not a surprise at all..........

In a piece from the Boston Herald...(and not a surprise at all)

When it comes to the race for positive press, Barack Obama is the winner.

The Center for Media and Public Affairs just released these findings:

* Comments about Obama on the three network evening newscasts have been 65% positive since the party conventions.

* Comments about John McCain have been 36% positive.

* Comments about Sarah Palin have been 42% positive.

* There have been too few evaluations of Joe Biden for “meaningful analysis.”

* The study found that Obama’s press on the FOX network has been 28% positive while McCain’s has been 38% and Palin’s 49% positive.

The final debate is Wednesday night. Unless McCain comes out with boxing gloves and verbally punches Obama in the nose and gives a head butt or two.....it is a done deal. Can it be done?

it's about time....

It's about time John. These issues, according to Mr. Hussein-Obama are "cheap political points.." Well even though the Keating five stuff is deserved to be brought up...can this Ayers/Wright stuff be left alone? Which is worse?
Hussein-Obama is the worst candidate to come along in memory. (though I do have some Jimmy Carter flashbacks every so often..)
McCain is not the best the Repubs could of come up with. But he was chosen despite his RINO colors.
A short time to go for McCain to stop being Mr. Nice guy. This ain't a tennis match. It is rock-em sock-em time.

"that one" won the second debate

AOL POLL Who won the debate?
Barack Obama
52% 150,821
John McCain
40% 116,396
It was a draw
8% 21,615


Released: October 08, 2008

Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll:
Obama 47%, McCain 45%

from Michael Graham of 96.9 FM Talk...
If You Missed Tuesday Night's "Town Hall" Debate...
by Michael Graham October 7, 2008 @ 22:47

...congratulations!

It was a WOT: Waste of time.

It wasn't a debate, because actual debating was prohibited by the rules. It wasn't a town hall--normal people didn't get to speak. The questions were straight off of Meet The Press. And it wasn't an ideological battle, because Obama and McCain share so much of the same big-government ideology. And it wasn't even good television.

Be glad you missed it, because you didn't miss a thing.

My take: McCain had to change the pace and blast away at the Obama armor. He made some dings but the armor still shines. The ship is sinking fast in the McCain's Navy. The government issues buckets to bail out the navy have holes and are continuing to take on water.

I want to work for AIG....

WASHINGTON (AP) - Less than a week after the federal government had to bail out American International Group Inc. (AIG), the company sent executives on a $440,000 retreat to a posh California resort, lawmakers investigating the company's meltdown said Tuesday.

Here is the bill:

it does not look good for McCain in the polls

Election 2008 National Head-to-Head Polls as of Sunday, October 05, 2008
General Election: McCain vs. Obama
Poll Date Sample Obama (D) McCain (R) Spread
RCP Average 09/26 - 10/03 49.3 43.4 Obama +5.9
Gallup Tracking 10/01 - 10/03 2703 RV 50 42 Obama +8
Rasmussen Tracking 10/01 - 10/03 3000 LV 51 45 Obama +6
Hotline/FD Tracking 10/01 - 10/03 915 LV 48 41 Obama +7
GW/Battleground Tracking 09/29 - 10/02 800 LV 49 46 Obama +3
Marist 09/28 - 09/30 943 LV 49 44 Obama +5
CBS News 09/27 - 09/30 769 LV 50 41 Obama +9
Associated Press/GfK 09/27 - 09/30 808 LV 48 41 Obama +7
ABC News/Wash Post 09/27 - 09/29 916 LV 50 46 Obama +4
Pew Research 09/27 - 09/29 1181 LV 49 43 Obama +6
Ipsos/McClatchy 09/26 - 09/29 1007 RV 48 45 Obama +3
Time 09/26 - 09/29 1133 LV 50 43 Obama +7

the VP debate

Ok...I give her alot of credit. She has been in this "game" for, what, 12 weeks?
I think Sarah gave it as good as she got. And she got good. While her expectations were low, she hit a homerun. She may of been weak on some (ok alot) of substance, she kept her wits about her, used her lines (she reminds me of the sheriff in the movie "Fargo" sometimes) and brushed off Big Bad Joe Biden. (who, by the way, kept it together, except when going "Hollywood" in reminiceing about his tragic loss many years ago..)

Now it is up to McCain to come out swinging and hard in the next debate. He is beginning to start to look like Bob Dole. DULL! When I read that his campaign was giving up on Michigan and conceding the critical state to Hussein-Obama, I felt a bit defeated (already). Polls remain negative against McCain as of this writing.
If he can't turn it around, name names, take issues, mention some problem solving ideas instead of the usual..."My friends..." he is done. It will be a landslide.
There is still plenty of time to "get 'er done."
Maybe.

