August HART - beats

* It is my opinion that the only rational reason for any Clinton supporter to offer their vote to McCain is because they, Clinton and McCain, both support an aggressive "Endless War - Hawkish" foreign policy... It can't be because of similarities in their health care access, reproductive rights, tax, or energy plans... So if not because of foreign policy ... why else support a conservative now spouting neo-con views... I'm just asking.

* I think John McCain was once ready to lead... I think it was 1973... and in some other country.

* We may agree with most of his premise, the need for alternative energies and to decrease our dependence on oil, but aren't you a little leery of this T.Boone Pickens guy? "I'm an oil man..trust me"... Sure

* From the Miller Analogies --- McCain is to Maverick as Bush is to genius

* Did you know that Senator Obama's tax proposals would cut middle class taxes 8 to 10 times more than the Bush tax cuts?... And his proposal would return the corporate tax rate to Clinton era levels?...The most prosperous period for business in the past half century... Sounds reasonable to me.

* The Wall Street Journal last week characterized tax cuts for the poor and middle class as nothing more than "welfare" ... Does this give you some clue as to the level of disdain "they" hold for us...Me and You!

* McCain claims to be a Maverick...I see him more as an Edsel (Ford Joke...Not Gerald)

* I just watched Chris Matthews interview one of these PUMA types (Party Unity My Ass) standing on line at the Democratic convention... Her reason for not supporting Obama..."He went to a Muslim school in Indonesia"... When asked about her source for this info she became belligerent... When pressed further she waffled from "it's a secret"...to " its from a congressional report"...to "its from a former congressional staffer". If true I am wondering on whose staff the author of this report might have worked on? Tom Delay? By the way, are these folks just paranoid about Muslims? How does one even approach this? Do they think he is in a terrorist sleeper cell? FDR was right. Fear is the ultimate threat. Try a little Haldol lady.

* Who will benefit from off shore drilling? I guess you follow the money. Rumor has it our local Republican congressman, a big supporter for drilling off of South Carolina's coast, owns quite a bit of land right where a proposed support/refinery site for this drilling initiative would be placed. Coincidence I suppose.

* Finally I have to say, sadly ... The New York Yankees are ruining my Summer!!!

Presidential RACE

Yesterday Obama beat the "CONS" to the punch. He did it when he referenced race in a very matter of fact, almost humorous way. "I don't look like all the other presidents (on those bills)". He offered this comment in the context of what "they" will say to make us afraid of an Obama Presidency - And he was right! (Or, if you prefer - Correct) . Admit it, haven't you heard the uneasy comments in your circle of "friends". Either someone you know or someone they "know"is not certain they can vote for a Black Man. These sentiments are real; they are out there and yesterday Obama named them and the CONS have gone absolutely nuts. "There is no place for this in the campaign" McCaine blustered... No place for what - the TRUTH? Well we already know that! In the world of presidential politics, truth always takes a back seat to innuendo and distortion because truth is not easy. The lazy electorate doesn't have time for truth. They do not have time to review voting records or time to read position papers or even time to listen to speeches. They wait for the next attack add on TV, or the next rumor on the Internet and proceed to remove themselves even further from reality, until they are so confused that even if they do decide to vote, the only real "input" they can use to make a decision with are media generated impressions and perhaps fear That's right, in the so called "Post 911" world, FEAR has become the mother of all "F" words. Yesterday that is exactly what presidential candidate Obama was warning us against.

I think Obama's message was a call to voters to be a little more alert and savvy than we have been in the past. He's trying to give us a more credit than we perhaps deserve. The notion that we might be ready and able to recognize when we are being CONned and perhaps, that we not get "fooled again"...

When you get right down to it the fake outrage coming form the McCaine camp is really a transparent attempt to reach out to those who feel "uncomfortable" about a "Black President" and to give them a way to feel good about their concerns. They, the CONS, are doing this by painting Obama as someone who is mean or libelous towards Johnny, our POW hero. In this way voters can be OK with their Obama discomfort, not because of his race, but because he is talking about race when it is "not really an issue". "See,... he's playing the race card! ... He's a typical politician...How unfair!!!"

I think what they are really "feeling" is... "how dare he speak the truth about race in the good ol' USA." That is perhaps what they are afraid of.

I do not agree with all of Obama's positions and I also am certain that an Obama presidency will have frequent growing pains and more than it's share of mistakes but what I am learning about the candidate during this campaign is that he is not afraid to call the question. Even if it means we all feel a little less comfortable in the process..Think about it. Isn't that how we always feel... just before we change? Maybe this is our moment.