An Act of Desperation

Thanks to my fellow polical junkie pal Bob for sending this great op-ed piece from the NY Times. He has so much more time than I do to search for and find the good stuff.

As much as the GOP may be celebrating for killing the Obama post-convention bounce, I'm afraid they've killed their own credibility instead. I have to agree with Rep. Splaine on this one: The presidency is not an American Idol talent search. No matter how bitter Hillary supporters may still be (and I'm not buying the MSM meme that there are uber-bitter HRC loyalists lurking around every corner), they are not so bitter that they will put Palin, who is pro-oil, pro-fur, pro-life, and pro-creationism, so close to the presidency. I have more degrees than she does! And she's never even been overseas.

No, Clintonistas wanted Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Whitehouse. What they loved most about her was that she is SMARTER and MORE QUALIFIED than any other candidate, male or female. Why would they every vote to put an affirmative action pick closer to the Whitehouse? This is an insult to them.

Thanks, McCain. I'm starting to like that "Maverick" decision-making style. Oh how I look forward to a Biden v. Palin debate.

He Shoots, He Scores!

Well now, wasn't THAT worth staying up for!?

To begin with, I thought the stage and setting were very cool, reminiscent of the Lincoln Memorial with a rock-concert twist. It is certainly a welcome change the obligatory balloon drop replaced by fireworks. But mostly, I thought it was beyond lame that the Republican's rapid response picked on the staging, calling it a Greek temple, or if you can be any "lamer:" Barackopolis. That's just desperate and pathetic, and very laughable. Is that the best they can do?

I totally loved the matching, or contrasting ties of Obama & Biden. Although my fav ties are those special Obama shade of blue, Power Red was fitting for this speech.

OK, ok, so I'm all over the place with my reaction to last night's speech, so bear with me.

Let me start by backing up a bit and start with the pregame. On my way home from work I heard a fabulous story on NPR that got me thinking. It furthers my argument about why national polls are way off in their numbers, and why I predict on Obama electoral map landslide. With very deliberate and carefully organized outreach to (and tracking of) more cell-only voters combined with Team Obama's amazing ability to bring in new voters, typical land-line voter-registration-list phone polling is obsolete and embarrassing. To my statistically minded colleagues & friends: remember how many votes in NH went to Nader in 2000? Around 500 is my memory. If those 500 went to Gore, he would have won not just our two measely little electoral votes, but the general election as well. I bet at UNH alone, Obama will register far more than that many new voters. And that will be multiplied at campuses all over the country, as well as high schools, inner cities, churches, community centers, and other hotbeds of the under 30-crowd, the much-empowered (and much-coddled) Millenials (children of Boomers). Add to that the Team Shaheen ability to squeeze every last Democratic vote out of this state, and McCain is in deep trouble. So, quit reporting that it's neck-and-neck in NH. You ain't seen nothing yet (even with a youthful woman on the ticket).

Back to the speech. We've all read the reviews and heard the pundits by now, so there's not much I can add. Well done, did what was needed to be done, electrifying, etc. I got teary but not because of Obama's words. I got choked up when I saw young black men waving flags and looking so patriotic and engaged. Ya know, during the long primary I often heard white women go on & on about seeing a woman elected in their lifetime. Though I never said this out loud out of respect, I often thought: young white women do NOT need any more role models. I'm sorry, but have you been to any college campuses lately? Remember my impromptu chat with the reporter from The Boston Globe about male vs. female involvement? No, it's young black men that really need to be lifted at this moment. Lifted and included and empowered and challenged. This was their night and I am honored and happy to let them have it.

Last but never least: Sasha's hot pink dress. WHERE can we get one of those, size 6x or 7?

It's My Party...

Did you catch the DNC action yesterday? Quite accidentally, I tuned in to a live CNN.com feed just as the roll call was introducing Nevada! What luck. And now for the great state of New Hampshire! In case you missed what State Chairman Ray Buckley said (copied from BH, where there's a very cool pic):

The granite blue state of New Hampshire, home of Governor John Lynch and
Congressman Paul Hodes: New Hampshire, a leader in electing women,
celebrates the election of Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, House Speaker Terie
Norelli, Senate President Sylvia Larsen, the State Senate female majority, and
in November, the election of Jeanne Shaheen to the United States Senate.
In January, New Hampshire was proud to make history once again, as our primary was the first contest ever won by a woman running for the presidency of the United
States, our friend Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. In New Hampshire, where Unity is more than just a town, we answer Senator Clinton's call to unite, and we fulfill Dr. King's dream by coming here from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire to proudly cast all 30 votes for the next President of the United States Barack Obama!

