Correctly Impolitic

Yesterday I was with a friend who works for a Democratic Senator.  We were talking about the multitudes of crisis which face our country.  And I was surprised when she confessed that until McCain (or whoever—probably not McCain) selected Sarah Palin as his running mate, she was not going to vote.  So I guess you think that Sarah Palin being a woman made all the difference in the world and now she has had some kind of “kitbitka” (you remember that’s a word that means an old small Russian wagon but we thought it sounded like “a miraculous recovery” so we changed the definition — and she’s going to vote for the Republican ticket.  Quite the contrary.  She will vote for Obama because she will not vote for someone who believes in creationism, eliminating Roe vs Wade, goes to a church where they speak in tongues, and shoots helpless animals for sport from a helicopter.  She confessed, “I’m sorry to say that I don’t really like either candidate as a possible President. I simply don’t think either is prepared to be the  leader we need today.  But how, in this day and age can you vote for two people so out of touch with what’s going on in this country –culturally and technologically”.

Oye Vey!   In Elizabeth Drew’s essay,  “How John McCain lost me” she lists many reasons why she is no longer supporting her old friend.  All the reasons are insightful, but I found this among the most interesting:
McCain’s recent conduct of his campaign – his willingness to lie repeatedly (including in his acceptance speech) and to play Russian roulette with the vice-presidency, in order to fulfill his long-held ambition  has reinforced my earlier, and growing, sense that John McCain is not  a principled man.  In fact, it’s not clear who he is.

When I read this kind of stuff  I find it incredibly upsetting, so let’s talk about the Emmy’s and who was the best and worst dressed.  Now there’s something I can sink my teeth into.  I do remember what some of them were wearing, now if only I could remember some of the names of the celebs. I’ll try.   I know there was a short dark haired woman who kept hiking up her dress and I know that this same woman had to take a golf cart from the parking lot to the event because someone screwed up her limo.  Can you imagine. It’s your worst nightmare.  And I know that sparkles, or maybe it’s sequins , no it’s metallic fabric is back in.  But in my closet it never went out.  Oh, and both the Daily and Colbert shows won because they are funny and in fact, they are the places where most people under thirty get their political news—papers, magazines, and TV news are just not cool and too much work.   Alex Baldwin is also Emmy award winning funny,  but not in the same way.  He’s kind of mean funny — but likeable.  Mean appears to be the new nice. “Mad Men” was best drama, “30 Rock” was best comedy (but only on TV, in reality it’s just another  GE media business.  And someone named Bryan won for something called “Breaking Bad”, which I’ve never seen.  But then I’ve never seen “Lost” or “Gray’s Anatomy” or “Survivor”.  I’m kind of a “Cold Case”, “Bones” and “House” girl.  I wonder what that means?

That was a refreshing break from the hum drum of politics.  So where were we.  There is a PBS poll on the internet that asks if Sarah Palin is qualified.  It will come as no surprise that the numbers suggest she is – or the Republican technology is better than the Democratic technology.  But I love a good survey almost as much as a good piece of cake or a vanilla malt, so I think I’ll spend most of my time exploring food instead of polls. John McCain has changed his mind several times about the bail out.  Barack Obama has not really talked about it. Sarah Palin is cute, still has nice glasses and doesn’t ever leave the script.  (Hey, Jordan is good at reading a script, so I guess she could be President).  And Joe Biden is in some blue collar place probably yelling at someone with a blue collar.  That pretty much brings us all up to date.  Let’s talk about something far more interesting, like the wedding I went to this weekend.  My niece Nora got married to a wonderful man named Bryan who is a successful entrepreneur.  Thank God neither of them is employed by any stock related enterprise.  She looked beautiful and they worship one another.  The wedding was in a lovely space, all redesigned to meet their needs and the food was both elegant and creative – my favorite was the NJ diner table at cocktails preceding the dinner.  The bride wore white, the groom wore a tux and the bridesmaids were in black with every dress being different –one even sparkled. It was a refreshing break from talk of the financial crisis, the gas crisis, the housing crisis, the war, and the election.  As I watched these two wonderful people share their vows, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of a world they will grow old in and what the lives of their children would be.  Then I thought—stop that foolish troublesome thinking and go get a piece of cake.

Somewhere between two and three years ago we produced a documentary called “The Gefilte fish Chronicles”, which you can learn about on our website who’s URl is
www.gefiltefishchronicles.com. Soon after we completed the “Chronicles”  video, I wrote a cookbook cleverly called “The Gefilte Fish Chronicles Companion Cookbook”.  Or as I like to think of it, cooking from all the brown food groups.  So what does this have to do with the sad state of politics. Absolutely nothing—which is precisely why it’s important.

