I Can't Stop, I Won't Stop, I Don't Even Know How to Stop

As I was talking to a close friend and fellow political observer, we came to the subject of what seems to be Barack Obama's unstoppable nature. Hilary Clinton has pulled out all the stops, opting to go for what her campaign is calling the kitchen sink strategy to bring down his juggernaut of a campaign. She started off by saying mailing are being sent out by his campaign about her health care plan and her stances on NAFTA are so terribly false they are strategies out of the Karl Rove play book. This is after the call for the experienced candidate didn't work and the not so subtle race card played by Former President Clinton didn't fair much better. I don't want to leave out the picture of Obama visiting Kenya

The question we began to discuss was why, when the Democrats have such an opportunity to gain control of the executive branch, is Hilary resorting to these tactics? It would seem, as though she is out of the race and she is playing a very divisive political strategy. And it’s a very good question to raise. If Hilary is going to pull it out, one would think negative campaigns are the last road she would want to travel down. John Edwards, who has yet to endorse any candidate since dropping out the race, wouldn't be a fan of this style of Washington-as-usual politics. If he was to endorse anyone before the crucial Texas and Ohio primaries, it will not be the candidate uses a divisive issue such as the fear of Islamo-fascist, to stay in, not even win, the democratic primary. She can win Texas and Ohio and still not clench the democratic ticket. Moreover, the democrats are poised to take control. Why on earth would a democrat try and divide the base and give McCain a shot at winning centrist may fear the threat of Islamic terrorist in their collective backyard? Even if she were to gracefully bow out, she could earn some political capitol in the Democratic Party for her next run.

The answer seems to be a complicated one. The most immediate one is the commitment to her supporters. The Clinton campaign went broke after Super Tuesday; I would guess they assumed a big win would knock out the Obama run. She loaned the campaign 5 million of her own personal wealth to keep it afloat. A number of people are doing jobs they were paid for before Super Tuesday for free. With so much time, money and energy (most of it not being of Clinton, but of donors, volunteers, and campaign staff members), it would be quite a discouraging moment for any future support for hr to bow out now, with the delegate count so close. When donors sit to write checks, they will remember she called it quits when the race was getting hot. The idea will be that she can't win unless it’s a landslide.

The less obvious reason is, to put is simple, "now." This is a strange time in American politics. The George W Bush presidency has been a nightmare for the Republican Party. His administration destroyed the coalition Ronald Regan built. With monstrous oil prices, a mismanaged war and peace keeping effort in Iraq, a failure to catch Osama bin Laden, a pitiful showing of preparedness with regard to the responses to Hurricane Katrina and Rita, a rising defect, and of course the litany of scandals, the Enron scandal, the Plame incident being two of the many examples. The Republican base is in disarray. Right Wing radio figures are against John McCain, who has the substantial lead, and never make note of Huckabee. This Bush administration has put the republican base into a corner. Because of the colossal failures of the Bush presidency, the next president, needs only to clean up some of the messes left behind to be re-elected. If a candidate fixes health care, makes a stand on Iraq, and does something to start to cut down the deficit, they will win four more years. Moreover, the Bush presidency has left the US with a very sour taste for Washington. This is why Obama's campaign's key word is "Change." He doesn't need to go into tremendous detail about this change because the very notion of a new direction from these last 7 years has mass appeal. So much mass appeal in a country where women still make less money than men for the same work and blacks are still stopped for driving a car too nice them to afford in a neighborhood they could never live in, a black man and a woman are the front runners for the most powerful office in the land. This is more than just an election. The winner will make history, and this is why Hilary must throw it all into the contest. Not for some vague notion of women power, because the day she gets elected my mother will still be paid less than her male counterpart and I will still get pulled over if I'm in the wrong town if Obama win. Whoever wins this contest will have an opportunity to write a positive narrative no administration on the left ever experienced. So ClintonTexas and Ohio in the coming March, as should be expected. She and Obama are fighting for history. and, as is custom of dignitaries visiting another country, adorned in traditional Kenyan attire looks enough like Muslim garb to make the point there may be something to all the internet rumors about his possible faith in Islam. will drag it out to the end, which may come in

Going Through Them Changes...

I hate to start something such as this on such a blue note, but that is the unfortunate way the cookie crumbles. This morning I was greeted with the terrible news that Band of Gypsys drummer buddy Miles died. As a fan of the whole Hendrix catalog, the name Buddy Miles carries some weight. Miles played on of the most influential and under rated albums of the late 60's/early 70's bluesy rock movement. That singular live album, performed on at the Fillmore East on New Years Eve and New Year's Day of 1970, influenced much of the "black rock" of the 70's. Bands like Sly and the Family Stone and Funkadelic would not exist without Buddy Miles, Jimi Hendrix, and Billy Cox. Even more so, bands like Rage against the Machine, Living Colour or even the Roots' latest guitar player "Capt.” Kirk Douglas were profoundly influenced by this album.

Band of Gypsys did not say together much beyond that concert. After a very bad show, the band split and Hendrix reformed the Jimi Hendrix Experience with original drummer Mitch Mitchell, whose jazz style was more flamboyant and busy than Miles' rock-solid fatback funk, and Band of Gypsys bass player Billy Cox. Miles was blamed for the performance by Hendrix's management, but it is largely believed to be the fault of Hendrix's management. The belief is that Hendrix was not as marketable without white musicians, so Hendrix's "chemical indulgence" was spiked to make for an especially bad night. Although the musicians went separate ways, they remained friends.

Buddy Miles had a record called "Them Changes." It is a staple for any beginning funk bass player wanting to get a deep groove or a drummer trying to get the funk a little longer. It has become a soul music standard. He played it with Hendrix and Cox on that fateful New Years Concert. Mile went on to be a staple with Carlos Santana, touring both as his drummer and as a separate solo act.

This is especially personal for me, because my uncle, Michael "Big John" Wiggins briefly played with Miles. The most memorable thing he recalled about Miles, aside from his massive size, was his musicianship. He was one mean drummer, but he was nothing to sneeze at as a guitarist. Miles guitar was a left-handed Stratocaster, strung in reverse, making it a right handed copy of the guitar Hendrix is remembered to play. Another thing he recalled was once, at a rehearsal, Miles showed up completely naked. He would break down in tears often. He never really got over loosing Hendrix from his life so early. They were really close and his death was a specter that never really left Miles. If there is one thing that can be taken away from this terrible loss to the music world, it’s that Buddy Miles no longer has to miss his departed friend, as they have both left this plane of existence.

When I die, I want people to play my music, go wild and freak out and do anything they want to do.
- Jimi Hendrix