Who's In Charge?

A lot of rumors have been swirling around John McCain's presumptive veep nominee as the press, and the blogosphere, try to figure out just who is Sarah Palin.

What surprises me, though, is that the GOP and McCain's campaign, and this comes from Republicans, were unprepared for all the chatter, and have been in chaos figuring out how to deal with it. Word is that the scuttlebutt says that the scaling back of the convention has more to do with it than with the hurricane. (Although scaling back the convention in light of a hurricane is a sensible, applaudable thing to do.)

Given that the Democrats thoroughly prepare for any kind of attack from the Republicans, and the Republicans are masters at it, I am surprised.

There is even talk, although I assume it's mostly speculation, that a change in VP candidate will take place before the nomination.

What it makes me wonder is this: If McCain and his campaign couldn't properly vet their own candidate, and the GOP is unprepared for reaction, do we really want this party in power?

Pageant Hair? Really?

Although I am critical of Sarah Palin as a candidate for vice president, I find it exciting the Republicans will actually have a woman running as a vice presidential candidate.

And while I hesitate to comment on anyone woman politician's appearance, because I think that we are too obsessed with looks when we should be concerned with character, values, and what they're going to do as a leader, I just can't keep quiet any more.

Someone get the woman a stylist and get rid of that pageant hair! Even when she WAS in the pageant system, her hair was shorter and more contemporary. (Well, for the 1980s, anyway.)

Governor Palin dresses very well (except, perhaps, for that fur), but the hair is in a time warp and has to change.

Please, McCain campaign, I'm sure there are plenty of talented Republican hair stylists who would be delighted to update her look....

I Supported Hillary Clinton, and you, Sarah Palin, Are No Hillary

If Sarah Palin (seen here sporting a fur collar!) thinks that she is going to get Hillary Clinton's supporters to vote for John McCain because she is a woman vice presidential candidate, she has another thing coming.

If she thinks that those 18 million people voted for Hillary because she was a woman, she really needs to read up on Hillary Clinton.

People voted for Hillary for the same reason that that people voted for Barack Obama: because they're fed up with how things are. Both candidates offered solid, sensible, workable (although not easy) long-term solutions. Although they differed somewhat, their vision is the same: to end the war in Iraq, to bring affordable health care to every American, to end our dependence on foreign fuel sources, to stop global warming and save our Earth, and to end discrimination of all kinds, to improve education for every child, to restore our cred with the rest of the world, and to restore our standing as the greatest nation in the world.

We are disappointed, of course, that Hillary came in second, and a little disappointed that she is not the vice presidential candidate. But having Barack Obama as the candidate instead of Hillary Clinton is like having Tom Seaver pitching instead of Roger Clemens. Yes, thank you.

So if Sarah Palin thinks she's anything like Hillary Clinton, she has another thing coming.

Oh, wait! There is one way they are the same! They both know what it is like to be the subject of a criminal investigation. The difference is, of course, Hillary Clinton wasn't investigated for improper conduct while in public office.

Good luck, Sarah trying to get those votes: you're going to need it.

Obama for President

I just finished watching Barack Obama deliver his stirring acceptance speech for the nomination as the Democrats' candidate for president in the fall election.

I am a firm and steadfast Hillary Clinton supporter. I think she would be beyond outstanding as president. But there is no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama is just as outstanding.

Not only is he smart, well-grounded, and confident, he has the ability to renew the hope in people, and inspire them to go out and work to make this country fulfill its potential. In 1992 Bill Clinton had that vision, and he almost succeeded, in spite of the constant barrage of attacks from a divisive Republican Congress.

Perhaps after generations of career politicians as president, it is time to have someone fresh, less steeped in the political game, to be president. Someone who is more like the "career politicians" were when they started out and were more idealistic and dedicated to public service, before the game wore them down and became the center instead of the country.

It is a shame that George Bush undid what was accomplished in the '90s under Bill Clinton. But if there was any lingering nostalgia for the '80s and the Reagan policies, the Bush Administration with a Republican majority in Congress proved that those policies are not good for the country, but just for certain people.

That is not the promise of America.

Barack Obama said tonight that this campaign has never been about him, but about the people and the desire for change for the better. His vision is big, ambitious, and far-reaching. But why not? Our Founding Fathers envisioned a radical new nation, and didn't even know if it would succeed when they started. But they didn't let doubt stop them, and we are still here, 232 years later.

I cannot be prouder tonight to be a Democrat.