McCain for President (Boston Herald and my endorsement)

McCain for president: A certain leader for uncertain times
(I, too, endorse him for President. This country is in need of a capitalist agenda..not to be turned into socialist, quasi-Communist states.. Despite my grand appeal of McCain, he is the most conservative, as compared to Obama. The Republican party has been energized by the addition of Sarah Palin, a new kind of future conservative/Republican. Keep an eye on this one. No matter what happens in November, this won't be the last you heard of her "fur sure.."


By Boston Herald editorial staff | Wednesday, October 1, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Editorials


Another sobering start to an exceedingly sobering week - but one which points to the need for a political leader who is steady in the face of crisis, mature in judgment and able to reach across the aisle to break the gridlock that has for too long gripped Washington.

That man is Sen. John McCain and at this critical moment in history, this paper is pleased to endorse his candidacy for president of the United States.

McCain won a lot of hearts and minds around here in 2000, and we can’t help but wonder how history might have been different had he won his party’s nomination and the White House back then.

But there is no going back. There is only the future and it is impossible to envision the future of this great nation being put in the hands of an articulate but inexperienced first-term senator from Illinois.

Being commander in chief isn’t the place for on-the-job training; it’s a job for someone who has already proven his leadership skills - in battle, as a prisoner of war and during more than two decades on the floor of the Senate.

John McCain’s heroic resume isn’t just about his sacrifice and his experience; it’s about what he learned from those experiences. And on that issue his own words from “Faith of My Fathers” are telling:

“In Vietnam I had come to understand how brief a moment a life is. That discovery did not, however, make me overly fearful of time’s brisk passing. For I had also learned that you can fill the moment with purpose and experiences that will make your life greater than the sum of its days. I have learned to acknowledge my failings and to recognize opportunities for redemption.”

John McCain sought that purpose - and, yes, at times redemption - in public life and in public service. And that helps account for that independent streak that has often driven members of his own party slightly wild, but has endeared him to millions of American voters who, truth be told, usually put doing the right thing ahead of party too.

•This Senate maverick has spent years forging coalitions - on campaign finance reform, immigration reform, on judicial nominations - all with the intent of getting things done in the toxically partisan world of Washington.

His efforts at budget reform, at controlling congressional earmarks - not just because taxpayers can no longer afford them, but because of the corrupting effect they have on the political process - have surely not endeared him to fellow Republicans. But McCain has never shied away from a good fight - on issues worth fighting for.

•The economic future of this nation surely has to top the list of those issues right now.

Whatever becomes of the latest version of a bailout proposal, it is clear that this nation is in for years of economic uncertainty.

So who do we want to help guide us through that uncertainty?

McCain insisted during his Friday night debate with Barack Obama that “the first thing we need to do [post-bailout] is get spending under control in Washington.

“We’ve let government get completely out of control. . . the point is we need to examine every agency of government,” he said, adding that cutting ethanol subsidies and doing away with Defense Department cost-plus contracts would top his list. And he’d support a spending freeze on everything but entitlement programs, defense and veterans benefits.

The most that Obama will concede is that some of the $800 billion in new spending programs he’s proposing “are probably going to have to be delayed.”

Then, of course, he reiterated all the things on his agenda that simply “have to” be done.

One thing is clear: John McCain has the courage to make those cuts; Barack Obama has no interest in doing so.

•These are also times that demand experienced leadership in foreign affairs. When Russian troops invaded the sovereign democratic nation of Georgia, it took Obama three full days to figure it all out. Not so McCain, who immediately pinned the aggressor label on Russia.

And during Friday’s debate McCain spoofed Obama’s plan to have face to face talks with some of the world’s tyrants, including Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, forcing us all to imagine the scenario:

“So let me get this right,” McCain said. “We sit down with Ahmadinejad and he says, ‘We’re going to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth,’ and we say, ‘No, you’re not?’ Oh, please!”

There is no room for a naif in the Oval Office.

Being president is about policy and about getting that policy right.

But being president is also about character. During his decades of service to his country John McCain has given us all ample evidence of his courage, his character and his leadership. And never more has this nation needed a president with all that John McCain has to offer.

the end of the ???

My oh my what a crisis. Or is it? My diagnosis:




One columnist penned this mess correctly...a charge into chaos.
Who to blame? Bush, Frank, Pelosi? My pick of the day...



