Regretably, I don't have as much time to comment on the US Presidential race on this blog, but since today is President's Day, I might as well express a few observations
1) Anti-immigration fascists like to say "the majority of Americans want less immigration, more restrictions on immigration, and to deport every illegal alien"
If that is true, then why isn't Tom Tancredo or Duncan Hunter the Republican nominee for President?
Don't give me this nonsense about those 2 guys not having name recognition. 5 years ago, hardly anyone knew Barack Obama existed! But now, he's known worldwide!
If the anti-immigration fascists really were the majority, Tancredo and Hunter would've become overnight sensations within GOP circles the last 12 months!
Let's not forget that in 2000, Pat Buchanan left the Republican Party because he thought its then nominee George W. Bush, was too liberal on immigration. Buchanan ended up being 4th place, and getting less than 1% of the vote!
John McCain supported immigration reform that might've make it easier for immigrants to legally immigrate, and give amnesty to illegal aliens who have proven that they didn't commit violent crimes, learn English, and be employed!
As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee supported giving children of illegal aliens living in Arkansas the right to attend public universities with in-state tuition rates.
Even with that, Huckabee was able to win primaries in very conservative states in the South and Great Plains.
However, after Bhutto's assassination in Pakistan, Huckabee warned of Pakistani terrorists entering the US through the Mexican border. Nevermind that he didn't even bother to name any Islamic terrorist who sneaked through the Mexican border.
Mitt Romney flip-flopped on the immigration issue, just like he did with abortion, gun control, and gay marriage. It is his flip-flopping, not his Mormon faith, that prevented him from gaining the support he needed to win the GOP nomination!
2) Many have doubted whether America is ready for a "black President".
Some even doubted whether Barack Obama was even "black enough" to get African-American support.
So far, Obama have been getting overwhelming support from African-Americans. But that's not all! Obama also have getting votes from overwhelmingly European-American states like Iowa, Utah, Kansas, Maine and Idaho.
But let's not forget that those are just votes from the Democrat primaries. Would the general population of those states support Obama in the general elections?
However, many are questioning whether Obama can get the Latino and the Asian-American vote. While Obama has got the majority of Latino and Asian vote in his current home state of Illinois, he had difficulty getting their support in California.
Some have commented about racial conflicts between Latinos, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans in inner-city areas in California. Some have speculated that some Latinos and Asian Americans who had bad experience with African-Americans have been taking it out on Obama in the voting booth!
Now, not all Latinos and Asians who voted for Hillary Clinton were voting against Obama for racial reasons. Some Latinos and Asians remember the positives of the Clinton Administration. Also, just like voters in other demographics, some have legit questions on whether Obama is ready to be President.
However, if there are Latinos and Asians voting against Obama for racial reasons, they ought to be ashamed of themselves. Obama has done nothing wrong to them! Obama has been doing all he could to support immigrants, many of them coming from Latin America and Asia.
Obama have been supporting immigration reforms that will make it easier for immigrants to come legally, and to give amnesty for illegal aliens who have proven that they are learning English, are employed, and not a convicted felon.
Latin American and Asian immigrants better show some grattitude towards the African-American civil rights activists. It was because of those activists that Congress started to reform immigration laws in the 1960's. Before that, the immigration laws blatantly favored the Northern European immigrants. However, as anti-discrimination laws were starting to pass, the Congress decided to allow more non-white immigrants. It is the Latinos and Asians who benefitted most from that immigrant reform, which wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for Martin Luther King and the other African-American civil rights activists!
3) I'm not ready to make an endorsement.
I wish I spent more time researching the "third party " candidates! While the Internet makes it easier, I also wish the mainstream media would at least profile them.
John McCain pretty much got Republican nomination. We just got to wait for the convention for it to be official.
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are almost tied for the Democratic nomination.
There will be a caucus here in Hawaii this Tuesday. I'm predicting an Obama win in Hawaii, due to his local ties. I also predict that the voting patterns for Asian-Americans in Hawaii would be different from the ones in California.
Obama and Clinton's policies are almost alike, the main difference is that Clinton wants to require everyone to get health insurance, while Obama say that individuals should make that choice.
While I don't want people to suffer financially to pay for health care costs, I also don't think government should force people to get insurance. That is over-management of people's lives, and I have to agree with Obama on that one!