What I have come to realize, in the past two days is that Obama can’t get beyond the Sarah Palin stuff because he is too self conscious about it. The truth is that when the Republicans say that asking Sarah questions, or even more importantly questioning her credentials is disrespectful, it is the most sexist action any guy can take.  It’s like saying, “Don’t pick on the girl.  Especially not one in glasses”. It’s so interesting to watch McCain put her out in front, like if a punch is going to get thrown, it won’t get thrown at the girl in the glasses,

Before I get back to the brown food groups, I wanted to share a story.  In 1992 we had a small but effective campaign that paralleled the official Clinton campaign. For lack of a better name we called ourselves the WAT squad—in response to Rich Bond’s speech at the Republican convention where he intimated that Democrats were not Americans.  So our campaign was called ‘We’re Americans Too’.  While the Clinton campaign was designed to tell the public why Clinton should be President, we concentrated on issues of character and pointed out why President Bush One, shouldn’t be President. Clinton fought back but we reinforced questions of character.  I think I’ve mentioned this before.  Anyway, we were quite successful and at one point  President Bush had conversation (on the 7pm news) with a person dressed as a very large chicken.  The chicken was, at first, a comment on the President’s refusal to debate— the chicken sent a message about courage.  Then we transitioned to Pinocchios to send a message about the truth, witches  indicated that you never knew which answer you would get from the Commander in Chief. There were also a host of other costumed characters or signs or t-shirts (like free Levi Johnston) or banners (my personal favorite a 40’ banner that said “pants on fire”, which I still have) and much more humorous paraphernalia  that sent messages about the economy, health care, education, etc.  Among my favorite of all the events we coordinated was the Harry Truman Truth Squad, ,which usually consisted of 50-100 people simply holding a black and white mask of the former President’s face in front of their faces.  Yes, it was eerie and very effective to see that many people in a silent vigil indicating that the truth was missing in whatever the President or Vice President said.

The other night I heard some pundits talking about the 1992 Clinton campaign. They were trying to figure out why that campaign was so successful.  I was at home with David screaming at the TV “Because he had us!”  Unfortunately, we are not part of the Obama effort. They could really us  — especially the Harry Truman Truth Squad to make a point about the lies and distortions the McCain campaign is using in commercials. I guess power does corrupt because there seems to be no limit to the level McCain will sink to win this election.

In 2004 People thought Bush should be reelected because he would be a great guy to with whom to have a beer.  Kerry was much to removed, remote  — and no one thought he even knew how to order a beer.  It’s easy to forget the issues when you’re thinking about a drink or digging your way out of  a campaign of character assassination.  It’s easy to forget the issues when you are excited by an idea – like a woman as the Vice President. It’s only not easy to forget about the issues when you lose your house, can’t pay for gas, and have no health care.  But unless the Obama campaign starts to define the terms of the election—we’ll all be wondering why were satisfied about by the idea of a beer with someone who will never buy us a beer.

Which brings us back to the brown food groups.  Beer is one of the brown food groups.  There are others, all of which can be found at the Cracker Barrel restaurants. I guess this is a day for confessions because I am about to confess yet another secret.  In my car there is a national Crack Barrel map. This means that no matter where I am, I can see if it’s possible to be anywhere near  brown food group heaven and to be sent into brown food group ecstasy.  There is absolutely nothing better then fried chicken, catfish, steak, with mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, grits, biscuits and eggs.  Yes, all at the same time.  Sometimes I think that if I eat myself into a stupor, when I recover, the politics won’t be as painful.  Or I think I’ll just get in my car and drive to every Cracker Barrel in the country and by the time that’s completed another four years will have passed.  And then I think, I can’t afford the gas—internal or external.

Is Wassila really middle America? Not according to crime and substance abuse statistics.  And although this can be substantiated by the “National Enquirer” it is also part of the Wassila crime records—which are all over the internet and can be verified. Here’s something I don’t understand, all these middle class, middle American women say Sarah  is someone to whom they can relate.  I am a kid from a small town in New Jersey— and despite my years in Washington – still very middle American. But I (like so many of my middle class sisters) don’t shoot wolves from a helicopter.  I don’t speak in tongues.  And I don’t want anyone telling me or my daughter what she can do with her uterus.

This morning I was watching the Today Show.  Well, actually I was walking by the TV and it was on and I wanted to see if it was raining in NY.   There is always a crowd outside and the hosts often make conversation with them.  I don’t remember who it was that spotted a woman in the crowd who looked just like Sarah Palin.  And much to everyone’s surprise she was from Wassila, Alaska. They were all amused and discovered that this woman and Sarah have pedicures in the same place. (It is Wassila, how many places could there be?)  I watched for only another moment and then my heart stopped.  “My God”, I thought, “there is more than one Sarah Palin.  I hope this Sarah double is not part  of the God’s will she talks about so frequently.  Even more frightening is the possibility that maybe Wassila is the place the Stepford wives migrated to when they were driven out of Connecticut. Scary huh?

