Contemptible

This morning Pres. Barack Obama invoked executive privilege, expressing his resolve to withhold documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee -- and thereby from the American People.

The intent of the ATF's gun-running scheme was to manufacture public sentiment in support of unconstitutional gun-grabbing legislation. Once the ploy was discovered and the investigation began, Attorney General Eric Holder and his Department of Justice set about stonewalling and outright lying to the committee -- clearly a cover-up of the operation's built-in corruption.

Today's assertion of executive privilege, which historically has been used to shield the confidentiality of the president himself, changes the game completely. In short, it implies that knowledge of Fast and Furious -- or involvement in the official cover-up -- went well beyond the DOJ, all the way to the White House.

Think about that.

Rep. Darrell Issa, who chairs the House committee, has been relentless in pursuit of the truth about Fast and Furious, and I admire his tenacity. Soon his committee will vote on citing Holder for contempt. There's only one proper outcome of that vote, of course, but the process shouldn't end there.

First, the People need to know what's in the documents now being withheld. More important, every elected official, unelected bureaucrat and political appointee who participated in subverting the Constitution -- and I mean every last one, all the way to the White House -- must be sent packing.

Using an Etch A Sketch as a national-security tool

An open mic caught Pres. Barack Obama and current Russian Pres. Dmitri Medvedev wrapping up their discussion today about Russia's demand that the U.S. abandon its plans for a missile-defense shield.

"This is my last election," Pres. Obama said. "After my election I have more flexibility."

"I understand," Pres Medvedev said. "I will transmit this information to Vladimir" (referring to incoming Russian Pres. Putin).

It's a window into classic lame-duck politics, what virtually every elected official does without the burden of another campaign.

But here, on this subject and with these stakes, it's scary as hell.

Watch the video of today's unguarded moment (below) and ask yourself: How many times has this president has offered similar assurances, abroad and at home, and to whom?

The week's notable quotes

For a news junkie like me, the past several days have been the proverbial candy store. A few quotes stood out -- and you may be surprised to see that Caribou Barbie isn't even on this week's radar.

Xenophobes, your table is ready
There's a lot to like about Mike Huckabee -- his folksy eloquence, his humor and a number of his more thoughtful positions. He won't get my vote for President, should he run again, because he also reminds me that we must never elect a cleric to that high office.

All the same, he's always struck me as a refreshingly different kind of politician -- until yesterday, that is.

Earlier this week Huckabee asserted that Pres. Barack Obama was raised in Kenya, later claiming that he "misspoke." I believe he's way too smart for that, but I gave him a pass anyway. Continuing to backpedal on talk radio yesterday, however, he said,

"...I do think [Pres. Obama] has a different world view, and I think it's in part molded out of a very different experience. Most of us grew up going to boy scout meetings, and you know, our communities were filled with rotary clubs, not madrassas."

Like I said, Huckabee's a smart guy. It's laughable to argue that he dropped the M-bomb innocently -- without a doubt, he invoked it to fan right-wingers' reflexive fear of all things different. (Read: all things not Christian, all things foreign, especially all things Muslim).

See, Mike Huckabee wants us to know that Pres. Obama spent part of his childhood in another country (Indonesia, not Kenya), in another culture -- therefore he's un-American and unfit to lead. But by appealing to irrational fear, Huckabee exposes his own unfitness.

He'll have a lot of xenophobic company on the 2012 campaign trail, of course, and fearmongering is bound to draw predictably mindless crowds, but I can't imagine any thinking person buying his brand of unfiltered bullshit.

(By the way, it's worth clarifying the makeup of Huckabee's broadcast audience yesterday. He was speaking on American Family Radio -- not Family Radio Worldwide, which is run by über-fearmonger Harold Camping, the doddering nutjob who preaches that the world will end on May 21, 2011. I realize that I may be highlighting a distinction without a difference, but there it is.)

I must've missed civics class that day
Rick Santorum, the former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, wants to be the next President of the United States -- maybe. Recently liberated from a FauxNews contract which prohibited him from appearing on competing networks, on Wednesday he did an interview with CNN's John King.

King asked Santorum if he subscribes to some conservatives' call to table (temporarily) social issues like abortion rights and gay marriage, in order to devote more attention to righting our national economy. From Santorum's response:

"...America is a moral enterprise. I mean, we are a people who believe in certain things and want to see a society in a certain way. We have common shared values. And those values are morally based."

A moral enterprise? Funny, I was taught that the United States of America is a representative republic with democratic moving parts.

Santorum is a Roman Catholic hammer. If he doesn't make every single issue look like some kind of moral nail, he loses his gimmick -- along with his base and any shot he might have at the Oval Office.

When he speaks of we, of certain things...in a certain way, he doesn't speak for me. He equates, arrogantly and incorrectly, Catholic doctrine with American morality [sic]. And by doing so, he's taken a swan dive off of the list of presidential candidates I might consider.

Truth? Or consequences?
Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico, came a-calling at the White House yesterday. During a press conference that followed the high-level meeting, a Mexican reporter asked the U.S. president if (essentially) he'd be willing to use his veto power to block laws upholding the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

I swear I'm not making that up. Pres. Obama answered, in part,

"Well, the Second Amendment in this country is part of our Constitution and the President of the United States is bound by our Constitution. So I believe in the Second Amendment. It does provide for Americans the right to bear arms for their protection, for their safety, for hunting, for a wide range of uses. That does not mean that we cannot constrain gunrunners from shipping guns into Mexico. And so we believe that we can shape an enforcement strategy that slows the flow of guns into Mexico, while at the same time preserving our Constitution."

