Fairy Tail

The dog is such a princess. 

An eighty-five pound, 38 inches tall, deer-legged, red, short-haired, long-eared princess. 

The past few days have been exhausting in the "doing his business" category. He needs to find just the right spot. 

The ground's been covered in snow, outside of a path in the center of the sidewalk and the plowed strip in the street. Somehow he knows that under those twenty-three inches of snow is sidewalk and not grass. He is obviously very picky about going only on organic matter. He's like the princess, and the pee. 

Sorry, dad joke. 

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When Thinking Doesn't Count

Charles Blow writes today in the New York Times about head versus "heart."

This underscores the current fight for the soul of this country. It’s not just a tug of war between left and right. It’s a struggle between the mind and the heart, between evidence and emotions, between reason and anger, between what we know and what we believe.

This conflict was captured in a tit-for-tat between Obama and Rush Limbaugh. In an interview with CBS this week, Obama complained about the “vitriol” coming from the likes of Limbaugh: “I think the vast majority of Americans know that we’re trying hard, that I want what’s best for the country.”

Limbaugh shot back on Friday, “I and most Americans do not believe President Obama is trying to do what’s best for the country.”

And there it was. Obama’s language focused on what people “know,” or should know. He seems to find comfort in the empirical nature of knowledge. It’s logical. Limbaugh’s language focused on what he thinks people “believe.” Beliefs are a more complicated blend of facts, or lies, and faith. And, they can exist beyond the realm of the rational.

And this is the part where I get really scared.

You see, I am a thinking person. I will look at facts. I will look at data. I will follow the trail. If I am worried about the provisions in the health care bill, I will read them for myself. And, I will change my mind when I am wrong.

Here's the scary part. There are many--and truly not all--people who are strongly against health care (really insurance) reform who are just making stuff up. These people are making stuff up all the time. They are in an alternative reality. Where birth certificates from a sovereign state are suspect and there is a great and evil communist-nazi conspiracy.

And the left, we are going with logic. And facts. And thoughtful arguments. If people only understood--the President seems to be saying--they would support.

They have the boogie man. Boogie man wins over thinking man.

Keep an eye on the elections. Thinking people need a new strategy.

Thinking The New Year

I was lucky to click through to a good post by Stowe Boyd on resolving to be the best you. It's called "Nature or Nurture In Social Networking" [not a compelling title to me], but what makes it important to my thinkings it that it reminds me that we make our own heaven or hell. [Even though he says that we don't.]

In doing a good job of synthesizing recent research on happiness in social networks, Boyd also points up a few resolution/techniques that can help us (read ME) do something to make ourselves happier. [See this is the irony in him saying that our happiness is not within our own control and then giving some steps that ARE in our control. Still, it works for me.]

Resolve to surround yourself with people who are actively involved with activities and behaviors you want to do more of.

Avoid people who are involved with activities and behaviors you want to do less of.

When in contact with people who want to emulate you, be aware that you have this sort of impact on them. --from Stowe Boyd

I was thinking, is depression contagious? I now recognize that I have spent the last two years living with and loving people with depression. Can this be having an effect on my own natural optimism?

Optimists think that they can fix it. Depression isn't "fixable" in a traditional pull-yourself-out-of-it kind of way. And when you love somebody, it doesn't do you any good to resolve to avoid them because their negativity is contagious.

On the other hand, could my optimism help my social network feel more optimistic? I choose to think so--especially since I have no intention of removing the nodes with depression from my network.

Glass definitely half-full. Game on!

Portrait of A Thug As A Young Man

Yes, here is the Foreman High School class of '75 photo of that thug-Governor of Illinios, Rod Blagojevich. He really is the worst of the worst of political corruption. Creepy.

I look at this guy's picture and I can almost hear him say "the Senate seat is a f-ing valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”

And what an idiot. Knowing he is under investigation he still can't keep his mouth shut and spouts this crap over the phone? First-class stupidity or supreme arrogance? Oy! How do we elect such people? Oops! Almost forgot, being smart works against candidates for a part of the electorate.

