Tonight was the final debate.  It all comes down to this — today I streamed a video from The Daily Dish, Andrew Sullivan’s site, (thanks Andrew) – Barack was walking through a neighborhood greeting residents when a woman told him he had a spider on his shirt.  He didn’t even flinch.  He said, “how big is it,” and looked down at his white shirt.  He laughed.  He picked at and finally flicked the spider off his shirt.  Calmness doesn’t do his spider moment justice.  He was mesmerized, totally focused on the spider for 10 seconds.  That video was exactly how the debate went for me tonight.  I watched Obama flick McCain off.  Boy, McCain sure has a big steam roller head and his black eyes are as big as dinner plates.  He twitched and twisted but he didn’t flick Obama off.  If you are reading this site then you don’t need me to go line by line and counter all the lies McCain told tonight.  Let’s just leave it at this — three weeks from this very day we will know who the next President is.  Can you sing, “itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout, down came the rain and washed the spider out.” 

As San Diegans say, “buh bye.”  Let me add, “buh bye McCain.”      

Today I watched a video of a young white boy entering a McCain/Palin rally in Ohio with his parents.  He said, “you need gloves to touch him” referring to Barack Obama.  “You need gloves to touch him.”  His parents laughed when he said it.  The boy was no older than 8 or 9.  Don’t tell me that kind of talk isn’t dangerous.  This should and will be McCain’s legacy, his unbridled, hate-mongering campaign, the campaign he keeps pursuing then backing away from.  If Obama was holding rallies in front of crowds of black people who called McCain a ’terrorist’ and yelled ‘kill him’ referring to McCain, Obama would be in jail.  But McCain/Palin smile and wave at the crowds as people yell ‘nigger’ and ‘behead him’ about Obama.  Why is that?  And why haven’t the Clintons denounced McCain?  Why did it take David Gergen on CNN to bring up the possibility of violence growing out of the McCain rallies?  I’ve used up all the energy I can muster writing about Bill and Hillary Clinton and their blind ambition tour of the past 2 years.  I trust they end up in the same political trash heap as McCain and Palin. 

McCain and Palin have unleashed a monster.  Trouble is, it didn’t take them long to do it.  The monster is just under the surface, scratch and sniff and it comes out of hiding, looking for someone to blame for the mess our country is in.  Hitler found a monster to blame in the 1930s.  That was only 80 years ago. 

“You need gloves to touch him.” 

“Politics and art, the life of action and the life of thought, the world of events, and the world of imagination, are one.”

– President John F. Kennedy, at the unveiling of the MONA LISA at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., January 8, 1963.

The next time I hear someone say “it doesn’t matter who the President is” my brain will likely crash in on itself, imploding and exploding at the exact same time.  First there was Reagan, big grinning Reagan, trickle down Reagan, who started deregulating the Financial Industry.  Then came Bush I, former head of the CIA, who continued the deregulation, then blowjob Clinton, who continued the same policies because he was precockupied and pissed away his presidency, and finally baby Bush, a puppet of the Neo-Cons, who sealed the deregulation deal and on top of that, gave tax cuts to the upper class during two wars, never before done in the history of the country.  Granted, all these presidents had the cooperation of Congress, Repubs and Dems alike.  And now, September 29, 2008, baby Bush and his gang are attempting to bail out the big boys using his tried and true fear machine and the useless Majority Leader, Reid, and the equally useless Speaker, Pelosi, are in cahoots with him.  The Bailout Bill failed today, thanks to smart Dems and Repubs.  “GOOD,” I say.  Just last week we gave 25 billion to bail out the auto industry (anyone notice that) and another 70 billion for the occupation of Iraq — YES, we won the war, we are now occupying Iraq. 

“Socialism,” a word the Repubs love to toss around when talking about Universal Health Care, has now come to our nation thanks to Investment beggars and Wall Streetaholics, dressed in snappy suits, direct from Ivy League MBA educations.  “Got a billion for me, sir?” 

Let’s start over, how about that?  For starters, vomit the stink of fear that has been jammed down throats since 9/11 by Bush and his fear-mongering menagerie.  Remember, Bush said go shopping after 9/11 and Al Qaeda’s goal, stated time and time again after the 9/11 attacks, was to bring our country to its financial knees.  We still haven’t caught Bin Laden, I cannot imagine why.  And we have been brought to our knees financially, I can see why.  Now that pisses me off.  

My solution is Barack Obama as our next President.  If he can possibly win.  Nearly everyone is against him.  If he had pulled half the drama queen stunts McCain has he would be toast to McCain’s butter.  Here, take a look:  1.  McCain never once looked Obama in the eye during the debate last Friday.  2.  Bill Clinton cannot bring himself to full-out endorse Obama.  I’m embarrassed when I see him speak, for him and for me.  He’s a man I used to support but his behavior is unforgivable and furthermore, obvious.  He just ‘loves’ John McCain.  3.  Hillary Clinton does not want Obama to win, she mouths words of support, both before and after she talks about herself, but if anyone believes she is gung-ho for Obama, I suggest you donate 100 bucks to the bailout fund.  4.  The scurrilous lies that fly out of tax-exempt pulpits on any given Sunday morning are staggering.  I demand churches pay taxes when the church leaders change Houses of Worship into voting guides for their partisan flocks. 

