''I FORGOT HE WAS BLACK", A MINDSET OF MANY GOOD OLE WHITE-BOYS?

Whether it is Senator John McCain or former President Bill Clinton or Senate Leader Harry Reid or even the anti-America's full and complete integration, racist megaphone Rush Limbaugh and regrettably now, Chris Matthews, the thinking among the 'good ole white-boys' of America is the same. Always pondering whether 'the other ones' are as intelligent, capable, competent and well qualified as them?

Unfortunately, most times, they are delusional that between 'we and them', we are the superior species? White supremacy aka KKK, may be? Even when you attend the same ivy league school like Harvard with them and excelled, they will still convince themselves that there is a reason or an explanation for your success other than your ability. To them it must be because of some form of patronage and not necessarily meritorious? Also take a look at both cable and network television and show Icheoku how many black or colored pundits or presenters there is who are given shows or even invited on one, simply because "they are not as intelligent as us" to read teleprompters or shout questions to guests without allowing them time to answer them?" It is just a mindset set in stone which will take some time to wipe off, maybe with next generation?

However, while some of them cleverly mask their doubts very well, others periodically have had their tongues betraying their hearts, while the Rush Limbaughs amongst them could care less what the 'other ones' think and feel, and their sensibilities might as well go to blazes? But for Hardball Chris Matthews, Icheoku, having followed and watched him for some years now, is wont to vouchsafe that he spoke without malice and would rather he did not phrase his take in that inarticulate way, knowing what a hot-button issue race-relations still is in America. What Chris uttered could be explained as an excited baby-boomer who was so mesmerised by President Barack Obama's eloquence, charisma and intelligent speak that he let down his guard? A State of the Union address which he described as "profound" and "so in tune with so many problems and aspects of American life" must have had an exhilarating effect on him that he just let go? In law what Chris Matthew said could possibly qualify as an excited utterance made under the influence of President Barack Obama scholarly, very intoxicating State of the Union address delivery? For many people proficient with and who have mastery of the letters and words of the English Language, who tuned into President Barack Obama's first state of the Union address, thrilled, was an apt description of what they felt at the end of the 1.05 hours stellar performance. Icheoku watched it.

So, Chris Matthews' antecedents excused his present guffaw and Americans especially black Americans should move on and not participate in the Fox-Network's current attempt to do a hit-man's job on Chris Matthews as a result of his misspeak. When during the presidential campaigns, the same Chris got so enamored by the intelligence displayed by then candidate Senator Barack Obama while answering some 'gotcha ya' trip/trap questions; blushingly uttered that he "felt this thrill going up my leg", many people called him out for expressing "tingling-feeling" for Obama. In a way, Chris might have become so infatuated with Obama's candidacy and performances that he has fallen in love, literally speaking, with the President? But hey, love is still better than hate and for this reason, Chris Matthews is free to express his passion for the "first ever articulate black-man in America who happens to be occupying their White House?" Admitted that his statement has several connotations and implications, but Icheoku is excusing it based on his past records. However, it goes to show how people of color are viewed and treated in America - not allowed equal playing field just because they are black or colored, and hence "inferior", but fortunately today, President Barack Obama is proving them wrong and conceited; and telling them to their face to have a re-thinking of this warped assumption!

In the said 'offensive' statement, Chris Matthew said, "I was trying to think about who he was tonight. It's interesting: he is post-racial, by all appearances. I forgot he was black tonight for an hour. You know, he's gone a long way to become a leader of this country, and passed so much history, in just a year or two. I mean, it's something we don't even think about. I was watching, I said, wait a minute, he's an African-American guy in front of a bunch of other white people. And here he is president of the United States and we've completely forgotten that tonight — completely forgotten it. I think it was in the scope of his discussion. It was so broad-ranging, so in tune with so many problems, of aspects, and aspects of American life that you don't think in terms of the old tribalism, the old ethnicity. It was astounding in that regard. A very subtle fact. It's so hard to talk about. Maybe I shouldn't talk about it, but I am. I thought it was profound that way." Icheoku asks Matthews, who else was he thinking the president is other than an American? Why must he remember that the president is a black-man instead of an American? Why see the president as 'an African-American guy' instead of an American? It is the same type of stereotyping which have led Rush Limbaugh to 'create' in the minds of some of his dumb listeners the notion that there is "an Obama America" and then their own White America which Obama is holding in trust for them, albeit temporary? Icheoku agrees with one commentator's observation that possibly, "Chris Matthews was primarily focused on the fact that he was listening to a black man who is occupying their White House and not necessarily to an American president?"

Chris Matthews statement shows that America still have a long way to go in the bridging of the gap between racial divides and that the vocalised opposition President Barack Obama administration is getting is an indirect attack at his audacity for occupying their White House? How else can one explain the virulent attacks on an administration that is barely one year old, which have just completed only 12 months out of its forty-eight months mandate of office; and being expected to fix what took President GW Bush 8 years to break into several pieces and drive under the ground? President Barack Obama is not Jesus who elected to rebuild a temple that took the Jewish several decades to erect in just three days, if demolished? It takes time and the sins of the past eight years will take some years to atone for; so America, please give President Barack Obama time to deliver, since he never claimed to be a magician with some wand to just will every problem away and at one go! GET IT!

PRESIDENT OBAMA TO AMERICA, WE DON'T QUIT, I DON'T QUIT!

We watched President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address and like many others who watched it agree, both in content and delivery, it was stellar! It was vintage Obama come back to live and Icheoku hopes that he sustains the middle of the road tune he struck with the speech, as he tries to solve the many problems facing America today. As a popular aphorism goes, the taste of the pudding is in the eating; so now go through the speech and judge for yourself. Happy trails.___

"Madame Speaker, Vice President Biden, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans: Our Constitution declares that from time to time, the president shall give to Congress information about the state of our union. For 220 years, our leaders have fulfilled this duty. They have done so during periods of prosperity and tranquility. And they have done so in the midst of war and depression; at moments of great strife and great struggle. It's tempting to look back on these moments and assume that our progress was inevitable, that America was always destined to succeed. But when the Union was turned back at Bull Run and the Allies first landed at Omaha Beach, victory was very much in doubt. When the market crashed on Black Tuesday and civil rights marchers were beaten on Bloody Sunday, the future was anything but certain. These were times that tested the courage of our convictions and the strength of our union. And despite all our divisions and disagreements, our hesitations and our fears, America prevailed because we chose to move forward as one nation and one people.

Again, we are tested. And again, we must answer history's call. One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse and a government deeply in debt. Experts from across the political spectrum warned that if we did not act, we might face a second depression. So we acted immediately and aggressively. And one year later, the worst of the storm has passed. But the devastation remains. One in 10 Americans still cannot find work. Many businesses have shuttered. Home values have declined. Small towns and rural communities have been hit especially hard. For those who had already known poverty, life has become that much harder. This recession has also compounded the burdens that America's families have been dealing with for decades — the burden of working harder and longer for less, of being unable to save enough to retire or help kids with college. So I know the anxieties that are out there right now. They're not new. These struggles are the reason I ran for president. These struggles are what I've witnessed for years in places like Elkhart, Ind., and Galesburg, Ill. I hear about them in the letters that I read each night. The toughest to read are those written by children asking why they have to move from their home, or when their mom or dad will be able to go back to work.

For these Americans and so many others, change has not come fast enough. Some are frustrated; some are angry. They don't understand why it seems like bad behavior on Wall Street is rewarded but hard work on Main Street isn't, or why Washington has been unable or unwilling to solve any of our problems. They are tired of the partisanship and the shouting and the pettiness. They know we can't afford it. Not now. So we face big and difficult challenges. And what the American people hope what they deserve is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences, to overcome the numbing weight of our politics. For while the people who sent us here have different backgrounds, different stories and different beliefs, the anxieties they face are the same. The aspirations they hold are shared: a job that pays the bills, a chance to get ahead. Most of all, the ability to give their children a better life. You know what else they share? They share a stubborn resilience in the face of adversity. After one of the most difficult years in our history, they remain busy building cars and teaching kids, starting businesses and going back to school. They're coaching Little League and helping their neighbors. As one woman wrote me, "We are strained but hopeful, struggling but encouraged." It is because of this spirit, this great decency and great strength that I have never been more hopeful about America's future than I am tonight. Despite our hardships, our union is strong. We do not give up. We do not quit. We do not allow fear or division to break our spirit. In this new decade, it's time the American people get a government that matches their decency, that embodies their strength.

