The Music Man

Apparently, the polls aren't the only thing tripping the McCain-Palin campaign up. As reported by E!Online, the '80s band Survivor has asked the McCain campaign to stop using it's well-known song, "Eye of the Tiger," at campaign events. This is yet another blow to the McCain campaign, musically speaking, as the bands Heart, Van Halen, and the Foo Fighters, as well as the musicians John Mellencamp and Jackson Browne have all told McCain and Palin not to use their music at rallies and in ads.

So, basically, McCain is down to Hank Williams, Jr. and Pat Garrett (proud singer/songwriter of "Moose-Shootin Mama"). Yeah. Anyway, in the spirit of "reaching across the aisle," I thought it would be nice to suggest some other songs the campaign might be able to use at different events:

- Since Heart nixed Palin's use of "Barracuda," I thought this classic might be appropriate for Palin's theme song: "If I Only Had a Brain"

- Seeing as Palin has a theme song to describe to describe her, it only seems seems fair that McCain gets one too: Stevie Wonder's "Superstition"

- A song to describe the apparent campaign strategy: AC/DC's "Highway to Hell"

- Seeing as how members of the Republican Party are jumping ship at this point, McCain may want to sing this well-known ditty to make himself feel better: "It’s My Party (and I'll Cry if I Want to)" by Lesley Gore

- A great song to convey the state of the McCain-Palin campaign in it's current condition (as well as highlight McCain's Navy experience): Abba's "S.O.S."

- Given McCain's recent statement that being around 10 points down in national polls is getting the Obama campaign "just where we want them," McCain needs a song to match that level of bravado: New Kids on the Block's "Hanging Tough"

- A song that makes a plea, on behalf of John McCain, to all of the voters and pundits in America: Jonny Lang's "Lie to Me"

- And, finally, the song that the McCain campaign should play on the night of November 4th: The Rolling Stones "Can’t Always Get What You Want"

The Inbox of Untruth

My dear husband works in the energy industry, and, as such, tends to be surrounded by mostly conservative-leaning individuals. He complained some time ago that his co-workers kept sending him anti-Obama e-mails; my response was, "Oooh - forward them to me!!"

Today he obliged. And this is what I received:

Perhaps there are SOME out there who are beginning to get 'the picture'. The following is a narrative taken from Sunday Morning's televised 'Meet The Press'. and the author is employed by none other than the Washington Post!! Yeah......the Washington Post of New York and Los Angeles Times fame!! Must say that I'm dually impressed..................

From Sunday's Televised 'Meet the Press' Senator Obama was asked about his stance on the American Flag.

Obama Explains National Anthem Stance

Sun, 07 Sept. 2008 11:48:04 EST, General Bill Ginn' USAF (ret.) asked Obama to explain why he doesn't follow protocol when the National Anthem is played.

The General also stated to the Senator that according to the United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171... During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform are expected to stand at attention facing the flag with the
right hand over the heart. At the very least, 'Stand and Face It'

Senator Obama Live on Sunday states, 'As I've said about the flag pin, I don't want to be perceived as taking sides, Obama said. 'There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American flag is a symbol of oppression. And the anthem itself conveys a war-like message.
You know, the bombs bursting in air and all. It should be swapped for something less parochial and less bellicose. I like the song 'I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing.' If that were our anthem, then I might salute it.'We should consider to reinvent our National Anthem as well as to redesign our Flag to better offer our enemies hope and love. It's my intention, if elected, to disarm America to the level of acceptance to our Middle East Brethren. If we as a Nation of warring people, should conduct ourselves as the nations of Islam, whereas peace prevails. Perhaps a state or period of mutual concord between our governments. When I become President, I will seek a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity, and a freedom from disquieting oppressive thoughts. We as a Nation have placed upon the nations of Islam an unfair injustice. My wife disrespects the Flag for many personal reasons. Together she and I have attended several flag burning ceremonies in the past, many years ago. She has her views and I have mine'. Of course now, I have found myself about to become the President of the United States and I have put aside my hatred. I will use my power to bring CHANGE to this Nation, and offer the people a new
path of hope. My wife and I look forward to becoming our Country's First Family. Indeed, CHANGE is about to overwhelm the United States of America .

WHAAAAAAAT the Hell !!!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard it right. This could possibly be our next President.

I, for one, am speechless.


Dale Lindsborg ,
Washington Post

Also included in the e-mail were the comments of those who had been sent the e-mail previously, including this comment by the co-worker who forwarded it to my husband: "Did anyone see this on this past Sunday morning…Hard to believe he would actually admit to his and his wife’s beliefs on TV…UNBELEIVABLE!! God help us if this is true!"

