Bernie's Base is on Fire!

One of the things that I love about the Bernie Sanders campaign is the fact that it is all paid for by working class stiffs like you and me.  We can donate $25 or $35 and feel that we are putting the money to good use.  Our guy Bernie is fighting for us and our wallets!  Medicare for all would save this country and low income families billions of dollars.  College education for all would save our low income families billions of dollars and let many send their children to college because they simply do not have the income to do so!  Rebuilding our infrastructure would put 13 million people to work on our highways, bridges, water plants and the list goes on and on.

Hillary can out raise Bernie Sanders easily early but she can't keep that momentum up.  People get tapped out at the max that you can donate to a political campaign.  Bernie does not have that problem.  Most of his donors are contributing $30 and not $2400 or whatever the max out is.  2.3 million people have donated to Bernie Sanders for president.  That is far beyond what President Obama did in his entire campaign in 2008 and the first primary has not even been held yet!  Those 2.3 million contributors will donate again if the campaign needs them to and they are.  Our guy was under attack from the DNC and we went nuts and donated $1 million bucks in one single day!

Did the Sanders campaign screw up with the DNC, they sure as hell did?  Was I pissed?  You are damn straight I was very upset and disappointed.  But the campaign dealt with it and fired the person responsible.  That is how you deal with a wrong and make it right!  What troubles me is the DNC reaction to cut off all access to the data that the Sanders campaign is required to secure at the DNC server.  The system the DNC has is faulty, the Sanders campaign told them of the problem and they never fixed it 100%.

Now comes my main question.  The Sanders campaign accessed the system 24 times which was wrong, how many times did the Hillary Clinton campaign access the system during these breaches?  She has a greater communications system than Bernie Sanders could ever dream of having.  How much information did they download from the Sanders campaign data?

I've never signed up for anything to do with Hillary Clinton, neither have most of my friends that are very political.  Why are some of them getting emails from the Clinton campaign?  Something is rotten in the wood pile and we all know what it is.

Papamoka

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What was Bernie Really Saying?

In the recent Democratic Debate on CNN Bernie Sanders came to the aid of Hillary Clinton.  Or did he?  Was it chivalry or getting the focus off of her endless scandals in the media?  Check it out.  He points out that the MEDIA is only talking about her and her scandals.  In my opinion this was a brilliant political subtle move to shut her down.  And she thanked him for it.  See for yourself in the video below:

Hillary may have so called won the debate but she lost the battle of wits.  Bernie Sanders pointed out the problem with her candidacy with a defensive remark coming to her aid.  The email scandal still exists.  She still is under investigation by the FBI.

Great move Bernie!  Mega freaking great move!!!

Papamoka

If you are a Bernie Sanders supporter or thinking that you might be then you need to become part of the political revolution.  Donate five or ten bucks a month like many other people are doing right now.  Feel the Bern and be part of the movement that will change America forever. 

Donate at berniesanders.com and like his facebook page too!

John Kerry Senate Seat Replacement

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts will be the next Secretary of State replacing Hillary Clinton.  His nomination by President Obama was just a formality.  Even John McCain is calling him "Mr. Secretary" in person.  Now the question becomes who will replace the elder statesman from Massachusetts in the US Senate?  Get rid of the hack statewide politicians that want to be the person filling the Senate chair and go with guts and a brainiac.  Someone that can speak loud and clear and get people to agree that the facts never lie.

If you know the state of politics and the mishmash of getting elected then the best choice is Dr. Rachel Maddow who happens to reside in western Massachusetts.  I can honestly think of not one soul worthy or bright enough to replace John Kerry in the US Senate.  She speaks from the gut and speaks facts from the gut because her mind is all about facts.  Her personal agenda is all about getting to the truth and putting it out there and screaming it to all that would listen.  What better person would you want for your representative in the US Senate?

Would she give up the nightly news show for a US Senate seat is another question to ask?  Against Scott Brown, she would wipe the floor with him in any debates and at the ballot box.  She is the only person I see that could be a force for true change in the Senate and in all of our nations lives for the better.

Dr. Rachel Maddow for US Senate!!!!  I'm up for that.  Sorry to toss you under the bus Rachel but your state and your country need you.  Do the right thing.  RUN for the US Senate.

Papamoka 

Obama Needs to Lead with Strength, Not Compromises

Hello Papamoka Bloggers! I'm beginning to wonder if great Democratic candidates make lousy politicians. I agree with Keith Olbermann when he said on his show last night that President Obama could be facing a serious Democratic challenger in 2012 unless he stops negotiating away real reform.

Leading Republicans are going completely insane all around us (just watch FOX "News" for a taste), providing us with plenty of opportunities to label them unreasonable wackos, yet leading Democrats like Obama and Reid insist on trying to reason with them. What the hell are they thinking? Are they nuts?

We need leadership, not negotiations - and certainly no more compromises! Unless Obama surprises us with an aggressive approach to health care reform during his speech to Congress next week, we could very well be witnessing another great Democratic defeat - a bad bill would be a defeat for many of us. The White House seems hell-bent on getting a health care deal, any health care deal, no matter how horrible the result. What the hell is that about?

Unless the White House is playing a close hand, I'm beginning to wonder if Obama was a mistake. I don't know if Hillary would have been better, but I would like to think that she may have been tougher fighting the Republicans and controlling her own party - something I see lacking with Obama.

I don't think I'm alone wanting an all-out war against the lying and cheating Republican Party today. Screw bi-partisanship! Obama needs to get tougher, and soon.

The media and the pundits could be lying, but if they are correct and the White House is intending to sacrifice extremely important Democratic Party positions in favor of a lousy compromise with a bunch of Blue Dogs (or even one or two Republicans), then we're all in trouble.

A bad bill could be worse then no bill. Most experts agree that it would signal a defeat, and the beginning of a weak presidency.

The only solution is to get tough. There's been too much compromise with their side already. To give away more is unacceptable. Find out what the Blue Dogs want and make a deal - anyway, anyhow! Everybody wants something. Offer them MONEY! Offer them POWER! Offer them whatever they freaking want! If that doesn't work, THREATEN them!

If the White House and the president agree with us that a viable public option (the only way to control costs and abuses) is the best approach to real reform, then why can't they find a way to make it happen? The Blue Dogs must need something of value besides standing their ground on this one issue.

The so-called options to the public option (triggers to form public options, regulations and oversight, etc.) are all highly questionable as to their purported effectiveness. The only way to ensure market stability and control abuse is to form a viable public option now.