I hope that Bluto / Blago goes to jail soon.

A Rose By Any Name

General Colin Powell announced that he was going to vote for Barack Obama, and it's all the twitter. Calling Obama "transformational" and his own Republican Party "narrower and narrower," Powell lent the considerable heft of the former general, chair of the Joint Chiefs and Secretary of State to the candidate that some have said was too inexperienced and lacked judgement.

But this was not the most important thing he did on Meet the Press.

I think that the most important thing that he did was call out the members of his own party who find the practice of Islam a disqualification for the presidency.

I cringe every time someone denies that Barack Obama is Muslim. It goes like this.

"Obama is a Muslim"

"No, he's not," said like there is something wrong being Muslim.

Imagine saying there is something wrong with being Catholic, or Jewish. Or think about when you hear boys say, "You are such a girl" as if it's an insult to be a girl--like their mother, like my mother or my sister. Making who people are synonymous with "you are bad" or "you are a dirty, filthy mother****in' terrorist" is simply WRONG.

When General Powell told the story of Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, a twenty year old native of New Jersey who made the ultimate sacrifice of a soldier in Iraq, he reminded us of the best in Americans. And in doing so, called on us all to be the best Americans we can be.

So, we should all learn the name of Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. He is a hero. An American hero. And we should all learn that we can be heroes, too.

Yes we can.

Bouncing After the Convention

My favorite part of the convention:



Where did they FIND this guy? Give that person a raise, and put Barney Smith first! What a regular guy. Did a more natural job than many of the professional pols.

I wrote this poem for one of my McCain supporting friends, whose kids have been known to chant Obama around the house.

Your Continued Wrongness

YOU said that Dems (Hillary supporters esp.) should be pissed
cuz your folks keep ginning up that Hill was dissed.
Guess you didn't see your guy McCain was hissed,
and that your other guy, W, won't be missed.

Another dull speech by our guy Kerry,
didn't stop the convention hall from making merry.
And the hatchet by both Hill and Bill was burried,
all the precurssor to the 40 states that Barack will carry!

Yo yo yo, and wait till tonite when in his speech,
Barack Obama will rise up to meet,
another man who wouldn't take his assigned seat
45 years ago even tho the mountaintop he did not reach.

And when the conventions are all done,
and this election is fully run,
Barack Obama will have won.
Mark my words, your daughters will rejoice, Son.

Yeah, not too good, but it's been what I've been thinking about. And it rhymes.

Contrasts In Contrast

There were two stories in the Post today that got me thinking.

The first was about a student at an "elite" public high school who was expelled for a 2.8 grade point average. Seems pretty crazy to kick out a kid for a B-minus. As I was reading, the reporter led me to believe that this kid probably belonged at the school. I hope everyone, though, read to the end.

[The student] rejected her offers to work with him during lunch or activity periods, saying he was too busy with Model United Nations, sports and the yearbook.

His grades were not the best, but he had great test scores. Seems like he was having motivation issues. His parents said

...their son Matthew has been mistreated. "I believe that the rule is absurd and is doing more harm to our students than good," Liz Nuti said. The parents acknowledge that Matthew has trouble organizing his time. But "he is a happy, healthy, well-rounded child with no vices".

But being happy and health with no vices is not a requirement for the school. Doing really well in math and science is. I am sorry that the kid couldn't get his act together. And even though it's a tough call, he was on notice and it's appropriate that the Fairfax school system is letting him experience the consequences of his actions.

'Cuz not everyone has it so good and easy. You know with dad an engineer, mom an accountant and two older sibs that have blazed the trail for you--and likely greased the wheels so you can get in to a great school. That not everyone can go to. Even if they are smart. Not everyone has alot of chances.

Which is the second article that got stuck in my thinkings. This one is about an incredible young man, Cedric Jennings, who "as a boy clawed out of a Southeast Washington ghetto and over the Ivy gates." And today he is wondering if he is doing enough. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders--a grad of Brown, Harvard and U-Mich--back in D.C. trying to make a difference in people's lives. A social worker. And wondering if he is acting on too small a stage. Is he fulfilling his potential? The expectations?

