Who's the American?

We've bee hearing quite a bit lately about America. Most of it is coming from Republican lugnuts trying to whip up an us-against-them frenzy as the election cycle comes to a close. There's pro- American (them), anti-American (anybody who disagrees with them), and real American (as opposed to unreal American?). As one might expect, Sarah Palin started this nonsense when she characterized one part of the country as more pro-American than another. She had to back off that assertion, but for others, the game had begun.

Take, for example, Cong. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. Leave aside for a moment the fact this person has appeared on cable network shows 23 times since the beginning of September. Never mind that the McCain camp suggests her as a valid surrogate to these same programs. On MSNBC's Hardball last Friday, she made the incredible statement that Barack Obama may hold anti-American views. What those views were, she didn't say. Then she went further, saying the media should investigate her colleagues in the House, and determine who was for or against the nation.

Her words set off a firestorm that was the last thing John McCain needed. In fact, her opponent in the race to hold onto her congressional seat raised $800,000 dollars after her appearance. She's tried to back away from her remarks, saying Chris Matthews of Hardball laid a trap for her. Whatever.

Then there's Cong. Robin Hayes of North Carolina. At a rally in his home state, he "warmed up the crowd" by telling them liberals hate real Americans. Very nice. THen, after the New York Observer printed his remarks, he denied making them. When the Observer reporter stuck by his story, Hayes' spokesperson called it "irresponsible journalism". That is, until a radio reporter turned up with an actual tape. Then the spokesperson said Hayes misspoke. Then Hayes himself came up with a bizarre mea culpa, to the effect that he didn't remember saying it, but he was sorry he did. Say it, that is.

Folks, the wheels have come off the rails. These people, all elected officials, believe they have the corner on what an American is. Stranger still, they think most Americans agree with them. Is there a danger in this type of mentality?

You tell me.

Who's the Socialist?

As the McCain campaign flails around like a fighter trying to land a lucky punch on Barack Obama, the dreaded word socialist began to be used to describe Obama's tax policies. It came from Obama's comment about "spreading the wealth around". McCain's people figured that was the opening they needed to cast Obama as someone who would take money from those who earned it and give it to those who hadn't. It's also the perfect catchword for conservative talk radio, even better than liberal.

That's because socialism scares people in this country. It represents, wrongly, the killing of incentive to produce. After all, why work hard if you won't see the fruits of your labor? This is especially true if people are made to think their hard work will benefit some lazy, shiftless person who doesn't have the same level of ambition (they never say opportunity). Anyway, McCain and those who wanted to see him elected thought they had lightning in a bottle.

That is, until someone pointed out to McCain that he'd voted for the biggest socialist program in American history. That's right, the $700 billion dollar bailout of the financial industry. After all, that's what some of his GOP friends in the House called. That's why a good number of them wouldn't vote for it. It was socialism, pure and simple. Americans have until this point been made to believe that socialism involves the redistribution of wealth from rich to poor individuals. Now, hopefully, they know better. The bailout represented taking wealth from taxpayers and giving it to banks.

And so, the word socialism was quietly dropped from the McCain campaign lexicon. You'll still hear criticism about the Obama tax plan, but you won't hear the word socialist. That's now reserved for people in diners to yell at Obama. Just plain folks get the talking points, but not the memo changing them.

It's ironic that, as the "s" word comes and goes, the New York Times does a piece on the one group for which socialism isn't a four letter word. The Socialist Party USA still exists, it's national office located in lower Manhattan. They ought to be having a chuckle about all this.

You tell me. Is the bailout an example of American socialism, and if so, why isn't anyone calling it that?

Powell Endorsement a Factor?

So Colin Powell did what many expected him to do, endorse Barack Obama. Yet it was the way he did so that spoke volumes about where this campaign is now, little more than two weeks away. Say what you will about the former Secretary of State. His words on Meet the Press Sunday should resonate far beyond the current election. The McCain people, as expected, went on the Sunday talk show circuit to downplay the importance of the powell endorsement. If the best they could come up with is yet another reference to Joe the Plumber, they ought to pack it in.

It wasn't just Colin Powell calling Barack Obama a transformational figure. In fact, it wasn't for the most part what he said about Obama at all. It was his forthright condemnation of religious intolerance that sticks in the mind. Powell mentioned the fact that Obama critics, some of them at McCain-Palin rallies, continue to promote the lie that Obama is a Muslim. But he went further. He asked a fundamental question that hasn't been posed nearly often enough during the current election cycle. What exactly is wrong with being a Muslim?

Colin Powell said demonizing Muslims isn't what America is all about. He used a single example of a woman at Arlington National Cemetery grieving for her son, an American born Muslim who was killed in action in Iraq. That example was worth a hundred Joe the Plumbers. It should give pause to reflect on just what we're prepared to do to win an election. Colin Powell served the last three Republican presidents. He himself is a lifelong Republican. No one can argue he made the endorsement for racial reasons. That's just not Colin Powell.

He may be pilloried for the rest of his life for that speech he gave at the United Nations. He acknowledged he got it wrong on Meet the Press. But Colin Powell got it right when it comes to this election.

Will Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama make a difference in the upcoming election? You tell me.

Will Powell Take the Plunge for Obama?

He's worked for the last three Republican presidents. His credentials on foreign policy and national security (with the notable exception of the Iraq war) are unassailable. He's Colin Powell, and there's increased speculation he'll make an endorsement for president, perhaps during an appearance on "Meet the Press" Sunday. Speculation is he'll back Barack Obama, and not John McCain, the man who some thought might ask him to be his running mate.

Make no mistake. A Powell endorsement this close to election day would be a body blow to the McCain campaign. The retired general is worth at least three Joe the Plumbers. It would mean a man the nation still respects took a long hard look at both candidates, and chose the Democrat.

Before anyone goes off the deep end, however, it's not necessarily a done deal. There is, according to published reports, an aura of mystery around Powell's Sunday appearance, announced Friday morning on the Today Show. There's still a chance he won't back either hopeful.

And yet, the prospect fascinates. What does the military man see in the young senator from Illinois? Would he take another cabinet position if asked? How many times has he sat with Obama and McCain since the national conventions, if at all? And most important, what is his rationale? Guess we'll have to wait for Sunday to find out.

Even with a Powell endorsement and frontrunner status in the national polls, Obama knows better than to get complacent. Presidential races tend to get tight in the home stretch. No one can predict where the economy will go, and John McCain has been written off several times before, only to re-emerge victorious. Not to use a sports metaphor, but this will be a sprint to the finish.

It may come down to who has the better track shoes.