Half-ass solutions would also leave the system vulnerable the instant the Republicans regain power.

The dogs need to be tamed, and somebody has to do it. I thought Obama was our man, but if he's really a wimp, then we need to find a new progressive leader. The only viable alternative at the moment would be Nancy Pelosi. She's been talking a lot lately about how a public option is non-negotiable.

Pelosi has been speaking a lot tougher than the White House. She may be my new favorite Democrat.

If Obama and his team wimp out, Nancy Pelosi will be the best candidate to carry the torch for the progressive movement. I'll admit she has been on my bad side ever since refusing to impeach Bush, but those feelings will fade each time she stands up against absurd and unnecessary compromises. Somebody in the Democratic Party needs to stand-up for what is right.

We cannot allow a handful of rural politicians to dictate terms to the rest of us. It's time to let the White House know - NO MORE COMPROMISES!

It's time for the White House to get smart and creative instead. For God's sake, figure out what the Blue Dogs want someplace else and give it to them. Any negotiator worth his salt knows there's always a work-around.

If they don't, like Olbermann said, I think they're risking their second term. I think they will be seen by most of us as unworthy of our support. They will be seen as weak by both Republicans and progressives. Like the slimy Republican Jim DeMint said, it may be their Waterloo.

Jimmy Carter was the last Democrat (and excellent campaigner) to find out that popularity and support fades quickly. Unless President Obama and his team show strength and determination on this issue, we may be witnessing the beginning of the end. I hate to sound negative, but for me, hope is already fading.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves blog

A Storm May Be Gathering in the East

Hello Papamoka Bloggers! Michael Jackson's death - may he rest in peace - came at a fascinating and highly uncertain time geopolitically, distracting us from a darkening political storm in the Middle East.

I'm talking about the clear rejection of religious fundamentalism in Iran - despite the government coup, which I will ignore to make a point. When you combine it with the anti-fundamentalist victory in Lebanon a few weeks ago, the two are very significant. Sadly, they may also represent bad news. Why? I have a theory.

President Obama's speech in Cairo went a long way to encourage moderates in both Lebanon and Iran to get off their backsides and vote against the mullahs. Of course, the Iranian government helped by giving it's electorate every indication their votes would count. They even held a few debates. Amazing, what were they thinking?

Those victories prove to many Middle East experts that people want more freedom, and that things may start to change even more - if Egypt begins to fracture, watch out. The problem is that whenever moderates stand up to extremists all kinds of bad things can happen, such as in Iran. Change that spins out of control can be disasterous, such as when the entrenched leadership begins to feel threatened. The way they are feeling today in Iran, and possibly even Eqypt.

Don't get me wrong, I realize the status quo doesn't work, and we all loved it when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, but it's clear the Middle East is a powder keg and once ignited it could lead to worldwide conflict. One very dark sign is the growing Iranian-Russian-Chinese alliance - in various forms. Another is the possibility of a fundamentalist crack-down across the Middle East, igniting chaos. I'm convinced that's why more leaders aren't speaking-out. Nobody wants to be responsible for open conflict and mass murder.

Bush was the beginning. He lit the Middle East fuse with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - two places ill-equipped to handle Western democracy and the freedoms that come with it. Nevertheless, his actions started the pieces moving across the board. Sadly, despite his potential for domestic success, Obama's legacy will most likely be seen through the same presidential prism of the Middle East. Did he control events in the Middle East after Bush, or did he allow them to spin out-of-control?

You see, there is one very hard-to-predict variable. He is the very hard-headed, right-wing Benjamin Netanyahu. I would like to think that he's a Nixon-China kind of guy, but my gut tells me he's more from the Bush-Iraq school. If I were to see the glass-as-half-empty, I would guess he's the George W II. That to me is a terrifying prospect.

He's already ignoring the significance of the Iranian-Russian-Chinese alliance (a typical neo-con), as well as Obama's request to control settlement construction and focus on the Road Map. Instead, he seems to be taking his marching orders from the Republicans and the far-right in America.

Personally, I think he's in bed with the Bush-Cheney branch of the GOP, who are all pushing Israel to bomb Iran before it has the chance to threaten the existence of Israel - no matter what Obama says about it.

If Israel bombs Iran, then President Obama and the Democrats will lose their entire agenda - both domestic and international. The Republicans would use the conflict to divide, conquer, win votes and take back power. Right or wrong, as usual they would maneuver to benefit from the chaos. Poor Obama would be forced to spend his time and energy cleaning-up another conflict created by an irresponsible, paranoid and pernicious far-right.

Of course, the scariest outcome is that America could be dragged into a regional or world conflict. One clear sign of chaos would be a potential threat to President Mubarak in Egypt. Don't scoff at the possibility. It may even be secretly supported by Russia and China; the two powers who would love to see America's primary African ally on the Nile fall to extremists - at least the kind they could do business with.

Despite all my hope for Obama and my glass-is-half-full mentality, I'm terrified of the uncompromising and paranoid extremists embodied by the neo-con Republicans, Netanyahu and Ahmadinejad. President Obama and Secretary Clinton must pull off a diplomatic miracle soon to make sure the international far-right doesn't get another war.

Netanyahu must be made to tow the line. Ahmadinejad must be undermined to prevent Israel from using him as an excuse. Obama must lead and control events in the Middle East to prevent more conflict.

I also think Obama needs to act quickly to fire most of the Bushies still in government - especially those within the DOD, STATE and INTELLIGENCE. He should not trust them. They represent a possible shadow government operating within his own Administration. Unless he acts quickly to make sure that he has full control, anything is possible. This is something that has been worrying me since he took office.

It's clear that President Obama is a change agent. Now we need to make sure the change is the right change. There are hot spots throughout history involving change - think the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Kristallnacht and 9/11, and I think we may be witnessing another one about to hit - for good or bad.

Let's hope that while most Americans are spending this weekend mourning the death of the King of Pop, a potential Earth-shattering clash isn't brewing in the Middle East between East and West. Let's hope that President Obama can control the international far-right agenda led by the GOP and Netanyahu, and that angry religious fundamentalists don't light the world on fire.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Bashing Caroline Kennedy

I want to jump on the bandwagon of Caroline Kennedy for Senator Clinton’s Senate seat from New York. All of those people wanting to bash her lack of experience in politics have obviously no clue as to what she has done in politics her entire life. Over at Fire Dog Lake the consensus is that Caroline Kennedy does not deserve a princess appointment just because Daddy was a President of the United States. Check out what they have to say about her…

Caroline Kennedy? Thanks But No Thanks
By: Jane Hamsher Sunday December 7, 2008 8:00 am

Everyone seems to be salivating because Caroline Kennedy called David Patterson and is apparently interested in the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton.
It's a truly terrible idea.