And tonight, I'd like to talk about how together, we can deliver on that promise. It begins with our economy. Our most urgent task upon taking office was to shore up the same banks that helped cause this crisis. It was not easy to do. And if there's one thing that has unified Democrats and Republicans, it's that we all hated the bank bailout. I hated it. You hated it. It was about as popular as a root canal. But when I ran for president, I promised I wouldn't just do what was popular — I would do what was necessary. And if we had allowed the meltdown of the financial system, unemployment might be double what it is today. More businesses would certainly have closed. More homes would have surely been lost. So I supported the last administration's efforts to create the financial rescue program. And when we took the program over, we made it more transparent and accountable. As a result, the markets are now stabilized, and we have recovered most of the money we spent on the banks. To recover the rest, I have proposed a fee on the biggest banks. I know Wall Street isn't keen on this idea, but if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need.

As we stabilized the financial system, we also took steps to get our economy growing again, save as many jobs as possible and help Americans who had become unemployed. That's why we extended or increased unemployment benefits for more than 18 million Americans, made health insurance 65 percent cheaper for families who get their coverage through COBRA and passed 25 different tax cuts. Let me repeat: we cut taxes. We cut taxes for 95 percent of working families. We cut taxes for small businesses. We cut taxes for first-time homebuyers. We cut taxes for parents trying to care for their children. We cut taxes for 8 million Americans paying for college. As a result, millions of Americans had more to spend on gas, and food and other necessities, all of which helped businesses keep more workers. And we haven't raised income taxes by a single dime on a single person. Not a single dime. Because of the steps we took, there are about 2 million Americans working right now who would otherwise be unemployed — 200,000 work in construction and clean energy, 300,000 are teachers and other education workers, tens of thousands are cops, firefighters, correctional officers and first responders. And we are on track to add another one-and-a-half-million jobs to this total by the end of the year. The plan that has made all of this possible, from the tax cuts to the jobs, is the Recovery Act. That's right — the Recovery Act, also known as the stimulus bill. Economists on the left and the right say that this bill has helped saved jobs and avert disaster.

But you don't have to take their word for it. Talk to the small business in Phoenix that will triple its work force because of the Recovery Act. Talk to the window manufacturer in Philadelphia who said he used to be skeptical about the Recovery Act, until he had to add two more work shifts just because of the business it created. Talk to the single teacher raising two kids who was told by her principal in the last week of school that because of the Recovery Act, she wouldn't be laid off after all. There are stories like this all across America. And after two years of recession, the economy is growing again. Retirement funds have started to gain back some of their value. Businesses are beginning to invest again, and slowly some are starting to hire again. But I realize that for every success story, there are other stories, of men and women who wake up with the anguish of not knowing where their next paycheck will come from — who send out resumes week after week and hear nothing in response. That is why jobs must be our number one focus in 2010, and that is why I am calling for a new jobs bill tonight. Now, the true engine of job creation in this country will always be America's businesses. But government can create the conditions necessary for businesses to expand and hire more workers. We should start where most new jobs do — in small businesses, companies that begin when an entrepreneur takes a chance on a dream or a worker decides it's time she became her own boss. Through sheer grit and determination, these companies have weathered the recession and are ready to grow. But when you talk to small business owners in places like Allentown, Pa., or Elyria, Ohio, you find out that even though banks on Wall Street are lending again, they are mostly lending to bigger companies. But financing remains difficult for small business owners across the country.

So tonight, I'm proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat. I am also proposing a new small business tax credit — one that will go to over 1 million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages. While we're at it, let's also eliminate all capital gains taxes on small business investment and provide a tax incentive for all businesses, large and small, to invest in new plants and equipment. Next, we can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow. From the first railroads to the interstate highway system, our nation has always been built to compete. There's no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains or the new factories that manufacture clean energy products. Tomorrow, I'll visit Tampa, Fla., where workers will soon break ground on a new high-speed railroad funded by the Recovery Act. There are projects like that all across this country that will create jobs and help our nation move goods, services and information. We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy efficient, which supports clean energy jobs. And to encourage these and other businesses to stay within our borders, it's time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs in the United States of America.

The House has passed a jobs bill that includes some of these steps. As the first order of business this year, I urge the Senate to do the same. People are out of work. They are hurting. They need our help. And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay. But the truth is, these steps still won't make up for the 7 million jobs we've lost over the last two years. The only way to move to full employment is to lay a new foundation for long-term economic growth and finally address the problems that America's families have confronted for years. We cannot afford another so-called economic expansion like the one from last decade — what some call the lost decade — where jobs grew more slowly than during any prior expansion, where the income of the average American household declined while the cost of health care and tuition reached record highs, where prosperity was built on a housing bubble and financial speculation. From the day I took office, I have been told that addressing our larger challenges is too ambitious — that such efforts would be too contentious, that our political system is too gridlocked and that we should just put things on hold for awhile. For those who make these claims, I have one simple question: How long should we wait? How long should America put its future on hold?

You see, Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse. Meanwhile, China's not waiting to revamp its economy; Germany's not waiting; India's not waiting. These nations aren't standing still. These nations aren't playing for second place. They're putting more emphasis on math and science. They're rebuilding their infrastructure. They are making serious investments in clean energy because they want those jobs. Well I do not accept second place for the United States of America. As hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may be, it's time to get serious about fixing the problems that are hampering our growth. One place to start is serious financial reform. Look, I am not interested in punishing banks, I'm interested in protecting our economy. A strong, healthy financial market makes it possible for businesses to access credit and create new jobs. It channels the savings of families into investments that raise incomes. But that can only happen if we guard against the same recklessness that nearly brought down our entire economy. We need to make sure consumers and middle class families have the information they need to make financial decisions. We can't allow financial institutions, including those that take your deposits, to take risks that threaten the whole economy. The House has already passed financial reform with many of these changes. And the lobbyists are already trying to kill it. Well, we cannot let them win this fight. And if the bill that ends up on my desk does not meet the test of real reform, I will send it back.

Next, we need to encourage American innovation. Last year, we made the largest investment in basic research funding in history — an investment that could lead to the world's cheapest solar cells or treatment that kills cancer cells but leaves healthy ones untouched. And no area is more ripe for such innovation than energy. You can see the results of last year's investment in clean energy — in the North Carolina company that will create 1,200 jobs nationwide helping to make advanced batteries, or in the California business that will put 1,000 people to work making solar panels. But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. That means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies. And yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.

I am grateful to the House for passing such a bill last year. This year, I am eager to help advance the bipartisan effort in the Senate. I know there have been questions about whether we can afford such changes in a tough economy, and I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change. But even if you doubt the evidence, providing incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future — because the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. And America must be that nation. Third, we need to export more of our goods. Because the more products we make and sell to other countries, the more jobs we support right here in America. So tonight, we set a new goal: We will double our exports over the next five years, an increase that will support 2 million jobs in America. To help meet this goal, we're launching a national export initiative that will help farmers and small businesses increase their exports and reform export controls consistent with national security. We have to seek new markets aggressively, just as our competitors are. If America sits on the sidelines while other nations sign trade deals, we will lose the chance to create jobs on our shores. But realizing those benefits also means enforcing those agreements so our trading partners play by the rules. And that's why we will continue to shape a Doha trade agreement that opens global markets, and why we will strengthen our trade relations in Asia and with key partners like South Korea, Panama and Colombia.

Fourth, we need to invest in the skills and education of our people. This year, we have broken through the stalemate between left and right by launching a national competition to improve our schools. The idea here is simple: Instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform — reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to inner cities. In the 21st century, one of the best anti-poverty programs is a world-class education. In this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than their potential. When we renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we will work with Congress to expand these reforms to all 50 states. Still, in this economy, a high school diploma no longer guarantees a good job. I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges, which are a career pathway to the children of so many working families. To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that go to banks for student loans. Instead, let's take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants. And let's tell another 1 million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after 20 years — and forgiven after 10 years if they choose a career in public service. Because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college. And it's time for colleges and universities to get serious about cutting their own costs — because they too have a responsibility to help solve this problem.

