Joe the Plumber spreads the wealth

Joe-the-unemployed-unlicensed plumber is writing a book. Well, actually novelist Thomas Tababck is writing the book, all about Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream, that's the title. I don't know what Joe is doing in his battle for the American dream, but I do know that he proudly said that he is not working with a conglomerate, which could mean to reputable publisher wanted him. But apparently PearlGates Publishing does want him and promises that the book will be available December 1, in time for Christmas giving. He chose the publisher, Joe said, as a way to spread the wealth. Joe also has a Web site. For a yearly fee of merely $14.95, you will receive direct access to Joe The Forum. a subscription to his monthly newsletter, free shipping on ALL Joe merchandise, a free signed copy of his new book, and the opportunity to become an integral part of the movement to restore our government to the people. Do I sniff a senate run in the air? Coming to a ballot box near you, Joe the Candidate.

How the Republicans won the election

1. The Republican Party feels victorious because although they may have lost the White House, it was not  the terrible rout experienced by Walter Mondale in 1980 (Ronald Reagan won a record 525 electoral votes--out of a possible 538--and received nearly 60% of the  popular vote).

2. The Republican Party still represents the Heartland of American--having lost both coasts, the Republicans seem to have a lock on some of the middle, some of the West, and most of the South.

3. Those Republicans who crossed the aisle did so not because of the Republican Party or its policies but because they are dissatisfied with George W. Bush.

4. The recession is now Obama's Recession.

5. The Republican Party can now get in the way of every initiative and at the end of four years claim that Obama did not keep all of his campaign promises.

Sarah Palin: Stupid idiot or Idiot savant?

I don't question Sarah Palin's intelligence because she reportedly didn't know that Africa is a continent--it is, after,  a common mistake often made by the average third grader. I'm not upset abut her clothing bill--which  is something that concerns the Republican National Committee and no one else.  I'm not even angry that she is forcing her pregnant teenaged daughter into what seems to be a doomed marriage. I am angry with her because she is a mean-spirited, divisive harridan who thinks the American public agrees wither her--the most recent election results notwithstanding. Sixty-seven percent of Republicans may want her to run in 2012, but the Republicans lost by how many points? And Sarah Palin didn't help.

The Republicans wanted to hold on to the White House in the worst way. They attempted to portray Obama's service on two charitable boards with William Ayers as a life-long friendship with terrorists.  Palin characterized Obama as anti-American and as a shadowy figure that should evoke fear in the rest of us. The harsh rhetoric of the recent election, and Palin's pandering to the lowest common denominator should be remembered, but Americans have short attention spans and are often distracted by shiny objects, such as how much Sarah Palin paid for her wardrobe.

Palin portrayed Obama as an unpatriotic terrorist who is not "one of us," and never once addressed any of the economic issues confronting this country, other than to say that the Democrats mean big government and higher taxes. Although she did suggest that God had a plan for Iraq, although he has not yet revealed it to anyone. She also suggested that criticism of her was unconstitutional, and given the way the Bush Administration has shredded the Constitution, Palin may be right. What scares me most about Palin, and the people like her, is her contempt for intelligence and education. In a way, I understand them, after all most of the people who voted for the Republican Party in 2008 were old, white and undereducated. When Palin said " We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity," only the educated knew that she was quoting Wetbrook Pegler, an American Journalish who supported John McCarthy's fascism and who hated Catholics and African-Americans. Pegler once famously remarked that he hoped some "white patriot" would spatter Robert F. Kennedy's "brains in a public premises."

John McCain was looking for a uterus as a running mate. He had many from which to choose and he chose Sarah Palin. Now she is the darling of the Republican Party. And here we thought that the bad times were in the past.