These are blossoms on the frangipani tree outside the library grounds where I go to try to keep up with news and politics at home. As you can see, this is a desperate attempt to tie my photos into today's blog.
From
The New Yorker, “Forty percent of Americans have never lived when there wasn’t a Bush or a Clinton in the White House. If Hillary Clinton were to be elected and re-elected, the nation could go twenty-eight years in a row with the same two families governing the country. Add the elder Bush’s terms as Vice-President, and that would be thirty-six years straight with a Bush or a Clinton in the White House.”
One way of looking at electability is to wonder whether it’s more of a disadvantage to be black or to be female. Shirley Chisholm, the black woman who ran for president in 1972, argued in effect that there were more sexists than racists in America. “I met more discrimination as a woman, than for being black,” Ms. Chisholm said of her seven terms in Congress.
This tree with very unusual white and fuscia blossoms - they resemble dandelions gone to seed - was in the temple courtyard where Jim and I voted last week.
Other notes on
electability of Obama, Clinton and McCain:
Conservative David Brooks writes that "somehow in the midst of all this frenzy, McCain has to transition from being an underdog to being a front-runner, offering a broader vision of how to unify the country. McCain will have to clarify his vision for the future. He talks about the struggle with Islamic extremists as the transcendent foreign policy challenge of our time. But there's a transcendent domestic challenge as well. The country is dividing along the lines of education, income, religion, lifestyle and giving way to cynicism and mistrust. Government is distanced from the people and growing more corrupt. McCain is going to have to beef up his domestic policy offerings. He has some excellent ideas, like his plan to control health care costs, which he doesn't explain well. But he has not yet focused sufficiently on the group that is always the key to Republican success or failure -- the suburban working class."
Traditionalist James Dobson, an evangelical Christian, says "he won’t vote if McCain is the nominee because of infractions ranging from failure to back a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to foul and obscene language." ["Obama does surprisingly well among evangelical Christians, an important constituency in swing states. For example, Relevant magazine, which caters to young evangelicals, asked its readers: 'Who would Jesus vote for?' Obama was the winner and came out 27 percentage points ahead of Clinton."]
Right-winger Ann Coulter claims she’d support Clinton “because she’s more conservative than McCain is."
And Obama "has made cynics wilt, stirring the heart of long-dead politicos in places where Democrats haven’t had a pulse in years. Cecil Andrus, former Idaho governor and Democratic cabinet member, nearly lost his voice introducing Obama in Boise on Saturday. He recalled a time when he was a young lumberjack who drove down the Clearwater Valley to see Jack Kennedy speak in Lewiston, a day that changed his life. 'I’m older now, some would suggest in the twilight of a mediocre political career,' Andrus said. 'I can still be inspired. I can still hope.' This kicked off the second biggest political rally in Idaho history. And the first? That was when President Dwight Eisenhower came to visit."
And last week Ike’s granddaughter, Susan Eisenhower, "made a small bit of family history on her own. She said that if Obama is the nominee, 'this lifelong Republican will work to get him elected.' Ms. Eisenhower is supporting Mr. Obama and said she would be glad to enlist in a 'Republicans for Obama' organization."
While still in Thailand, Jim recently learned that a charge had been made to a credit card after he had left Maine that looked suspicious. He emailed his brother, Keith, back in Maine, and - although figuring it was a longshot - he asked him to try making a phone call inquiry to the credit card company. Amazingly keith actually spoke with someone who was quite helpful and asked Keith almost no identifying information. 
"If you can answer all the questions correctly, then the rep asks for your account# and SS#. And then finally, the rep asks you what it is thayt you want. So, you explain your problem. Then the rep repeats everything you just said and apologizes for your problem. Finally, the rep says, 'I am sorry, I cannot help you with your problem. You must make a toll call to India tomorrow between 9AM and 5PM, India time. Ask for my brother, Rex.'"