On another matter that has been discussed even by me. There is a Wall Street Journal article, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122098339946615609.html?mod=Best+of+the+Web+Today

that address the issue of censorship in the Wassila library.  It seems that some people reported that Palin tried to have books with questionable language banned from the library.  This did not happen. Palin merely made inquiries about whether or not books could be banned.  Whoever started the rumor did not check their “Harry Potter” dates and some of those books were not even published when Palin was Mayor.  It’s not a crime for elected officials to ask questions about censorship – it’s just dumb.  And it’s not a crime for bloggers to make up information – that is also just dumb.  So my feeling about the whole incident and the reporting about it was, as my mother always said “smart, smart, stupid” – you figure it out.  And I guess, as long as we’re talking about truth in journalism, I should admit that when the Delta Shuttle offered free newspapers and magazines to their customers, I always picked up all the Wall,Street Journals and threw them in the trash. Some blobbers are incredibly rash and opinionated.

Now back to the Stepford wives. Or maybe back to when my heart stopped.  I, like so many other people (regardless of party) have been wondering why the Obama campaign is allowing the McCain campaign to ‘swift boat’ them with accusations, innuendo, outunnendo, pigs and lipstick.  Even Tory Clark, former Press Secretary to Donald Rumsfeld, who wrote a book called “Lipstick on a Pig”, had the chutzpah to say something like “anyone who was paying attention for the last week knows Sarah Palin owns lipstick”. Oh yeah, then what about Revlon and Mac, and Kiehl’s?  Forget Kiehl’s, they make creams.  Does she not understand that in order to promote her book she needs to own lipstick?  Hey, maybe Tory wrote the speech and used  the line in order to promote her book.  That would certainly be Republican genius – let’s give credit whether due or not.

The campaign rhetoric needs to move away from animals and make-up and toward the issues. People can’t afford health care for themselves or their families. They can’t afford the mortgages on  their homes. They can’t buy gas for their cars.  They don’t want to send their children to war.  I yearn for the days of “It’s the economy stupid.”  I want Barack Obama not ever to mention Sarah Palin again, but rather to challenge John McCain to a duel—at sunrise, or maybe at “High Noon”.  But instead of using a gun or a sword I want him to use words and say, “sticks and stones can break my bones but I’m not going to let you tell anymore lies about who I am or who you are.  Let’s look at voting records and visions. Let’s ask the voters to look at the future.  Let’s ask the people to open their pocketbooks as well as their hearts to see what’s inside and then cast their vote.”

What do we know about Levi Johnston? We saw him up on the podium at the Republican Convention chewing gum and looking adorable.  If I was seventeen and living in Wassila, Alaska, he would certainly be on my list of possible boyfriends.  Handsome, hockey playing jock… oh yeah! But look where he is today. Holding a Downs syndrome four month old  — in front of the country, for the cameras, and holding the hand of his childhood beloved (and lest we not forget, they are children), to make a point about how wonderful a father and husband he will be.

Let’s just say that Levi Johnston has no choice but to marry the mother of his unborn child.  We’re assuming this, but he obviously doesn’t have a choice.  The good Governor and the Republican party took the kid’s “My Space” page down because it said he didn’t ever want to have children.  Now isn’t that a surprise?  This eighteen year old baby doesn’t want to have a baby - let me rephrase.  This eighteen year old baby didn’t want to have a baby, until his soon to be mother-in-law was selected to be the Vice Presidential candidate on the Republican ticket.

When our pit bull - and that is what she calls herself-made the announcement about how she and Todd were delighted to be grandparents (they were also high school sweethearts), she failed to mention that, as Governor she line-item vetoed funding that would help other young single women support their unborn children.  But when it comes to funding and legislation the McCain/Palin team seem to forget about individual needs.  They talk in the greater scheme of things. (It’s so much easier when it’s not personal or rather inconvenient).  Like we want clean air and water but we won’t fund it, just drill, drill, drill.  We want a better education for our kids-if only those selfish teachers would sacrifice some salary. We want the veterans to be cared for-but not enough to pay for it. And in this case, we want women to choose to give birth rather than have an abortion, but we can’t be responsible for those kids. After all, the pregnancy was about their irresponsible immoral behavior. Oh, but not our kids.  Our kids are different.  They made a choice to get pregnant, have the baby, and marry.  Or was it hot love in the backseat, no thought of consequences, uh oh a baby, what to do now that it is a national scandal. And by the way, we have the means to take care of our kids.  We are happy, happy, happy — so screw those other people (who we insisted carry those babies to term even in the case of rape or incest).  But I digress-which we all know I am prone to do when I’m on a tear.