My heart breaks for this 31-year old man who is still struggling to do the right thing. He is still trying to figure out the best ways to apply his prodigious talent and drive. He knows he is responsible for himself. He knows that his choices and his actions have consequences. He is fighting Peter Parker's battle, "with great power comes great responsibility." He knows this is important.

I wish both the boy and the man in these two contrasting stories peace.

Zip It, Idiot

Received a text from the Sib late Thursday morning.

Jesse Jackson is an idiot.

Yeah, that seemed to be true. A page 4 story in the Post had alerted me over my morning coffee to what would be the "news" of the day--bigger than the floods (which led the cable news to loop through the same images of water in the streets and not too much in commentary, I mean it was too much water, what's to say?) but a little smaller than Imus (cable-fest big contrast with the old white guy versus young black women with some of the same commentators).

So, we got someone making a disparaging comment about a rival/peer. Makes you kind of hate recordings, because if Jesse had made the comment without the salacious evidence, there would be NO STORY. As it was, it was a non-story that spun and spun and spun until it finally sputtered all over itself.

Colby King from the WaPo got it right this morning when he wrote

The reverend brother was simply fat-mouthing....Jesse Jackson was sitting on the TV set next to a brother talking trash, selling wolf tickets, being verbally aggressive when he knew full well that he wasn't about to do anything but dis Obama (presumably) behind his back.

Hey, that's not news. It's what people do. It's me talking about my boss doing something dumb. Or someone who calls me boss (or parent) talking trash about me. So what. It portends nothing of importance. And that he got "caught" just causes group pain as we relive and rehash, rewind and recoil the non-story.

This fake drama that doesn't improve big city education, provide appropriate medical care for soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan, or help us remember the discussion we almost had after Katrina.

Yeah, Jesse is an idiot, for feeding the idiot media for our idiot consumption.

Wrong Headline, Wrong Story

In the ongoing effort to make the 2008 Presidential Election all about race and increase readership or ratings or something, today's Washington Post has the inflammatory front page headline "3 In 10 Admit to Race Bias" and chronicles the trouble Barack Obama is having in getting the (play dramatic music) White Vote.

If you read on to paragraph 9 on the second page, you will discover what I found to be news. That is, Democrats running for president have been having trouble with the (play dramatic music) White Vote for the past few election cycles--and according to the article, this trend has been going on since Jimmy Carter ran in 1976.

This is hardly the first time a Democratic candidate has faced such a challenge -- Al Gore lost white voters by 12 points in 2000, and John F. Kerry lost them by 17 points in 2004 -- but it is a significantly larger shortfall than Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton encountered in their winning campaigns. -- Wash Post

Somehow, though, the Post acts like Obama is having a problem with the (play dramatic music) White Vote because he is black. That's not what I see in the data.

Hey Post, I think that if you actually read your data--to make it easy I made a graph with a trendline--you would agree that the story is either

1. Dems have been in trouble with white voters for a while, OR
2. Obama's race doesn't seem to be having much of an impact on the voters--so far.

The Post piece is NOT good thinking.

Trying to Get It Right

I was speeding up M-39 one year ago, at this time. I was zipping around cars to try and get to St. John Oakland Hospital.

No that's not right.

I was creeping along up the Southfield Freeway. My flight was on time to Detroit, and the Sibs knew that I was on my way. I was really wishing that I had taken the noon flight. I got the call around ten in the morning, but it would have been too close. The next flight was 2:30. Gave me a little more time to deal with the logistics of an out of town spouse and two boys home for summer vaycay.

No that's not right. My dealing with the logistics was: two frantic calls, throwing some clothes in a bag. I specifically packed a jacket. In case I was staying for a funeral.

No, that's not right. There was no "in case." At least that's what my ever-the practical brain knew. Fortunately, the brain was in charge of packing. And the brain was in charge as I was stuck in traffic on the freeway. Between exits 5 and 6, my cell phone rang. And for that split second, the brain lost control of the situation. The heart fumbled for the phone.

