Once, upon a campaign season
As I sorted lies from reason
What was true and what was treason
In the crisp September air,

As I sat here watching wearily
Savage advertisements cheerily
Cast from people who Imperially
Deigned to call them fair,
 
I heard a sound from ages past
Tapping on the frosted glass
That stared out on a darkened pass
The moon could scarcely light,

In a clearing there I saw
A pair of ghostly figures thaw
From out the icy darkened maw
Of the deeply wooded night.
 
Though the glass was wet with rain,
I saw the frame of John McCain
Standing there despite the pain
From injuries long past,

Not looking at me, nor away,
He gazed into the molten fray
Of an eerie evening shadow-play
That the rising mist had cast,

Unfolding like a savage dream
Within that cloud of forest steam
I saw a throng compelled to scream
As buildings burst and fall,
 
Fire burns, explosions roar,
People drop to rise no more
No difference whether rich or poor,
Terror takes them all.

John McCain then reached his hand
Into that brutal vision and
Dispelled that fog from where it spanned,
"Not on my watch!" he said.
 
The second figure there was framed
In the misty light and dappled rain
Barack Obama stood unchained
From the shackles of the past,

He too observed a drama twist
By the flickering of a will-o'-wisp
Where light and shadow might be missed
By other untrained eyes,

A divided road eclipsed the night,
One side black and one side white,
Lit by a flame of a hateful light
On a grimly burning cross,
 
The price that generations paid,
Waiting for that promise made
That here, despite a person's shade
You'll have an equal chance.
 
Both men bring perspective
On America's objective
Despite the rank invective
And a sharp opposing stance,
 
Back within my solemn room
In the failing light
of the evening gloom
I came to a conclusion soon
That only this compels,

From the first intent of freedom
The scope has been more grand
Than any single eye had seen
Or any dream had planned,
Whoever holds this country's reins
Can find a steady hand
By remembering the price we paid
For the ground on which we stand.
 
- Mike Silverman, Milford MA

Hey,...Secretary Paulson, Mr. President, and all you pundits and critics out there who are wringing your hands and declaring that this is the END OF DAYS for the US economy and so we need to have the 700+ billion dollar debacle created to bail out the big financial players on Wall Street.   One thing to keep in mind, don't under estimate "us" , the people who really make this country work. Don't under estimate the power of the constituency out here screaming at thier senators, thier representatives, "don't you dare do this!".  This is can be seen in one sense as a basic, back pocket issue that is not above the understanding of the masses.   Regular working class citizens look at this and see giant corporations possibly getting massive bailouts, while individuals who had to pay into that gargantuan pool of tax money are not getting bailed out of thier own personal financial problems at home. There is a visible disparity in this debate that is not lost on the average consumer. Talk of massive infusions of tax money to save companies from thier own bad business practices is something that festers in the public mind. Why should the individual at home, have to take responsibility for thier own bad financial decisions, but the big banks and insurance companies get off the hook? And of course, gall of Paulson and , sadly, of our sitting President in this matter, to insist that this is not a matter that can wait for open debate and to demand that our tax money go to this boondoggle this week to be overseen by one man like an Emperor on a golden throne, is simply outrageous.  This is a clear imbalance, and definitely not the American way. If you believe, as our founding fathers did, that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are moral issues, then you have to believe that tax is a moral issue as well since the level of taxation is a measure of the oppressive burden working against those founding moral principles. Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen of our congress, if you want to be on the side of  "the people" , send that 700+ billion back to the public in the form of an income tax rebate for individuals and small businesses all across the country. Then "We The People" will decide whether to bail out the banks by continuing to do business with them or not.
 
- Mike Silverman, Milford MA

* "You got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

The "FIRST"? Wow...

* “You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.”

Way to go Joe... insult yet another constituency.

* To State Senator Chuck Graham, Joe implored ...: “Chuck, stand up, let the people see you.”

Hey Joe.., did you or your staff happen to notice that Chuck is in a wheelchair? Sheesh!

* "Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America", "Quite frankly it might have been a better pick than me"

Hey Joe... we can agree on something! Obama made a terrible pick and showed lack of judgement.

* "We want to take money ...."

Yes Joe... we know.

*.... "and put it back in the pocket of middle-class people."

What about "poor" people Joe? Oh, that's right. You took care of that already. You donated $995 to charity ( $400 of that was an unspecified "non-cash" gift, reducing the real cash donation to $595 )... out of your $360,000.00 income last year. How about this Joe, give up your salary as a politician for the coming year and give it to the middle class instead. Then you don't have to steal it in the form of higher taxes from other people so that you can play a phony santa claus trying to buy votes with liberal income redistribution schemes.

* ...( continuing in his statement about taking money ( through higher taxes) and putting it in the pocket of the middle-class , Joe said..) “It’s time to be patriotic … time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut.”

Thanks Joe. Thanks for helping us all understand what the word "patriotic" means. Paying more taxes. I don't suppose being patriotic would be something like supporting the troop surge, which you declared a "failure". I don't suppose it would be anything like supporting General Petraeus to whom exactly 1 year ago you demanded to end the surge and bring the troops home declaring you had no reason to believe the violence would end in Iraq despite General Petraeus telling you that his commanders see improvement in security and reductions in violence. Who was it, Joe, that was the lone voice on your foreign relations committee who warned that it would be rash to jump to conclusions and force an end to the war? That's right... it was Senator John McCain. Guess what Joe? He was right, you were wrong. You flubbed it again Joe.

So , Flubber Biden, flubbing his way through his Senate career with his ridiculous comments and inept analysis, is now the VP candidate? Good Lord! If Obama wins, Flubber is only one heartbeat away from the Presidency! We simply can't allow Flubber Biden to flub-up the country too! What a scary thought!

