A marathon, not a sprint

It's been a long weekend for political junkies like me. Lots to talk about. Let's get started.

This time, we shall start with the Republicans. Many are very upset with John McCain's latest speech, sounding like he is distancing himself from President Bush. No one should be surprised, once he is focused on a Democrat opponent a McCain presidency will be portrayed as the Bush 3rd term. McCain will get increasingly harsh press treatment over the next several months as the mainstream media fears that he could actually win. Look for them to focus on the Keating 5 investigation of the early 1990s, Cindy McCain's bout with prescription drug addiction and her stealing of some of those drugs from her own medical charity. And of course there is McCain's divorce of his disabled wife after his return from a North Vietnamese prison. Finally, there will be the out of context quote that "we could be in Iraq for another 100 years", knowing full well that he meant bases. After all, we still have bases in Japan and Germany...and WWII has been over for over 60 years now.

Meanwhile, two Democrat candidates continue to poke and push at each other. Hillary has filed to allow the delegates from Florida and Michigan to be seated. She's beginning to hurt from money problems again and insists on staying in it through the Denver convention. Either she is in denial, bent on the destruction of her party, incapable of doing the math...or she knows there are yet other shoes to be dropped on Obama. Will her people be doing the dropping? Obama is trying to remain magnanimous and says she has the right to stay in. Or perhaps, he's just realistic. Party insiders are beginning to wonder if perhaps Al Gore can be drafted in Denver. Stay tuned.

Finally, Obama, after his short vacation in the Caribbean, is touring Pennsylvania. Will working-class whites give him the vote? Has the Reverend Wright issue dissolved? It's interesting to see him reach for the center. He gave an interview to Maria Bartaromo of the CNBC financial network and scared investors by suggesting that he would raise capital gains rates. His wife has become a very popular figure on the campaign trail, but how will she play with independents? And Obama himself is suggesting that he will handle foreign affairs...like those two great "Democrat" presidents...Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. HUH? Not sure how to read that one.

A side note...the passing of Dith Pran reminded us all of the nature of despotic regimes and the reality of genocide in today's world and how only a nation like the US can truly get involved in stopping atrocities like the Cambodian killing fields. An outstanding film was made about Pran's life and escape from Cambodia that is worth a rental but only for those who can handle such an overwhelmingly realistic portrayal of the evil of those who would kill people who had committed the sin of becoming educated and thinking for themselves. This was the strongest example of why worldwide communism had to be defeated. With the shutdown of a website hosting a Dutch film on the horrors of modern Islamic Jihad, the song sounds disturbingly familiar. Is Islamic fundamentalism the new "Evil Empire?"

Coach