Now, the price of college tuition is just one of the burdens facing the middle class. That's why last year I asked Vice President Biden to chair a task force on middle class families. That's why we're nearly doubling the child care tax credit, and making it easier to save for retirement by giving every worker access to a retirement account and expanding the tax credit for those who start a nest egg. That's why we're working to lift the value of a family's single largest investment — their home. The steps we took last year to shore up the housing market have allowed millions of Americans to take out new loans and save an average of $1,500 on mortgage payments. This year, we will step up refinancing so that homeowners can move into more affordable mortgages. And it is precisely to relieve the burden on middle-class families that we still need health insurance reform. Now let's be clear — I did not choose to tackle this issue to get some legislative victory under my belt. And by now it should be fairly obvious that I didn't take on health care because it was good politics. I took on health care because of the stories I've heard from Americans with pre-existing conditions whose lives depend on getting coverage, patients who've been denied coverage and families — even those with insurance — who are just one illness away from financial ruin.

After nearly a century of trying, we are closer than ever to bringing more security to the lives of so many Americans. The approach we've taken would protect every American from the worst practices of the insurance industry. It would give small businesses and uninsured Americans a chance to choose an affordable health care plan in a competitive market. It would require every insurance plan to cover preventive care. And by the way, I want to acknowledge our first lady, Michelle Obama, who this year is creating a national movement to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity and make our kids healthier. Our approach would preserve the right of Americans who have insurance to keep their doctor and their plan. It would reduce costs and premiums for millions of families and businesses. And according to the Congressional Budget Office — the independent organization that both parties have cited as the official scorekeeper for Congress — our approach would bring down the deficit by as much as $1 trillion over the next two decades. Still, this is a complex issue, and the longer it was debated, the more skeptical people became. I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people. And I know that with all the lobbying and horse trading, this process left most Americans wondering what's in it for them.

But I also know this problem is not going away. By the time I'm finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance. Millions will lose it this year. Our deficit will grow. Premiums will go up. Patients will be denied the care they need. Small business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether. I will not walk away from these Americans and neither should the people in this chamber. As temperatures cool, I want everyone to take another look at the plan we've proposed. There's a reason why many doctors, nurses and health care experts who know our system best consider this approach a vast improvement over the status quo. But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors and stop insurance company abuses, let me know. Here's what I ask of Congress, though: Do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people. Now, even as health care reform would reduce our deficit, it's not enough to dig us out of a massive fiscal hole in which we find ourselves. It's a challenge that makes all others that much harder to solve, and one that's been subject to a lot of political posturing.

So let me start the discussion of government spending by setting the record straight. At the beginning of the last decade, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion. By the time I took office, we had a one year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. Most of this was the result of not paying for two wars, two tax cuts and an expensive prescription drug program. On top of that, the effects of the recession put a $3 trillion hole in our budget. That was before I walked in the door. Now if we had taken office in ordinary times, I would have liked nothing more than to start bringing down the deficit. But we took office amid a crisis, and our efforts to prevent a second depression have added another $1 trillion to our national debt. I am absolutely convinced that was the right thing to do. But families across the country are tightening their belts and making tough decisions. The federal government should do the same. So tonight, I'm proposing specific steps to pay for the $1 trillion that it took to rescue the economy last year. Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don't. And if I have to enforce this discipline by veto, I will.

We will continue to go through the budget line by line to eliminate programs that we can't afford and don't work. We've already identified $20 billion in savings for next year. To help working families, we will extend our middle-class tax cuts. But at a time of record deficits, we will not continue tax cuts for oil companies, investment fund managers and those making over $250,000 a year. We just can't afford it. Now, even after paying for what we spent on my watch, we will still face the massive deficit we had when I took office. More importantly, the cost of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will continue to skyrocket. That's why I've called for a bipartisan fiscal commission, modeled on a proposal by Republican Judd Gregg and Democrat Kent Conrad. This can't be one of those Washington gimmicks that lets us pretend we solved a problem. The commission will have to provide a specific set of solutions by a certain deadline. Yesterday, the Senate blocked a bill that would have created this commission. So I will issue an executive order that will allow us to go forward, because I refuse to pass this problem on to another generation of Americans. And when the vote comes tomorrow, the Senate should restore the pay-as-you-go law that was a big reason why we had record surpluses in the 1990s.

I know that some in my own party will argue that we cannot address the deficit or freeze government spending when so many are still hurting. I agree, which is why this freeze will not take effect until next year, when the economy is stronger. But understand — if we do not take meaningful steps to rein in our debt, it could damage our markets, increase the cost of borrowing and jeopardize our recovery — all of which could have an even worse effect on our job growth and family incomes. From some on the right, I expect we'll hear a different argument — that if we just make fewer investments in our people, extend tax cuts for wealthier Americans, eliminate more regulations and maintain the status quo on health care, our deficits will go away. The problem is, that's what we did for eight years. That's what helped lead us into this crisis. It's what helped lead to these deficits. And we cannot do it again. Rather than fight the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades, it's time to try something new. Let's invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let's meet our responsibility to the citizens who sent us here. Let's try common sense. To do that, we have to recognize that we face more than a deficit of dollars right now. We face a deficit of trust — deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years. To close that credibility gap we must take action on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to end the outsized influence of lobbyists; to do our work openly and to give our people the government they deserve.

That's what I came to Washington to do. That's why — for the first time in history — my administration posts our White House visitors online. And that's why we've excluded lobbyists from policymaking jobs or seats on federal boards and commissions. But we can't stop there. It's time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my administration or Congress. And it's time to put strict limits on the contributions that lobbyists give to candidates for federal office. Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections. Well, I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that's why I'm urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong. I'm also calling on Congress to continue down the path of earmark reform. You have trimmed some of this spending and embraced some meaningful change. But restoring the public trust demands more. For example, some members of Congress post some earmark requests online. Tonight, I'm calling on Congress to publish all earmark requests on a single Web site before there's a vote, so that the American people can see how their money is being spent. Of course, none of these reforms will even happen if we don't also reform how we work with one another.

Now, I am not naive. I never thought the mere fact of my election would usher in peace, harmony and some post-partisan era. I knew that both parties have fed divisions that are deeply entrenched. And on some issues, there are simply philosophical differences that will always cause us to part ways. These disagreements, about the role of government in our lives, about our national priorities and our national security, have been taking place for over 200 years. They are the very essence of our democracy. But what frustrates the American people is a Washington where every day is election day. We cannot wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about their opponent — a belief that if you lose, I win. Neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can. The confirmation of well-qualified public servants should not be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual senators. Washington may think that saying anything about the other side, no matter how false, is just part of the game. But it is precisely such politics that has stopped either party from helping the American people. Worse yet, it is sowing further division among our citizens and further distrust in our government.

So no, I will not give up on changing the tone of our politics. I know it's an election year. And after last week, it is clear that campaign fever has come even earlier than usual. But we still need to govern. To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town, then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it's not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions. So let's show the American people that we can do it together. This week, I'll be addressing a meeting of the House Republicans. And I would like to begin monthly meetings with both the Democratic and Republican leadership. I know you can't wait. Throughout our history, no issue has united this country more than our security. Sadly, some of the unity we felt after 9/11 has dissipated. We can argue all we want about who's to blame for this, but I am not interested in relitigating the past. I know that all of us love this country. All of us are committed to its defense. So let's put aside the schoolyard taunts about who is tough. Let's reject the false choice between protecting our people and upholding our values. Let's leave behind the fear and division and do what it takes to defend our nation and forge a more hopeful future — for America and the world.

