Oh Good Gracious, She Just Ruined the Whole Show!

Tags

GOP, Michelle Obama, racism, right-wing awards, right-wing loons, teabaggers

The moment her face appeared, I gasped, “oh the crazy Right will be having a field day tomorrow about this!”

The “this” was Michelle Obama’s surprise appearance at the end of the Oscars to announce the best picture award. You’d have thought she was having a private meeting with the widow of Osama Bin Laden to hear the hue and cry from the reactionaries.

“She’s being petty and small” cavorting with all those Hollywood types, raged Jennifer Rubin. I mean really! Can’t they EVER leave America alone to its fun without intruding?

Forget that the crazy element that comprises the Republican right these days hates Hollywood which begs the question why they were watching in the first place.

Breitbart always the class act, called her appearance “obscene” for reasons only they could understand.

Of course they forget as they always do, that both Bushes, Laura and George W. made appearances at the Oscars themselves.

But oh lawdy, when Michelle does it, it’s “grasping.” And of course, it ain’t about race, or nuthin’ like that. No, it’s never about that.

∞

Alternet does a great job of coming up with its own Oscar picks this year. For saying and doing really dumb things all the while trying to appear normal–as in corporate executives and others of their ilk. The list of quotes is rather telling–*hint*–they don’t really give a rat’s behind about us regular folks. It’s always about them.

Here are just a few to whet your appetite:

Facebook’s Eduardo Saverin scored big-time, landing Mark Zuckerberg as a roommate at Harvard, using American resources to score billions in income, and then revoking his citizenship to avoid paying any taxes

Chicago Tribune: “Western-style private enterprise..will lead the world out of the mess it led the world into.”

PRO-LIFE GOWN:  Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) said “All life should be cherished and protected. We are pro-life.” It was later learned that he had encouraged both his lover and his wife to get abortions.

Billionaire Kenneth Griffin: The wealthy “have an insufficient influence” on politics today.

Rick Santorum: “Rape victims should make the best of a bad situation.”

CEO Ilana Weinstein about Wall Street bonus cutbacks: “It’s a disaster.”

Senator James Inhofe: “The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.”

Nutrition classes being taught by Coca Cola and Hershey’s

Now go and read the rest of them!

∞

Make note of this man. If you see him, call authorities. He’s slipped out of the home again and is running loose. It’s hard to understand how he does with, not having a brain and all, but he does.

His name?

Steve Lavin. He’s an elected official. Yes, the good people of Montana abandoned their brains at the voting booth and sent him to the State House.

Once there, Steve introduced legislation that would allow corporations to. .  . .wait for it . . . .VOTE!

And I guess, if a “person” can vote, well I guess they can run for office, right?

If you see a brain rolling down the road, stop and pick it up.

It’s either Steve’s or some other Montana voter who thought he’d be a good person to help run the state.

I don’t know which is sadder.

I really don’t.

∞

I just want you to know ahead of time. These people are not racist. They surely tell you they are not. The head of the Montana Tea Party posted this on her Facebook page or on her blog, “Cowgirl Blog”. Don’t bother trying to find it, she’s apparently shut it down. You ask why? Oh, because she thinks this is humorous:

Yeah, no racism here, move along.

∞

Well now sleep on that and meet me tomorrow.

 

When It’s the Left, It’s a “Dangerous Revolution”

Tags

99%er's, Alabama, Herman Cain, immigration, Michelle Obama, Rick Perry, rightwing media, teabaggers, Wall Street, West Virginia

When it was the TeaNutz® it was all about “taking our country back.” It was all about exercising our constitutional rights of assembly and speech. It was all about the Boston Tea Party.

And lest anyone forget, a not insignificant number of the crazies on the right, came to said protests armed with weapons, or suggested that they were fully prepared to come “next time” with rifles to get their way.

How soon they forget.

Now that the left and frankly a whole lot of the middle are beginning to protect the unconscionable profits of Wall Street and the disparity between the 1% and the 99%, well the Right is singing quite a different tune.

