The Obama & McCain Mutiny

With my wife safely off to work, I am better able to sit on a sofa still in my skivvies and still in front of the family T.V. a beer is in one hand and the remaining half of a lit two dollar stogie is in the other. I am watching all the political intrigue on the T.V. with one eye and on the look out for my wife with the other, but I am thinking about what the great basketball player Kareem-Abdul-Jabar said on T.V. earlier, something about the importance of accepting the challenge off a more skilled adversary who is fully capable of kicking your butt or the collective butts of others who might dare to take the opposite side of the field

If I understand this gentleman correctly, he is suggesting that by having the courage to challenge a more skilled individual on a level playing field we are offered the opportunity to play, and learn. Jabar offers the promises that if we pay attention during the game, we will emerge from the encounter as a bettered prepared competitor capable of quicker and sweeter moves against any future adversary. Failure to accept the challenge of a superior player that is almost always the result of a horrific pride limits the opportunity to develop skills, often results in the loss of future encounters and the accusation that the other side is a part of a great "right wing conspiracy", a tear and the loud complaints of a lack of friends to come to aid in the defense of a behavior that is indefensive.

All of this took me a while to get. But in time after so much, playing and loosing, but lucky enough to be provided with the support and patience of good and trusted friends, I did get it; there are such things as open and honest confrontations with each side going back to the locker room afterward and spending the remainder of the day or the weekend in a heated whirlpool provided for sore muscles, drinking a little Gatorade, sweating like a sinner in church and becoming more appreciative of the kind of win-win situations and the lessons that a competitor must lean in order to prevail. This lesson is what the great coaches attempt to teach their team, and if the team learns the lesson well, they go on to become really great teams.

Unfortunately, many politicians do not get it right. Unwilling or unable to learn, from past mistakes many of these politicians continue in desperation and old and outdated strategies that are no longer effective. These are the folks with the tighter buns and the anal personalities who are locked in a downward spiral toward the darker side of human behavior seeking by any means necessary to achieve their goals.

At the end of World War 1 and the failure of the Weimar Republic that was made up of German officials who were "better horsemen than politicians", Hitler," the Bohemian corporal" stepped out of the smoke and ashes of a defeated nation to claim the title of Derr Fuhrer. Eric Fromm a respected German psychologist, sociologist, and author offers Hitler's successful emergence as a rare opportunity made possible by the brutal terms imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles at the end of the First World War, the inability of inept German leaders to ward off the inanity that emerged from the chaos of a defeated nation, the sense of hopelessness among the German people struggling for survival during the" hard times" that followed. and the escape from freedom, the surrender of political power by the German population to a man who better articulated the concerns, doubts and fears of a defeated population, and promised to right all of the many injustices that had taken so much from them. The argument is that Hitler's success's were not the result of statesmen like skills, but more accurately a brutal grab for power that succeeded because of the total collapse of a defeated nations economic, political, social system and the inability of a German populace to regain it's courage.

The political structure of a more responsible political system were now replaced by the blustering of a mad man who depended on the assets of a private army, powerful propaganda and the destruction of any viable adversary. Once in power," a night of the long nights" to achieve political legitimacy by eliminating those brutal others who had contributed so much to his success, the betrayal of those with more lofty goals, and the
elimination of more honorable and capable candidates followed. It was the only way Hitler could hope to remain in power .It was the only thing this leader knew.

One noted writer suggested it occurred "While England slept". Other say it was France's willingness to drink wine and hesitate that made Hitler's successes possible. This is a part of history that took place over half a century ago but, it is a part of history that all civilized countries have learned from. We too are now facing hard times; we too are embittered, and frustrated. After too many years of escaping from the freedom to select more qualified candidates and paying the price, the evidence now suggest the voters of the United States are now no longer willing to surrender their freedom to vote, and lose by default. They have instead begun paying closer attention to the qualifications of the candidates and the strength of character that are a requirement. Small Hitler's are no longer an acceptable part of the equation.

Good men of poise, intelligence, character and greater courage have once again stepped forward and the American voter is watching and learning.

A young man like the tall, affable, black man from the streets of Chicago has taken his place on the field. Achieving the ranks of academic excellence on the campus of a university noted for demanding academic achievement and offered an opportunity to make quick and larger bucks among the" Captains of Industry", this candidate preferred instead to take a step back and a glance around. This young man may have been silly enough to marry a beautiful person who many say is his intellectual equal but, he is also a man who has been generous and courageous enough to go onto the streets of his home town to organize and motivate and, in the process, offer "the audacity to hope". The walls of the political system continue to reverberate from the force and eloquence of the young mans message that in essence says "yes we can".

There is also the older man from the great state of Arizona who emerged from the United States Naval Academy with a gentleman's C grade point average, but made up for this failing by displaying an undeniable determination and perseverance. As a young man, he earned the moniker "nasty" by willing to fight anyone. As a naval aviator, he went on liberty calls that have been described by at least one colleague as "train wrecks". He also joined valued friends by taking off and landing on something that from great heights has got to look like a tombstone. This is the same man who earned a reputation as a "maverick" by refusing to tolerate the greed and corruption of others of far lesser character during the twenty years he has served as a United States senator.

All agree that this is a genuine war hero, a naval aviator who survived not only the disastrous fire aboard the Enterprise that one hundred and twenty three of his comrades perished in, but also, the twenty three combat missions over North Viet Nam and the crash of his A-4 Sky hawk in enemy territory that landed him in a POW camp for five and a half years. Others may describe themselves as "come back kids", but they are little more than the poorest kind of amateurs. This battle scared war hero is much more. By arguing that an honorable army general be provided with "more boots on the ground" and asked only that this officer be provided an opportunity to win, Johnny McCain has provided our country with a comeback army. The surge that so many politicians of lesser qualification resisted are now claimed by this man from Arizona as the McCain surge and who might demonstrate the shame to deny him

There are so many others, the little Israeli from Connecticut who demonstrated the clinkers to challenge the power of a sitting president , the round man of Mexican heritage from the plains of New Mexico with a more complete and impressive résumé, and of course the little pediatrician from only the gods know where. I wish each of them well. What more can the American voter ask for from their candidates.

The evidence is beginning to suggest that two candidates have demonstrated the character the American voter is seeking. By doing so, they are turning from others who prefer to launch a stiletto in the dark and fog of what has become a bitter political war between honorable men and the other kind who prefer the dark. Hopefully, the American voter will continue to watch and learn and be aware.

The great Kareem-Abdul-Jabar has got to be proud.