Her leadership could have been really helpful when the rest of us were trying to keep the progressive lights on and getting the stuffing beaten out of us by a very well-financed right wing for the past eight years. But when things were tough, she was nowhere to be found.

Now that the Democrats are in power, she'd like to come in at the top. We have absolutely no idea if she's qualified, or whether she can take the heat of being a Kennedy in public life. She's certainly shown no appetite for it in the past. She'll have a target on her back and if she can't take it, if she crumbles, she will become a rallying point that the right will easily organize around.
The woman has never run for office in her life. We have no idea how she'd fare on the campaign trail, or how well she could stand up to the electoral process. She simply picks up the phone and lets it be known that she just might be up for having one of the highest offices in the land handed to her because -- well, because why? Because her uncle once held the seat? Because she's a Kennedy? Because she took part as a child in the public's romantic dreams of Camelot? I'm not quite sure. - Fire Dog Lake

I will be the first from the Bay State to endorse her highly to my many friends and readers from New York. In Caroline Kennedy you get a humanitarian following in the footsteps of not only her father but her mother as well. While it is convienent for many people to sit on their asses and bitch and moan Caroline Kennedy has never done just that. She has always voiced her opinions on issues and if need be used her influence to make change possible over the decades since her father was murdered.

It outrages me when I see idiot comments on her qualifications for the position of Senator to the United States government. They don’t know her, they have never researched her, they have never researched anything that the entire Kennedy family has done for America since her father was murdered. She was a baby then but she is an adult now and all her life has been in service to America in the private sector for the betterment of the poorest and weakest among us. She is not a carpet bagger! How dare these morons declare from their trailer parks and dial up pc’s that she does not have the qualifications to serve America! What have they done to serve their fellow man other than bitching and stabbing anyone in the back?

Show me a Republican that has dedicated their lives after serving in office to helping the poor when it comes to heating their former constituents homes. Show me one Republican that has dedicated their lives to the children with Down Syndrome. Show me one Republican that actually cared about the poor not just for a day but decade after decade. There is not one!

Caroline Kennedy has dedicated her life to enriching the lives of the poor, the less fortunate, and those without a voice in our government. Don’t think that for a minute that this kind of attack on her is fair game. I’ve never met her, don’t think I would ever have the opportunity to meet her, but she is my sister in the work she has done all her life privately without boasting about it.

This brings me to this last thought, Republican’s are going to attack everyone in this new administration, it is up to us on the left to defend those folks that have not robbed the public trust but served it with honor and dignity. Do your own part on your own site and defend honest politicians and appointees that are not looking for a golden prize at the end of public service.

Caroline Kennedy never needed a Senate seat to use her name to get serious work done. For that matter, she does not need Senator Clinton’s seat in the Senate. It would be a gift to the American people and the state of New York to have Caroline Kennedy representing them though. It would be a larger plus to the Democrat Party to have her on the team fighting for what is right for the American people.

Long story short, regardless of what Caroline Kennedy critics have to say, she will have a walk in to the Senate seat if she so chooses. For that matter, she will be the first woman President elected in the United States after two terms of the 44th President Barack Obama. Mark your calendars and bookmark this page for reference.

Papamoka

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

George Bush single handedly destroyed the respect most foreign nations had for America simply because he could. In Bush’s private little war in Iraq and outright refusal to use diplomacy, he has made the office of Secretary of State impotent and almost pointless. George Bush is not well known for the diplomatic talent of his father and all over the world they now look at America as the bullying nation carrying not only a big stick but a constant threat against nations that do not see the Bush philosophy of “With us or against us” mentality.

How amazingly simple is it to see that the next Secretary of State needs to not only be a diplomat, well rounded on world events, but carries a resume that includes a spouse that is a previous President of the Untied States of America. Not that Hillary needs Bill Clinton to do the job, but it sure as hell could help that a popular U.S. President around the world just might be traveling with the Secretary of State on missions to repair relationships all over the world on behalf of the United States of America. Over at Gallup they have this latest poll on Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State…

Most Americans Back Idea of Clinton as Secretary of State
Nearly 8 in 10 Democrats favor the possibility

by Jeffrey M. Jones
PRINCETON, NJ -- A new Gallup Poll finds a majority of Americans (57%) in favor of Barack Obama appointing Hillary Clinton as the secretary of state in his administration. Thirty percent oppose it. - Gallup

Hillary Clinton no longer has to prove herself to the American people and could easily spend the rest of her political career as a Senator from New York. Not that she would languish in that position but I think she could do more for her country as a peace maker around the world with not just our allies but with many nations no longer friendly with the United States. If President Elect Barack Obama wants to talk with nations out of favor in todays political climate, then he needs an ace up his sleeve and Hillary Clinton and her husband are in fact TWO aces! In her position as Secretary of State she would not be a thorn but an extremely well placed political asset in the diplomatic corps for her nation.

It would be a huge mistake for the President Elect to even think of not insisting that he has made his choice for Secretary of State and it is Hillary Clinton. It is the President Elects choice and Hillary Clinton is the one he wants for the position and that should be the end of the discussion. Frankly, I honestly believe that this is a done deal already and I firmly endorse it. Hillary Clinton earned the position on her own merits.

Then there are the detractors that say that former President Bill Clinton is the cause for all the media hype over this issue. Get over it, Bill Clinton will not be the Secretary of State but he will be a brilliant advisor to the Secretary of State and the President as to how we as a nation can restore trust and faith in America. Isn’t that what we the people really want? Isn’t that why we voted for Obama in the first place? If our President Elect wants Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State then she will in fact be our next Secretary of State. Congratulations to you Senator Clinton.

Papamoka

My thanks to Memeorandum for this news tip...

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Hillary and Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live

I have to thank I Heart Peanut Butter for this video. Crystal, I have stolen this great video from you and apologize if you get offended. I thought it was too funny to not post here. Here it is...



Reality and Saturday Night Live are not that far from the truth...

