Blogs

I had not been bewitched by Barack Obama. But a Haitian farmer I recently interviewed was.

The husband and father in his late thirties and I spoke through a translator. He'd only been working in South Florida a few months. The conversation turned to politics and he told me that the world would change with Obama. I didn't believe him. In stilted English, he raised an arm and boldly voiced the contender's words: "We can change. We can hope."

Impressed that Obama could give hope to someone from Haiti, where the word is almost cliche because it has never really amounted to much, I thought about the most ardent Obama devotees around me. An Egyptian man, an African American woman and a French man.

Yesterday, Obama addressed race after controversial comments from his pastor became disseminated. This morning, pundits lauded him as courageous for even talking about race during a campaign. Part of what he said: "The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American. " (A full transcript is here.)

I'm starting to understand how the Haitian farmer sees Obama.

-- Janine Zeitlin

Heads up, all you anti-communist hardliners -- or at least those who are trying to decide whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama deserves your vote. (Are there any such anti-communist hardliners out there, incidentally?)

Some sharp-eyed blogger at the politically conservative site Little Green Footballs spotted Che Guevara emblazoned on a pair of Cuban flags hanging in a Houston campaign office of Barack Obama.

"Barack Obama won’t wear an American flag on his lapel, but on the wall of his Houston campaign office: a Cuban flag with a picture of Communist mass murderer Che Guevara," says the site, in a post headlined “Che Guevara Flags in Obama's Houston Office.”

The sighting occurred on a segment from the local Fox affiliate, which apparently made no mention of the flags. A disclaimer on the Fox site states “The office featured in this video is funded by volunteers of the Barack Obama Campaign and is not an official headquarters for his campaign.”

More

Well everyone, everything I know about political science was thrown out the window this morning by the election results. Eager Brian Beasley took Marie-Birts Cooper's seat despite superior signage. Moreover, Velma Palmer, who appeared to only have a pickup truck with one big banner tied to the back, won by 24 votes.

Mayor Feliu, however, kept his seat with a sizable margin and lots and lots of signs. So all is not lost, sign manufacturers. We still know that you play a crucial role in making us all vote for whoever has the most money. -- Calvin Godfrey

Hey everybody,

If you’re like me, then you’re getting sick of trying to figure out all this primary stuff –words like “caucus” make my head hurt and I have a deep phobia about colored maps.

I long for the simpler, stupider realm of small-town politics, where the success or failure of a candidate is determined wholly by the number of signs bearing his name.

To recuperate from all the national hee-haw, I drove out to South Miami, where a happy local election in front of City Hall was well under way.

Calvin Godfrey

Let me say that Horace Feliu, the incumbent mayor was the clear winner today – and not because he had gotten more than three hundred people to cast absentee ballots before election day, either. Feliu won, in my mind, when someone from his campaign crossed the street and jammed an election sign into the handle of this New Times box.

We don’t give endorsements people. But our boxes are ripe for the claiming.

More

Mitt Romney pulled out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination Thursday. This is how the Stormin' Morman explained his exit:

''If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Sen. Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror,'' Romney told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

-- Calvin Godfrey

calvin.godfrey@miaminewtimes.com

Let's be honest: the mood at the Barak Obama party early Tuesday night at the American Legion wasn't cheery. But the three dozen or so supporters were pleasant, if not understandably irked by Hillary Clinton's recent "fundraiser" in a state where, technically, the Democrats weren't supposed to campaign prior to the primary. (Check out this editorial from the Manchester, N.H. Union Leader for an interesting take on the matter).

I took a barstool next to a smiling woman named Lottie Hines. She wore a white plastic hat with an Obama bumpersticker adhered to the front. Turned out she was a tenants rights' advocate in Miami Dade County and a veteran campaigner for Bill Clinton. This time around, she said, she was squarely in Obama's camp. What that meant this primary season: 10 bumperstickers, 30 tiny round stickers and a homemade t-shirt. "If we had the information we could have put out to the public, we woulda..." she paused. "scuse me for saying this, but we woulda kicked Hillary's rump." Because the National Democratic Committee didn't allow the candidates to campaign here in Florida, supporters received none of the usual flotsam: no campaign signs, no flyers, nothing.

There was a brief flurry of applause throughout the room when Obama's vote percentage ticked to 30 percent, then again when a TV station wandered through with a camera. Ten minutes or so after Hillary Clinton was deemed the winner by CNN, Obama supporter Dave Patlak tried to put a happy spin on the results. All of Obama's votes, he said, were a result of grassroots campaigning. "I want to thank everyone in this room for your hopes and dreams," he said.

At that moment, someone placed a life-size, cardboard cut-out of Obama next to Patlak. Lottie Hines, who had been looking through her purse for her phone, looked up, startled. "I looked up and saw Obama and thought, 'When did he come in?' "

-Tamara Lush
Photo by Marco Kornfeld

If a flimsy “I voted” sticker isn’t enough to validate your participation in the democratic process, G by Guess is offering up a proper thank you. After all, it’s hard to take an hour off of work, stand in a long line, and press a button on a screen, all just to make a difference in our country. Actually, you can get a reward without even lifting a finger. G by Guess partnered with Declare Yourself, is offering a 20 percent discount in the store and online from now until March 1 to create awareness about the election.

The best part? There will be no way to verify if you actually voted or not; everyone gets the discount just for visiting the website. Sounds like a nice reward for very little effort -- a message we here at Riptide can get behind. The nearest stores are in Coconut Grove and Dolphin Mall and have men’s and women’s clothing. Go here for more info and to download the coupon. --Raina McLeod

"Isn't that the Muslim guy?" a man shouts, smirking from a passing pickup truck on 11th Street near Jefferson Avenue late Tuesday morning. That's where Jon Fontaine holds his Obama 2008 sign.

