Another One Joins the Fray - Maybe

It's going to get very crowded very soon. Senator Obama will probably be announcing right after the New Year. Hillary hasn't 'formerly' announced yet either. But, the question still remains. Who will the republicans put forward? Almost certainly it will be America's Mayor, Gulliani. While he may be a formidable candidate, hopefully people will look at all the candidates full resumes rather than basing decisions strictly along party lines and celebrity image. I still think the dream ticket (at least as of this writing) is a Clinton/Obama combination. (Actually they could be flipped either way, but Hillary's ego would never have her as VP).

So, here's Evan Bayh announcing his exploratory committee. And, he has something Barak doesn't have, which is a record. He has a substantiated record of leadership and success. I hope that people look at him closer than they might otherwise, given the star draw of some of the other candidates. Though he doesn't have the name recognition, or elicit the oos or awws of some of the other candidates, he does have the experience of being a legislator and a Governor. I wish him luck. It's going to get busy.

Winter's Here

Sigh. Rain has arrived and sunny days are no more. But, it'll be back. We had our Sacramento conference last weekend, and had a great time! It was so much fun, with friends visiting from Reno, the Bay Area, Southern CA and Phoenix.

I'm selling the bug. It was inevitble. We love this little bugger, but I just never had the time to restore it the way I wanted, but boy it was fun while we drove it! And, it's running perfectly too. But hey. You can only drive one car at a time anyway right? And we have two other convertibles. Three was too much.

Oh well. We hope you're doing well and hope to hear from you soon.

A Day For Celebration But Not Boasting

Rick Santorum, Crying after the election. If he'd been compassionate, reasonable, basically - a human being, he could have spared himself the tears.

We received news that we've waited for for at least 2 of the last 6 years. Finally there's some balance brought back to our government. After years of congress, failing to do its job, we have a referendum that clearly states what we'd like. What we demand.

The country wants nothing more than strong, sensible, moral leadership. One of the ways we are guaranteed that is first by electing a President who embodies those ideals. Failing that, we have a government structure which allows a congress to keep an inept or renegade Head of State in check.

Heretofor, we've not had that. Now hopefully we've injected some humility into this administration. The days of 'because I said so' method of governance, I hope will come to a close.

But rather than shoot our guns in the air, hoot, holler and smack each other on the back with high-fives and "git her done-s", I hope the democrats honor this opportunity. Let's try and bring this country back together and reign in the President, rather than seeking to punish him. If any progress is to be made in the next two years (and progess neeeeds to be made) we should not get bogged down in retribution but seek rather to be the party of the high road.

Let's tackle real issues of healthcare, tax relief for all not just for the richest few, energy independence, and of course the war. If we send these issues to the desk of the President, and he chooses to hang on to an expired ideology that would have him veto good, sound legislation. Then, we'll be certain of an encore in 2008.

If however we become the party of pettiness, it's likely voters will not likey gravitate to Dems in 2008. We'll be guilty of what this administration has all along, that is, taking voters and Americans for granted. For whatever 'political capital' the president may have had (and I'd argue he had very little to start with), he's squandered it. Just threw it away.

Let's not make the same error. Let's be the country we're capable of being. Strong, compassionate, a world leader. Because currently, we're not. And history will ultimately provide the President with the retribution he may or may not deserve. He will be recorded as the worst President in modern American history.