Sun Sets...

...On vacation.

Juicey?

I think Joe Biden is drunk here.

A Good Read...

...on the Palin pick, here and here.

This Pretty Much Sums It Up

Wondering what the Obama campaign is thinking about McCain's pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his choice for VP? Here you go.

Obama's response, take one:

"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies -- that's not the change we need, it's just more of the same."

How's that for grumpy? Condescending? Hypocritical? And, not terribly hopeful?

No worries. After rave reviews started to come in and excitement built behind what could very well prove to be a genius pick by Sen. McCain, Obama and team tried again a couple hours later.

Obama response, take two:

"We send our congratulations to Governor Sarah Palin and her family on her designation as the republican nominee for Vice President. It is yet another encouraging sign that old barriers are falling in our politics. While we obviously have differences over how best to lead this country forward Governor Palin is an admirable person and will add a compelling new voice to this campaign."

No doubt, the Palin pick took people by surprise, but the Obama responses may have shown more about who is really better prepared for the campaign ahead... not to mention the challenges to follow.

Obama summed it up well himself.

“I think that, uh, you know campaigns start getting these uh, hair triggers and, uh, the statement that Joe and I put out reflects our sentiments,” Obama said.

Congratulations, Governor Palin. Congratulations, Senator McCain. Great pick. Good luck.

A Snapshot In Coverage

Friday, 8:49 a.m.

Fox News covering developments in today's announcement of John McCain's running mate (looks like an outside-the-box pick of Alaska governor Sarah Palin).

CNN... a bio piece on Michelle Obama.

I'm quite sure Michelle Obama is a very nice woman... but she is not news today.

Thanks CNN

According to this morning's headlines:

Obama expected to address change in speech

Where would we all be without you, CNN?

Vacation

For Mr. O.


















And for us.

Could It Be?

Him.

UPDATE - Saturday, 7:33 a.m.:

Yep.

Take A Minute

Excellence from Peggy Noonan today.

A couple lines to remember:

As to the question when human life begins, the answer to which is above Mr. Obama's pay grade, oh, let's go on a little tear. You know why they call it birth control? Because it's meant to stop a birth from happening nine months later. We know when life begins. Everyone who ever bought a pack of condoms knows when life begins.

And.

The first Bush saw speeches as show biz, part of the weary requirement of leadership, and the second's approach reflects a sense that words, though interesting, were not his friend.

Oh, and then there is this:

But Mr. McCain provided, in 2004, one of the most exciting and certainly the most charged moment of the Republican Convention, when he looked up at Michael Moore in the press stands and said, "Our choice wasn't between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war, it was between war and a greater threat. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. . . . And certainly not a disingenuous filmmaker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace." It blew the roof off. And the smile he gave Mr. Moore was one of pure, delighted malice. When Mr. McCain comes to play, he comes to play.

Phew!

A sigh of relief for Michigan residents, taxpayers, voters, children, cats, dogs, otters... and just about anything or anyone who has an interest in seeing Michigan NOT completely fall apart.

State Court of Appeals: Proposal to reorganize government won’t see November ballot

LANSING — A sweeping proposal led by Michigan Democrats and labor unions to rewrite much of Michigan’s Constitution appears dead after a court ruling Wednesday.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals said the proposal for the November ballot was an illegal attempt to enact a general revision of the state constitution.

(more)

So, Come Here Often?

An update on Mr. O's family's attempts at environmental activism.

The little man's bike helmet has arrived, so NOW we can go about saving the planet. He hates wearing it, but doesn't know how to take it off. So, too bad for him.

Family ride #1 with the helmet --- don't tell the authorities we already took one ride without the helmet --- was fun.

As for our contributions to environmental purity, I'm pretty sure our efforts were canceled out by the woman we passed squatting in the bushes and peeing along side the Lansing River Trail (I wish I could say I made that part up).

It's not easy being green.

Another Hurricane Related Question

Why does anyone live in Florida?

It Takes A Hurricane To Teach A Child

The bad news comes daily in Michigan's current leadership crisis.

Detroit's mayor is tethered --- facing multiple felony counts based on his lies and his abuse of both the public trust and a police officer.

The Detroit City Council is in the sights of an FBI probe for allegations of offering votes for money.

Michigan's unemployment rate leads the nation --- 8.5 percent --- and our state's elected leaders lack the experience, political courage and willingness to do anything meaningful to change it.

For most states, any one of these items alone would be enough to make good people stand up, take notice and demand change. In Michigan, these crises don't even rank #1. In reality, they all pale in comparison to the human tragedy that is the Detroit Public School system.

DPS is also facing scrutiny from the FBI. It was reported this week that students will be without 40 percent of their textbooks because the district's book vendor is sick of not being paid. And, in probably the most powerful description of the crisis, long-time Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley this week declared the district dead.

And then there is this, the simple academic failures of the district, from a recent Detroit News column:

In the fall of 2005, 811 freshmen walked in the doors of Osborn in northeast Detroit. By this spring, only 245 of those students were around for graduation. Some of the lost children may have transferred to other Detroit schools. Some may have switched to charter, private or suburban schools. But most of the missing likely dropped out.

Of the 245 survivors, only seven graduated proficient in math. That means that just 1 percent of the class that started at Osborn as freshmen was able to pass the state administered math test.

