Love, Exciting and New

Why someone ever decided that a fat baby with wings was the best emblem to celebrate romantic love is beyond me. Anyone with a baby (or for that matter a kid) knows that trying to get your romance on with a wee one around is a challenge that involves the UN, NATO, some good locks and the ability to get the job done quick. And that is on a good day. But per usual, I digress. Tomorrow is that acclaimed day ala Hallmark—Valentine's Day. And seeing how romance is on the brain, whether you like it or not, at this time of year it seemed an apt time to finally ponder the whole John Edwards debacle.

Maybe it was because I came of age when Clinton took his sax to the airwaves and wooed me via MTV (back when the station played music and not homages to self absorbed brainless twats with tight bums and short attention spans), maybe it is just some genetic abnormality that makes me prone to believe the lofty rhetoric of any earnest liberal, maybe it is even a subconscious rejection of having Jesse Helms represent my beloved state for low those many years. The reason remains a mystery, but the result is that I fell for John Edwards—hook, line and sinker. I don't mean I found him physically attractive, I mean he is fine, but a bit too pretty and polished for my taste, rather I bought all of his "Two Americas," his belief that he could lead our country in the right direction. Sadly, I still believe all of that, and I still believe that he believed it as well. The tragedy is that his political beliefs are not quite enough to balance out his moral depravity, at least not in the eyes of most Americans.

If this were another country, say the oft vilified France, maybe Edwards indiscretions, subsequent love child and his wife's eventual abandonment of him wouldn't have mattered in terms of his political career. Sadly, our American puritanical streak is more evident than the roots on a trailer park blonde. My fellow countrymen can't seem to separate what a person does between the sheets and what they can do in their careers. Right or wrong that is the way it is.

What is so disappointing about the Edwards case is not so much that he cheated, then lied over and over again to his wife who has had enough bad news to last several lifetimes, it is that he had the hubris to think that it wouldn't matter to the American people and that if he had won the Democratic nomination that he wouldn't have been handing the election to the Republican candidate (in this case McCain and his brainless bimbette, Sarah Palin). That is truly inexcusable to me. If he loved his country, he would never put us in that position, especially not after being put through eight years of Dubya whose high jinks nearly tore our country apart.

Don't get me wrong, I am horrified about what Edwards did to his family, and for what? Vanity? Surely he didn't love that woman? But if he did, wouldn't it have been better to be upfront with his wife than try and deceive her? But speculating about all of that is futile, it is private and up to the Edwards' to handle amongst themselves. Andrew Young's book The Politician exposed not only Edwards' indiscretion, but also indicated that Elizabeth Edwards learned of the affair and then proceeded to encourage her husband to continue his then-presidential run. I have always been a big fan of Elizabeth Edwards and was saddened when her cancer reoccurred and even more upset that her husband would do this to her, but if Young's claims are true, she is in her own way just as culpable as her husband in potentially leading our country astray. And dang, that just makes me sad.

I will still wake up tomorrow and naively believe that people are good and that somewhere out there a politician exists who can be honest and who will work hard to do what is best for his/her constituents. But I would be lying if I said that my optimism isn't bruised.

As Dixville Notch Goes . . .

Per Yahoo News:

Democrat Obama defeated Republican John McCain by a count of 15 to 6 in Dixville Notch, where a loud whoop accompanied the announcement in Tuesday's first minutes. The town of Hart's Location reported 17 votes for Obama, 10 for McCain and two for write-in Ron Paul. Independent Ralph Nader was on both towns' ballots but got no votes.

ADDITION:

Per CNN—It was the first time since 1968 that the village leaned Democratic in an election.

Proselytizing

I had an exchange yesterday that left me perplexed, a friend, someone who I never thought would have strong feelings either way politically, informed me that they were clearly in the McCain camp and would never be able to vote for Obama. When I queried the friend as to why they felt that way, the friend said they didn't care to discuss it because they didn't like debating with friends and it would accomplish nothing.

I am torn on how to feel about this. Part of me thinks that the days were people did not talk about politics or religion in polite society may have had something on us today. On the flip side, I feel that a lively discourse not only is good for promoting a full understanding of the issues at hand, but can also be a heck of a good time.