Immediately, I was suspicious. Surely, if this had actually taken place, Faux News, Sarah Palin, and all of the minions from the "Obama is a terrorist" camp would have jumped on the story, right? And yet, neither Palin nor McCain's recent speeches suggested one word of what this e-mail was indicating. Second, I noticed something quite peculiar: the dateline on the "article" - Sun, Sept. 07, 11:48:04 EST. As I recall, on September 7th of this year (and actually, many past years), time was being reported in EDT - Eastern Daylight Time - not EST - Eastern Standard Time (yes, all those years of reading Encyclopedia Brown are finally paying off!). Third, Obama would want to use "I Want to Teach the World to Sing" as the new National Anthem? I would have pegged him more as a "We Are the World" kind of guy. A quick Google of "Obama Meet the Press Anthem" quickly brought up the Snopes page identifying this e-mail as a hoax. As I suspected, there is no Dale Lindsborg working for the Washington Post and Obama was not even on "Meet the Press" on September 7th (for the record, he has not been on Meet the Press since late July).

Well, I sent all of my research back to my dear husband, who in turn sent an e-mail back to the people who received the original e-mail along with him. He also admonished his fellow e-mailees to look at these types of forwards with a discerning eye and look up the facts themselves.

As of this writing, he has not received a response from the McCain supporters.

The Glass House

Another day, another partisan interview for Sarah Palin. The latest missive from Ms. Palin comes courtesy of her time on the Laura Ingraham Show today. As reported by Andy Barr, Sarah Palin continues to throw stones from her glass house, though she is doing it in a folksy manner.

" 'Barack Obama hasn’t told the American people the total truth about that, about his association with Ayers,' Palin said on conservative radio host Laura Ingraham’s show. 'Doggonit, he fails to tell the American people with candor and with truthfulness what his associations are and we have to know.' " And you would know this how, Ms. Palin? I ask this in all seriousness, really. Both Barack Obama and Mayor Richard Daley have said that Obama and Ayers were acquaintances, nothing more. Ayers has been accepted as a member of Chicago education for a number of years. Unless you have incontrovertible evidence to suggest otherwise, I am inclined to believe that Obama is telling the truth. And if you did have incontrovertible evidence to indicate that Obama was more than an acquaintance of Ayers, wouldn't you have shared it by now? Maybe it's just that the truth isn't to your liking, hmm? It's much easier to throw around vague accusations and demand that the other side prove them wrong rather than offer any evidence yourself to back up your position. But while we're talking about candor and truthfulness, Ms. Palin, could you explain why it was that your husband and your staff avoided answering the Troopergate subpoenas until an Alaskan court upheld them? Oh, and have you answered those questions about the Alaskan Independence Party yet?

Palin then continues to talk about the unfairness of it all. " 'I don't see the other ticket being asked to be truthful and give details,' Palin said." Um, maybe it's because, for the most part, the other side is being truthful and has been forthcoming with the details, Ms. I-Have-Yet-To-Hold-A-Press-Conference-Since-Becoming-The-VP-Nominee. You have a degree in journalism - surely you remember what journalists are supposed to do, right?

" 'Some in the mainstream media are saying that, well, we’re taking the gloves off unfairly. No. You know there are only, what, 26 days to go. We gotta start getting answers to these questions that are paramount here so that voters have a choice in front of them that is based on truthfulness and candor. They deserve it.' "

"We gotta start getting answers to these questions that are paramount here." Really. You honestly think that Obama's supposed connection to a man who set bombs when Obama was 8 years old is more important than issues like the tanking economy, the Iraqi occupation, the search for Bin Laden, the need to develop alternative fuels, our healthcare system, the education system, and the environment? Are you sure that you're reading every magazine and newspaper that is put in front of you? Or are you just that out of touch with the average American, Ms. Joe Six-Pack?

Further in the interview, Ms. Palin suggests that electing Sen. Obama to be president would "diminish the prestige of the presidency." Let's not even get into the potential racial implications of such a statement. Taking that statement at face value, once again, one has to wonder whether Ms. Palin has been paying attention. I mean, how much prestige is being brought to the office by current president - you know, the guy who can't even get his own party to touch him with a ten-foot pole. I'm sure that Sen. McCain, a womanizer with a terrible temper, will bring loads of prestige to the office. You know, if he actually beats "that one."

