Thursday, October 6, 2011

A Meandering Musing

Normally my MO is to pick a subject and write about it, offering all of the information I have managed to find on the subject while adding my own opinions into the mix. Today, I want to touch on a variety of subjects -- all politically oriented, of course -- simply because there is too much happening too fast with which to keep up.

Sarah on the Loose
I'll begin with Sarah Palin's decision not to enter the presidential race, a decision that apparently has many of her fans disappointed. While I understand the sentiment, I happen to agree with her choice and the reasons for it, for it was the one I personally hoped she would make.

Based on her performance as Governor of Alaska, I have no doubt she would have made an excellent president, but I believe that she is correct in her own assessment of her effectiveness on the "free range", so to speak. Left unencumbered by the pomp and protocol of the office, Sarah can be a fierce advocate for the principles we hold dear, and a potent champion for those who seek office to that end.

She has a huge following that she will now be free to remain connected without the hindrance of being "president of all the people", not that that has proved much of a deterrent to the current occupant of the Oval Office. To that end, I would hope that all of those who have expressed dismay over her decision not to run will not shun her now out of some feeling of abandonment. Sarah hasn't abandoned you, she has ensured her best chance to fight your battles. Here is the audio of her decision as told to Mark Levin.

Morgan Freeman Broke My Heart
Next up is Morgan Freeman, who cut me to the quick with his recent comments on the Piers Morgan show. To me, Morgan Freeman was one of those beautiful actors who remained above the political fray and, more importantly, out of the racial divide. He is a fabulous actor, of that there is no question, and part of his personal appeal was that one never knew his ideological proclivities.

In all the years I have watched his work, he could have either been a flaming Liberal or a hardcore Conservative. It never mattered much because he never let on, and no one ever asked. And he never appeared to let race impede him. Then he gets on the show and denigrates the entire right of the political spectrum as racists, and he broke my heart. I was heartened, then, to learn that Ali Akbar, a 26-year-old TEA Party organizer, invited Morgan Freeman to meet in Tennessee, in a letter that can be seen here. As far as I'm aware, there has been no response from the actor.

The main crux of Freeman's accusation is that the TEA Party has one goal; to get "this black man out of here", referring to Obama and the White House, respectively. I wonder how Mr. Freeman -- and apparently Samuel L. Jackson has joined the chorus now -- would reconcile the fact that one of the people the TEA Party would love see "this black man" replaced with is...Herman Cain. Truly perplexing.

A TEA Party Hopeful
Herman Cain is a clear TEA Party favorite who has managed in a few short weeks to change my entire perspective on political possibilities. From the moment I was "introduced" to the man, I liked him and his message, but the practical half of my brain had no choice but to dismiss him as a candidate without a prayer. Since only three U.S. Senators have ever been elected President, and no one has ever been elected straight from the House, what chance could even the most qualified and charismatic person have of attaining the Oval Office with virtually no political background?

Then Cain kept pressing ahead, performed well in debates, and won the Florida Straw Poll. Still, I felt it was a momentary glimpse of a very brief glory for a fine man who nonetheless was tilting at windmills while destined to suffer a bitter disappointment in the end. As it turns out, Herman Cain is not accustomed to brief success, nor ever content to rest on his laurels. This man has the practical half of my brain ceding territory to cautious hope. Part of that hope is that this condition spreads amongst the electorate, for it is we who ultimately decide who is president, not the pundits who try to steer our choice.

As President Obama stokes the Occupy Wall Street protests with his class warfare rhetoric, Herman Cain offers those misguided kids some tough love, telling them to blame themselves if they are poor and unemployed. Imagine that...a self-made Black man telling a bunch of privileged white kids to get off their asses and better themselves. Compare that image to a carefully cultivated Black president who incites those same kids to riot against the "wealthy".

So I am sorry to disappoint Morgan Freeman, but the main goal of the TEA Party is not to get a black guy out of the White House simply because he's Black. The goal is to replace him with perhaps another Black man who can restore the people's faith in America and the abilities of the individual as opposed to the current preaching of the futility of life without dependence on the Government.

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