Now I admit that I often cross the line between debating and converting. For that I offer my apologies, but I won't apologize for passionately believing in what I believe. And perhaps that is what perplexes me the most here—not wanting to defend your beliefs. That to me is one of the sacred rights I have as an American.

Saved by Salon

Just when I was beginning to panic about what I was going to post today, Salon comes along and saves me (thank god there are only two more days in this month—next time I decide to do this post every day for a month thing I am SO picking February and not in a leap year . . .).

First, a clip from The Daily Show where Samantha Bee tells McCain just where he can stick his air quotes for women's health:

And then this, where a hockey mom does a Sarah Palin-inspired version of Don't Cry for Me Argentina. It's a tad long and the middle is hard to decipher in parts, but the beginning and end are best and it can be summed up with this snippet of lyrics: My kid plays hockey, and I wear lipstick/ but I'm a thinker, and you're a dipstick.

Obama By a Nose

While now is certainly not the time to rest on any laurels with a week left until Election Day, there is good news. The latest Pew poll had this to say about the contest between Obama and McCain:

Barack Obama leads John McCain by a 52% to 36% margin in Pew’s latest nationwide survey of 1,325 registered voters. This is the fourth consecutive survey that has found support for the Republican candidate edging down. In contrast, since early October weekly Pew surveys have shown about the same number of respondents saying they back Obama. When the sample is narrowed to those most likely to vote, Obama leads by 53% to 38%.

Just as ominous for the Republican candidate, Obama holds a 53% to 34% lead among the sizable minority of voters (15%) who say they have already voted. Among those who plan to vote early but have not yet voted (16% of voters), 56% support Obama, while 37% support McCain.

In Play

Chuck Todd, MSNBC analyst said this morning (I think it was on Morning Joe, but I haven't found a video link yet) that Arizona was being moved to the lean column for McCain in terms of his chances of taking the state. OUCH! Here's the text from the MSNBC site:

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann
*** Two weeks out: There are no significant changes to this week’s NBC electoral map. Obama continues to hold a 264-163 lead over McCain, which is unchanged from last week. The slight changes: We moved Georgia, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District from Likely McCain to Lean McCain. Also, we almost moved McCain’s home state of Arizona to the Lean column; the state would have been a battleground had McCain not been on the ticket. And keep an eye on South Carolina -- yes, South Carolina. The historic African-American turnout appears to be happening and could make it a single-digit race there. In sum, the political winds are still at Obama’s back. As for the Toss-up states and any that are teetering toward Obama: Colorado, Florida, and Virginia all seem to tilting the Democrat's way, but we haven't moved them yet because all three states have histories of Republican candidates over-performing polls. Unlike other maps, ours is not poll-driven. Polls are only a part of how we make our decisions on our map.

Sunday Roundup

—I voted Saturday. And if the hour long line I stood in is any indication (and yes, I am assuming that the majority of African Americans will be casting their vote for Obama) then the man is going to win in a walk. And if he doesn't win, it will be because something nefarious has been pulled and there will be thousands of unhappy people who will not take the news lightly.

—John McCain appeared on "Meet the Press" this morning. Brokaw asked him about his endorsements and he mentioned the five former secretaries of state that gave him the nod. that have given him the nod. Except he couldn't remember one of their name and when I just looked up his endorsements, I only found four—Schultz, Haig, Eagleburger, Kissenger. So either he has forgotten one or made one up. Yep, time to go back to Arizona McGrumpy.

—I love David Sedaris. Anybody that can make me laugh out loud reading is a plus in my book. And let's face it, there are many funny things about growing up in the South, some funny ha-ha and some funny painful (I can only imagine how that is multiplied by growing up gay in the South). So for Sedaris to have emerged and be able to laugh about it, is quite a feat. Here's a bit I liked from a recent essay he did for The New Yorker (and yes I am once again going to give my undecided brethern a poke).

I look at these people and can’t quite believe that they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen who want a lot of attention?

To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.

I mean, really, what’s to be confused about?

The Hot Lady & the Tiger Woods Guy

Will Ferrell almost makes me think I might miss Bush when he leaves office . . . nope, I was wrong.

