Benghazi Coverup

I frankly don't care what happened in Benghazi. 4 people were killed. I regret that. But I look at the big picture.

The Republicans and Fox News talk about Benghazi non-stop. 4 people were killed. Suppose it was all Obama's fault, or Clinton's fault.

Benghazi dead: 4

But Obama ended the war in Iraq. 4,493 people died there. Bush was responsible for that. So we could make a little arithmetic problem that even Lindsay Graham, Senator from South Carolina can understand:

Bush responsible for deaths in combat: 4.493
Obama responsible for deaths in combat: 4

But of course, Obama also ended the war in Afghanistan. 3,387 people died there.

Also, Bush ignored intelligence warnings that a terrorist organization was planning to hijack planes and fly them into buildings. This led to the 9/11 attacks that resulted in 2,996 deaths.

Bush responsible deaths in Iraq:              4,493
Bush responsible deaths in Afghanistan: 3,387
Bush responsible deaths on 9/11:            2,996
Bush responsible deaths total:               10,876

So we have the totals here from my special investigation of deaths caused by US Presidents:

Bush: 10,876
Obama:      4

All right, Republicans. You've spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours investigating 4 deaths in Benghazi. Now tell us what you've done to investigate the 10,876 deaths caused by Republican lies and stupidity in the Bush administration.

Why we didn't vote for anyone

Bernie Sanders at least has a coherent philosophy. But when he claims that the voters were fooled by Republican slander, he isn't giving voters enough credit for their intelligence. Sure, the country has lost faith in its government, but if they really want health care, they know they haven't a prayer with the republicans. I think people failed to vote because they couldn't see any difference between the Democrat and the Republican in their local elections. Obama has talked a good show, but major constituencies have doubts about his sincerity.

Obama has courted the Latino vote, but he is known in the Latino community as the guy who deported more Latinos than any other president. Deportation of a friend or loved one is a personal affront and a deep injustice. So Latinos look at him as someone who failed to keep his promises.

African-Americans look at our prisons and see their young men in chains. In the streets, they see their young men shot down with impunity by violent, heavily-armed cops or any other white man with a gun. They have no great vote for Democrats while cops were still assaulting African-Americans in Ferguson.

The progressives look at Obama as the guy who gave us half a national health plan and didn't fight hard enough for a one-payer system, which is the only way the system will work. Obama also ran on an anti-war platform, but actually escalated the war in Afghanistan. He killed Osama bin Laden, but anti-war voters did not buy into the Bush doctrine that we should fight terrorism around the world. Progressives understand war itself is terrorism, and we do not like to see our president pounding the drums for war. Progressives didn't like to see tax cuts as the major stimulus program. Bush gave us that. Finally, progressives saw Wall Street and the neocons from the Bush administration walking away unpunished from the disasters they caused.

So Republicans should not take comfort that the election was a referendum against Obama. Many of the people who dislike Obama do so, not because he is too liberal, but because he is not liberal enough.

The man in the middle will take fire from both sides.