Not a Time for Gridlock

This is not your ordinary election. It is a time of crisis in this country. The economy is in a shambles. We have troops fighting and dying on two fronts. We have witnessed a campaign that has opened a nasty wound of racism and hatred. We have seen numerous prominent political leaders violating ethics rules at best and heading off to jail at worst. We have just lived through a political regime that over the past eight years has been conducted like a monarchy.

I have always generally subscribed to the theory put forth by one of my favorite talk show hosts, Ronn Owens, in San Francisco -- who even wrote an excellent book outlining it -- that gridlock was one good way to keep the president and Congress in check and not have too radical a shift to the left or right come out of Washington. But this is not a time that I want the status quo and I for certain don’t want to have business as usual. Not now.

It is a given that John McCain, if elected, will offer a continuation of if not the exact political perspectives on governing this country as George Bush, will definitely offer the same divisive and toxic climate that has persisted in this country for the past eight years. I for one cannot live in that type of climate any longer, and an Obama-Biden Administration will offer a new way of governing, a fresh start, and we must have a filibuster proof Senate of sixty senators to essentially clean house in this country. I am placing my trust in the new leadership of Barack Obama and the old guard Democrats to step up and establish some new direction for this country.

There may be a time when I wish to go back to a little gridlock, but right now, this country needs a fresh start, a new beginning, and Barack and Joe are my guys. I believe that this country will be all right with 58 Democratic senators, because there are a few moderate Republicans who tend to vote with Democrats on many issues, but I will have a lot of difficulty – no. I absolutely cannot stomach John McCain and Sarah Palin in my White House.

We have exactly one week until the most historic election of our lifetime. Let’s do everything we can to make absolutely certain that Barack Obama becomes our next president. Let’s not leave anything on the table. Let’s have no regrets or say, “Damn, I could have done more.” Our time is now! Let’s get everyone to the polls to vote early and let’s allow this country to heal. Let’s remain fired up till Tuesday, November 4th and let’s give Barack the victory that we all deserve.

Brilliant Video

My cousin Shelley is always sending me great stuff. Today was no exception. This is absolutely outstanding. Click on the link and be entertained. There is one thing that is a sure bet...the funniest things are also the things that are true.

Thank you, Shelley. And thank you, John McCain, for constantly reminding us that you and Sarah Palin are not the better choice for our next four years in this country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03fcGelz8Hw

Children to Get Involved in Campaign

We have had a mixed blessing here in the Obama office in San Carlos (Bay Area) California. Enthusiastic phone bankers are bringing their children. These kids are fired up and ready to go, but some of them --although they’d really love to -- are just a little too young to hit the phones.

Today we came up with a wonderful idea that I’d love to share with Obama offices and volunteers all over this great land. This is both a terrific way to get kids involved and a way to get them to be productive and doing something for the man they’re there for, Barack Obama.

With Barack in Hawaii visiting his ailing grandmother, whom he acknowledges poured everything she had into him, we thought that a wonderful way for children to demonstrate their involvement in the campaign and admiration for Barack is to accompany their parents to their local Obama office and create a get well card or a picture for Barack’s loving and supportive grandmother, Toot. Her name is Madelyn Dunham.

Let’s present our children with the most poignant example of volunteerism by coming down to your local Obama office to find out how you can put Obama over the top and allowing your kids to show their support. Let’s make it a family activity and create the path for future involvement and empowerment.

To find your local Obama office, log on to http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/statepages.

All get well cards, pictures and any other creations can be sent to Obama for America, Attn: Get Well Grandma (Toot), 233 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1100, Chicago, IL 60601. Please limit the size of the envelope that you send because the HQ office is unable to accept large packages or oversized envelopes.

Our kids are fired up. Let’s give them an outlet and something constructive to do for Barack and his grandma.

A NY Times Editorial Worth Sharing

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/opinion/24fri1.html?scp=1&sq=barack%20obama%20for%20president&st=cse

There are hundreds of articles and op-ed pieces per day which are very good, even superbly insightful, but this New York Times op-ed article is a must-see for everyone, particularly those who are still on the fence or convinced that Barack is not ready for primetime.

Don’t be shy to share it with your friends and family.

I Had the Worst Nightmare

http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/index.html?r=31274&id=14592-8087924-xnOf3hx&nid=m7bLEZH7PnOmJK44ulMDsDExNDU5MDA

Don't let this happen to you. Don't leave anything on the table. And don't sit at breakfast reading the morning paper and say, "You know, I could have done more!"

If not now, when?

Congratulations John McCain

John McCain, I would like to congratulate you. You done good, my friend. I never thought that you or any other politician in my lifetime could bring back McCarthyism. But you did it! Well done. I think it’s a wonderful idea to bring back that homey, warm and fuzzy time when this country sought out citizens that didn’t go along with the wishes of the vast majority of patriotic, well-meaning and hard-working Americans.

The sad thing is that describing the McCarthy era as anything but a hateful witch hunt meant to seek out anyone who uses their brain and dares to think differently than what a few politicians or the mainstream media tell them to think and what to say is just terribly inaccurate. I wasn’t around in the early ‘50s, but it was a frightful time and a horrible blight on a time in our history when this country was emerging from World War II and on its way to prosperity and promise, but also a time when this country was in an arms race and very fearful of the Iron Curtain and the old Soviet Union.

The key element of the climate that Joe McCarthy and his cronies brought to the United States is accusing anyone whom they targeted as Communist subversives, people who hated this country and somehow supported another country or political system and therefore needed to be identified, brought before a committee and blacklisted if this kangaroo court style committee found you guilty of not being one of them.

But the scariest part, I think, is that the accusation was enough. There was many times no basis in fact or reality, and just the mere accusation was enough to destroy your credibility and/or livelihood. If you happened to be in the presence of another accused person, happened to read certain reading material and periodicals or maybe even looked like a non-patriot, that was enough to make them point the finger at you. Does that remind you of anyone’s campaign rhetoric and what we’re hearing lately?

Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota yesterday went far enough to bring the McCain-Palin brand of hate into a new focus, actually calling for some sort of study or committee (sound familiar?) to decide which Congress people are true patriots and love this country and which don’t. If this absurd and disgusting idea came to fruition, then I would presume that it wouldn’t be long before this committee started to turn its attention on you and me, and I’ll take a long-shot guess as to which side this committee may find me on.