The human tragedy that is this district is made all the more painful to think about when one reads the courageous, ambitious and lengthy account [Read it. It is amazing.] in today's New York Times Magazine of efforts in New Orleans to rebuild that city's school system after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Pre-Katrina:

The dysfunction in the city’s school system extended well beyond the classroom: a revolving door for superintendents, whose average tenure lasted no more than a year; school officials indicted for bribery and theft; unexplained budget deficits; decaying buildings; almost three-quarters of the city’s schools slapped with an “academically unacceptable” rating from the state.

You don't even have to close your eyes to imagine if these same problems applied to Detroit. Anyone who cares to look can see them plain as day.

Out of the death and devastation resulting from Hurricane Katrina, leaders in New Orleans are now looking to save lives --- the lives of the kids entrusted to the city's public schools.

For kids in Detroit, you would hope it wouldn't take a natural disaster for someone to stand up and try to save them.

The Gitch

A great article about a great piece of the world.

Long before Mr. O, when all the family consisted of was a couple of fairly recent college grads, a pain-in-the-#%& cat and a large, smelly dog, we traveled to this area.

Seney isn't much, and the dog decided to eat something that caused her to throw up --- among other things --- on the beach for two days, but the Lake is certainly inspirational enough for a good story.

We've been back and hope to go back again.

News Flash For Cubs Fans?

Well, maybe not.

A study finds Cubs fans among the most loyal in the game. Who would have guessed?

Tigers fans... not so much.

Goin' Green

Mr. O and his clan have gone green.

Wait, wait. I said, Mr. O and his clan have gone green.

There.

As of Monday night, we are a family of bikers... or, should I say, we are a family in possession of a couple bikes and a toddler trailer.

To say we've heard the siren song of Obama, when he chanted from atop Mount High and Mighty, "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK" would be a stretch. Because, as you can see, an SUV (also green) is parked immediately behind the new child chariot and next to an empty spot normally filled by a second SUV.

Still, a little exercise is good. Getting Mr. O acquainted with some of Lansing's finest potholes is good, too. And, we live close enough to most things that a bike ride would be both more fun, a little sweaty, and less expensive than a trip in a vehicle from O's small fleet of mid-range SUVs.

That less expensive part is key, because I've found that goin' green means the green's a'goin'.

Someday, when Mr. O asks me why his friends have college funds and he has a well-traveled book bag on wheels and 50-something parents with really muscular thighs, I'll be sure to show him this picture and remind him of his very virtuous childhood.

P.S. You'll notice in the picture the outline of the family's organic fertilizer producer standing in the doorway of the garage. She heard that Obama quote about not being able to eat as much as we want and just returned from casting an absentee ballot for McCain.

Introducing: The Capitol Caucus

Cross-posted from Sterling's Blog.

It’s exciting to announce that Wednesday morning, The Capitol Caucus will be launched.

The Caucus is a new effort — a first-of-its-kind-in-Michigan effort — to poll the political insiders who follow the ins-and-outs of state politics to get their opinions on what’s happening on the Michigan political scene.

The Caucus is a great group. In fact, it’s an amazing group of 65 people who have been shaping Michigan politics for many, many years. We have former chiefs of staff, current communications directors, press secretaries, political consultants (both Lansing- and D.C.-based), a state party chair, lobbyists, a national party committeewoman, PR experts, a lawmaker, pollsters and the list goes on. I’m thrilled and honored to have such a group of people sign on to participate.

I’m also proud to have two partners in the effort: Robert Kolt of Kolt Communications, Inc. and Michael Meyers of TargetPoint Consulting. Bob is a long-time and well-known Lansing PR guru, and Michael was a part of the polling team that pioneered the use of micro-targeting - the method of targeting voters with personalized messages that George W. Bush, and others, have used to terrific success.

For Sterling and me, this project is simply a natural fit. We specialize in communicating in a political world, and what better service to provide than a regular sampling of what the political world is communicating.

The Capitol Caucus is here. Sign up and enjoy.

John Edwards

Classy.

Power Up

This photo from the Detroit Free Press is just fascinating.

Could anyone have ever imagined that standing in front of two steaming nuclear power plant silos would provide a politically advantageous photo op?

Clearly, in today's political climate of rising energy prices and dependence on foreign sources of power, it does (or at least political polling says it does).

But still, would you have ever thought?

Caption: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., right, and Congressman Fred Upton, left, listen to Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as he speaks to reporters after a tour of the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Plant Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008, in Newport, Mich.

Make A Wish

While visiting with Mr. O's grandparents over the weekend, the issue of Obama v. McCain came up. Questions on why to vote for one, and why not to vote for the other were asked and inadequately answered.

Well, if proof is what you seek and an answer from on high is your aim, here is all you need to know about Barack Obama before entering the voting booth.

During his visit to Mr. O's hometown yesterday, Obama announced to his audience:

"There is no place I'd rather be on my birthday than Lansing, Michigan."

There you have it. Nuff said. End of story. The man may have his strengths, but he is clearly a batty cathy.

People don't even like to be in Lansing on other peoples' birthdays, let alone on their own.

If he wins, within minutes of taking the oath of office, I would fully support having his yet-to-be-named VP invoke the 25th amendment, because there has never been a sentence uttered that better displays "the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

Considering the silver tongued competition from recent candidates and occupants of the office, that's saying something.