That is the work we began last year. Since the day I took office, we have renewed our focus on the terrorists who threaten our nation. We have made substantial investments in our homeland security and disrupted plots that threatened to take American lives. We are filling unacceptable gaps revealed by the failed Christmas attack, with better airline security and swifter action on our intelligence. We have prohibited torture and strengthened partnerships from the Pacific to South Asia to the Arabian Peninsula. And in the last year, hundreds of al-Qaida's fighters and affiliates, including many senior leaders, have been captured or killed — far more than in 2008. In Afghanistan, we are increasing our troops and training Afghan Security Forces so they can begin to take the lead in July of 2011 and our troops can begin to come home. We will reward good governance, reduce corruption and support the rights of all Afghans — men and women alike. We are joined by allies and partners who have increased their own commitment, and who will come together tomorrow in London to reaffirm our common purpose. There will be difficult days ahead. But I am confident we will succeed. As we take the fight to al-Qaida, we are responsibly leaving Iraq to its people. As a candidate, I promised that I would end this war, and that is what I am doing as president. We will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq by the end of this August. We will support the Iraqi government as they hold elections, and continue to partner with the Iraqi people to promote regional peace and prosperity. But make no mistake: This war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home.

Tonight, all of our men and women in uniform — in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world — must know that they have our respect, our gratitude and our full support. And just as they must have the resources they need in war, we all have a responsibility to support them when they come home. That is why we made the largest increase in investments for veterans in decades. That is why we are building a 21st century VA. And that is why Michelle has joined with Jill Biden to forge a national commitment to support military families. Even as we prosecute two wars, we are also confronting perhaps the greatest danger to the American people — the threat of nuclear weapons. I have embraced the vision of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan through a strategy that reverses the spread of these weapons and seeks a world without them. To reduce our stockpiles and launchers, while ensuring our deterrent, the United States and Russia are completing negotiations on the farthest-reaching arms control treaty in nearly two decades. And at April's nuclear security summit, we will bring 44 nations together behind a clear goal: securing all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years, so that they never fall into the hands of terrorists.

These diplomatic efforts have also strengthened our hand in dealing with those nations that insist on violating international agreements in pursuit of these weapons. That is why North Korea now faces increased isolation and stronger sanctions — sanctions that are being vigorously enforced. That is why the international community is more united, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is more isolated. And as Iran's leaders continue to ignore their obligations, there should be no doubt: They, too, will face growing consequences. That is the leadership that we are providing — engagement that advances the common security and prosperity of all people. We are working through the G-20 to sustain a lasting global recovery. We are working with Muslim communities around the world to promote science, education and innovation. We have gone from a bystander to a leader in the fight against climate change. We are helping developing countries to feed themselves and continuing the fight against HIV/AIDS. And we are launching a new initiative that will give us the capacity to respond faster and more effectively to bioterrorism or an infectious disease — a plan that will counter threats at home and strengthen public health abroad.

As we have for over 60 years, America takes these actions because our destiny is connected to those beyond our shores. But we also do it because it is right. That is why, as we meet here tonight, over 10,000 Americans are working with many nations to help the people of Haiti recover and rebuild. That is why we stand with the girl who yearns to go to school in Afghanistan, we support the human rights of the women marching through the streets of Iran, and we advocate for the young man denied a job by corruption in Guinea. For America must always stand on the side of freedom and human dignity. Abroad, America's greatest source of strength has always been our ideals. The same is true at home. We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we are all created equal, that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it, that if you adhere to our common values you should be treated no different than anyone else. We must continually renew this promise. My administration has a civil rights division that is once again prosecuting civil rights violations and employment discrimination. We finally strengthened our laws to protect against crimes driven by hate. This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. We are going to crack down on violations of equal pay laws — so that women get equal pay for an equal day's work. And we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system — to secure our borders, enforce our laws and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nations.

In the end, it is our ideals, our values, that built America — values that allowed us to forge a nation made up of immigrants from every corner of the globe, values that drive our citizens still. Every day, Americans meet their responsibilities to their families and their employers. Time and again, they lend a hand to their neighbors and give back to their country. They take pride in their labor, and are generous in spirit. These aren't Republican values or Democratic values they're living by, business values or labor values. They are American values. Unfortunately, too many of our citizens have lost faith that our biggest institutions — our corporations, our media and, yes, our government — still reflect these same values. Each of these institutions are full of honorable men and women doing important work that helps our country prosper. But each time a CEO rewards himself for failure, or a banker puts the rest of us at risk for his own selfish gain, people's doubts grow. Each time lobbyists game the system or politicians tear each other down instead of lifting this country up, we lose faith. The more that TV pundits reduce serious debates into silly arguments and big issues into sound bites, our citizens turn away.

No wonder there's so much cynicism out there. No wonder there's so much disappointment. I campaigned on the promise of change — change we can believe in, the slogan went. And right now, I know there are many Americans who aren't sure if they still believe we can change — or at least, that I can deliver it. But remember this — I never suggested that change would be easy or that I can do it alone. Democracy in a nation of 300 million people can be noisy and messy and complicated. And when you try to do big things and make big changes, it stirs passions and controversy. That's just how it is. Those of us in public office can respond to this reality by playing it safe and avoid telling hard truths. We can do what's necessary to keep our poll numbers high and get through the next election instead of doing what's best for the next generation. But I also know this: If people had made that decision 50 years ago or 100 years ago or 200 years ago, we wouldn't be here tonight. The only reason we are is because generations of Americans were unafraid to do what was hard, to do what was needed even when success was uncertain, to do what it took to keep the dream of this nation alive for their children and grandchildren.

Our administration has had some political setbacks this year and some of them were deserved. But I wake up every day knowing that they are nothing compared to the setbacks that families all across this country have faced this year. And what keeps me going — what keeps me fighting — is that despite all these setbacks, that spirit of determination and optimism — that fundamental decency that has always been at the core of the American people — lives on. It lives on in the struggling small business owner who wrote to me of his company, "None of us," he said, "are willing to consider, even slightly, that we might fail." It lives on in the woman who said that even though she and her neighbors have felt the pain of recession, "We are strong. We are resilient. We are American." It lives on in the 8-year-old boy in Louisiana, who just sent me his allowance and asked if I would give it to the people of Haiti. And it lives on in all the Americans who've dropped everything to go some place they've never been and pull people they've never known from rubble, prompting chants of "USA! USA! USA!" when another life was saved. The spirit that has sustained this nation for more than two centuries lives on in you, its people. We have finished a difficult year. We have come through a difficult decade. But a new year has come. A new decade stretches before us. We don't quit. I don't quit. Let's seize this moment — to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more. Thank you. God Bless You. And God Bless the United States of America."

NIGERIAN LEADERSHIP IS A FAILURE, BEMOANS HILLARY CLINTON?

On Tuesday January 26, 2010 on her first anniversary as the United States of America Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, in a question and answer town-hall styled session, addressed so many subjects, including Nigeria. The venue was the Dean Acheson Auditorium in Washington, DC.

Responding to the intractable Nigerian question, Secretary Clinton said, "The failure of the Nigerian leadership over many years to respond to the legitimate needs of their own young people, to have a government that promoted a meritocracy, that really understood that democracy can't just be given lip service, it has to be delivering services to the people, has meant there is a lot of alienation in that country and others. The rate of illiteracy is growing, not falling, in a country that used to have a very high rate of literacy in Africa. The health statistics are going the wrong direction. The corruption is unbelievable," adding that "when I did a town hall in Abuja, people were just literally standing and shouting about what it was like to live in a country where the elite was so dominant, where corruption was so rampant, where criminality was so pervasive." "I do think that Nigeria faces a threat from increasing radicalisation that needs to be addressed, and not just by military means. There has to be recognition that in the last 10 years, a lot of the indicators about quality of life in Nigeria have gone the wrong direction" .

Icheoku says, well-said Madam Secretary of State; and notes that this doubling-down on Nigeria is coming barely a year after she had dubbed the sadistic pathetic situation in Nigeria as "heartbreaking." Yes, a pathetic and sadistic situation which the British had foisted and helped to sustain since Independence in 1960; using the apparatus of the less qualified and very incompetent Hausa-Fulani northern Nigerian Islamists to keep Nigeria as is, down and under? Icheoku says, Madam Secretary, may be your government can re-start a Nigeria in doldrums by first breaking the British-stranglehold on the country alongside their exploitative 'mercenary-love' for Nigeria; a Britain which is in it for what they can get out of it and not interested in seeing a grown-up Nigeria come to stay? May be if Britain could be made to stay clear of Nigerian politics and economy, completely butt out and allow meritocracy to take root in Nigeria, may be all the good brains in Diaspora and within, can begin to turn things around therein and deliver within a record time? Also, may be your government can consider placing travel ban on all past and present Nigerian leaders starting from Independence and ask Britain and France to join in the effort. That way those rogue-leaders will be forced to stay back in Nigeria and fix what is broken of a country on tethers; and instead of frequently running off to your country as well as Europe to enjoy the comforts therein, using looted money to pay for it while at the same time, starving off development in Nigeria; they will be forced to really feel how bad things are in Nigeria and then begin to ask the "how do we fix it" question? Also there are millions of dollars worth of real properties and other investments owned by these leaders in your country as well as in Europe which can be confiscated and auctioned off, and their proceeds repatriated back to the Nigerian people, the rightful owners and for their beneficial use.

