Five Words

Now that Sen. Barack Obama is the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee—at least until HRC and/or her followers pull an “October Surprise” at the party’s convention in Denver —there’s been a lot of talk about who’ll be his VP.

First things, first: let’s get the HRC question out of the way, shall we?

Obama would surely prefer to ingest car battery acid-flavored, bio-toxic waste, than to put her on the ticket. (I’m exaggerating but not by much.) Not only that, but as the VP candidate’s spouse Bill’s got questionable skeletons in his closet that would not pass legal vetting muster. (There’s a reason he’s not agreed to disclose the list of donors to his presidential library.) And if they were to win the election together, President Obama would possibly find himself hampered by what former Carter administration National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski recently called, “a government in exile”, referring to the close proximity of both Bill and HRC waiting their turn. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. You see, aside from the feasibility of a black man/white woman ticket—more on that later—all the nasty comments, attacks and slime that HRC flung Obama’s way are already being recycled and used in GOP attack ads. So, yeah, that’s really gonna bolster the “Hillary as VP” argument. And lest we forget, Obama has billed himself as the “change” candidate. With all the discontent over a perceived Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton dynastic lock on the presidency, putting HRC on the ticket would practically nullify that stance.

Virginia Sen. Jim Webb is my first choice for Obama’s running mate. Very respected, stand up guy, military background, with a son who may still be serving in Iraq. But he's not very immigration-friendly and has had image problems regarding his supposed views on women and the Confederacy in the past. Gen. Wesley Clark is my other choice, and quite possibly the best one: like Sen. Webb he is well-respected, and has the military background, plus he’s a former HRC surrogate/supporter, which could very well help mend fences. But the General comes across rather wimpy sometimes which is very puzzling, considering this was a man whose job title was once NATO Supreme Allied Commander. Hmmm…

As a way to look good with the party’s women folk, Obama could pick Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sibelius, who has a great resume and having to govern her state with a GOP legislature, knows a thing or two about getting things done. But let’s be realistic: you can't do black and female—or black and brown (ex: New Mexico’s Gov. Bill Richardson) for that matter—right now. That Obama is a man of color is a big enough obstacle to overcome in terms of combating racial prejudice and ignorance, even among certain Democrats, let alone the country at large. It's just too much for one election to have a mixed gender/minority race ticket. Maybe soon. But not now.

And as for Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware and former Sen. John Edwards, I predict both will be in the cabinet if Obama wins. (Perhaps Secretary of State and Attorney General, respectively?)

Speaking of Edwards, what is up with his wife Elizabeth? Is she the embodiment of the party's 50+ year old women who feel personally wronged by HRC's defeat? Wake up, people. If you thought 8 yrs of George W. Bush was rough, John "100 Years in Iraq" McCain represents 4 more of Shrub. Or worse. So if these women want the Dems to lose this election out of spite, then to quote the Spin Doctors, just go ahead now. See what happens. Despite McSame being an average candidate at best (the GOP’s John Kerry), with serious antagonists disgruntled with his candidacy within his own ranks, and representing a party and the policies of a supremely failed administration, he’s neck and neck with Obama in current polls. He’s also been lucky enough to run against a black man—thereby getting a potential boost from those prejudiced or flat out racist—so if you gals wanna make it even easier for him to beat Obama go right ahead. But remember this: if Obama loses this election HRC will ALWAYS be blamed for poisoning the well and dividing the party and quite possibly will never be a presidential candidate again. So choose your actions wisely, is all I have to say.

And while on the topic of female candidates, if McCain picks Sarah Palin for VP, Obama might not be down for the count but it could be a serious blow with women, especially the ones truly willing to defect from the Democratic Party. However, the hugely popular—and hot—Alaskan governor recently gave birth to a child with Down Syndrome which could preclude her from hitting the campaign trail just yet. From what I can tell, that lady, comes off as a rebel and individualist, allegedly taking on her party’s ethically-challenged power structure in her state and driving them out of office in the process. Which reminds me, WHEN WILL THE MEDIA FINALLY STOP CALLING McSAME A MAVERICK?!!! He’s been towing the Bush/Cheney line for the longest and disgustingly so, especially in light of the Bush 2000 campaign’s smear attack organized against him in South Carolina by none other than Karl Rove…who is now an advisor to the McSame campaign. I know politics is dirty but c'mon! I used to respect the Arizona senator. I just can’t anymore.

