And some whatnot.

Most Americans, it seems, can tolerate hearing of the superiority of the small town, as long as they don’t have to live in one. You wouldn’t know it from listening to country music stations, or to the governor of Alaska, but four out of every five Americans choose not to reside in rural areas.

Maybe if they ventured beyond the city limits more often, those people would not be so inclined to believe everything they hear about the merits of rustic hamlets, which harbor a full complement of social ills. . . .

And he’s got the stats to prove it!

We’ve already endured a weekend with a Democratic congresswoman bopping around the cable channels talking about Palin’s body parts:

‘'Women don’t want a candidate on the ballot just because of the parts that she has,‘’ Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said on MSNBC, portraying Palin as someone who opposes everything from equal rights for women to improving healthcare for kids.

‘'If John McCain thinks he can substitute Sarah Palin for Hillary Clinton in the minds of Hillary Clinton supporters,‘’ she said, ``he’s sadly mistaken.‘’

Now Palin has earned the Internet’s ultimate acknowledgement of national celebrity for a woman: claims about the discovery of nude pictures: Sarah Palin’s nude pic sends web into meltdown.

Turns out the photo in question may be an old shot of actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus. This being a family blog, we’ll let you find that one yourself.

This is getting really ugly, which means Gov. Palin must be scaring the pants off some Democrats and their media minions.

But “running out of oil” is not as much a question of physics as it is one of economics. And economics assures us that we will never run out of oil.

RISING STAR: Wasilla mayor was groomed from an early political age

Part 2: Rebel status has fueled front-runner’s success

Lindsey,
We’re in Day 4 of the Democratic Convention now, anticipating Obama’s acceptance speech at Mile High tonight. I know you were a very strong Hillary Clinton supporter during the primaries. What do you think, how do you feel about what’s happening in Denver with the Democrats?

Mom,
  I still consider myself a strong Hillary Clinton supporter, and the reason I supported her was because I thought she could deliver on the promise of restoring the security and economic stability of the United States; redeem America’s image around the world; help bring the war in Iraq to a successful end, allowing our troops to come home with Iraq safely in the hands of its own people; create millions of new jobs; give all Americans health care; and ensure a much brighter future.  These are exactly the promises Barack Obama has campaigned on with such eloquence and inspiration, and each day I become more confident that he can and will deliver.  The Democratic leadership stands with Barack Obama now, and millions of Americans are joining the effort to take back the country.  I’m very excited about the upcoming election.

Lindsey,
  I, too, think Obama can deliver—to the extent that the president can and must be the leader who sets the tone and direction for the country. This is Obama’s greatest strength—his audacity of hope, and the ability to speak it and inspire it in others.
  Most of the talking heads are looking for more red meat: “When will the Democrats come out fighting about .....“ well, you name it: the economy, Iraq, terror. So I’ve listened to the speeches with an ear toward substance, and have found it lacking, when compared with the amount of team-building that’s going on. However, the team-building has been absolutely necessary: for the different factions of the party to be on the same page, and, more important, to inspire the party itself to get back in the game. As Biden’s dad told him, “Champ, it’s not about getting knocked down; it’s about getting back up.“

Mom,
  Some of the talking heads will never be satisfied.  For months after Hillary endorsed Obama in June, they still speculated skeptically about whether or not the party would be united by the convention.  Now that it’s so obvious that Obama’s most enthusiastic supporters, those who traveled to Denver to see him accept the nomination for president, have so much respect for Bill and Hillary Clinton, and more importantly, now that it’s clear that Hillary and Bill are throwing their full support behind Barack Obama, the narrative as to whether or not the party is unified sounds ridiculous.  This team-building, as you called it, has helped me and other Hillary supporters not only to support Obama, which most of us already did at least since June, but also to dedicate ourselves to investing in his candidacy.  We’re fired up and ready to go.  But that doesn’t make a good story.  So the talking heads talk about what else the Dems should be doing.  They could have stopped talking and listened… to Dennis Kucinich, for example, who gave an impassioned indictment of the Bush administration, or to John Kerry, who presented McCain as the ultimate flip-flopper.  Both Clintons and Biden also illustrated the enormous contrast between Barack Obama and John McCain, and it’s so clear that Obama is the one who has the right direction in mind for our country.

 

Lindsey,
      So now we’ve got the direction, AND the Democrats’ boots on the ground, “fired up and ready to go.“ There was direction in what Biden said, in what both Hillary and Bill Clinton said, and yes, in what John Kerry said—although I had to change the channel 3 times to hear what he was saying rather than the running commentary from each and every talking head in front of a TV camera.
      But before we leave the convention, I want to say a bit more about Michelle Obama’s speech Monday night. Here’s the piece that touched me:
   

“I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history, knowing that my piece of the American dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me…. All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won’t do. That we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be. That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack’s journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope.“

  “The thread that connects our hearts.“ She spoke to the “people connection” I’ve been yearning for, the community that’s been missing—that at least I haven’t felt a part of —for the entire Bush presidency. There’s a difference between just seeing something done and knowing that you’re a part of it. Obama asks for my participation, my input, and shares the faith that the whole of America can be, should be—indeed, really is—already on the same page. I believe in that community, that piece of the American Dream. 

