Wake Up!

Breath The Air

For those who are saying: " I guess I will hold my nose and vote for the President"...
"This was a radical realization for me. Never before in my political memory had I known a leader whose behavior was so admirable that I might actually like to emulate it. There'd been leaders in my lifetime whom I was fond of, or impressed with, or amused by -- but none whom I had ever admired as a role model for intelligent, dignified behavior. I closed my eyes and imagined what it might be like to have somebody in the White House whom one could look to for an example of how to remain calm and thoughtful in moments of crisis, stupidity, or sorrow."  Full aritcle by Elizabeth Gilbert
I am the same age as the President, give or take a month, and that may be a part of it. I can remember my father, a WWII vet, and career Air Force officer, displaying much admiration for John F. Kennedy, who was closer to his age. He never supported another Democrat after that, but he loved JFK.
We all admire different people for different reasons, probably more linked to our own character and personalities than anything else, but what Ms. Gilbert so eloquently states holds true for me as well: Never in my life of political observation, have I known another high office holder, who I held as much respect for as this President....and I have been paying very close attention.....
Frankly, at the time Barrack Obama was introduced to the wide world of American politics, in his speech at the Democratic convention, I had been paying such close attention, that my cynicism knew no bounds. I was watching his speech with a friend of mine, who actually had the foresight to point out: "That guy is going to be President someday".  The same thought had crossed my mind, in a sort of "wouldn't it be nice if the West Wing was real" kind of way, but I scoffed loudly at the thought. I had been so burned by the American electorate at that point: (Reagan's election and re-election, George Bush Sr.'s election) that I thought it necessary to point out to my friend that: "That would be nice, but this country is too stupid to elect him." When my friend asked why I thought that...I shot back "Because he is black". It was that simple. After a lifetime of watching a parade of white millionaires run for office every four years, the most articulate, intelligent, thoughtful candidate I had ever seen, was in my mind, un-electable, because of the color of his skin.  My faith in the electorate to do the right thing was so low, the possibility of them actually doing it was to me, at best, a fiction.
I am not saying my faith has been restored by his election, but he certainly hasn't done any thing to change my opinion of him.
The only difference is, they almost always won their battles on the West Wing.
In any case, I don't have to hold my nose, I am going to breath deep...

Walking With The Big Dog

The problem is too many voters couldn't define a recession if their life depended on it...or a deficit....or what actually constitutes the debt. You can produce chart after chart, diagram after diagram for the last 50 years showing how the economy works under the two parties, but it takes Bill Clinton to put it in to terms the average low info voter can understand. 
Do they actually teach econ or even civics in schools anymore? If so, how can pug after pug appear on national television and claim : Obama raised your taxes, Obama exploded the deficit, Obama doubled the debt...without being laughed off the air.
"Arithmetic"....so good to see the big dog out barking again......

Ohio: Vote If You Can

What is more disgusting..or to snatch an invective hijacked by the bumper sticker addicted right... UN-AMERICAN....than these efforts to disenfranchise voters?
Your ideas, your very ideology is so repugnant in the light of day, you have so little confidence they will survive in the marketplace of the ballot box. Rigging the game through Diebold tampering is not enough, a never ending river of lies and obstruction is not enough. Attempting to ruin the country's credit in the global market is not enough.
You must physically prevent citizens from exercising a right that people were dying for less than a generation ago. A right that is literally the heart of a democracy you claim to defend and rail to "take back".
If there is one, never mentioned thing, this President has accomplished, merely by his existence, it is to expose, what a truly sick and twisted movement the American Right has become. 
They know no shame. They have no conscience. They deserve nothing better than to be rightfully consigned to the dust bin of history.

Float Us ...FLOTUS

Ennui - Henri