This is where the hate speech and fear tactics of the new John McCain campaign has brought us. Just the fact that these ideas are being floated should make us very fearful of anyone associated with the McCain-Palin campaign getting anywhere near the White House. Let’s send these bigots, these fear-mongers and these self-righteous racist bullies a message and work our butts off to make certain that everyone gets to the polls and that everyone knows why John McCain should not be our president and why Barack Obama should.

No Problem...Let's Just Change Reality

Let's review some recent history. At the last debate, John McCain gave a shout-out to Joe the Plumber. Sounded good, except he just changed a little reality to the story. Joe the Plumber isn't a plumber. He isn't even named Joe. McCain said that Joe wanted to buy a plumbing business and that he'd be overly taxed under the Obama tax plan. Oh, one additional problem...the company that Joe (Sam) apparently works for isn't for sale, and if it was, it is well under the $250,000 profit threshold that would trigger an additional tax under the Obama plan.

To be fair, McCain and his team probably didn't even check into whether Joe the Plumber's story was accurate, but would that have mattered if he wished to make his point? I sincerely doubt it.

Let's face it...it's so easy to stretch the truth or even completely reassign how we normally characterize situations to fit with reality, but I'd rather stick with a candidate who lives within the real world and doesn't need to make things up to fit within his warped sense of what argument he's trying to make.

Compliments of Mark Gershenson, blogger, I bring you this excellent post. He called it: Comment: I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight???..

* If you grow up in Hawaii , raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.'

* Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, yours is a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow , Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first blackPresident of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive thatRegisters 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Lawprofessor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and HumanServices committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a stateof 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs,Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have anyreal leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as thegovernor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to becomethe country's second highest ranking executive and next in line behind a manin his eighth decade.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautifuldaughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and then left your disfigured wifeand married the heiress the next month, you're a true Christian.

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use ofbirth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sexeducation in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends uppregnant, you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigiousLaw firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up toraise a family, your family's values don't represent America 's.

* If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction andno college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was amember of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, yourfamily is extremely admirable.

OK, that makes it much more clearer now???

Follow the Leader

Barack Obama has set the bar pretty high. Yes, it has been exasperating watching the McCain-Palin attack machine consistently and savagely beating up Obama on a daily basis. And yet Obama has tried his best to stay above the fray, take the high road and stay on message. I realize that I’m not alone, but I want my leader to be more like a Barack Obama than I do a John McCain.

I have to admit that I have never voted for a Republican for president, but I had an open mind about John McCain. I remember back to the 2000 election and thinking that John McCain was a pretty good guy. Except his for his anti-choice stance, I found him to be a pretty good guy. But John McCain has lost his soul. Literally. He has completely sold out. I never thought I’d see a candidate want to win so badly that he would agree to destroy his competitor to do it.

This campaign is defined by the people that support it. Obama drew a crowd of 100.000 to the shores of the Mississippi River yesterday. Barack’s message is fresh, sprinkled with hope and full of promise. It is a refreshing mix of humor, detail and righteous indignation. He draws huge crowds because people want to be near him. If he’s anywhere nearby, they must be with him. They must show their support and hear what he has to say. His opponent has turned the Obama candidacy into a new realm. It is now a cause, and we must persevere.

The people that I spend almost all of my days with at the San Mateo County Obama office are what keep me going. I absolutely adore them. They aren’t just friends; they’re my colleagues. They’re superb people, and they’re fun, And they’re totally dedicated to the cause. The incredible thing is that these people have duplicates everywhere in this country. That is Barack’s secret weapon, and that is why he’s going to win. We all work so hard because it is so worth it. It’s only our country and the future of civilization as we know it.

What Has Happened to Sensibility?

I am proud to say that I have made thousands of calls to a battleground state, New Mexico in the past couple of weeks. The vast majority of people that I speak with are reasonable, sensible and friendly people, and almost all of them declare their support for Obama. But there was a woman yesterday that really got under my skin, and she cajoled me to check into several of her allegations that Barack Obama was unfit to run, much less be president of the United States.

I did allot much more time to this woman than I usually do, because although I had such a high amount of skepticism while speaking with her, she was polite and expressed herself with sincerity. But I’ve been around the block a few times, and having been involved in this campaign for well over a year and a half, I have had to defend the record and virtue of Barack enough times. But what has happened to people’s sensibilities? It seems that the toxic environment that has been created by the McCain-Palin campaign in complicity with Right Wing talk has encouraged and enabled some people in this country to suspend all vestiges of reality.

So what did I hear? The standard line of Obama haters. Barack Obama is a citizen of Kenya; that his birth certificate is phony and is only a certification of some kind, not an official document. I also heard that Barack’s affiliation with terrorists isn’t limited to William Ayers, but that he literally communicates with up to a hundred domestic and international terrorists. I also heard yesterday that Barack has been intimately involved with his cousin in Kenya , somehow attempting to get him elected to office so that they can combine power and take over this country for Muslims and for Kenya.

Well, I know that these things aren’t factual in any way, and just simple common sense will tell me that. It is beyond comprehension to believe that a United States Senator can be complicit in any one of these accusations without it being discovered long ago. It is also not credible that just one of these issues if not more would not have made it to the mainstream press.

I did express my feelings to this woefully uninformed woman in New Mexico, and she told me that this is understandable, because Saudi Arabia owns half of the American media, even Fox News. When I told her that I just didn’t believe that statistic, she informed me what also hadn’t come out is that Obama has been endorsed by Moammar Khadafi, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and the entire country of Pakistan. She also threw in that Obama would work to eliminate Israel’s existence in favor of Palestine.

I decided to spend sometime yesterday and last night listening to KSFO, the San Francisco Right Wing radio station, and I now understand more clearly where this crap is coming from. I heard that Obama travels on a Kenyan passport, that Obama regularly meets with the Odinga tribe of Kenya and will not admit that he’s part of their political structure and that Obama refuses to discuss his ties to William Ayers and other people who have targeted this country as domestic terrorists.

