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Here Comes The Sun
Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump ...
If listen closely in between the crows of the rooster this historic morning, you can hear the pounding.
The rapid heartbeats should be born out of great anticipation. Instead, there are thumping away by virtue of the most vile of all four-letter words -- fear.
I would wager a pretty penny or two that some of you reading this still haven't made up your minds upon whom to vote for today.
To left, you have Barack Obama and running mate Joe Biden. To the right, there is John McCain and sidekick Sarah Palin.
Given where we are in this country -- and the fact that more than 90 percent of Americans think we're heading in the wrong direction -- it should be a landslide.
McCain, for better or worse, is wearing the brand of the party that dug the hole. He rubber-stamped many of the flawed decisions that pushed us into that hole. He rationlized it, which equated to trying to bury us alive.
Obama, overcoming all odds, represents a new dawn.
He won't dig us out in 12 seconds, but he will. He has the vision and intellect to surround himself with dynamic people who, together, will point us toward tomorrow instead of yesterday.
But there is a catch. Obama is 50 percent black, which is 50 percent too much for a lot of America to swallow.
And so, for that reason alone, we will have a close election today. Obama should still eke out a win in terms of popular vote and surpass the magic number needed in electoral votes.
But one never knows.
So I'm taking to the mound to make one last pitch -- despite a sore arm.
A lot of you are scared. You're not racist, at least not in a KKK or Karl Rove sense, but you are afraid -- afraid of the dark (pun intended).
Let's just be politically correct and call it ... culturally insecurity.
Well, before it's too late, let's flip the switch and look at this thing logically and try to ease some fears with five reasons to do the clear-cut right thing and vote for the Obama-Biden ticket today:
5) The Vice Presidential Choices: And this goes to judgment as much as anything else. Sarah Palin was a no-name from nowhere, which created a temporary mystique that wore off fast with all but the faithful. Her down-home pluck might make her a go-getter of a governor in Alaska, but the thought of her being a heartbeat away from the Oval Office is downright frightening. McCain, whose mantra was "country first," clearly put politics first with his choice. On the other hand, Biden is an accomplished politician -- as much, if not more so than McCain -- and complements Obama (which Palin fails to do for McCain).
4) The Face of Race: We are just a day away from a magical turning point. It could be that once-fantastical day when every parent can now look their child in the eye and say you can do anything, even be president, and mean it. But it goes beyond that. As a Hillary Clinton backer, I scoffed as much as anyone at Obama's speech on race -- right here in Philadelphia -- in the midst of the Rev. Wright debacle. When I review the speech now, I alternate between being ashamed of myself and being overwhelmed with the message. It is fair to say that the discussion of race in America -- often conducted in whispers and hushed tones -- will change forever with an Obama presidency. For good and decent Americans, which most of us are, sillyfears will be allayed. There will be certain cards black America can no longer play, which may advance the discussion. Conversely, it will be easier to spot and hunt down the racists that have been hiding in the closets in every corner of the country. There will be rough spots, but we will emerge better for it in the end. The best taboo is no taboo.
3) Our Standing In The World: I also downplayed this argument when Obama first came onto the scene, but it really is important that we restore our image as the country to emulate. It's not that way anymore, and that's simply tragic.
2) The War On Terror Will Gain Focus: Obama didn't pick Biden because he planned to go into a pacifists' shell. He always saw the Iraq War, which is the unspoken heat lamp atop our economic meltdown, as folly. He will end that so-called war so we can hunt down those who actually attacked us on Sept. 11. And if you believe that John McCain is some kind of a Superman who can fly through the air -- with Palin clapping her pom-poms from the ground -- and stop a plane before it hits a building, I think we should legalize whatever it is you are smoking. We are always safer with the more rational thinker. You want mission accomplished? You'll have a better chance of getting it.