Doing their best at first to ignore the whole thing, as the movement has gone on, and the numbers have increased, the Right focuses on the “violence”. Of course there is precious little of any of that, rather there are arrests based on “trespass” violations.

While first laughing at the small numbers, now that the numbers are growing, an increasingly fearful number of right-wing pundits now describe the protestors as “dangerous”. Ann (I’m still somewhat significant to five people) Coulter claims we are seeing the beginnings of a violent revolution. Allen West describes them as “dirty hippies who hate capitalism and freedom.”

In fact revolution seems to be the word of the day. (And it used to have such a good connotation in this country.) Mitt (Oh thank you Chris Christie) Romney calls it “dangerous class warfare.”

I am heartened by the fact that some of the rational folks who study these things, think it may be a thing that will keep growing until it does command the full attention of Washington. As Ezra Klein pointed out, these protestors aren’t college kids, they are college graduates with multiple degrees who can’t get work. They are home owners who worked hard only to have the economy and corporate greed deprive them of first a job and then a home. These folks aren’t going away, because their troubles aren’t going away. 

And it has also been pointed out, that the really major movements in this country have been slow-growing, for people wait, hoping that things will get better for a couple of years before they resort to forcing change upon reluctant politicians who are comfy in their graft-happy world.

We shall see. We shall see.

♦

In case you didn’t hear, Earl Ray Tomblin, (D-WV) won the governorship over his TeaNutz® candidate and attempts by the GOP to paint this as a referendum on President Obama. The GOP nearly doubled the money spent by the Democrats.

Either it wasn’t a referendum on the President, or it was and we see how much importance the TeaNutz® influence politics on the state-wide scale.

♦

Best line of the day:

 Rick Perry’s poll numbers drop lower than a snake’s navel in a wagon rut,

That is from Juanita Jean’s. You go girl.

♦

One thing that is really making me angry. (out of thousands these days) is the utter contemptible manner in which the far right wing-wackers speak of the First Lady.

I mean it gets down to physical descriptions of her anatomy as befits the usual 8-year-old. It is demeaning, simply awful and disgusting. It always comes from white men.

It does not matter what this woman does, be it care about the health of children, or try to maintain some sense of normality in the lives of her children, they vilify and mock her at every turn. (yes we know it’s all about THEIR lack of self-esteem).

And this is just not the common trailer-trash that hangs out at The Blaze. Rush (where are my drugs?) Limpuh, regularly refers to her as “MOOshel”, or “Michelle my BUTT.”

♦

Speaking of draconian laws. The Alabama laws that were passed and so far upheld targeting “illegals” continues to have unintended consequences. Remember when a bunch of fruit farmers left tons of fruit in their fields because Hispanics failed to show up to work out of fear, and “white people won’t do the jobs?”

Well, there’s more. It turns out that fully 7% of all Hispanics children have failed this year to show up for school, fearing arrest. And that turns into big bucks that the school districts lose in federal funds. Something like 130 million could potentially be lost to the districts.

♦

Ya gotta love a guy who doesn’t worry about facts. Facts as I often say just get in the way of a good opinion.  And Herman Cain seems to think that’s the best way to speak publicly. Speak from the gut, and well, it works for the base.

In the last couple of days, probably freakin’ freaked out by his unbelievable surge in the polls, Herm has taken to spouting crap that will not help him in the long run.

Such as:

• He doesn’t believe that homosexuality is not a choice. Show him the science that says it isn’t and he might change his mind. Um, Herm, it’s all around ya dude, but yeah, you gotta play to your peeps the whitey homophobes.
• Today Herm said that “although I have no evidence” he thinks the whole Wall Street protest thing is something orchestrated to prop up the President. And then he had the audacity to say this:

Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks, if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself! […] It is not someone’s fault if they succeeded, it is someone’s fault if they failed.

I guess that kind of stuff plays well somewhere, but me thinks its to a very tiny little place this side of Insanesville.

 

He’s a Bungler!

Tags

African Americans, class warfare, corporate America, decision making, economy, GOP, John Kasich, Michele Bachmann, Michelle Obama, Ohio, political theory, poverty, psychology, racism, Rick Perry, taxes, teabaggers, unions

H/T to LOL GOD

Or what a difference a week makes. 

