Never have the stakes been so high, nor have the standards for our representative democracy appeared to be so low. Of course, politics has been a bit slimy from the beginning, and most likely will forever remain so. To turn Obama into a messianic figure on one side, as well at the antithesis of ‘8 more years’ on the other side, thoroughly misses the point: there can be no sides. That is to say, the stakes are SO high this election cycle, the battling to find the best candidate is a necessary part of the process, to be sure; but cannot be THE focus.

Different times call for a different type of president. Were Obama a Republican, I would back him still. Not because he’s a he, or a biracial he, but because he has sense. The same sense that spoke to George Washington’s design to fulfill our country’s destiny and achieve an overall purpose as he filled his cabinet with the best men for the job, (Washington was enlightened but not quite in a position, socially speaking, to choose women.) regardless of party. I firmly believe that as a man of questionable principles and even murkier allegiances/ judgement, McCain is the worst choice either Republicans, Independents or Democrats could make. A former paria, and known turncoat, my party chose McCain as its best option. Get a clue, America, keep your party affiliation, but put your country and rational logic first. Both partys’ candidates lack executive (Oval) office experience.

At last count though, Obama-Biden have 40 years combined public service experience, compared to McCain-Palin’s 28, and have the right mind for the job. McCain has was amounts to a degree in War, Palin a degree in Journalism (War and spin, anyone?) Just go to http://www.votesmart.org/election_president.php and look up the other side’s qualifications. Jimmy Carter had executive experience as the president, as does GW Bush. Carter is active and productive in his post-presidential years, while GW’s jury is still out. If his father is any indication, he may never be heard from again – even AFTER toppling Saddam.

I don’t want a wimp or pontificator for my President. I do want a thinker, though. McCain seems only to be able to play on our sympathies for his POW status, with nothing else substantial to run on. Palin seems like she might have a chip on her shoulder, like Clinton earlier this year. My bet is on Obama for being intellectually and morally capable of dishing out the tough love our severely undisciplined nation is in dire need of, NOW. There is no sense in puffing up your chest, holding on to your pride, and voting McCain. Whether you are working class, male or female, a business owner or employee; make no mistake, it will hurt at first.

After 2 + decades of unrealistic expectations and mortgaged futures, its time to pay the piper. WW2 tactics in a world where the power has shifted unimaginably, has firmly postitioned our future in the balance. The countries we grew up as thinking of having third world conditions are outpacing the US and others in GDP, innovation, education, and other key areas proving, not indicating, the evolving dynamic of the world community’s power dynamic. We cannot afford to get this wrong – not as a party, but as a country, and possibly as a world.

Rezko, Wright, Ayers—but I grow hyperbolic and had better stop right now.

I really appreciated Camille Paglia’s take on the Palin phenomenon in her most recent Salon.com column. What Palin’s critics don’t seem to realize is that their antics will backfire in a big way if they keep this up.

And if Palin survives the current hysterical and hostile media onslaught as I fully expect her to, she’ll have proven herself a superior candidate to Obama, who’s been showered with media sponge-ball questions from the onset of the campaign.