The brain grabbed control back and immediately was sorry that the phone was answered. It was the Sibling who had news for me.

No, that's not right. She didn't have news, because I already knew. And I asked her not to tell me. I told her I would be there in about 30 minutes. I didn't need to hear it right this second. I still had time. I wasn't ready, and it would do me no good to know right now. "It can wait," I said. I cried as I crawled up the "express"way.

No, that's not right. My volume was high when I told her I didn't want to know. She felt I had to know right then. I was so angry. I hung up before she could get it all out. I screamed. Then, I cried. I was stuck in traffic, I was all fucking alone in some strange car, in a city that I hate. I couldn't pull over. My eyes stung.

I wasn't so sure where the hospital was. I knew where the other hospital was, but not this one. I drove past it, had to turn around. I went into the lot and parked the car. (I think it was a sliver sedan. A white Charger maybe? Yeah, that was it, the white Charger that failed me.) I went to the desk and asked to see my father.

No, that's not right. I didn't know what to ask. I couldn't see my father in the way you see someone in the hospital. It was more like seeing someone in a morgue. He was dead. So I told the woman at the information desk that I wanted to see my father, and that he was dead, and that he died within the past hour. Where would he--and my family--be?

I went into the ICU and he was there. With my mother and Sib#1. Sib#2 and SpouseOf#2 were in the hall.

No, that's not right. He wasn't there. His body was. And I don't think that he had been there for a few days. So it didn't really matter that I missed seeing him. Traffic didn't matter. The noon flight wouldn't have helped. But what I wanted was that all three of us were with him so he would know that we were all there. All together. All for him. The brain knew that he wouldn't have known. Then brain went to work tending to the tasks at hand. There was alot to do, and this was all new.

No, that's not right. The heart kept trying to poke out from the heavy blanket. It did matter.

No, that's not right. It doesn't matter.

No, that's not right. It does.

No....

Scottie We Hardly Knew Ye

What was he thinking? Scott McClellan longtime press punching bag and Bush mouthpiece, that is.

For most of his time in the Press Room, I thought Scott was such a tool (definition 6)--repeatedly mumbling his talking points without any evidence of imagination or art. Maybe if he said the exact phrase seventeen times in a row his interrogators would

1. Believe him and move on. (As IF!)
2. Forget their point and move on.
   
3. Get bored and move on.
4. Turn into a field of Budweisers, ripe for the pickin'. Boy a cold one sure would be good right about now. Let's move on!

Then, toward the end of his tenure, I began to feel sorry for him. It must of been around the time when reporters began to openly mock him. And like a weeble, he would get knocked around, wobble, but not fall down. His demeanor changed. He began to look hurt. He seemed like he would rather be anywhere else--inside of an active volcano, for example--than behind that podium.

Scott wasn't quick enough to dodge any of the incoming. He seemed wounded. It was like watching someone getting stoned. (Not like smoking weed stoned, but like "whoever is without sin..." stoned.) His loyalty seemed dopey, yet somehow pure. He was sticking by the man who brought him to Washington.

Now he comes out with his book. And he really gives it to the Bush administration--even the President. So I wonder, "Why?"

Well, one friend, channeling Deep Throat, said to "follow the money." It's true that McClellan will make alot more money on a controversial book, but given the bridges he's burned, h e better invest wisely because he won't be working in communications or PR ever again. (In addition to smashing his political glass house, he made a shambles of the 4th Estate, too!)

Nobody says that Scott is smart, so the easy money motive is a quick fit. But it also seems possible that McClellan did have an epiphany--as well as an axe to grind with Rove and Scooter. Maybe it got to be that the more he thought about what happened, the more he felt he had to take layers of varnish off of the truth. Maybe he was worried for his immortal soul.

And now, in a perfect Karmic turn, all the vitriol that he had giveth is now being returnith to him ten-fold. Does he deserve it? I don't know. Is he doing the right thing? For the right reasons? I don't know. But for some reason, I sure want to figure it out.

Sticks and Stones

My mother said something unforgivable to my sibling last week.

No, I really mean it. Unforgivable.