1) Balance: It's healthy to eat fruits and vegetables and protein, but too much of any are no good. If you overload on Vitamin C, for example, you are at risk for kidney stones. Huh? What? I'm a Democrat -- although I've voted for plenty of Republicans over the years (maybe even McCain before he sold his soul to the far-right devils) -- but I wouldn't want a Democrat in the White House for more than two terms. It's just not healthy. Yes, the executive branch is only one-third of the power base, but he (or, one-day, she) sets the tone. The president has veto power and appoints the Supreme Court justices that are really going to shape the nation for average people like us. No matter how much of a centrist --let alone a populist -- a president may try to be, there is no way he can represent the needs of all Americans at one time. There will always be groups of people disenfranchised. When it's the same groups for too long of a period of time, it's just not a healthy balance.
So there it is.
Take a moment. Breath deep. In and out. And sing along with the George Harrison-penned masterpiece:
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it's all right
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it's all right
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right
It's all right
If listen closely in between the crows of the rooster this historic morning, you can hear the pounding.
The rapid heartbeats should be born out of great anticipation. Instead, there are thumping away by virtue of the most vile of all four-letter words -- fear.
I would wager a pretty penny or two that some of you reading this still haven't made up your minds upon whom to vote for today.
To left, you have Barack Obama and running mate Joe Biden. To the right, there is John McCain and sidekick Sarah Palin.
Given where we are in this country -- and the fact that more than 90 percent of Americans think we're heading in the wrong direction -- it should be a landslide.
McCain, for better or worse, is wearing the brand of the party that dug the hole. He rubber-stamped many of the flawed decisions that pushed us into that hole. He rationlized it, which equated to trying to bury us alive.
Obama, overcoming all odds, represents a new dawn.
He won't dig us out in 12 seconds, but he will. He has the vision and intellect to surround himself with dynamic people who, together, will point us toward tomorrow instead of yesterday.
But there is a catch. Obama is 50 percent black, which is 50 percent too much for a lot of America to swallow.
And so, for that reason alone, we will have a close election today. Obama should still eke out a win in terms of popular vote and surpass the magic number needed in electoral votes.
But one never knows.
So I'm taking to the mound to make one last pitch -- despite a sore arm.
A lot of you are scared. You're not racist, at least not in a KKK or Karl Rove sense, but you are afraid -- afraid of the dark (pun intended).
Let's just be politically correct and call it ... culturally insecurity.
Well, before it's too late, let's flip the switch and look at this thing logically and try to ease some fears with five reasons to do the clear-cut right thing and vote for the Obama-Biden ticket today:
5) The Vice Presidential Choices: And this goes to judgment as much as anything else. Sarah Palin was a no-name from nowhere, which created a temporary mystique that wore off fast with all but the faithful. Her down-home pluck might make her a go-getter of a governor in Alaska, but the thought of her being a heartbeat away from the Oval Office is downright frightening. McCain, whose mantra was "country first," clearly put politics first with his choice. On the other hand, Biden is an accomplished politician -- as much, if not more so than McCain -- and complements Obama (which Palin fails to do for McCain).
4) The Face of Race: We are just a day away from a magical turning point. It could be that once-fantastical day when every parent can now look their child in the eye and say you can do anything, even be president, and mean it. But it goes beyond that. As a Hillary Clinton backer, I scoffed as much as anyone at Obama's speech on race -- right here in Philadelphia -- in the midst of the Rev. Wright debacle. When I review the speech now, I alternate between being ashamed of myself and being overwhelmed with the message. It is fair to say that the discussion of race in America -- often conducted in whispers and hushed tones -- will change forever with an Obama presidency. For good and decent Americans, which most of us are, sillyfears will be allayed. There will be certain cards black America can no longer play, which may advance the discussion. Conversely, it will be easier to spot and hunt down the racists that have been hiding in the closets in every corner of the country. There will be rough spots, but we will emerge better for it in the end. The best taboo is no taboo.
3) Our Standing In The World: I also downplayed this argument when Obama first came onto the scene, but it really is important that we restore our image as the country to emulate. It's not that way anymore, and that's simply tragic.