The amount of hate and vitriol that comes out of several talk programs that I listened to is completely false, and if subjected to a truth meter, I doubt that even one of their allegations can withstand the smell test that anyone interested in facts could expose their venomous words to. But people like me and probably you cannot stand to listen to this kind of hate too long, and that leaves these stations to the people who are most vulnerable to this kind of message and are so filled with rage or hate that they just really want to believe. That is true of this woman in New Mexico who, while feeling that she has truth on her side, is really just listening to a one-sided and biased argument that is preying on just such a person.

I am absolutely delighted that we are down to our last 18 days of this presidential campaign. It will be nice to go back to a little more life as usual and maybe have a lot of these people go back to worrying about how to pay their bills and whether they’ll have a job to go to by the time that George W. Bush and the Republican-dominated Congress leave office and end their dominance of this country.

The Ignorant Wish to Stay Ignorant

Contrary to the popular notion that people who don’t know any better simply don’t know any better, I don’t believe that. At least not around here, the enlighted and progressive San Francisco Bay Area where information flows freely and there is plenty of opportunity to avail oneself of it and get to the truth of any political scenario. And yet if one wishes to be a one-source news receptacle and ignore an opposing viewpoint, I suppose that is certainly possible, but that is a choice, not a limitation.

Case in point. My own brother-in-law, who sat in my living room the other evening fast asleep on the couch. His 10-year-old daughter, my niece sat at a table nearby eating ice cream and cookies, and sitting there quietly, out of the blue said, “Uncle Mark. Daddy says that Barack Obama says it’s okay to let babies die.” I was absolutely stunned by this comment, and responded, “Well, does that make sense to you?”

She very thoughtfully said, “Well, he does have two daughters, so no, I don’t think it makes too much sense.” I told her that it was not true and that her daddy was listening to something that he believed and should have known that it couldn’t possibly be true. It is refreshing that a bright 10-year-old can be more introspective and intuitive than her own 50-year-old father. And this is why I postulate that ignorance is a choice, not a permanent restriction and condition.

When my fabulous brother-in-law woke up from his brief snooze, I informed him as to what his lovely daughter had told me and asked him whether he actually told her that or whether she had somehow misunderstood him. He told me no, that he had told her that. My sister immediately gave him a good whack in the arm and chided him for saying that to an impressionable young girl who would most likely believe her dad.

Choosing to be as well informed as I can be and not mired in complete ignorance, I told him that I knew of the misinformation that he had heard and chosen to believe and that it is not only not true, but a complete distortion of a piece of legislation that Barack Obama had sponsored when in the Illinois legislature. I further told him that this piece of legislation to the best of my knowledge simply advised the doctor that in late term pregnancies, the health and safety of the mother is paramount, and if the mother’s life could be spared in a crisis, the doctor was allowed to concentrate on the mother and not put her safety behind that of the baby’s.

My sister, not being particularly well-informed herself, listened intently to what I was saying, and then turned to her husband and asked him if he was listening to me. Also within earshot of this conversation was my niece, who I thought at that point was bright enough and old enough to comprehend our conversation and could take it all in.

I immediately thought of another lie being put out by the McCain-Palin wing of the Right Wing smear campaign. I said to my brother-in-law, “So I bet you also think that Barack Obama advocates teaching explicit sex education to kindergarteners.” He responded, “Yeah. I heard that, too.” I said, “Well, do you believe that’s true, as well?” To which he said, “Well, that’s what they said on the radio.”

It doesn’t provide me with a lot of pleasure to be better informed and more curious than my brother-in-law, but it does make me pleased to get him the information that he needs. But I have no doubt that my brother-in-law still believes what he chooses to believe. Ignorance isn’t just bliss; it’s a choice, and that’s all we can all try to do is make sure that the truthful information is available to everyone. In the end, It is an individual’s personal choice to avail themselves of the information and be well informed. If they choose ignorance, then ignorant they’ll be.

When You Brush With Greatness

It was the winter of 2007. After an exhausting day of walking through several icy and gritty Reno, Nevada neighborhoods, I returned to the Obama office to turn in my paperwork containing the results of my day, get a debriefing by the team leaders of the office and share the war stories with my fellow campaigners. As I observed the sights and sounds of enthusiastic and energized workers returning from all over northern Nevada, there was one thing that immediately stood out and made a truly big impact on me.

With people lining up at the food table for replenishment and with people returning and breaking up into groups full of laughter and cheer, I heard music playing and at first thought it was coming from a CD because it was so good. And then I noticed a young man sitting at an electric piano playing, singing and entertaining essentially himself. But I was intrigued and sat down nearby to listen and figure out who he was and why he’d chosen the Reno Obama office of all places to perform, and in such a chaotic and frenetic environment.

It soon became apparent that he was just like me, except playing his music was the way he unwinded after a hard day of canvassing, very much like I would stuff my face full of food. I thought to myself that this guy was really good, and not knowing who he was and what part of the country he came from, I just sat there and enjoyed the bluesy and creative style with which he played the keyboard. This guy’s music really appealed to me, and at first I was the only one seemingly enjoying it, but I was soon joined by quite a few people who seemed to also be into the surprise concert.

Well, this young man is named Sky Nelson, and he is not just a very skilled musician; he is a truly nice man. As part of his contribution to the Obama campaign, he has written a song that taps into a theme that has been a part of Barack’s campaign since the beginning, that we are the ones that we have been waiting for. Mr. Nelson has performed this song in many different venues, from his home territory in Sonoma County, California to various stages around Denver during the Democratic National Convention, and he recently received the honor of handing this recent homage to the Obama campaign to Barack Obama himself.

Like most quality musicians and musical acts, the internet is the communication device used for the average fan to find their favorite music, and Sky Nelson’s music is no exception. This is the link for you to find Sky Nelson’s latest video, and it is artistically arranged and very musically pleasing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm97Y_0Nw7g

The song “We are the Ones” is a catchy song and Sky Nelson is performer worth a listen. He has been a very hard-working campaigner for the Obama campaign, and it is his hope that with increasing viewership of his video on YouTube, the song’s notoriety will rise and it will have a much better chance of becoming the preferred song of the Obama campaign. If you like it, pass it on. It’s that simple.

