Vote for Barack Obama: America's Number One First Responder

Then, along Hurricane Sandy and knocked us all for a loop. However in every storm there is a silver lining and the courage and selflessness of ordinary people, acting like heroic First Responders here in New York City, made me think it is possible for even the dumbest of voters to recognize how hard Obama has been working to serve all us real Americans and not only those who had the sense to vote for him the first time.

 

If I were dressing up the President for his last rally before election day, I would have him wear a Fire Helmet because everyone loves firemen and other “first responders.” As America’s Number One First Responder he spent most of the last four years fighting a fire that started in the previous (W) administration with financial deregulation, followed by predatory lending and things called “derivatives" that were sold by people who had no idea what they were to investors who knew even less. Like a brush fire, it then raced across the country, consuming almost everything in its rapacious path bankrupting, individuals, businesses, and even local governments. “Recession” or even “Depression” hardly fits the descriptive bill for what happened to us.

 

The simple facts of the matter are that the Republicans started the fire and when Obama tried to put it out they not only tried to cut off the water supply, they also poured gasoline on the flames. Now that the fire is almost under control, but still smoldering, the arsonists are blaming him for not doing enough to put it out.

 

It is important to remember that it took FDR two terms, and the help of a World War, to douse the last major Republican conflagration and Obama has done it, virtually single-handedly in one.  

 

In the middle of all of America’s real problems, we have Republican Presidential non-candidates Donald "The Boss" Trump and Rudy "The ?" Giuiliani making fools of themselves, again. The Donald announced that he is withdrawing his offer of a five million dollar reward for Obama’s passport and education records to offer it instead for “proof” of an Obama Benghazi cover up. I have no doubt that Trump has no idea even where Benghazi is, but for that… "Obama, you’re fired!"  (Note his Double Comb Over was revealed in Vanity Fair …. >>>)

 

Then there is the Rude One ranting in Ohio that President Obama was a liar and ought to resign. Giuliani claimed that, among other things partisan,"He has been a disaster. The worst president for our economy in our lifetime. He doesn't want a second term. He wants a second chance, because he screwed it up the first time." Rudy, seems to have forgotten that it was his "Mission Accomplished" buddy George W. Bush who dug out the chasm for our current fiscal cliff and that his newest buddies Mitt "The Hulk" Romney and especially Paul "The Hunk" Ryan who are trying to push us off it.

 

As to Rudy’s perception of moral character, his best buddy, is Bernie Kerik who he made New York City Police Department Commissioner and subsequently nominated, after 9/11, to be W’s Secretary of Homeland Security.  Kerik withdrew after numerous allegations of wrong-doings of one sort or another. In 2006 he pleaded guilty to ethics violations brought against him by the Bronx District Attorney for which he was fined two hundred thousand dollars. In 2007 he was indicted by a Federal District Court of among those doings --- conspiracy, fraud, and lying to the IRS. In 2009 he was convicted and sentenced to 4 years in the pen. His latest NYC appearance was at the perjury trial of some allegedly mob related friends who did some home renovation “favors” for him while he was living off my taxes. ( see >>>)

 

If it was up to America’s Mayor, we would have "Weeping Bernie," instead of Jeanette Napolitano, as Homeland Security Czar overseeing FEMA efforts to clean up after Sandy. As to Rudy actually deserving the title of "America’s Mayor" bestowed upon him by Oprah Winfrey, Wayne Barrett and Dan Collins, in The Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 (harper Collins 2007) have a different opinion. In any case, I’m voting for America’s Number One First Responder Barack Hussein Obama today not Rudy.



* Brooklyn College of CUNY, Sociology, Emeritus