Levi, poor gum-chewing, adorable, obviously virile,  Levi.  When I watched this young man twitching on the stage it took me back to a time when marrying the pregnant girlfriend, was the right thing to do - unless the girl was a whore.  And really, most of “those” girls were “bad” girls. They grew up with little supervision and absolutely no morals. But time marched on and things changed. “Good” girls got pregnant, school systems accommodated the pregnancies, boys, and I mean boys, were not forced into marriages that were short term (in this case my guess is until the ticket is defeated or the baby is born), and would make everyone miserable.

They have been “seeing” each other,  “going out” for about a year.  I remember when Jordan would say, “Tony (high school boyfriend) and I are going out” and I would ask where they were going.  It was not, in her mind or mine, as much about the person as the actual place. We all go out - for a bite, to a movie, to the bowling alley, or to a place where we can make out.   We do not expect to have to marry anyone as a consequence of doing any of these things.  I’m sure getting married, and certainly having a baby were not in his present time life plan.  But now he is saddled with these serious responsibilities that will play out on a national stage.

So here’s what we should do.  We need to start a Free Levi Johnston campaign.  We all need to vote for Obama so that there will be no need for him to marry Bristol Palin. The grandparents will take care of the baby and Levi can go play hockey, drop by for visiting privileges, and have a normal life.  At some point if he chooses to marry Bristol, so be it.  But right now, let’s help free this kid from the clutches of the pit bull, the Party, and all the pundits.  Please, join the campaign to save Levi Johnston!

Do we really want the President to be just like us? For my part, I do not. Maybe I’m not a good example because, although incredibly smart and intuitive, some think me a bit zany. But do we want the President or the Vice President to be “just plain folk?” We seemed to like it when Jimmy and Rosalyn got out of their secure vehicle and marched down Constitution Avenue, (some of the crack Carter staff were holed up in a warm, comfortable townhouse on Capital Hill), but it was downhill after that. We liked Jimmy Carter, but we didn’t want an “us” running the country, we wanted someone who we could aspire to be—like the wealthy and not so ordinary Ronald Reagan. (This is in no way an endorsement of that Presidency, it is simply a fact.)

When Sarah Palin says she’s ‘just a soccer Mom with kids,’ I think that’s swell. And if ever I knew a kid who happened to live in Alaska and wanted to play soccer, I’d want her to be screaming “kill, kill” on the sidelines. I do not however, want her to be screaming “kill, kill” from the West Wing. We’ve had too much of that already. And by the way, as Governor, she chose for her child to carry a baby to term, but she line-item vetoed funds for other single young women, whose parents couldn’t support them, to care for the children they chose to keep.

In addition, and regardless of the size of her budget as Mayor, or 16 months of being a Governor, her experience is small town, small and unusual State, (they have a surplus of money from oils revenues) neither bears a resemblance to what it takes to govern the United States. You may say that Bill Clinton was the Governor of a small State and look how great he was (the same people who think she’s great, won’t give Bill the same credit.) But he was also a Rhodes Scholar who had traveled quite a bit and lived abroad and had been a Governor for more than a year. True, he didn’t sell the plane on e-Bay, which some might think is fiscally conservative, but as cute as that is, it shows that she never needed to have a plane at her disposal for any international or national emergency and she doesn’t care how inconvenient it is for “just plain folk” when a Governor and all their security need to travel anywhere. Or maybe there have been no threats on her life because she was that unimportant. (And I mean that in the nicest possible way).

John McCain is not just like us — an ordinary person, so you might think I have no issues about his candidacy. Of course, you would be wrong. I would have no problems with John McCain if the list he presented as all the things he would do, did include some of the things he has already supported. Like increased health care benefits for veterans, money for improving the equipment we give to the troops serving in harms way, or alternative fuel research—all of which he has consistently voted against. Or I might not stick my fingers in my ears and run screaming from the room when he says the do-nothing Democrats are to blame for all the problems that exist in the entire universe. I do agree that the Democrats in the Congress have been a disappointment but they have only had the leadership for less than two years. Let’s look at the one thing that has cost the nation the most money and sent us spiraling into financial disaster and deficit—the war. Like good soldiers, they trusted the President’s information was real when they OK’d funding for the war. When they found out the war was based on lies, they still supported funding because it was equated with ‘support of the troops’ – and what person, elected or not, doesn’t support the troops—it’s unpatriotic.