I really dig the Unity reference. Very Impressive, given HRC's victory and supporters in NH. Supporters like Bill Shaheen, Kathy Sullivan, First Lady Susan Lynch. Smart move for all those involved to set a tone, toe the party line, and get the job done. It was fun to spot people I know or know of, and I did a little happy dance when I saw Erin Thesing, a UNH student and Obama delegate.

I loved the unexpected little piece of theater with the yeilding to Illinois who yielded to New York. Again, call me naive, but I didn't expect it. When the nomination became official, I let out a little cheer to which my son said, "Yea, We Won!" Well, not yet. How do you explain that this one election has lasted almost two years, and we aren't there yet. Just one more giant step forward.

I wasn't so impressed with Jeanne Shaheen's little appearance, I have to admit, but I thought she looked great. Nice suit, good hair. But no matter how long she lives here, I still don't hear NH in her accent. But it was fab to see all the Shaheen signs in the audience held up by familiar faces again.

After dinner and bedtime, I was able to catch all the big speeches. YES, I stayed up with more help from on-line chatting. The speakers just got better and better. It feels good to say Bill didn't disappoint. Biden & son getting choked up got me all teary. I hope this ends the Clinton campaign for real and that they finally let Obama have his convention and his moment in history. It truly is an amazing moment in our country's history. Here I go, getting mushy again...

Anyway...What I really walked away wanting to know is this: does Nancy Pelosi have a new stylist or something? She looks great. Did she have work done?? Botox? I'm loving the outfits; that white suit the other night had such a cool silky collar, only to be outdone by the way cool wide collar top thing last night. As we say in Italian, Mi Piace! She may not be the greatest speaker (small s), but she's sporting some cool suits. I'm dying to see what she wears tonight.

That, and how will Sasha & Malia wear their hair!?

Wanted: Convention Watch Date, Must Have Wifi & Cable! (TiVo a BONUS!!)

I could not stay awake to watch Hillary at the DNC last night, so I had to watch today, after first day of school drop off. My very first thoughts were: Orange suit, interesting choice but it does look nice. Not many white people can pull of orange. She has cheekbones to die for! Secondly, or thirdly I guess, she gets her own FONT (the white signs)! So far all the signs that I've seen are in Obama's font, vertical or horizontal. Not Hillary, she gets script. Interesting!!

Unlike some of the other speakers that I've been able to catch so far, she really knows how to use a teleprompter to make it look less like she's reading and more like she's having eye contact with those in the audience AND those on TV. And no annoying gestures or podium thumping. She's good, that's for sure.

I have to admit, corny as it was, I absolutely LOVED "the sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits" line.

So all the pundits are saying she did what she needed to do. OK, good, so can we move on now? The "divided party" line is getting old, and it's not the story anymore. She lost, and you can blame the media or sexism or her husband or whomever, but she didn't win and we all need to close the book on the primary, and get on with it. It's time to do some campaignin'!

Now I'm looking for a date for Thursday night's big acceptance speech. All my JRE pals and my old Quadrennial Election Party alums (loyal since 1992!) have dispersed, and UNH students aren't back yet. I don't' think I want to go to a public "watch party" alone. I don't have a blogging community like I did during the primary. I can't sit in front of my laptop & cable-less TV alone in the dark any more with only a few Facebook friends to chat with. I promise to stay awake (maybe an extra Diet Coke during the afternoon will help me this time.) Ironically, while cleaning out the kids' playroom this past weekend, I found my old copy of Hillary's chocolate chip cookies from '92; shall I bring some?!

I still regret no seeing Bill's big A Place Called Hope speech, which I missed because I was driving to the Manchester airport to pick up a friend who happened to be coming to visit me from Hope, Michigan. I listened on NHPR instead, getting so teary I missed my exit, but it wasn't the same without the video. I should look for that on YouTube. Well, anyhow, my task in the next 24 hours is to find a watch-date. Or, if you are on Fb, chat me up.

(Update: Just before NH cast ALL 30 votes for Obama, I got my wish. My pal & fellow junkie Colleen will watch together. Coll was at the first Election Party and every one since. We'll be watching for Erin and the other NH delegates while listening to this historic acceptance speech. I'm getting chills already.)

Sucker

I am such a sucker for such things. After swearing I would not do so, I signed up for the Be The First To Know (Obama's VP) Text Message service.

Like every other "big" announcement since this all began almost two years ago, I will probably get an email, see it on Facebook, and read it on HuffPo three minutes before it hits mainstream media. So I don't really buy into the hype that I will be the "first" to know.