At least I couldn't forgive it. But the Sib has forgiven my mother for really bad behaviors in the past.

And this got me thinking about how we communicate, what we say, the context surrounding what we say and what we actually mean.

If someone says something really cruel, really awful but doesn't intent to hurt, is that easier to forgive? I would say, yes.

If someone says something cruel with the intention to hurt someone, is that less forgivable? I would say, yes, again.

If someone is mentally ill, AND says something cruel, both knowing and intending to inflict pain, is that more forgivable? I am thinking, not so much.

If someone is trying to protect themselves and feels that they need to strike out viciously at someone they love, are they sick? Well, Yes.

Does that make it more forgivable? Not for me.

Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm -- but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves. -- T.S. Eliot

If someone says something really mean, and they sincerely are sorry and ask for forgiveness, is that more forgivable? I think so, especially if they were really trying to right the wrong.

If someone says something really mean and never asks for forgiveness, how do you forgive?

A Race to Race

So, will Barack Obama's speech on race--you know, the speech he really did not want to have to make --be noted in future histories as a turning point in U.S. race relations? And more importantly, if it is an historical "event," will it be in the context of the election of our first black president or in the context of a failed candidacy that helped to bring an open discussion of race in America?

Too early to tell. Too early to know if this will have any long-term impact. Too early to tell if skittish white-folk will use Rev. Wright as a reason why they can't support Obama. But for the skittish, they would need to find something anyway.

So when Obama offers nuance and context about race in America, does he inadvertently give an out to folks who like to have simple choices laid out in a menu of numbers on the wall? [I'll take the #2 meal, Britney Spears burger, Bill Cosby fries, with a supersize of O.J.?] When there is no easy sound bite--precisely because this is a discussion and NOT a sound bite--can it be heard?

"Only a tiny fraction of Americans will ever see the speech in full. Once it went through the media sausage grinder all you were left with was him failing to disown the pastor," says Michael Munger, political scientist at Duke University and a libertarian. "It showed he is the kind of candidate we should want as president but not the kind we tend to elect." Financial Times

Okay. Maybe I am just a pseudo-intellectual snob. And maybe I just need to learn more about stuff white people like.

And maybe, just maybe, no matter what happens in this upcoming election, we can actually

"...continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. [B]ecause [we] believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren." --Barack Obama

Yeah, like that.

Spitzer is Gross

We were driving back from rugby practice.

The 16-year-old: I have alot of issues with Spitzer, but the hypocrisy really sticks out.
Me: Yeah. But I keep thinking of his family. Three teenage daughters.
Him: 3?
Me: Yeah.
Him: Oh, man. Like teenage in high-school?
Me: Probably like 18, 16, 14.
Him: No! Well, I know that my dad would NEVER do anything like that so it's not like I would ever be faced with this, but if he did, I would hate him.
Me: No. You wouldn't. You always see everyone's point of view. You would hate what he did, but you wouldn't judge him and blow him off. That's just not what you do.
Him: Yeah, well, it sucks to be me sometimes.

Actually, it might suck to be him, but not to be loved by him.

Friend Request

Every couple of weeks I send a Facebook friend request to the 16-year old. I just now sent another one.

Me: Hey, did you get my friend request?
Him: I don't know.

or

Me: I sent you another friend request.
Him: I know.

Facebook is an online networking group originally for college students, and then high-school students, to keep in touch. You create a personal page and can send out electronic "friend" requests. "Friends" can send messages, post photos and videos, and add new friends. All from the comfort of your own computer. In 2006, they opened up the floodgates and let even old geezers like me in. That's the problem.

The Post today has front page (don't ask me why) story on "When Mom or Dad Asks to Be a Facebook Friend." And kids, here is the right answer.

JUST SAY NO!

Of course, I am stalking the 16-year old to be my "friend." I'm the parent, that's what I do. But frankly, he should be able to exchange pleasantries--and not so pleasantries--with his peers. And, I AM NOT HIS PEER.