It was only a few days ago that I was sure the Ricky Perry was so capturing the goofballs known collectively as the TeaNutz® that he was a shoo-in to grab the GOP ball from boring old “I wanna be president” Mitt.

But, bungler that he apparently is, Ricky “No Lucy for you” is gummin’ up the works from the git-go. A series of duh moments has alerted even the know-nothin’ TeaNutz® leadership that they may have a real clunker here.

So, I’m not at all sure that Ricky will capture the brass ring, and that leaves us, ya know, the boring but ever willing to change his mind on ANYTHING, Mitty.

 And I was so hoping for more fun. Course it’s now about even money that the Neo-cons will travel five hundred miles on their knees to grovel at the throne of Chris (burp) Christie. Will Chrissy be like Caesar? No, NO, NO, oh if you insist!

Do stay tuned.

Meanwhile Newt is hot to trot in that bed of GOP voters, HA Why HE. Yeah, the grifter keeps getting a small cadre of really really really extra stupid wingnuts to give him money so he can live the high life.

♦

I don’t know if you saw The Daily Show the other night. Jon went on a super rant about the pundits on False Noise who continue, in true Randianesque form to whine that 51% of the people in the US don’t pay any taxes at all. They have dubbed this “class warfare” and now are arguing that the poor should “give some skin” before they ask the rich folk to ante up a dime.

What is simply stomach wrenching about this ugly claim of theirs is that they use Randian terms such as calling the poor “parasites”, “leeches”,  “takers” and frankly worse. The rich are portrayed as the true “makers” and “creators”. This is such unbridled hatred of a “class” that it’s a wonder they don’t choke on their own words.

Of course a HUGE portion of those who don’t pay any taxes, are those who, when the few tax deductions they are entitled to take are subtracted from their income,  have zero owing. Somehow this is their fault. “Stupid poor people who don’t make enough money!!”

And do you notice that calling the rich “creators” is a lot like calling them GOD? And that might be a suggestion that they are to be “trusted” as any Creator would be? Do ya think that is all just coincidence?

And of course let’s not forget that the poor pay most all of their income out in essential services, like utilities, rent, and food, all of which are taxed.

♦

When do you make decisions? Well, making a good decision depends on timing in part. So I would suggest that you follow the link and read all about how to make ’em good and stop screwing up! It’s a lengthy article from the NYTimes Magazine.

♦

There are two Michelle’s in Washington. One is in the White House, the other is on the campaign trail in the hopes of making it her home. Are they treated differently by the press? It would appear so. Read Sophia A. Nelson’s great article in The Grio.

♦

Professor Alexander Keyssar puts the GOP narrative into a historical perspective. Interestingly, I had used the same term to the Contrarian–they want a return to the Gilded Age of America where business had unfettered freedom to do as they wished. And that wish included, if you recall, child labor, unsafe working conditions, virtual slave wages, and long hours and no unions. Say Robber Barons. And of course, dismantle all social programs such as social security, medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, food stamps, education grants. . .well go on and on. This is the world they envision.

♦

I’d suggest you pop over and read Chauncey de Vega’s really good post on racism in America. He distinguishes two kinds: a white racial frame, and symbolic racism. These distinctions are terribly important and de Vega really explains what the phrase “take back America” means to the Teabagger mentality.

♦

If you thought the Wisconsin recall votes were not all that important, think again. Similar crap was pushed through in Ohio by the now beleaguered Governor John Kasich, and now guess what? The governor is trying really hard to placate the left in his state.

Kasich had pushed through a “kill the unions” bill through his Rethuglian-controlled legislature. But 1.3 million Ohioans have voted to put that very bill back on the ballot where they can put in their two cents. Under a weird little law, Ohioans had ninety days to get a bit over 231,000 signatures, and got, ummm 1.3 MILLION.