2) The War On Terror Will Gain Focus: Obama didn't pick Biden because he planned to go into a pacifists' shell. He always saw the Iraq War, which is the unspoken heat lamp atop our economic meltdown, as folly. He will end that so-called war so we can hunt down those who actually attacked us on Sept. 11. And if you believe that John McCain is some kind of a Superman who can fly through the air -- with Palin clapping her pom-poms from the ground -- and stop a plane before it hits a building, I think we should legalize whatever it is you are smoking. We are always safer with the more rational thinker. You want mission accomplished? You'll have a better chance of getting it.
1) Balance: It's healthy to eat fruits and vegetables and protein, but too much of any are no good. If you overload on Vitamin C, for example, you are at risk for kidney stones. Huh? What? I'm a Democrat -- although I've voted for plenty of Republicans over the years (maybe even McCain before he sold his soul to the far-right devils) -- but I wouldn't want a Democrat in the White House for more than two terms. It's just not healthy. Yes, the executive branch is only one-third of the power base, but he (or, one-day, she) sets the tone. The president has veto power and appoints the Supreme Court justices that are really going to shape the nation for average people like us. No matter how much of a centrist --let alone a populist -- a president may try to be, there is no way he can represent the needs of all Americans at one time. There will always be groups of people disenfranchised. When it's the same groups for too long of a period of time, it's just not a healthy balance.
So there it is.
Take a moment. Breath deep. In and out. And sing along with the George Harrison-penned masterpiece:
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it's all right
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it's all right
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right
It's all right
posted by Gordon Glantz at
11:28 PM
15 Comments:
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me ... or America.
Vote McCain.
The sun went down already. Thanks to Bush and Cheney and Rove and FEMA and Rumsfeld and Miers and Gonzales and Ashcroft and Libby and all the rednecks who kept them there in 2004.
Time for it to come up again!
G2,
Here's a classic rock reference for YOU, Blind Faith. That's what you have in the Democratic party. Buster, I don't believe all your bluster about ever seriously considering McCain. First you were for Edwards, then Hillary and now Obama. If someone else were next in line, it would be them. You really disappoint me because you are such a talented writer on other subjects, as exhibited by your column this weeks about the Phillies and your dad. It was refreshing and real. This is stale and fake. And topping it off with Beatles lyrics as a way to sway undecided voters is silly.
When a non-licensed plumber who owes back taxes and would get a tax cut under Obama is held out by McCain as a stand-in for average working people who should vote Republican, you know truth-telling took a back seat to myth-making.
On Monday, McCain gave a final airing to unsupported statements and half-baked truths at rallies such as one in Tampa, Fla., where he said:
— "My friends, if I'm elected president, I won't spend nearly a trillion dollars more of your money. Sen. Obama will."
THE FACTS: McCain's health care plan alone is estimated to cost $1.3 trillion over 10 years by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, which also estimates that McCain's tax cuts and spending programs would drive up the national debt by $5 trillion in a decade.
------------------------
Along with the "atomic bomb" threats if Obama is elected, my choice was clear. OBAMA/BIDEN!!!!!!!!!! Voted at 7:10 a.m., and more were there to vote the same way!!!!!!!!!!!
And to those that asked where Obama got his campaign money. I may not have a lot of money, but it was worth it to scrape up $60 for him. Never gave to any campaign before, but I would have given some money to the opponent of that idiot Michele Bachmann in Minnesota. She tried that "gotcha" media excuse, but it didn't fly, just like Palin. What a joke that the people who serve at her pleasure aquitted her of dirty ethical tricks in troopergate. But at 47% disapproval, down from 19%, I guess you can't fool the people all of the time with a set of legs and makeup/hair people paid over $20,000 for two months of work to make the moose into a barbie doll...
I'm sick of people beating up on Gordon all the time. When I got up today and read this blog, I was moved to tears. I checked back later to see who felt the same way and I read what Cathy wrote and was appalled. If this were in a school yard, I would not let it continue and I'm not going to on here either. Enough already!
Just read this in the news... Now why are the handlers still trying to keep palin from speaking???
Savoring her final solo appearance as a vice presidential candidate, Palin lingered for several minutes in front of local and national media, taking question after question despite multiple attempts by her staff to end the press conference.
Here comes the sun - out with the old - in with the new - let the games begin. A good nights rest does wonders!