Wynken, Blynken & Nod

I am tired today folks—nothing like a croupy toddler to put a spring in your step (but for a personal moment, there is nothing like said croupy toddle giving you eskimo kisses at 4am to make you smile either). So I am going to blatantly steal for today's post (since I am still doing that everyday posting and have yet to miss a day—yeah me).

A while back I came across an interesting blog, Rebel Dad, for stay at home dads. I read it because my husband is a stay at home dad and I like to pretend that I am getting into his head and seeing things from his side of the fence. This may or may not be effective, you would have to ask him. Anywho, the writer behind Rebel Dad, Brian Reid, also writes a parenting column for The Washington Post. He recently did a comparison of the two candidates stances on some family-related policies. Here's the nut-nut:

• McCain would push for legislation that allows employees to swap overtime pay for comp time.
  
• Obama would allow workers to formally petition for flexible schedules.
  
• Obama would work to make paid sick leave available to all.
  
• McCain would not support paid sick leave, though the comp time proposal could help employees take time away from work without suffering economic difficulty.
  
• McCain would not expand FMLA or push for paid leave.
  
• Obama would expand FMLA and give the states $1.5 billion to begin providing paid leave.
  
• Obama would quadruple the number of children eligible for Head Start.
  
• McCain would work to better spend the $25 billion in early education funding now in place at the state and federal level.
  

Of course who knows how much either one of them will stick to these proposals, but I continue to feel that the United States policies on family leave are beyond backward and the fact that all workers are not given paid sick time is heinous and cruel. But then I am a flaming liberal, what do I know?

I Would Need Charts & Graphs . . .

And today I have them thanks to a co-worker. This is, believe it or not, from Sunday's Parade Magazine. Go figure.

Obama McCain

If you make  . . .  you'd save— you'd save—

less than $19,000 $567 $21

$19,000 to $37,600 $892 $118

$37,600 to $66,400 $1,118 $325

$66,400 to $111,600 $1,264 $994

$111,600 to$161,000 $2,135 $2,584

$161,000 to $227,000 $2,796 $4,437

If you're in the top 5% of earners . . . 

$207,000 to $603,400 $121 (pay) $8,159 (save)

$603,400 to $2.87 million $93,709 (pay) $48,862 (save)

more than $2.87 million $542,882 (pay) $290, 708 (save)

There you have it in black and white folks. I am going to go out on a limb here and imagine that the majority of my readers fall in the $161,000 and below category, maybe even lower in which case Obama saves you more than McCain on your taxes.

So far as those making more than $600,000, I say fuck them. It isn't going to hurt them to pony up a bit more.

Air Quotes

Here is a snippet of the abortion dialogue between the candidates I missed last night. McCain's air quotes about the "health" of the mother is pretty darn offensive in this little feminist's eyes.

Plumbing the Depths

To steal a line from my spouse "Bob the Builder is pissed that he wasn't mentioned."

But more on that later.

First, could Grampy McCan't have blinked anymore last night during the first part of the debate. I actually found it rather distracting.

McCain showcased a level of animosity last night that I thought was palpable. I would be curious to know what my undecided or GOP-loving readers felt in that regard. I disagree with Salon editor Joan Walsh's take that he was less grumpy than in earlier debates. I think he was worse actually. 

Obama was his usual cool-as-a-cucumber self, even when the subject of his so-called "terrorist ties." McCain's efforts to put Congressman  John Lewis' statement about McCain's rhetoric on the same level as what the crowds have been shouting at McCain/Palin rallies was reprehensible in my eyes. I don't feel one lick of pity for McCain for being called out on inciting violence in his those demented sorts that show up at his campaign events. Face folks, there are some unstable people out there and McCain has been around the block enough times to know this. To act in the manner that he and Palin have without regard for that fact is dangerous and shameful.

And then there was the incessant references to "Joe the Plumber."  Frankly I thought the first awkward reference to this man by McCain was more than sufficient but to keep hammering at it was ridiculous. How the GOP thinks we can get out of this financial mess without raising someone's taxes is beyond me. I know that isn't what folks want to hear, and apparently Palin thinks paying taxes is unpatriotic, but the simple fact is that without more revenue coming in our country is going to head down shit creek even faster than we already are.

