Bluerant

What’s the Difference Between a Hockey Mom and a Pit Bull?

Well, aside from the presence of opposable thumbs required to drive a mini-van, quite a few other things as well, it turns out.

For one thing, Hockey Moms, or really, any kind of mom, have a responsibility to themselves and their families to make rational and intelligent decisions based on facts about the best way to raise their kids and manage their lives. If there was a hunk of raw meat sitting on the ground a few feet away, and one of their children was wandering into the pathway of a maximum security bus transport from the local penitentiary at the same time, what would she do? What would a pit bull do? What would you do?

While it’s easy to make simple, sweeping statements that endear oneself with a certain audience, the reality is that knee-jerk decisions based on instinct, or even worse, ignorance of belief, are clearly not the way people responsible for the lives of others should make decisions.

Convictions based on logic, reason and real-world experience used to count for something. Hopefully they will, again.

Emotion vs. Logic: Why Palin might work for the Republicans

Photo courtesy: Charles Dharapak/Associated Press

If it’s not obvious from my previous posts, I truly love starting my mornings with Dowd and Friedman. They just usually seem to resonate with my feelings on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This morning, however, I think they might have missed the mark a bit. While their logic, as well as a very observant piece by Garry Wills, on the the errors underlying the choice of Sarah Palin as the Veep-to-be, as well as why McCain is no longer the man he was, is very sound, they have forgotten why we are stuck deep in this moribund morass.

For the most part, it’s not logic, nor platforms, nor well-reasoned programs that drive voters, it’s emotion! It’s being able to associate with a candidate and feel like they are “one of us.” Just ask the Big Dub as he sits in the Oval Office for his final days and contemplates the “success” of his administration.

Did George W have any more experience than Obama does now when he was elected? Did he have better platforms and more well-reasoned programs than Gore or Kerry? Was he a better speaker and leader?

I’m going to hazard a guess that the answer to those questions was, “no.” What he did have, however, was an ability to get the majority of the population to feel like he was “one of them.” Like they could sit down and have a beer with him and fit right in.

So, fast forward to today and think about two key audiences leading into the next election:

For each audience, I believe there is one key factor that will enable their decisions. For the first audience, as much as I hate to say it, I truly feel that all they need is a believable excuse to not vote for an non-white candidate. Something that lets them save face on the surface, but also satisfies their emotional drive underneath. The McCain campaign has already provided that with the Experience vs Words argument.

But here’s the kicker. The second audience above is really what will take votes away from the Obama campaign. And Palin is just the right person to do that. Not just because she is a woman, but because she isn’t a corporate suit and is clearly dealing with many of the same issues that middle-America moms deal with on a daily basis. She’s just like one of them!

So the way I see it, there is now a truly effective mix of emotions supporting the McCain campaign.

Will Palin survive the process? Who knows. Will she end up hurting the Red Ticket? Possibly? But I am always amazed at the power of emotion over logic when it comes to big decisions. And this one ranks pretty high up there on the “big” scale. To me, the only thing missing to send the McCain - Palin ticket over the top in polls is a good old “husband affair scandal” that Sarah Palin survived, worked through with her church and family and still stands by her man. Anyone got a tip?

“Reasonable and Necessary to Prevent Terrorism”

Great article in the Washington Post today.  It reminded me of why I trust our government and the unending foresight of our “Defender in Chief” to make sure I’m safe and sound as I sleep.  They are on top of this stuff!

Not sure about you, but knowing that they can somehow get around anyone’s right to personal property and privacy is the only way I can think of to truly be free.  No siree.  I  will never criticize my country again. I’m going down to Pearl St. right now to confiscate random laptops, hum the national anthem and show off my Patriotism.  Who’s in?

UPDATE:  While discussing this with some friends at lunch, Dr. Skippy was taken aback by the following quote from a Slashdot article on the same subject:

DHS officials said that the newly disclosed policies — which apply to anyone entering the country, including US citizens — are reasonable and necessary to prevent terrorism… The policies cover ‘any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form,’ including hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover ‘all papers and other written documentation,’ including books, pamphlets and ‘written materials commonly referred to as “pocket trash…”‘”

He quickly concluded the following:

It’s “The policies cover ‘any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form,…” that really got my attention. Remember the little trick with your knuckles to keep the number of days in various months straight? Presumably that would have to count as an analog information storage device…goodbye hand.

He has a beautiful mind and now walks around with his hands planted firmly in his pockets.

Someone to believe in…

Update: I wrote this a while back but hadn’t gotten my act together yet on the blog but still thought this would be an appropriate first post…

When Barak Obama responded to recent criticism of his relationship with his Pastor, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., he did something that I haven’t seen in government in many years – he inspired belief in a better world.  He didn’t take the well-trodden route of disavowing association to distance his campaign from a difficult issue – one that plays on the hearts and souls of virtually every single voter, if not publicly.  He stood up in front of the American people and reminded us that these issues have been hidden under the (polished mahogany cocktail) table for far too long.  He reminded America that race, religion, and personal beliefs do matter.  And, until we are able to talk about them openly, they will always haunt our minds and conscience in a way that breeds fear and contempt.

This was not the easy road to take.  And unfortunately, the easy road has collected far too much toll money over the past few Presidential administrations.

I fear there are far too many voters in America today who have never known a President other than a Bush or a Clinton.  Far too many people who too quickly associate the Presidency with phrases such as, “Strategery,” or “Fool me once, shame on me…,” or “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” or “Read my lips…” I fear there are far too many people who have either never known, or simply given up on, the Highest Office in the Nation as a source of inspiration strong enough to pull millions of Americans out of, or through the deepest economic or cultural crisis.  Words matter.  And we need better, bolder words.

I truly believe that in politics, as in business, people are motivated by people.  People need a leader they can believe in.  In a leadership vacuum, individual issues and personal frustrations fill the void and lead the agenda.  Inspiration from above lifts us all higher than our petty differences and motivates a “people” towards a goal.

I need bold, intelligent speech from leadership.  I need to hear things like:

“I have asserted a firm conviction, a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people, that working together, we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds and that, in fact, we have no choice.  We have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect Union.”

Or cold water in your face challenges like:

“For we have a choice in this country.  We can accept a politics that breeds division and conflict and cynicism.  We can tackle race only as a spectacle…We can do that.  But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election we’ll be talking about some other distraction, and then another one and then another one.  And nothing will change.”

Where are our bold leaders?  Why has bold come to be equated with aggressive?  Why has the past not taught us more about the better path to the future?  Why do we mask true intentions with politically correct make up?

It pains me that I have come to see the term “Politically Correct,” similar to the name “Patriot Act,” as representing a distorting shield that protects only those guilty of hiding behind it to save their careers, believing mistakenly that they have masked their true intentions and fears.

I believe that…

We, the American People, are not stupid.  (There should be an official document that starts that way!) We the American people want a better future for everyone, not just our college buddies.  We, the American people are willing to face difficult issues head on if it means a path to a better place.  We, the American people are black, white, Asian, Catholic, Muslim, atheist, agnostic, men, women, heterosexual, homosexual, short, tall and fed up!

I believe that we, the American people, still…have a dream.  And we need leaders that inspire us to work together to get there.