"Part of that job is to enforce the laws that are already on the books more effectively. Part of it may be to provide additional tools to law enforcement so that we can prevent the shipment of these weapons across the border.

"But I do want to emphasize -- and I emphasized this privately with President Calderón -- we are very mindful that the battle President Calderón is fighting inside of Mexico is not just his battle; it’s also ours. We have to take responsibility just as he’s taking responsibility. And that’s true with respect to guns flowing from north to south; it’s true about cash flowing north to south."

First, let's give our president credit for hitting the right rhetorical notes in those first two paragraphs: stand by the Second Amendment, enforce existing laws. That said, to my ears it almost sounded like if he weren't the President, he wouldn't be bound by the Constitution and might take a different position.

I remain wary (to say the least) of his stated commitment to an individual American citizen's right to keep and bear arms. Never mind his words -- his record doesn't inspire confidence.

As for the U.S. taking responsibility for murderous Mexican narcotics cartels, well, that's where I get off the presidential train to Tijuana. The history of U.S.-Mexico cooperation [sic] is indisputably one-sided -- we give, they take. We export taxpayers' money and they squander it. While the American economy sputters and stalls, the Mexican government shamelessly begs for more aid -- and gets it.

It's not isolationism to take an unapologetically aggressive approach to securing our borders, to spend more of our dwindling resources on bolstering our own nation. And even if it is, I'm proudly isolationist.

Same shoe, other foot

Here, presented without preamble, is some of what Rep. Steve Cohen, Democrat of Tennessee, said during an interview last week:

"The Tea Party people are kind of, without robes and hoods, they have really shown a very hardcore angry side of America that is against any type of diversity. And we saw opposition to African Americans, hostility toward gays, hostility to anybody who wasn't just, you know, a clone of George Wallace's fan club. And I'm afraid they've taken over the Republican Party."

"I think [the GOP is] afraid of it. When I saw John McCain stand behind Sarah Palin, he looked more like a captured soldier in North Vietnam than he did a United States Senator. It was very sad, and I tell you, his wife, Cindy, she was about ready to just drop dead. I mean, Sarah Palin dressed like Elvis in the comeback event in Hawaii."

See, extremism and red-meat rhetoric can come from the Left as well as the Right.

Cohen observes what I observe. He colorfully (and quite correctly) points out the presence of a hostile lunatic fringe within the anti-Obama crowd. He's dead-on about McCain bowing to Elvis and the Republican Party's fear of a backward, mindless minority.

When he demeans a Navy pilot's captivity or draws parallels between the Tea Party and the Ku Klux Klan or George Wallace, however, he shows himself to be just as irrational as right-wingers who cry "Socialism!" every time a hat hits the ground.

Steve Cohen is nothing more than an ignorant ideologue of a different stripe.

The rumpled Right probably should dismiss his comments as idiotic and leave it at that -- but no, they're indignant as hell, calling it "hate speech."

Hate speech? This from a political movement that tolerates caricatures of the 44th president as Adolf Hitler or a monkey?

Pull-eeze.

Oh, I see how it is -- it's free speech when I say it, but it's hate speech when it comes from my political adversary.

As if we needed any more evidence that partisans and ideologues will be the death of the Revolution, there it is.

Transparent

The moment captured in that photograph -- Chief Justice John Roberts administering the oath of office to Pres. Barack Obama for a second time -- has led to a chuckle or two (and a bit of eye-rolling).

On Inauguration Day, Chief Justice Roberts famously flubbed the oath. Since the Constitution prescribes that the term of the outgoing President ends at noon on the 20th of January, the President-elect assumed the nation's highest office at that stroke anyway.

So as a matter of constitutional law -- thanks to the 20th Amendment, which was ratified in 1933 -- the oath of office is ceremonially inspiring but legally moot.

Conspiracy junkies seldom are deterred by facts, however, and the caterwauling commenced with the Chief Justice's first stumble. Here are but three examples of how some of our fellow citizens "think":

"Obama's inauguration day was rendered legally void by the failure to recite the constitutionally decreed oath of office. Obama's refusal to recite the oath was thinly and incompetently masked by a staged flub by the judge administering the oath. As a result, Obama failed yet ANOTHER constitutional requirement for the office of the Presidency."

"The oath was NOT spoken EXACTLY as written in the Constitution, the inauguration is invalid and hence Obama is NOT the real president!"

"I have to say I'm not sure Barack Obama really is the President of the United States because the oath of office is set in the Constitution and I wasn't at all convinced that even after he tried to amend it that John Roberts ever got it out straight and that Barack Obama ever said the prescribed words. I suspect that everybody is going to forgive him and allow him to take over as president, but I'm not sure he actually said what's in the Constitution, there."

If you're sure that this kind of ignorance is confined to the blogosphere and free-for-all forums, by the way, guess again -- that last quote belongs to perennially challenged Chris Wallace of right-tilting FOX News.

"Forgive him and allow him to take over as president" -- really? Well, Chris, as long as it's ok with you...

White House Counsel Greg Craig advised that it'd be a good idea to take the oath again, "out of an abundance of caution." And so the president did, on Wednesday evening, thus the photo.

But the howling didn't end there. Typical:

"He may have said the right words the second time, but did you notice that he didn't swear on a Bible? This abomination may be your president, but he isn't mine."

I guess these people got bored with the whole fringe-on-the-flag thing. Or maybe they grew tired of talking about all those scary coins that China is warehousing. In any case, so it goes.

You can't fix stupid.