Let me be "Frank." This zealot refuses to admit to his own blame to the meltdown of the Fannie and Freddie show. I quote “in 2003, nobody that I knew of foresaw the crisis of subprime lending” please...........
The b.s. of lenders being "subprime" back in the early 90's was there...and there sure were predatory in many vulnerable communities.

Both parties have their "spin.." Conservatives don't seem to give a hoot about the man on "Main Street" (like that catch all phrase of late)...and how the market doesn't seem to want to police itself...Liberals just can't face the rhetoric b.s about covering up their own greed, ignorance of basic economics (Thomas Sewell where are you?) and the drive for power.

Then we top off the event with Madam Pelosi's partisan b.s. rant denying what is looking her in the face (but with her liberal San Fran blinders), she can't see.

Now we have a two day break for the Jewish Holiday and then back to the b.s.

Oh..and then the debate between Sarah and Joey....(or did we forget about them?)

liberal actor passes away

Yes, Paul Newman was a major liberal activist and contributor. He died on Friday at the age of 83. Mr. Newman was known for many things, his philanthropy and his politics. He turned into this "mega-liberal" back in the Vietnam era days.
His support for wanna be winning candidates such as McCarthy and McGovern was legendary. He was a major player in trying to get Ned Lamont to defeat Joe Lieberman. His final political act was to give the maximum contribution to the Hussein-Obama campaign. He was for gay rights, civil rights, women's rights and committed to ending the nuclear arms race. Yes, he saw the world through rose colored glasses. Perhaps now that he with his "Creator" he can look down on the world and see in horror where some of his beliefs would of taken this World.

a great rendition and must listen

http://patriotfiles.org/Pledge.htm

here is a different post...

Introducing the National Black Republican Association.....
their website: http://www.nbra.info./

Unhappy Americans

This is a little time consuming but well worth the read!!!!...

Just some mind searching thoughts!!!

The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?’

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?''

A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.

H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.

J... You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.

K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss .

L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

M... How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, and “other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner?

The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O. J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.'

With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, we have survived and the least among us lives better than the best in many countries. This didn't happen by accident.

I recall a story Ronald Reagan used to tell to capture the essence of being an American. He said there was a Cuban fellow who described what happened to his family after Fidel Castro took over Cuba, how his fasmily lost their business, fortune and home. He spoke of how they sailed from Cuba to Florida on a raft. One of the Americans listening to the Cuban fellow turned to another American and commented we don't know how lucky we are as Americans. The Cuban fellow interrupted and said he and his family were the lucky ones, they had some place to go.

In that line, Reagan said, the Cuban fellow captured the importance of our role in the world. We have been for more than two hundred years the last best hope for freedom for people the world over. Other nations needed walls and fences to keep people in while we need them to keep people out.

first thoughts on Debate 1

That's right John. You're right John. McCain should of turned and said "young man please go back to your seat..."
McCain wins this one.
Obama has one admirable quality...the infamous Ted Kennedy stumble lines. Oh my no teleprompter and look what happens.

the collapse

The blog is back after a short late Summer, early Fall Cape Cod get-away. We play tourists and visit many wonderful towns...Hyannis, Falmouth, Dennis, Chatham and Provincetown. Always a great time. And now to the blog desk.......



Many articles have been written about our current economic mess. Let's go back to November 12, 1999 when President Bill Clinton repealed the Glass-Steagll act of 1933.
The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and included banking reforms, some of which were designed to control speculation.(Recall the recent term "speculators?" Some provisions such as Regulation Q that allowed the Federal Reserve to regulate interest rates in savings accounts were repealed by the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980. Provisions that prohibit a bank holding company from owning other financial companies were repealed on November 12, 1999 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act signed by President Bill Clinton. the Glass-Steagall Act, opening up competition among banks, securities companies and insurance companies. The Glass-Steagall Act prohibited a bank from offering investment, commercial banking, and insurance services.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) allowed commercial and investment banks to consolidate. An example of this was when Citibank merged with the Travelers Group and in 1998 formed the conglomerate Citigroup, a corporation combining banking and insurance underwriting services. Other major mergers in the financial sector had already taken place such as the Smith-Barney, Shearson, Primerica and Travelers Insurance Corporation combination in the mid-1990s. This combination, announced in 1993 and finalized in 1994, would have violated the Glass-Steagall Act and the Bank Holding Acts by combining insurance and securities companies, if not for a temporary waiver process. The law was passed to legalize these mergers on a permanent basis. Historically, the combined industry has been known as the financial services industry.