I have been quite impressed with the talent and perseverance of Sky Nelson. Please take a moment and give his new song and video a listen and a look. It is worth your time. For further links to Sky Nelson’s music and philosophy, check these out additional links to Sky’s work:
www.myspace.com/skynelson
www.facebook.com Facebook: Sky Nelson
http://www.squidoo.com/wearetheones

ACORN Scandal Presents Golden Opportunity

The pendulum swings both ways, my friends. I can imagine John McCain saying that. Or how ’bout this? What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. I do like it when all sides are held to the same standard. The recent voter registration scandal is one prime example of an area where this principle should be put into practice.

Like my hero and future president Barack Obama, I am against voter suppression and fraud by anyone, no matter whom they support, and I would like to believe in my heart that everyone believes that. I know that in this cruel, partisan world of politics, there are some who have a tendency to look the other way when it’s their own side that is bending the rules, but that just shouldn’t be. Let’s play fair and insist that everyone else do the same.

This is a golden opportunity to demand that the McCain-Palin campaign, whose spokespeople and media partners are decrying ACORN for voter registration fraud, trying desperately to link this activity to Barack Obama and to use this as just another distraction to step up publicly, and just as the Obama-Biden campaign has, to denounce voter fraud in any form, and there is a panoply of examples in various states to choose from. Frankly, areas of voter registration, from purging and potential vote suppression is so rampant, I will not list them here, but they are very well known and in the news.

With 22 days left in this presidential contest, attempts at eliminating voters from voter rolls, both before and after a vote is cast, should be weighing heavily on our minds. The right to cast a ballot in an election in this country is sacrosanct, and any attempt to tamper with that right should be scrutinized thoroughly and should be revealed and punished severely when discovered. All citizens, including our candidates, should publicly denounce this un-American acitivity for what it is and do it today.

Lastly, at the debate on Wednesday evening, Barack Obama should remind every voter that they must verify that their voter registration has not been tampered with and that if they haven’t received their voter forms in the mail and expect them, they should call their county clerk’s office to make certain that they are still registered. He should further advise all voters to drop off their forms, if that is available in their area, and that if they do mail ballots, to place ample postage on them. And finally, he should announce that unlike Al Gore and John Kerry before him, whose elections for president were tainted in many ways by voter suppression and by not having every vote counted, he will, once elected, work toward eliminating all issues of voter fraud and that in an Obama Administration, every vote, whether for him or any other candidate, will be counted fairly, accurately and unencumbered by scandal.

McCain: The Red Herring Campaign

Let’s demonize Barack Obama. Let’s demonize the media. Let’s turn Obama into the boogeyman. Let’s play up every rotten little stereotype that we can to scare the living daylights out of people with. Let’s say he’ll raise your taxes until we’re blue in the face. Oh, and let’s say he’s connected to terrorists, even hangs around with them, and oh yes, let’s question whether he’s even funded by foreigners who may just be terrorists.

I’m certain that these very conversations and suggestions took place in the past few months in McCain campaign strategy meetings. But like seemingly every attack that’s come from the McCain-Palin camp, they are lacking in one key ingredient to make them have the kind of impact that John McCain and his crew wishes they’d have…substance. But with a campaign that is now featuring only negative and attack television ads and with a strategy to send Sarah Palin out to stir up her crowds with the most scurrilous and vicious references and innuendo, the McCain campaign has determined that character assassination and outright fear-mongering are all they have left if they wish to influence the electorate enough to vote for them.

It reminds me of what happens during a riot. There is an announcement of a gathering at City Hall. A couple of hundred well-meaning people gather to listen to the speaker, who is standing at the foot of the steps behind a podium. The speaker tells the crowd that the government is corrupt, that the media has taken the side of the corporations and against them, the people, and as the rhetoric escalates, the crowd becomes more and more riled up, and begins to swell with more activists and people who live in the streets and are hearing the speaker’s message loud and clear.

When the speaker is done, most of the original crowd disperses to go home to their families and back to where they came from, but some of the crowd isn’t done with the evening. They form an angry mob, turn over a couple of cars and light them on fire, smash windows as they walk down the street and generally destroy everything in their path as they fan out across the unsuspecting city. Only when the police arrive in force do they dissipate and return to where they came from.

The speaker at the podium, reached for comment the next morning, registers surprise that the angry mob had come from his crowd the night before. He says that he didn’t incite them to riot, but that they acted on their own and that he had no idea that they’d do these unacceptable acts. Innocently, he tells the reporter that he just stood up there last night telling the crowd how he feels about the current situation and the crowd connected the dots and took matters into its own hands.

The other day when John McCain recognized that his crowds had gotten out of control, reacting to his rhetoric of fear, hate and terror and had begun to exhibit the signs of a stirred up mob that was now ready to riot and revolt, he faced a difficult decision. He either turned away with a wry smile and said to himself that it’s out of his hands, or he could have a gut-check soul searching moment and realize that he had created a monster that left unchecked, would be his legacy for the rest of this presidential campaign and for all time. He chose the latter, finally displaying a rare moment of sanity and realizing that it is his image that is emblazoned with this fear-mongering and politics of hate.

I don’t expect that the red herring style attacks of the McCain-Palin campaign are going to let up, because they just don’t have anything else to choose from. I do believe that their particular campaign will be studied in years to come and be the subject of documentaries and vignettes on the History Channel. But I believe that John McCain is now seeing the results of weeks of vicious attacks on Barack Obama. His low information voters are now certain that an Obama campaign will be tantamount to turning our country over to a terrorist supporting black man whose Muslim faith has taught him to only support people who don’t look and live like they do.

I think of Jackie Robinson, the black baseball star who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, who had to withstand the worst kind of attacks of hate and bigotry in order to persevere and become a star and a prominent player that would lead the way for other blacks to also become Major League baseball players. He overcame tremendous odds, and did it in the most classy way, just quietly doing his job and proving that he had every right to be there, just like every other Major Leaguer of his time. Barack Obama has had to be the Jackie Robinson of the political world. And while absorbing the most unfair, unsubstantiated and venomous attacks by McCain-Palin and most of the Right Wing punditry, he has withstood it, counteracted it with class and, like Jackie Robinson, will persevere and become our next president.

