Monday, September 29, 2008

Show him the Shark


In last week's presidential debate, there was no clear winner. Both candidates circled around answers without answering them. Both candidates missed opportunities for One-Two punches that would have put some life back in to this mess. I wish Obama had hit one out of the park that night - because he was focused on Americans, the people...the most important consideration of any president's job. But somehow the message wasn't said loudly or clearly enough to have an impact.

I think both McCain and Obama seemed extremely weary and tired. No doubt the serious financial crisis and the jockeying done by McCain in the last minutes before the debate added to the stress and anxiety of the whole situation. But a president has to handle this type of thing on a daily basis.

There's no doubt that McCain has shot himself in the foot with some of his 'maverick' decisions. The biggest one - being the 'Disasta from Alaska'. His campaign spends most of it's energy baby-sitting Sarah Palin (referred to on a CNN message post as) Caribou Barbie! (Perfect). They make sure she doesn't speak to anyone while microphones are present. They can't afford to let her speak her mind because you know, she's a redneck and might say something stupid like 'I don't know the answer to that.' The new, hip term for the ripples of energy generated by a smooth campaign move is called 'bounce'. People mistakenly thought her addition to the McCain ticket was generating interesting and positive 'bounce' on the whole. They were wrong. The bounce was merely a period of confusion and disbelief. The ball ended up bouncing out of the park as people saw the huge effort it takes to control the spin-out of Palin's private mess of a life.

I know that Republicans are so embarrassed by McCain and Palin that all they can do is feign huge enthusiasm to save face. Not even they see any benefit to her being on the ticket. McCain is older, a bit more tired and a bit more shopworn in the health department. They will pretend that it's OK for a person with little understanding of world politics and extremely questionable values to be a heartbeat away from where the buck stops. All this, just to save face. Please don't bother criticizing her - it's seen as badgering or disrespectful (not the other was around though). Scary.

My father, a lifelong Republican voted for Bill Clinton twice. Dad always said - He was the better man for the job. There were a lot of Republicans who did the same. What happened to doing the right thing? In the years since Clinton, I think Republicans have realised that their constituents actually might get wise and do this again - so they invigorated their grass-roots efforts and created a GOP brand that is stronger than candidates have to be. Like the new Burberry or Gucci - brands that have been elevated to tacky, horrendously overpriced schlock for the slapper set rather than the classy brands they started as. Now absolute nuts cases and complete morons can run for office and the Republicans will back them simply because they are Republicans. G Gordon Liddy and the fat fart, Rush Limbaugh love American ignorant Republicans who blindly follow every nasty, short-sighted word they broadcast. It's lucrative to make money off of people who are ignorant.

Here's my bottom line - aside from all the bizarre qualities of the McCain-Palin ticket (and there are many) and the Republican/Democratic divide - the most important thing to really understand is that McCain represents the past and Obama the future.

McCain thrives on the past, his strengths are in the past and his mind is in the past, his successes, and bravery and relevance - past past past. I hate to be picky - but the man has never sent an e-mail in his life. OK, there are a lot of older people who don't know how to e-mail, but I don't want my president to be one of them. I actually think that my president should know how to communicate with the 500 billion other people on this planet who communicate in the most common language in the universe - e-mail.

I don't have the confidence that McCain even mildly 'gets' the IT world or even slightly connects the dots in terms of how the world is universally connected. I bet Obama can explain the effect of this global crisis with relative detail all the way from Fannie Mae to the fact that you have to cut out that Starbucks coffee in the afternoon because you don't have the extra cash in your pocket. I don't think John McCain could explain the basics even on a peripheral level.

I know John McCain doesn't really get it when people have to dump their homes and risk bad credit ratings because they cannot afford to sell their homes - even though their house is worth less than 1/5th the original value, they don't have the cash to go to closing on the mortgage. He doesn't get it - but of course, he has many houses to go to if he loses one, no worries.

