Getting Politics Out of the Bedroom

If you check out Zennie's post below, you'll see that at a campaign stop in Nashville, TN, on Monday, John McCain was asked about "gay marriage . . . in the context of the preservation of marriage." The question came from a citizen at a town hall meeting who gently raised the issue of McCain's own infidelity, wondering how infidelity as a whole is compatible with the notion that marriage is so sacred as to be off limits to the gay community.

It's a good point. Conservative estimates put the percentage of married Americans who stray around 22%. That's at least 1 in 5. Imagine your neighborhood. Now imagine that 1 in 5 of those homes contain a spouse who is having an extramarital affair. That should put things in perspective.

With so many Americans turning outside their marriages for affairs, is the town hall questioner correct that marriage is not quite the sanctified union in America that it used to be? Further, with religious affiliation on the decline in the United States, how representative of the culture at large is the idea of a sanctified union?

The issue of gay marriage is, at best, complicated. The question is who is best to legislate it? Should we allow politicians with their own histories of violating the sacred unions they vow to uphold, like John McCain, into our bedrooms to legislate who we may marry and enter into unions with? Or should we leave those decisions to the more impartial court systems? Or, better yet, put them to vote? Surely a country where 1 in 5 married people cheat, a country slowly turning away from the notion of sanctified marriages in the religious context, would be able to see past the sanctification issues and allow all people, regardless of sex, to declare their love for each other with all rights and priveleges of traditional legal marriage.

As Zennie correctly points out, this will not be the last time that John McCain is confronted with the infidelity and, by extension, character issue on the campaign trail. I think that this questioner showed that this will also not be the last time he is confronted on the gay marriage issue. When politicians can prove that they can take care of the issues in their own bedrooms, I might entertain the notion of letting them think about what goes on in mine. Until that time (never), they need to get back to legislating about important things, like this war, this struggling economy, the prescriptions too expensive for my mother in law, and the standardized testing my daughter is still taking on the next to last day of school.

Mother to Son: 'Obama Proved Me Wrong'

Mary Curtis, a columnist for the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina, talks about her reaction to the primary victory of Senator Barack Obama, and what it means to her as the mother of a bi-racial son. I volunteer for Barack Obama because I remember when Kennedy died, and then the summer of race riots and his brother's death, too. This country is too great to continue bullying others who are not like us, just as we are too great to tolerate antiquated nonsense such as skin-color-based discrimination. Listen, and know that when we support Barack Obama for president we are working for the best future for our children.

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McCain's Infidelity Mentioned By "Supporter" - Did McCain Cheat On His Wife?

At a town hall meeting in Nashville, Tennessee Monday, this McCain supporter says -- well is this person a supporter? -- this:

My second and final question, you talk a lot about the character issue...and...like you, um, I was opposed to gay marriage, I was in always in favor of civil unions but the basic definition of marriage....but, then I get to thinking, that is based on what we consider to be the sanctity of marriage. There is nothing....you see long-term couples splitting up, it's, it's just crazy...I know that you, your own situation, you're going to have to address that in the campaign. Infidelity is just a terrible cancer on this country....and I think if we're going to talk about...gay marriage, it has to be in the context of the preservation of marriage...which I just don't see it, I think we need to make it more difficult for people to get married, or whatever we need to do..if that's...if we're going to be consistent.

From the website the book The Real McCain, we find this:

Update: From The Real McCain:

Arriving back in the United States in 1973, McCain faced not only his own lingering injuries but also those that his wife had sustained in an automobile accident in 1969. After nine months of intensive physical therapy, he was reinstated to flight status. While stationed in Jacksonville, Florida, he was instrumental in turning around the performance of a Corsair squadron.

His marriage did not recover so well. McCain has admitted to “selfishness and immaturity” and has attributed the breakup of his marriage to his own misdeeds. He has even gone out of his way to exempt Vietnam from any blame. “The blame was entirely mine,” he said.

McCain had already met and romanced, while still married to Shepp, the woman who would be his second wife — Cindy Lou Hensley, seventeen years his junior, the only child of a wealthy Anheuser-Busch distributor from Phoenix.10 Cindy’s father, Jim Hensley, had been a World War II pilot, shot down over the English Channel. In 1955 he formed his company, Hensley & Co., now the country’s sixth-largest beer distributorship. Cindy had gone from cheerleader to rodeo queen to graduate student at University of South Carolina by the time she met McCain in 1979. A year later, McCain and his first wife were granted a divorce; six weeks later, McCain married Cindy.

Then of course, there was the matter of Vicki Iseman, the powerful lobbyist McCain has a cosy relationship with that did not seem to veer into infidelity, but was enough to concern McCain aides.

As this stage of the campaign unfolds, John McCain will have to decide how he's going to adress the character issue, because it seems to result in someone, even a supporter, throwing a figurative brick at his glass house. He should get the Tennessee GOP to stop attacking Senator Obama's wife.

Hillaryis44.org Should Shut Down; Close http://www.hillaryis44.org

Alex Rodriguez, Close "Hillary Is 44" Now!

Hillary Is 44 is now a waste of time, and also may be the site behind the Democrats Against Obama effort. The site, owned by Alex Rodriguez didn't do the job of helping Clinton -- Obama's the nominee.

Alex Rodriguez, it's time to shut down Hillary Is 44. Put it to bed. Now.

Democrats Against Obama Smear Site Should Be Hacked

Democrats Against Obama Smear Site Should Be Hacked

There's a website called Democrats against Obama that has this URL: http://democrats-against-obama.org which when looked up is such that you can't tell who owns it. It's been privacy-protected. Thus, this is a stunt of some kind by someone -- most likely a Republican -- who does not want to be identified.

The website includes a link to companion site called "http://democrats-for-mccain.org

If you signup at this site, you're a total fool. Period. Also the person who created the site will be discovered, and soon.

Meanwhile there's a site up called "Republicans Against McCain" at http://www.republicansagainstmccain.com.

Just save your time and join BarackObama.com

Clinton Message Just Released, Will "Strongly Support Senator Obama"

This came to me via an Obama group email, which in turn was gotten from a person who has a friend that's on Hillary Clinton's mailing list..

Below is a message from Hillary to her supporters:

Dear Supporter,

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.

I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.

In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.

Sincerely,

Hillary

Wii Fit Fitness Video Review Video - Will This Kill The Gym?

As I watch this highly rated YouTube video by Diet.com, I have to wonder if this explosion in the use of Wii as a home fitness instrument will lead to the death of the gym and health club?