Will Barack Obama Win Iowa Caucus' On Thursday?

A few weeks ago I would have said no if someone asked me if Barack Obama would win the nations first test of candidate strength, the Iowa caucus', but several recent polls indicate that Barack Obama is preparing to upset front runner Hillary Clinton in Iowa this Thursday and if he does eventually turn out to be the winner in Iowa, then Hillary Clinton will have to consider New Hampshire a 'must win' state a few short days later. Barack Obama has worked hard in Iowa for months, but his other competitors of John Edwards and Hillary Clinton have worked hard there, too. I believe the main reason that Barack Obama is poised to win in Iowa on Thursday has more to do with mistakes made by Hillary Clinton and less on the message of Barack Obama.

A few days ago Hillary Clinton's daughter insulted a young school girl reporter that wanted to ask her a few questions about her mom. Hillary's daughter dismissed the young girl and told her she did not answer reporters questions even when they are asked by a cute girl like her. That brush off along with Hillary Clinton's own decision not to take questions from the audience at campaign stops has caused Hillary to once again look like a cold woman to some voters. In many ways, Barack Obama reminds me of Hillary Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton. Both men are very charismatic individuals, while Hillary Clinton many times comes across as harsh and rude at campaign stops.

Maybe Barack Obama is the real deal and he will win the Iowa caucus' on Thursday. However, I will take a wait and see attitude because I have seen African-American candidates poll well in the past only to fall short of votes on election day. Unfortunately, one of the last remnants of racism hides itself from what people tell pollsters, but when they are in the privacy of the voting booth – racist will cast a different vote. With Thursday contest in Iowa being a caucus instead of a secret ballot, poll results there might be different than in a secret ballot election. If Barack Obama wins big Thursday night in the Iowa caucus', then he has taken a big step in upsetting current front runner, Hillary Clinton.

Read more about Barack Obama:

Oprah Winfrey Is Helping Barack Obama In Recent Polls
Oprah Goes All Out To Help Barack Obama Win
Oprah Works Hard To Elect Barack Obama President
Barack Obama Turns Up The Heat On Clinton
Barack Obama Wants Higher Taxes For Everyone

January 1, 2008 Archives

Ron Paul/Duncan Hunter Snubbed By Fox/ABC News

It was bound to happen, but hundreds if not thousands of supporters of GOP candidates Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter have seen their favorite candidate(s) snubbed by Fox News and ABC's 'This Week' program. In an upcoming debate, Fox News did not invite Ron Paul or Duncan Hunter to participate in one of their debates this week and on Sunday, ABC's 'This Week' may do the same thing. Especially Ron Paul supporters have been angered by this snub of their favorite candidate. Even before I heard the news about Fox News' decision to leave Ron Paul out of their debate, I had already received an email from a Ron Paul supporter asking that I send an email to Fox News executives including Rupert Murdock.

In over 40 years of watching presidential politics I have never seen a more loyal group of supporters than those that want to see Ron Paul become the next President of the United States. After each article I write about Ron Paul, I either receive email's of praise or criticism depending on whether or not I am supporting Ron Paul on an issue. Not only do Ron Paul supporters fill the email boxes of professional writers and/or bloggers with millions of email messages, they have also been willing to fill Ron Paul's campaign treasury with millions of dollars to run his campaign. When I first heard that Fox News was not going to invite Ron Paul to debate on their network before the New Hampshire Primary, I knew that Paul supporters would be mounting an email campaign against Fox News that could be a massive strain on their servers.

I wrote recently that I did not understand why Ron Paul was sticking with the GOP, instead of taking his campaign national as an Independent candidate for President? No matter how much money Ron Paul raises from supporters, he will never win the GOP nomination and by staying in the GOP race, Paul is wasting money that true supporters have pledged toward his campaign effort. While I do not support Ron Paul for President, I certainly respect the dedication of his supporters and I wish more people that support other candidates would stand up and support their favorite candidate with as much spirit and dedication. Maybe this latest snub by Fox News and potentially ABC television will finally jar Ron Paul loose from the GOP and jump start his Independent candidacy for President where he will at least have a fair chance at success.

Read more about 2008 Elections:

Iowa's Thursday Caucus First Test For Candidates
New Poll Shows Clinton/Obama/Edwards Tied In Iowa
Iowa Voters Prepare To Caucus Next Month
Ron Paul Should Ditch The GOP – Run As Independent
Democrats Get Friendly Moderator At Debate

Uncle Near Death As Cancer Takes His Life

On several occasions the past couple of weeks I have written about my wife's uncle who is dying of cancer. Only three weeks ago he visited his doctor and learned that he had lung cancer which had spread to his brain in multiple locations. He was immediately put under the care of the Hospice organization to manage his pain control and to offer much needed support to the family members in charge of caring for him during the final few weeks of his life. Yesterday, my sister-in-law moved him from his home in Austin back here to Waco so she could better take care of him.

The past couple of days, he has started running a high fever of 104 and my thinking along with the Hospice staff is that he will most likely pass from this Earth in the next 48 hours. Unlike when I saw him the last time a few days before Christmas when he was awake and talking, now he is uncontentious most of the time which is a blessing not only for him – but also the people in charge of his care. My wife's sister is providing for the majority of his day in and day out needs along with her husband and adult children. They are tired, confused and a little bit angry because cancer is taking someone they love and slowly putting them to death. Watching someone die a slow and painful death from cancer is one of the hardest things a person can do.

Like my sister-in-law, six years ago I watched my own father died from Pancreatic Cancer and it is impossible for me not to think back to dad's last few days of life in 2001. So many things about this uncle's last days are similar to my own father in the way the family watches for the signs of death in the extremities of the fingers and toes while praying for a quick end and then feeling guilty for having such thoughts in the first place. There is nothing like the daily stress of caring for and waiting for a loved one to pass away. When my own father was dying of cancer I didn't even cry as he was fading away. Instead, it was months after his death before major grief finally set in and I was able to show emotion and anger at his passing. Now we all just sit and wait for the end to come. The man we all loved is no longer in that dying body because of the amount of medicine that is required to keep him comfortable. Soon God will stop his heart and a new angel will be welcomed to heaven.

Read more about Cancer News:

Real Life Earth Angeles - Hospice Cancer Care
Uncles Lung Cancer Has Spread To His Brain
Study Shows Late Shift Has Increased Risk Of Cancer
Hoda Kotb Talking/Fighting Breast Cancer
Litigation Over Asbestos Cancer - Finding New Victims