I have to laugh every time Sarah Palin finds herself in front of a camera or microphone these days, which seems to be every 10 minutes.

She's obviously having 'campaign withdrawal' like the rest of us.  We just can't stop going to the news outlet of our choice every half hour to see what's happening, and then calling a like-minded friend to talk about 'he said, she said, they all said.' We, at least got to spend time volunteering at the polls on election day to relieve some of our built up angst and energy.

Poor Sarah, she's just got . . . well, nothing to get her through this disappointing period. She's a bezillion miles away from what's going on in the lower 48. She's seems hell-bent on going on and on ad-nauseam in hopes of changing the outcome of the election for the two mavericks.  You'd think she would take these couple of days down in Miami to do some self reflection. That doesn't seem to be an option for her. . .

She's everywhere, 

STILL.

Talking. 

Maybe - dare we hope - that after the Miami meetings she'll get on her plane, hop off in Alaska and be quiet for at least an hour.

I'm sure the RNC is ready to say, "Keep the damned clothes, Lady! All of them, and the shoes, accessories and the clothes for the 1st Dude and kids, too - just sit down, govern Alaska, hide from all cameras and shut up!"

/Golf, Politcs and Beyond.=

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Driving to the grocery store yesterday (11/9/'08) I caught the end of Rush Limbaugh's show. I'm a Democrat but I do listen to Rush when tooling around town and he's on the radio. Don't you? If not, he's worth a listen every now and then, in small doses - he's a major hoot, he often makes me laugh, and laughter IS certainly good for all of us. 

But, as I was in the car only half-way paying attention to his final rant of the day, I couldn't help recall all of Rush's ridiculous assumptions of power months ago when he was pushing his 'OPERATION CHAOS' movement. I don't recall all the details but it was directed at the Democratic primaries, and what his followers (Dittoheads) could accomplish if they went into voting booths in state primaries and voted for the candidate (Barack or Hillary) that John McCain could easily beat in the general election.  

It was funny then and it's even funnier now. But, in all fairness to Rush, his OPERATION CHAOS did work . . .  just not the way he saw it happening.

John McCain ran the most chaotic presidential campaign ever. He, his running mate, Sarah Palin and their strategists were all over the board, every day, 24/7 with every nutty attack and every mavericky, 'gotcha, gimmick' that ran through their minds.  Beginning with his pick of Sarah Palin to his suspension of his campaign to go to DC and do nothing that helped the financial crisis, to his 'Joe the Plumber' side show - his bad choices went in endless directions, non-stop. Chaos? Oh, definitely!

If the McCain campaign wasn't an operation of total chaos I'll eat my plastic Obama/Biden yard sign.

Thanks, Rush. You gave  the McCain/Palin campaign a perfect discription - operation chaos.

/Golf, Politics and Beyond

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Still recovering from yesterday's all day stint in the pouring rain outside my polling precinct in Hampton Roads, I'll keep this short.

I simply want to say that volunteering for the Barack Obama campaing locally and working in a totally voluntary capacity yesterday was a great experience. Our bodies were water-logged and disheveled on the outsides, but inside we were warmed through and through. The voters, both Democrats and Republicans had a sense of purpose yesterday, and neither long lines, nor bursting rain clouds could wear them down. They came to vote, and VOTE THEY DID.

A (hopefully) victory party was just starting as I left the precinct, but I was too pooped to make it, and quite frankly too wired to gracefully handle a loss, if the vote should go that way. I sort of understood it in 2006 when for the very first time in my life I supported someone (Jim Webb for Senate) who really and truly inspired me. This year I fully understood how friends of mine have been so heartbroken when their candidates fell from grace or lost a hard fought battle. It occurred to me that they were better folks than me, and that I would not be able to keep a stiff upper lip if Barack Obama lost. I know that seeing the sadness of people I have become friends with during this campaign would be too much to watch.