The simple panacea is to drain the swamp - make it impossible for these Nigerian leaders so called, to enjoy their looted assets from the Nigerian state, anywhere in the world. By not allowing them to visit your country or Europe on vacations, seek medical services/treatments, bring their children to study from kindergarten to University levels, maintain bank accounts, buy and live in homes, as well as other indulgences which they have deprived Nigerians, a definite message will be sent to their hearing. As you may recall, the northern Nigerian terrorists' father bought a $4million dollar home for his terrorist son's comfort in Oxford Circus London? If you can persuade your government to do these things, then Nigerians will know that the formerly colluding West are now serious about fighting corruption in Nigeria, which will in turn speed up a Nigeria's rebirth? But until these measures are implimented, wherein these crass leadership can really feel the pinch, it will remain to them just another "running of the mouth" or "lecturing" by American official? These Nigerian leaders have no shame, they are tone-deaf and are queuing up as we speak, for visas to travel out of Nigeria to their various paradise-homes in Europe and North America; while Nigeria goes to hell in a hand's basket? Just cage them and force them to remain in their Nigeria and Nigeria will, as a matter of urgency, begin to turn the corner! Until that end of time miracle happens, Icheoku can only commend your speaking out on the subject of pandemic corruption in Nigeria; while urging the European Union to see the need to allow Africa to grow up and thrive. European Union should leave Africa alone and not continuously dictate to them how and who should run things therein; and help Africa fight the war on corruption, by simply adopting these cut-off measures.

OBASANJO OFFERS UP UMARU YAR'ADUA AS A SACRIFICIAL OFFAL?

A survivor master-tactician-in-chief, the man who Icheoku admits, although most grudgingly and reluctantly, knows the weaknesses of the Nigerian state and how to beneficially exploit it. Despicable former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who twice have made two Nigerians presidents (Shagari and Yar'Adua) and himself, twice Nigerian head of state and president is once again causing political waves with his sudden call for his political-godson, the sick President Umaru Yar'Adua of Nigeria to resign his office as president?

Admitted that politicians, often and most times, always use each other as disposable pawn in their political chess-game of survival; but we are particularly mollified with Olusegun Obasanjo's latest outburst in that he single-handedly imposed the sickly Umaru Yar'Adua on Nigeria, fully aware of his very poor state of health, only to now pretend otherwise, denying and feigning its ignorance? Icheoku hopes that Nigerians would see through the veil of the present dumping on President Umaru Yar'Adua by his erstwhile mentor Olusegun Olusegun; and interpret it for what it is - a somewhat belated attempt at self-exoneration and an underbelly Brutus stab? Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo is a man with outlandish audacity, who understands Nigeria too well that he rides it with arrogant authority, fully aware that Nigerians are a gullible lot who can only bark but hardly bite? According to his present clever-by-half logic on its head, a bungled explanation of why he punished Nigeria with sick Yar'Adua, "he did not know that Umaru was that sick otherwise, he would not have 'appointed' him as Nigeria's president?" If we hear Obasanjo correctly, he owned up to 'appointing' Umaru Yar'Adua as Nigeria's president and Nigeria is supposed to be a practising democracy? That admission alone, his subjugation of democracy in Nigeria is more than enough for Nigerians to call for his head, as we have readily advocated and for a long time in this forum www.icheoku.com!

How dare this shameless incestuous pig from Otta deny knowledge of the generally acknowledged Umaru Yar'Adua's very poor health status when he imposed him on Nigeria as president? How could Obasanjo now in all honesty ask Umaru Yar'Adua "to choose the path of honour and morality" when he himself threw such caution to the winds when he was president of Nigeria? In his putrid words of reclamation, Olusegun Obasanjo said, “If you take up an assignment, a job-elected, appointed whatever it is, and then your health starts to fail and you will not be able to deliver to satisfy yourself and to satisfy the people you are supposed to serve, then there is a path of honour and the path of morality. There is path of honour and the path of morality and if you don’t do that, then you don’t know anything.” Icheoku asks, why didn't Obasanjo take similar honorable path and resigned his office on grounds of morality when he was Nigeria's despotic marabout-president? May be a case of biblical Pharisee of "do what I say but not what I do?" Look at who is preaching morality and honor, somebody who was busy having incestuous sexual relationship with his son's wife, Mojisola Olugbenga Obasanjo? And he did not think the most intolerable despotism ever witnessed in any democracy, anywhere in the world, a hallmark of his government was immoral; and yet he did not resign but wanted to perpetuate himself in power? Now he is calling on another person to factor in 'honor and morals' in guiding his actions; the same Obasanjo who had none of the two and could give none of both, either? The trouble with Nigeria is the curse of despicable leadership provided by men like and with Olusegun Obasanjo's mien; people who are in it for what is in it for them and not for the greater good of the Nigerian society. They are anti-thesis of JFK's mantra of 'think not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country!'

However, Icheoku must admit that Obasanjo's canons for a president, the three qualities any person should or must possess who want to hold Nigeria's leadership position is highly commendable. Our only qualifier was whether Umaru Yar'Adua is the only one in Nigeria or Northern Nigeria possessed of those attributes? Intellectual capacity to run the affairs of Nigeria is very essential as Abacha and Obasanjo himself proved that illiteracy is not a good asset to bring to that position. Sufficient personal integrity to run the affairs of Nigeria is also commendable since sleeping with one's daughter inlaw or looting the state's treasury is not a thing for any country to be proud of in her president or leader? Also being sufficiently broad minded enough-politically, religiously, socially is very good for a leader of a state as diverse and different as Nigeria; which makes Islamist Muhammadu Buhari ineligible for such office because of his Islamic extremist viewpoints? Icheoku says these are well thought out good qualities for any good leadership anywhere, which any aspiring Nigerian leader ought to and should possess; except that Olusegun Obasanjo should have democratised the process so that many other Nigerians especially from the North who may have such qualities could have applied and made themselves available for the position of Nigeria's president? But no, he had his mind made up and it was either his way or the high-way for Nigerians to conform to; and a near-dead President Umaru Yar'Adua was the outcome?

But all the finger-pointing notwithstanding, could it be possible that Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo’s sudden about-turn is a manifestation of a contrite conscience, desperately crying out for forgiveness of sin; - his imposition of a sick Umaru Yar'Adua on Nigeria? Is someone with Olusegun Obasanjo antecedents capable of a genuine contrition or is he just trying to put up Umaru Yar'Adua as a sacrificial offal to atone for his sin of poisoning the Nigerian polity to the extent of its toxicity today? Is it possible that Obasanjo correctly read the mood of the country and is now trying to become a populist by jumping the fence, over to where majority of Nigerians are now clustered and clamouring for Jonathan Goodluck's acting presidency to be actualised? Admitted that some commentators have variously dismissed Obasanjo's seeming "mea culpa" as a mere cock and bull story, very deceitful, a belated after-thought of a confused mind; but Icheoku admonishes that truth sometimes can come from imbeciles and urge Nigerians to pay some attention to the present call by the deity of Otta? Let Nigerian trust but verify that the call is bona-fide patriotic; but never allow themselves to be suckered in again by a man who superintended sickly Umaru's emergence as an imposed president of Nigeria. An experience which is still rather "too fresh in Nigerians' minds to be twisted by the architect of the now manifesting programmed constitutional confusion" to serve his cause? While many others pontificated that Olusegun Obasanjo should have apologised to Nigerians for his unpatriotic and selfish decision to impose an ailing president Umaru Yar'Adua on the country, instead of daring God to punish him for what he knew, he deliberately did; Icheoku says, if only the days of biblical brimstones were still here with us today, maybe Nigerians would have since last Thursday, buried a crushed-to-death Olusegun Obasanjo, who deliberately invoked the wrath of God by swearing falsely?