Kasich is trying to get the progressives to come on in and discuss the “issue.” 🙂

Related articles

• The Daily Show Takes On Fox, Again – Update (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Andrew Sullivan on Rick Perry (via Seniors for a Democratic Society) (allianceforanidiotfreeamerica.wordpress.com)

Weird, But no I before E Except After C

Tags

American Family Association, Election 2012, GOP, homophobes, Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Obama, Mike Huckabee, Politics, Sarah Palin, Steven King, teabaggers, wingnuts

Ya know, Ole Mikey (the pudge) Huckabee has always struck me as a kinda nice guy. Not the bright light mind you, but a guy whose misguided heart is at least in the right place.

I guess I’m not thinkin’ that so much any more.

Mikey, it seems feels that he was badly treated by GOP “elites.” I’m not sure exactly who he would stick in that category, but I imagine some of the old guard–the McConnells, the Boehners and the McCains. Sad little men who try valiantly to jump on the Tea Party bandwagon, but for all the world can’t keep the smirking “don’t touch me you goats!” kinda look off their faces as they glad hand the “folks.”

I shouldn’t wonder that Mikey was sort of looked upon as a country parson come a courtin’ the town beauty. After all, the man does refudiate 🙂 evolution and all. That does tend to tell the intellectual elite of any party or group that they are dealing with a personage of the tenth level of IDIOCY.

That may be why Mikey decided to be critical of those GOPer elites who have been snickering about Christine O’Donnell and her creationist/no masturbatory policy/where is that separation of church and state in the Constitution, candidacy in Delaware. And while snickering, being fairly pissed since it probably cost them any real chance at taking the Senate.

Mikey identifies with Christine I guess. Though truth is he has probably got about 40 IQ points on her.

Then Mikey went and jumped on the old white men’s bandwagon of support for the new “liberal” Juan Williams, so rudely treated by NPR. I mean, it took them no time to get out the talking points did it? All in lockstep. How dare you raise a leg on our resident “boy?”

Apparently Mikey is still of the opinion that his chances in 2012 exist. And thus we have all this tighty-whitey “I’m one of y’all,” simpatico crap with teabuggery.

Sarah Posner has a nice piece on The Pudge, and it turns out he’s not your usual “I’ll be anything you need me to be” kinda candidate. He may actually believe the bilge he utters.  He’s  in bed and has been with American Family Association, one of the most rabid anti-gay hate groups around. Read it! (This organization is behind robo calls in Michigan against gay candidates, and also the recall of judges movement in Iowa) Don’t look now Mikey, but your homophobia is showing!

***

AlterNet has a really comprehensive article (reprint) on the entire Tea Party phenomenon. Tracking the money and the players and how they co-opt the real anger of the average joe and turn it not only to their own advantage, but to the disadvantage ultimately of that same unsuspecting average joe.

***

There is an interesting article at the NY Magazine that you should probably take a look at. It’s written by John Heilemann and he was talking about it last night I believe on Chris Matthew’s Hardball. I don’t buy his premise mind you–it involves how not only could Sarah run, but how she might win. It involves an unlikely scenario involving Bloomberg. While Bloomberg is an interesting thought, I think he is wildly too smart to get caught up in this can of worms. But read it and make your own assessment. Sarah it seems is destined to be with us in 2012 in some form or another. It’s best we think through all the possibilities. A breathtakingly unqualified person such as this is dangerous and we best remember that.

***

Resident wacko-nut Steven King (R-IA) is on the hate tour bus run by NOM, touring Iowa to stir up the voters to vote out our three justices up for re-election. They mustered  the humongous number of 42 who came to hear King vomit his homophobic sludge. So reports Joe.My.God.

***

Sven and Olga lived in Mina-SOOO-TA. It was winter and exceedingly cold, the wood stove burned low in the long night, and the two cuddled in the bed. The phone rang. Sven got up and answered. Olga heard presently a shouted remark by Sven: HOO THE HELL WOULD I KNOW?

Sven returned to bed and Olga asked him who it was. Sven mumbled something incoherent and snuggled back in. A few moments later, the phone rang again. Dutifully Sven got up and answered. Olga heard this even louder refrain: HOO THE HELL WOULD I KNOW? IT’S TWO THOUSAND MILES AWAY!