After a hot shower, a couple eggs and toast and watching a couple hours of tv with my husband, I was ready to go to bed, but just couldn't bring myself to give up the dream before at least some idea of how it would end was divulged. When the election was called for Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the intensity of the relief and joy that swept through me was a big surprise. The fact that Mark Warner won the seat in Senate being vacated by our esteemed Sr. Senator, John Warner; and that Glen Nye will win the House race is just icing on the cake.

John McCain's concession speech was perfect. President-Elect, Barack Obama and his wife and daughters were a welcoming sight as they walked out on stage near the close of the night. And, the scenes of all the people - black and white, young and old - crying all over the country was one of the most poignant, but exciting moments tv has given us in many years..

Congratulations to the Obamas, the Bidens, the Nyes, the Warners and all the other local and national winners from yesterday.

This election simply proves that when given candidates who can inspire us and make us believe - we can accomplish what seems impossible.

If you're reading this, I hope your man or woman of choice won. If he or she didn't - don't worry. It will all change again in a few years or 4 years and we'll live through this process all over again.

/Golf, Politics and Beyond.

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In my last blog I mentioned that I'd been in Florida all last week. There were 2 encounters that pretty much defined the difference in the way Democrats and Republicans handle themselves when in public, and especially when they are with people whose political leanings they don't know.

First, a friend who was visiting Tampa invited me and my friend who I was traveling with to have dinner with him and a wing of his family, two lovely women and a strikingly pretty teenage girl. We went to a nice restaurant and except for a short, quiet conversation between he and I regarding me doing volunteer work for Barack Obama, there was no other talk of politics the whole night. It wasn't that we were trying to ignore an elephant in the room, but rather that politics wasn't an issue at that time, and that we all wanted to enjoy each others company and get to know something of each other.

The short political conversation we had was not heard by the others at the table because we were sitting side by side, and the other 4 people were talking about something else. I didn't make the conversation a public thing, because I didn't know what candidate our host's family members supported, nor did I even know at that time that the lady I was traveling with was a John McCain supporter. Our host didn't include the others at the table in the short political chat, and even though he had been wearing an 'Obama 08' baseball cap before we entered the restaurant, he'd made no mention of it to the group. We all talked about concerts, we talked about the banking industry since one of the ladies worked in a bank, and we talked about the economy and the banks that were closing. We talked about the recent hurricanes in Florida and other parts of the country. They were all interesting topics, and It was a very calm, enjoyable evening.

Contrast that experience with another one in a  similar setting 6 nights later:

Late in the evening after a musical concert me, my traveling companion, 2 other women and 2 men were sitting in a very nice hotel lobby in Orlando having a couple drinks before calling it a night. The chatter was friendly and interesting since we all live in different parts of the country, and one women even spends 6 months each year in England. Each topic to come up had all us contributing to the conversation. We were having a nice, relaxed time.

Imagine the surprise of all us (especially the Democrats) when this one man says to the table: "Is everyone here at this table as frightened as I am if Barack Obama happens to win the election next week?" 

Whoa! Talk about your dead silence. Well, the silence only lasted long enough for me and my Democratic friend sitting beside me to stop sucking air and find our voices. Suffice to say - things got ugly. I answered that there was no need to be frightened if Obama wins, because after all he's a decent, capable candidate, who wants the best for his country. His immediate reply was that Obama went against everything he, as a Christian, held dear. He went even further to say that Obama was dis-honest, a cheat and a liar. And, of course, the words 'terrorists', 're-distribution of wealth' and 'socialism' were laid at Barack Obama's feet.

Did I mention that things got real ugly? In a matter of 10 seconds with that first negative question our congenial, mellow, post-concert mood turned to total chaos, filled with combativeness, nastiness and some pretty intense name calling of Obama, John McCain and Sarah Palin. No, I'm not real proud that I lost my patience and joined in the negativity directed at McCain and Palin, but I could not sit back and quietly digest out-right lies about my candidate.