And the Grandpa Simpson-with-his-finger-on-the-button scenario is just too scary.

One recent development I’ve noticed that pleases me is Obama being a bit ballsier in his approach: pulling Sen. Joe Lieberman aside and chastising him for his “personal attacks and his half-hearted denials of the false rumors that Obama is a Muslim”; stating that to compare McSame’s tax plan to that of Shrub’s is actually unfair to Shrub for it is worse than the current administration’s (heh, heh). Sweet. More of that, sir. Yes, indeed.

Finally, and regrettably, I’ve also discovered that according to the always fair and balanced Fox 'News' brain trust, I am a terrorist, as I frequently utilize the fist bump, or “pound” in greeting or in celebration with friends. Well, at least with Obama and his wife Michelle being practitioners of this terrorist code message as well, I’m in good company.

Now, for those five words:

Fired up. Ready to go.

McCain: The O.F.F. (Original Flip-flopper)

According to various reports I've read, the foreword to an edition of David Halberstam's account of JFK's foreign policies--specifically how the Vietnam War came about--The Best and the Brightest (1972) reads thus:

"It was a shameful thing to ask men to suffer and die, to persevere through god-awful afflictions and heartache, to endure the dehumanizing experiences that are unavoidable in combat, for a cause that the country wouldn’t support over time and that our leaders so wrongly believed could be achieved at a smaller cost than our enemy was prepared to make us pay. No other national endeavor requires as much unshakable resolve as war. If the nation and the government lack that resolve, it is criminal to expect men in the field to carry it alone."

You know who wrote that? John "100 Years in Iraq" McCain, that's who. Will the press ask him about it? Maybe. But not before Sen. Obama gets another dozen questions about Rev. Wright first.

Meanwhile, military suicides are at an all-time high; 20% of the soldiers out in the field are on anti-depressants; and many others are going as far as having themselves and/or others hurt and maim them here, so they don't have to go back to Iraq. (Now, it's one thing if the latter are soldiers going on a second tour, but when it's their 5th, 6th, etc...)

Is this how the GOPers/neo-cons support the troops? Wow, then how do they hate?

Wow...

[Things are] "moving so fast in race relations a Negro could be president in 40 years. There's no question about it. In the next 40 years a Negro can achieve the same position that my brother has...[regarding race relations and prejudice]...we have tried to make progress and we are making progress. We are not going to accept the status quo."

- Robert F. Kennedy, 1968.

Holding Out for Hope

Crooks and Liars:

A few more events like this one and we’ll all feel better

by: Steve Benen

It’s possible that Minnesotans are just nicer and more gracious than folks in other parts of the country, but the MinnPost had an interesting report on the Obama rally at the Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday, and the kind of treatment Hillary Clinton’s supporters found when they got there.

Specifically, the head of Clinton ’s Minnesota campaign attended the Obama event, as did a few Clinton-supporting superdelegates, Minnesota ’s Secretary of State, Minneapolis City Council President, and the mayor of St. Paul , all of whom also backed Clinton . Some were reluctant to go, but showed up in the interests of “political healing.”

And they were pleasantly surprised. In fact, both Barack and Michelle Obama met privately with 25 prominent Clinton supporters after the speech.

“He shook my hand and said, ‘Thank you for being here; I’m sure it’s not easy,’ ” said Stevenson of her meeting with Obama. “I thanked him and said that everyone involved in his campaign had been so gracious. I didn’t know what to say, so I mentioned that my daughter works for a federal health clinic. And he knew right away which program I was talking about. He said, ‘Oh that’s wonderful.’ ”

[DFL activist Jackie Stevenson], a feminist and Clinton supporter, had to admit this: “He’s very impressive.”

The report added that Stevenson had arrived at the event with another Clinton backer, and “as they were taken to their seats, people kept stopping to hug them and thank them for being there…. All of the other Clinton supporters received similar treatment.”

