This old Texas Clinton Democrat is on top of the world right now!

The emotions that started on election night when I was listening to President-elect Barack Obama give his victory speech, has turned into nothing short of complete euphoria! I walk with a little more pep in my step. I smile more than I have in....well.....EIGHT YEARS. I even have learned to be a little more tolerant of Republicans....at least for the moment.

To realize that I am 'mature' enough to have been able to experience in my lifetime John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton and now Barack Obama winning the White House is a very satisfying feeling.

And even though the original meaning of it really had nothing to do with race......to have been born and raised in a community that used to have a 'Welcome' sign at the train station that said "Welcome to Greenville, The Blackest Land and the Whitest People", this is such an exciting, important and historic moment. Not to mention being old enough to have experienced separate water fountains, restrooms, and entrances to doctor's offices (assuming that the white doctor even treated blacks).

I have never been prouder of my country or my party!!! We made history! Not simply because we finally elected an African-American president. But more because Barack Obama IS what this country and the entire world, for that matter, need at this time in history.

With the mess that George W. Bush has left every aspect of life here and around the world in, the need for the most powerful leadership position in the history of the planet to be filled by an inclusive, intelligent, compassionate and focused individual is more imperative than it has ever been or most likely will be in the forseeable future.

The American people, by way of the Democratic Party, have delivered the right man at the right time.

God Bless America!

Not too long ago, for the first time I stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and looked out over the reflecting pool, thinking of what Dr. Martin Luther King must have been thinking as he told hundreds of thousands of Americans about his 'dream' for our country. I stood there completely engrossed in my thoughts, as I remembered listening to him and how inspiring he was. And there was never more of a 'son-of-the-Confereracy' than me. I am very proud of my ancestors sacrifices not only during The Civil War, but also during The American Revolution and The Texas Revolution.

But I have never been MORE proud than I am tonight. A little more than 140 years after the end of the Civil War, I watched an African-American become the 44th President of The United States of America. When I was growing up in the 1960's, nothing of this sort was even dared to be dreamed of.

But truly, it has been proven tonight that ANYONE REALLY CAN BECOME PRESIDENT. The election of Barack Obama to the presidency is not only an achievement for the African-American youth of this country....but for ALL of America's youth!

I was so wishing that Daddy had lived to see this. I have been sad when he wasn't around to see the Berlin Wall felled and the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union. But THIS? The man who made me into the Democrat AND the American that I am, would have loved to have seen this moment. But I also believe that he, Dr. King, LBJ, JFK and RFK, along with so many that have gone before, are looking down and smiling right now.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

And GOD BLESS BARACK OBAMA, 44th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!!!

As I was watching President Clinton campaigning in Florida for Barack Obama, I was seriously awe struck.

Two of the greatest political minds and two of the greatest political orators in a generation...speaking intelligently about, not only the plight of America, but also in the future of our country and the world. And what it would take to pull America back up within the world community as THE leader for democracy and freedom. The shining beacon of hope for the downtrodden within not only our society, but worldwide.

And then I got to thinking about the last eight years. A president of shallow character, even shallower thinking and with absolutely no ability to see the American people as the backbone of everything that makes The United States of America great! A 'leader' who never lead....only followed. A president who put us in the international 'backseat' of concern for others. A commander-in-chief who became the biggest terrorist, torturer and mass murderer since the fall of 'Iron Curtain' in Europe. A man who indiscremently ordered the killing of thousands of innocent Iraqis under the guise of 'freeing' them.

After which I realized just how great this country is, and how resilient The Founding Fathers so aptly created this experiment, that we could come thru such horrible times as "The W Years", and still be able to find public servants like Barack Obama that has the brains and compassion and GUTS to take on such a mess, and to do it with such calming and precise reasoning and thinking.

God Bless America..............

Well, he DID spend several years living in the same area with some of the most ruthless terrorists in history.....

Maybe Senator McCain should have to answer for his 'record'.

Yeah, it is as stupid a thing that you can think of.

And THIS is the kind of campaign that some people want from THEIR candidate for president?

Thank God that Barack Obama and Democrats like most of us, don't believe that using old connections to throw fear into the hearts of Americans is a legitimate way to oppose someone elses candidacy.

Seems John McCain has learned well from the Bush Administration as to how to attempt to govern from a state of FEAR instead of HOPE!

Unfortunately for McCain, the 'fear card' has worn out on most Americans.....

What is it about these Republicans and some folks who still claim to be Democrats, that make them believe if a prominent black Republican American, like Colin Powell, endorses a Black Democratic American presidential candidate it HAS to be because they are both black?

And what is worse, if the WHITE Republicans and WHITE folks who still claim to be Democrats endorse any WHITE candidate that it ISN'T about race. Or more on point, if they DON'T endorse someone like Barack Obama that it definitely has NOTHING to do with race!!

How ridiculous is that argument? You are about race because you are black, but what? ME?? A WHITE AMERICAN?? A RACIST???? Geez.........