There were moments of light heartedness from one or the other of us as we tried to salvage a bit of civility. The guy who had first ask if the table was as frightened as he was of Obama,  said he'd never really thought of smacking a woman before, but that I sure made the idea sound like a good one. Coming  from a flaming conservative, I took that proclamation as a huge compliment, and we all had a laugh.  The tension, however, was thick enough to cut with a knife. Somehow we managed to resist coming to blows, but it wasn't the way any of us (except maybe the McCain fan who started it all) had hoped our last night before heading home would end.

As I look back, I realize that even the other 2 McCain supporters weren't happy with the ugliness that took place. Maybe they just aren't as rude and mean-spirited as the man who started off the 'liar, cheater, dis-honest' mantra.

I realize one other thing . . . every Obama supporter I encountered in my 7 days in Florida were excited, up-beat and genuinely happy with having a candidate they are thrilled to support. As I said in my last blog, I didn't speak to anyone, not one single person who wanted to talk about John McCain, even in the negative. No, they wanted to talk about Sen. Barack Obama and the positive campaign he's run, the policies of Democrats, and the massive desire for a positive change in so many areas we have witnessed in our country these past years. They were happy to have someone ask them about the election and if they were going to vote (THEY ALL WERE). And, they didn't mind talking about the political scene in the country and what they believed would change in an 'Obama Presidency.' They simply were too excited about their candidate to put down the other guy and gal running for the Republicans.

In his defense, I guess the guy at the table that last night just didn't have anything to share concerning what McCain could do to INCLUDE those of us who have felt so left out during these last 8 years. I suppose when you got nothing good to say about your candidate, your only recourse is to go after the other guy even when you know in your heart your just spewing sour grapes and nasty bile.

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/Golf, Politics and Beyond

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Last week I was in Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando for some concerts, and I took the opportunity to see how the wind was blowing, political-wise. Everyone who I asked about the election was more than happy to discuss it. With the exception of two people, Barack Obama got the support, hands down.

Two separate incidents involving people I know well, produced two very different outcomes, as people discussed politics. I'll try to blog about those tomorrow.

As I encountered bus boys, bell-hops, valet parking guys and gals, restaurant wait-staff and people who sold me my morning coffee - without exception, they were UP-BEAT, wired and ready for election day and generally very happy. I have to say that I didn't bring any anti-McCain/Palin insults into the discussions, but stuck to my quiries regarding how they were feeling about the election, or just threw out a blanket question such as: "Well, are you ready for the election to be over, or are you having fun?" Those questions often lead to more discussion, but the amazing thing was that people weren't wasting my time or theirs on bashing the Republicans. No. What they did do was to talk confidently , joyfully and knowledgeably about Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

They talked about the need for a change in the country, and that need was often approached by making the point... 'It's been a long time coming.' I took that to mean a long time in getting an African-American running for president. This was the feel from blacks, whites and non-black/whites. I also took it to mean an change from policies we are stuck with now.

One man in Ft. Lauderdale talked very wisely about the economy and made no bones about the fact his little coffee business would flourish more so under Obama than McCain. That was about the only time McCain was even mentioned. He didn't give me great details, but said he had been interested in both their economic policies and found what he liked within Obama's.

So, people are voting FOR Sen. Obama, and not AGAINST Sen. McCain, which some newsies would have us believe. Trust me, that past battleground state (Florida)  is road weary when it comes to elections, but they are really excited, hopeful and energized about this one.

Tomorrow I'll talk about the two incidents that so contrasted the positive and the negative of the campaign.

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Just taking a moment out to thank John McCain, Sarah Palin and their talking wonkies who have made me feel so UNWANTED in their vision of a McCain/Palin presidency.

The people at the top of the Republican ticket have been kind of mean to an awful lot of folks lately. Mr friends and I aren't feeling like you guys care about us at all.  Neither McCain nor Palin have repudiated any of the nasty things the GOP strategists have been saying about us. We are getting the feeling they don't want us in their Utopia, should they somehow win this election.  Here's what I've heard on TV in just the past several days.