In addition to a still photo of Oath: Take Two, there's an audio recording -- no video. The re-do was arranged in a relative hurry, and administration officials pulled in only a handful of print reporters and a White House photographer.

Seems reasonable to me, considering, but the television networks went indignantly ballistic. This is what CNN's Ed Henry had to say about the perceived snub:

"(Pres. Obama) began the day pushing for more transparency in government, only to end it by keeping TV cameras out when Chief Justice John Roberts re-administered the oath of the presidency."

"So the whole point of the ceremony -- getting the word out there that the president was in fact inaugurated -- was undermined by the fact that now there's no videotape to prove he was sworn in.

"Not to mention that it may run counter to the main message the president was trying to deliver Wednesday with his executive order pushing for more openness in government."

(Translation: Anything not recorded on video didn't really happen.)

Looks to me like someone needs to learn the difference between transparency and unrestricted access. Not disclosing the second oath would've broken the promise of transparency; choosing not to stage a grand, made-for-TV event did not.

Get over yourselves, please, and move the hell on.

* * *
One example of Obama-Biden's transparency is the Agenda section of the White House website. That's both good news and bad.

Buried in "Urban Policy" under "Crime and Law Enforcement" are ominous anti-Second Amendment promises:

Address Gun Violence in Cities: Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent.

I saw this same language on the campaign and transition websites. I wasn't ok with it then, and I'm not ok with it now -- any of it.

First, the Tiahrt Amendment must remain in place. Releasing the information serves no useful purpose, and law-abiding gun owners know that very few guns are used in the commission of crimes. Most important, the confidentiality of gun-ownership information has been eroded too far already -- no more.

Second, as we've seen in Obama-Biden's support of the District of Columbia's onerous regulations, "commonsense measures" effectively would prohibit the practical defensive use of firearms -- no thanks.

The "gun show loophole" is a myth -- no loophole exists.

As for "making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent," gun owners will resist any measure that seeks to return us to the dark days of the Clinton (nee Biden) Gun Ban -- no way.

Americans have cause to be optimistic, generally, about some of the "change" that the new administration will bring. Law-abiding gun owners, unfortunately, have good reason to be pessimistic.

Represent

While we were having our family discussion last night, the television on my desk was tuned to coverage of the Inaugural Parade. All of us knew that at some point we'd stop talking to watch.

That moment came when TBDBITL -- "The Best Damn Band in the Land," a.k.a. The Ohio State University Marching Band -- emerged from the darkness on Pennsylvania Avenue and approached the reviewing stand.

For our new President -- who, as a candidate, was known to pander to OSU fans by leading the "O-H!" cheer during his rallies in central Ohio -- the world's largest all-brass-and-percussion band played "Beautiful Ohio" and "Across the Field," performing with verve and characteristic precision.

The sight, the sound, the occasion -- the whole thing gave me chills.

The Great State of Ohio couldn't have been represented any better yesterday than it was by "The Pride of the Buckeyes." Here in the KintlaLake household, these four Buckeyes sure were proud.

'The price & the promise'

Taking the full measure of this rich, historic day is daunting. Trying to convey its import to children presents an even bigger challenge.

We're fortunate that our spawns are in their teens and were engaged (or at least aware) throughout the campaign. This evening, my wife and I sat down with them to discuss what all took place today.

We talked about the civil-rights struggle that makes Barack Obama's inauguration so significant. We shared our optimism that this President shares our generational frame-of-reference. We talked about how cool it is that he "gets" contemporary culture and embraces technology.

We discussed the security "bubble" in which the Obamas now must live and why they wore body armor on Inauguration Day. And we pointed out that patriotism doesn't always have to sound like country music and look like a NASCAR infield -- sometimes, it sounds like a Kenyan folk song and looks like the colorful mass of humanity that gathered today on the National Mall.

Then we encouraged our spawns to keep one particular memory of this day, a specific passage from Pres. Obama's inaugural address.

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge..."

I looked up and noticed that both spawns were listening intently. I continued.

"...firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

"This is the price and the promise of citizenship."

The promise of athletic ability can't be realized without paying the price of practice and conditioning; intelligence, without study and application, is squandered; and so it is with our precious citizenship. They got it.

The promise is before us as well as within us. The price that We, The People are willing to pay -- service and sacrifice, blood and treasure, shedding dogma in favor of pragmatism that paves to road to better days -- will be not just the product of our representative republic but the personal choice of each independent citizen.

Our peaceful transfer of power is complete. Tonight a free people celebrates the envy of the world. Tomorrow we go back to work.

* * *
I take this moment to honor the service of George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States. Whether or not I agree with his politics and policies, I can't deny that he handled the transition with class. For that, he has my respect. Godspeed, Mr. Bush.

BTT

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy." (Abraham Lincoln, 1858)

'Like a mighty stream'

Back in February, Michelle Obama kicked up some serious campaign-trail dust when she said,

"For the first time in my adult life I'm proud of my country...."

Although she expressed herself inartfully, I knew right away what she was feeling -- it's exactly how I'll feel tomorrow at noon, when Barack Obama takes the Oath of Office to become the 44th President of the United States.

I've never been prouder to be an American.

It took far too long for us to get to this day, but here we are. As a nation of, by and for The People, here we are.

In 1963, I was in first grade, a white kid in an all-white school in an all-white district in rural Ohio. I can still hear the echoes of racist ignorance that ran through that time and place.

That was the year that Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and told us of his vision:

"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'"

When Dr. King was assassinated five years later, I heard about it on my small transistor radio. I ran downstairs to break the news to my parents, saddened by the senseless tragedy. They were surprisingly unmoved, save their well-founded concern that the shooting might spark rioting.

