Obama would not have expected to be hit by popular anger so early, and hence the missteps that was visible in the early reaction by his administration to the scandal. After pumping huge amounts of money into many big banks, financial institutions, and other companies such as auto companies, there is a massive amount of public anger. For somebody who has just lost their job, or has their house taken away in a foreclosure, or is having to suffer the embarrassment of having to take free food, the concept of the Government supporting massive companies with public money is hard to take. After all, in simple terms (and even when you go through the whole complexity), the losses being suffered by the economy are directly attributed to the wrong economic policies that were being offered by a number of players in the financial sectors – these being banks, mortgage companies, investment banks, and other similar players.

continue reading "The AIG scandal and impact on Obama"

More and more, it seems like John McCain did not do the right amount of thinking before selecting his vice-Presidential candidate. Sarah Palin has turned out to be an extremely polarizing figure, with a section of conservatives very enamored of her; a large section of the electorate however sees her a person who is certainly not presidential. Her view-points, her seemingly lack of grasp of international issues and the fact that if McCain became President, she would be next in line to be President (in case something happens to McCain, and he is 72 years old after all), all have combined to turn large sections of the electorate away from her.
It also seems clear that she has ambitions of her, and the support of sections of the conservative legion have only increased this level of ambition. Initially, when the McCain campaign seemed to be running close to the Obama campaign in terms of numbers, she would have accepted the lead of the McCain campaign to govern her activities, including a stifling press interaction. But as time passed by, and it seemed that McCain is on the verge of losing, Sarah is striking out. She is projecting that she was not comfortable with some of the campaign policies including a reduction in the direct attacks on Obama, that she was not comfortable with her careful and gradual introduction to the campaign. For her, the current campaign is just a springboard to get the public and the conservatives to get to know her as a national figure, not a Governor of a state on the edge of the country. Towards this end, she is also constantly projecting herself as a person representing small town America, the real America. This is also making the McCain campaign staffers see red:

continue reading "Tension in the McCain camp over Palin"

When John McCain selected the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin as his vice-Presidential candidate, it was initially seen as a master-stroke. After all, for conservatives who were dubious of his credentials given his many maverick policies, it was the presentation of a person who was everything that a good conservative should be. Family oriented, anti-abortion, anti-homosexual, believing Christian, and so on. And then she would also try and sway some of the women to her side.
However, things have not been turning out quite that way. It now seems quite obvious that John McCain did not really vet the nomination to the required detail. She is turning out to have quite a few skeleton’s in her closet. It was initially itself understood that she does not have national security credentials and any grasp of foreign affairs, but the long drawn out process for letting her give interviews, for letting the press ask her the tough questions (more like a thorough grilling that they give to candidates), all of them make it seem that she is just not ready for the post of being a person who is next in line to the President, and would act as the President in the case of any emergency.

continue reading "Sarah Palin’s new wardrobe and controversy"

Immediately after the WTC attack, there was wide-spread support for the actions of the United States administration; this involved supporting the actions of the United States in getting rid of the Taliban in Afghanistan and of taking prisoners from the Al-Qaeda and Taleban attackers over there and interrogating them. However, in a matter of time, the Bush Administration came up against the basic concept of rights, especially with the concept that the war against terrorism was depriving people of their basic rights; the right to a free trial. This is balanced with the thought that in cases especially involving Al-Qaeda, it would be hard to find proof or that the methods of interrogation that revealed their guilt would not be admissible in a court of law. A Government, one of whose critical aims is the protection of its people, cannot release people who are acknowledged terrorists and do not fit the normal concept of getting reformed. If you release them, then there is a good chance that they will go back and start doing the same activities again.

continue reading "US Court grants more rights to Guantanamo detainees"