The ugly remark, claimed to be a joke, made by former Governor Mike Huckabee at a recent meeting of the National Rifle Association when he referred to a loud noise from behind a curtain as the sound of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama getting shot calls into question his fitness to ever serve in public office ever again, but it filled a very useful purpose.
Friends Express Fear
The fear that the first African American ever to win the nomination for President of one of our major political parties could get shot is growing. (At this writing, Barack Obama is the likely nominee, but not the certain nominee.) I’ve heard that fear from some of my friends—an unsolicited fear, I have to add—but it’s a fear that also has been growing in me as Barack Obama has edged ever closer to the Democratic Party’s nomination.
Senator Hillary Clinton’s recent remarks reminding the public that Robert Kennedy was assassinated in a California hotel in June 1968 as he was close to the Democratic nomination for President was viewed as a too shocking reminder by some, especially in light of the recent news about the health crisis of Senator Ted Kennedy, Robert Kennedy’s brother, but Senator Clinton should not have apologized.
Senator Clinton, Don’t Apologize
What Senator Clinton was saying was that she felt she should stay in the race for the Democratic Part nomination for President to the very end of the process because we can never tell what’s going to happen in the political arena in this county. Unfortunately, the sour note that Senator Clinton was sounding has been justified by historical fact on a number of occasions in this country. Gun violence has intruded its ugly self in our political affairs.
Having lived through the assassinations of the 1960s, I know that fear of assassination is no flight of fancy. I do fear that people are at work in this country today who would resort to the use of gun violence to achieve their ends, thus subverting the will of the people, just as such people were at work in the 1960s. Some might argue that the 1960s were a different period of time than the first decade of the 21st century, but are they really?
FBI
Look at what happened at Virginia Tech a year ago. Look at the Columbine tragedy and so many other examples of gun violence in our universities and schools. It is true that in the 1960s, the chief police agency in this country, namely the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was run by a racist who had been completely comprised by organized crime. That person was J. Edgar Hoover, in my opinion one of the worst human beings ever to have infested himself in an important administrative position in government in any country.
Because the nation had the misfortune to have had a thoroughly corrupted J. Edgar Hoover in a senior position in law enforcement in this country, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy took place. Yes, I believe that, have long believed it, and do not see myself ever changing that opinion. The true perpetrators knew that a full and fair investigation of each of these events would not happen, that thus their roles in these events would never be found out. The bizarre coincidence of three assassinations in one decade, each supposedly unrelated to the other, is simply too pat to be believed. How can anyone of good sense ever subscribe to such an opinion?
Say These Things Now
By saying these things now it is my hope that we can alert those people whose job it is to protect our politicians and others in prominent positions that they must be ever vigilant in the days, months and years ahead. Violence must never be the way that decisions are made in this country ever again. A democracy where the gun is the maker of decisions is not a democracy that any person of decent values can and should want.
Having said that, I want to add my voice to that of Senator Diane Feinstein, Democrat of California. In the current struggle for the nomination of President of the Democratic Party, my first choice has been Hillary Clinton. My second choice has been Barack Obama. These have been my choices since the first televised debate was held, and over the course of the primaries I have given money to both of these candidates. I was strongly drawn to Barack’s message of change, but I felt that Hillary’s message that she was the most experienced to lead this nation was the most compelling.
Democrats Come Together
The time has now arrived for the Democratic Party to come together and give us the strongest possible ticket for November. Given Barack’s lead in delegates at this writing, I believe that that ticket would be Barack Obama for President and Hillary Clinton for Vice President. Let us have both these fine candidates together on the same ticket. Let us have the strength of both to give us the strongest possible combination in November.
For more examples of the writing of Stephen Alan Saft and for news on his upcoming publications, please see the comprehensive site http://www.sasaftwrites.com.
Copyright © 2008 by Stephen Alan Saft
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