Shoes and Youth: A Fab Combo for McCain

The daughter of presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, is putting a youthful and fun spin on her father's campaign.

An article in the Washington Post today highlights Meghan McCain's love of shoes (I like her already) and her father.

She has a blog, McCainBlogette, that even a Democrat can love. She takes readers behind the scenes, commenting on and taking pictures of everything, including, as the Post points out, cute shoes. The Blog description reads, "Musings and Pop Culture on the Political Trail." A perfectly appropriate tagline.

She adds a very human element to all things political. You read about the early mornings and the big figures that one meets along a presidential campaign trail.

She even makes playlists for her readers.

A post about a BBQ the McCains held for journalists in their backyard was a personal fav of mine. Complete with pictures of McCain in a hokey sweatshirt.

Though some may say Meghan could be a political liability, the cute, youthful blonde daughter of the white haired presidential contender can only spell good things for the McCain campaign (as long as there isn't a sex tape).

Forget Disarmament, We'll Give You Nuclear Technology!

The United States found out last week that it accidentally sent Taiwan 4 tips to nuclear missile warheads. 2 years ago.

The package was supposed to contain helicopter batteries but instead included the electrical fuses for Minuteman nuclear missiles. Whoops!

Taiwan has sent the parts back. They also say they did not attempt to copy any of the technology. (Does anyone actually believe that? I sure don't, but hey, that's just my observation.)

The whole incident has left China and the Department of Defense with a bad taste in their mouths.

Look at the video of the press conference for more details.

5 long years down... ? to go

It's the 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq. (I always thought "anniversary" was a word that should be reserved for happy occasions. Oh, well.)

Bush, is looking on the bright side of, what most Americans consider to be, his folly and celebrating the 1 year anniversary of the surge. Woopie!

The tolls, monetary and human, of the war are higher than expected. (Have you ever noticed the death toll only ever includes American troops, and never Iraqi civilian deaths?)

All the presidential candidates are focused on the day. Both Clinton and Obama are making speeches today about the war. And McCain is in Baghdad.

American citizens haven't forgotten either.

Race in America

I don't want to make this post about Obama, but I do want to make sure everyone knows about the speech he made today. Not because of what it means for him and for his campaign, but because of the content: The honest and often unacknowledged truth about race in America.

He was honest in a way that is uncommon among politicians, especially those running for the highest position in the land.

Obama has come under harsh scrutiny because of some of the words of his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Wright has talked about white Americans in ways that do not sit well with me or anyone else.

Obama, though, distanced himself from the controversial words while opening up the American people to the anger of blacks and resentment of whites that often does not get voiced in public.

His speech, I dare say, is the "I Have a Dream," of our generation.

Admiting Defeat...or something like that

I refuse to take a page from Hillary Clinton's playbook. Thus, I will acknowledge the fact that Team Obama did not perform as well as we had hoped in last night's long anticipated primaries.
But let's put things in perspective, folks.

Yes, Clinton won three primaries last night. But, this is only after 13 straight primaries (if you throw Vermont in there since it was the first to report its results last night) for Obama.

They seem so vastly important because we've had to wait awhile for them and the media told us they were make or break for Clinton, which was true.

So now Clinton is not dropping out of the race. Yet.

Let's remember that she is still behind in the delegates. With the difference being virutally the same as it was before the "big" wins for Clinton.

Also, Obama had a rough week because of claims that he flip flopped on NAFTA (something, if true, Clinton is guilty of as well) and having to defend his former relationship with Tony Rezko, whose trial started at the worst time possible.

It is also important to keep in mind that Obama has been behind in the polls in Pennsylvania, the next big primary state. But that is 7 weeks away.

Time, we have seen, is on Obama's side. He is taking a two day rest and then is going to barnstorm PA.

So don't let the headlines fool you. The only thing the results really show is the skin on Clinton's teeth is a little thicker than I would have hoped.

BREAKING NEWS: US fires missles at Somali terror target

This morning another tense situation has broken out on the African continent, and this time the United States is directly involved.

According to a story on CNN International, "The United States on Monday used precision missiles to strike a 'known terrorist target' in southern Somalia, a U.S. military official said. The strike near Dhoobley, which is close to the Kenyan border, was aimed at a 'facility where there were known terrorists' affiliated with East African al Qaeda operations, according to the official." The U.S. has still not reported any casualties, but 3 women and 3 children are among the dead according to Dhoobley's District Commissioner Ali Nur Ali Dherr who spoke with CNN.

Officials from the U.S. said the strike was executed very carefully in order to avoid hitting any civilians. No word yet, either, on whether the target the U.S. was aiming for was among the 20 other injuries reported by Dherr.

This is certainly something to watch.

Elections, Elections Everywhere

So as not to be ego-centrist I think it is important to note that there are places all over the world that have had or will have elections in the recent past or near future. These elections are so important to the relations with America and the stability of the countries themselves.

Just look at Kenya. A brutal killing spree verging on ethnic-cleansing/civil war has been raging all because of a disputed election. It looks like now there may be an agreement as the party that "lost" the election has negotiated a prime minister position supplementing the presidency (the powers have not been decided but but it is a step in the right direction).

Then Cuba had an "election," actually should be called an appointment but that's besides the point, that could change the entire dynamic of Cuban-American relations. Even if Raul Castro has been called "Fidel lite"

Pakistan just had an election replacing Musharraf. Bush continues to back the unpopular leader to the chagrin of Pakistanis. This will be something for Americans to watch carefully. Democracy is democracy. Bush has to be aware of the fact that he has touted government by the people for so long (even using it as an excuse for war). If the citizens of a country want a new leader Bush better be prepared to work with that person to negotiate a new anti-terrorism policy.

Russia has an election coming up where Putin has all but ordained his successor.

Check out all the upcoming elections here.