Sven again returned to bed. Olga again prodded him. “Who was that?” she asked. “Some damn fool  that wanted to know if the coast was clear,” Sven grouched.

***

Julie Gunlock (I swear it’s her name) writing for NRO, moans about how the media attacks Michelle Obama’s cheeseburger lunch, and then goes about the business of attacking Michelle Obama for her choice of a cheeseburger lunch. The wiggy right-wing is like that–illogical and inconsistent. She finds it just wrong and well wrong for big mama Obama to be telling the Merkican public how to eat. They are adults and can decide for themselves.  Guess she forgot about the Nancy Reagan “Just say no” campaign. I’m sure Julie would find some point of difference. Oh yeah, one is a Democrat and the other a GOPer. Yeah that’s it. Um….do you think there MIGHT be an important issue to waste your ink on there lady?

Is That His BUTT?????

Tags

Barack Obama, economy, Fox, laughter, Michelle Obama

So screamed the Contrarian last night, pulling an afghan over his head. “Tell me when it’s over!”

“No, no, it’s not his butt, it’s his thigh. You can look now.”

Meanwhile I began to wail with laughter, and run off looking for pen and paper to write this down, sure that it would make a fine lead in to today’s post, no matter the rest of the content.

Now, we were after all watching Dancing with the Stars, and one of the worst contestants of  the season, in Steven Wozniak,  Apple wiz, but an appalling atrocious dancer.  It seems, on top of being blessed with two left feet, and wearing black dress socks with shorts to rehearse in, Woz had suffered a pulled hamstring and was being taped up.

The Contrarian saw the gaping wall of flesh and nearly lost his lunch. This all seems rather odd to me, since the same man loves to critique the relative merits of the various cheerleading squads as we watch the NCAA basketball games. The athletic types have sacrificed real boob size, and he would prefer the rah rah types rather than those that flip around. The rah rahs are more heavily or heavenly endowed, as you please.

The point is that laughter is a daily occurance around our house, and usually several times per day. And I mean, not just a grin and mild giggle. We engage in the loud, hold your sides, guffawing that gets to that point where you fear you can’t stop, and are gasping for breath.

And somehow, that all seems bad, if you check around the blogosphere, and TV. At least in a few places, its down right unAmerican it seems. Plenty of “conservative” (read nut cases) are just all in a tither that Obama was actually laughing on Jay Leno and later on 60 Minutes.

Seems that that is, well, unseemly, in our economic gloom. So we understand from that bastion of fair and balanced, Foxy land. Why, according to the Contrarian, they sagely kept up the rhetoric nearly all day, that Obama was shockingly unfeeling as he laughed, while for goodness sakes, people are suffering from all manner of economic cruelty.The fact that most of this has been caused by the very people they have upheld for years as those hallmarks of business elan, well no matter.

No matter indeed. Fox forgets that not all that long ago, they were defending Bush as he and Barney traversed the White House environs exclaiming in glee, “No WMD’s here, none, here.” All this while actual PEOPLE died. They said the president, why he was in need of letting off a little steam what with the fate of the entire planet on his shoulders. It was wrong for the “liberal” media to criticize such a fine man, who was so compassionate and so on and on and on. Makes ya want to puke don’t it?

Everyone knows that during the “Great Depression” the Feds actually asked Hollywood to produce comedies and send that little girl, Shirley something or other around, to help keep the country’s spirits up. Today, we find that movie theaters are doing a booming business, better than they have in years.

Psychologists tell us that laughter helps blood pressure, depression, and makes surgery and chemo therapy more effective. It cuts down on pain medication needs. People with chronic pain say it helps them forget the constant agony they feel 24/7.

There is a new thing going around called the “happy dance.” It’s like a chicken dance. Anybody can do it, and it makes people laugh, those doing it, and those watching.

We’ve become addicted to watching the last segment of the evening news where they show a story of people helping people. While not technically laughing, we at least smile a good bit, and see the world as a nicer kinder place than we would otherwise from the usual stories of gloom and doom.

