Heads in the Clouds

So, today it is official - the campaign season's favorite son is in the race. Barack Obama declared his intentions in Springfield, Illinois. Springfield? Sure, why not. Home of Abraham Lincoln. Nevermind the two have nothing in common, politically speaking, other than American citizenship. I think that's about it.

Tomorrow night, it is reported, Obama and Mrs. Obama will be interviewed on "60 Minutes" by Steve Kroft. I'm sure it'll be the standard puff piece done to benefit those they are slobbering over in real time. Here's an interesting quote from the upcoming interview; "I'm not sure I decided it. I think ... if you look African American in this society, you're treated as an African American." Since he was raised in a white household, the Kroft was asking when Obama decided to 'be black'. Yep. There's your 60 Minutes style question.

Kroft asked Mrs. Obama if she feared for her husband's life since he declared his intention to run. "I don't lose sleep over it because the realities are that ... as a black man... Barack can get shot going to the gas station," she said.

Quite the pair of deep thinkers there. This kind of interview will, in the long run, do more to hurt Obama than Kroft knows. Jesse Jackson and his ilk are not running to support Obama because he isn't 'black enough' for them. So, the Obamas throw out the race card in the first national interview post-declaration as a candidate for President of the United States. Nice.

We'll see how he handles the new level of scrutiny he must face now that he is on the national stage. Hillary Clinton is not Alan Keyes. I think she will make short work of him and either offer the VP spot to him or he will go back to finish his term in the Senate.

He is nowhere near ready for prime time. Nor is the wife.

And speaking of not ready for prime time: Pelosi just keeps on giving ammunition to her opponents in the House, doesn't she? This past week it was all about her demand of the military jet that could transport 43 members of her family and staff back to her home in California without stopping to fuel up in a red state. Sure, we all dislike layovers, but that's a fact of life. When the demand was let known in the press and the blowback began, she first tried to blame it on others, that it wasn't she who asked for the jumbo jet. Right. Then she played the victim, why I just want what the men have had before me. Well, that is exactly the plane she was ok'ed for and it wasn't big enough for her highness. It only held 11 and wasn't a military jet.

Even Katie Couric understood the problem with the request.

You may remember when Nancy and the Dems took back the House, she made much hay over the fact that there would be a big crackdown on congressional perks, longer work weeks, less ethical questions. Remember when she said they would be the most "moral" Congress ever? That was your first clue as to what would happen. Just like when Clinton said it.

Poor Granny MiMi. She wants the king size bed and the game room. Hey, those grandkids need some comfort on that long trip and you should just be quiet and pay for it.

The ethics are being well-documented: trying to elevate Murtha to Majority Whip, considering Alcee Hastings for Judicial chairman, slighting Jane Harmon on the Intelligence committee, etc. Then there's the financial reports Pelosi and others had to scramble to file as it became known to the press that they hadn't done so, all the while mouthing off on her 'climate of corruption' campaign against Republicans.

So, Jack Murtha, unhappy that his gal Pelosi was being criticized, reminded all that he is the chairman of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee and he wants the Pentagon to know if they don't produce Granny MiMi's jet then they may not be getting the allocations necessary for the Pentagon. And, with him as chairman of this committee, you are to forget his brother is a lobbyist for defense contractors in Washington. No ethical conflicts there.

Pelosi has already allowed Guam to opt out of the new minimum wage hike. Did she forget to mention that Starkist is the major manufacturer there? And that her hubby is on the board of that company?

For the first time since the early 1900's the territories of the U.S. will be allowed to vote on the House floor unless it is a tie-breaking vote on a major piece of legislation. Sure, why not. Don't let that bother you. Of course they are all Democrats and vote with the party as such. You don't think that had anything to do with the decision, do you? It was just the 'fair' thing to do.

And, who decides what is 'major' legislation? Granny MiMi.

She's just the common woman. In custom Armani suits.