Barack Obama will forever break the presidential color barrier and will prevent a future black candidate’s opponent from turning to a McCain-style red herring using campaign for the purpose of character assassination, racial stereotype and innuendo. I am so unhappy to have to live through this very sad patch of history and to witness the kind of campaign that John McCain has chosen to run, but it has been a tremendously empowering source of pride to watch Barack handle it, hold his head high and show this country that he will just not allow himself and his campaign to be defined, trivialized and succumb to exactly what the McCain campaign wishes him to be.

Palin is Preeminent Energy Expert

Sarah Palin was selected as John McCain’s running mate and was immediately touted by the Republican as a maverick, having foreign policy insight because she’s so close to Russia and having executive experience because she’s the only candidate to have run a city and a state. Well, we know how valid and lasting those references have become, but the one area where Palin’s knowledge seemed to resonate was with regard to energy and oil, and from John McCain on down, we have been hearing that Palin is an expert on energy issues and will be McCain’s point person on energy when they get into the White House.

So when asked in a town hall style meeting yesterday by someone in the crowd about Alaska’s oil and whether as much as 75% is sold directly to China, one would think that she’d nail that answer. Well, guess again. Not surprisingly, she isn’t even familiar with the distribution of oil from her own state.

http://www.kansascity.com/445/story/834362.html

I don’t think it’s unfair at this point to say that Sarah Palin is qualified as a snarky, sarcastic and confident point person for the McCain campaign, but to say that she has any expertise in anything relative to running a campaign on a national and international level is a stretch tantamount to saying that my preparing to ride in another local bicycle rally puts me on the same par with Lance Armstrong.

I am a pretty strong bike rider, but I’m going to hold of on buying my plane ticket to France to compete in the Tour de France.

McCain Campaign Now Officially Racist

There comes a time when one observing a political campaign must acknowledge when a campaign begins to define itself. In this particular case, it seems that the McCain-Palin campaign has definitely determined the direction it will follow for the rest of this campaign, now down to 26 days. Quite sadly, it has decided that it could not compete with the Obama-Biden campaign on any legitimate issue once the economy turned south, and that their only chance of regaining lost ground is to turn to character assassination and yes, to become a racist campaign.

There are now just too many examples of this fact. We can start with McCain’s refusal to look Barack Obama in the eye or even acknowledge him at the first debate. If that’s not racist, it’s certainly condescending and contemptuous. But in this week’s presidential debate, McCain referred to Obama as “that one,” and that I would interpret as a dismissive put-down that given the tenor of the campaign that McCain-Palin are running, I would now call a racist gesture.

Sarah Palin the other day said that Barack Obama just doesn’t look at the country as “the rest of us do,” which I have no choice but to presume she means white people. She and McCain both have referred to Barack as being someone of an unknown quantity, someone whom we should be frightened of, and Palin said that he “pals around with terrorists.” At every opportunity now, the McCain-Palin team seems to remind their screaming crowds that they need to be very fearful of someone like a Barack Obama because of who he is, and they seem to have incited their audience to agree with them at a fever pitch.

At two of their recent rallies, law enforcement officials, one still in uniform, used Obama’s middle name, which might as well be followed by “the Muslim,” because that is what that is meant to imply, and the one man yesterday said that one cannot imagine waking up on November 5th and realizing that a man named Barack Obama, Barack Hussein Obama had become president. People at McCain-Palin rallies are now yelling epithets like kill, terrorist, treason when Obama’s name is mentioned by one of the candidates, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to find someone attending one of their rallies with a noose or other symbol of old-fashioned hatred of blacks and outright racism.

If I saw one shred of an attempt by John McCain or Sarah Palin to tamp down on the frenzy that they’ve created in their crowds and to steer them back toward the issues that affect our daily lives -- healthcare, the economy, immigration -- maybe I’d feel differently, but when I see people in the crowd during the question and answer session imploring McCain to attack Obama more strongly and nail him to the cross and McCain agreeing to do just that, I can only draw one conclusion. John McCain and Sarah Palin are racists, full of hate and this is exactly where they wish their campaign to be.

My Current Fantasy

Listening to John McCain tell his desperate crowds that Barack Obama has something to hide really makes me sick. Hearing Sarah Palin lying about who Barack Obama is has to be one of the more infuriating things I’ve heard in a long time.

My fantasy is this: During one of these upcoming rallies, when John McCain is spewing his hate to his less than tolerant crowd, once again telling them that Obama just won’t answer any of the serious and important questions, Barack Obama comes out from behind the stage and waves to a stunned crowd. He walks up and stands next to McCain at the podium and says, “John, this crowd deserves better than what you’re telling them.”

From there, Barack goes on tell explain that he served on a couple of charitable foundation boards which were underwritten by the very conservative Annenberg Foundation, and that dozens of people from the Chicago area, Democrats and Republicans alike, served on these boards, as well. He further explains that yes, Bill Ayers was also on these boards, but that these were boards devoted to educational pursuits and had nothing to do with palling around with an unrepetent terrorist.

I realize that this is very unlikely to occur, but a guy can wish, can’t he? After listening to the hate-baiting coming from the McCain-Palin tag team with the new theme that Obama hangs around with known terrorists, the fact that John McCain didn’t hit Barack with that charge immediately the other night should show his supporters that he is either a coward or that it’s pretty damn easy to throw out charges, no matter how weak and unsubstantiated, when there is no one to challenge the veracity of that charge.

It is the ultimate irony that John McCain is also connected to the Annenbergs and ultimately to William Ayers. As a matter of fact, truth be told, John McCain has some actual real-life connections to people who have committed crimes, been labeled as terrorists and has been part of boards and commissions that I’m betting he won’t be standing up in front of his supposedly adoring crowds to boast about.

Well, back to reality. 27 days left, and I’d rather live in fantasy world, but the truth is that this country cannot afford nor does it deserve another four years of Bush-Cheney nor can it withstand seeing John McCain and Sarah Palin destroying whatever sanity we have left.

Sean Hannity Gets a Dressing Down

If you get a warm and fuzzy feeling every time you think of Sean Hannity, this video clip is for you. If you adore Sean Hannity like I do, you will truly enjoy watching this. If you like Sean’s interview style of allowing his guests to express their views no matter whether he agrees with them or not, you will appreciate this little video.