Segregation, discrimination and good-old-boy humor never did sit well with me, even when I was an impressionable kid. I had every opportunity to be blinded by bigotry, but it didn't happen. I don't know why, but it didn't.

As I grew older, I kept my own counsel and found my own way. I learned that ignorance, like righteousness, isn't the province of one or another race. I walked through life and the world seeking the content of character -- both others' and my own.

Admittedly, my perspective on the last 52 years can't compare to that of black Americans who felt the lash of racist hatred. I won't presume to know what it's like to be denied a job, barred from a voting booth or lodged in a fleabag motel while the white players on my team slept at The Ritz -- never mind enduring beatings (and worse) simply for trying to exercise the same unalienable rights enjoyed by white Americans.

As I'm not a black American, then, I can't fully embrace the emotional significance of January 20th, 2009. But as an independent American -- one who's watched institutional racism driven into full retreat, if not unconditional surrender, and lived to witness the inauguration of Barack Obama, a black man, as my nation's President -- I can say this:

I've never been prouder to be an American.

Blocked shot

So much for the bully pulpit, eh?

The Bush administration's massive corporate-bailout proposal, tweaked cosmetically by Congressional power brokers, was defeated 228-205 this afternoon in the U.S. House of Representatives -- and Wall Street responded with a record-setting selloff.

The Dow plunged 777.68, its biggest-ever one-day point loss. At 10,365, the index is more than 27% off its all-time high last October.

If we need another perspective on what happened in the wake of the House vote, we can consider that more than a trillion dollars of capital evaporated during a single trading day.

In rejecting the $700 billion bailout, the House actually did the right thing for our country's future, although our representatives accomplished the feat more through systemic dysfunction than collective wisdom. Typically, the finger-pointing is well underway.

For his part, Sen. John McCain just issued a hyper-partisan gem in which he blamed Sen. Barack Obama for injecting partisanship into the failed negotiations, then immediately followed with, "Now is not the time to fix blame."

And so it goes. You can't make this stuff up.

Congress eventually will pass a version of the Bush-Paulson bailout, and it'll achieve the same result -- which is to say, it'll have no effect.

Credit markets already are frozen. Big firms with household names will continue to drop like wormy apples, likewise much smaller businesses, and unemployment will soar instead of merely rising. Our economy is about to slip inevitably below the surface of a depression.

Washington and Wall Street keep calling this a "crisis." Out here on Main Street, we've been telling the truth about that for months.

Incredible leadership

President George W. Bush addressed the nation last night. The purpose of the speech was to drive home the urgency of the financial crisis and, presumably, to rally the American people around that urgency and the corporate-bailout solution he's proposed.

I'd like to meet someone who was inspired by our President, any American who's now sitting on a fire that wasn't lit long ago.

In fact, let's have a show of hands...anyone?

We weren't just watching a "lame duck" last night. Standing alone before the governed, he was The Great and Powerful Oz, the picture of a man whose charade has been exposed.

Over seven years, Pres. Bush willfully squandered his credibility -- and thus his ability to lead -- on a series of propaganda campaigns and flash-bang diversions. The man who shouted into a bullhorn atop the rubble at Ground Zero is gone, replaced by a frightened shadow, a tired fellow who looks like he's suddenly discovered the value of candor and wants desperately to be believed.

Because I'm a citizen and a patriot, all of this saddens me -- but just as candor is overdue, we have no time for sadness.

The "revelation" that our economy is in dire straits isn't news to ordinary Americans. That Congress will pass some form of bailout, over their constituents' objections, is a fait accompli. And it's equally certain that whatever is enacted will be legislative morphine, momentarily dulling our national pain but leaving our injuries untreated.

So in this time of crisis, there's a leadership vacuum in the Oval Office and in the halls of Congress. Lifting our eyes to November, we look for the cavalry, hoping to glimpse a leader on the horizon.

We see two riders, one bringing fresh ideas and an aptitude for leadership, in return for a bag of entitlements and a promise to socialize far more than capitalism -- a bargain that free and independent citizens would be loathe to strike. The other rider brings the comfort of experience, but as he draws closer it becomes clear that he's sitting backward in the saddle, offering the same propagandism as the man he seeks to replace -- witness yesterday's campaign-suspension stunt, not to mention his choice of a running mate.

There are other riders, of course, but we've chosen to ignore them. We've staked our future to either Sen. John McCain or Sen. Barack Obama.

Our error lies not in our choice of one or the other, but in our reliance on that choice.

There is no cavalry. We, the People, must save our nation.

This government has failed us, our children and our Constitution. November won't bring the "change" we need.

We, the governed, must withdraw our consent.

The alternative, it seems to me, is to resign ourselves to a long and inevitable decline.

Maybe that's not a bad idea

"Anyone engaging in illegal financial transactions will be caught and persecuted." (from today's statement on the economy by George W. Bush -- President of the United States, Leader of the Free World, & Malaprop Generator-in-Chief)

Ike & the like

Most Americans can't imagine what it's like to stare down the barrel of Hurricane Ike, now taking aim on the Texas Gulf Coast.

I know I can't.

Sure, I lived in southern New England when Gloria -- the most-hyped storm in history -- came ashore as a weak Category 2 hurricane just 20 miles south of my home in 1985. I remember walls shaking, trees falling, lights winking and the eerie calm of the eye passing overhead.

Compared to Ike, Gloria was a nursery rhyme.