Papamoka

Health Care McCain and Obama

Hillary Clinton had no problem presenting a Health Care Plan for all Americans and so did Barack Obama. John McCain has nothing other than the same old same ideology of a free market manipulation where the Pharmaceutical industry writes our senior citizens health care plans. Begging of more corruption. It makes me wonder why he signed onto this legislations but signed off of every single bill designed to help veterans.

Two words, Doesn’t Care! Voting Democrat or Republican does not mean a single thing. Voting what is best for America more than ever is important not just to you but to the damage that has been done to your elderly parents Social Security benefits that you too will one day have to tap into but the bigger picture is that of being an American and looking out for those that can not or do not have a voice. Take out the right and left side of the political arguments, take out the flag waving and talking points. Toss it all aside and look at what the politicians have done in the last eight years to America. Do your own research. Do Not base your judgment on who you will elect as your next President of the United States of America on a campaign television advertisement or You Tube video from any political organization or for that matter from my comments on this election.

Use the gift that you have in front of you while reading this post to search Google, Yahoo, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Alta Vista, and every other search engine available to you.

You don’t need the questions to ask from me on your search engine exploration of who the real John McCain is. Veteran’s in need of serious care already know who he is. John McCain has voted against Veteran benefits over and over again. The Maverick is not who we all think he is. When McCain claims his POW status he is in fact slapping all of them in the face but you can do your own research on how he voted on Veteran issues.

Just because he wore the uniform, served our nation, was imprisoned in horrible means, does not mean that he is in the tank for veterans from any battle. His record as a U.S. Senator reflects just the opposite.

A good friend of mine at Bring It ON! reminded me of how much more Obama has done for change in America and the facts don't lie. Johnny McCain can not boast this kind of enthusiasm for Americans in all of his Congressional career.

Red state, Blue State, do your own Google Search on it or whatever means you like. One candidate cares about those of us under the five million dollar pay grade and the other has no clue. Last time I checked, I won't earn five million in my lifetime but I'm just a smuck with five daughters eaking out an existence in the middle class.

I'll let you know when the campaign gets back to real issues like Health Care for all Americans or actually caring about our nations Veterans! Education for the next generation that will provide our next leaders in govermnent. Real reform that makes sense in politics as it is today and not sound bites repeated over and over again till it becomes believable.

Papamoka

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Palin Inexperience Called on by Conservatives

I’ve been researching the choice of Vice President that John McCain made and I’m finding that even his own party is concerned about his pick. While John McCain put some serious thought into his choice for Vice President, pandering to the disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters, and of course picking someone with his moral values, a person that should be able to slide into the Presidency if God forbid anything happened to him. He forgot a simple fact, experience of his selection for VP.

Even the Conservatives in the Republican Party are concerned over Sarah Palin’s experience. I couldn’t write this any better than the folks over at the National Review that have done it for me. And frankly, I too am concerned with his pick for VP and lack of experience to run America in the lack of a heart beat in John McCain…

Cold Water on Palin
Ramesh Ponnuru

Both the pros and the cons are pretty obvious. I’m going to focus on the cons, mostly because conservatives right now seem to be paying them less attention.

The pros: She’s a pro-life conservative reformer from outside Washington, and a woman. The pick signals a boldness and willingness to mix things up that the McCain campaign, like Republicans generally, need.

The cons:

Inexperience. Palin has been governor for about two minutes. Thanks to McCain’s decision, Palin could be commander-in-chief next year. That may strike people as a reckless choice; it strikes me that way. And McCain's age raised the stakes on this issue.

As a political matter, it undercuts the case against Obama. Conservatives are pointing out that it is tricky for the Obama campaign to raise the issue of her inexperience given his own, and note that the presidency matters more than the vice-presidency. But that gets things backward. To the extent the experience, qualifications, and national-security arguments are taken off the table, Obama wins.

And it’s not just foreign policy. Palin has no experience dealing with national domestic issues, either. (On the other hand, as Kate O’Beirne just told me, we know that Palin will be ready for that 3 a.m. phone call: She’ll already be up with her baby.) - National Review

One of the things that keeps grasping at my thoughts is the fact that McCain picked Governor Palin just for the simple fact that she is a woman. Mind you, I don’t know anything about the woman or the investigations she is under while Governor of Alaska but it smells of pandering to women in general as voters. Hillary Clinton is off the list of votes you can cast and that means that there are many angry women in America that just might vote for McCain if he has a woman as his VP? Did anyone in the McCain camp tell the Senator that woman in general have opinions on many of the issues and inserting a uterus into his campaign as Vice President is not going to convince them to change their opinion’s on the issues they face every single day?

Last time I checked, Hillary Clinton is a strong Liberal Democrat that is night and day on every position to the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin! You can not interchange the two woman just because one of them comes from the land of the midnight sun! What the hell was McCain thinking? Did he think that all woman are mindless zombies and will vote for a fellow woman just because she is a woman? Let me think about this, NOT! Issues Senator McCain are important to woman, and if anything, I would tend to think the highly educated women of America can see through this stunt.

One of the things that my generation is known for is that you do not for one minute assume that any women is ignorant of politics. What is that old saying from the McCain generation? When you assume you make an Ass/U/Me.

Belly up to the sink Governor Palin, the Senator needs the dishes washed. Pick a house he owns and just wash the damn dishes. McCain only picked her as a running mate to tap into the massive Hillary Clinton vote with the full expectation of stealing the votes with a token woman as Vice President. 18 million voters were behind Senator Hillary Clinton in her race for President but they were not all woman Senator McCain! There is no other way he could win and give us four more years of Bush Policy and government in his mind than picking a woman as his VP. Does that not wreak of male chauvinism?

At the least, Obama picked someone that could help him with foreign policy, world affairs, and someone that we as American’s would not have a problem with being President if Obama were to fall. Um, Senator McCain, did you actually check out her experience in government?

Papamoka

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A CAUTION FOR DISGRUNTLED CLINTON SUPPORTERS

Cross Posted from The Duke of Madness...

For Obama supporters, it is easy to dismiss the disenchantment of Clinton supporters as sore losers. However, such an approach is conducive to making a bad situation worse.

Hillary Clinton, love her or hate her, is the first truly serious candidate for the presidency who happens to be a female. It is not too much of a stretch to realize that while women as a whole have escaped the Stepford Wife existence expected of them not that long ago, there is more to attain. Sen. Clinton embodies that for a lot of women.

I think.