Obama does get it. He represents the future to me. He has looked at the big picture and can see how it all fits and how what we do in the big picture affects my bottom line. He doesn't live in a fantasy world of past war heros, wild west maverick decision-making and shock value. He lives in this world. He cares about how Americans will save enough for pensions, he cares about how Americans can afford school for our kids. He cares about heathcare and social security and local programs and organisations that get no press, but provide critical, social and economic support to millions of people every day.

Don't forget, he cares about us as a nation in the global sphere of influence. He cares about what other country's leaders and people think about us. He knows that the way America acts sends direct messages to terrorist groups, world leaders and trade partners alike. he knows that to be open-minded and fair means you have the opportunity for discussion. Living abroad for 8 years I have been really waiting for this from an American leader! I think the international world likes Obama already.

Now, Barack. I know it has been your campaign strategy to sit back and 'take the high road' and wait for your opponents to stick their foots in their own mouths - this has been a pretty good strategy up to now. But you have to move man!! Show them there's a bit of shark in you! Nail that McCain, challenge him on the future, make everyone associate him not just with the Bush past but with the old, tired, dusty past. Give him your A game. Turn on the juice!

Oh yeah, and at the next debate ask him why he didn't answer your e-mail

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

I am woman - hear my power tools roar

I just had a beautiful weekend with a man I totally love, but can never have.

He's a hottie at 6 foot 6, shaved short- blond hair with green eyes and a cheeky smile, intelligent and well read - exactly what sends my adrenaline pumping overtime. He's a good friend too, the kind who sits up with you and talks all night, cares about the things that move me, wants to share also. We've known one another for about 8 years and have bonded through a mutual person who is no longer in our lives. Though he would deny it in mixed company, this ex-rugby player is a totally romantic sweetie pie: the holding hands and cuddling type.

I took off Friday to get a breather from work and to let the stress ease out of my face before Mr. Totally Handsome came to town. I had to look good you know. I even took Bunny dog to camp so I could have a dog walk-free weekend.

Needless to say, Brussels Confidential got her groove on and enjoyed every minute of the weekend. He's so right and we just click. In many ways. OK, get me some ice....getting hot

He left on Sunday night and while I tried to be my casual self and shrug off the feeling of being cut off from oxygen, I didn't do such a good job. I was more than a bit mopey for the rest of the night.

I try to do my 'single gal at 43' thing - you know, the stoic 'I like my life the way it is' thing. 'I don't need a man in my life' thing.

And the honest truth is I do like my life the way it is. I love my life and I actually love myself (big surprise there hey?) But goodness gracious wouldn't life be just grand if I could have the one person I really want when I want them? Just once I want it to work out my way.

I know that all of the living and experience and baggage and hurt and love and ups and downs make me and everyone else who we are, those are what makes the fiber of ourselves. I never think to myself, 'gee if I had met that person 20 years ago, things would have been perfect'. That would be crazy - we wouldn't be the same people we are now. Maybe we wouldn't click like we do now. The same with people who divorce, life changes people. Maybe the exact situations we find ourselves in make us who we are at that time of life and that's what actually makes us click with one another- total chemistry of the moment - no matter how inconvenient the situation may be.

Oh well.

Luckily, I had taken Monday off too. I went to sleep quite late on Sunday in my mopey state and I slept until 10 am Monday - the deep sleep of release. Re-dreaming of the weekend and smiling. I woke fresh and happy. Confident - well, why not? I'm pretty great!

I drove out to get Bunny Dog at camp about an hour away - blasting B-52's along the way. 'Roam if you want to'. I shall.

I Got back home and with all of my energy re-focused, I started to tackle the garden.

Whenever, I get over an attack of vulnerability I like to march out the garden tools and redefine my self confidence. The mower, the strimmer, the hedge trimmer, the clippers, the secateurs. Gloves, eye goggles, boots. All the control, in my hands the power to define and shape and conquer.

Ahh. I am single woman at 43, hear me roar!