Forecasters say that Ike will arrive on Galveston Island early tomorrow morning as a Category 3 hurricane. By the time it reaches the Houston metropolitan area, 40 miles inland, it may still pack a Category 2 wallop. Coastal communities are expecting a 20-foot storm surge, and some areas already are under water. Ike's cloud shield, edge-to-edge, measures a staggering 900 miles.

As I watch a different weather system drop rain outside my window, a thousand miles from Galveston, Ike is just another news story -- except that it'll interrupt 25% of America's oil-refining capacity, 20% of domestic oil production and 15% of our natural-gas production, not to mention the temporary shutdown (at least) of numerous big chemical plants.

So while I keep the people of Galveston and Houston in my thoughts, I'll be equally mindful of the storm's impact on our punch-drunk economy. We seem capable of absorbing these painful blows, provided they're thrown one at a time, but what'll we do if they start coming in flurries?

* * *

I should've bought gas last week.

I don't drive much these days, and I've let my tank (and my fuel cache) drift toward empty while watching prices fall. In just the last 24 hours, they've jumped by 20 cents a gallon around here.

Lazy, optimistic, and not terribly smart.

* * *

On Wednesday, Sen. Joe Biden said -- out loud and publicly -- that Sen. Hillary Clinton "might have been a better pick" for Sen. Barack Obama's running mate.

And yesterday, when asked by ABC's Charlie Gibson if she agrees with the "Bush Doctrine" -- the well-known policy of striking preemptively before being attacked -- Gov. Sarah Palin did her best impression of a moose in the headlights.

You just can't make this stuff up.

* * *

As I said on Wednesday, I've joined the ranks of the undecided, stepping back from my decision to vote for McCain-Palin. Reaction from readers, friends and family has been strong, to say the least, and overwhelmingly negative.

For the most part, I've been told that not voting for McCain-Palin would be "stupid" -- that's what we say, of course, about people who disagree with us. Democrats say it about Republicans. Conservatives say it about liberals. We have bookstores full of titles like Liberalism is a Mental Disorder, Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, and If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans.

No wonder our country is stuck in reverse.

The 2008 presidential election will be my ninth, so I'm not exactly naive about the dynamics of a close race. I know that if I don't vote for McCain-Palin, I could be handing the equivalent of two votes to Obama-Biden -- especially significant in the so-called "battleground state" of Ohio, thanks to the Electoral College.

The McCain-Palin campaign's intellectual bankruptcy finally drove me to question the wisdom of casting a "defensive vote" against Obama-Biden, especially in light of my clear disagreement with the GOP ticket on issues like abortion rights, the U.S. occupation of Iraq and fiscal policy. I realized that I'd become part of an opposition flock of red sheep, and I'm not sure that's the best way for me to exercise my sacred privilege on November 4th.

If I do decide to vote for a minor-party candidate, I'd be leaving the flock in pursuit of a far greater good, as I perceive it, acknowledging that an Obama presidency isn't the most sinister threat to my country's future.

In terms of sentiment, I'd be standing with a majority of Americans who believe that the two dominant parties have broken more than they've fixed. In terms of action, however, I'd be decidedly in the minority, and frankly, that's a scary place to be. But as natural-gas wildcatter John Masters said,

"You have to recognize that every 'out-front' maneuver is going to be lonely. But if you feel entirely comfortable, then you're not far enough ahead to do any good. That warm sense of everything going well is usually the body temperature at the center of the herd. Only if you're far enough ahead to be at risk do you have a chance for large rewards."

(It occurs to me that political poseurs McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden might want to consult Mr. Masters before invoking buzzwords like "maverick" or "change.")

We need fundamental and revolutionary change, not the cosmetic, dime-store variety proposed by the two big campaigns. It won't happen in a single election, but it has to start somewhere.

It might as well start with me.

* * *

Less than 36 hours from now, my #5 Ohio State Buckeyes will play the top-ranked USC Trojans in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

OSU running back "Beanie" Wells, arguably the team's best player, is still nursing an injured foot and has been listed as "doubtful" for the game. USC presents enough of a challenge with Wells in the lineup, and if he's on the sidelines...

I'm going to end this post here -- it's damned near impossible to type with all my fingers crossed.

All-nighter

This morning, it's easy to spot Republicans -- they're the ones with bags under their eyes and black-and-blue cheeks.

They've been up all night, basking in the glow of Gov. Sarah Palin's speech and pinching themselves silly.

The GOP discovered the cure for its long-denied Obama-envy in a young conservative star with an almost messianic ability to attract, communicate and inspire. In a single evening, Gov. Palin leveled the political playing field.

Well, maybe.

Taking a critical look at Gov. Palin's performance, in context, diminishes neither its excellence nor its significance. As citizens, in fact, it's our responsibility to scrutinize the deeds and words of those who aspire to our nation's highest office.

For months now, Republicans and opposition Democrats have been dismissive of Sen. Barack Obama's charisma and oratory. He gives a good speech, they say. After last night, and until we learn more, Gov. Palin can just as easily be dismissed. Well, she gives a good speech.

So much for that talking point.

Her ability to energize a partisan hall also shouldn't be mistaken for mass appeal, at least not until she proves it on the campaign trail. Centrists and teetering Democrats are crucial to Sen. John McCain's chances in November, but cheers at the Republican National Convention don't demonstrate that she can reach beyond the party's base.

That isn't to say she won't, simply that this one speech doesn't prove that she can.

Since Sen. McCain announced his choice of Gov. Palin a week ago, much has been made of the media's persistent search for actual substance about an admittedly unknown quantity -- which is exactly what I want a free press to do. An army of well-paid surrogates have cried unfair and even sexist, but so far they've avoided answering what I consider perfectly reasonable questions.