Which brings me to Proposition 8 in California.  But I have to catch my breath first…

… to drive me crazy!”  I’m writing in my studio, taking a break to eat black olives and drink grape juice, and I hear a couple walking home on the sidewalk below me, I’m up here in the pine trees.  He yells at her, “you do this to drive me crazy.”  I know she is an MD and he details cars.  I’ve heard this same dialogue several times now.  I wonder why she settles for him?  Once she gets home, I can see her across the street, she waters her lawn, weeds her flower beds.  Earlier this evening I saw two men walking down the street with their daughters.  The girls picked a few of her flowers.  Children rarely ignore pretty things.    

Dear Ms. Cholodenko,

I spoke with PARTISAN today… I want to send you my latest novel. I’ve tried to adapt it into a script but I can’t make it sing. HIGH ART and especially LAUREL CANYON are two of the tightest scripts and pitch-perfect movies I’ve ever read and seen and I’ve seen thousands of movies.

I don’t have an agent anymore. I freaked on my 48th birthday, afraid my life of being an artist would herald me into homelessness. I turned to real estate. During the past five years I’ve created a real estate barrier between me and the street and now I’m back to writing full-time.

I gave PARTISAN the address to this site so if you land here, take a chance and contact me. I swear you won’t be disappointed.

David.

Oh, here we go again.  The Repubs have screwed up and media darling John McCain and his camp are now crying about unfair media coverage.  Tears are rolling down my cheeks.  Let me just say this — if Obama had chosen Sarah Palin as his VP candidate, televisions all over the country would have exploded with the heated rage spewing forth…  Ms. Palin, as of 8:00 p.m. PDT today, has not sat down for one press interview.  Wonder why?  I don’t care one whit about her family issues.  It’s her qualifications and McCain’s judgment that concern me.   

The times we live in deserve Barack Obama.  He’s flat out brilliant, the timing is perfect.  Our democracy, our republic, will not survive if we continue to tolerate the poison and lies spreading through our public and political discourse.  Tonight, Obama shined a light on honesty.  I hope the country can discard the fear from the past seven years and embrace the bold years that lie ahead.     

Obama will be the next president…  Tonight, the focus turned toward Obama and it will now stay there.  Barack and Joe, Michelle and Jill, their children — a new team for a new century, a century that got off on the wrong foot.  Come November, that will be corrected.    

1. James Carville: I’m sick of his lap dog sucking up to the Clintons. I’m sick of his bald head, his accent, his smarmy lips. He needs a job now, Clinton’s not going to be president… Go look for a job, James.

2. Terry McAuliffe: I just heard him say for the 3rd time this year that Hillary Clinton was going to give the speech of her lifetime tonight.

3. Tom Brokaw: He just quoted a scene from SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, referring to Obama’s quest for the Presidency, “you have to earn it.” Mr. Brokaw, Caroline Kennedy put you in your place last Sunday, even if her blouse was inside out! And if you don’t think Obama has been earning the presidency for the past 19 months, then you haven’t been paying attention.

4. Luke Russert: Glad to see him reporting about the youth vote. His is a reasoned voice, not yet tainted by political histrionics.

5. Hello — the Clintons DO NOT WANT Obama to win in November. That is the truth.

6. Damn Hillary. It is all about HER.

7. I think Obama lost the election tonight, not because of anything he has done or said, not because of anything he will do or say… I hope I’m wrong.

8. I like Governor Schweitzer.

The End of 2nd Night Commentary.

P.S.  My heart hurts, to tell the truth.  I felt the air leave the Convention floor in Denver tonight.  I have attended 2 Dem. Conventions, as I’ve written about here before.  Something is wrong in Denver.  Obama must win in November.  His win will transform the country and the world, something we’ve needed ever since Bush missed his chance on 9/11 — he didn’t even recognize the window of opportunity afforded him and our country after the attacks.  Obama did.  And he ran for President.  But he didn’t count on his own party turning against him.  A primary is a primary, then it’s over — that’s what he thought.  I’m not whining here for him, I’m pissed here for him.  He needs support.  I’ve done all I know to do…  Hillary gave every racist voter in the country an out tonight — just hang on 4 more years.  Trouble is, the country can’t wait any longer, 4 years is a long time.  Her and Bill’s ruse, along with daughter Chelsea, won’t matter one whit in 2012.  Like I said, 4 years is a long time because the past 8 years has been an eternity.