I predict that comedies will do better than serious drama this year. Television and movies. I predict that all manner of fun cheap stuff will have a resurgence. Families will play Twister, and yard croquet, and badmitton. We’ll return to picnics in the park. Cartoons will be produced in greater numbers and more adults will be watching.

Okay, so I’m probably wrong on some of that. But dang, when things are so grim, people actively look for cheap thrills, they want to laugh, forget their troubles and be happy. Plenty will find that there is more happiness in a family dinner of hotdogs around the grill and roasting marshmallows over the charcoal than there is in a four star restaurant complete with prettily plated teaspoons of food.

Meanwhile Michelle Obama is slammed for digging up a few yards of precious White House lawn for a vegetable garden. How freaking unAmerican can she get? Everyone knows its far more flag waving to buy Mangos from Costa Rica, and out of season to boot. That’s real America, not growing food for your self and neighbors to improve health and maybe save a few bucks.

Been there, done that, in ummm, the Great Depression, and during WWII. Everyone knows that that was a failure, and soooooooo not the way of the good old US of A.

So laugh damnit, big belly laughing, and don’t stop. It’s good for you and good for everyone!

Short Takes on the Day 10/13/08

Tags

George W. Bush, John McCain, Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin, terrorists, vanilla

Desperate times call for desperate measures. So the McCain campaign is coming out with more “economic” fixesfor America. These are touted as being aimed at the middle class, that group that McCain pretty much ignored until, well, he needed their vote. Trouble is, his new plan is fraught with all the same problems as his previous ones: they have little to do with helping the average Joe Sixpack. What to do, what to do? This campaign is floundering and I think getting advice from a Ouija board now.

Tread quietly folks, we are entering the hospital room of one GW Bush. He is sedated, but you can smile and he will respond. Our boy idiot, doesn’t think he had a thing to do with ANYTHING that went wrong in Amirika, but he sure is glad he had himself at the helm to steer us poor folks through the murky waters of all these disasters. Yes indeed, with all those fine folks like Dick and Condi, and Rummy to help him and us out, well gosh, we would just be in a durn pickle if it hadn’t been for him. Laura regrets that flowers have arrived in such truckloads that she must refuse any more, so send your donations to the GWB Memorial for Brain injured NUT Heads. Next stop: The Twilight Zone.

Having just done a piece in which I cited the unfavorables of McCain, I’m happy to report that new ones are out, and they are worse than those I stated. McCain’s fav/unfav are now at a paltry +6, while Palin’s are an even worse +4. Obama’s have improved to a +24. You can read all about it at Glenn Greenwald‘s  blog from the Salon. Please check out this link, as there are a huge number of other internals that make is very very clear that Palin continues to drag the McCain campaign downward literally by the day. Just a teaser: the rate at which people think that one campaign is negative versus the other is huge, something not seen in either 2000 or 2004, if you can believe it.

Shannyn Moore  gives us her take as an Alaskan, to the revelations of the Troopergate report. She alleges that the McCain spin machine has been at work overtime to make black white and so forth. I wonder if Sarah will have a chance at re-election in Alaska whenever that might occur. One begins to doubt that anyone who has brought such attention to the State in such an unfavorable way would stand a chance.

I know I posted this a good while ago, and it lurks somewhere in these archives, but in case you missed it, here again is a recipe for making your own vanilla. Given its price, we all can use it. It’s way cheaper to make than buy I tell ya. It doesn’t get any simpler, and if you bake a lot, as I do, this is a real money saver. Even places to buy the beans from in bulk, and help in defining the different varieties of beans.

Anyone who comes here regularly, knows I love the American Prospect magazine. Their articles are simply well done. I know I am beating a dead horse in a sense, but they have a fine article on how McCain has destroyed his own brand. His dismissive claims that he “takes care of veterans” and other such nonsense, as “I know how to do, I’ll get it done” without more, have worn paper thin, especially when laid alongside his new propensity to win at any cost. Honorable politics have been discarded, because John knows that we need John, and we are going to get John even if John has to shove John down our throats with force.

