Lets review whats happened so far.
In this corner we have Democratic contender Hillary "I misspoke" Clinton. Hillary has proven that if you live with someone with a selective memory condition for long enough, some of that does indeed rub off on you. Considering her husbands well known extra curricular activities, that's probably the only thing of his that's rubbed off on Hillary for a very long time.Ahhhh but I digress....
In case you missed it...Hillary Clinton in an attempt to show the voting public she had international experience, recounted a story of the trip she and daughter Chelsea took to Bosnia 12 years ago. In that she stated that they were forced to run for cover to avoid hostile gun fire.
Hmmmmm really?
Well not according to the camera crews who were following her on this trip. Footage showed an entirely different version of the events.....Hillary's landing was not only a peaceful one but she was greeted on the tarmac by a small child. Of course I suppose the kid could have been packing heat......You never know.
And If the existing film coverage wasn't enough....she also seemed to forget or overlook the fact that she was traveling in the company of two well known passengers...singer Sheryl Crowe and comedian Sinbad. Both of whom seemed to be equally confused by Hillary's retelling of the events and said they didn't recall anything like that happening.
You would think after witnessing first hand how well Bills poor memory skills worked for him politically, Hillary would have learned from his example. Lets face it...it was a whole lot easier for Bill to accidentally "misspeak" about the random intern kept behind the closed doors of the oval office than it was for Hillary about her trip to Bosnia that was followed by camera crews.
Later when she was questioned about the inaccuracy of her statements...Hillary claimed she was suffering from sleep deprivation and had just "misspoken". That explanation would have been easier to swallow if it hadn't been shown that she had repeated the exact same story publicly on other occasions as well. It was obviously easier for her to recall the details of her fabrication than it was the real facts of the trip.
To be fair I realize this all happened twelve years ago, and time does tend to make memories a bit fuzzy. And Hillary's not a spring chicken any longer which might even contribute to that fuzziness. But I think that running to avoid sniper fire is something that a person doesn't easily forget. I would think that it would be a pretty significant event in a persons life, one you would be able to recall clearly. Perhaps the problem stemmed from the fact that it didn't happen?
So I have to wonder, Hillary what were you thinking? Didn't it occur to you that this one was going to come back and bite you in your politically correct pant suit? And just for the record, you didn't "misspeak". To say that implies you just confused a few of the facts. What you did was fabricate a complete set of events that NEVER occurred. I may not have all the social or worldly experience that you have, but even I understand what this is. You can call it whatever you like, but here in the south...we call that LYING!
As a citizen of this country I have to ask why I would I want you running our country? A woman who cant even tell the truth about a simple and insignificant trip she took? This is just another reflection of your character Hillary. And if you have to lie to get the job, lying while in office doing the job wouldn't be such a stretch, would it?
Then we have contender number two, Mr Barack Obama. Mr Obama's controversy came in the form of his long time minister Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Wrights statements and sermons have been referred to as controversial and divisive. Two examples used to illustrate this was his statement from a 2003 sermon in which he condemned America for racism and the unfair treatment of its black citizens. His quote: "Not 'God bless America,' 'God damn America,'" he said. "God damn America for treating its citizens as less than human." The second statement that stirred emotions was when he said that US policy makers were in the sway of the Klu Klux Klan.....he refereed to it as the US of KKK A.
Wrights sermons are filled with many strong words and statements of black empowerment. But at a time when the first black man is running for the office of president...they are far to inflammatory to be associated with. Which is why when the media grabbed onto this and ran with it, it wasn't long before presidential hopeful Obama disassociated himself with the reverends statements.
Obama who said he didn't agree with the statements made by Wright. But that he had known the Reverend a long time...and felt the man to be like a member of his own family.
Like a member of your family you say? And you weren't aware of the mans political beliefs before this? At this point the the problem I have with Obama is the same problem I have with Hillary. And that is his lack of honesty. If you have belonged to an organization for 20 years. You adopt its leader to guide you spiritually. You allow him to participate in some of the most important events of your life, marriage, baptisms etc. You see this man as an extended member of your family......then how can you act appalled when the very same mans politics and beliefs are exposed? If you have had such a close association with this individual then his beliefs shouldn't come as any surprise to you. Because logic says if you are that close...Your beliefs are probably very close to the same as that of your spiritual mentors.
I believe what did surprise you Mr Obama...is that your reverend/extended families remarks became news worthy and were seen by the public as inflammatory and negative. Which in turn drew negative attention to you by association. With a presidential nomination so close...the last thing you needed was that sort of controversy. So you tossed your reverend under the bus to save yourself.
Not a bad political move I suppose. But it doesn't say much about your character. You appear to be the typical wolf in politicians clothing Mr Obama. You are well spoken, educated and packaged in just the right way. But under the surface you aren't what you appear to be.
I don't have to agree with every belief of the man or woman who is chosen to lead our nation. But what I do want is to know that person who has been chosen is of good character. That they are trustworthy.
Which brings us to the other side of the fence...Republican contender John McCain. I wont say that I agree with all Mr McCain's policies or thinking. But what I do like is that he seems to make no apologies for what he thinks or feels. Whether that thinking is seen as popular by the voting public or not. In fact the only thing that the other side has been able to do to stir up what could be considered remotely controversial is McCain's views on prisoner interrogation.President Bushes accepted methods for extracting information from detainees has been widely criticised. McCain while needing the Presidents political support, does not agree with the all the methods that have been used in the past. McCain who himself was at one time a prisoner of war perhaps sees this issue from a vastly different point of view than the average person.
McCain seems to be a straight shooter. He isn't embroiled in any of the he said she said drama that seem to be at the heart of the Obama- Clinton campaigns. His views on the war in Iraq and his milder less aggressive plans to eliminate green house admissions has him under criticism by some.
But McCain seems to be OK with that. While I'm sure like the other two candidates he's in this to win. He doesn't seem to have the desire to remake himself to fit in for popularity's sake. Like him, hate him...what you see seems to be what you get.
Since the game of politics seems to be just one big dance.....two steps forward.....one step back and a whole lot of spin....Does John McCain have what it takes to sway the vote? To be honest I'm not sure. But considering the alternatives (Obama / Clinton)
I'm praying he does.