Fact is, you were against Obama from Day 1. Now you've changed your tune. Can't have it both ways dude. How could you have watched the race speech in Philly and not liked it immediately? That tells me all I need to know...
Anon.@8:18 --
It doesn't tell you anything. People change, people grow, people learn. Sometimes, you just have to give them some room.
I took GG to task back during the primary, mainly because I knew that his emotional support of Hillary Clinton was blinding him to the great positives of Barack Obama.
Was he wrong then? Oh yeah. Has he seen the error of his ways? Sure sounds that way.
Back on May 16th, GG blogged here about the case I made for Obama and his take on it:
"You wrote that "you know I will make the choice" that is:
-- A strong voice against our Iraq presence;
Response: A strong voice, yes. A realistic one? Not so sure...
-- Ready to actually hunt down and stop Osama Bin Laden;
Response: LOL!
-- A voice for unity and harmony, versus partisan hatemongering;
Response: This sounds like a lyric from a Peter, Paul and Mary song. You can't be serious. Can you?"
As you can see, he's come a long way since then. Give credit where credit is due.
And as long as we're looking at the archives, here's another gem for you from the thoroughly discredited keyboard of one Lisa Mossie, who -- speaking about the smears linking Obama with Rev. Wright and Tony Rezko -- said:
"Let’s let the voters decide if these issues matter."
Looks to me like the voters have decided -- loud and clear.
Isn't that delicious?
Amen, Lisa!
To clarify: My amen was directed at the Lisa who posted in Gordon's defense yesterday and not Lisa Mossie. No amens for that one, just prayers.
Amen to you, too, "moncto pa Dem"
You should rename this post to "Blinded by the Light."
As opposed to Lisa, who has always been Blinded by the Right.
I guess lisa mossie ears are burning when kim posted her clarification. Yes, she is blinded by the right, and it's only called the right as that's where they sit. It's not that they are right, as moose patty proved. And she still doth protest too much. But the blogs aren't buying it or the r's as some of them are quoted as "needed to work on gaining the trust of the public (voters) who handed them their heads on a platter...
Read it and weep...
http://mtapia713.newsvine.com/_news/2008/11/11/2100108-in-her-kitchen-sarah-palin-discusses-campaign-heat
If the following is true, maybe people can sue president-select shrub for not only losing their homes, but wasting so much taxpayer's money in Iraq that there isn't any "real" money to fix the economy. Talk about being out of control... I still think shrub is a major cause of this economic fiasco. 120108 3:20 p.m.
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - December 1, 2008 -- The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents.
"Expect fallout, expect foreclosures, expect horror stories," California mortgage lender Paris Welch wrote to U.S. regulators in January 2006, about one year before the housing implosion cost her a job.
Bowing to aggressive lobbying - along with assurances from banks that the troubled mortgages were OK - regulators delayed action for nearly one year. By the time new rules were released late in 2006, the toughest of the proposed provisions were gone and the meltdown was under way.
"These mortgages have been considered more safe and sound for portfolio lenders than many fixed rate mortgages," David Schneider, home loan president of Washington Mutual, told federal regulators in early 2006. Two years later, WaMu became the largest bank failure in U.S. history.
The administration's blind eye to the impending crisis is emblematic of its governing philosophy, which trusted market forces and discounted the value of government intervention in the economy. Its belief ironically has ushered in the most massive government intervention since the 1930s.
Many of the banks that fought to undermine the proposals by some regulators are now either out of business or accepting billions in federal aid to recover from a mortgage crisis they insisted would never come. Many executives remain in high-paying jobs, even after their assurances were proved false.
In 2005, faced with ominous signs the housing market was in jeopardy, bank regulators proposed new guidelines for banks writing risky loans. Today, in the midst of the worst housing recession in a generation, the proposal reads like a list of what-ifs:
_Regulators told bankers exotic mortgages were often inappropriate for buyers with bad credit.
_Banks would have been required to increase efforts to verify that buyers actually had jobs and could afford houses.
_Regulators proposed a cap on risky mortgages so a string of defaults wouldn't be crippling.
_Banks that bundled and sold mortgages were told to be sure investors knew exactly what they were buying.