Personally, I want the press to keep pressing. Gov. Palin's speech, rousing as it was, answered virtually none of my substantive questions. Eventually she'll have to come out from behind the teleprompter and meet the media head-on, and that's when I expect to learn something useful.

Radical as it may sound, I want to cast an informed vote, not merely an inspired one.

Stepping back from critiquing Gov. Palin for a moment, it's worth noting that three of the four candidates on the major parties' tickets -- Sen. Obama, Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Palin -- came from relatively humble roots. Only Sen. McCain, born into an elite military family, had anything resembling a head-start in life, but his sacrifice as a prisoner-of-war pulls him back toward the simple hearts and mean circumstances of many Americans.

So each of these candidates is, in some way, emotionally and ideologically accessible to ordinary citizens. A bond of identity can be forged with any of them, and most voters will decide based on which bond feels strongest.

More than anything else, that's what Gov. Palin's speech accomplished -- it gave her an identity within reach of the American voter. In that way, she definitely leveled the playing field.

Ultimately, it was a great night for her and a great night for the Republican Party. And we got our drama.

Game on.

Hey, chum!
Yesterday's session of the Republican Convention reminded me of a Gallagher act -- with one difference.

Gallagher fans wear ponchos; these Republicans wallowed gleefully in everything thrown from the stage.

Don't get me wrong here -- I know that red-meat rhetoric and sixth-grade sarcasm are the stock-in-trade of party conventions. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney did his part, albeit without any particular skill or resonance. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, on the other hand, proved once again that he's a master of the art.

Mayor Giuliani crossed a line, however, and later, so did Gov. Palin. I fully expect Republicans to question Sen. Obama's experience, but I expect them to do it without childishly belittling "community organizers" -- this from the party that abhors "big government" and encourages the concept of citizen-servants.

In mocking community organizers, Republicans mocked themselves. It wasn't just unbecoming -- it was arrogant and insulting.

Unexpected debut
When Sen. McCain arrived in Minnesota yesterday afternoon, he was greeted on the tarmac by the entire Palin clan -- including its newest member, 18-year-old Levi Johnston, reportedly the father of Bristol Palin's unborn child. Sen. McCain lingered with the couple for a few moments, no doubt saying, "Hang in there" at some point.

It was an interesting decision, both by the family and by the campaign, to bring the young Mr. Johnston into the light. Parading him within the cameras' view doesn't completely negate "private family matter," but it sure does strain the argument.

An invitation
To former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: If you drink beer, I'd like to have one with you -- as long as we don't have to say grace first.

I'll close this post with a touching story that Gov. Huckabee wove into his speech last night.

On the first day of school in 2005, Martha Cothren, a teacher at Joe T. Robinson High School in Little Rock, was determined that her students would not take their education or their privilege as Americans for granted. With the principal's permission, she removed all the desks from her classroom.

The students entered the empty room and asked, "Mrs. Cothren, where are our desks?"

"You get a desk when you tell me how you earn it," she replied.

"Making good grades?" asked one student.

"You ought to make good grades, but that won't get you a desk," Martha responded.

"I guess we have to behave," offered another.

"You will behave in my class," Mrs. Cothren retorted, "but that won't get you a desk, either."

No one in first period guessed right. Same for second period.

By lunch, the buzz was all over campus...Mrs. Cothren had flipped out...wouldn't let her students have a desk. Kids had used their cell phones and called their parents.

By early afternoon, all four of the local network TV affiliates had camera crews at the school to report on the teacher who wouldn't let her students have a desk unless they could tell her how they earned it. By the final period, no one had guessed correctly.

As the students filed in, Martha Cothren said, "Well, I didn't think you would figure it out, so I'll have to tell you."

Martha opened the door of her classroom. In walked 27 veterans, some wearing uniforms from years gone by, but each one carrying a school desk.

As they carefully and quietly arranged the desks in neat rows, Martha said, "You don't have to earn your desks. These guys already did.

"They went halfway around the world, giving up their education and interrupting their careers and families so you could have the freedom you have.

"No one charged you for your desk. But it wasn't really free. These guys bought it for you. And I hope you never forget it."

Quote of the Day

"She's going to have to be like that business in the 'Superman' movie where the little Superbaby was traveling through space and they're giving him a tape of all the knowledge in the world for him to absorb." (Ben Stein, on preparing Gov. Sarah Palin for the campaign)

On Day Two, Day One

Confident that Hurricane Gustav had cleared both the Gulf Coast and the national headlines, the Republican Party gave itself permission to kick off its 2008 nominating convention late yesterday.



It's interesting to compare the atmospherics of this convention to the one held by Democrats last week. The venue is smaller and simpler -- intimate, even sparse, perhaps an attempt to play against public perception of Republicans as big-money fat cats. The backdrop is a huge video screen which, when it's not showing other images, is occupied by a single U.S. flag waving in the wind against a clear blue sky.

Patriotism is on proud display, and in typical GOP fashion -- which is to say, old-fashioned. It's conventional, "Country First" love of postcard America. Likewise the incorporation of religion -- unapologetically and exclusively Christian.

The assembled crowd is overwhelmingly white, in contrast to the Democrats' more apparent diversity. As expected, the haircuts are better. Funny hats abound, but I didn't see any rainbow flags or gay-pride banners. (Natch.)

And damn, these people are serious. Purposeful, stern, even scowling faces were everywhere.