Well, I’m certain that you’re either thinking that I’m completely cracked for liking Sean Hannity or that I’m being completely tongue in cheek, and it’s the latter. I absolutely can’t stand Sean Hannity and particularly don’t appreciate the way he overwhelms his guests in the most rude and obnoxious style.

So it is with that preamble that I present the discussion between Robert Gibbs, Obama spokesperson, with the less than hospitable Sean Hannity, who so very rarely is called out as critically as Mr. Gibbs does in the spin room after last night’s debate.

Here we go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgn6rjGbp0c

Let's Knock Off the Mean-Spirited Negative Ads

I don’t like the negative ads of a personal nature. Not one bit! I recognize where sometimes they may hit the spot or put some question in some heads, but I just don’t care for the negative backlash that they create. I don’t want our campaign to be tainted with them any longer, and I say this recognizing that the McCain campaign is featuring negative ads 100% of the time.

Let the McCain campaign be saddled with that stigma. Most of their ads are petty, misleading or completely false. At least the negative ads from the Obama campaign have validity. But I really don’t care anymore. I don’t want to see another one that has nothing to do with policy or agenda. And I’d like someone from the Obama campaign to let the country know that it is shifting its priorities and simply don’t want to be running negative ads. They can say that they were originally created to answer the negative ads of the McCain campaign, but the McCain campaign, with the inflammatory attacks of Sarah Palin, the incendiary language used at McCain rallies, including the use of the words terrorism, treason and killing, have brought their campaign to a new low in presidential history, and that the Obama-Biden campaign just simply doesn’t wish to get down and play in the mud.

I like having Barack Obama referred to as appearing presidential while at the same time John McCain being characterized as old, cranky, even out of control and full of desperation. I like watching the Obama campaign fine-tuning its message, firing up crowds while I watch the McCain-Palin campaign shifting its rhetoric and suddenly trying to cast Obama as a terrorist or at least a friend of terrorists. The evidence that the American public likes seeing Obama and Biden as their future president and vice-president is borne out in all of the independent polling done of the first three debates, particularly last night.

We are down to the last month before the biggest election of our lives, and I want us on the glide path of honesty, integrity and making certain that people who once looked toward John McCain and become disillusioned become comfortable with the idea of a President Obama. Last night was very satisfying, but over the next 27 days, John McCain, Sarah Palin and Fox News will be coming at Barack Obama with everything they’ve got, featuring the most vicious, unfair and completely false attacks that they can muster. Let’s not give them any ammunition and instead stand tall, present what a calm and cool president looks like, and leave the rebuttals to the very competent surrogates that consistently appear on TV and radio programs for the purpose of clarifying or explaining the daily activities of the campaign and what’s true and what’s not.

Big Surprise...Voter Suppression in Colorado

It is very important that we all make certain that every vote is counted, and I feel very ill (literally and figuratively) that the Republican Party doctrine calls for suppression of even one vote. But that is their MO, and they are quite good at it.

But we can counteract their sleazy tactics by getting the word out to Colorado voters so that they can make certain that their voter registration form has not been invalidated by another corrupt Republican secretary of state.

Here we go… http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/10/voter-suppression-in-coloradog.php

McCain Camp Loses All Credibility

Can you imagine Joe Biden this past weekend making speeches in swing states saying, “John McCain has been palling around with convicted felons”? Let’s say that the accusation is that McCain has been a regular visitor to convicted Senator Duke Cunningham in his Tucson, Arizona prison cell whenever he gets back to Arizona and that he secretly meets once a week with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff in Maryland every time he visits his Northern Virginia office.
Well, it won’t happen, because number one, it’s probably not true, and secondly, it would make Joe Biden and the Obama-Biden campaign look like petty fools, allowing them to lose all credibility and open themselves up to a tremendous amount of well-deserved criticism. This is exactly the condition that the McCain-Palin campaign finds itself in, and opens them up to a massive amount of well-deserved criticism and focuses the electorate’s attention on their hypocrisy and tremendous lack of credibility.

It was just last week in the famous vice-presidential debate that Sarah Palin chided Senator Biden for constantly looking to the past and that the McCain-Palin ticket only looks to the future. If we were to take the Bill Ayers-Barack Obama palling around attack seriously, we’d have to believe that they are good buddies, hanging around on a regular basis and secretly meeting so that Ayers can contribute advice to the Obama campaign. Yes, there was some connection during the initial efforts of Barack Obama to get elected to the Illinois State Senate, but making a link to Obama’s current campaign is just absurd and completely lacks any shred of evidence or reality.

Furthermore, Ayers’ questionable activities took place when Barack Obama was a child, and Senator Obama has made it quite clear that he thoroughly denounces Ayers’ actions and does not subscribe under any circumstances to any terrorist activities of Ayers or anybody else. I’m 100% certain that even a cursory investigation into John McCain’s memberships on boards and commissions would reveal that he associates himself with unsavory characters that would not meet with the approval of the American people, and yet the Obama campaign will not stoop so low as to accuse McCain of subscribing to the positions and actions of any such acquaintances.
With the upcoming presidential debate tomorrow evening, it is time for Barack to turn to McCain and say, “Senator McCain, your campaign has accused me of ‘palling around’ with known terrorists. Are these your words? Do you feel that I pal around with terrorists?” My assumption is that McCain will back away from such charges and certainly not expect such an interrogation, and if he has the temerity to adopt that accusation, then he should be forced to back up his charge right then and there. After all, wouldn’t a United States Senator be open to immediate investigation and discipline if he truly had known terrorists associated with his campaign?

His use of Sarah Palin as attack dog is just another demonstration of John McCain’s desperation. Ms. Palin couldn’t possibly have any firsthand knowledge of what she speaks about, and Senator Obama should point out in tomorrow night’s debate that Senator McCain’s campaign has simply run out of gas, that all it has left is to attack, to belittle its opponent and that its biggest fear is that the American people will actually concentrate on this country’s economic woes and that McCain was pretty well linked with the failures of the Iraq occupation during the last debate.
Although I’m not fond of references to McCain’s involvement in the Keating Five scandal, I do think it’s time for Barack to be prepared to make that link should John McCain continue his attack mode and outrageously rude demeanor from last week’s presidential debate. I think he should be called out on his no vote on the current GI Bill, his lack of support for the troops in almost all of his votes and his very poor rating with veterans’ groups. I also think that there are numerous references that have been made recently in debates, both by McCain and Palin, about Israel, taxes, spending and earmarks that Barack should clarify. For example, it’s not wrong to point out that Barack enjoys an A+ rating by the American-Israel lobby, which definitely wouldn’t happen if he hadn’t already proven that he is a steadfast supporter of Israel.

