We interrupt this hiatus to do the bidding of a friend

Just cause you’ve been down for me since Before I lost my mind, don’t think you gonna just be able to make me do your bidding.

By Request from my favorite Cleveland Browns fan

She asks me to address this particular issue regarding Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed Barack Obama vs. Bill Clinton.

The following was posted in Newsweek

Summary
A misleading e-mail has been making the rounds, alleging that Clinton has fewer legislative accomplishments than Obama, and that they are less substantive. We’ve had questions about it from a number of readers, and blogs have jumped into the fray. So what’s the real story on the Senate careers of the Democratic presidential candidates?

We find that the e-mail is false in almost every particular:

It sets up a face-off between apples and, well, broccoli, comparing only the Clinton-sponsored bills that became law with all bills sponsored or cosponsored by Obama, whether they were signed into law or not.

It includes legislation Obama sponsored in the Illinois state Senate, a very different legislative body.

It tells us that Obama has sponsored more legislation than Clinton, when in fact he has sponsored less.

It implies that Obama has passed more bills into law than Clinton, when the opposite is true.
Contrary to the e-mail’s assertions, Clinton’s and Obama’s contributions are not qualitatively different, and quantitatively, Clinton has the edge.

The email in question???

You judge for yourself!

Quite impressive!! It?s unfortunate that this information is not being communicated effectively.

Let’s take a closer look at who’s really qualified and or who’s really working for the good of all of us in the Senate. Obama or Clinton.

Records of these two candidates should be scrutinized in order to make an informed decision.

Senator Clinton, who has served only one full term - 6yrs. - and another year campaigning, has managed to author and pass into law - 20 - twenty pieces of legislation in her first six years.

These bills can be found on the website of the Library of Congress www.thomas.loc.gov , but to save you trouble, I’ll post them here for you.

1. Establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site.
2. Support the goals and ideals of Better Hearing and Speech Month.
3. Recognize the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
4. Name courthouse after Thurgood Marshall.
5. Name courthouse after James L. Watson.
6. Name post office after Jonn A. O’Shea.
7. Designate Aug. 7, 2003, as National Purple Heart Recognition Day.
8. Support the goals and ideals of National Purple Heart Recognition Day.
9. Honor the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton on the bicentennial of his death.
10. Congratulate the Syracuse Univ. Orange Men’s Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.
11. Congratulate the Le Moyne College Dolphins Men’s Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.
12. Establish the 225th Anniversary of the American Revolution Commemorative Program.
13. Name post office after Sergeant Riayan A. Tejeda.
14. Honor Shirley Chisholm for her service to the nation and express condolences on her death.
15. Honor John J. Downing, Brian Fahey, and Harry Ford, firefighters who lost their lives on duty.

Only five of Clinton’s bills are, more substantive.
16. Extend period of unemployment assistance to victims of 9/11.
17. Pay for city projects in response to 9/11
18. Assist landmine victims in other countries.
19. Assist family caregivers in accessing affordable respite care.
20. Designate part of the National Forest System in Puerto Rico as protected in the wilderness preservation system.

There you have it, the fact’s straight from the Senate Record.

Now, I would post those of Obama’s, but the list is too substantive, so I’ll mainly categorize.
During the first - 8 - eight years of his elected service he sponsored over 820 bills. He introduced
233 regarding healthcare reform,
125 on poverty and public assistance,
112 crime fighting bills,
97 economic bills,
60 human rights and anti-discrimination bills,
21 ethics reform bills,
15 gun control,
6 veterans affairs and many others.

His first year in the U.S. Senate, he authored 152 bills and co-sponsored another 427. These inculded **the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006 - became law, **The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act, - became law, **The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, passed the Senate, **The 2007 Government Ethics Bill, - became law, **The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill, In committee, and many more.

In all, since entering the U.S. Senate, Senator Obama has written 890 bills and co-sponsored another 1096.

An impressive record, for someone who supposedly has no record according to some who would prefer that this comparison not be made public.

He’s not just a talker.

He’s a doer.

Pass it on….It’s impressive!

