"WHAT YA GOT & WHAT YA GETTIN'"...

Check out my father-in-law's blog here! It's awesome and inspiring! The blog also got me thinking--what exactly IS the problem with the Democrats this fall?

My friend Dave made a good point. You can never underestimate the ability of Americans to vote against their own best interest. Many people would rather vote for their particular "wedge issue" (abortion rights, immigration, gun rights, etc.) as opposed to taking a hard look at the economy, the war in the Middle East or rising gas prices and then voting for who has the best overall plan.

I agree also that the race card isn't a big factor yet--although a recent article in Salon.com seems to indicate that some working class voters, especially in Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and parts of the South, may harbor ingrained prejudices about Obama that they may not even realize when they are assessing this presidential campaign.

One thing I'm pretty sure about is that having Hillary Clinton on the ticket would not have been a slam dunk for the Democrats. As much as her campaign energized female Democrats it would have totally mobilized the GOP even more. And don't forget that for all of her strengths, Clinton had the highest negative polling numbers of any presidential candidate.

There are 50 days until Election Day and we haven't seen anything yet. It should be quite a sprint to the finish and I'm rooting for Obama, but the key for the Dems will be hammering away, in forceful and direct language at just how ridiculous the notion is that the McCain-Palin ticket is the one that's going to bring change to the American people. To follow an old axiom of journalism: tell them what you're going to tell them. tell them and then tell them what you told 'em.

Broncos-Chargers Classic
I feel sorry for any football fan who didn't get to watch that sick Denver-San Diego game on Sunday. You can watch the NFL for ten years and never see a game with that many ups and downs, twists and turns and record-setting performances. Oh, and this just in: the NFL rulebook has gotten out of control and makes no sense. You can reverse a bad call via replay if there's a disputed fumble on a receiving or running play, but not if the quarterback fumbles the ball in the act of trying to pass? What?! I could play quarterback in the NFL--I'd never get hit, I would never have to dive on a loose ball and as long as I run twenty feet or so I could throw the ball away without penalty at the first sign of trouble. Bronco Nagurski must be spinning in his grave.

But the move by Mike Shanahan at the end of the game, while shocking and nerveracking at the time, was the right call whether or not the Broncos converted the two-point conversion. When your defense sucks as much as Denver's does and you've received as many breaks as Denver did yesterday, you've got to go for the win when the best opportunity presents itself, damn the percentages. It'll be hard to top the "Insanity at Invesco" this past Sunday as the best game of the NFL season.

Peace...