Need more evidence that the McCain machine is missing a wheel and is off to schizophrenic arguments? Now it’s Michelle Obama’s “ties” to terrorists. Once Johnny said that spouses were out of bounds, now it seems, anything that might work will be tried. Check out this utter piece of drivel from The Anonymous Liberal if you are unconvinced that McCain’s campaign needs anti-psychotic drugs at this time.

My Unconventional Wisdoms

Tags

Barack Obama, Democrats, Election 2008, Michelle Obama

Yep, she did it! She captured the audience at the Convention and wowed ’em. At least by my account she sure did. Following in the steps of Edward M. Kennedy, lion of the Senate, patriarch of the Kennedy clan, and acknowledged promoter of health care as a human right, Michelle simply was dazzling. “Wow what a speaker,” I exclaimed over and again as her speech went forth, striking just the perfect balance between pathos and over-the top maudlin sentimentality.

Now of course, if you missed it and went to Fox Faux News for analysis, you got quite a different take. “Hokey,” described that Katzenjammer guy, “but it worked,” he admitted. So basically it was brilliant and he’s mad because it was. “Not focused on what the change is about,” smugged Chris Wallace, “wasted the entire day one.” One has to laugh as Foxy contributors again and again failed to find anything specifically wrong, just grumped that things were missing.

The retrospective on Ted Kennedy was the tear jerker than everyone would have assumed it would be. Caroline introduced him, and he gave a strong, fighting speech, one everyone responded to with cheers and an outpouring of love. The film show of his life was spectacular, especially when you realize how many in his enormous family have been lost, starting with older brother Joe during WWII. The tearful father of a son killed in Iraq, who saw how Senator Kennedy could relate to his pain, was especially moving.

Jim Leach, Republican from my district in Iowa who lost his seat in Congress in the “cleaning house” election of 2006, gave an important speech but one I suspect was lost on most folks. It was highly intellectual in presentation and basically showed how the Republican party of both Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan is no more. He of course endorsed Obama. But for those who really listened, his words were pointed and direct, and he made excellent arguments.

Who was a total bomb? Nancy Pelosi. She was utterly nervous, and frankly looked scared and unsure of herself. She had no rhythm at all, and looked big eyed at the audience, apparently looking for some cue as to when to get loud and when to be soft. She failed miserably in my opinion. She was early on, perhaps placed there by folks who knew she couldn’t speechify her way out of a paper bag.

Another unknown, at least to me, was Obama, half sister, Maya I believer her name was. Excellent speaker, who spoke well of her brother and well, was just at ease and relaxed. Also a guy who did a good job was Michelle’s brother who introduced her. The other memorable speaker to me at least was Jesse Jackson Jr. He sounds much like his dad, but clearly speaks to a new generation.

All in all, I think it was a fine beginning. I suspect we shall start tonight to see the heavy hitters who will begin attacking McCain in earnest. It is Hillary’s night of course, and many are suggesting her speech will be simply the best. Word has it, none in the DNC or Obama campaign have as yet seen it.

While I’m at it, just a word about George Stephenopoulos show on Sunday. I always particularly like the “roundtable” discussion. But George seriously you have to think about your regulars. Some of them are close to be idiots and it’s time to change. Cokie Roberts needs to go. After her comments a couple of weeks ago that Obama shouldn’t have vacationed in Hawaii, because, “you know, it’s a state and all, but too exotic. He should have gone to Myrtle Beach or some place people can relate to as American.” Sure Cokie, and you’re NUTS.

But the cake was taken by Mark Halperin this past Sunday who made the startling and revolutionary revelation that the “McCain housing fiasco” would be the undoing of . . . . OBAMA???????? Yep, it would “open the door” for McCain to get into Tony Resko and Rev. Wright?????, and that Weatherman dude.  Will you please give me a break? Donna Brazile looked like she was gonna have a cat! Even George couldn’t wrap his head around this stupid remark. Halperin needs to be given his walking papers. Oh and Cokie jumped up with a “right!” when he said it as well. They both need to go.

Tomorrow we will update Day 2 of the Convention from our prospective. Happy Day!