Wednesday, October 29, 2008

It Makes You Wonder (Version 2) . . .

As promised, I'm adding wonderings and changing the title. I'll add the new items to the top so you don't have to read through everything again. If this is your first visit to "It Makes You Wonder", please continue to read on after today's (Version 2) addition.

16.) I wonder if Republicans who criticize Barack Obama for not introducing any legislation while in the U.S. Senate have particular laws in mind that they feel are missing from the U.S. Code.

17.) I wonder if Minnesota Democrats upset that the 2006 election victories allowing their party to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate did not result in quicker withdrawal from Iraq understand the need to elect Al Franken and help assure a filibuster-proof Senate.

18.) I wonder if Sarah Palin will shop at the Anchorage Goodwill Thrift Store after her wardrobe is donated to charity in order to make sure Tryg is properly clothed.

19.) I wonder if the former Republican State Senator from a bright red suburb of Minneapolis has publicized his decision to support Ashwin Madia over the "too conservative" Eric Paulson.

To be continued. . . (Original post below)



Even if you are not pondering on the prairie, there are a number matters that might strike you as strange as we approach the end of the 2008 election season. I thought I'd put a few of the thoughts that have occurred to me recently as I spend time as a political junkie listening to news reports, reading other blogs and engaging in discussions with political friends and foes.

I invite you to add to the list in the comment section at the end of the blog. If it is easier, send me an e-mail with a request to post and I'll add your comments to the body of this blog. I'll change the version number in the title so you can monitor whether there have been any additions.

These are in no particular order other than the order in which they came to mind as I write this.

1.) I wonder why "hitting a provisional" is accepted as a basic rule in the game of golf but casting a provisional ballot in Ohio is a threat to our democracy.

2.) I wonder why we generally accept the concept that requiring property ownership as a pre-condition to voting is unconstitutional but we view allowing homeless people to vote as a threat to our democracy.

3.) I wonder why Michelle Bachman believes voters in Minnesota's Sixth District are so stupid that they will believe her claim that she did not mean to characterize Barack Obama and certain members of Congress as "un-American" in a televised response that began "absolutely, absolutely."

4.) I wonder why Michelle Bachman believes the media should spend its time on an in-depth investigation of members of Congress to verify their patriotism if she truly does not believe there is a problem worth investigating.

5.) I wonder why voters in Minnesota's Sixth District are so stupid.

6.) I wonder if mavericks are like magnetic poles and tend to repel one another.

7.) I wonder if the McCain campaign is truly surprised that Governor Palin, whose independent streak is touted for taking on her Republican colleagues in Alaska, is, by some accounts, breaking free from her handlers and going it alone in campaign appearances.

8.) I wonder why folks who believe we live in the greatest country in the world because of our adherence to democratic principles, promotion of free speech and the open debate of competing ideas feel so threatened by a presidential candidate willing to engage in give and take discussions with other world leaders in order to achieve peaceful co-existence.

9.) I wonder why Senator Biden's opponents jump on his observation about the likelihood of President Obama being tested early in his administration as a "gaffe" as opposed to a statement of fact by the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

10.) I wonder why we understand that we live in dangerous times, facing threats to our country on so many levels, yet take our political candidates to task for trying to truthfully discuss the implications of a harsh reality that will not disappear on its own.

11.) I wonder why we accept that airline pilots are required to retire in their 60's in order to avoid any possibility that the onset of aging will impair their ability to make life and death decisions but treat as age discrimination any suggestion that John McCain is too old to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

12.) I wonder when being a skilled orator became an acceptable subject of derision on the campaign trail while scripted talking points repeated ad nauseum are viewed as the basis for enthusiastic support.

13.) I wonder why, if John McCain really believed it was relevant, he waited until six days before the election to call on the Los Angeles Times to release video tape of speeches given in 2003 honoring a Palestinian acquaintance of Barack Obama that was known to exist seven months ago.

14.) I wonder why, if Senator Coleman thinks he should be re-elected because he "reaches across the aisle" to get things done, Minnesotans don't just support Al Franken who is already on the most popular side of the aisle.

15.) I wonder why Senator Coleman is not required to disclose, other than in television commercial bullet points, exactly what policies and fundamentals he would pursue from his side of the aisle.

That's it for now. Feel free to join me in my wonderment.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

7. I don't think the McCain campaign would be surprised at anything Palin anymore. They jumped without looking.

9 & 10. You know that most voters aren't looking for the real way out, they want the easy way out. Anyone offering that is going to get the vote in America. That's why the candidates can't be honest.

11. I think there is a bit of a diference between the president who will always have a little bit of time to make a decision and a 70+ year old pilot trying to save a crashing plane. Wisdom can come from age, not fast reflexes.

12. 24 hour news helped make sound bites more important. A generation demanding stuff in 15 second chunks. What is there to wonder?