Such an about-turn is more dramatic coming from an Obasanjo who in defense of Umaru's sick status before his imposition as president, once said, “I know all about Umaru’s ailment and it disappeared since 2001. It was a miracle. So those calling him a sick man are the ones who are sick. After all, only God can tell who will be sick or not. I wonder how somebody can open his mouth and say a human being created by God is a sick man. I am sure he has proved to those who say he cannot stand stress that all that is not true.” This lead one bemused commentator to say that "Obasanjo’s present position is not only economical with the truth and fact, but that he has also decapitated the truth," since he was fully aware of Umaru's sickly status before he went ahead and made him president anyway; only to now turn tail and deny any knowledge of his sickness? Another called Obasanjo's denial and present adumbration about the health of Umaru Yar'Adua "a lie from the pit of hell?" One other said that former President Obasanjo was "only trying to advertise his legendary hypocrisy and deception by the great attempt to distance himself from the imposition on Nigeria, of President Umaru Yar’Adua". Another described the latest antics as "Obasanjo's superhuman ability to be mischievous"? Icheoku says, whatever your position, one thing certain is that both Obasanjo and Yar'Adua have a case to answer in the present political logjam in the Nigeria. They are both collaborators who together conspired and stole Nigeria's presidency and are jointly and severally responsible for the stalemate of today's Nigeria without a leader?

But as some people have said, will Nigeria be really caught up in a web of dilemma of "throwing out a bad government for a worse one", with a Jonathan Goodluck's presidency or acting presidency? Would a Jonathan's presidency be worse than Yar'Adua's or would Jonathan take direct orders and dictation from Obasanjo which Yar'Adua refused or did not? What makes anyone think or believe that Jonathan would not walk away from Obasanjo the moment his acting president status is rectified or confirmed, afterall Yar'Adua just did that? Is Yar'Adua ready to return back to Aso Rock, even on a life-support and move against his mentor Obasanjo in reiteration, by prodding the EFCC to bundle him into prison, afterall there are a lot of ground to so do, especially the $16billion dollars phoney power/energy contract? It has also been a long expected action which would have enjoyed a groundswell of approval if done earlier; but if Yar'Adua does that now, how will it be interpreted by the watching Nigerian public but a possible payback for Obasanjo's call that he step aside? These are some of the questions needing answers in today's Nigeria in limbo.

However the present saga concludes, one thing is certain, that the days of President Umaru Yar'Adua at Aso Rock is coming to a certain head, now that his installer and mentor has publicly called for his head on a platter. A call that only added momentum to the previous activities in that direction including the G-56 that were chastised for initially leading the charge against Umaru and asking for his resignation or transfer of power. Then several months later, followed the G-43 led by Pius Ayim, after several civil society groups have protested and called on Umaru Yar'Adua to show understanding of some sort and resign his office. Now that the mother of all such calls, from the medicine-man of Otta, Matthew Okikilakan Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo, has issued that Umaru should show some honor and throw in the presidency towel what else is left of Yar'Adua's presidential foundations? A weighty call indeed, being from the former president and current chairman PDP board of trustees and the man who single-handedly installed Umaru Yar'Adua in Aso Rock! Whether Umaru Yar'Adua will correctly read the hand-writing on the wall, particularly the call by his Godfather and resign, Icheoku says, the final days of January and early February will be very determinative as to what becomes of the political stalemate in Nigeria. It is most likely the period during which the constitutional stagnation of Nigeria will final thaw for a Jonathan's acting presidency to emerge or Umaru's final return back to Aso Rock, even if aided by some life support machine? Nature abhors a vacuum and that created by over 62 days of Umaru Yar'Adua's AWOL will be soon be filled. All things said and done, one derivative lesson out of this very bad situation is that it sounds an alarm bell/wake-up call for all the so-called political Godfathers of Nigeria to give way to make way for a real democracy to take root in Nigeria. They should all back off from their meddlings in who gets into what positions, and allow the political process to evolve smoothly and somehow throw up a real leader, one who is the most qualified, capable and competent person to preside over the affairs in Nigeria. Until then, such tragedies as a sick President Umaru Yar'Adua's imposed on Nigeria, will remain a recurring decimal in Nigeria's political life, Greek-gifts which nobody wants.

HAITI DEVASTATION, 'HOPE FOR HAITI NOW' TO THE RESCUE!

As you may know Hollywood celebrities, with the help of Team George Clooney organized a two-hour telecast titled "HOPE FOR HAITI NOW" to raise funds and awareness for the massive need of the people of Haiti who were decimated by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake, just recently.

So many celebrities gave their time and performance freely; while many more manned phone banks, raising money for the Haitian project. Many Haitians are still without food, water, shelter, medicine etc ten long days after one of the worst recorded disaster that completely left Haiti in ruins.

Money is needed to procure and transport these life-saving materials to Port-au-Prince for distribution to those victims of the massive earthquake. The message simply put is that your generous gift of money will help procure and rush emergency supplies to survivors of this catastrophe. Your generous gift of money will help distribute life-saving relief supplies including food, clean water, blankets, medical supplies and tents to children and families devastated by the earthquake and aftershocks in Haiti." So, DONATE TODAY and DONATE NOW!

In the words of George Clooney, "The Haitian people need our help. They need to know that they are not alone. They need to know that we still care!" Icheoku says, what a succinct summation of what motivated the event of today, and we hope you will heed the call and donate today. As you read this, please bring your credit card, dial 1-877-994-2484 and chip in something to help a people in dire need! Do not say it is not your business or that it does not concern you or further still, nobody will know whether or not I donated; remember we are all one piece of humanity and when one eye tears up, the other follows? If you believe in God, please donate! If you believe that you will die someday, please donate! If you have empathy for the tragedy of Haiti, please donate, otherwise put your card away!

Icheoku have donated and urge you today to express your humanity by showing the devastated people of Haiti that we share in their tragedy. Call toll-free 1-877-99-HAITI (1-877-994 2484) to donate to a worthy cause 'HOPE FOR HAITI NOW.' You may also donate by visiting their website http://www.hopeforhaitinow.org/; and check out the many agencies through which your help will get delivered to the Haitian people in need. Thank you for your generous gift of money especially in this time of great hardship and economic dysentery; but remember that God blesses the generous giver. Sow a seed today in the people of Haiti and tender that in evidence when you meet God for your judgment on your stewardship here on earth. Remember Christ said, 'whatever you do to the least of my brothers, that you did unto me!' Thank you for being a member of a one-world community!

PRESIDENT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA'S FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Icheoku congratulates President Barack Hussein Obama on his first year anniversary, hurray! The 44th United States President has now safely occupied the White House for one full calendar year. A no mean feat indeed; and we pray the Almighty God continues to guide and protect him as he exercises the sacred mandate handed to him by the American people and on their behalf! It has been one heck of a ride BO, and things are no longer as rosy as they seemed painted a year ago during the electioneering campaign. But whose fault is it, no one knows; but as they say, the buck stops on his desk; hence it is his to fix whatever it is that was or is broken.

Really, no one said it was going to be easy but at least, the president should endeavor to communicate more, as often as possible and in much better and clearer manner as to induce understanding, what it is that he is doing to bring about the promised change and the difficulties and challenges dogging the struggle. Everyone agrees that the president is making every effort to turn things around; but the message of this effort is not getting out with certain clarity in the most succinct and lucid manner, leading many to think, 'is the president seriously pursuing his campaign promises?' So, President Obama, Icheoku says, America wants to get a better grip on what it is that you are doing or working on to bring about the promised 'change we can believe in.' If there are some people hindering the effort, the American people wants to know who these clogs are and possibly find a way to communicate their disillusionment to the very individuals and/or institutions; otherwise blame it on the president will become a popular mantra of the opposition and many disillusioned Democrats!