Among the highlights of last night's program was a patriotic video narrated by actor Robert Duvall. A series of images -- Lincoln, the founding fathers, Mt. Rushmore, anonymous Americans in military service, and latter-day Republican icons -- flashed across the screen. Predictably, the partisans roared over pictures of former Pres. Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy, as they did for former First Lady Barbara Bush, Pres. George W. Bush, and soon-to-be-nominee Sen. John McCain.

Notably, however, when a photo of civil-rights hero Rosa Parks appeared on the big screen, I heard no reaction at all. Not long after that, the presentation showed an image of Martin Luther King, Jr., as he was being booked into jail -- and I heard an audible groan from the crowd.

If a white guy in Ohio, an independent, caught that...I'm just sayin'...

First Lady Laura Bush delivered an uncharacteristically political speech to introduce her husband, who appeared via video from the White House. The program moved quickly (and not accidentally) into another video before former Sen. Fred Thompson stepped to the convention podium.

Welcome back, Fred -- we've missed you.

A year or so ago, I'd had high hopes for Sen. Thompson and fully expected to cast a vote for him. His approach to federalism has my personal endorsement, and despite my fundamental disagreement with him on issues like abortion, his was a candidacy I believed I could get behind. His run fell flat, of course, but it was good seeing him again.

The last speaker to take the stage was once my U.S. Senator, Democrat-turned-independent-turned-McCain-supporter Sen. Joe Lieberman. This was a novelty act staged not so much to inspire Republicans as to piss off Democrats -- and it will, but its real effect, I think, is greatly overrated.

That said, I still want to call attention to a couple of paragraphs from Sen. Lieberman's remarks:

"Our founding fathers foresaw the danger of...senseless partisanship. George Washington himself -- in his Farewell Address to our country -- warned that the 'spirit of party' is 'the worst enemy' of our democracy and 'enfeebles' our government's ability to do its job.

"George Washington was absolutely right. The sad truth is -- today we are living through his worst nightmare, in the capital city that bears his name."

Of all the words spoken at yesterday's session, those may have been the most important.

Tonight the national spotlight will glare on Gov. Sarah Palin. I'll make the popcorn.

Now, a few peripheral observations.

'It's people like you wot cause unrest'
Well, you'll have that. With apologies to John Mellencamp, "Ain't that America?"

'Pas de Dupes' redux
As if to reinforce a point I made yesterday, senior McCain adviser and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina offered this response to criticism of Gov. Palin's lack of experience:

"Because of Hillary Clinton's historic run for the Presidency and the treatment she received, American women are more highly tuned than ever to recognize and decry sexism in all its forms. They will not tolerate sexist treatment of Governor Palin."

Ok, let's review: Questioning Gov. Palin's experience is sexist, but questioning Sen. Barack Obama's experience isn't racist.

Got it.

And if I'm not sitting there...?
In a repeat performance of the stunningly elitist remarks that forced his resignation in July as a McCain adviser, former Sen. Phil Gramm said this at a Financial Services Roundtable yesterday in Minneapolis:

"If you're sitting here today, you're not economically illiterate and you're not a whiner, so I'm not worried about who you're going to vote for."

Even if this guy already quit once, can Sen. McCain make him resign again?

Suppose they threw a party
Across the river from the Republican National Convention, a reported 15,000 people gathered for another political event -- the Rally for the Republic, organized by supporters of former Republican candidate Rep. Ron Paul. Keynote speakers included Rep. Paul, journalist Tucker Carlson, former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura and Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform.

Anyone who followed the Republican primaries is familiar with the libertarian views and peculiar temperament of Rep. Paul and his disciples. And while he's not presidential material -- not by a long shot -- this kind of grassroots energy is a crucial part of fixing our broken government.

Wish I'd been there.

Pas de Dupes

Not long ago, Sen. John McCain's campaign mantra was, "It's about experience."

"Nonsense," came the familiar reply from Sen. Barack Obama's campaign. "It's all about judgment."

Then Sen. Obama named Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate, touting -- you guessed it -- his 36 years' experience in the U.S. Senate.

Last Friday, after picking Gov. Sarah Palin, the McCain campaign was forced to downplay her insubstantial résumé -- suddenly, it's her judgment that matters.

It's as if the campaigns got together, swapped talking points and kept going. Over the last few days, it's been especially embarrassing to watch talking heads for the Republican ticket, doing their best Vinnie Barbarino, pretending that no one remembers months of strident criticism of Sen. Obama's lack of experience -- both by Sen. McCain and, during the primaries, by Sen. Hillary Clinton.

If the contradictions are so obvious, then, how can the campaigns expect us to buy what they're selling?

Because we do -- every time.

Most of us are under the spell of party affiliation or crippled by ideology. We ascribe credibility based on whether an (R) or a (D) appears beneath the moving image. When one of those mechanized surrogates pops up in front of us, we listen carefully to how they're introduced -- "conservative," "liberal," or "supporter of."

As long as it's someone who shares our ideology, it doesn't matter if their rhetoric insults any reasonable person's intelligence -- we remain numb to it. When someone with the "wrong" philosophy says something that (heaven forbid) actually makes sense, we're deaf to it.

What the hell is wrong with us?

More than ever before, this year's presidential campaign is a grand dance for fools, and we're all invited -- but don't blame the candidates for hosting the ball. They're in the business of doing what works, and history has shown that blatant manipulation works just fine on our simple-minded electorate.

Maybe it's best if we just stop thinking about it -- after all, that's what we do best.

The candidates, in fact, are counting on it.