The McCain-Palin campaign, led by Karl Rove, dozens of lobbyists and previous Bush-Cheney staffers, has now gone into full attack mode. They are prepared to pull out all the stops in dragging Obama into the mud, and unlike Al Gore and John Kerry before them, Barack cannot sit back and allow this to happen, and we can’t sit by and just watch it, either. But the McCain campaign is hoping to play on stereotypes of blacks and play the race and fear cards, and in pointing out the complete lack of credibility of the McCain campaign’s message and the unfair and untrue way they attack, Barack must do it in a thoughtful, calm but lethal method where he looks right at McCain and calls him out for the fraud that he is and the way he conducts himself and his campaign in the most hypocritical manner.

Once again, let’s take it to ‘em, make strong points and make John McCain accountable for his campaign’s completely untrue and mean-spirited attacks. With 29 days left, it’s time for Barack to establish himself and Joe Biden as the preferred choice of the American people and why, and conversely, he must demonstrate how severely John McCain and Sarah Palin are completely out of touch with the best interests and wishes of the voters in this country.

Time for the Straight Talk Distress

In the American League of Major League Baseball, pitchers are criticized for throwing at batters because with the designated hitter rule, the pitcher will not be coming to bat to face the wrath of the opposing pitcher; therefore, he can throw with impunity. Every newspaper worth its salt must cite sources and be ready to be questioned as to a story’s veracity or face the ridicule of more mainstream publications or conversely be completely ignored by the target of their negative attention and attack.

It is in this scenario that we find ourselves with the lovely Miss Sarah Palin. Like the American League pitcher, given the instruction to bean the batter on the opposing team, she does so knowing full well that she can deliver her attack line with complete exoneration. Unlike just about every other political animal in the jungle, she attacks without fear of reprisal, because she is protected in a way completely unprecedented in the annals of presidential campaign history.

In light of Governor Palin’s slur today against Senator Obama, making reference to an old story so completely discredited that it has never been taken seriously by any journalist who values truth and credibility, I feel that one that slings mud at another must either be exposed to questioning and having to back up the accusation or that person’s words of attack should be discounted as one discounts headlines on tabloid magazines in the supermarket checkout line.
It is for this reason that in addition to the Obama campaign calling Palin’s comments offensive and an obvious attempt to divert voter attention from terrible economic news, I feel that it is time to point out that Sarah Palin is being protected from exposure to the media because the McCain campaign knows that she is capable of speaking or making assertions, but incapable or unwilling to have her words scrutinized or challenged.

Further, it is my opinion that everyone except Barack, from Biden to each spokesperson, should point out that Ms. Palin speaks to crowds, but is not being allowed to be questioned by the media when she makes false or misleading statements, nor is the media allowed to explore the source of her assertions and whether there is any basis for them or even if she has any comprehension of the accusation that she is making.

I realize that these are harsh terms to use for an opposition candidate, but it is difficult to sit back and witness an attack dog who has no accountability. The McCain campaign is quite transparent, and it is my opinion that most of the educated public recognizes the desperation that drives them to make baseless accusations, but it should no longer be tolerated from someone who , like a tabloid magazine, makes headlines with outright lies and innuendo and then goes back and hides behind the scenes without any credibility.

Governor Palin apparently will be dispatched to Florida this week to stir up the base and presumably make sensational, misleading and outright false statements to her uninformed crowds. I think that the mantra has to be that in addition to the fact that what she says is absolutely false, presuming that she continues to follow the path from the past couple of weeks, that her non-exposure to the media and the McCain campaign’s tactic of shielding her from questions and investigation, diminishes her message and calls into question what they are trying to hide, and that unless they give her an opportunity to answer unrehearsed questions from the mainstream press, that her performance on ABC and CBS is what will stand as her ability to think on her feet and respond to unprepared questions or canned speeches.

Time to Change the Subject (In a Big Way)

This morning was very much like a lot of Saturday mornings, except the first rain of the season here in the San Francisco Bay Area made it feel just a little cozier upstairs in our love nest, or as I euphemistically call it, the think tank. As always, my lovely wife woke up, and realizing that I was opening my first eye of the morning (not winking), she asked me to turn on some news.
Well, MSNBC was on, and I honestly lasted about five minutes before I turned it off, much to my wife’s chagrin. But then the discussion began, which is, of course, what a progressive think tank does. What I saw that got me so frustrated to the point of being fed up was watching Republican talking head, Alex Conant, being interviewed by host Alex Witt, spewing out the same old BS about Barack’s association with an unrepetent terrorist that must be exposed and a plan to raise taxes on middle class Americans, blah-blah-blah-blah-blah.

Ms. Witt, whom I have never given much thought to one way or the other, simply acknowledged the charges or said, “Okay” after each assertion, and after the interview full of unchallenged inaccurate or completely specious references ended, she quietly said, “Thank you” and moved on to Pat Buchanan so that he can tell us what a breath of fresh air Sarah Palin was in the debate and how she wiped the floor with Joe Biden.

ENOUGH ALREADY! Really. It is time to change the subject, and I mean in a huge way. So what did our love nest/think tank come up with this morning? Well, pretty radical stuff, but I like it! After I turned off the TV, we laid there saying that there has to be something that Barack can do to get the media to begin talking about something else. After all, how many days in a row on dozens of supposed news programs can we listen to pundits and talking heads from both sides belittling the plans of their political opponent? Well, I just can’t watch it any longer. It’s not just a waste of my time; it upsets me and I learn nothing new.