Our congratulations 44th; and once again remember that there are still three more years of un-cashed blank check of goodwill and job performance for you to prove that our hopes were not utopia; and that the promised change was for real and not a campaign gimmick! If those terrorists are still trying to kill us? If the two wars are still going on? If Hugo Chavez is still running his mouth in Caracas? If Ahmadinejad is still bellicose and accelerating his nuclear ambition? If Israel and Palestine are still at loggerheads? If the economy is still in the tank? If Guantanamo is still open, as well as other President GW Bush's left-overs and the promised health care reform; then why did we buy into the change themed campaign? These are some of the pressing matters that need your undivided urgent attention 24/7; and remember, being a black-man, there is usually no second chance to try and get it right the next time. So as a black president, no one will give you a second shot if you fail to deliver far and above what was promised; notwithstanding that most of the problems were inherited from the previous administration? Also remember that your blackness and the peculiar pedestal of judging black-people will forever be part of your shadow, whether or not you commanded the best and baddest military still standing tall in the world? HAPPY FIRST, NOW FIRE US BACK UP!

SENATOR TED KENNEDY'S 47 YEAR-OLD SEAT, BUNGLED BY THE DEMOCRATS!

It is shocking, disappointing, unbelievable, unacceptable, regrettable and unforgivable that the Democratic Party would stand literally hands akimbo and watch the seat held by late Senator Ted Kennedy for 47 long years, lost to the Republicans; and technically a light-weight Republican for that matter? Icheoku says, Uncle Ted does not deserve to lose his seat so soon after his death last August of brain cancer? He must be reeling in his grave at this spite on the nose by his Democratic Party, knowing fully well that they did not do all they could have done to keep his seat blue and democratic! A loss caused primarily by the apparent lacklustre performance and seeming abandonment of his cause which led to the 180 degrees turn by the voters of Massachusetts?

The question is why; and what explanation does the Democratic Party have for losing this somewhat very secured seat in Massachusetts of all places? If this is the way they repaid Ted for all his fights and struggles as a veteran Democrat of 47 years and counting; then many of us need to do some rethinking about our membership of a party with no real back-bones and which is easily outflanked and out-foxed by the other guys? A Democratic Party that occupies the White House, controls both the Senate and the House of Assembly as well as Massachusetts State governor's office and majority of the legislators, have no excuse to give for losing this Kennedy's very important seat. Why were all the stops not pulled, if not for the candidate, may be for the memory of Late Senator Ted Kennedy and as a continuum for his legacy? Icheoku does not get it, nor will ever make any attempt at understanding this avoidable loss; and as consequence thereof, will consider placing itself for now, on a Democratic Party's "DO NOT CALL" list? No more solicitation of funds of any kind from or by me until the current trend which saw the party lose New Jersey, Virginia and now Ted Kennedy's senate seat in Massachusetts is changed. How can a party that every one worked their hearts out for just less than a year ago, now become this complacent and not feisty enough to fight for every seat in the land until the whole country becomes fully 'democratised?' What is wrong in a 100 seat Democratic seats in the United States Senate? Or even a 49 out of 50 governorship majority? What about 93% Democratic controlled House of Representatives? More is always better and only an arrogant party will go to sleep thinking that the work which started in 2006 has now been completed with their control of three tiers of government? Why is this party not fully aware that the other guys are not sleeping but are pulling all the stops until they reclaim their coveted trophies?

The panacea and to prevent future situations, the leadership of the party must come together to find out what is eroding their hold on the American polity? If it is message, then change or fine-tune it? If leadership, then change it? If Rush Limbaugh, rein him in, or get his match to counter his propaganda? If candidates, then adopt Rahm Emanuel's tactics of giving the voters who they would rather vote for? So where were liberal Democrats for Massachusetts? Just do something; otherwise the current trajectory might see President Barack Obama becoming only a one-term president, serving only one four years term in office? Where has all the magic of "YES WE CAN" gone to so soon after the political tsunami that swept away the Republican Party out of office and out of contention? Remember it is not yet too late for the democrats, and if the Republicans can begin to turn the tide around within such a short period of time since they left office, then the Democrats can still do something to get back their mojo. If it means replacing the current power-bearers of the party, so be it; but the people wants to see something done to stem the current tide which have seen the Democrats losing so many important contests. Icheoku believes the problem is not specifically with the agenda or the health care reform; but that President Obama's team may not afterall be what the doctor ordered; they may not all be fully loyal to him and in tandem with prosecuting his agenda? Irrespective of all the facades of camaraderie, Icheoku says, it is possible that personalities still loyal to the other primary election candidate may be undermining President Obama and not advising him properly in order to make him vulnerable during 2012 primaries? Just a penny for your thoughts!

After all the arm twisting that was done at the senate to secure the 60 votes, it is rather shocking that the party will stand and watch their one assured vote of the 60 just fly out the window and in Massachusetts? Admitted that nothing good comes easy, we are convinced that the health care reform is a good cause, hence the untiring fight by some interest group to thwart and sabotage the effort and at all cost possible. If ithe health care reform wasn't reformatory, why the frenzied interest by special interests; except their nests will be pruned and they do not want any of that. Democrats must therefore boldly bond together to ensure that this health care reform bill sails through, and then gear up on other party's agenda, knowing the fight the Republicans will now bring alongside with their 41 to 59 rabble-rouser of senate seats. So all the blame games over who did what to cause the Massachusetts election disaster must stop immediately and a game plan marshaled out for the future course of the party. There is already enough blame to go round for the loss of Senator Ted Kennedy's seat, from President Barack Obama, to Harry Reid, to Nancy Pelosi, to John Kerry to Patrick Duval, to the party chairman, to the foot-soldier democrat etc; the whole nine yards are all answerable to the country and to the late Ted Kennedy for sleeping on duty while his seat slipped to the Republicans.

Icheoku had always known that the candidate was not a good Ted Kennedy's look-alike or replacement as she does not possess the personality of the late senator? With her matronly look, the now also ran, dubbed Massachusetts version of German's Angela Merkel, the senator wanna-be, Martha Coakley, did not do the senate seat fight any good by not presenting the image of a fighter, which Uncle Ted represented all through his 47 years in the United States Senate. She was rather docile and somewhat not inspiring enough to make the people want to troop out for her, come rain come snow or shine? The turn out of under 2 million people when considered with the number of registered voters therein, then peoples apathy had much to do with the loss rather than the other guy's ability? And why were the people not motivated, one may ask; leading to the answer, because Martha Coakley was nothing closely resembling their beloved late Senator Ted Kennedy? She was not a shoe-in or as amiable, so Kennedy was missing in the Coakley and game over it was. The Kennedy brand was not found in Martha and end of story. This is the bitter lesson the Democrats high-ups must now learn and exploit same with their future nominations and primaries, in order to curb the erosion currently doing overtime on the party. As a sport, may Icheoku now congratulates the freshman senator-elect from the State of Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown, who is now headed to Washington to occupy Late Ted Kennedy's 47 year old senate seat! Lets us pray that he does not find it too onerous a task, or too big a seat, far greater and more challenging than tooling around in his truck! But what an anniversary present for President Barack Obama as he marks his first full year in office:- a Republican Brown's 52 percent over Democrat Coakley's 47 percent election upset over Late Ted Kennedy's senate seat? Once again it has been shown that a disappointed Democrats and an uneasy Independents are usually NOT a GOOD combination for the Democratic Party!

JONATHAN GOODLUCK, NO FURTHER AUTHORISATION IS NEEDED TO ACT?

Icheoku says, Nigerian Federal High Court Judge Daniel Abutu is right that 'the vice president does not need any further authorisation or additional permission to step in and act for an indisposed, incapacitated and otherwise unavailable president. The vice president ran for election and was elected alongside the now indisposed President Umaru Yar'Adua, on the same platform and co-footing, so he already has the required necessary authority and grundnorm to continue where the sick president petered off.

A vice president is factually speaking, a president in the waiting; and should anything happen to the president as to make him unavailable, the vice president automatically steps in to hold fort for the president, pending his final recovery or permanent incapacitation.

Vice President Jonathan Ebelechuku Goodluck was duly elected and sworn in as Nigeria's vice president and so, does not need any additional election, swearing in or a specific authorisation or permission to step in and do the job for which he became a vice president. The single most important reason for the creation of the office of the vice president in the first place, is to ensure continuity and never to in any event otherwise leave the office of the president vacant. That reason has now arisen and the vice president should have, immediately upon the president's medical escape to Saudi Arabia, proactively assumed the role of the president. That way, all these adumbration on the need for 'a specific letter from a president, who probably is no longer cognitive enough to even articulate his thoughts on a piece of paper, transfering his duties, before the vice president could act; would have since become mute. So in a somewhat ironical context, Vice President Jonathan Goodluck contributed to the current political impasse in the land.