I just want to make sure I am not the last.

Veepstakes!

So, I haven't been paying attention to much outside my home other than Olympics lately, but an email from Dante got my wheels turning: "Just curious: what would your reax be if Hillary is the veep?"

The Veepstakes! I usually don't play but something has stuck in my mind. What would my reaction be?

Two months or even two weeks ago I might have said "please, gods, say NO!!" But I found myself not doing that this time. You see, I just came back from a week's vacation with the north-country side of the family, half Republicans, and all completely non-informed (by my standards). They read the Union Leader and watch the evening news, sometimes Fox, and that's how they form all of their opinions. They take the soundbites and commercials as gospel truth, and never wait around for the retractions or corrections. No internet or email, no blogs or books, no Sunday morning talking heads even. No intelligent conversation and certainly no fact-checking. Seeing the world through their eyes makes me see the campaign so differently. Vacationing with them left me exhausted and discouraged. (But we did have some great beach weather, thank goodness.).

Anyhow...So maybe HRC as a VP could appeal to this type of white rural voter? There are certainly plenty of them. They are the type that see Obama as a foreign policy rookie and weak on defense. And they only know one fact about McCain: his military record.

Richardson sure wouldn't appeal to them. Hillary's vote on the war wouldn't be a liability here.

Of the other contenders: Obama wouldn't dare pick another woman, I don't think. That would be in very bad taste. And what if McCain picks a female. Yikes...Can you just hear the Clintonistas threatening to jump ship? Biden can be too much of a loose cannon (though that's why I like him so much). I know nothing about Bayh, sorry.

I'm guessing, like everyone else, that the location of the announcement (Springfield IL) holds a big clue. Sure, Obama keeps saying "he" when referring to his VP pick, but could he be playing the media?? HRC was born in Chicago and grew up in Park Ridge IL--nowhere near Springfield really, but the state capital. Oh, who knows. I certainly can't pretend to have any idea. I just love the guessing and debating. The anticipation. It's a good distraction.

We'll all know soon enough.

Sounds of Silence

My summer off is quickly coming to a close. I thought I'd ease back into the working-stiff lifestyle by coming into the office on Sunday. I could dig through the emails & get urgent paperwork out of the way, so that when I would start up in earnest, I might be more relaxed and have some time to chit-chat with my colleagues. Then it hit me: I'm in such big trouble.

I haven't spoken to anyone from the office since "the affair" went public. Of all those condolences emails I was getting, none were from my most immediate colleagues. Most of these people are the ones I would sneak out of the office with to see candidates, or bug to come to an event or phone banking. Many of them teased me (mostly good-naturedly) about my loyalty to JRE, and many of them supported Obama. Quite a few came along down the Edwards road with me, mostly because they too were impressed with policies and accessibility. Or lazy enough just to say "if you like him this much, and you follow these things, your judgement must be sound, therefore, I like him too." That's where I get a little weirded out.

I insist that I am proud of my involvement and support of Edwards, and don't regret it one bit. I did my homework, and was happy with all the answers I got. (Maybe I never asked the right exact question, but I did pretty extensive research.) I agreed with 99% of what he said, which is pretty good for any candidate. I loved that policy booklet JRE's team released. I loved that he was endorsed by NHFT Coalition. I loved how the staff welcomed me and how accessible everyone was. I refuse to be ashamed of my support. It was a great experience, regardless of the outcome.

But I am haunted by two things, both from fellow bloggers. One is a question from Joe, "But what if he HAD clinched the nomination? Where would we be now??" And the other is from my friend Mary, who posted on her blog that she should have listened more to her Obama-supporting friends and not trusted JRE (or supporters like me who trusted him). Ouch.

Anyway, I worried about returning to work for nothing: first day back & not a word. Is it a case of "this too shall pass" or are they being kind (and pitying me?)? Maybe it's easier for folks to say this stuff via email and blogs, and in person they are a bit more cautious/polite/reserved. Or maybe everyone is just actually concentrating on work.

For once, I am enjoying the silence. I'm sure it won't last when the students return.

More Thoughts...

So many people are writing and asking me what I think and how I feel...it's like someone died. I appreciate the condolences but I am trying to put the Edwards Affair into perspective. No one died, just another powerful man cheating on his wife.

My first thought was this: I wonder if this is how Jeanne Shaheen felt when the Gary Hart scandal broke? I guess I now have seen first hand: The NH Primary can truly be unpredictable, and anything can happen.