Party crashed

Hurricane Gustav, just now making landfall on the Gulf Coast, came ashore late yesterday in St. Paul, Minnesota, prompting a statement from the Republican National Convention:

"At the recommendation of Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican National Convention announced substantial changes to the convention's program and actions being taken to help with Hurricane Gustav relief efforts. On Monday, all program activities beyond the official business that must be conducted in accordance with party rules will be cancelled."

Rick Davis, campaign manager for Sen. John McCain, elaborated:

"We are deeply concerned about the safety and welfare of the residents of the Gulf State region. Our top priority is to assist those who will be affected by Hurricane Gustav. This is not a time for politics or celebration; it is a time for us to come together as Americans and assist the residents of the Gulf States."

"At some point between Monday and Thursday evening, we will convene once again to complete the activities needed to qualify Senator McCain and Governor Palin for the ballot in all 50 states. Beyond that, all we can say is that we will monitor what is happening and make decisions about other convention business as details become available."

It's the right move -- and, for a whole slew of reasons, a transparent one.

Without questioning the expression of concern for Americans in Gustav's path, no doubt the RNC was motivated by the prospect of split-screen images of balloons on one side and disaster scenes on the other. And right or wrong, thanks to the Bush administration's ineptitude, Republicans are most closely identified with the Katrina fiasco.

The GOP, then, like a repentant adulterer, is wise not to invite the inevitable criticism. Better to do some partisan penance.

Beyond the potential for bad press is the very real potential for relatively little press -- Gustav coverage dominating page one and the convention being relegated to page two (or worse). That could've made the Republicans' party seem comparatively insignificant and the Republican Party appear even more out of touch than it's already perceived to be.

Although it remains to be seen if McCain-Palin will suffer without the traditional final-night introduction to American voters -- and that still may happen -- the ticket might actually benefit from a scaled-back event.

Let's face it, any time McCain-Palin can distance itself from the dismally unpopular Bush-Cheney administration, it's a win. With the President's and Vice President's convention speeches cancelled (both were scheduled to speak today), it's the political equivalent of found money for the GOP.

Ultimately, and speaking for myself here, these big political conventions inform my voting decision about as much as a Super Bowl halftime show -- entertaining as they are, historic as they can be, I wouldn't mourn the loss of this one.

'I don't think this damn thing is safe'

If you're inclined to cast your lot with Sen. John McCain, here's a question: Am I the only one who's reaching for nose clips and a personal flotation device?

As I've said before, I favor Sen. McCain -- not out of conviction or confidence, but by default. After critically considering the alternative, especially on entitlements and gun control, I can't bring myself to vote for Sen. Barack Obama.

That's not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it?

Press me further and I'll even suggest that Sen. Obama has demonstrated a better aptitude for leadership and a far better grasp of the issues.

The Republican Party, which historically owns matters of fiscal policy, will nominate a guy who's admitted to being clueless about economic issues. And despite Sen. McCain's war-hero status, the presumptive nominee talks more like a cocky fly-boy than a Commander-in-Chief, risking the GOP's customary advantage on national security.

Sen. McCain has his computer-illiterate, old-guy-next-door demeanor and Sen. Obama has his cultural savvy and polished rhetoric. The Democratic Party's presumptive nominee is too inexperienced to lead, according to his long-tenured Republican opponent, but every day I watch Sen. Obama handle himself with more aplomb.

For Sen. McCain and his supporters, none of this is good.

Whenever I see the candidates these days, it's clear that the rigors of campaigning have taken a toll on both. Especially over the last two weeks, Sen. McCain looks to me like he just went 12 rounds -- and lost. I don't care how old and spry his mother is, he's off his sharp, straight-talking game. Way off.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but seriously, can you picture this guy after four years in the Oval Office? Do I hear eight?

The wearier Sen. McCain gets, the less of him I see. Oh, that's John McCain behind the microphone, all right, but I'll be damned if I hear the spirited candidate of even six months ago.

Instead, it seems, he's become a surrogate for his surrogates, a regular Charlie McCarthy, spouting shallow right-wing chestnuts and little else.

Equating Sen. Obama with Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears? Handing out "Obama Energy Plan" tire gauges to the press? Expecting me to tremble at the mention of "tax-and-spend liberal"?

Again, this isn't good.

Without a doubt, Sen. McCain's biggest hurdle is President George W. Bush. I don't think he can put enough distance between his campaign and the bumbling Bush administration without discarding conservative and loyalist voters -- and surrogates -- that he desperately needs.

For all the ineptitude and dysfunction, I still see a couple of ways for Sen. McCain to win.

The first would be a contentious Democratic Party convention, and that seems more and more likely. Just today, Sen. Hillary Clinton hinted that she wants her delegates-in-denial to be heard in Denver, and that she hasn't yet decided if she'll ask that her name be placed into nomination. Especially if Sen. Obama makes a misstep (as perceived by wailing Clintonites) in choosing a running mate, he might lose support he'd never get back.

Sen. McCain's second chance for victory is Americans' ultimate reluctance to elect a black man with a foreign-sounding name to the office of President -- and honestly, just saying that disgusts me. My natural pessimism about human nature leads me to believe that some voters still suspect that Sen. Obama is an unpatriotic Muslim socialist -- enough, maybe, to swing the election in Sen. McCain's favor.

I sure hope it doesn't come to that.

I plan to vote for Sen. John McCain on November 4th. Considering my choices, it's what I have to do.

And no, I'm not happy about that -- not one bit.


(About the title of this post: Groucho Marx used to tell the story of a man who was about to be hanged. A priest asked the man, "Have you any last words to say, before we spring the trap?" To which the condemned man replied, "Yes, I don't think this damn thing is safe.")