Gender Gyrations

Wearing skirts has just become de rigeur in the Republican party. Did anyone else notice that all the important women who addressed the convention were clad in very nice, gam disclosing dresses or suits? Nothing androgenous or reminiscent of the Hillary Clinton Pantsuit Pandemonium! No pantsuits in this crowd...Thanks to the interested viewpoint of the cameramen I got to see many DOM bearing lapel buttons that proudly proclaimed "Hoosiers for the Hot Chick." Way to go, old dudes! You have unthroned the proud poser of questionable questions, the "chick" who asked Clinton if he prefered jockeys over boxers! How enlightening that the "conservatives", defenders of all that is moral, religious and patriotic in our great nation have found that resorting to good, old fashioned sexism is the best way to support their candidate for the Vice Presidency.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum it is undeniable that Senator McCain did a remarkable job in his selection of a running mate. I say this not based on her qualifications, though I think there are many; not based on her politcal wisdom, though I am convinced she has a solid supply; not based on her youth and attractiveness, though that is obvious...I say this based on the how much positive effervescence has been caused by her nomination. As far as charisma and ability to cause excitement goes, Obama had McCain flat out like a pancake. There was no way McCain could have ever hoped to garner even a small percentage of the visibility that Obama takes for granted. Obama sneezes and there is a new flash in Australia. McCain could have fallen down a flight of stairs in women's underwear and barely have been noticed. And this absence of visibility was a built in black hole for the Republican Party...any message McCain wanted to get out to the light was being sucked in to the black hole!

Until Sarah.

Sarah is the center of attention, not only because of what she brings to the table in her own right, but because of what HE DOESN'T. She is celebrated because she is clearly defined in who and what she is, HE ISN'T. Is McCain a liberal conservative or a conservative liberal? Is he an independent aligned with the right or homeless Democrat whose only port in the storm was the Republicans? There is no doubt that he is a respectable man who endured great pain and indignities for his country, but he lacks a clear, identifiable personna that allows the voter to get to know him. Sarah is his solution to this lackluster predicament.

And while the conservative right rejoices in the excitement caused by this formidable woman, let the rest of us remember that her bright smile and painted pit bull tenacity only dress up the fact that she has chosen to cast her lot with a party that is more dictatorial than republican.

Personally, I find the upcoming months cannot help but be the most entertaining politically; it will be great fun to watch a true Washington outsider transform before our very eyes and become the very thing she has spent her life NOT being!

Democrat Defined

Thursday, August 28 marks the day that the definition of a democrat was wrested from the jaws of Rush Limbaugh and people of his ilk, cleaned up to remove the dirt and grime with which it had been plastered by those whose purpose is to malign and dis-align truth and once again brought into focus by those who proudly bear the title.

There are many, many reasons why the acceptance speech by Barack Obama as the Democratic Nominee for the Presidency of the United States of America will be recorded and remembered as a historical and transcendent moment in the American story. The faces of the many who gathered in the Mile High Stadium showed that for each and every beaming face that moment was a distinctly personal moment...a moment that for one reason or another marked a milestone in a personal journey.

So it was for me.

My journey is one of an American citizen born in the United States, raised in many different places in and out of our nation and long term resident of the island of Puerto Rico; a territory of the USA without the right to vote for President. In my now 60 years I have never been afforded the privilege of casting my vote for President. While my excitement about finally being able to cast my vote is genuine and overpoweringly emotional my rational self has been in turmoil. How to commit to a candidate who faithfully reflects my views and positions? Each candidate seemed to have elements with which I agree AND disagree; both parties seem to have squandered and abused the power with which the people entrust them.

I can now say that my turmoil is over. Barack Obama has defined a party mission and vision that answers my longing for a clear definition. It is both truthful and too easy to say that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats live up to the ideals the parties' vaguely represent, primarily because the ideals of both have become fuzzy, vacuous, floating images that waft between one pole or the other depending on the breezes produced by one poll or the other.

Democrats, the body of people called democrats not the party, have allowed themselves to be defined by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and ultra conservative media. We have heard that Democrats are liberals, are leftists, are commies, are socialists, are doomsayers, are invested in defeat, are lazy, are whiners, are irreligious, are immoral, are amoral, are uneducated and uncultured, just to name a few!

Well Barack Obama looked at that same body of people and told us differently. He identified both the promise of the people and the promise of the party. In his words:

What is that promise?
It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.
It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs,
look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road. Ours is a
promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should
do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide
every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest
in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should
ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for
every American who's willing to work.
That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's
keeper.
That's the promise we need to keep.

(From Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, August 28, 2008)

That's a promise that's meaningful and one I can feel proud to support.