That should give those Iraqi's who have supported our coalition a really warm and fuzzy feeling about waking up one morning and finding they are alone against Al Qaeda, Syria, and Iran. If you really want to see this region in flames and civil war, Obama's plan is the recipe for just that catastrophe.

Obama shows his lack of military experience when he says he would have all combat brigades out of Iraq in 16 months after becoming president. The fact is combat brigades only make up 1/2 of our troops in Iraq. The rest are made up of training teams and logistical support necessary to assist the Iraqi government and their young military forces. Where are we going to reposition to be available if the Iraqi government needs our help again?

He said he would pursue a new strategy in Afghanistan by inserting two combat brigade (about 10,000 troops) there. Remember, Obama earlier this year said he would cross the border of Afghanistan to attack Al Qaeda in Pakistan. I'm not sure the Pakistan government would be too happy about that happening. The cold hard military facts are that Afghanistan couldn't be controlled by the British Empire or the Soviet Union. The best we can do is fight a counter-insurgency (special operations style) war and buy time for the Afghan government and army to build up and defend themselves. Isn't that how we have been winning in Iraq with the change of tactics called "the surge?"

Regrettably, Obama's OP - ED is terrible short on real solutions or practical ideas. I'm beginning to think that his military adviser Retired General Wesley Clark wrote it for him. Yes, we know that the intelligence for the war was flawed, so was the intel on December 7, 1941, we get it! This is just another example of Barack Obama's naivety and inexperience. The idea that he can just sit down and sing "kumbiya" and governments like Syria and Iran will play nice and open their wallets to rebuild Iraq is just plain gibberish.

We all want the war to end, especially those of us who have fought it and lost friends in the process. But don't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory just because you are beholding to radical groups that opposed this war to get out your vote.

It is obvious that Barack Obama has no national defense expertise nor does he understand what is at stake here for the world and the United States. We can't abandon our allies and we definitely shouldn't put ourselves into a position that might require us to go back into Iraq and pay for the same real-estate twice. Obama would have been far better off waiting until he spoke to the general's on the ground before announcing it is time to quit and retreat.

How Low Can the Democrat Congress Go?

When Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats took over Congress in 2006 they promised to make Congress work harder and pull the troops out of Iraq. After all only 15% of Americans felt Congress was doing a good job, so let the Dem's have a crack at it. Well, they certainly have convinced the American people that they can work, as their latest 9% rating proves - hardly at all.

It took the Republicans 40 years to unseat a Democratic Congress in 1994, but only 12 years for the Democrats to unseat the GOP. The problem is that neither party has lived up to their promises to the American people. Not the Republican's with their Contract with America, and most certainly not the 2006 Democrats.

The Code Pink and MoveOn.org people are so mad that they have stopped spitting at our uniformed service members and are now spitting at Democrats. They feel, and rightly so, betrayed by the Democrats who promised to end the Iraq war and are beginning to question whether Barack Obama will double cross them as well.

Although conventional wisdom is that this is a Democrat year, one must ask why stay with an inept team. Throw all the bums out and lets start fresh. While at it lets figure out a way to impose term limits on Congress. That would be a step in the right direction. Like the slogan said - "Time for Change!"

Barack Obama & General Wes Clark Have No Shame!

My friend Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has a great post (here) on General Wes Clark's attack on John McCain's military record while on Face the Nation yesterday.

Barack Obama and the National Democratic Party should immediately denounce and dismiss General Clack from any future campaigning in this election year, but he and the Democrats will not! As Ed Morrissey points out, this is a planned attack on John McCain's character.

The Obama Campaign, using their surrogates, have attacked McCain's age, mental state, bravery and honesty. Is this the "change" that everyone wants in Washington? A ambitious young politician bent on personal destruction of an opponents record and accomplishments? How dare Obama and his minions attack the military record of John McCain. Where and when did Obama serve? What sacrifice has he or his family made on the battlefield? Unlike John Kerry, where are those who served with McCain in combat claiming anything other then his honorable selfless service?

It is time for America to stand up and denounce the tactics of the "New Democratic Party" under the leadership of MoveOn.org. Barack Obama doesn't hold a candle to John McCain when it comes to national security and military matters. To elect Barack Obama would, in my opinion, weaken this country at open us to further terrorist attacks.

Listen people, I have met General Wes Clark and I can tell you he is no General David Petraeus anymore then Barack Obama is the quality of John McCain!

Saint Paul, Minnesota for the Taking!

There are groups that are planning to take Saint Paul by storm this September during the Republican National Convention. It appears that Mayor Chris Coleman is welcoming them with open arms. Don't you love the "Convention Goers and Protesters Welcome" signs that are going up?