_Regulators urged banks to help buyers make responsible decisions and clearly advise them that interest rates might skyrocket and huge payments might be due sooner than expected.
Those proposals all were stripped from the final rules. None required congressional approval or the president's signature.
"In hindsight, it was spot on," said Jeffrey Brown, a former top official at the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, one of the first agencies to raise concerns about risky lending.
Federal regulators were especially concerned about mortgages known as "option ARMs," which allow borrowers to make payments so low that mortgage debt actually increases every month. But banking executives accused the government of overreacting.
Bankers said such loans might be risky when approved with no money down or without ensuring buyers have jobs but such risk could be managed without government intervention.
"An open market will mean that different institutions will develop different methodologies for achieving this goal," Joseph Polizzotto, counsel to now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers, told U.S. regulators in a March 2006.
Countrywide Financial Corp., at the time the nation's largest mortgage lender, agreed. The proposal "appears excessive and will inhibit future innovation in the marketplace," said Mary Jane Seebach, managing director of public affairs.
One of the most contested rules said that before banks purchase mortgages from brokers, they should verify the process to ensure buyers could afford their homes. Some bankers now blame much of the housing crisis on brokers who wrote fraudulent, predatory loans. But in 2006, banks said they shouldn't have to double-check the brokers.
"It is not our role to be the regulator for the third-party lenders," wrote Ruthann Melbourne, chief risk officer of IndyMac Bank.
California-based IndyMac also criticized regulators for not recognizing the track record of interest-only loans and option ARMs, which accounted for 70 percent of IndyMac's 2005 mortgage portfolio. This summer, the government seized IndyMac and will pay an estimated $9 billion to ensure customers don't lose their deposits.
Last week, Downey Savings joined the growing list of failed banks. The problem: About 52 percent of its mortgage portfolio was tied up in risky option ARMs, which in 2006 Downey insisted were safe - maybe even safer than traditional 30-year mortgages.
"To conclude that 'nontraditional' equates to higher risk does not appropriately balance risk and compensating factors of these products," said Lillian Gavin, the bank's chief credit officer.
At least some regulators didn't buy it. The comptroller of the currency, John C. Dugan, was among the first to sound the alarm in mid-2005. Speaking to a consumer advocacy group, Dugan painted a troublesome picture of option-ARM lending. Many buyers, particularly those with bad credit, would soon be unable to afford their payments, he said. And if housing prices declined, homeowners wouldn't even be able to sell their way out of the mess.
It sounded simple, but "people kind of looked at us regulators as old-fashioned," said Brown, the agency's former deputy comptroller.
Diane Casey-Landry, of the American Bankers Association, said the industry feared a two-tiered system in which banks had to follow rules that mortgage brokers did not. She said opposition was based on the banks' best information.
"You're looking at a decline in real estate values that was never contemplated," she said.
Some saw problems coming. Community groups and even some in the mortgage business, like Welch, warned regulators not to ease their rules.
"We expect to see a huge increase in defaults, delinquencies and foreclosures as a result of the over selling of these products," Kevin Stein, associate director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, wrote to regulators in 2006. The group advocates on housing and banking issues for low-income and minority residents.
The government's banking agencies spent nearly a year debating the rules, which required unanimous agreement among the OCC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Reserve, and the Office of Thrift Supervision - agencies that sometimes don't agree.
The Fed, for instance, was reluctant under Alan Greenspan to heavily regulate lending. Similarly, the Office of Thrift Supervision, an arm of the Treasury Department that regulated many in the subprime mortgage market, worried that restricting certain mortgages would hurt banks and consumers.
Grovetta Gardineer, OTS managing director for corporate and international activities, said the 2005 proposal "attempted to send an alarm bell that these products are bad." After hearing from banks, she said, regulators were persuaded that the loans themselves were not problematic as long as banks managed the risk. She disputes the notion that the rules were weakened.
In the past year, with Congress scrambling to stanch the bleeding in the financial industry, regulators have tightened rules on risky mortgages.
Congress is considering further tightening, including some of the same proposals abandoned years ago.
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