George Handlery about the week that was. One candidate, two programs? Attracted  by extremists. What did he actually say? “Cheetahs for the protection of gazelles”. The “Dictator’s Tantrum” #4. Just one more thing!
 
1. Watch for the articles, postings and TV reports that will overtly or covertly suggest that, if Obama is not elected then, it will be because of “racism.” Abroad and at home, this is a great tactic for a candidate. To the extent that it is useful for a party, it is harmful for the country. With such claims, the truth, untruth, and any libelous intimation become ignored. No one wishes to be labeled a racist. Playing this card is bad. Believing that the majority will give credence to the insinuation is worse.
 
2. Perhaps it is that the writer is physically far removed from the center of the storm is responsible for this impression. It seems that the evidence mounts that Obama tended to find persons of inspiration that are unsavory. The matter began with Rev. Wright. Now it is Ayers and supposedly Dohrn. Even if there is no evidence that Obama supported the unrepentant Ayers’ terrorist methods, the cavorting raises concerns. The more so if you put it next to Obama’s  relationship to Wright. The two cases indicate an inclination to choose radical bedfellows. Could it be precisely their extremism that made them into objects of attraction? So, one is led to ask, what else will pop up next.
 
3. Obama’s claim of bringing all of us together and the concurrent cavorting with radicals until the embarrassing relationship becomes public nurtures a suspicion. Could it be that the candidate has two programs? One is the official one. The other might be the below-the-surface one. Every bit of the latter category disqualifies him because of his judgment if not due to his conviction as a Senator or even as dogcatcher.
 
4. Hoffa’s finding that there are people who will not vote for Obama because he is black is correct. Nevertheless, it should be amended. Some people will vote for Obama only because he is black. Neither should be the case and both attitudes disqualify their practitioner. Nevertheless, they are facts and should not be separated from each other.
 
5. A dazzling wrapper does not necessarily mean that its content is questionable. Naturally, those who market junk should see to it that the packaging serves as an attractive camouflage.
 
6. Does this fit your experience? Watching Obama’s appearances you are impressed by the show. Afterwards, your wife, who missed most of it as she came home late, wants to know “what did he say?” At this stage, you have a hard time to come up with something of substance.
 
7. It is ironic when a campaign cautions about Palin. Indeed, she is a young first-term governor. The brief record testifies to her opposition to cronyism and corruption. That this effort had been directed against insiders within her party is a good sign. This is also something “the other side” cannot claim for itself. So far, so good. Next is the claim that Palin amounts to a dangerous experiment for the country. After all, she could become president one day and would be unqualified for the job. Let us assume that in the case of a VP candidate age and limited experience is a reason to disqualify. However, if we do this then what are we to say about a presidential candidate who has less of a record and whose on-the-job experience more conventional than Palin’s? Judging Obama by the rod used for Palin, he should be asked to “abdicate” in favor of Clinton. There is more. Assuming equal qualifications, is having served as the VP not a better qualification to move into the White House than a cold start is as President?
 
8. Our weakness is not a condition created by the enemy’s strength. Its cause is the softness in our thinking and our backbone. Take The Economist on July 30. “Many Americans see him [McCain] as a warmonger, a man who would be happy to bomb Iran if that is the only way to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons.” The context would make “prepared to bomb” more appropriate than “happy to bomb.” If “happy” would fit then “the only way” would have to be removed. Furthermore, if there is really “no other way” then why is resorting to force a sign of madness?
 
9. Russia’s claim to protect small nations (Abkhazia, Ossetia) reminds one of the headline “Cheetahs organize an ‘Association for the Protection of Gazelles.’”
 
10. We have to learn a lesson. It is an unpleasant one. This must be the reason why we try to forget it time and again. The lesson is that a dictatorially governed country will be inclined to conduct an aggressive foreign policy. Like it or not, this makes dictatorship into something more than a “private internal matter.”
 
11. There is an unstable zone between the west of Europe and Russia’s occidental boundary. The peoples of this zone have been in the wise of expansionist great powers – diverse German and Russian systems. The predicament worsened because the inventive West always finds good reasons to trade them in the hope of being left alone in exchange.
Writing off everything between Finland and the Mediterranean is facilitated by ignorance about the region. Knowing a bit about a fragment of a total can be dangerous. The more so if whatever one has not learned about is assumed not to exist. Once one heard about German achievements coupled to concessions that let the inferior peoples of the buffer zone to be dominated by them. Since 1945 and also currently, the same is being done by reciting Russia’s inordinate contribution to civilization. A typical recent note read called them “obviously much more civilized” than “any of those often more barbaric nations” that so often “turned to Russia for protection.” Here opportunism and ignorance are happy bedfellows. Take only the case of one of these barbarians – one that, along with many others, never asked for “Russian protection.” Only in the area of the natural sciences, one wonders about their ability to produce clodhoppers such as Edward Teller, Leo Szilàrd, John Neumann, Albert Szentgyörgyi, Tódor Kármán, Jenő Wigner, J. Polányi, G. Hevesy, etc. (Try the same with the Poles and the Czechs.) Anyhow, such listings, or that XYZ has most Nobel laureates per capita, are irrelevant. Since we had decided to abandon colonialism, there is a general agreement that no connection exists between a country’s famous people and its right to subjugate others.
 
12. Letters from some readers who have become friends can amount to a special reward of ones labors. The following abbreviated version deserves to be shared here. “My Russian wife just returned from X, where she spent two weeks with Russian relatives. She had interesting things to tell about the current situation. First, although the news from Georgia is in the news, the locals don’t seem to be very excited about the problems. Like most people, they are involved in family and personal matters that overshadow international politics. She spoke derisively about the provocatively anti-Russia statements coming from Y. It seemed to her that his words were unnecessary and inviting a disaster. My translation of her meaning would be that he is acting “uppity.” In addition, her understanding of the situation, from watching Russian news is that the Georgians started the fight. One story she told was insightful. It seems that her mother was buying a head stone for a deceased relative. When she was asked if she purchased the stone from a Georgian she said with exclamation “Oh, I would never buy from a Black!” I asked about the theme presented in the western media of how Putin is running the country and Medvedev is just a placeholder. She said most people in Russia believe that also, but they are quite happy with it.
 
13. “The Dictator’s Tantrum” sequel 4. The Tunisian and Moroccan servants clobbered by Gadhafi’s son in Geneva have withdrawn their complaint. Entirely voluntarily. What else? The problem is that the local DA refuses to drop the charges. Under Swiss law, there are offenses that the state prosecutes regardless of the victim’s wishes. This leaves “diplomacy” with a problem. Amendment: the charges were dropped. Without any pressure, we are told. The bail will be refunded to Hannibal. Libya still wants an apology. The diplomats will have work to do once Condi Rice’ visit is over.
 
14. Just one more thing! So, you were tempted to think that you have heard it all? If so, you might be wrong. Take this one! The EU is giving money to Bulgaria use it to qualify herself for the acceptance of larger sums to finance significant projects. Several fundings were meant to pay for measures that guard against corruption. Now, it gets even better. The anti-corruption money was ripped off. Back to the serious: as also in the case of Romania where the political class strongly resists anti-corruption measures, the best time for the house cleaning would have been prior to the hurried admission.