Many of the largest banks, brokerages, and insurance companies lusted after this Act at the time. Their reasoning was that most folks usually put more money into investments when the economy is doing well, but they put most of their money into savings accounts when the economy turns bad. With the new Act, they would be able to do both 'savings' and 'investment' at the same financial institution, which would be able to do well in both good and bad economic times.

Prior to the Act, most financial services companies were already offering both saving and investment opportunities to their customers. On the retail/consumer side, a bank called Norwest led the charge in offering all types of financial services products in 1986. American Express attempted to own almost every field of financial business. Things culminated in 1998 when Travelers, a financial services company with everything but a retail/commercial bank, bought out Citibank, creating the largest and the most profitable company in the world. The move was technically illegal and provided impetus for the passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

Also prior to the passage of the Act, there were many relaxations to the Glass-Steagall Act. For example, a few years earlier, commercial Banks were allowed to get into investment banking, and before that banks were also allowed to get into stock and insurance brokerage. Insurance underwriting was the only main operation they weren't allowed to do, something rarely done by banks even after the passage of the Act.

Much consolidation occurred in the financial services industry since, but not at the scale some had expected. Retail banks, for example, do not tend to buy insurance underwriters, as they seek to engage in a more profitable business of insurance brokerage by selling products of other insurance companies. Other retail banks were slow to market investments and insurance products and package those products in a convincing way. Brokerage companies had a hard time getting into banking, because they do not have a large branch and backshop footprint. Banks have recently tended to buy other banks, such as the recent Bank of America and Fleet Boston merger, yet they have had less success integrating with investment and insurance companies. Many banks have expanded into investment banking, but have found it hard to package it with their banking services, without resorting to questionable tie-ins which caused scandals at Smith Barney.

Senator Phil Gramm led the Senate Banking Committee which sponsored the Act; he later joined UBS Warburg, at the time the investment banking arm of the largest Swiss bank.

We have never in memory had a situation where at any one time we have a combination of bad challenges, bad politicians and bad policies.

This past Summer the government tried to straighten out our energy mess, get federal spending under control and try to manage our nation's health system.

The feuding, fighting and posturing remain as I file this report on an early Friday morning. It is hoped that by Noon today, there would of been some mutually acceptable agreement. And.....most important, provide restrictions on what can and cannot be done with guidelines. I applaud the Republican's who are cautious.
I would also hope that any changes made in this problem can me amended and changed while in process. I would love to now see a steel cage match between Neil Cavuto and John Bradshaw Layfiend of the WWE. A stockbroker match.
So what if a friend I know lost $459,000 last week. No biggie at all. Nah............
HumanEvents.com have some wonderful articles posted about this. Please take a look.

a pic tells the tale...

from a Denver Post blog.....

Republican Recycling
by David Harsanyi on September 6, 2008


This morning, Republicans tell me that a worker at Invesco Field in Denver saved thousands of unused flags from the Democratic National Convention that were headed for the garbage. Guerrilla campaigning. They will use these flags at their own event today in Colorado Springs with John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Before McCain speaks today, veterans will haul these garbage bags filled with flags out onto the stage — with dramatic effect, no doubt — and tell the story.

“What you see in the picture I sent you is less than half of total flags,” a Republican official emailed. “We estimate the total number to be around 12,000 small flags and one full size 3×5 flag.”

I’m not sure what the DNC was supposed to do with unused hand-flags, frankly. But the Republicans are obviously questioning someone’s patriotism here.

debates

Here is the schedule for the debates.

September 26, 2008: Presidential debate with domestic policy focus, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS

October 2, 2008: Vice Presidential debate, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

October 7, 2008: Presidential debate in a town hall format, Belmont University, Nashville, TN

October 15, 2008:Presidential debate with foreign policy focus, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY

Bristol and Labor (Day)

So we get news that daughter Bristol is pregnant...Is this the bump McCain wanted from the convention?

Happy Labor Day. Otherwise known as Union Extortion Day...

Sarah and Gustav

What a surprise! A homerun too! McCain sure caught everyone, especially "The Big O" off guard. After the "The One's" grand speech Thursday night, McCain sure took over the headlines. So that gives "The One" only 12 hours of headlines when the D&C show should of taken them through to the Sunday TV talk shows.

I don't recall a pending Republican convention with such energy since Reagan in 1976. From what I have read about Sarah, it sure sounds a lot like what Truman went through.