I don't want to be a peer. My role in this show is to be the parent. Part of him growing up means that I don't get to know everything. I don't need to know that there is a group "Get Guy Laid." Really, I don't need to know. And he needs a modicum of privacy.

Okay, I know why we want to know. We want to protect our kids. And wrap them in bubble wrap and keep them germ free. But I also know that that is no way to grow up. The path to adulthood is fraught with danger. That path has got to be traveled, and decisions on which turn to take have to be made by the traveler. Otherwise they can't become adults.

That's really the point of parenthood. We take our precious babes and help them to grow up and leave us behind. From a 7 pound eating-pooping machine to a 6-footer able to make good decisions when he comes home to a broken pipe in the basement. And hopefully when confronted with even harder choices, too.

We succeed when they are successfully independent. Not if they have no bruises. Not if they don't make mistakes. Not if they don't take risks.

By the time they are rejecting our Facebook friend requests, they are working from whatever we gave them. Not like we don't matter anymore, but they are applying the lessons we gave to the ever widening world they live in in high school and in college. We don't need to spy. There are other ways to know your kid.

So yes, I will continue to bug the 16-year old about being my friend. He has 289 to my paltry 19. But I don't need him to be my friend. He is already my son.

And good for me that he doesn't read this. Otherwise, he would never take me seriously.

Love, FEMA

So yesterday FEMA said that they would take some of their mobile homes leftover from Katrina to house people who lost their homes in last week's deadly tornadoes in the South.

Today, FEMA and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released information of the formaldehyde tests they ran in December and January.

CDC's preliminary evaluation of a scientifically established random sample of 519 travel trailers and mobile homes tested between Dec. 21, 2007 and Jan. 23, 2008 showed average levels of formaldehyde in all units of about 77 parts per billion (ppb). Long-term exposure to levels in this range can be linked to an increased risk of cancer, and as levels rise above this range, there can also be a risk of respiratory illness. These levels are is higher than expected in indoor air, where levels are commonly in the range of 10-20 ppb. (halfway into FEMA's press release.)

FEMA has been kicking the formaldehyde can down the street since September 2006. OSHA came in last May to see if it was safe for FEMA employees. FEMA was working to get people out of the trailers in September 2007, but was acting like it was precautionary rather than necessary.

Now we know that the trailers pose a health risk to their residents. The CDC said so. But does FEMA know that?

Dear Disaster Victims in Tennessee and Arkansas,
Sorry about your losses. We have these great trailers for you to stay in until you get back on your feet. And maybe some swamp land in Florida. Oh, and don't forget to read the warning labels on the trailers.
Love, FEMA

Spirit of the Law

You parents out there. You know how your kids can be barristers? You know how they can parse words when it suits them? Like:

Me: I said no online games.
Him: Well, actually you said that you hate online shooting games, and this isn't a shooting game.
OR

Me: Homework needs to be done before goofing around.
Him: Well, I did finish my homework. I just didn't show my work, and I didn't understand problems 3-18, and I didn't bring home my social studies so how could I read it?
OR

Her: I am having a fundraiser-not campaigning.

In our community (okay, in my house), I don't accept parsing of words to get around the intent of the agreement. The boys know the right thing to do, and I am not going to have an esoteric argument because I didn't cover every possible variation of circumstance. Especially the stretch of circumstance which would allow the child to do what he wanted to do DESPITE the fact that it had been disallowed.

The point is: You know better.

By Any Means Necessary

Four of us were in a car headed for lunch: 0ne very conservative Republican, one Dem-leaning independent, and two pretty consistent Democrats--an Obama supporter and an undecided.

"I don't want them back!"
"I'll vote Republican before voting for HER."
"How can I be friends with you if we fundamentally disagree on stuff like immigration."
"Continually, and LOUDLY, distorting facts --even after the distortion is exposed-- is swiftboating."
"Who has executive experience?"
"Why is that important?"
"I'm voting in the Republican primary. I don't want to make a decision on the Dems."
"I don't want them back!!!!"

I don't get why some folks are so nostalgic for the "good ole days" of the Clinton administration. While in my opinion those eight years were better than Bush I or Bush II, I also think that having both legs amputated is better than dying. This doesn't mean that I am excited by the "losing my legs" option.

