Maybe it's impossible...

No denying it. Politics is a dirty and often rotten game. So many politicians like to talk out of both sides of their mouth. And castigate their opponents. Even play dirty tricks. And they distort the truth. If not outrightly lie. I have to wonder if there's such a thing as an honest politician. Seems to me that a totally honest politician couldn't succeed. He'd lose. He'd be rejected by the electorate. And his opponent would take advantage of him. Because he'd play clean and fair. If he was wronged, he'd turn the other cheek. He'd still take the high road. Anyway, the politicians that make it all the way to higher office, such as congress and the presidency -- well, they need tremendous egos. No other way would they get that far. And they have to compromise. With themselves. I suspect they have to sell their souls to some degree. Maybe we all do. Even those of us who stay out of the political arena. If that's so, maybe I'm too harsh on politicians. Maybe we're all in the same boat. Maybe it's impossible to live an honest life. --Jim Broede

I don't want to be field-dressed.

Yes, folks, we are living in an era of tabloid journalism. Just make up a preposterous story. And folks will believe it. Every day has become April Fool's day. Except that the majority believe that the joke is the truth. Sarah (Barracuda) Palin is a joke. Perpetrated by desperate Republicans. Same goes for John McCain. Put them on the ticket together. And package them as reformers. The bringers of change. Mavericks. And people believe it. Just wait until they make their Supreme Court appointments. And stifle universal health care. And start another war. Maybe with Iran. Or if Palin ascends to the presidency, maybe even with Russia. Meanwhile, I'm just thankful I'm not a moose. I don't want to be shot and field-dressed, especially by a gun-toting woman. --Jim Broede

Oh, merciful god, help us.

Here in the United States of America I live in a fantasy land. More or less created by the media. The media frame the agenda. Mostly, it's television. And especially cable. The media no longer just give us news. But rather entertainment. The media create a story. Based largely on who is chosen to be today's celebrity. Lately, it has been Sarah (Barracuda) Palin. She's followed all over. The focus is on this lady from Alaska. Because she's so different. A freak, in a sense. Some call her a cocky wacko. A little like Paris Hilton. Or Brittany Spears. Or Michael Jackson. Yes, Palin is the reigning political celebrity of the moment. And it may get her elected vice president of the United States. Which means John McCain will get a free ride into the White House. And at age 72, and with a history of skin cancer, there's always the possibility that McCain will die before the end of his elected term. And then Sarah Palin, no longer a barracuda, but a Cinderella, will ascend to the lofty heights of so-called leader of the free world. Not because she's a natural born leader and by far the most qualified human being to hold the job -- but just because she was tabbed by the media as celebrity of the current political campaign in America. Yes, she's the focus. And we are being sold on the idea that it's time to elect a female celebrity. Doesn't matter that she may be a wise-cracking war-monger. But she is capable of field-dressing a moose and shooting wolves from an airplane and embellishing her credentials. That makes a good story. She's caught the media's fancy. And so we are being spoon-fed Sarah Palin pablum daily. Heaps and heaps of it. Oh, there's no justification for it. Really. Only that it's entertaining. No doubt about it, Palin will be an entertaining vice president. And maybe an equally entertaining president some day. What a story. This woman emerges out of obscurity. In only a few days. And she becomes royalty. Because the media chose to elevate her to the stage. And to turn on the spotlight. All I can say about this at the moment is, oh, merciful god, help us. --Jim Broede

Yes, rid the world of evil.

The way I see it, John McCain is a cowboy. Hankering for a good fight. Yes, a war. I think he likes war. Just like George Bush. McCain is a proud American. He considers himself a patriot. He even volunteered to stay a prisoner of war in Vietnam when he was offered a chance to go home free. What a man. A saint. A maverick. But still, this is not the kind of guy I want to see in the White House. He's far too much like George Bush. Declaring America uber alles. Yes, above all else. As if America can do no wrong. As if it's all right for America to invade another country. Under false pretense. Such as suggesting that Iraq had something to do with the 9/11 attack on America. I don't trust McCain any more than I'd trust Bush. They're both cowboys. Like in the old wild west. Longing for a nice shootout. They fancy themselves as the guys wearing the white hats. Yes, it's good versus evil. And they gonna not only clean up the town -- they gonna clean up the whole world. Yes, rid the world of evil. --Jim Broede

But he's not a woman.

When it comes to electing an American president, maybe issues don't count. Really. Maybe issues are secondary. And what matters most is personality. Or celebrity status. Who's the biggest celebrity. And right now that appears to be John McCain's running mate, Sarah (Barracuda) Palin. She may pull McCain through to victory. She's Cinderella. She's captured the imagination of the electorate. Even of a significant amount of women who used to support Hillary Clinton. That's why I suggest that issues don't really count. Clinton and Palin are far, far apart on the political issues. But both women are celebrities. That's what they have in common. And that's why many women can support either one. Women like the idea of a woman being on the ticket, no matter what she believes. Because it's just nice to see a woman break through the glass ceiling. Better to see a woman attain such high and lofty office before a black man gets there. It's not yet Barack Obama's turn. Women come first. Especially white women. Sure, the black man may be right on the political issues. On health care. On the war in Iraq. On the economy. But he's not a woman. --Jim Broede

...about Palin's qualifications.

In an interview on ABC News tonight, Sarah (Barracuda) Palin didn't seem to know what the Bush doctrine was. She had to be told by the interviewer that it's Bush's belief that the U.S. is entitled to start a preemptive war. As a means of protecting American interests. That's a sign that while she was a mayor and a governor in Alaska, maybe Palin wasn't paying attention to what was going on in Washington and the world. I don't deny Palin's ability to field dress a moose and to shoot wolves from an airplane and to make wisecracks about Democrats. But hey, that hardly qualifies her to be vice president, only a heartbeat away from the presidency. Pardon me. But I'm a little leery...about Palin's qualifications. --Jim Broede

Long live the liberals!

I was reminded the other day by New York Times columnist Bob Herbert why I should be proud of being a liberal. After all, he pointed out, liberals ended legalized racial segregation and gender discrimination, gave this country Head Start and legal services and the food stamp program. They fought for cleaner air and water. Gave us social security and unemployment insurance. And Medicare and Medicaid. Yes, long live the liberals! --Jim Broede