The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy...

...is an overblown Bill Clinton contradiction in terms.

I'm a registered Democrat, I'm relatively liberal-minded, but I have never believed in the idea of a "vast right-wing conspiracy" as touted by the Clintons. Ever. Conspiracies are secretive by nature. No one ever made a secret out of working against the Clintons. Nor, despite his latest claims, has there been any subterfuge involved in the campaign against President Obama's health care plan.

Saying it's a "vast right-wing conspiracy" requires an underestimation of the Republican party's long-standing expertise at tearing down their opponents. It wasn't a "vast left-wing conspiracy" that got Barack Obama elected. It was an organized Democratic effort.

Give credit where it's due and don't resort to scare tactics. I didn't like it coming from Republicans. I don't like it coming from Democrats, either.

Short Attention Span Review: "You're Welcome, America" 3/14

So, HBO has been hyping this Will Ferrell send-up of George W. Bush for a good while.

Unfortunately, in my book, that president has higher approval ratings than this pitiful excuse for satire.

I knew it was in dire straits when, not even 10 minutes into the show, they started showing penis pictures and making "stimulus package" jokes.

Not good. Not good at all.

Yes, maybe we can?

President Barack Obama's not-quite-State of the Union speech before the joint session of Congress last night was masterfully done. It addressed some hard truths, it sought to bring both major political parties together for a common cause, and it mostly contained rallying points that politicians on both sides of the aisle had little choice but to cheer for.

Is it a tonic for making a better pitch for the promise of the stimulus package? Not really, but that ship already sailed. It does lay the groundwork for more ambitious (and probably expensive) programs. But the most important thing the speech did, really, is got the president back in the public eye, cheerleading us onward through what is likely to be some hard slogging in the months (and maybe years) ahead.

Random thoughts from the inauguration

* I actually felt a little bad for Cheney, especially when Tom Brokaw suggested that the media would make fun of him for looking like Dr. Strangelove. Thanks for putting that in my head, Tom, because that's not the direction I went. Instead, I thought of Ernst Blofeld from the James Bond movies.

* Aretha Franklin still has the pipes.

* It's a shame John Roberts botched the opening line of the oath.

* The inaugural address was everything I'd hoped it would be. THIS is what it's like to have a thoughtful, insightful, and eloquent leader again.

* Not a big fan of the post-address poem.

* Much relief at seeing Bush and Cheney disappear into that helicopter and turn into a fleck on the televised horizon.

* I wish I'd been there in person, but I quite enjoyed watching it on TV in the comfort of my own snow-shrouded home.

* It does feel like something's changed, and a weight's been lifted, but time will tell if it's for good or ill.

A good news/bad news kind of day...

Looks like Al Franken is winning Minnesota:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/04/franken-to-be-declared-se_n_155159.html

But Richardson is out as commerce secretary because of another pay-to-play scandal:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/04/richardson.withdrawal/index.html

Blagojevich: Wow, he's really a dick.

No, seriously:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/30/illinois.senate/index.html

He picked a senator to replace Obama. What's worse? The guy appears to have *accepted*. Stinky.

Isn't this nice to see?

In my household, polling is closer to 100 percent:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/26/bush.poll/index.html

Obama: Science is important!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081220/wl_afp/uspoliticsobamascience_081220173617

Go, Al, go!

Al Franken appears to be closer to winning the Minnesota Senate seat.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/19/minnesota.senate.race/index.html

Can she NEVER be president now? Great!

I just don't have the words:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0r7TJUTn1c

Palin says she'd work in Obama's administration

And I say, sure: Let's make her the ambassador to Wassilla, Alaska, where she can keep an eye on those pesky Russians and Canadians for us.

A post-campaign promise!

But can he keep it? I sure hope so:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/12/binladen.hunt/index.html

Something a little scary

I was listening to CSPAN yesterday when a McCain voter called in to say the following things:

* Our founding fathers only intended for white people to govern the United States.
* Now that an African-American has won, we've entered some kind of political Bermuda Triangle where bad things might happen.

First of all, while I don't disagree that the founding fathers probably didn't envision the country being run by anyone but white men, they DID write that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. So, suck it up, supremacists.

Second, I have to wonder just what the hell this guy thinks is going to happen now that Barack Obama has become President-Elect or after he officially takes office in January? Does he think Obama is going to declare it's payback time and make an executive order to enslave all white people?

For heaven's sake, folks, get a grip. Obama got elected by a broad spectrum of people, including a lot of caucasians, and it's the height of paranoia and hysteria to start panicking about this sort of thing.

Inauguration Day Off!

I've scheduled a long weekend that includes Jan. 20 so that I can (hopefully) watch the inauguration of Barack Obama in person in Washington, D.C. It's only a four-hour drive!

All the hotels are booked already, of course, but we may have some other alternatives.

Obama - hooray!

I haven't felt this good in about eight years.

Watching some of the reactions of avid Republicans, I can't help but take some solace and sympathy in the fact that I know how they feel. No one likes to lose, especially to someone they think is going to take the country in the wrong direction.

I'm optimistic, though, that the election of Barack Obama heralds the arrival of new opportunities for America.

I VOTED!

How about you?

Karen and I stood for about two hours at Cedar Park Community Center in Morrisville so that we could vote in what may be the most important presidential election of our lives.

It's not my place to say how she voted, but it shouldn't come as much surprise that I went for Barack Obama.

I'm counting on a landslide, but we'll see what happens on Tuesday.

Nice job, hatemongers...

And so it begins?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081027/ap_on_el_pr/skinhead_plot

This is what happens when you push an agenda that plays on hate and bigotry, John McCain.

The wheels coming off?

God, I hope so!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/palin.tension/index.html

Vote!

We've got two weeks until a new president is elected for the next four years.

The new president will either be an old guy who traded in maverick idealism for Bush coattails and a crazy Alaskan moose hunter, or a relatively untried young guy who's got a way with words and boatloads of charisma.

Personally, I'm voting to keep the moose hunter more than a heartbeat away from the most powerful office in the land. We've had eight years of crazy VP Cheney. No need to extend that record of wackiness.

No matter who you're voting for, get to the polls on Nov. 4!