The St. Paul mayor added, “I think especially for women of my mother’s generation, it’s going to be very hard. They had waited so long for this (a woman in the White House). But I’ve spoken with a number of women like that in the last day. I think they’ll come around. You don’t spend your life fighting for women’s rights and then vote for Sen. McCain.”

GET THE F@*#& OUT!!!

That's it, I'm done. I’m just sick AND fucking tired of this bullshit.

All these supporters of Sen. Clinton who threaten to vote for John McCain if their candidate is not the nominee can GO FUCK THEMSELVES. Yes, you read right. Let me repeat it so there's no confusion: THEY CAN GO FUCK THEMSELVES. If you truly would vote for McCain over Sen. Obama, knowing well what each represents, then go right ahead. But please, do us all a favor and LEAVE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY NOW. We have no use for divisive, pig-headed, intolerant racists such as yourselves. As I told a good friend the other day, having honest ideological and political differences with Obama is one thing, but rejecting him solely for the color of his skin, or because of blind intolerance and stupidity, as seen and heard when some Clinton supporters in West Virginia openly told the press, "he's a Muslim", or the latest shenanigans at the DNC's Rules & Bylaws Committee hearing, is another thing altogether. Yes, I’m talking to you, Harriett Christian.

“I’m the furthest thing from a racist,” says this crazy bat. NO, YOU ARE NOT. As a matter of fact, she’s the WORST kind of racist: the one who thinks and acts like a racist but somehow thinks they’re not. (Is this the kind of person that many denounce as being worse than all-out racists? That at least with Nazis, white supremacists and KKKers one has no doubt where they stand and as such, can react to them accordingly.) Well, ENOUGH ALREADY. This is what Sen. Clinton has sown with her race-baiting and fear-mongering, fuelled by a twisted sense of entitlement. And now we reap the dirty, polluted harvest.

I don’t care what anybody says, Father Pflegel nailed it when he mocked Sen. Clinton for being pissed off at losing the nomination when, in her mind, this was hers for the taking. Especially, as an acquaintance mentioned recently, an election that by all accounts should be a shoo-in for the Democrats. Well, if anyone was wondering if it was possible for the Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory after the most ruinous presidency in modern times, now more than ever there’s a good chance Harriett Christian and her ilk will make it likely. Fine, we’ll get John W. McCain in November. But I want these petty, egotistical, self-centered crybabies OUT OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. I don’t care if it cracks the party in two. It’ll be worth it if only to rebuild and redefine the party’s mission and message. And to air out the big tent: it has obviously gotten too big.

Just Because You Make it Up, Mr/Mrs. Wingnut, Doesn't Make it So...

Dedicated encounters with religious leaders are a routine thing for politicians. Sen. Obama took in a meeting with a Michigan imam while campaigning out there last week. Guess what? The right wing blogosphere goes berserk: all of a sudden it turns out Imam Hassan Qazwini is...

“one of Hezbollah’s most important imams and agents in America”

“an agent of the Iranian government,” who supports “Palestinian homicide bombings, HAMAS, and Hezbollah.”

And because Obama met with this imam, it “says a lot about the company Obama keeps…and why he shouldn’t be President,” according to wingnut Debbie Schlussel (which is kindly described as “the K-Mart version of Ann Coulter” by blogger Oliver Willis).

Tough spot for Sen. Obama. Except…

Imam Hassan Qazwini gave the opening prayer before Congress in 2003; met with this administration’s National Security Council concerning the toppling of Saddam Hussein; has been invited to the Bush White House about a half dozen times; was an active participant in the president’s Faith Based Initiative event held at the White House.

So, Bush shouldn’t be president since he associates with “one of Hezbollah’s most important imams and agents in America ,” “an agent of the Iranian government,” who supports “Palestinian homicide bombings, HAMAS, and Hezbollah?” What does that say about him?

“How dare you?!” say the wingnuts.

Um, well…

That's Imam Hassan Qazwini on the right.

Wait, it gets better...

Yup.

People, every day the wingnuts pull “facts” out of their asses and think that if they recite them loudly and forcibly enough, we’ll believe them to be true. Or that we’ll forget they’re coming from a criminal hypocrite. (I’m looking at you, Oliver North.) Just like the L.A. talk radio host, Kevin James (not the comedian), who appearing on MSNBC’s Hardball last week, called Obama a ‘terrorist appeaser’ and thus compared the senator to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. Of course, when host Chris Matthews called him on it, we discovered Kevin James had no idea what Chamberlain did or who he was. Why let truth or knowledge get in the way of a good propaganda smear?

