Is McCain McAble?

Yow......Senator McCain did his version of "shock and awe" yesterday (more like schlock and awwwww), when he announced Sarah Palin as his VP nominee. Sarah Palin. Yes, before you ask, it is in fact THE Sarah Palin. So how qualified is she to be a single heartbeat from the Presidency? How is she on foreign policy? How much does she understand the economy?

My reply is simply this: It doesn't matter! Not because I don't love the US of A, or that I don't care about who is running the show from DC. The reason I say it doesn't matter is because no person on the planet can meet someone 1 time, and decide that individual is worthy of running a country, particularly a nuclear superpower that leads the free world. Not John McCain, not Kreskin at his most clairvoyant, not Dr. Phil, not Chris Angel doing a mind-freak (although this is certainly a mind-freak of historic magnitude), nobody. N-o-b-o-d-y! At this point, Mrs. Palin's qualifications and mental readiness pale totally, in comparison to those of the Republican nominee his-own-self. This is the same man who smiles at all the wrong times, confuses easily, angers even easier, and if this is what America can expect from his judgement on the 1st major Executive decision of importance, it is in a word mind-blowing. Ok, mind-blowing is 2 words - so sue me! It's hyphenated, and in my book that's darned close enough.

No, this selection was calculated from a purely political standpoint, a wild, pandering attempt to steal the female undecided vote, while keeping the tightest old-school Republican ideology in place. I'm sure Mrs. Palin is very nice and very capable and very Republican and blah blah blah. The only truth that matters here is that John McCain selected someone he met once. What's that you say? He's talked to her on the phone a few times since? Ooohh! That makes all the difference (not). This is the equivalent of an arranged marriage, but the kind where you're just trying to pull a fast one on an unsuspecting 3rd party. It's like marrying someone so they can become a US citizen, then as soon as it's legal to separate, you go your own ways and thanks so much for the check. Business. Strictly business. Back in 2000, I was a registered Republican and believe it or not I voted for John McCain over GW Bush (who I thought was an idiot, and now KNOW is an idiot), because I felt McCain was the best Republican, and a better choice than the cardboard cut-out that was and still is Al Gore. I was a Republican because my parents and their friends were Republicans. In hindsight, that was wrong of me and it won't happen again. Gore might have made a lousy statesman, but what we got with GW was someone who has almost reversed 230 years of history. Had we known that 2 terms of Bush would nearly swamp our national vessel, I'm sure boatloads of people would have hung their chads very differently.

So these days I'm a registered Independent. Mr. Bush, and Mr. McCain have completely cured me of supporting the stale agenda of a dated Republican platform. For the rest of my natural-born days, I'll be voting for the best man or woman for the job, at every level. Black, white (which are probably closer to dark brown and pinkish-beige, if the truth be told), or any other color, creed or belief, my motto has become: The best human gets my vote. I would implore anyone who reads this to NOT vote what your parents voted, just because it's how you were raised. Each of us has to take responsibility for listening, thinking through, and placing our faith in someone who can get us the heck out of this miserable hole we're in. I said it before, but it bears repeating:

Barack 'N Roll

You're probably wondering where the travel tips are today. Our offices are closed until Tuesday in honor of Labor Day, but I just felt like talking and I'm taking a day off from talking shop.