She Doth Protest Too Much

Well, apparently, it wasn't enough that John McCain's campaign has decided to run away from the issues and is attempting to run on character assassination and smears. It wasn't enough that his running mate, Sarah Palin, has gotten the crowds at her rallies so worked up with her accusations of Obama "palling around with terrorists" that a crowd member shouted out "kill him." (By the way, heckuva way to unite the country guys.) Nope. Apparently, when it comes to slinging the mud, in the McCain camp, it's a family affair. McCain's wife, the former Cindy Lou Hensley, has heard the impassioned call to arms and has stepped into the ring. On Tuesday, she said that Obama has "waged the dirtiest campaign in American history."

Really? No, seriously? Mrs. McCain, do you honestly believe the words coming out of your mouth or is your memory that short? Let's put aside the fact that your husband has called the other candidate "a liar." Let's forget that your husband's running mate, who happens to be married to a former member of the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party, is pretty much calling Obama a traitor. Let's forget that Karl Rove, for pete's sake, had said that your husband's campaign ads have gone too far. In fact, let's forget about the entire McCain/Obama campaign of 2008 and recall the last time your husband ran for president. Recall the eve of the South Carolina primary, which John McCain was favored to win - until the Bush campaign began spreading the rumor that Bridget, the McCain's adopted daughter from Bangladesh, was actually John McCain's black love child. Are you honestly trying to convince voters that Barack Obama, who has run a campaign on the issues, has run a campaign slimier than the Bush 2000 campaign?

It's hard to understand what the McCain campaign hopes to gain by putting Mrs. McCain in the position of slinging mud. Mrs. McCain is not the most sympathetic of individuals - I doubt that most people would relate to a multi-million dollar heiress who wears $300,000 ensembles and started dating her husband while he was still married to his disabled first wife. Often times, a campaign will use a surrogate to sling mud in an effort to avoid the candidate from doing so himself, in effect keeping some distance between the candidate and the ugliness. But that really doesn't work when the one slinging the mud happens to share the same bed as the candidate. Especially when one considers that back in May, Mrs. McCain stated that the McCain campaign would not engage in any sort of negative campaigning. Or maybe this is an attempt to pull Michelle Obama into the fray and then go after her, seeing as how the smears against Barack Obama just don't seem to be sticking, what with his poll numbers getting higher and higher. If so, it looks like the Obama camp isn't taking the bait - instead they're taking the high road.

And honestly, I think it's better for Cindy McCain that Michelle Obama has decided not get into a catfight with her.

Michelle Obama would knock her out.

What's Wrong with Being Intellectual?

Or, in other words, is "average" something worth aspiring to? I ask this because it seems as though the McCain-Palin camp - and many of their vocal spinsters - seem to be suggesting that Sarah Palin is best suited to be vice-president because she is average, or as Palin herself put it "Joe Six-Pack American." And beyond that, they suggest that those who question Palin's qualifications are "intellectuals" or "elitists" who do not represent the common person.

The first issue, of course, is whether someone really wants Joe Six-Pack American in the White House (or a heartbeat away from it). When I think of Joe Six-Pack American, I think about characters like Homer Simpson or Raymond from "Everybody Loves Raymond." Great characters, certainly your average Joes, but not really the person I want leading this country. This country is a complex thing - so many issues to deal with, so many intricacies to follow. I'd like to think of myself as an intelligent person, but I sure as hell don't have the intellect (or stamina) to run it - I'll admit that right now. So when I look at Sarah Palin, a woman who took 6 years to get a degree in journalism, an individual who couldn't give one example of a newspaper of magazine that she reads regularly, and a person who did not have a passport until last year, I don't see the intellectual qualifications necessary for becoming the leader of our country.

Second, I really worry about the spin doctors, commentators, and campaign officials who downplay the criticisms of others as the opinions of "intellectuals." I worry when they joke about the educated being "elite" and out-of-touch, if only for one reason: what message does that send to the public and to our children? It sends the message that intelligence, education, and facts are something to scoff at, something to put down and belittle. It sends the message that listening to those who are educated - those who are experts - is silly and unnecessary. But most significant, it sends the message that education is a bad thing. It's something for nerds who are out-of-touch with society and it has no redeeming value. How can a candidate, on the one hand, claim that education is the necessary key to our country's future success, but on the other hand, denigrate the same educated people simply because they are educated and happen to disagree? It looks like they are taking a page from high school, casting themselves and the McCain-Palin supporters as the bullies or jocks and the naysayers as paper-pushing geeks. Why on Earth would a child want to aspire to be the outsider in that kind of world? And what does it say about how much the McCain-Palin ticket (and their colleagues) really and truly support education if they are, in effect, knocking it down at every turn?

Guys, you can't have it both ways. You can't give speeches about the importance of education and then mock someone simply for being educated. Either we want an educated community and country so that we can lead the world, or we want to put the less educated up on a pedestal and into power because they are the common people. Choose one.