How ‘bout William Kristol’s column in the NY Times stating that Obama had no chance to get the Dems’ nomination since no candidate who had lost a state primary by such a wide margin as Obama did in West Virginia—41 points—had, in recent times become a party’s presidential candidate. Hmmm…didn’t McCain get trounced earlier this year by 85 points in Utah and 41 points in Colorado by Mitt Romney, and again by 41 points by Mike Huckabee in Arkansas ?

That’s why the Obama campaign has to be vigilant and confront these clowns immediately and swiftly with catchy sound bites—my new favorite is ‘John W. McCain’—that both sucker punches them in the gut and gets the point across to the masses. That’s what I’m talking about.

[Photos courtesy of OliverWillis.com]

Mess with the Bull

Since the late ‘70s when my parents moved my brother and I from the Bronx to their native country, my mother and late father were closely involved in local politics. I routinely heard them passionately discuss the cynicism, the hypocrisy, the strange bedfellows and alliances, but most importantly the foul nature of politics itself. (And once I was old enough I joined in on these conversations, as well, for baseball and politics are the great pastimes of the homeland and my parents loved both.) Taking in all of these conversations and watching local events unfold, this is the lesson I’ve taken most to heart: politics is dirty, so be an inspiring statesman once in office, but on the road there break every arm you need to, ‘cause they won’t think twice about breaking yours.

This has been on my mind quite a bit lately; since I am an Obama supporter who fears his candidate may in fact make the critical mistake of taking the supposed high road and waging a mostly positive campaign that, in the end, will have us uttering these dreaded two words: President McCain. [shudder]

Remember how the Democrats decided that for their 2004 convention they would “go positive” because that’s what, allegedly, the American people wanted to hear? The Republicans, on the other hand, came to New York, used the tragedy of September 11^th, as both a literal and figurative backdrop for cheap political gain, and hit the Dems hard and nasty. We all know how that election turned out.

But fast forward four years and within the ranks of the Democratic Party itself. Take the Clintons, for example. Everyone knows they play for keeps. They know it’s a dirty business and that it’s the only way to win elections. (Nice guys don’t win playing nice; Jimmy Carter being the lone exception.) They don’t even care about the potential for forever alienating their most loyal constituency, African-Americans, with this kind of race-baiting:

"I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she said. As evidence, [Sen.] Clinton cited an Associated Press article that she said "found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me."

Nice. Classy dame. Say what you will but she knows what the deal is. And that’s the only reason I would feel comfortable with her as the Dem nominee: she probably wouldn’t win, but at the end of the campaign, Sen. McCain would be one of the most blood-soaked president-elects in the history of the United States . I don’t get a feel for that same level of offense for Sen. Obama. We don’t need a more charismatic John Kerry, what we need is a brawler. He can revert to high-mindedness and fair play once the address on his business card reads 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Meanwhile, Sen. McCain, a paragon of virtue if I ever saw one, has been lumping Sen. Obama in with the likes of Hamas, publicly on the The Daily Show and semi-privately by way of his campaign literature mailings:

“Barack Obama's foreign policy plans have even won him praise from Hamas leaders. Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to the Hamas Prime Minister said, ‘We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election. He has a vision to change America.’
We need change in America, but not the kind of change that wins kind words from Hamas, surrenders in Iraq and will hold unconditional talks with Iranian President Ahmadinejad.”

To which the senator from Illinois responded:

“For him to toss out comments like that, I think, is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination.”

This got the McCain camp whining and accusing Obama of using “the age card”. Yeah, well, so what? You think the race and ‘Hussein’ cards won’t be vigorously flashed in the upcoming months left in this race? More of this kind of defense and, more importantly, a pointed offense is what Obama needs to give himself a fighting chance. The audacity of hope only gets you so far.