Speaking of not patriotic. Have you noticed that, as citizens, just plain folks, we are no longer allowed to protest, (anything). The Conventions were a perfect example of this loss of civil rights – this time the right to disagree. In Denver, there were police in riot gear just waiting for those veterans to walk close enough to the convention site – to use all the new equipment purchased by funds allocated to the conventions to prevent terrorist attacks. And in St. Paul, the police voided the permits that peaceful demonstrators had obtained to prevent them from demonstrating and then launched into ‘arrest’ mode. Oh there were lots of important arrests — an ABC producer who didn’t move fast enough in Denver, and an NPR radio host and her producers who she was trying to help – we’re not sure they had committed a crime other than just being there.

The questions we need to ask ourselves are many among which might be; do we want more of the same—the lies, denials, misplaced blame, lack of concern for the environment, health, education, and welfare, of people who are not advantaged, as well as a loss of civil and human rights, determination to win an unwinnable war, and ongoing antagonism of any international friends we might have left. Or do we want to be a nation that thinks about the reality of the world as we know it, and use all the tools we have to make it better. And there’s nothing plain about that.

The title of this blog has nothing to do with the content, I just wanted to get your attention. My brother says that if McCain wins he’s leaving the country. There are some people who would say good riddance—not me or my mother, but some people. They would be terribly mistaken if they thought he should go elsewhere. He is not only a ‘personality’ on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, he is also a small business owner, (a bicycle shop) a father and a husband whose wife is a community activist. (My sister-in-law, Els, is Dutch but she has an American passport, and she chose to make a life in this country, and has worked very hard for that life to be successful). They care about the environment, (no paper towels in their house) their community, and the country. They have suffered the consequences of the George Bush Presidencies, and they don’t want eight more years. They have the luxury of being able to go somewhere else where there are friends and family, but what do the rest of us do? (Actually, I said if we all move to Europe, their health care system would pay for mom’s medical care, which was kind of like when I thought Mom should get arrested and then she would go to prison, have a bed, three squares, and all her health issues covered). But seriously folks, what do the rest of us do?

And speaking of serious, what does Biden do in a debate with Palin? First of all, he needs to have at least one woman on the debate preparation team. We cannot forget what happened in New Hampshire with Hillary Clinton. Women around the state hated it when they perceived the male candidates were ‘picking’ on her, and even Republican women came out in force to declare as Democrats and vote for her. Joe Biden cannot be “too smart.” And I respect Senator Biden but like many Senators they want everyone to know how smart they are. He doesn’t have to dumb down, but he does have to talk about the issues in a way that doesn’t seem condescending or he will lose the debate and, like in ’88, Obama will lose the election. (Lloyd Bengtsen won the debate but appeared to bully Dan Quayle - “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy…” and eventually lost to Bush I.)

There’s lot’s of stuff out there about Palin. The pregnant daughter, who chooses to keep the baby (a choice she doesn’t want the rest of us to have — and she will marry the sperm donor), the controversy about a firing, and the issue about whether or not she’s qualified. But let’s start with the question of motherhood. She has five kids. The last one, who she knew had Down syndrome, she chose to deliver at a hospital without a neonatal care unit. She has five children, who she will leave to go on the road for a Presidential campaign. How is that valuing your family? All of this needs to be left out of a debate. Any controversy about using her position to strong arm a public official into leaving his office because he didn’t fire her brother-in-law. This is small town politics, who cares? This should not be talked about in a debate. And is she qualified? This requires a new paragraph.

The Republicans are doing a great job spinning her qualifications. As Governor she is the Commander in Chief of the Alaskan National Guard. She got her passport in 2006 to go to Kuwait to have lunch with some of the Alaskan troops serving abroad. Certainly that qualifies her to understand US foreign policy. And she was a soccer mom. There is no one more determined to destroy the opposition than a soccer mom. She took on the Alaskan leadership by selling the state airplane on E-bay, and after voting in favor of the ‘bridge to nowhere,’ changed her mind and was against it. If that’s not being a courageous reformer I don’t know what is. She is an expert in energy. It’s not exactly like understanding energy policy, but she knows that it’s foolish for environmentalists to make a big deal about drilling for oil on 2000 acres of an arctic wilderness preserve when there are 2 million acres available—really, what’s the big deal? And energy is the strength she brings to the ticket. Biden cannot ridicule this position because there are so many people who believe this demonstrates good sense.

So what does Biden do? He just answers the questions in a thoughtful and reasonable way and he disappoints the expectations of the Republicans who think he’s going to go after her. He doesn’t have to do anything to prove she shouldn’t be on the ticket. He doesn’t need to point out her lack experience and skills. He just has to keep quiet enough to let Palin be Palin (we know she’s not Hillary), and that should be enough to jar the American public into realizing, depending on their vote, that she could become their reality. And by the way, in case you are curious, let me introduce you to the (possibly) next Vice President’s husband: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlwpg_QsYnc.