• Ms. Nancy Pfotenhauer (McCain strategist) indicated recently that people who live in Northern Virginina aren't REAL Virginians. What do these McCain folks have against my friends who happen to live in upper VA? Does this mean that people who live in Newark, NJ are really Manhatten-ites from NY?
• Mr. Joe McCain (brother of John McCain) called Northern Virginina 'Communist country'. I guess that makes my friends who live up there Commies. Thanks, Joe - I guess that's one way to gather votes for John and Sarah. I suppose you now see Russia from your deck too, huh?
• I gosh-darned got to send a big, old 'Thannnkkkewww' to Gov. Sarah Palin for pretty much telling me that since I don't live in a place the size of Loretta Lynn's famed Butcher Holler, that I'm not Pro-American enough for her. Not that I really give a flying fig of a farkle what this twinkie from Alaska thinks of me, but I find it a tad suspect that she and her running partner want to lead good Americans, but they only want to lead those who THEY believe are good, god-fearing Americans. Note to John and Sarah - most of us Americans love America, love our American democracy and love the freedom to be as religious or spiritual or flag-waving or lapel-pin wearing as we want to be.
• Rep. Michele Bachmann thinks Congress should be investigated by the media to weed out the Anti-Americans who are serving there. Here's just a little of what she had to say last week to Chris Matthews on HARDBALL:

  MR. MATTHEWS: How many are anti-American in the Congress right now that you serve with?

  REP. BACHMANN: You'd have to ask them, Chris. I'm focusing on Barack Obama and the people that he's been associating with. And I'm very worried about --

  MR. MATTHEWS: But do you suspect that a lot of people you serve with --

  REP. BACHMANN: -- their anti-American nature.

  MR. MATTHEWS: Well, he's a United States senator from Illinois. He's one of the people you suspect as being anti-American. How many people in the Congress of the United States do you think are anti- American? You've already suspected Barack Obama. Is he alone, or are there others? How many do you suspect of your colleagues as being anti-American?

  REP. BACHMANN: What I would say -- what I would say is that the news media should do a penetrating expose and take a look. I wish they would. I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America? I think people would love to see an expose like that.

  MR. MATTHEWS: Okay, thank you very much, U.S. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota.

  Soooooo, this Republican thinks anti-Americans are taking over Congress. Twinkies are everywhere these days, it appears.

• And, here's a close to home appreciation that goes to Mr. Jeff Frederick from good, old Virginny, herself. Frederick suggested to Republican canvassers going door-to-door in VA that when talking to voters they be sure to make the connection between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden. "Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon... That is scary." No, Jeff - you're scary, if you really think that's a fair comparison.

 These are the people who are supposed to make a John McCain presidency appealing? With friends and campaigners like these, no wonder John isn't looking too good in the polls.

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The last part of why I'm voting for Barack Obama on November 4th.

After the past couple of weeks, it would be easy to just end this little series of mine with one sentence:

I'm voting for Barack Obama because he has nothing to do with John McCain, Sarah Palin or Republicans.

That is how I'm feeling and it's all come down to this because of the unreliable, irresponsible way John McCain and Sarah Palin have conducted themselves. Attacks directed at Sen. Obama were in reality directed at people he had been acquainted with in some way, yet they never had anything to do with an act or acts committed by Barack Obama himself.

The same cannot be said about Sen. McCain: The Keating 5 mess sticks directly to McCain,  considering he was one of the five. He didn't serve jail time, but he was slapped on the wrist never the less for being apart of the greedy-minded K-5.

McCain's anger issues are well known and cannot be denied. His refusal to allow his military war and POW records to be released makes us wonder 'why'. Other veterans have requested that he release his records, but McCain says they'll never be released. We all have our own opinions of why McCain refuses to come clean. I believe the veterans who indicate he CAN'T come clean. 