I say that because I am not a woman. But, I realize that while at this time enthusiastic about an Obama/Biden ticket, ignoring the deep-felt emotions of fellow humans is not the best way to proceed. Obama doesn't need to salve the feelings of Sen. Clinton so much as he does those of her followers. They deserve more than just "you lost!"

What DOES disturb me the greatest though, is the notion that a large number of Clinton supporters yearn to vote for John McCain this November. If it's to teach Sen. Obama a lesson, it might be considered a case of cutting off one's nose to spite their face.

A friend once remarked to me that Hillary Clinton is the smartest woman in the world. I sharply disagreed, saying that my daughter was the smartest person in the world. So I'm biased.....sue me. Or, it may be one of my two sisters. Or maybe it might have been my mother. I know it isn't my wife because she showed the poor judgment of marrying ME.

But seriously, I mention the above because I'm one of those men who grew up and have lived with a great deal of love and respect for women. My parents fought a lot...imagine George W. Bush and Ralph Nader trapped together in a life raft. That's nothing compared to the fireworks that went on between my mother and father.

It wasn't until the age of six or seven that I learned that "son of a bitch" wasn't one word. I learned lots of words growing up...mostly from the Old Man....and what gaps there were in my vocabulary were quickly filled by two drill instructors at Lackland Air Force Base.

Yet even as one as profane as myself has limits. There are certain words that go outside the bounds of what I consider acceptable. And that's really saying something.

So it came as a bit of a shock to learn that John McCain addressed his wife as a "stupid c***" in front of witnesses. To say it in the privacy of one of their homes would be bad enough, but to let loose such an epithet in public is beyond comprehension.

THAT is what ANY woman contemplating voting for John McCain should consider. It was not a faxu pas; it was a revealing statement of what this man thinks of women. And so what if he'd had a long day...is life in the White House not tiring?

Before pulling the voting lever this November for John McCain, I ask you to consider what your vote means. It would be an endorsement of someone who holds women in contempt. That means my wife, my daughter, my mother, and my sisters. Not to mention all the other women in my life (doctors, lawyers, nurses, waitresses). Not a one of them deserve the "c" word. Even in jest, because there is nothing to joke about here.

It's NOT a small point. It's the only point as far as this voter is concerned.

Women and men are very different. They are also very equal. Anyone who does not grasp that by adulthood hasn't really grown in their hearts or minds.

John McCain should know better. And so should you.

Duke of Madness

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This is Obama Time

While the rest of the Main Stream Media is begging to ask who will be Barack Obama’s running mate this is not the time to ask that question. The run up of the end of the primary is still way to fresh in the heart beat of Democrat voters and the time to heal those primary wounds is now. If you had the chance to see the Unity, NH first speech between the former Presidential candidates for President on the Democrat ticket then it was a love fest. Hillary is in the Obama camp and she is ready to fight for what is right. Something she has always done throughout her political career.

Hillary Clinton is jumping on the Obama campaign and it is what a true Democrat should do. She didn’t lose the election, she participated in it. Her voice was heard loud and clear during the primary process and it is now and will be a part of this election that will work against John McCain. McCain has no weapon in his political artillery to throw up against Hillary Clinton without pointing his own Senate record at himself. A dilemma that both Barack Obama and John McCain face in this election cycle.

Many of the folks in the MSM are discounting the Hillary Clinton vote base that will transfer from Obama to McCain and that is ridiculous! Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were so close on all of the issues that it was tantamount as a liberal or moderate voter to picking the cutest puppy of the two. Everyone loves what both of them are selling and that is the end message. Only Democrats could put up a Black man and a Women in an election process for President of the United States. Do you think for a minute that any form of the Republican political party could do that? Not in this lifetime or the next, or the next, or the next! That is the grass roots difference in this election. Democrats are about change in America and Republicans are looking at another old man that used to be a hero but morphed into more of the same because politics told him to change.

Time for change is not about Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, it’s about the candidacy of John McCain in step with George W. Bush. President Bush is an oxymoron of America and what we are as a people. Since the days of Abraham Lincoln and probably before that this has been a nation of ideals that changed the world for the better. Change is what this nation needs and in that respect, all of the facts point to the fact that Hillary Clinton is on the same page when discussing what is best for America in her support for Barack Obama.

This election is not just about red states and blue states anymore. America is a world leader and our place in the world has been hijacked by a seriously misguided President. Our sense of America has been distorted to think that being an American is no better than being an imperialist with nation building ideology.

Hillary Clinton is cool with Barack Obama as the Democrat nominee for President. Only the MSM has a problem with that fact. Democrats should see loud and clear that “Johnny keep us in Iraq for 100 years McCain” is not the same candidate for President of the United States of America that Hillary Clinton was! Why in honest to God sense would a Clinton supporter refuse to not support someone that has almost identical issue agreement on most of the issues? Why would they think McCain is the only logical choice for President?

Simple answer to that question is that the former Clinton supporters would rather commit suicide than vote for John McCain and that is reality. Liberals in the Clinton camp do not go extreme right wing simply because the liberal candidate is no longer in the race for President. Mega Duh to the pundits tossing Hillary Clinton supporters to McCain. All of the spin doctors can spin this story all they want but I can’t think of a single Clinton supporter ever voting for a strong conservative hard line stance that ignores the American people and their thoughts of what America should be in the world. Americans should come first.

Just my opinion.

Papamoka

Race Relations Be Damned

Listening to talk radio or watching even the network television news you find an avenue of opinions that run contrary to the current trend that favors Hillary Clinton because of the fact that Barack Obama just happens to be a black man. When I was trying to toss down a burger at the local Wendy’s I was shocked to hear the many controversial and frankly racist comments made about Senator Obama that were thrown at his campaign workers by so called residents of West Virginia.

When I woke up this morning it was 2008 and not 1968. Trust me, my five children let me know that fact is true every single day. In 1968 I was five years old and now I have my youngest that is five. In each of their eyes they do not see the color of a persons skin but the heart of the friends they choose. Race is not an issue in their eyes or heart and I thank God above that we as parents have been able to raise them without that ugly personality trait.

America was a very separatist society back before 1968 and in the progress that has been made in all that time since many African American’s have prospered and were finally free to be the potential person that they could become. My child has the potential that is the same as any African American and all they have to do is work for it and earn it. That is the American way. Then you hear the draw back on the polling numbers and reports of whites verse black voters and race lines in the vote and it all disgusts me to the bone. MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX did a non stop reporting of why white people would not vote for Obama in West Virginia and the undertone that I perceived as a viewer was that they were playing the race card simply because one of the candidates is a black man and the other is a white woman. Basically, they labeled everyone that didn’t vote for Obama as a racist.