My response: Tsk, Tsk, Tsk…First things first. As a dedicated and insistent supporter and dare I say, FAN of Barack Obama, let me state categorically that anyone with the audacity to send me this wack pile of zeroes and ones would be berated as though they sent me an e-mail suggesting that Bill Gates will send me a bunch of money for sending an email. It is obviously misleading, and frankly, it’s beneath the Obama campaign. It might be beneath the Clinton campaign, as well. Rather than rely on anonymous emails, they choose to trot out party leaders.

Richard Pryor Pastor Manny trotted out this beauty a few days back.

“If I had to make a prediction right now, I’d say Barack Obama is going to be the next president…,” he said. “I will be stunned if he is not the next president of the United States. Now, when he is sworn in, 99.9 percent of Americans won’t know who he is or what he stands for. But it doesn’t matter at this point.”

That’s because, Cleaver says, many white Americans are supporting Obama because “they are looking at Barack Obama and saying this is our chance to demonstrate that we have been able to get this boogeyman called race behind us and so they are going to vote for him.”

He says this is causing many African-Americans to “tremble” because they believe white Americans won’t want to address issue of race then, saying it’s been addressed by Obama’s election.

Still, he’s not behind a Obama candidacy. Cleaver says he has been personal friends with the Clintons for 20 years, he doesn’t know Sen. Barack Obama and he believes Clinton would make the best president.

“I don’t abandon my friends,” Cleaver said. He said if he abandoned Clinton now then he couldn’t look himself in the mirror.

He likens Clinton to the Chiefs and Obama to the Colts, saying he knows the Colts will win but he’s always cheering for his Chiefs.

The far-ranging interview went national this afternoon. (AP and CNN have picked it up among others). That occurred after it caught the attention of the Obama friendly Politico.com because of Cleaver’s prediction that Obama will win the presidency.

But Politico.com didn’t note Cleaver offered two ways that Obama’s candidacy could doom itself.

He said if Obama’s handlers insist he continue to talk about race, then “He has just eliminated any possibility of winning the presidency.” Cleaver said now isn’t the right time to have a true discussion about race in America and during a presidential campaign it would only be a superficial one.

Also, Cleaver said Obama could lose the presidency if the Democratic Party disenfranchises Michigan and Florida voters. He said if those voters lose their voice then “we are going to do what Democrats have done many times and that is deliberately run off the cliff.”

Obama also faces some gentle chiding from Cleaver over his lack of credentials and experience.

So…um…yeah.

Before I get back to the request at hand…let me dwell on Pastor Manny before his 15 minutes of fame expires.

If you listen to the entire interview (which I have…of course), you will find an extremely nuanced and informed understanding of the issue involving Jeremiah Wright and Obama’s relationship with his church.

But of course, after that, he stopped speaking with his mouth and began talking out of his ass.

A. He criticizes Obama for daring to start a conversation on race. He says now isn’t the right time. He says Starting a conversation about race will guarantee that he won’t win. He immediately goes on to say that he never expected a Black man not named Colin Powell to win the presidency in his lifetime. (so, what you are saying is that you are WRONG already.)

B. He basically admits that he doesn’t know Obama asserts that the country doesn’t know him either. (!) He acknowledges his long friendship with the Clinton Family and suggests that Obama can actually do worse than Eight years of Bush.

C. He says that Obama is a Mediocre speaker as far as Black folk go, and that white folk are just blown away by how articulate he is. THEN he says that if you put up a number of African-American speakers up against him that he might not measure up. I am still waiting for him to name names.

Hell, I will take JUST ONE. *GO HEAD, I’LL WAIT!(Williams, Katt)*

In summary, A cursory listen to this man will reveal what he has already asserted, and that is that he is a Black congressman who represents a fairly small number of Black People in congress. This would be him getting his Uncle Ruckus on:

“sang along if you know tha words.”

We now return to the Bidding in progress

If we are going to start talking about Senatorial accomplishments then why don’t we discuss how helpful Senator KerryGlennBradleyGoreStevensonBidenDoleDoddTsongasHartHarkin.. *inhales*

EdwardsLiebermanMcGovernHumphreyBrownbackGravel’s long list of accomplishments in the US Senate was for them. Discussing and comparing legislative acheivements between Clinton and Obama is like having Cleveland Browns fans and Chicago Cubs fans discussing post-season exploits in the modern era.

and NOW…we return to our Hiatus…still in progress.