The latest bit of nastiness to stick directly to McCain has been his refusal to protest the people in his rallies who make ugly and ridiculous comments about Obama. For five days last week we watched tape after tape on tv and in videos online showing McCain neither saying nor doing anything as his supporters called Barack Obama a terrorist, a traitor, and yelled 'kill him' and 'off with his head'. Sarah Palin and John McCain said absolutely NOTHING until they were forced to by the media, and by members of their own party.

McCain says he spoke up every time. Not so. I watched him stop speaking, wince slightly and then continue on after someone near enought to McCain's microphone yelled, "Kill him." McCain said NOTHING.

For every single attack on Sen. Obama's character, I've looked up the facts on the different 'fact-check' sites on the internet, and I can live with what I've read.

Sen. Obama has lead a respectful, decent campaign - just like his life. He's disagreed with his opponent on the issues, but hasn't come any where near the low-down assertions that John McCain's disgusting sex education ad made about Obama and teaching sex education to kindergartners.

The day I saw the 'sex ed/kindergarten' ad and heard John McCain's voice say that he authorized the ad, McCain ceased to be an honorable man to me.

Let me make sure you understand that - McCain is no longer an honorable man, in my opinion.

I do not come to the place easily where I can use the words 'McCain' and 'dishonorable' in the same sentence. At one point I at least respected the man for his service to his country. Disagree with him as I did on his policies, I none the less held him in the same high esteem my father, a military man, would have held him, if he were still alive. Not so, today. McCain, it has become clear, has decided athat winning this election at any cost, is the most important thing.

Maybe he won't miss it much - but, I think when you run on 'integrity', you can't afford to lose even a little of it, much less all.

  Already Barack Obama has surrounded himself with people who are knowledgable and respected in our country; people who have records that we can all look back on to see how they voted on issues, and how character driven they are. Being a maverick doesn't mean being so far outside the belt way that one doesn't have to account for anything.

One of the only things we have to look back on so far as John McCain's vice presidential pick is concerned, is an independent investigative report from last week that says Sarah Palin 'violated the public trust' she was given as governor of Alaska, and that she 'abused her power.' Nice. But, think about it - didn't we see that in that first national speech she gave. We thought it was just a speech writer's words and attitude. In the weeks since, we've seen Palin as the quintessential MEAN GIRL we often knew in school who forced us to turn around and go the other way when she approached. I call her a 'twinkie with an attitude'. You can call her anything you like, but vice presidential material is not a title she wears with any credibility.

Here's a suggestion to Ms. Palin - please look out your window and see Alaska, Wasilla or whatever burg you crawled from. Please go home. Between you and your running mate our country has never looked worse and our politics has never smelled more putrid.

What I said at the beginning of this part-3 blog stands pretty accurate:

I'm voting for Barack Obama because he is as far detached from the slithering likes of John McCain, Sarah Palin, George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the majority of the Republican strategists who slime up tv screens nightly, as one can get. The whole lot is about as low-life a gang as we've ever seen seeking office in our country. Never thought I'd be saying that, because I've voted for Republicans in major elections several times, but if these two people are the best that Republicans have to offer our country - I'll be sticking with the Democrats forever.

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I'm not black - I'm white, yet more than once I found myself saying: 'that really is how white people feel,' and, 'I never thought of it from that point of view.' Something changed within me that day and it's only this very moment as I type this that I understand, possibly, the CHANGE part of Barack Obama's campaign. It may not be the 'change' Sen. Obama meant, but often hearts, minds and assumptions change within us before we can ever accept outward change.

Part ll - After hearing Barack Obama's speech regarding relations between blacks and whites in America, for the first time that I can recall, a dialogue seemed to have been struck in our country. It was interesting, intelligent and hopeful. I waited for Sen. Clinton to withdraw, because by that time it had become clear to me that Obama was THE ONLY CHOICE at this particular time. He was the much-needed, necessary voice of reason to help us work through racial issues that had festered for so long. Was I confident that he could correct it all, or even do anything overnight? No. But, I believed that day I watched him on tv, that he was at least trying to get his arms around the mess of the divided races of people, and bring us together, to a place we could feel comfortable enough to talk and listen.