Mom,
  I was also moved by Michelle Obama’s speech on Monday, and I think you’ve hit the nail on the head when you say that you believe in the community of possibility and hope, that piece of the American Dream.  I’m sure tonight Barack Obama will inspire all of America to remember and live out that dream… on the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s declaration of his dream of racial and social equity and harmony.  We’ll probably get a little more “red meat” too, but overall, tonight will not be about the mistakes of the past but the promises of the future.
  We stand at another crossroads of history, and we have a choice between further eroding our economy, squandering our national security, and isolating ourselves from the rest of the world through more unpopular, unnecessary war, or rebuilding our standing in the world and securing a bright future.  After eight years of losing health care, jobs, and lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, of losing our dignity in the eyes of the world as we redefine torture and hold prisoners without trial, of forgetting the foundation of our Constitution, this election is not simply about a battle between Democrats and Republicans.  This is about being on the right side of history, as Dr. King was, on the side of progress and peace and prosperity.  The effectiveness of Barack Obama’s leadership depends upon the American people realizing that we each have a role to play in making America a more perfect union.  It’s more than a dream, it’s a vision enshrined in our Constitution, it is our birthright, and Americans from all walks of life can unite with Barack Obama and make this vision a reality.
 

Lindsey,
  I couldn’t have said it better myself!

The honor goes to the player with the highest batting average, regardless of whether he has the most hits. In Obama’s case, voting the liberal position 65 out of 66 times earned him the title, as opposed to a senator who might have voted the liberal position 80 times out of 90.

Del. Sal Iaquinto made a clever and amusing campaign poster (above). Naturally, the Hypersensitive Brigades have taken offense:

“I found it utterly offensive,“ said Marra, an Italian-language professor at Old Dominion University. “It perpetuates the kind of stereotypes we’re accustomed to getting from Hollywood, not our elected officials, especially one that has Italian roots.“

Not just mildly offensive, mind you. Utterly offensive.

Me? I find it offensive that a professor of language would say “one that” when referring to a person. It’s “one who,“ perfesser.

It was an uncomfortable moment for the hosts of three network Sunday morning news shows.

Tom Brokaw of NBC News, Bob Schieffer of CBS News and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News had just finished a panel discussion at Denver’s Brown Palace Hotel during which they had concluded that the media’s coverage of the campaign so far had been largely fair. Then Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell took the podium to deliver “closing remarks.“

Mr. Rendell, a Hillary Clinton backer, came to bury the Big Three, not to praise them. He told the crowd of 300 political luminaries that the media’s coverage of the Democratic primaries had elevated personalities over substance and he complained of sexism in its treatment of Senator Clinton. He called the media’s kid-gloves handling of Barack Obama “absolutely embarrassing,“ and suggested that the media had essentially given the presumptive Democratic nominee, whom he now supports, “a free pass.“ Journalists, he said, had allowed themselves unprofessionally to be “caught up with emotion and excitement” in the historic nature of the Obama candidacy. He even called MSNBC “the official network of Obama’s campaign.“

Wonder if Rendell will draw the same conclusions about the general election campaign coverage —  except for the sexist part, of course?

Del[aware]

Mar[yland]

and only then do we get to ...

V[irgini]a

It’s kind of a big ‘ol Maryland sandwich. (Is that on the SOL tests? If it’s not, it obviously needs to be.)

But, dear reader, don’t take anyone else’s word for it. Let your own eyes decide for you. Here’s a map.

Why the uproar?

Everyone who was

not

on Fox News Sunday this past weekend and said Virginia borders Delaware raise your hands ... Not so fast Gov. Kaine.

Bob, if you were just another right-of-center columnist griping about liberals (which sometimes you are) I’d eventually stop reading. But by golly there is this transcendental streak in ya, that just keeps asserting itself. And I believe that tendency in you is the answer to the very questions you are posing. How do we deal with these differing realities that constantly lay siege to our consciousness and still keep our sanity? Well, I think we have to acknowledge, examine, and reflect upon them, just as you are doing. Too many people try to ignore both the inner and the outer worlds, preferring to live in some kind of non-thinking trance built upon and limited to television, sports, physical pleasures, mindless hobbies, or money-making. Others may turn to religion, but in such a dogmatic way that it becomes a security blanket instead of a genuine seeking after God. I like your columns when you get off the bus and look up at the stars.

I don’t claim to have an answer to your question, and besides, the question and the answer are somewhat different for each individual. But I do have an opinion about that third world, or as you call it “wide world” that “assaults” us through the media (of which your newspaper is one example). There is no doubt that we have an immeasurably larger access to information now than, say, our grandparents had. We have seen that access grow through radio, newspapers, magazines, books, and television over recent generations. And now we have the internet, which is still developing but which takes access to a level even we ourselves could not have imagined 20 years ago. Not only can we access information, we can generate and contribute to and exchange information, thoughts, and opinions, as you and I are doing right now through this blog. Yes, sometimes it very painful to be made aware of all the horrible things going on in the world. But perhaps that is the necessary fire we have to walk through in order, eventually, to rid the world of those things. I believe the upside of our evolving level of communication is that it is forcing us all to think globally. We are on a path toward freely communicating globally, without borders, limits, or the strictures of politics, nationalism, or dogma. I like to think it is a great big step in our evolution toward becoming something better than we are.

Thanks, John, for the interesting response—and for changing the subject from right/left political squabbles.

In the same way an Obama pick of ... say ... Joe Biden might belie the Illinois senator’s message of completely changing the way Washington works (Biden has been a U.S. senator for more than half his life) Cantor might undermine the narrative McCain is trying to write about experience and readiness. McCain would be the oldest president in the history of the Republic. Evaluating the readiness of the Arizona senator’s vice presidential choice will be the most relevant second-in-command analysis of any candidate in decades.

That’s the tide Barack Obama swims against as he tries to end a nearly six-decade long Virginia tradition of going into the voting booth and pulling the GOP presidential lever.

Separate Rasmussen surveys give the media low marks for credibility on the coverage of the economy and the war in Iraq. No wonder so many papers are turning their attention to local news these days, where good reporters can write accurate stories without relying on wire reports.