Today I heard of all kinds of racist incidents that the Obama campaign is facing including a Curious George cartoon with an Obama 08 sign depicting Obama as the monkey. Even Rush Limbaugh is running from the mishap simply because he had no clue as to who Curious George was and why it was associated with Obama. Something I find hard to believe is that Rush was ignorant when he claims every single day that his brain is on loan from God in his broadcast. The character and authors of the Curious George character have been around for over 67 years! Margret and H.A. Rey, Curious George's creators worked on children’s books for decades! Rush apologized when he found out how racist the caller was. Then he banned the caller for life.

We don’t need hate in America for or against fellow American’s in any form, function, or broadcast. It serves no purpose other than to divide us as a people and prove out that ignorance of another human being is not only contagious but full of contempt. In the past decade we have seen separation of American’s based on wealth and this kind of thought on race bashing only serves that style of degradation of our people even further. It’s truly up to you as an individual to say enough is enough.

I’m just guessing but I think there are several different America’s and in parts of our nation there is still a racial problem. All of the MSM made West Virginia sound like the KKK headquarters and frankly that scares me. They single handedly manipulated the race for President into a racial bias and they sold it all across the airwaves and then the newspapers the next day.

My kids will grow up color blind and wear one pink sock and one blue sock to the school of life and if they are happy then so am I. No offense intended to the people of West Virginia that voted on the issues and not the color of a persons skin but the MSM made your state look like the racist capital of the United States.

Papamoka

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It’s Over Hillary, Step Aside

One of the things that I admire in Hillary Clinton is her never say die attitude. Running for the Presidency of the United States is the ultimate campaign in politics and the Clinton family knows how much is at risk. Personally, it is a drag on the human spirit knowing that no matter how much you put into it the end result is the votes state by state. In this current process, the Senator from New York has fought the good fight and licked her wounds or celebrated in the few victories she has had. What is the end result that we as Democrats need is one united party. That can not happen with careless remarks based on race from the Senator from New York.

In this election process Democrats from all campaigns have signed up millions of new voters and that in itself is remarkable. Watching the political pundits on the television you would think that the people for Clinton would never vote for Obama and that is simply idiotic thought. This is a primary process within one political party where the two candidates are so close on the issues that for the most part it comes up to tossing a coin in the air in the voting booth for most voters. Heads she wins, tails he wins.

In the general election the difference between John McCain and either Democrat is as vast as the Pacific ocean. Who would logically think that if Hillary Clinton is not the Democrat nominee that the Clinton supporters that are Democrats would vote for McCain? Clinton supporters are just as angry about our government take over by big business and their candidate has the same thoughts as Barack Obama. Democrats will not be crossing party lines in November as much as Republicans will.

That leads to Rush Limbaugh thinking that his personal campaign in Operation Chaos will divide the Democrats using Republican voters to manipulate an election. This is another tool that makes no sense from the right wing. If you happen to be a Republican, would you be willing to change your political affiliation just to help Hillary Clinton against Barack Obama? Changing parties is an act of a political extremist so I don’t see Rush and his bash all Democrats campaign realistically giving fruit to the chaos he would love to spout about on his mega million money making broadcast.

As far as the Clinton campaign goes on, the task of doing so is in the support the campaign gets from donors to the campaign. With the Senator having to give $6.4 Million dollars to her own campaign then the support is not there. If the grass roots of dollars are not flowing in then the race is over for Senator Clinton.

It is not dishonorable for Hillary Clinton to bow out. In her race for the highest office of the land she has brought the truth to a nation in need of many changes and forced all people in the political process to engage in that debate. Hillary Clinton is not out of the political loop if she concedes the race, not by far. With her campaign she drew a new interest in politics by woman and in doing so has changed the face of politics in this nation. No longer will it be acceptable for woman to stand on the sidelines as the world around them changes. In that respect she deserves credit and I thank her for running for President of all of our United States of America.

The time for political healing is now and not later. Our party needs to be one voice, one message, and one party wanting to end the destruction of America at the cost of our middle and lower classes. Something Senator Clinton has campaigned on over and over again. One party united is far better than any joke on a divided Democrat Party on right wing talk radio.

Papamoka

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Denial of Politics

Many of us at one point in time in our lives face denial. Denial that we might have a problem with our relationship with any of our loved ones, denial that we may be the problem simply because that is the easiest route possible without facing the facts. Alcoholism is one of the strongest points possible for denial of a problem you can not fix if you don’t face it head on. Addiction to politics when your entire life is and has been about politics is similar in nature.

One of the things that is most troubling to many moderate Democrats is the fact that we have a virtual 400 pound gorilla in our midst and it isn’t going to go away anytime soon. What is more troubling is the fact that moderate Republicans are also stuck in the same dilemma. While we face the facts that the gorilla is going about its business it is ransacking the house we live in. Declaring the possibility of a fairy tale outcome that only Hollywood could conceive for a made for television movie pushed on political junkies and party loyalists. Still in the back of the room is the simple reality of mathematics that constantly ticks out the numbers that can not lie. Numbers that scream at political reporters and pundits that cross the airways on our televisions and on our internet surfing of the latest news.

With the Democrat Party lining up millions of new voters from state to state it is a given conclusion that no matter who the primary winner in the Democrat race is, that person will be the next President of the Untied States of America. The current office holder made that possible by running a White House in need of fumigation of political thought that was not to strict adherence to the select few.

From this process and primaries comes many wounds when it comes to selecting a candidate for President. Many of the innuendo and hype lodged against a fellow candidate will be used against the winner at the convention. In previous general elections it was proven that if you throw enough mud up on the wall it will eventually stick. Who does that help?

One of the Democrat candidates has to face the fact that they are in denial. That person can continue to think that a negative is a positive or they can face reality. Most likely that person will continue in denial simply because it is the easiest way to continue on in desperation. What happens to the party during this trial of personal denial? How much negative media is to much to throw at your opponent that is in the same party? Does that not serve the same purpose that Karl Rove used against Gore and then against John Kerry? When do you face the headlights of the oncoming vehicle in time to save face and avoid a tragic ending to a brilliant life in politics? Will the divisive politics of the Democrats hand the Republican candidate the White House because the political party is fatally wounded and fractured? That is the question that must be faced by Senator Clinton. Nobody else can answer these questions.