It reminded me of the time in the White House when this woman named Hilllary tried to get her arms around a huge, huge problem that effected so many uninsured people in the country. She saw and she believed that it could be done. I felt the same way about Barack Obama. He cared enough about the problem that had been high-lighted so vividly by Rev. Jeremiah Wright, to talk honestly with us about it. 

  He says he is ready to be president. But, I don't just take his word for it. I take into consideration what I've seen from him thus far - his resolve to make sure we understand what his policies would be; his past work in community matters; his desire to not just lead the greatest country in the world, but, also to try to improve upon what he sees in our country. The respect he's garnered from people who have known him for years is something I also consider. 

  America has had almost 8 full years of one type of leadership. It simply has not worked, and it surely hasn't united the country in any way. We continue even today to be divided on how to settle the war in Iraq, and we continue to despise the way the current administration has butchered the Constitution. Our rights are constantly assaulted in the name of protection against terrorism. There comes a point, don't you think, where the trade off simply is not worth what we're losing?

Maybe you love the hell out of George Bush, Dick Cheney and the rest of the Bush Administration. If so, your choice will be every bit as easy as mine on November 4th. But, I personally think we are ready for a major change. I want a president who will listen to what people smarter than he or she have to say, and make decisions based on ALL the information available - not just that which is filtered though nearby 'yes' men and women.

  John McCain points out that Barack Obama has never had to make hard decisions about sending men and women into combat. That is true, but Obama did have the foresight to see the folly in sending our men and women into the wrong country to fight the wrong war. Sen. Obama said it was the wrong war, even though very few others would say it at that time.

I've listened to the attacks about Obama's acquaintances, and they are not big enough for me to care about. I just don't care that he served on the board in recent years with a man who was a well-known anti-war protester forety years ago, or even that his campaign was announced in the same man's living room. I don't care that his pastor made remarks from the pulpit about America. People have opinions - and people stupidly spout these opinions in the wrong places all the time. I take Barack Obama at his word that he disagrees with his former pastor's opinion. 

There has not been any arguments made that has caused me to believe that Barack Obama would not be a good man to lead the United States of America.

Part lll to follow tomorrow. Have a comment? Leave a message at the blog's e-mail at golf_politics_beyond@verizon.net   or use the 'add new comment' button below if you're registered with Hamptonroads.com. 

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This is the first in a 3-part series. I have been quite verbal about my feelings regarding Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin. I believe it's time for me to let you know why I am voting for Sen. Barack Obama. If you have any comments, please use the 'add comment button', or e-mail me at  golf_politicis_beyond@verizon.net.  I'll post your e-mails as comments, and not display your e-mail address or full name.

Why I Am Voting for Sen. Barack Obama (part 1)

First, I have to say that I supported Sen. Hillary Clinton in the primaries. I came to Sen. Obama's camp after Sen. Clinton dropped out.

The most important thing for me from the beginning was to have a Democrat win the White House. When four very able people stepped up, it was very easy to get excited. Between Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama - there wasn't a loser among them.

I initially supported Hillary because I believed - and still do - that she was dedicated and hard working. She was a strong advocate for the rights of woman and children all her life, and she was enthusiastic during her years in the White House to get as much done as possible. The health reform didn't happen under her plan, but she won my respect and admiration with her energy and desire to take on the project. It did prove too big for Hillary back then, but it bears mentioning that she did have much going against her, and yes, some of it - like the secrecy - was of her own making. 

It was easy to jump on her wagon when all I had to do was recall the good life that my home enjoyed during the Clinton presidency years.

  When Hillary stepped down after her long primary run, I didn't have to start from square one with Barack Obama because I'd already watched the primary debates and I knew that Obama had just as much to offer the country in the way of leadership as Hillary Clinton did.