Powells endorsement COULD just have something to do with the same reasons used by WHITE Republicans Susan Eisenhower and Christopher Buckley, don't you think? They don't like the character attacks at a time of national crisis. They don't like the HARD RIGHT TURN that the Republican Party has taken the last 8 years, and how John McCain has embraced it after the party trashed HIS image in 2000!

Honestly, I believe that the Dems who refuse to back Obama have honestly felt deep reasons for not doing so. And I can respect that. And some Republicans are the same way. It really DOESN'T have anything to do with race for probably MOST of them.

But to back the ravings of a lunatic like Rush Limbaugh by claiming to know what is in the heart of another AMERICAN is NOT what the Founding Fathers had in mind!

And to start resurrecting 'MCCARTHYISM' so you can try to "divide and conquer" the country, and putting that kind of picture in the head of the international community is inexcusable! Not to mention Sarah Palin and her inciting of violence against Barack Obama and his supporters by not speaking against those kinds of comments from the 'White Power' sections at her rallies!

Republicans have just forgotten how to actually run a real American campaign for office WITHOUT Nixonian dirty tricks or Bushie character assassinations and election theft!!

They obviously believe that when you pick a VP candidate that has never read The Constitution, and you are so far behind that the Supreme Court most likely won't be able to steal the election for you, that you have to turn to the term 'Communist' again.......

I am well known as more of a moderate than most on here. I have never been so much pro 'abortion', as I am literally pro 'choice', because I don't think the State has any right to tell a woman what she must do with her own body. But I also believe that life begins when a baby is actually 'viable' outside the mother's womb, and should be protected in most cases.

But for an old angry MAN to tell a woman, or a husband, or a family that they MUST risk the "HEALTH" of the mother (and don't let him fool you....he would put the "life" of the mother in there the same way), is to put a pregnant woman....pro "LIFE" or pro "CHOICE"....at the level of a life that matters not to the white haired old man, once she becomes pregnant.

"Stretching" the definition of "HEALTH"?? Are you KIDDING ME???

My wife...my daughter....my sister....my daughter-in-law....are NOT just baby factories!!! They are human beings, and I could NEVER see John McCain or any of the OTHER MEN that are always arguing these points against the rights of women, actually talk about the "HEALTH" of men...........

That was probably the saddest thing that I ever heard a politician say. And honestly....abortion, as such, isn't even right now within my top 10 political concerns......

But THAT STATEMENT shows exactly where the right-wing of this country is putting there deepest thoughts and politics!!

Now, if I am offbase here, it wouldn't be the first time, and probably won't be the last.

But, after hearing Senator Obama's idea of tax breaks for companies that will keep jobs in the United States, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if we offered tax breaks for foreign businesses who bring NEW jobs to the U.S.

I mean wouldn't it be a good economic move to try to lure NEW jobs from overseas, in addition to luring OLD jobs BACK here?

Just got me thinkin' is all........

For the moment, lets go past the fact that John McCain's $5000 tax credit to 'offset' health insurance costs and get to what I consider the REAL meat of the problem.

If you cannot, right now, afford health insurance then how does this help, even if it WAS enough to get the job done?

WHERE ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO GET THE $5000 FOR HEALTH INSURANCE IN THE FIRST PLACE???

Much less wait until the next year's tax refund to get it back!!!

Tax credits are delayed reimbursement for money these people who do not have the means to pay for it anyway!!

Just wondering........

I think that John McCain just handed over what was left of his chances of winning the White House to Barack Obama tonight!

He looked uncomfortable. He acted like a cranky old man. He kept repeating himself over and over. And, with all of his experience and his supposed ease at 'town hall' meetings, he looked out-classed and completely worn out.

I may not be as certain of victory right now as I was in 1976, when at 21 years old, I listened to Gerald Ford say that eastern Europe would be surprised to hear that they were under Soviet domination, when my wife ran in and asked what I was so happy about all of a sudden (I told her we had just won the election). But I think after tonight, at least within a week, the margins are going to be larger for Barack, and he has the wind to his back!

The independents are finally making their way away from the dark side, and as we have all known....the new voters are extremely heavy for Obama. And that doesn't even take into consideration what will certainly be a record turnout in 'minority' voting this year.

I still think all of that may play into a much better than expected Democratic election day in Texas! Maybe I am just wishfully dreaming, but Texas IS a minority majority state. No single minority is larger than the white population of Texas, but when you combine all minorities.....they easily outnumber whites in my beautiful state!

OBAMA/BIDEN '08!!!!

After reading just one too many letters in my local paper, literally pushing the Barack Obama's middle name, without saying why.....being one of those who KNOWS why, the following was my response to my local paper:


I keep noticing how some on the extreme fringe right make sure that we all know that Senator Barack Obama's middle name is Hussein. Is it supposed to scare people? I mean really, a name? They never, for instance, mention Sarah Palin's full name. Sarah Louise Heath Palin. I saw that and thought "Oh my gosh!! She's English!!". And with my roots being so dominantly Scottish and Irish I couldn't help but think...."Is she going to bring the wrath of the British Empire back down on us??" Of course, then I remembered.....her running mate's name is McCain.