Vice President Goodluck is culpable in allowing the situation to degenerate into the near hysteria it has become today, without initially nipping it on the board by asserting himself on day one of President Umaru Yar'Adua's absence and clearly spelling out who is in charge. The problem presently militating against Nigeria with the extended absence of President Umaru Yar'Adua and the refusal or inability of the vice president to assert himself and govern, is that former despotic Nigerian President Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo cursed Nigeria with the gift of both a sick president and a vice president who is both docile and timid! A vice president who would sheepishly wait on the fence, indecisive as to what his next steps should be and too ignorant to appreciate the fact, that destiny has already entrusted him with a golden opportunity to become Nigeria's president even without ever working for it? What they call 'on a platter of gold?' Were it Abubakar Atiku that was so handsomely bestowed, he would have since been sworn in as Nigeria's president whether or not anybody likes it? Were it Peter Odili, the same result as Atiku's would have been recorded and same is true with people like Orji Uzor-Kalu, Bola Tinubu, James Ibori, Alamseigha, Abubakar Rimi etc? But in Abuja is a vice president who is too constrained by his make-up and apparent apathy, to take on such big issue as Nigeria's presidency; and would rather remain behind the scene, playing the second fiddle in his role as the vice president?

But what does any Nigerian expect from an academia who Olusegun Obasanjo poached from his teaching job at the University and speedily processed through the Nigeria political mill, in a rather too fast and too easy manner, leaving him unseasoned and not fully prepared for the deathly big-boys game called Nigerian politics? From his university lecturer job he was made a deputy governor and then a governor before his present promotion to a vice president; and all within such his short period in politics, less than a decade, which is somewhat a feat in Nigerian political terrain. Vice President Jonathan Goodluck is possibly being hounded by his high intellectual and cultured personality, a lone ranger amidst the band of brigands which are Nigerian politicians; and seems now trapped between a rock and a hard place. Put in another way, he may be too good to play the dirty game of politics, atypical of the treacherous Nigerian political terrain. Suspended between the moral dilema of fear of being accused of being too ambitious and not loyal to a sick president and the current outrage of being accused of being too weak to act in the stead of an indisposed president?

Icheoku says all these litigation to effect a Vice President Jonathan Goodluck's 'elevation' to the position of an 'acting president' is rather presumptuous since he automatically stands so elevated to act for a 'missing' or medically-indisposed President Umaru Yar'Adua. So legally, politicially, customary and otherwise technically speaking, the matter of his 'promotion' is mute; because it comes naturally and automatically with the office of the vice president with respect to an unavailable president. Therefore there is no question needing a judicial interpretation or intervention in the matter of Vice President Jonathan Goodluck acting for indisposed President Umaru Yar'Adua. What if the president had died or is in a medical comatose and cannot even write a letter of transfer of duties, will Nigerians then have to wait for his ebentual turn-around, no matter how long it takes, before the vice president can then act on his behalf? The whole situation appears to have been orchestrated by a cabal bent on creating unreasonable tension in the land and perhaps force the hands of the military to intervene to save the day and peradventure appoint them into very luscious offices, where they can continue the merry-go-round of bilking and milking a Nigeria in limbo?

If however, as some people have suggested, Vice President Jonathan Goodluck is afraid of assassination and is being hindered by that thought in refusing to fully assume the acting role of a president, Icheoku says, he probably is not the fit and proper person to lead the country and as its commander in chief? A person who is not ready to die for a cause as important as leading a nation might as well not be given the opportunity to occupy that office. This apparent reluctance by Jonathan Goodluck to fully assert himself is rather a creation of his unpreparedness for the big league office of Nigeria's presidency. Whether or not Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution specifically insist that the vice president has to be formally authorised by the president to act for him. in his absence. should not be the only controlling factor here; but the good of a Nigeria tethering so dangerously on a cliff? What if the authorising president is too incapacitated to so authorise or obstinately, out of sheer selfishness, refuses to let Nigeria's wheel continue to churn in his absence? Does it mean that he would be allowed to hold the country hostage to his sickness and for how ever long it takes him to recover or give up the ghost? It does not make sense and fails to explain the inarticulate failure of Jonathan Goodluck to do what is expected of his office in this time, to step in and act for an unavailable President Umaru Yar'Adua. In any other event, there should have been other provisions made, just like when the incoming chief justice had to be sworn in by the retiring chief judge instead of the constitutionally provided president, who is medically unavailable? So why must an ordinary letter play such a big role here with regard to the vice president discharging his duties as an acting president? If only Jonathan Goodluck had made a bold move and thwarted all these stupidity and apparent conspiracy to suppress his rise to meet with his destiny. Maybe, his being somewhat more audacious and assertive was all that was needed for him to fully graduate to Nigeria's president, now that destiny calls?

Icheoku agrees also intoto with the former Oyo State governor, Lam Adesina that "in other civilized countries, whenever the President or a governor is unavailable, his deputy steps in automatically; and that former President Olusegun Obasanjo should be held responsible for the seeming constitutional crisis in the country?' According to the former governor, Obasanjo knew that Yar'Adua was sickly and yet deliberately imposed him on Nigeria as president, to lead a country which even a much strong and healthy man like Obasanjo himself could not successfully lead?' In his final submission, "former President Obasanjo programmed the crisis. Obasanjo wanted a deadlock, which he thought will happen before the (2007) election, but God said no to shame him. But today we are back to the same thing that Obasanjo wanted. This is the reason the North didn’t want Jonathan to be there because they felt that this was what Obasanjo programmed. Obasanjo all the while wanted a South-South President to succeed him, but when the Northerners closed in on him, he suddenly changed gear and settled for a sickly Yar’Adua.” Icheoku says, former Governor Lam Adesina of Oyo State spoke the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth; and so let Nigerians and Vice President Jonathan Goodluck specifically, hear him and act accordingly.

One other source claimed that the vice president is a company-man, who understands how the power game is structured and how it is played? Icheoku says, majority of Nigerians are not convinced with this assertion as they are yet to see any evidence to that effect. Further, it would seem even unconstitutional for anyone to move the court to commit an unconstitutional act - to make a declaration which it is not legally authorised to make; that Jonathan Goodluck is now the acting president? Why would a court make an order which has no basis in fact and/or in law to make, since Jonathan Goodluck is already a vice president, a stone-throw away to the president and should, as required, step in suo moto to act on behalf of an incapacitated president. There is really no issue here for the court to determine or adjudicate; or any desired result to achieve, by moving the court to declare Jonathan an acting president since by virtue of his office, he became the acting president the day President Umaru Yar'Adua became hospitalized and no longer available to act as Nigeria's president? The court does not make presidents, with due respect to the saga of Gore v. Bush 2000 in the united States of America, where its Supreme Court's intervention resulted in a Bush presidency? That was simply an exception and abberation; so all Vice President Jonathan Goodluck need to do, is to wake up, firm up and courageously exercise the duties of the office of the president, on behalf of his out of commission President Umaru Yar'Adua. This will put to rest all the heat so far generated and consuming the polity known as Nigeria and hopefully will sustain Nigeria, pending next election of 2011.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., A BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY!

To the man who prophesied a Barack Obama's presidency, Icheoku says, happy post-humus birthday to you! Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech is today, a reality; and in the White House is an African American president who was judged not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character.

When Martin Luther King Jr foretold several decades ago what is possible in today's America, many people never knew that, to his many attributes, he was also a prophet. In their midst was a prophet, who was without "honor and unknown" in his country? But belatedly though, many now acknowledge and some even reluctantly that he was definitely a unique and special kind of person.

So, as we mark his birthday today January 18, 2010, Icheoku prays that America continues to give purpose to his dream; and that before too long America will be more united, more color-blind and together we all can help make America, greater and better for all to live in as well as enjoy the bountiful opportunities, therein abound. Once again MLK, Icheoku says, thank you for braving the trail that led to today's more accepting and more all inclusive America!