  Having seen and heard his speech in 2004 at athe Democratic National Convention, I knew it was just a matter of time. Some people are just naturals - John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton immediately come to mind. And, I think we all watched Barack Obama join those ranks back in 2004.

We also watched him counter everything that Sen. Clinton threw at him, and we marveled at the tenacity of both of them. They were both strong fighters, and yet, they never went over the line in their desire to win the primary race. Barack Obama's bumper sticker went on the same day Hillary Clinton's came off. They were both terrific and both capable to lead - and, anyone who didn't see that they had more to offer than George W. Bush ever dreamed of, just wasn't looking.

The day I became more than just another supporter of Sen. Obama's was the day I heard him give the speech on race relations in America, after the news media had played, played and re-played the Rev. Wright tapes. In case you're wondering - yes - I was greatly appalled and outraged to see a minister make those remarks from a pulpit in my country. But, although I disagree with his choice of venues to say these things, and I disagreed with his angry tone - I couldn't disagree with every one of his points; only the way he delivered them and his choice of venue.

When Barack Obama made that speech and talked about his father, his mother, his grandparents and what it was like growing up black in a white family - I was impressed. Hilllary hadn't yet stepped out of the race, but Obama's calm, sound thoughts on our country's problems with the race issue made sense to me. Matter of fact, he made perfect sense to me. I'm not black - I'm white, yet more than once I found myself saying: 'that really is how white people feel,' and, 'I never thought of it from that point of view.' Something changed within me that day and it's only this very moment as I type this that I understand, possibly, the CHANGE part of Barack Obama's campaign.

Part ll, tomorrow.

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Ok, you've seen tape on all of the news shows Friday. It's the one where Sen. John McCain gives the microphone to several people who just happen to be at the front of the crowd in his rally. I particularly liked the one from the lady in the red top, who had no question just a statement that Sen. Barack Obama was an Arab. What a great set up - see for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf6YKOkfFsE&eurl=http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/mccain_to_supporter_obama_is_n.php

Sorry, but after McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin have done all they could to get their crowds hopping mad over the last week, and have totally ignored the shouts of 'traitor', 'kill him', 'off with his head', 'terrorist', and so on referring to Obama from people shouting them, I am not buying the sudden case of concern McCain is oozing.

John McCain only decided to speak up and request his supporters take it down a notch because he was getting nothing but bad press because of it, because he was getting blasted royally by Sen. Obama himself for riling up the crowds to promote hate and divisiveness, and because people from McCain's own party were seeing his actions (or lack thereof) as scary.  

So, pardon me for being skeptical of McCain's motives - he did it because there was nothing else he could do, lest he take the chances of one or more of the loyal nut cases at his rallies getting too over zealous and getting dangerous.

McCain / Palin had one scanky, rotten week. Consider for yourself -

• They used language to paint Obama as a terrorist. He is not.
• They questioned his fitness of character to be president, and allowed one introducer from their rallies to wonder how Americans will feel if we wake up and find we have a president the day after the election named Barack Hussein Obama.
• They refused after hearing dangerous remarks from the crowds to just ONE TIME say something like: "We think we are the ones best suited to lead our country, but WE WILL NOT TOLERATE THESE NASTY, INAPPROPRIATE COMMENTS at our rallies."
• They watched the stock market tumble down and down, but decided since they had nothing to offer related to it, that they would stick with the personal attacks on Obama.
• When it all backfired and they ended up looking like hate-filled terrorist themselves, they had to do an about face.
• And, that 'about face' appeared pre-planned, orchestrated and completely set up.
• Lastly, to close yesterday's news cycle, Gov. Palin was found to have 'violated the public trust' in her TROOPERGATE investigation. It's worth mentioning here that the verdict was leveled from a group with more Republicans in it than Democrats; hardly a politically motivated verdict.

You betcha! It was one smelly week for the John McCain gang.

Can we trust either of these two people? I don't see how. The integrity and character of both Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin is in question. Their actions in this week alone, neither represent American values nor offer what our country needs at this time.

Our country truly is much better than this.

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