Is it just about boobs?  I’m beginning to think it may be, –which leaves those of us who have some piece of our boobs missing, feel a little second class. However, the question of the day, asked by mostly men is; “do you think the people who were supporting Hillary will vote for McCain because of his Vice-Presidential choice?”  I find that this or any question that implies women will not think about the issues and the consequences of their vote,  insulting. Yep, I am insulted that John McCain thinks anyone who supported the Clinton candidacy will vote for him because he put a woman, (who has a little over a year of national governing, was a professional fisherman, is not only anti-choice but anti-contraceptives, and is a role model for the Phyllis Schaffley constituents), on the ticket.  Does the Senator think we don’t care about the health care, the economy, or the war.  Clearly he thinks we don’t care about the environment or the effects of drill, drill, drill – because she is all about oil dependency.

A heartbeat away. A heartbeat away.  A heartbeat away, from a 72 year old guy who has fought two bouts of cancer.  McCain has made a big deal about how Obama is inexperienced.  And maybe he does not have a resume that reads 30 years in the Senate or 12 years as Governor, but he has traveled, served his community, proved himself intellectually, has a vision for the future of this country, and he has shown good judgment about issues that will impact on the future.  I’m not sure what Governor Palin has other than boobs, and, as a consequence of the last eight years, it’s too late for breastfeeding the nation.

The first thing I thought when I heard about the selection was, McCain doesn’t want to be President.  He and Cindy have decided that they don’t want to change their lives and this was the easiest path to an honorable defeat.  You know, like he made a courageous gender selection for a party which has no respect or understanding for the problems or magnitude of the issues which confront women every day of their lives.  But when you turn on TV and listen to the crap that is spewing forth declaring the Palin decision a fabulous choice because she is a conservative and conservatives are good for women, these people have not spent the last eight years dealing with any reality I know.   John McCain voted against support for insurance companies paying for contraceptives – so she’s right there. Oh, but he did vote to have them pay for Viagra.   John McCain voted no on a bill which would have provided support for children who suffered the consequences of family abuse.  And I guess there is no abuse in conservative families so why provide any support for that. There are many more examples of the lack of any concern for women and what they call women’s issues.  I have breaking news, there are no women’s issues.  There are issues that affect women and families and those impact on men and on how we want our future to look.

Then there are the pundits that say; “she a good choice because her kid is going to Iraq or she is a good choice because she has five kids or she is a good choice because her husband loves her and all this demonstrates her commitment to family values.  What a load. Michelle Obama said it best in a speech I heard her give at the women’s caucus, when she said “we had to stop talking about family values and valuing families”.

But on a lighter note, what does any of this have to do with understanding how to actually Govern this United States.  Do you think she even knows how many Independent agencies exist?  How many boards and commissions need to be filled? Do you think she has ever looked at a Plum Book.  Do you think she has ever looked at the Pentagon budget and understands the level of spending and corruption, and cronyism.  How does she feel about separation of church and state?  What does she want to do about “no child left behind”— and you know there are so many.  I guess she might know about Fisheries – because that’s on her resume, but what about the FDA, the FCC, the FEC?  Can she even  keep track of the acronyms?  Has she traveled abroad?  Which countries does she want to befriend, and how will she deal with immigration.  Has she read “So You Think You Can Be President?”

I feel confident you know where I’m going with this.  A heartbeat away is not a joke. Joe Biden was a thoughtful, respectful selection.  Sarah Palin is just about boobs.

To wrap up the highlights of the week I thought I would start with the bad news and move to the good. You may have read about the ABC producer who was arrested because, when the police asked him to move, he didn’t move quickly enough.  Denver, or Fort Denver as we came to call it, did a pretty good imitation of what it would be like to live in a police state. If Martin Luther King had been in Denver in 1968,  he would never have given the “I have a dream” speech.  But almost as bad as the security was the incompetence of the “volunteer effort”—notice I say the effort not the actual people.  They had no information about anything.  No one knew what was supposed to happen with regard to anything—from transportation to credentials to security.  This creates a situation where everyone says “no or I don’t know” to any questions for which you might need an answer.  At the end of the convention there were 75,000 people looking for a way to leave the stadium and what they found was chaos.  The buses couldn’t move, the traffic was at a dead stop, and the security continued to be excessive.  But let’s move on… please.

People who were waiting for Bill Clinton to be mediocre on Wednesday night had to be disappointed.  He was brilliant.  He said everything he needed to say about the Obama candidacy and  what he needed to say about McCain. It was a speech that combined with what Obama said, should be used as a model for the rest of the campaign. And on the subject of speeches.  All the speakers were good, if not great – except Mark Warner who is usually extraordinary and lacked a little luster.  But Durbin was wonderful, as was Kerry, Richardson, Gore, and of course Barack Obama.