I remember my exhilaration sitting on a blanket on the Mall; handing the then 16-month-old Cheerios on a pleasant January day; and oohing and ahhing when the F-16s flew over the Lincoln Memorial and Aretha and Diana sang on the steps for the First Clinton Inaugural Reunion. It was the first time I ever voted for a president who won. It was the first time since I had been in Washington that my side was in charge. It was a day of great hope. (oops, did I say "hope?")

I remember my disgust and discomfort when I had to tell the then 7-year-old that his President was in trouble for telling a big lie. I remember my anger with President Bill for dragging the country through his linguistic histrionics about "that woman" and his definition of the word "is." And I felt, at that time, that no matter how much the opposition wrongly chased the Clintons, no matter how disgusting and irrelevant the never-ending Ken Starr investigation was, he and his wife made a fatal misstep with me by not taking any responsibility for their own actions. It was always someone else's fault. They did what was right. It was a vast right-wing conspiracy causing the President to lie under oath. Or to quote Jake Blues, trying to talk his way out of being executed by a jilted lover, maybe it was "... an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD."

Based on the past weeks of an increasingly uncontrollable attack-dog Bill, I am getting a bit spun up about who would be in charge and who would be leading the charge in (yet) another Clinton White House. And, I am saddened by the take no prisoners, by any means necessary approach of the Clinton campaign.

So Hillary, go ahead and get after your opponents on the issues--and experience is a legitimate issue. Make it clear how you stand for change and provide a contrast with the other candidates. Show that you care about what is important to "people like me"'s all over the country.

But remember, when you take on the bad-guy tactics of swiftboating, when you distort facts, when you try and shift blame to the media or others, when your old man is out of control acting like an over-indulged child who feels entitled to his own Oompa Loompa, you may end up having softer support in the general election than you need-- potentially grabbing a Democratic defeat from the Bush-43 engineered jaws of victory.

You're likable enough, Hillary. But I am looking for a noble warrior. Fight fair and let the best candidate win.

Morality in Red White and Blue

It was November 3rd, 2004. My sister called. And she was pissed.

"I am NOT immoral!" She was emphatic.

"I have morals! I have values! I am not a bad person because I didn't vote for Double-Yoo. What makes THEM think that I am BAD?" She was quite exercised.

She wasn't surprised that her Red State went for Bush--her rustbelt politics were strong but without any foothold in America's grain basket. But she was surprised with the numbing media-mantra about morals and values voters making the difference in 2004.

"Who gave THEM the market on morality?" she cried. She did not feel good about being a Democrat.

Frank Rich wrote in his NYTimes column on Sunday

“	After so many years of fear and loathing, we had almost forgotten what it’s like to feel good about our country. On Thursday night [after the Iowa caucuses], that long-dormant emotion came rushing back, like an old dream that pops out of the deepest recesses of memory, suddenly as clear as light.

What excites so many folks about Obama? He lets my sister feel good--dare I say proud?--to be an American. She can feel hope and a sense of possibility. She can stand up and say, "I am NOT a bad guy. I can love my country, too! And I do."

No matter the eventual nominees, at least for now, many Democrats, Republicans and independents can remove the mantle of irony and cynicism and embrace the best in us all.

Rock the Vote!

The analysis of the caucus-goers on the WashPost chat tonight, included this exchange.

Q: [What about] the importance of the young vote in this election, especially for Obama's 7 percent lead...Do you believe the young vote will be prominent in the general election?

A: The "entrance poll" says 57% of 18-29 year-olds supported Obama tonight, and that they represented almost one fourth of the caucus attendees. Both are striking figures. Clinton got 11 percent of the young; Edwards 13 percent. If that is a harbinger, then young people can have a huge impact in November.

I get excited to see young voters join in. The biggest impediment to democracy isn't crazy partisanship. The biggest danger is indifference.

Thanks to all the 18-29 year-olds who can change both the demographic and the substance of this next election. It's my future, but it's your future longer.