Fontaine, a 45 year old antiques dealer in aviator glasses and black flip-flops, shrugs off the unfounded rumor. "This is Hillary country for now," he says. "The gays, the Jewish retirees, they like Hillary. But Obama is just what the country needs. I'm tired of the monarchy." Fontaine is Obama's lone supporter near the Miami Beach fire station, where a dozen-plus bored-looking poll workers far outnumber the handful of voters at today's primary.

Fontaine has never been more energized about a candidate in his 27 years of voting. "His desire is really altruistic. The Clintons are about power. I don't know how Bill Clinton wants people to vote for somebody he hasn't wanted to have sexual relations with for 20 years." --Janine Zeitlin

This morning on Northwest Seventh Avenue, Main Street Black Miami, guys with Vote Yes on Amendment 26 signs and T-shirts lined the road. One whom I questioned, 18-year old Mark James, said he was being paid $80 for the day to stand under a palm tree and wave the placards -- colored green and orange. (UM colors?) He was unfortunately in a position where no one could see him.

Cars were tricked out to urge a yes vote too. But the electioneering only occurred in the black part of town as far as I could tell. That's sleazy. The gambling boys must think blacks are more prone to vote for the accursed amendment, which would allow slot machines at Calder Race Track, Flagler Dog Track and Miami Jai Alai.

Here's the good news, though. Barbara Lazanne, an African American home health nurse whom I questioned outside the Dunbkin' Donut at NW 7th and 103rd Street, saw all the signs. But she still voted against the proposal. "It's only going to bail out the racetracks," she said. "And the tax proceeds will be spent all over the state, not just here." Hallelujah.

Even James, who's aiming to earn his GED, didn't wave the sign with much energy. When I asked him whether he planned to vote for the amendment, he answered: "I don't know."

Chuck Strouse

Florida’s primary is finally here -- excited yet? If you are, I applaud you. If you are like the majority of us, you’ve already decided on your candidate, and regardless of whatever that Green Party friend is telling you, you aren’t going to change your mind. In the spirit of this idea, we’ve asked a couple of random folk to name the first word or phrase that comes to mind when we mention a candidate’s name. Read on to find out what your fellow Americans really think of our future leaders! All I can say is: God help us.

More

Tomorrow voters will decide whether to allow slot machines gambling at pari-mutuels, those depressing pseudo-gambling places about town with decaying buildings and clientele. They boast low-payouts and facilities with the same yellowed charm of roller-rinks and bowling alleys.

Saving pari-mutuels with slots is kind of like giving your grandmother orthopedic shoes to make her walk younger. Sure she doesn’t wobble as much, but she still looks like she’s not going to be around for very long.

But enough with my editorializing.

More

At Thursday night's debate, Florida Republicans were treated to banter along the lines of a feisty discussion sparked over overstuffed, leather armchairs between gentlemen at a country club.
It even became fraternal as the Republican candidates sized up the brawn of their supporters.

Mike Huckabee joked about being timid to oppose his tough guy, Chuck Norris, when he first said John McCain was too antique to be president. McCain chortled and then said he'd send his muscle crew, Sylvester Stallone and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, to face Norris.

What do Florida Democrats hear? (Cricket. Cricket.) And then there's the echo from South Carolina of the kind of political nastiness that leaves a stale taste in one's mouth. Recent verbal sparring between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and the early voting date that caused the party to be stripped of its delegates may cause some to feel less than enthusiastic about voting in the presidential primaries on Jan. 29.

But Make It Count Florida, a site run by the Sunshine State's Democratic party, is encouraging blue voters to hit the polls while assuring that it will be more than a "beauty contest" or a "straw poll:" "The nation will be watching, and the outcome of the election will set the tone for the rest of the race." So, basically, the Democratic race in Florida boils down to perception. Right now, from afar, the perception of the blue frontrunners is akin to a spat over who will be king or queen of the playground. --Janine Zeitlin

In case you're still not sure who to vote for in the Presidential Primary, USA Today has an interesting online tool that may help you decide. The "Candidate Match Game" asks a few questions, then gives you a list of presidential hopefuls that match your views.

Unfortunately, if you're like me, the calculator will tell you that you should cast a ballot for some guy named Mike Gravel. His campaign slogan, according to his website, is "Let the People Decide." Um, okay. I kinda thought that's what this whole election thing was about. People. Deciding. Stuff.

Back to Gravel. Other interesting tidbits: as a U.S. Senator from Alaska, he got the Pentagon Papers published in 1972, married "Miss Fur Rendezvous" and in 2007, declared that he had "zero net worth" as he started his presidential campaign. Sounds like I've picked a winner. -- Tamara Lush

I voted this past weekend. It was uneventful, taking all of about five minutes out of my weekend. Here's the thing: I was the only person in my polling place. The dozen sleepy pollworkers were thrilled to see me, and after hearing the early voting results so far -- about 2 percent of Miami-Dade's voting population have turned out -- I understand why they were so happy when I walked into the voting booth. (As of Tuesday, only a whopping 480 people had voted in my precinct).

With early voting running through this Sunday, there's really no excuse not to cast your ballot for the property tax initiative, slot machines and of course, in the Presidential Primary. In case you're wondering where to early vote, here's a link to the Miami-Dade County Election locations. Of course, you can also vote on Tuesday, Jan. 29, the date of the actual primary. -- Tamara Lush