Now with Hurricane Gustav approaching and the cancellation of most of the events of the first day of the Elephant convention, especially not having Bush/Cheney show up, it is a bonus! The association of Bush with McCain and the alleged third Bush term won't be able to be contrasted live.

Let's hope the Hurricane does not hit with such impact. As of this writing, it is still estimated to hit as a Cat. 3. Still bad enough though.

Now to have Sarah show up for her acceptance speech with an M-16 with Arnold introducing her as the new Terminator.

Sarah Palin?

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was seen leaving Alaska in a private plane. Is she the McCain choice for VP?

a speech to the delegates

August 29, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
A Speech to the Delegates
By DAVID BROOKS

DENVER

My fellow Americans, it is an honor to address the Democratic National Convention at this defining moment in history. We stand at a crossroads at a pivot point, near a fork in the road on the edge of a precipice in the midst of the most consequential election since last year’s “American Idol.”

One path before us leads to the past, and the extinction of the human race. The other path leads to the future, when we will all be dead. We must choose wisely.

We must close the book on the bleeding wounds of the old politics of division and sail our ship up a mountain of hope and plant our flag on the sunrise of a thousand tomorrows with an American promise that will never die! For this election isn’t about the past or the present, or even the pluperfect conditional. It’s about the future, and Barack Obama loves the future because that’s where all his accomplishments are.

We meet today to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans, a generation that came of age amidst iced chais and mocha strawberry Frappuccinos®, a generation with a historical memory that doesn’t extend back past Coke Zero.

We meet today to heal the divisions that have torn this country. For we are all one country and one American family, whether we are caring and thoughtful Democrats or hate-filled and war-crazed Republicans. We must bring together left and right, marinara and carbonara, John and Elizabeth Edwards. On United we stand, on US Airways, there’s a 25-minute delay.

Ladies and gentleman, I never expected to be speaking before you today. Like so many of our speakers at this convention, I come from a hard-working, middle-class family. I was leading a miserable little life, but, nevertheless, overcame great odds to live the American Dream. My great-grandfather fought in Patton’s Army, along with Barack Obama’s great-grand uncles’ fourth cousin once removed.

As a child, I was abandoned by my parents and lived with a colony of ants. We didn’t have much in the way of material possession, but we did have each other and the ability to carry far more than our own body weights. When I was young, I was temporarily paralyzed in a horrible anteater accident, but I never gave up my dream: the dream of speaking at a national political convention so my speech could be talked over by Wolf Blitzer and a gang of pundits.

And today we Democrats meet in Denver, a suburb of Boulder, a city whose motto is, “A Taxi? You Must be Dreaming.”

And in Denver, we Democrats showed America that we have cute daughters who will someday provide us with prestigious car-window stickers. We heard Hillary Clinton’s ringing endorsement of “the weak-looking thin guy who’s bound to lose.”

We heard from Joe Biden, whose 643 years in the Senate make him uniquely qualified to talk to the middle class, whose family has been riding the Acela and before that the Metroliner for generations, who has been given a lifetime ban from the quiet car and who is himself a verbal train wreck waiting to happen.

We got to know Barack and Michelle Obama, two tall, thin, rich, beautiful people who don’t perspire, but who nonetheless feel compassion for their squatter and smellier fellow citizens. We know that Barack could have gone to a prestigious law firm, like his big donors in the luxury boxes, but he chose to put his ego aside to become a professional politician, president of the United States and redeemer of the human race. We heard about his time as a community organizer, the three most fulfilling months of his life.

We were thrilled by his speech in front of the Greek columns, which were conscientiously recycled from the concert, “Yanni, Live at the Acropolis.” We were honored by his pledge, that if elected president, he will serve at least four months before running for higher office. We were moved by his campaign slogan, “Vote Obama: He’s better than you’ll ever be.” We were inspired by dozens of Democratic senators who declared their lifelong love of John McCain before denouncing him as a reactionary opportunist who would destroy the country.

No, this country cannot afford to elect John Bushmccain. Under Republican rule, locusts have stripped the land, adults wear crocs in public and M&M’s have lost their flavor. We must instead ride to the uplands of hope!

For as Barack Obama suggested Thursday night, wherever there is a president who needs to tap our natural-gas reserves, I’ll be there. Wherever there is a need for a capital-gains readjustment for targeted small businesses, I’ll be there. Wherever there is a president committed to direct diplomacy with nuclear proliferators, I’ll be there, too! God bless the Democrats, and God Bless America!



Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company