Don't you wonder who is going to foot the cost of damage and clean up after this mob of anti-war, anti-Bush, anti-capitalism, & anti-Republicans leaves our fine city?

Someone better wake up and smell the Kool-Aid! Some of these groups wont be happy unless they see some or all of Saint Paul in flames. Word has it that Saint Paul's Finest are very concerned that the liberal politicians in Saint Paul "just don't get it."

The Ron Paul Movement

Last night Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul abandoned his presidential campaign. I was not a supporter of Congressman Paul. However I believe he exemplified the growing unhappiness of conservative and libertarian members of the national Republican Party. Although I wish he would have endorsed the GOP presumptive nominee Arizona Senator John McCain, as many of the other presidential candidates have, I can understand why he did not.

The test now before the GOP is can they graciously bring back into the fold for the 2008 election a portion of those energized and mobilized Paul supporters. I believe this is a movement that we have not heard the last from. Had they been treated with a little less ambivalence and a little respect, they could have proved to be an asset this November.    

Is Minnesota a Swing State?

Like John McCain, maybe it's a military trait, I'm more of a straight talker. There has been a fair amount of talk that Minnesota is going to be a player in the November election. If anyone has any doubt whether Minnesota will be in play as a possible swing state in November, let them look at the Saint Paul Xcel Center. Massive crowds have been forming since early this morning to greet Barack Obama. Even the most die-hard spin doctors for the Minnesota GOP are going to be at a loss for words to explain the drama playing out in the very location that the National GOP will come to endorse John McCain in September.

Look at the ages and passion that those in the crowd waiting for Obama. They demonstrate just how energized their side feels for their candidate. Where in the MN GOP do we see that sort of passion and excitement? Oh wait, we saw that in the Ron Paul people. Youthful exuberance and passionate dedication to work hard for a candidate, but "these people" were not welcome last weekend at Rochester. Now granted there are some weird people associated with the Paulite's, but I could say the same thing about some of the establishment GOP folks as well. Every candidate had an extreme element or two. That went for the Democrats also.

The big difference is that the MN GOP did everything they could to deamonize the Paulite's and make them enemy number one. That seems to be the mode of operandi for the MN GOP lately. They have to have an enemy to belittle and marginalize to keep their power base frightened like heck so they will do the establishments bidding.

Every poll I've seen has Obama many percentage points ahead of McCain. I have said for sometime now that Minnesota is going to experience a "nightmare" scenario where Obama energizes the DFL base and hundreds of thousands of first time voters to paint Minnesota solid "BLUE." I've warned party leaders that the GOP will likely lose 4 to 10 MN House seats, 1 or 2 Congressional seats and the GOP Senate seat.

Ad to the mix the inept MN GOP leadership and less then stellar candidates and you can figure which way this story is going to end. Fasten your seat belts MN GOP, your train wreck is quickly approaching and you have know one to blame but yourself!

UPDATE #1: Wow! 32,000 greet Obama (17,000 in the Xcel plus 15,000 outside). Did you see the crowd? Did you see all the bright young faces demanding change?

The question of the day is: Can the MN GOP leadership or their candidates inspire this kind of enthusiasm?

Republican Disasters - "Get Over It?"

Last weekend Brian Sullivan, Minnesota's Republican National Committeeman, told the MN GOP convention that if they are in the dumps, feeling blue, feeling down to just "get over it!" Sullivan, lost in 2002 to Tim Pawlenty for the MN GOP endorsement for Governor. Many establishment GOP insiders say that Sullivan has been promised the governor's endorsement for 2010, if Pawlenty doesn't run again.

I admit I like Brian Sullivan, a lot more now then I did in 2002. However, I have started questioning his judgment. His speech rang hollow when he said that "When Republicans act like Democrats, Democrats win." Why do I feel this way? Sullivan has sat on the MN GOP executive committee for a long time now and has allowed an out of control leadership to lead this party down the path to a crushing defeat in 2006 and another one that will happen this November.

Sullivan has allowed the party leadership to ramrod the party rank and file through fear and hate for anyone who challenges their power grabbing authority and heavy handed methods. You build winning parties by bringing people together with common goals not by tearing them apart pitting one interest against another.

Perhaps the reason Brian Sullivan has not stepped forward to exert any positive leadership is that he doesn't want to risk the promises that have been made to him. Minnesota's GOP is in need for leadership, the recent state convention proved just how badly it is needed. It is time for real leaders to step forward. I question whether Brian Sullivan has what it takes to be that leader?