There comes a time when the division of our nation must end and it starts with one person saying enough is enough. Our future of an America as one nation must begin again and it comes with great sacrifice but with honor. Many have died for this country to continue the idea of one American nation. In that respect we need to start the process of one nation all over again that is not based on foreign soils but looking inward at our nations needs to be one again as a people.

Papamoka

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Did Reverend Wright Derail Obama?

One thing that everyone can recognize is an idiot with an open microphone. In the past several days Reverend Wright has done his best to pretty much kill the chances of an African American like Barack Obama ever becoming the Democrat nominee for President. What the good reverend has done is isolate in fear what every African American is and that does not bode well for a political candidate running on a platform for one American people no longer divided, no longer separated but united as one for one single purpose. Rebuilding a broken America.

Barack Obama declared his total separation from Reverend Jeremiah Wright today, now retired from the pulpit at Trinity Church because of his outrageous statements picked up all over the main stream media. Over at the Washington Post they have this on the event…

By Peter Slevin
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Sen. Barack Obama today strongly criticized the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor, saying that Wright's comments about the United States in recent days have been "destructive" and "outrageous."

Using his sharpest language yet to describe a series of Wright performances that he said left him angry and sad, Obama accused Wright of exploiting racial divisions at the same time the Illinois senator is aiming to bring the nation together.

"When I say I find these comments appalling, I mean it," Obama told reporters in firm and somber tones. "It contradicts everything that I'm about and who I am. And anybody who has worked with me, who knows my life, who has read my books, who has seen what this campaign is about I think will understand that it is completely opposed to what I stand for and where I want to take this country."

SNIP

"I have spent my entire adult life trying to bridge the gap between different kinds of people. That's in my DNA, trying to promote mutual understanding," Obama said. "To insist that we all share common hopes and common dreams as Americans and as human beings. That's who I am. That's what I believe. That's what this campaign has been about."

"Yesterday, we saw a very different vision of America," Obama went on. "I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened over the spectacle that we saw yesterday."
- Washington Post

Reverend Wright in his mission to make life better for his congregation has grandstanded and used his bully pulpit for his own personal grandeur. In doing so he has drawn the line in the sand that white Americans and black Americans can never be united as one people. For the first time in his own life his pulpit reached beyond Trinity Church and across America simply because he has a black mans opinion and was the pastor of a Presidential candidate. He saw the limelight on Barack Obama and rather than let the new hope for our nation shine he turned the light on himself and the mistakes and ignorance of the past.

It will not be easy for the Obama campaign to overcome the Wright controversy. Even with his announcement today to separate himself from the Reverend, it still sticks in some circles. It raises the question of whether Obama can or will be able to coast through the rest of the election process and simply win because the numbers seemed to look that way. Did Reverend Wright put the nail in the coffin of the Obama campaign?

No matter what thought process or political theory you follow the only winner in the whole mess that Jeremiah Wright instigated is Senator John McCain. Hillary Clinton can not capitalize on this issue because it is a personal matter between a pastor and one man in his congregation. Paint it any single way you want and it just does not spin well as a political weapon against Obama as a Democrat opponent in the rest of the election process.

All of this post leads to beg the question if African Americans would ever forgive Reverend Wright for handing the nomination process to Hillary Clinton simply because he was so angry to be an African American that was wronged over and over in his own life? Then again, Obama and his campaign isn’t about the past, it’s about the future and that is very different than what Reverend Wright could ever have experienced.

Papamoka

Interesting reads on this topic: Pissed on Politics

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Penn Primary Part 4

MSNBC 9:04

Clinton 52%
Obama 48%

Tim Russert:

Super delgates that Clinton needs to revive into her corner. Sense of history and who can carry the Electoral College.

Clinton needs to put the question mark over Obama, he can't win the Democrat campaign. Obama people thinking about the spin and they have more votes, more states, and more delegates still. It's mommentum. Hillary is on life support if she can not raise the money.

Terry McCauliff:

He's in the Clinton Tank. Hillary will move ahead in the popular vote. Voters trust Hillary Clinton and she is prepared to run this nation. She has proven she can win the states we need for the general election. 8 million Democrats still ready to vote and Hillary and the voters of PA pulled this one off. Delegates will still be close and who will be ready to take on McCain?

Clinton will speak in about one half hour to the folks.

54% Clinton 46% Obama 9:12PM 9% votes in

Questions raised on money or votes? Which one do you want as a voter in a candidate? The economy is driving this race.

Campaign Funding

Clinton: $9 million Debt: $10.3 million
Obama: $42 million Debt: $ 663,000

Update: 53% Clinton 47% Obama 12% votes in

Clinton nets 14 to 18 delegates

Clinton needs 251 delgates after May 6th to win or 70%-80% victories in delegates per contest from here on out.

Papamoka

Penn. Results Coverage

7:58 PM - polls close in 2 minutes. I'm watching MSNBC and flicking back to CNN. Is it just me or does Chris Matthews look like crap? Kieth Olberman has been asking alot of questions that lean Obama but he doesn't blink when he has a shot at Obama either.

Poplular vote prior to the Pennsyvania results is:

Obama -13,402, 903
Clinton - 12,705,360

Overall Delegate Count:

Obama - 1655
Clinton - 1513

MSNBC - Russert is quoting the Clinton camp is spending $1 million per day.
Obama is buying twice as much television time as Clinton.
Double digit win by Clinton sends the election into June.
Charges and counter charges by the Democrats folding the party and feeding McCain

Brokaw: Super delegates still in play
Dem convention should not be divided against people that voted and establishment
Will of the people is the safest route to go for super delegates

Andrea Mitchell:

Exit polls not the big victory that the Clinton camp hoped for.
Clinton in the red with cash.
Clinton the underdog
Clinton lead evaporated and many staffers owed cash.
Hillary does not trust Nancy Pelosi
Obama flooded with cash and donations

Matthews:

Ed Rendell should talk to Clinton if the big win isn't there?
Others in the party to talk to her about bowing out.
Hillary played up her routes in NE Pennsylvania

Commentary and other points:

Moste Penn. voters decided in the last three days who to vote for.
Women going for Clinton in large numbers.
Philly exit polls show Philly going for Obama 68%

END 8:20 pm

Clearer Sense of Politics

With all the back and forth of the political process between Hillary and Barack I’m ready to file the divorce papers for them. Not from their respective spouses but from one another as Democrats. Let me explain a little further.