Obama was classy when he had the opening to trash Palin, which I think was a good idea. McCain was a little less kind to his longtime colleague Joe Biden. One of McCain's biggest faux pas of the night, in my eyes, was using the word "cockamamie" to describe Biden. Way to just hand that crotchety old man sign around your own neck Johnny.

Apparently by calling it a night at 10pm I missed the one reference to abortion in any of the three debates, but from what I have read thus far, that didn't exactly work out so well for McCain either.

I am glad that the debates are over frankly, a sentiment that I would imagine the McCain camp shares this morning as well. While the GOP and their FOXNews related sycophants might be spinning the debate this morning to say McCain won, I think the rest of the world knows the truth. 

Once Again, I Give You Olbermann

Why should I trouble my pretty head to write something deep and coherent when my MSNBC crush can do it oh-so-much better?

Behold Olbermann on the recent rantings and ravings of the McCainiacs (or you can read the text here)  . .

The Money Grab

Last week's Newsweek had a great article by Francis Fukuyama a professor of international economy at Johns Hopkins University, titled "The Fall of America, Inc." He discussed the damage to the American "brand" that has been done by this most recent stock crisis.

The part that I was most intrigued by came as he discussed the transition in our economy from the Reagan to the Clinton years. Fukuyama highlights a fact that has totally driven me crazy in the last eight years with Dubya in office, but apparently it has its roots back in the Reagan era—today's so called conservatives no longer seem to believe in only spending what they bring in. Apparently this is something that went the way of the dodo during Reagan's tenure when he promoted the idea that any tax cut would stimulate the economy so much that it didn't matter what the government spent, they would be taking in so much.

Psych! What happened is we started the 1990s with a huge deficit due to those tax cuts. Clinton took office, raised taxes and produced a surplus. Cut to Dubya, taxes get cut and we end up with a deficit so huge they have to take down the deficit clock in NYC due to LACK OF NUMBER SPACE!!!! 

So although Cheney apparently told Dubya early on that "deficits don't matter" that's just one more thing that Cheney has gotten horribly, horribly wrong. Why should I even be surprised. And of course here comes McCain yelling that Obama is going to raise taxes (the horror!) and that is going to kill our economy. So what does he want to do? Lower taxes  and freeze spending. Does anyone else see a huge problem here?

Dangerous Territory

In the past week the McCain/Palin ticket has decided on a course of action that is at the least tasteless and at the most extremely dangerous. I am speaking of the urging/inciting/not dissuading their "followers" to shout out terrorist and worse when they mention Obama. (Caveat—things finally came to enough of a head that Friday McCain did tell one person at a townhall they had nothing to "fear" from Obama and took away the mic when another person said he was a Muslim. McCain said he wasn't—yeah! (not), but then my larger issue is WHAT THE FUCK WOULD IT MATTER IF HE WERE?????)

Let's face it folks, there are many out there who are still extremely bigoted. Even those of us who like to think of ourselves as "enlightened" perhaps harbor moments of shame about our own occasional racist lapses. But the behavior at the McCain/Palin rallies in the last week are shameful.

For those of you who may still be on the fence, these are things I hope you consider. Do you want a candidate that is ok with blatant racism? That is willing to potentially risk a fellow American's very life simply because his skin color is different. In my heart I had hoped we were beyond that; in my head I know that we still have years to go and miles to walk in each others shoes.

Town Hall Showdown

Again, I did not make it to the end of the debate, which is bad and especially because I think the most interesting thing happened at the end, from what I have heard.

McCain left and Obama stayed to talk with the audience of independents, have his picture taken and shake hands. Interesting.

During the hour I watched I took four pages of notes. Here are the highlights:

• McCain argued about whether the whole financial mess Congress just voted on was a bailout or a rescue. That struck me as the semantics of bullshit.
• Obama got a nice jab in by bringing up McCain's right hand man's connection with Fannie Mae.
• McCain called himself a "consistent reformer." Please. Then he called Obama the most liberal. I for one, don't find that to be a fault. Although that ranking is in question too.
• Tom "Brokejaw" was MAJORLY crotchety last night. Just let the dude retire and go home now folks.
• I thought it was interesting that when Brokaw asked the two candidates to prioritize healthcare, entitlements and energy and say which was their highest priority, McCain was Mr. I Can Do It All. Obama struck me as more realistic by actually a) answering the question and b) acknowledging that we have to prioritize things and that we might not be able to do it all.
• The tall stools were a big mistake for McCain. It was bad enough seeing him walk around, coming off as rather aggressive and antagonistic (more on that later), but he was too short to sit on the stool and have his feet touch the ground, so it made him look more awkward. While Obama looked VERY relaxed casually leaning against it.
• McCain espoused an across the board freeze with the budget to help fix the economy. Obama disagreed (yeah!) saying that was taking a hatchet to fix the problem when you needed a scalpel. Also, Obama commented that Americans don't feel like the people at the top level of income are sharing the burden and won't with the tax cuts McCain wants to make permanent for CEOs, etc.
• McCain and his freakin' commissions idea. Ugh. I don't know what the answer is to fix medicare, but he trouts out the idea of a commission for everything and it is getting old, just like his repeated use of "my friends." I counted at LEAST five instances he said that in the first hour alone.
• The fixation that McCain has on nuclear power as the great fix to our environmental and energy problems is disturbing to me. Good luck trying to build those reactors. Perhaps the first one could go in Arizona?
• I liked that Obama said the environment was the biggest challenge of our time.
• Obama got a good jab in when he referenced government having 30 years to fix the energy/environment problem (I assume he is dating back to the first gas crisis in the 1970s) and didn't. He followed that with saying McCain has been in Washington for 26 of those 30 years. Nice.
• Back to McCain's antagonistic side, his reference to "that one" voted for the Bush/Cheney energy bill and he voted against it. Talk about lack of respect.
• Finally I liked the question about is healthcare a privilege, right or responsibility. McCain said responsibility, Obama said right.

Phoning It In

Since I know tomorrow's post debate posting will be lengthy and I am feeling lazy, I am going to let Keith Olbermann do my work for me today. It is always good fun to watch him get riled up and last night's special comment was a bit less righteous indignation and a bit more humor. So without further ado, Mr. Olbermann:

The M Word

A co-worker went to the trouble of finding all of Palin’s maverick quotes from the debate, per the transcript:

He has been the maverick. He has ruffled feathers.

A team of mavericks, of course we're not going to agree on 100 percent of everything.

And John McCain has been the consummate maverick in the Senate over all these years.

Also, John McCain's maverick position that he's in, that's really prompt up to and indicated by the supporters that he has.

And I've joined this team that is a team of mavericks with John McCain, also, with his track record of reform, where we're known for putting partisan politics aside to just get the job done.

I think that's why we need to send the maverick from the Senate and put him in the White House, and I'm happy to join him there.

Here's Johnny!

It comes around the 21 second mark—McCain says horseshit during the break. Classy, John, classy.

Where to Start?

Gosh, you get buried under some freelance projects (sorry gentle readers, the paying gigs come first) and the world goes to shit all around you.

As one of my fave gossip blogs so aptly reminded me the other day, when you don't know where to start, start at the very beginning, per the wisdom of Ms. Julie Andrews. You can't go wrong with Mary Poppins guiding you.

So the debate. The spouse and I were all excited about Friday night's debate. With the onslaught of cooler weather in our neck of the woods, we were dreaming of crackling fires and bowls of oyster stew to sustain us through the two hours of bullshit. Alas, the fire was not to be, but the bullshit was in abundance.

McCain seemed a bit twitchy to start, but evened out some as things went on. His shout out to Ted Kennedy came off to me as one of the lowest forms of pandering. And while I know the audience was supposed to keep their traps shut, the deafening silence that accompanied several of McCain's efforts to joke seemed telling to this little liberal lover. 

Now for my guy—I was displeased that Obama's efforts to get a word in often came off as sounding hesitant or unsure (or at least that was how my Fox News ear translators heard it). But I do think that there were some murmurs of approval/laughter for his efforts at humor.

Overall, I wasn't blown away by either one of the men Friday night, but of course I agreed with more to most of what Obama was saying. But admittedly McCain would have to start performing a lobotomy on himself on live TV for me to even begin to imagine agreeing with him on much.

And then gentle readers, sometime around 10.20 I started to nod off. I apologize, but that is just too late an hour for this delicate southern belle to be exposed to. Nothing good happens after 9pm anyway, I always say.