Let’s talk about the night – which was extraordinary.  We left for the stadium at about 2pm because everyone said they were going to close the doors at 5 and would take hours to get through security,  I don’t do well in lines, so we cut around the crowd and it took no time to find seats.  And there we were sitting in seats within the club area.  But they were still football stadium seats – not good for the tush.  We were there for about three hours when I realized that, because were not on the field, it was easier to watch the giant TV monitors than it was to see the stage.  From our seats, which were right across from the podium, the people were just a little too itty bitty.  And I realized that I wanted to be a in a place that was a bit more intimate with people who were not predictable.  Just a note—the 75,000 people at the stadium did not appear to be your usual Democrats – they were conservative, liberal,  old, young, different colors and sizes.

Anyway, we left.  It was not easy because again, no one knew how we were supposed to do that—no provisions for leaving before the speech ended—and as it happened none for afterward either.  We wandered into the parking area where we were directed by at least three people to find a bus.  There were hundreds of buses but none going into Denver. And the distance to the entrance, in order to exit was a mile.  So I commandeered a golf cart and the single only person to say “Yes I can” outside of the hall, drove us to the light rail, which was luckily still running.  When we got back to Denver we found a small, trendy,  almost empty bar, where there was a very nice republican bar tender, who was going to  vote for Obama.  When Al Gore spoke, there were a few more people and by the time Durbin introduced the video the bar was packed inside and outside people had gathered on the street to watch through the windows.  When Obama walked out on the stage,  the bartenders turned the TV volume up as high as possible, and they stopped serving.  It was like nothing I had ever seen.  The bar crowd participated just like they did at the stadium only on a smaller scale.  There was cheering and yelling and many tears. There was the kind of excitement I haven’t seen for too many years.  The Obama speech was thrilling.  It wasn’t just a list of what he was going to do.  He painted a picture of the future he wanted to se for all Americans.  And most of all he put McCain on notice about what kind of campaign he was going to run.  He said would not tolerate any accusations of a lack of patriotism or experience.  He said this election was about judgment, vision and a positive change in attitude.  Then, when the speech was over they turned down the volume, turned up the music, and started to serve drinks.

The decision we made not to be a part of history (at the stadium) was difficult, (Emotionally and physically) but we did give our credentials to some young people who would never have had the opportunity to be a part of what happened at that stadium.  I guess we passed the torch and it felt terrific.

Sunday August 24, 2008

“Stand in back of the white line”.  He didn’t say it in a nice or courteous way, it was an order and we were surprised because there was no reason why he couldn’t have been polite.  We were on line waiting to get into the Pepsi Center in Denver. The convention had not started, there were no VIP’s in the area, and there was no visible threat—except the Denver Police swat teams riding around on tanks.

David just got back from the Olympics and he said he was embarrassed about the Denver “police state” mentality.  He said he would have not been surprised if it happened in China—which it did not. In fact, when they took his watch, camera’s and other metals that might set off the security machine, they placed all his belongings on a red velvet tray.  Pretty nice huh.  Such is not the case in this beautiful, peaceful city.

My cousin Miki, who was with us while we proceeded slowly, very slowly, through the line, insisted the security personnel were not from Denver.  Maybe they’re not but they are taking orders from someone and it ultimately reflects on the city,  (Don’t tell Miki but I think they were from Denver and probably had just gotten off the tanks).  Anyway, there was lots of “walk over there, you can’t walk over there, you need a star on your credential to walk over there.”  It does not bode well for the rest of the week.  Let’s hope yesterday was just a practice and instead of swat teams with machine guns we will see some buses transporting delegates.

Monday August 25

The good news is that it’s much easier to get into the Convention Center—which is not the actual convention center – that’s the Pepsi Center.  (Isn’t it wonderful that every building is named after a product.  And for a mere$4 you can buy a Pepsi or a Diet Pepsi or any Pepsi product).  The Secret Service Agent who was most reasonable about letting the young women who were with the Lifetime TV group stand in the shade instead of the sun, told me that security was tight because of the information they had about threats.  The bad news is that the police remain in overkill.  For example, we walked past a protest 15 blocks away from the Convention where there were no less than eigthy five police in riot gear and no more than 5 protestors, yelling at one another.  One of the protestors  carried a sign that said “Homo sex is a sin”.  This clearly threw the police for a loop because they, like me, probably didn’t know what a homo was.

On another note, David came home from China sick as a moose—dogs don’t always have to take the heat. Our wonderful doctor called in a prescription, and while we waited we sat outside a Starbucks, that happened to be around the corner from the Credentials Center.  It’s the place to sit if you want to see everyone you have ever known in your entire political life.   Of course it is. Everyone has to get a credential. It was such fun catching up with the people I wrote about last week—the people you see (at the most), only every four years, and often for many more.  You see young adults who were babies when you met and grown up’s with children who were still in college when they worked with you on their first campaign.     You exchange gossip, information about politics and of course, what parties you think are a must on the list.