Which is why I’m worried. But I need not be. Yes, Clinton is waiting or fabricating another ‘gotcha’ moment for Obama, as her above statement indicates. But she’s on the ropes and hopefully she’s done her worst damage to him already (feeding Rev. Wright to the media). And McCain is easily beatable. Yes, easily beatable. He has one thing, and one thing only in his favor: that in the end, regardless of multiple defining criteria, a majority of the American people may favor an old white man over a young black man. Period. If that can be neutralized or diminished somehow, the laundry list of his crucial blunders, ineptitude-bearing gaffes, galling hypocrisies, flat out lies, and two, yes, hate-mongering, paranoid pastors he has yet to disown, make him a very easy target. But this is if, and let me reiterate, IF Obama steps up and hammers him like a candy starved, red-headed stepchild going after a piñata. Otherwise…

Wright or Wrong?

Right now, there are so many things going on in my head regarding the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s recent appearances and the controversial nature of the sermons that first brought him to national attention during this campaign for the presidency. It’s made me look closer at this man of the cloth and think a bit more about his message, intended or not. In essence, I equate the aforementioned fiery sermons with Muhammad Ali’s notorious “Ain’t no Viet Cong ever call me nigger” statement: pregnant with uncomfortable truths no one really wants to address and ones many would rather sweep under the rug that covers our great racial, social and economic divide.

Many have talked about Rev. Wright recently distancing himself from Sen. Barack Obama by repeatedly differentiating the words and works of a pastor with those of a politician, and derisively so. Some have stated that the Rev. is jealous of the senator’s rise to prominence over his own. And that his irate and sarcasm-filled appearance on Monday at the Natural Press Club—organized by one Barbara Reynolds, who the New York Daily News calls “an enthusiastic Hillary Clinton supporter”—is nothing more than a misguided, yet effective effort to put Obama in his place, as far as Wright is concerned. (Although I must say, in a just world “I served six years. How long did Cheney serve?” would be the most popular sound bite of the year.)

Maybe. But I’d like to think the Rev. is putting Sen. Obama to the test for a nobler purpose, even if the method is highly questionable. It seems to me Wright wants Obama to face the facts surrounding racism and inequality head on, without compromise; that he feels this is an extraordinary opportunity for the views of many African-Americans, and other minorities in this regard, to be aired via the candidacy of the most promising candidate of color we have seen in our lifetimes. And one he just happens to have a personal, spiritual connection with.

Obama’s non-wholesale embracing of many of these views—which like the percentage of those ‘not ready to vote for a black president’ is held by a number of people much higher than we are led to believe—is perhaps what has led Rev. Wright to castigate Obama by calling him a “politician”, which he clearly uses as a euphemism for charlatan or imposter. He probably feels that Sen. Obama should make the points that we all know to be true about racism, poverty, and inequality, regardless of who is upset by them. I personally would love to see that happen. Unfortunately, unbridled truth—or your interpretation of it—may or may not win adherents but it has yet to become part of the formula conducive to winning elections in American politics. I think Wright knows that very well, but does not care. I’d not be surprised to learn he’d prefer Sen. Obama to lose being blunt and unwavering in his pronouncements than to win by being cautious and guarded with his statements.

Of course, if I am wrong about Rev. Wright’s intentions, then he will be revealed as petty and jealous, and one who sacrificed a good man and candidate for the glory of his bruised ego.

It's All Good (CNN)

I was already pissed off.

A few nights ago I set out to hear a friend dj-ing at a bar in Manhattan's Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. I brought with me a printout of a lengthy Rolling Stone piece by Matt Taibbi titled "The Rip-off in Iraq: You Will Not Believe How Low the War Profiteers Have Gone." Another friend had e-mailed it to me a week prior but I hadn’t had a chance to read it. The 45-minute subway ride into the city from Brooklyn would prove perfect for me to sink my teeth into it.

As I got further and further into the article it’s subtitle was made clear and my disbelief became dismay and later turned to anger as I read accounts of how a series of hand-picked private US contractors in Iraq, through cronyism, ineptitude and blatant greed, had defrauded millions and millions of dollars from the government. And what was worse, these criminals of war—with the assistance, implicit and not, of our own judges and government officials—avoided prosecution or jail, while whistle-blowers were threatened, demoted and ostracized. Where the hell was the public outcry?! Where the hell was the media?!