Then it hit me. As the head of the think tank, my ideas go first. Well, I’m self-appointed, so take it for what it’s worth. How ‘bout this? I do feel that Barack is going to be the president, and he isn’t the first politician that has received criticism for talking a good game, but having to wait until he takes office before implementing any of his plans. So instead of doing that, I propose that Barack establish six commissions – think tanks, if you will – on six separate and distinct issues that the new president will deal with upon taking office: The economy, namely establishing new banking and investment regulations for financial institutions and consumers; foreign policy, namely establishing an exit strategy for Iraq and how to deal with terrorism in the region; immigration, namely minimizing illegal entry into the country and establishing the best path to citizenship for current illegals; the environment, namely investigation of alternative energy sources, their efficacy and finding sites around the country that can be utilized for proper conversion and creation of new jobs; for healthcare, namely determining the most effective ways to break the stronghold of insurance companies and providing the best ways for consumers to get affordable healthcare; and education, retooling our schools to compete in a global economy and finding ways to rebuild crumbling infrastructure and locating and empowering new and innovative teachers.

I also have been thinking of who would head up these commissions. For the economy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg . For foreign policy, General Barry McCaffrey. For immigration, Governor Bill Richardson. For energy, Al Gore. For healthcare, Senator Hillary Clinton. And for education, former Health and Human Services Director Donna Shalala. These high profile and dynamic leaders of this country would be announced and would form multi-member commissions that would meet on a bipartisan basis to be ready to submit their ideas and recommendations to the new president after he takes office. In order to avoid undue criticism that these commissions are a bit too presumptuous of Barack Obama, these commissions will be prepared to present their recommendations to the new president, whoever the new president is.

Furthermore, Barack needs an appropriate place to make the announcement of the formation of these commissions, and I credit this idea to my fellow colleague, my wife, who laid there for several minutes to come up with this wonderful idea. Senator Obama should make this subject-changing announcement in Alaska, namely at the University of Alaska Anchorage. For several reasons. Alaska leads the nation or is close to it in school dropout rates, teen pregnancy, rape and incest charges and a generally poor education system. In making this announcement in front of a huge enthusiastic crowd in a traditionally Republican leaning state, Barack could gear his speech toward improvement and the value of education, the need for proper guidance from parents and for appropriate school programs, and he can tie in how vital these commissions will be toward providing a future that young Alaskans can feel optimistic about growing up to inherit.

I feel so strongly that it is time in this campaign and for this country to start talking about something important rather than rehashing the same old talking points and misinformation that is not only frustrating, but counterproductive to Barack’s message of change. This would surely change the landscape subject that all news programs talk about, and definitely would demonstrate that Barack means business when it comes to job creation and making this country a more prosperous place. He would emplify the word change and be backing it up with real world solutions and putting his money where his mouth is.

The Brickman Think Tank is now closed for the day. We reopen tomorrow morning for some more spirited and innovative ideas. Please pick up a lollipop on your way out and thank you for visiting.

Palin Has a Very Good Memory

One thing we saw tonight in the Biden-Palin debate is that people really can’t reinvent themselves. Joe Biden is an excellent debater, and there is no doubt in my mind that he had a very good night. Sarah Palin, who has had an absolutely terrible week in one-on-one interviews, took her try at the podium, and although she performed extremely well in not repeating her disastrous interviews, showed that she is an impressive receptacle of memorized information.

But her downfall was that she was so determined to spew out her prepared information, that she was actually determined to do it no matter what the question was. She even went so far as to declare that she would not answer the way that Joe Biden wished her to nor would she answer the questions necessarily of the moderator, and during the debate, she definitely went on to prove that point. Many times, Ms. Palin actually ignored the question put to her or made an effort to return to previously prepared points, even at one time moving to a topic that had not been brought up yet by the moderator.

I was wildly proud of Joe Biden. I liked him during the primaries, and I feel so strongly that Barack selected the correct person as his running mate. He looked like a college professor debating with a student who won the right to debate in the class lottery. Sarah Palin is way out of her league, but I will give her credit in one area. She seems to have an ability to retain a tremendous amount of information, but she also does not exactly score big on the credibility factor because she doesn’t appear to fully grasp the gravity of the very words that she is reciting.

I particularly loved Biden’s rebuttal of Palin’s description of John McCain as the maverick of the Senate, and I was also quite offended with the lack of respect displayed by Palin, particularly when she looked at Senator Biden and accused him and Senator Obama of waving the white flag when it comes to Iraq.

She is folksy. I will give her that, but her informal style begins to wear very thin when it is not backed up with facts. Governor Palin was woefully short on facts. She was also quite short on details, and although I’m very certain that she excited her base, it does appear that besides showing that she can hold her own on a stage performing in debate style, she didn’t do much to move the needle on the register of the rest of the electorate.

The good thing is that unlike the first presidential debate, I was able to sit quietly and not pace the floor with tremendous frustration. As a matter of fact, this debate, if we can actually call it that, was really very entertaining. If anything, it was probably disappointing to many people, because like a good NASCAR race, the majority of people tuned in so they wouldn’t miss a good and messy crash. On that score, Sarah Palin succeeded, but in overall debate style, dependence on actual facts and pointing out the misinformation from his opponent, Joe Biden won big. He clearly emerged as the winner of this debate.

McCain Declares Himself the Winner of the Palin Debate

Just wanted to get your attention, but I have no doubt that somewhere in the ether, the McCain campaign has already declared that Palin won the debate, although as I write this, it hasn’t even started yet.

This afternoon I am proud to say I rode my bike. I am preparing for a charity ride to raise money for the American Diabetes Association, my second time. Anyway, I digress. As I turned the corner from my house, the neighbors standing out on the sidewalk told me something unusual was going on. Well, it was a deer on the run through the street. Trying to catch up to him or her provided me with a very exhilarating ride.

I never did catch up to the very fleet running deer, but I felt the need to protect him. He seemed to understand what a danger a moving car was, so I hope he finds his way back to the woods or wherever a deer hangs out around here.

But I decided that he came to my neighborhood to see how many McCain signs are up. Well, the answer is one that I can see. I have not been on every street, but I’ve been on most of them, and I live in a pretty good -sized neighborhood. There are Obama-Biden signs galore, and the one house that I passed today that has the McCain sign is next to a house that has an Obama sign. Feels pretty good, frankly.

I realize that this is a bit presumptuous, but I feel like that deer is a Democrat. Otherwise, he’d live down in Atherton or up in Hillsborough where the uber-millionaires live. But this deer has taste, and as he ran frantically through the streets of San Mateo, California, I hope he was able to tell that he was in good company.