- Mike Silverman, Milford MA

I think one reason among many reasons Republican Conservatives are energized as a group over Sarah Palin is that there is a palpable weariness of elected Republicans trying to out-liberal the liberals. The Republican base is fed up with the Republican party officials being worried about not being liked by the NY times, or CNN, or NBC, and always trying to court those biased media outlets by "modifying" thier tone. Frankly, though I love President Bush and respect him immensely, his "new tone" ideas really twisted the arms of Republicans to be more compromising with Democrats, but did nothing to make Democrats more compromising with Republicans. We see in Sarah Palin someone who is tough and confident that her values are right for her life and her family and wouldn't ask others to compromise their own personal values either for the sake of appearing cooperative at the expense of selling your soul. We see someone who knows the potential for people to be great without government making it happen for them. And perhaps most importantly, she is a leader who is a role model for all children of both genders that achievement and accomplishment are there for the making and taking if you have the drive. You don't need to be from an ivy league school, a law professor, an elite club member of the DC illuminati, you can be Sarah Palin , a basketball captain, a PTA member, have a full family life, and still reach for the stars. She restores confidence in the American idea that one ordinary person can make an exceptional difference, and that anyone can be great.
 
- Mike Silverman, Milford MA

It's easier to shout at authority when you're not in charge. When you don't have the responsibility of national leadership, you don't have worry about nation wide repercussions. Thursday night Senator McCain and Senator Obama attended a forum on the subject of National Service. It brought back to mind comments made by Senator Obama in July of this year when he criticized President Bush for "merely" telling people that it's important to resume travel and consumer activity after the terrorist strike on 9/11/2001.   Here's what Obama said about President Bush's so-called "failure" to call the nation to duty in the days after 9/11/2001,

"We were ready to step into the strong current of history and to answer a new call for our country. But the call never came"

"Instead of a call to service, we were asked to shop,"
 

Senator Obama thinks the President should have asked for people to commit themselves to public national service. Okay, fine. Senator Obama is entitled to his opinion. Here's my opinion.  George W. Bush is a dedicated leader, a decent human being, and an absolute gentleman, a man who has worked tirelessly at keeping the country safe, and has genuine faith in the people of the United States.  Listen up Senator Obama. President Bush was exactly right by first and foremost trying to ease the nation's concern about travel and commerce and conducting normal every day business after the terroist attacks.  It's this country's normal every day folks conducting business, working, traveling, shopping that makes the country function and is the source of our strength and stability. The President did not "need" to call people to national service , Senator, because he trusted the people of our fine country to see that need for themselves, and they did.  The call to national service, Senator Obama, was the calling card left by the terrorists. The President does not need to instruct citizens on what thier moral compunction should be. Obama shows a lack of faith in the citizens of the country to see and respond to a need for service. His remarks show that he believes people must be "told what to do and when to do it. That's not leadership in a Democracy, its monarchy in a top down micromanagement of people's lives. We don't need any of that.
 
Also, we saw Governor Sarah Palin being interrogated by Charlie Gibson last night. No matter how may times I have seen Gibson in the past he always comes across as a snotty pompous asss. He's part of the creeping rot infecting network news and I would like to have seen Sarah interview with a network that has higer ratings and wider audience such as Fox News Channel. Regardless, she did an outstanding job, did not heistate to give clear sharp answers to questions intended to test her knowledge of foreign issues and her personal resolve to be Vice President.  She presented herself well and did the people of Alaska proud and continues to win the hearts of people all across the country. She commits to a common sense practical approach to governance, and by the example of her life and her family she speaks volumes to citizens all across the country. Sarah is the kind of person you cheer for naturally because she's part of the real American experience. There's nothing contrived or phony about her. We love it when she gives that great smile of hers to the throngs of people who come to encourage her and stand with her because it's a reflection of the warmth and spirit of a common desire to feel good about our country. Sarah does that. She makes us feel good about the United States, and proud to share the same spirit and faith in the country that she has.
 
- Mike Silverman, Milford MA

Okay. So here we are.., Governor Sarah Palin will sit for an interview conducted by Charles Gibson.  It's certainly nothing unusual that a politician interviews with a news anchor.  Except for this one. What's so different?  I heard 7 different news media analysts say that this will make or break Sarah Palin. Isn't that special? Doesn't it give you a comfortable trusting feeling about these loose-jawed self-adoring network asses who where bred on pop culture icons that tumble out of American Idol and MTV's "reality" shows?  It doesn't ? Well, me neither. I have some "news" for you,  you styrofoam members of the press..., so-called ( ha-ha) "reporters"... you mirror gazing Divas of narcissism... you can't "break" what you didn't "make". Governor Palin is not a "news" phenomenon. Her appeal is so far beyond anything that the news media understands that they are actually puzzled at her popularity. They "don't" get it, and they "won't" get it, because they "can't" get it.  They don't know "us". They don't know "normal" people and what motivates us to admire someone who has leadership qualities that come from the basic fundamental core values of regular everyday folks. Sarah Palin is one of us. We don't "need" the media gods to introduce her to us. We don't "need" Charles Gibson to question her in order for us to know we have a person in Sarah Palin who understands where are, and what we want.  Sarah will give them thier precious interviews, but they are only fooling themselves if they think they will control her future. Sarah is going to DC as the next VP.  You rabid hyenas of the press can snap at her heels all the way to Washington if you want... but when she gets there the door will close in your faces and your fangs will have nothing to sink into and you will skulk back to your little dens of dubious media still puzzled over why she's so popular and why your ratings are running out like sand through a screen.

- Mike Silverman, Milford MA