Woo-hoo, Halliburton and its ilk win again! And again. And again.

The next day I was off from work and made the mistake of tuning into CNN in the early hours of the afternoon, only to find repeated clips of President Bush’s recent speech littered with lies, half-truths, and misleading comments concerning the current state of Iraq. I was starting to lose it. But it got better: it turns out that this administration’s Criswell, Vice-President Dick Cheney, had just compared US-installed Afghani puppet Hamid Karzai to Nelson Mandela.

Yes, you read right. Speaking to troops at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, Cheney had compared a long-time oil company shill to a Nobel Peace Prize-winning champion of peace and reconciliation, who’d endured 3 decades of imprisonment and torture. And no one seemed to bat an eyelash. No one. But if a hero and symbol of unity and hope could be so callously and disrespectfully brought down to that level while the media just sat there complicitly—where’s Al Sharpton when you REALLY need him?—imagine the kind of irresponsible sensationalism the "news" people could inflict on the most hated man in America, second only to Bin Laden himself, as he found himself in trouble with the law again.

I don’t know about you, but the first mental picture I got from the "OJ Simpson Suspect In Casino Armed Robbery" headline bandied about the news that day, was Simpson cracking into a Vegas casino vault, and with ski-masked, automatic rifle-toting accomplices making a getaway while hauling out a flatbed worth of cash. "Wow, he’s cracked. He got that desperate? Damn." The big, evil, black man strikes fear into the hearts of America once again. Mission accomplished, indeed.

While watching a live press conference with the sheriff in charge of the investigation—as well as some web surfing on my own—I learn that Simpson, having been alerted by a an auction house of a secret sale of allegedly stolen memorabilia of his, went to a Vegas hotel room where the secret sale was being held to reclaim what he believed were his stolen belongings. The sheriff further stated that Simpson was cooperating with the investigation, had not been charged, and was free to leave the state of Nevada. As I write this on Sunday afternoon, Simpson has since been arrested and charged with multiple felonies in this case.

But 48 hours prior, at that moment in time when the headline announced what looked like the potential plot of Ocean’s Fourteen, no one cared that a man may have been unfairly characterized in the media at this level. Of course, not. After all, not even Hitler is as despised in this country as Simpson is. (Before you accuse me of hyperbole and invoke Godwin's Law ask yourself this: does OJ have hundreds of thousands of adoring adherents ready and willing to rise in his defense and, if necessary, kill innocent women and children in his name?)

So, because a massively hated individual is subject to irresponsible accusations in the mass media we’re supposed to be fine with that? Hey, he deserves all he’s got coming to him, right? Fine.

But, hope to God or whatever higher power you may or may not believe in, that you aren’t in the middle of some sensationalistic ratings-driving situation. ‘Cause now, we’re all guilty before proven innocent. So don’t complain when they come knocking at your door, OK?

Don’t start bemoaning the lack of respect for principle when they plaster your name and irrelevant but possibly juicy details of your personal life all over the place.

And no getting all self-righteous by calling your fellow countrymen a nation of mindless, desensitized, B-list celebrity-worshipping, shop-a-holics just because you’re being dragged through the mud and nobody cares.

After all, when the Supreme Court-picked worst president in history ignored urgent warnings of an Al-Qaeda attack prior to Sept. 11, 2001, and further endangered us all by dragging this country through a blood-for-oil quagmire in Iraq, rife with corruption and incompetence, coupled with outright disdain for the American people, we let him and his henchmen get away with it. So why should we get up in arms at Nelson Mandela’s name and reputation being used as a cheap, political toy, let alone the media’s early handling of this most recent episode in the OJ Simpson soap opera? Who cares?

Screw it, let’s just go shopping.

Bob Barr Weighs In On Current US Attorneys Scandal

As I mentioned a few days ago, the fan's about to splatter. This is what former Republican Congressman and former US Attorney, Bob Barr had to say about the current US Attorneys scandal:

"...the Department of Justice is being used as a political football by the administration..."

By the way, if the Democrats manage to lose the 2008 election--which short of Gore (yes, I said Gore) or Obama getting caught having sex with a little boy, is practically a done deal--they should close up shop and go home. Seriously.