Everytime in my adult life that I have heard the name Hussein, there is one really bad reference in my mind and now, two really good ones.

Of course, Saddam Hussein...you know the guy responsible for bringing down the towers and killing on 9/11 over 3000 people on American soil......oh wait, that guys real name is Osama....now that sounds somewhat scarier. But when I realize that the Republican Party forgot who Osama bin Laden was for so long......that can't be too scary to those who have voted for them over the past 8 years.

So what did Saddam do that should scare us? Nothing that I can think of. I mean he was a bad guy.....he killed many political prisoners and gassed his own people. But is that much worse than Fidel Castro? Wow, that's the same last name as Jason Castro, the talented boy from Rockwall, Texas (20 minutes from my house), who did so well this past season on American Idol! He doesn't seem all that scary.....but then again.......there's that name, so it must mean something!

Anyway, the other two references that come to mind when I hear the name Hussein are very, very positive to me.

The first, the late King Hussein of Jordan who was a longtime ally of the United States, and whose widow is an American.

The other is Senator Barack Hussein Obama, the next President of the United States of America. And what exactly is Sarah Palin and John McCain hiding by not using their middle names like some people think Senator Obama is doing.

I realize that some are frightened to death of Muslims. And that is understandable to an extent, those Muslims from Iraq....wait, Saudi Arabia, attacked us. But I am a lifelong Southern Baptist. I have been taught since childhood to also have problems with such anti-Christian religions as Mormons and Catholics!

And keep in mind, Senator Barack Hussein Obama is a member of the Church of Christ. And what's more, these people know it.

They are so afraid that their party can't win on the issues, since they were the ones that gave us the mess we are in right now. And they are so afraid that the Supreme Court probably won't get the opportunity to appoint Senator John McCain....that good ole celtic name just rolls off the tongue.

Now if you really want to be scared, think about this. Senator McCain, a personal hero of mine, is 72 years old and had two bouts with cancer. The person he is wanting you to allow him to bring within a heartbeat of being the most powerful person in the world, should his health falter from having the most pressure filled job in the history of the world, is a woman who was the mayor of a town smaller than Commerce, and who was elected, less than two years ago to be governor of a state that has less population than the city of Austin, Texas. Who everytime she opens her mouth, Senator Obama rises in the polls.

Now that is something that, along with 4 more years of Bush policies that have worked so well for the middle class, is really scary!!

I have watched with great interest, the news on the proposed bailout that failed. As a moderate Democrat, I wasn't too crazy about ANY of the proposals that have been made public up to now.

However, since my Daddy always told me that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, then why not just use a much easier idea, with the same amount of money?

Take the $700 billion and instead of buying out the 'bad debt'.....PAY IT OFF!! Pay off the mortgages that have been difficult-to-impossible for homeowners to pay, and then the lenders will have their money back. But not the interest...just the principle. Then, after 6 months or so of allowing the homeowners to take a breath, allow them 10-15 year notes to the government without any interest!

Trickling UP always works better than down. Why give it STRAIGHT to the banks, when you could do the same thing by giving it back to them in the name of thousands of middle-class mortgage holders, who have been screwed six-ways-to-Sunday the last 8 years?

Obviously I am only a lowly salesman....but THIS seems MUCH more realistic and do-able than what I have seen so far!!

I believe that the ultimate showing of how much the country's mood has changed, would be to place within the concerts at Barack's inaugural......The Dixie Chicks!

But, that's just me...........

It would seem to me that the Bush Administration would want to actually do something RIGHT before they actually are FINALLY put out to pasture. But here we go again...give big money MORE big money while at the same time, members of their own party are calling the American people...."whiners"!

If this bailout really is the only way out of this mess, I just believe that a couple of ground rules should be required. Starting with the help that the Democrats are trying to get for the actual homeowners. But I also think that some kind of repayment should be required from the CEO's and the boards of directors at these institutions that caused and profited from this mess.

First, the government should move, maybe under the RICO laws (I obviously am not a lawyer, but I have seen Law & Order), to take possession of all assets built up by these people during the time in question.....meaning the last 6 years or so.

Second, I believe that in addition to 'bailing them out', the government should move to take control of every one of these companies until, if ever, they reach the point of complete solvancy. And in doing so, fire the boards and all corporate officers.....the same ones they have just been required to make repayment by the claiming all of their assets.

This would probably bring most, if not everyone of them, into the midst of us in the MIDDLE CLASS!

And then maybe....just maybe.....they might see the evil of their ways, and start voting DEMOCRATIC when they realize that the only American political party that gives two hoots about them NOW....is the DEMOCRATIC PARTY!