SLEIGHT-OF-HAND

September 11, 2008

“We have real problems in this country right now, and the American people are looking to us for answers, not distractions, not diversions, not manipulations." Barack Obama

As part of my self-education regarding the political process, and what is happening with the candidates during this election season, I have been doing a lot of reading. Yesterday I focused on the candidates’ websites and, just as when I read the parties’ Political Platforms there were some interesting differences. One in particular glared out at me.

The Obama/Biden website has an entire section entitled “Fight the Smears/Spread the Truth.” When I enter it, I read all “those stories” I have been receiving in my inbox. “Obama is a Muslim,” “Obama won’t say the Pledge of Allegiance,” you know the ones. OhmyGod…Just like the “Dear Madam: I am writing to inform you that your help is required for my $10 million inheritance to leave Botswana…” email, here they all were, the outright lies, the ridiculous innuendos. Accompanying each of these ludicrous stories was THE TRUTH - where the story, rumor, implication came from, who started it, who spread it and who funded it and most importantly what I could do to spread THE TRUTH to everyone I know. So much money, such a huge endeavor to tell lies. So much effort, so much energy expended to erase them.

I move on to the McCain/ Palin website. Surely, there must be a similar area on this site addressing these same types of stories. I looked everywhere and found nothing. The only thing featured yesterday on the McCain/Palin site is the “Lipstick Ad.” Have you seen it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w613nayrYwo

Here is the full account of what Senator Obama said: “John McCain says he’s about change too. I guess his whole angle is, ‘Watch out George Bush – except for Economic Policy, Health Care Policy, Tax Policy, Education Policy, Foreign Policy and Karl Rove Style Politics – we’re really going to shake up Washington.’ That’s not change. That’s calling the same thing something different. You can put lipstick on a pig…it’s still a pig. You can wrap up an old fish in a piece of paper and call it change. It’s still gonna stink after 8 years. We’ve had enough.”

Personally, I think the Republicans are just trying to distract us from the real issues - $4 a gallon gasoline, the war in Iraq, the national deficit, the mortgage crisis, the failing dollar, rising food costs, violence, unemployment, all the things that keep us awake at night.

It’s as if the Republicans are magicians performing some kind of sleight-of-hand with the American people. They are using any number of the magician’s techniques - manipulation, misdirection, deceit to name a few – to lead us away from the important matters – the issues that affect our lives on a daily basis, the fact that we need a real change in this country. In this way, they will fool us into believing that their candidate is the better leader and their platform, the better roadmap.

We no longer have the luxury of falling for their tricks. We must be educated and aware of what they are doing. We must take matters into our own hands and tell the Republicans, “Enough is enough! We are through with a Republican Administration, with this war, with this economy. We want change and we want it now. ” THROW BACK THE BONE!

Kathy B.