The Little Words Mean the Most

The Press: Many Brains, One Thought

People say, "Why don't they cover this [story, angle, evidence, finding, outrage]?" Meaning how could a story so stupendously important escape notice by the national political press? As if it's an entity, a single thing with one brain. In fact, it is countless brains ... with one thought: "What is today's special?" I.e., What is the emerging story for the next 24 hours, 48 hours, or week? Will we be seen as irrelevant if we don't cover it? Chef's special this week, according to Newsweek's cover: Will the Republican fringe eat its middle? I like the Republican middle. Eisenhowerians. I meet them all the time: socially progressive financial conservatives.

Dear Democratic Presidential Candidate: About the Military, What You Have To Say

In Mitt Romney's last few seconds of fame, with every camera on him, he revealed the main point of thrust for the Republican case against a Democratic presidential candidate: that a Democratic White House will turn tail, and leave the U.S. vulnerable to "the terrorists." He came within a pinch of calling Clinton and Obama traitors and cowards. McCain, on the other hand, is a bona fide, pepper-spitting military hero. Voters: do the math.

The Democrats can perform message judo on this attack, however. What they have to do is embrace the U.S. military, for all the good that it does. Stop being the party that turns its nose up: "Because war is bad!"

Our military -- not everyone's -- is pretty remarkable. The U.S. military is probably the world's largest research and development operation, for one thing. The Internet started there, thank you. As did GPS. Adult education for the masses was also a U.S. military invention, when it needed to teach 20 million civilians how to win World War Two.

Democrats: you do not have to love slaughter and mayhem to love the military's impact on the U.S. economy. It funds major industrial sectors. It gave us an aircraft industry. It helps sustain an automotive industry. It consumes huge amounts of materials and supplies, and most of that isn't gunpowder. It turns vast numbers of U.S. adolescents into employable, capable adults. And in the bad years, like now, it makes miraculous medical progress trying to save shot-up lives.

It was politicians who put us into Iraq. The wrong kind of politicians. Unhumble. Shockingly unworldly. Believing that they could bully any problem into submission because they had unfathomable force at their beck and call.

Hate war. Love the military. It's an economic engine.

Use Wisely

Politics of Camp Fires

On snowy days, I burn brush. And that's what a revolution is -- a lot of little twigs desperate to become a fire.

Men Suck (And I Are One)

Boop the Hoop is right. The reason Hillary might not win against McCain, say 2 recent polls, is that MEN won't vote for her. But WOMEN will vote for Barack. So, as of today, polls warn and strategists will insist, Barack can beat McCain, but Hillary can't. Electability rears its ugly.

So the ? becomes: Who will rise more in the independents' estimation? McCain is alone in his race now. The Rombot pulled out (wish G.W.'s dad had, on that special night with Barbara). Maybe John McCain will become old news to independents. Maybe his crusty parts will poke out from behind the wary smile. I like McCain's record well enough. His experience in Vietnam made a man of titanium character who suffers fools and betrayers poorly. Those parts I like. I don't like his pledge to turn the Supreme Court into the Extreme Court. He's vowed: "No activist judges!" Read: Only those who believe in burning witches need apply.