All of the useless politics that have been going on between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has amounted to nothing but great material for Republican talk radio. Over at the McCain campaign they should be writing down all the bashing these two are doing to one another so they can throw it up in the winners face. If I were advising McCain I know that is what I would do but don’t tell anyone about that little factoid. Mum is the word on that topic.

She dodged bullets that never existed in Bosnia and he dodged a comment from his pastor caught in a sound bite when he was not there to hear it. He said, she said is all there is to report lately on this election for the next Democrat candidate for President of the United States of America.

These are the times for campaigns to go mega negative and these are the times that make voters cringe. We won’t see the end of this race in the Democrat primary simply because there will be no outcome accepted by one or both of the candidates. That is not a bad thing because it exposes the reasons why many moderate Republican voters should vote for the eventual Democrat nominee in the general election against John McCain. Looking at the bigger picture John McCain has not one person to argue against on his positions on any issue. He’s omnipotent in this election to date. He has been literally declared the next President by many in the main stream media leaning right on politics even though the people have not voted. That sounds to familiar to the current administration with their Pharaoh like mentality of so let it be written, so let it be done.

Maybe the folks still voting need to look at not just the sound bites on the news but the combined persons that can beat John McCain in the general election. I’ll give the Clinton campaign credit for having the former President’s political machine but that isn’t enough to beat the Maverick McCain. I’ll give the Obama campaign credit for being enthusiastic in engaging the young of America to vote but that is not enough to beat the Bush/Rove/McCain machine to keep a Republican in the White House. So what will work?

Consolidation of the Democrat Party prior to the convention in Boulder, Colorado is the only answer. In no way can this political party go to the convention divided over a delegate count. That would only play to the Republican thought process that the Democrat’s do not know what they want but we do. Common sense begs for a merger of two political machines and if they do not see that as individuals then the Clinton and Obama camp’s can kiss the White House and a Democrat in it in 2009 goodbye.

Papamoka

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Abandon Hope All Ye Who Vote Here

BY MICHAEL LINN JONES

I should preface my remarks with a short explanation as to why I haven't written in a while. The full truth is never short, but suffice it to say that there are two causes: not being able to see very well, and that other thing.

What is that other thing, you ask? It's not simple in its cause but quite so in its effect. While interested in the world aroung me, I've gotten to where I want to gag at any more headlines about this Little Rascals race for the White House. As a voter I realize that I have two decisions left to me before November, since my state doesn't hold its primary until May 6.

The Republicans took all the fun out of things with their loser-take-all system, leaving no prolonged and nasty struggle prior to their summer convention. The Democrats, meanwhile, concocted a real doozy this time, with accusations, innuendo, and unveiled insults flying all over the place. I'll look at that for a moment:

The choice (if you will be kind and call it that) is between a Harvard law professor turned senator and the wife of a former president turned senator. The professor hasn't quite got the knack yet of filtering his remarks before uttering them. His opponent, whose combined income with her ex-president husband totals a measly $109 million over 7 years, accuses the professor of being an elitist.

If they keep at it, the level of public discourse might actually reach the level of the ocean floor.

Just Wondering over at Vim & Vinegar regularly points out something that is lost in this sandbox-style election: there's all kinds of stuff happening RIGHT NOW that should wake anyone up. Like.....

The economy. Less said about it the better. It stinks, and it's going to smell a lot worse as time goes on. There was a joke going around in the 1970's in which a sign of the times was an unemployed airline pilot waiting in a gas line in his Volkswagen Beetle with $50 worth of groceries in the glove compartment. Back to the future I guess.

In a recent report, the average high school graduation rate was below 44% in a large number of cities. Nashville and San Jose did the best, with almost 77% graduation rates. If you need me to explain to you the long-term consequences of such numbers then you have my sympathy.

The Decider is still deciding, in his own rather spectacular way. His 9/11 speech, his Mission Accomplished speech, his Katrina speech....well, they all sort of got mulched and combined and now his assertive voice proclaims over and over that 1, he doesn't get it, 2, he doesn't care anyway, 3, rich is much better than poor, and 4, the American people may not be worthy of his leadership after all. With all the department creations following 9/11, with all the resources poured into intelligence gathering....no one seems to have informed the president that $4 a gallon gasoline just might be around the corner. But he isn't worried; all his friends say they're doing quite well, thank you. And that is all that matters.

This is ancedotal, and therefore has no weight except with and upon me. But recently I had to travel to Florida. Toodling along I-95 at 70m.p.h. (causing enormous inconvenience to those needing to go faster) I took note of the large number of rather expensive vehicles heading southwards for the annual Spring Break season.

It struck me that John Edwards had it wrong. We don't have two Americas. We have two completely different WORLDS. In my youth the Best and Brightest launched America into a quagmire. Their sons and daughters have done it again. Difference is, in my time every guy had to sweat the draft to one degree or another. What I saw blazing down the interstate that day was a class of people whose reality is so far removed from the reality in which I live that I'm left almost speechless.

These people have so many choices....ones that did not exist for the majority forty years ago and do not exist now. Maybe I saw a future president, vice-president, or speaker of the house pass me by that day. Years from now they can at least say they didn't avoid the draft, since there isn't one.

But what am I doing here? It's class warfare, right? I fail to recognize that my betters, whether then or now, are imperfect in their decisions yet totally immune from consequences. In fact, the "leaders" seem to crawl out of every bucket of manure smelling like a book-deal rose.

So be it. But the end result is such an imbalance of life; such a fission of realities that one side will never feel commonalitywith the other. Ever. I am a firm believer in the foolishness of having a multi-linguistic society. But I realize that as bad as that is, it doesn't compare to having people living in the same nation so separated.

In his book, TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY, John Steinbeck made the observation that with the then-new (it was written in 1960) vending machines, a person could travel across the entire United States without speaking to a single soul. It came true, but I don't think Steinbeck ever imagined we would travel our nation and not even look at each other.

The price to be paid for this political/economic Tower of Babel will be borne by the many. The few, the lucky, the self-chosen will remain aloof and wait until the dust settles.

The eyes say, "enough!" They blur and halt anything longer than this. The mind, though, travels on, trying to make sense....trying to see that glimmer of hope that the nation that was paid for with blood (not dividends) might return to an even keel.

To borrow from and paraphrase T.S. Eliot,

This is the way the nation ends,
not with a bang, but with a very profitable whimper.
**********************************
Cross-posted at Michaellinnjones.com