The candidates on Darfur

Today on Time.com's political diary The Page I read that U.S. senators Barack Obama, John McCain, and Hillary Clinton are all supporting the cause pushed by the Save Darfur charity (savedarfur.org). The Times also gives this press today. In a rare joint statement titled "We Stand United On Sudan" the three major White House hopefuls call the crisis in Darfur "genocide" and say "it would be a huge mistake for the Khartoum regime to think that it will benefit by running out the clock on the Bush Administration." Here is a big chunk of the letter:

We deplore all violence against the people of Darfur. There can be no doubt that the Sudanese government is chiefly responsible for the violence and is able to end it. We condemn the Sudanese government's consistent efforts to undermine peace and security, including its repeated attacks against its own people and the multiple barriers it has put up to the swift and effective deployment of the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force. We further condemn the Sudanese government's refusal to adhere to the terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the conflict in southern Sudan.

Today, we wish to make clear to the Sudanese government that on this moral issue of tremendous importance, there is no divide between us. We stand united and demand that the genocide and violence in Darfur be brought to an end and that the CPA be fully implemented. Even as we campaign for the presidency, we will use our standing as Senators to press for the steps needed to ensure that the United States honors, in practice and in deed, its commitment to the cause of peace and protection of Darfur's innocent citizenry. We will continue to keep a close watch on events in Sudan and speak out for its marginalized peoples.

The charity also released a video featuring snippets they'd filmed of the candidates explaining their positions on the Sudan crisis:




These clips were taken from sit downs that the organization did with the candidates back in November 2007 so the extended samples include John Edwards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYWGLbgIy2s

McCain calls the Janjaweed militia the "Janjaweeds"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZcDOOnvUA8

Clinton opts to read a statement from a teleprompter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyEYtHIOGhI

Like Edwards, Obama speaks comfortably off the cuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEd583-fA8M

Friday Funnies

These skits from Funny or Die are funny indeed, but before we jump into these crazy videos, let me be big and state that if Obama is to be the party's nominee then I really want to see Clinton handle that with class and grace, I want to be a good sport about all this myself. I think the public will learn to appreciate her again someday and possibly even forgive some of her behavior on the campaign trail if she shows herself to be a big person. We need to move beyond all this Hillary bashing and move on to what I hope will be a slightly more respectful general election against McCain. That's what I want to see. But unfortunatley this is American politics and she's not even out of the race yet. She's hanging on and going out there making comments about 'hard working Americans' being synonymous with 'white Americans,' really. So before we move on, I think it's fair to get in a couple more giggles because she's practically insisting that we do. Please check out these videos, they are hilarious and perfect fun for a Friday:

HITLERY CLINTON


THE EMPIRE STRIKES BARACK

Obama's Speech on Race in America

Brilliant, emotional, commanding and very presidential address today from Barack Obama. He spoke about race in the United States in the wake of the Rev. Wright firestorm.

I was totally moved by his analysis and I think he put out the fire that was threatening to burn his campaign. What I really liked and what I think made him appear most presidential was how he called the black/white problem in America a stalemate which to me sounds similar to the red/blue state divide or the 50/50 congressional divide which each prevent us from getting things done. That comparison brings Obama's talk back into a political context for me and it drives home precicely why I want Obama in office more than I'd want Clinton or McCain. Obama repeatedly demonstrates that he is running to be a coalition builder, a uniter, not a fighter. Clinton and McCain brand themselves as fighers, and respectfully they have each fought important fights that needed to be fought. But now I'm ready for diplomacy. I think American voters are ready for the make up after the fight, and that is what Obama's candidacy represents to me.

Here is the full transcript of the speech.

Here is the video:

Yes We Can!