Are You Ready?!?!?!?!?

Tuesday night was probably the most exciting night, politically, since July 27, 2004. That's when I heard a senatorial candidate announce John Kerry's presidential hopes at the Democratic National Convention. Four years later, it will be someone else's turn to announce Barack Obama being the next Democratic candidate for the United States. Obama's acceptance speech was brilliant; moving and inspirational, forward-focussed and hopeful. Let us do what we can to see him elected the forty-fourth president.
As for Hillary Clinton, her Clintonesque non-concession non-concession speech was self-indulgent and trite. She lost whatever respect non-supporters may have had and possibly, just possibly the VP slot. If Obama was smart, he'd leave her in the Senate to tag-team Congress with the executive, then use his influence to check her in a reminder of just how junior she is. She ran a tough campaign and she's a smart person and brilliant politician. It's just sad that the cards she played were tired and worn-out, like her husband's current role and possibly their legacy.

Victor Davis Hanson wrote an interesting op-ed piece last week entitled, "All About Me", describing how selfish the baby boomer generation has been, draining on the nation and unwilling to sacrifice or serve or contribute to making the nation better. What's too bad is that he chose to paint them in, typical for a neocon blowhard, the fashionable '1960s liberal' label. Unfortunately for Hanson is his lack of knowledge of, ironically, history. The vast majority of coming-of-age youth forty years ago torn about voting for a conservative Republican or a Democratic warhawk. They grew up in the '80s when the screw 'em trickle down policies were in vogue and the idea that social services were to be expected but not paid for; this is the same generation that could not define 'is' neither see the wiliness of the Bush candidacy stealing the '00 election. Oh well, I hate saying I was right, but...

Then there's Pat Buchanan with a new book out equating the Obama foreign policy with Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policies of 1938. He'll openly deny calling Obama Chamberlain but then again, he'd deny the fact that he's a xenophobic, racist religio-statist. Didn't Nixon sit down and talk with his enemies in '72? And what did that bring? Peaceful economic and political relations with China until the present time and the first major nuclear arms limitation treaty with Russia. And wasn't Buchanan writing Nixon's speeches? In the 1980s, didn't Ronald Reagan sit down with Mikael Gorbachev to negotiate an INF treaty? And didn't that nearly bring an end of nuclear weaponry amongst the two nations? God forbid. And wasn't Buchanan one of his personal aides?

Scott McClellan has suddenly had a Damascus-like revelation that telling the truth for truth's sake is a good thing. Imagine. He flames his former boss, the President of the United States, but the problem for McClellan is that detractors, liberals and history already believe and know what he had to say. However, it is interesting that McClellan's dishing on the whole CIA/Valerie Plame scandal, being, really, the first to mention that it was not a Cheney/Libby thing but a Bush/Rove thing. While the HuffPo called that spade as the scandal was unraveling, now we have the opposition basically outlining everything the Bushies claimed wasn't true. And if McClellan's telling even only half-truths, shouldn't the investigation be re-opened to see who was committing perjury and who still needs to testify truthfully in the Plame Affair? While the Democrats need to be smart about it all, and it could cost them the election, what they do have is insurmountable evidence to begin impeachment hearing against both Cheney and Bush. God bless both of them.

John McCain has always seemed to be a nice guy. He's likable for several reasons, one being that at one time he often challenged the ruling heads of his own political party on certain topics. Now as a candidate for an executive office and not a legislative one, what he appears to have discovered is that he speaks not just for Arizona or his own self but for a political party. And he's suddenly realized that the best policies and roads to take are the 'stay the course' routes that have failed this nation for the last decade. He claims he's the candidate for change. What change? McCain can't claim to be in favor of moving away from Bush-era policies and then attack Obama for outlining the Democratic plans. What are the Republican plans if not maintanence of the status quo? If you're such the renegade you've always claimed to be, John, let's see that rebel health care plan. Let's hear about that immigration plan that represents the goals of Denver as well as Phoenix. Good luck on appeasing the Tancredos and Inhofes of your party. Until the '08 GOP platform rejects the current Republican failures, what one party has is an ostrich dressed in an elephant's clothing.

My dad now qualifies for the Beatles tune, ' When I'm 64'. My son attempted to sing it for him and froze, though he sang it for the rest of the day. Happy Birthday, Pops. In this big election year, it's interesting to see the candidates and politicians lining their ducks and allegiances up. It's also cool to see your congressman call your father at home and ask for an endorsement. I'm proud of you, pop. Give 'em hell in November.

I couldn't blog today without recognizing the day's anniversary. A dark day in the nation's history. Thankfully the last, but THE one of broken dreams and missed opportunities and what ifs. What we have because of 6/4/68 is a martyr and a hero, though I would have rather had Bobby live for many more years as a human being and a politician to either be inspired by or angry with. I'll never forget reading my mother's diary entry from this date forty years ago as it captured the sentiment of a nation and a generation. My mom was looking forward to going out and celebrating my dad's twenty-fourth birthday. He'd just returned from his second tour in Southeast Asia, and my parents had been separated for most of their two-year marriage. All she wrote was 'Bobby Kennedy died today' or something to that effect. And to think, we ended up with Nixon. Ah, history.

It's getting late and I'm sick now (figures, right when school gets out) but my mind continues to get blown as I discover more classic music. Two words: Wilson Pickett. More to come.