Oh, and call me a dreamer, but I'm hoping for a Gore/Obama ticket. Like the man (Paul McCartney) once said, "That would be something...."

Spare the ‘Rod

Not too long ago my mother visited with me here in Brooklyn for a few weeks. Incredibly, despite how close we are, we had not seen each other in over two years, since I went home for Christmas 2003. Needless to say, I was looking forward to hangin’ and spending quality time with the Moms. The succulent home-cooked meals were just an added plus.

One of Mother’s pet peeves has been the dearth of quality programming emanating from the Spanish-language TV networks here in the States. I mean, really, a near constant barrage of telenovelas –-soap operas-- with a few entertainment/gossip/game shows interspersed does not constitute programming in my book. Or hers. Which is why after a few days of frustration she gave up on the Univisions and Telemundos, and found herself on the couch watching Yankee games with her eldest son.

Now, this isn’t much of a stretch: Mom’s a baseball fan. Back in the Dominican she’s a lifelong fan of her hometown team, Santiago’s Aguilas Cibaeñas. In fact, a second cousin of hers, Miguel Diloné, is an Aguilas Hall of Famer, and former team manager. (Interestingly, in the Dominican winter league, the Aguilas ballclub are the Red Sox to Santo Domingo’s Tigres del Licey’s Yankees. Guess who I root for?) And before the rampant crime wave that currently grips the Dominican in a unyielding vise made it a dicey proposition to partake of outdoor sporting events, she was also known to be regularly at the game rooting for her team. So, Mom and I watching the Yankees on TV is no big deal, right? But what really surprised me was how much of a supporter she’s become of none other than the recently besieged Alex Rodriguez.

For those of you that may not know or care, A-Rod–-as he’s popularly known--is the Yankees’ third baseman, the reigning American League MVP and the highest-paid player in U.S. sports history (to the tune of 25 million dollars per season). He’s also in the midst of a crippling slump that has made him the recipient of constant booing at Yankee Stadium and the focus of endless speculation–-and even a bit of distinctly biased ribbing--by the sports media.

My mother has taken up the man’s cause to the point of calling in sports shows in the Dominican to defend him and criticize them for their unfair--and in her opinion, decidedly envious--portrayal of him. As a matter of fact, she still hasn’t gotten over the harassment that Rodriguez was subjected to by the Dominican sports media a while back, after he answered a question regarding his nationality and heritage in a manner not to their liking. (For the record, he stated his nationality as of the United States and his heritage, of course, as Dominican. In the Dominican, the sports mafia were incensed that the NY-born, Miami-bred, of Dominican parents A-Rod had given such an answer. ‘He was supposed to give the same answer to both. The nerve!’ Losers…) Our Mother’s fondness for A-Rod is such that my brother and I have taken to refer to him jokingly as “our little brother”.

But why A-Rod? There are plenty of other guys in baseball that could use the prayers, good will, and support. Why has Mom focused on championing this ballplayer in a way I have rarely, if ever, seen her embrace a stranger before? I watched the whole thing with mirthful bemusement until it finally hit me.

My numbers could be slightly off, but I would estimate that 99% of the Dominican players in Major League Baseball were born on the island. Like my brother and I, A-Rod was born in Manhattan’s predominantly Dominican neighborhood of Washington Heights. His were working class parents that came to this country looking for a piece of the American Dream. And guess what? He doesn’t need to wear that stupid "I Am the American Dream" t-shirt making the rounds these days because he clearly is the American Dream. But like most immigrant success stories there’s the leaving of the homeland behind; the being mostly-raised by a single mother; the money-tight living; and the supportive extended family that many of us born of immigrants have had and that almost all of us can relate to. This is what draws Mom to Mr. Rodriguez: not so much who he is but, more importantly, the circumstances, sacrifices and ultimately, perseverance of his family that led him to be who he is. In other words, that could’ve been me, my brother, or one of my many cousins. Now, I get it.

So, even though I haven’t been happy with his recent performance on the field–-not to the point of booing him, though. What kind of bullshit is that?--I’m gonna join Mom in rooting for no. 13 a little harder than before. After all, as Mom’s little lesson has taught me, no matter what uniform A-Rod wears, he’ll always be one of ours.