Reason, Logic, and the Democrats

Something strange has happened to political discourse in the United States in the past decade. Where is reason and logic these days? The hanging chads, a president selected by the judiciary, an unpopular and protracted war, and hate speech born out of derangement have changed some of us. I'm at a loss as to where this leads our two-party system except to say that the Democrats are suffering from a serious neurosis. This saddens me deeply, having voted for their presidential candidate in two out of the last eight elections.

Today the party finds itself hijacked by emotion. How else can you explain the ascendance of such a political anomaly as Barack Obama to his party's nomination for POTUS? He was shaped, as he writes in his autobiography (Dreams from My Father), by Frank Marshall Davis, a noted Communist. He has associated with a host of bizarre personalities including James Cone and Jeremiah Wright of Black Liberation Theology fame; and William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn of the infamous Weather Underground. He developed skills as a "community organizer" - see Saul Alinsky - a profession dominated by "progressives." He is a product of the notorious Chicago political machine, having spent about seven years in the Illinois Senate. He has about 146 days of experience as a United States Senator. He runs on a theme of "hope and change" we can believe in. Yes, he may present a convincing argument for his admirers, but where's the substance, the practicality, the integrity for the rest of us? I see Barack Obama as virtually unprepared to assume the presidency, yet, he draws the support of half the potential electorate. What are they thinking? Are they thinking? I think not.

Perhaps the delegates at the 2008 Democratic National Convention next week will come to their senses, make some real changes, and give themselves hope in this upcoming election. Either way, stay tuned for some real entertainment.