This ongoing four day reunion is the only reason to be in the middle of such chaos.  Sure there are some interesting politics, like someone is spreading rumors about Hillary giving up her delegates, and Hillary people protesting in the street. The Hillary people think the Obama confidantes are spreading them. The Obama people deny that they are involved. And that’s probably true.  So who do we think would benefit from rumors of divisiveness? Maybe the Rebulicans?  Rumors, gossip and misinformation is an unfortunate reality in Karl Rove run campaigns.  And the media are so easy they will write or broadcast anything they think might be controversial.   I wonder what the Democrats will do next week?  I truly hope it’s entertaining.

For whatever reason, last night, I got it in my head that no good deed goes unpunished. There are always consequences, regardless of intentions.  (Ok, that is really a pithy thought – I am so deep).

In the category of never mind about me, let’s talk about me; a note of passing. When I was pregnant with Jordan I refused to wear dowdy maternity clothes and unless you are a celebrity and you don’t care what hangs out, most maternity clothes are unattractive.  I was going to say unseemly but then I would have to be specific in definition – in this case “contrary to accepted standards of good taste.”   Anyway, David was shooting a story about Gene Upshaw the famous football player turned NFL players union representative.  Gene was wearing his official number 63 black and silver football shirt.  He was a big guy and the shirt was enormous.  David explained how whacky I was about maternity clothes and in joking, commented that the football shirt was probably something that would fit me and I would even wear it.  After the shoot finished, Gene took off the shirt and made it a present to me. Twenty two years have passed but I still have the shirt.  Last night when I heard that Gene died, I put the shirt on, said a prayer and sad goodbye to this generous guy who I never met, but wanted a poor pregnant lass to have something to wear.

As long as we’re on the subject of kids, over the last fifty or hundred years (maybe a little exaggeration)  I have spent a great deal of time hanging out with people in their twenties.  It has kept me pretty young and I think sensitive to the issues they often suffer.  Some were my students, some Jordan’s friends and some friends of friends.  It has, for the most part, been a joy. I truly love these kids and if there was a profession called “Kid Hanger Outer” which would pay you for hanging out with (housing, feeding, talking to and loving) young people, I would be an expert in my field.  But it unfortunately costs rather than pays.   In all the years I have been a participant in young lives, I have had only one disappointment. There is a young Iraqi scholarship student presently living with us.  I will not go into detail about how unpleasant he has been (He’s a Christian whose first comment about Jordan’s room—which I cleaned out for him, was that her Jewish star freaked him out).  His family has always been safe and ffor the most part, not endangered by the war,  but suffice to say, we are not parting as friends.

Anyway, I began to think about how so many of us do what we can to make children feel wanted and supported and yes, loved.  The Olympics is coming to an end but is there any better example then Michael Phelps’ mother.  A single parent who found a way to encourage a child everyone believed was beyond help.  She heard “He’s a problem” and “He’ll never be successful” so many times, it would have been easy to say, “oh well”.  But she made a decision to find a way for him to win “the gold” – in life as well as sports. Then I watch “The Nanny” (there is no reasonable explanation for this action but I am fascinated by the total inability of people to cope even when there are no financial problems) and  I see people who abuse their kids or are at a loss to deal with or provide discipline guidelines.  I sit there and think, there should be a test for people to take before they make a lifetime commitment to caring for a child.  Now don’t get excited, this is not a test that the government gives and ultimately makes a decision about whether anyone can  have a child.  This is a  self help test,  which might have a question like:
1.    If your child throws a tantrum in a supermarket because you won’t purchase some crap candy  would you;
a.    Flee
b.    Scream
c.    Hit
d.    Ignore it
e.    Talk them through it
f.    None or All of the above.

I’m not going to answer the question because I don’t know what you would do and my kids have made it through the tantrum stage. Jordan sulked and Seth did the “no bones” thing. That’s when they fall to the ground—totally limp—like they have no bones and scream.  Sometimes yelling “she hates me” or stuff that adds to the humiliation, but we got past it.  You’ll have to ask Seth how I handled it, but he is a perfect adult so whatever I did  didn’t cause any real trauma.

There are parents who try to be friends with their kids and parents who are afraid that if they discipline a child, the child will hate them.  Kids need parameters and they need their own friends.  They want you to guide them through difficult, challenging, or sorrowful experiences, and in order to do that you have to be a parent not a pal.   I could go on about what terrific parents we were but that would be boring and repetitious. I would rather leave you with this incredibly insightful piece of advice, (relevant whether you do or don’t have kids),  we can have disappointed expectations about how children behave (ours or other peoples’), but when we’re dealing with them, it is a mistake let them have disappointed expectations about us.