I haven't been digging around and reading everything I can get my hands on. I read JRE's statement, and was happy to find & read Elizabeth's blog posts. She never ceases to amaze me. Her writing is so truthful and honest, eloquent and passionate.

What I've come to learn is that this whole thing was over before JRE declared his candidacy and the NH staff were even hired. That makes me feel better, though I'm sure someone somewhere was well aware (there's my naivety again!). I picture some advisers sitting around a table with JRE saying "I'm in, John, but you have to knock it off. Ditch the mistress, and come clean with your wife. Then let's take it from there." So, I am comforted by the fact that Edwards told his wife back in 2006 and they dealt with their issues privately and came out on the other end stronger.

UNH Professor Nick Smith has written a great book about public apologies, and I've heard him speak about the subject many times. In my book, JRE's was a good one. I was relieved he didn't try to dodge any responsibility or become defensive.

My old pal Dennis sent me this, and I think he summed up my feelings quite well:

. . . at least his explanation was right-on. . . . my take. . . . when will
folks realize that human relationships are complex and defy consistency .. . I'm
not excusing him, but really, is something that personal any of my business,
especially given the fact I have no personal relationship with either him or his
wife . . . bottom line. . . men's self esteem is tragically linked, and i think
biologically, to how often and where they can plant their seed.

Maybe that's why I stick with women. They can cheat too, but how many powerful women have had public sex scandals? Seems like women in power, when erring, tend to err on the side of favoring spouses, family or friends inappropriately, and usually involve money. Isn't it interesting how the genders differ in how they misuse power?

And the difference of Dems & Republicans when it comes to scandals is interesting to. Wide stances, cheesy overpriced call girls, underage boy pages on the one hand, and (to quote The L Word) "Good old uncomplicated boy-girl sex" on the other. Neither is OK in my book, but one stands a little less hypocritical. Americans tend to punish the adulterous husband who works hard to repair his marriage rather than the ones who cheated, divorced, remarried the mistress.


I learned from a friend's divorce that there are always two sides to every story, and it's not my place to pass judgement. It's easy to be loyal when the going is good. A true friend/believer will stand by your side when the going gets tough.

The OMG sticker isn't going anywhere.

Rumors Confirmed

Go ahead, call me naive: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/08/edwards.affair/index.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080808/ap_on_el_pr/edwards_affair

I had a bad feeling about this when a few ex-staffers failed to return some emails and there were no comments from them on my last blog post.

Just don't ask me how I feel about it right now.

Clean Slate, Sorta

I took the "John Edwards '08" sticker off the minivan last week. I had originally wanted to keep it as long as it wasn't tattered, like those old Dean or Kerry/Edwards stickers I still spot on occasion in NH. But something came over me while I was sitting on the back bumper with the rear door open. I looked down at it and started peeling. (It came off easy, as promised, no damage, no residue.)

Why?? I'm still trying to figure that out.

At the time, I had not yet received my way cool round Obama car magnet that I got for donating a small amount of money. Part of me didn't want to peel & immediately replace; that would feel cold and disloyal. As it turned out, the magnet arrived about 5 days into my empty bumper and now has a place of honor. The kids put it on & took off the PrioritiesNH pie chart magnet, reminding me that John Edwards is no longer running. No matter how much I try, they still associate the pie chart with JRE. It was a close fit.

Then, admittedly, there's the whole rumor thing very quietly circulating the blogosphere about an Edwards affair. I'm not one to jump on rumors or innuendo until they are reported by reputable person or institution (Fox does NOT count). So I wait, but I'm so off-line for the summer that something would have to come into my mailbox for me to hear about it. I have not conducted any searches or gone seeking info. If it's to be known, I will find out.

To be honest with myself, I know I had a bit of doubt the moment I started the peeling. What if rumors are true?? Again, I wouldn't want to be peeling my old sticker off once news got out, and make it obvious that I am withdrawing my support for specific reasons.

I can't imagine that anyone who was so public could ever pull off anything such as what is being suggested. been known to be naive in my lifetime, so I'm aware of my shortcomings. If it proves to be true, it would have taken some co-conspirators. I think maybe that's why I don't buy it. I trust(ed) the JRE staffers I met even more than the candidate. And I like and respect them; I trust their judgement. I don't think any of them would put themselves through what they did if they weren't 100% behind the man. I just don't think you can fake that kind of respect, admiration, and dedication for as long as this primary dragged on.

And yet, I did remove the sticker...

But, I did to leave the tiny oval on the rear windshield that Mike Alfoni custom made for me: "JRE, OMG." And that's not going anywhere.