Broken Thumb Blog

Inauguration Day is among the most important aspects of our political life as Americans. It reminds us that the presidency is an office which is occupied by citizens. When the time comes, and at the discretion of the voters, they enter. In like manner the time always come when, in their discretion, the voters show them the exit.

For those dismayed by the election of Barack Obama, remember that the time will come when he too must leave the office. For those cheered by the departure of George W. Bush, remember that the time will come when a Republican once again occupies the Oval Office.

Power did not transition today. It resides perpetually with the people. Today, the world witnessed the awesome power of the Republic to renew itself. What is duly done is duly begun, but the virtue of the Republic endures. Long live the Republic!

A group of Chinese has published what amounts to a declaration of rights. It is called Charter 08 and I pulled it from the web this morning. I am posting here for a couple of reasons. First, people need to know about it. Second, it represents the most contagious idea in human history. People have a right to self-determination, and when they assert it we should all support them.

Join the chorus. Download Charter 08. Disseminate it. Help the Chinese people free themselves from the tyranny of authoritarian, one-party rule.Charter08.doc

I gotta blog this. I gotta blog this. I gotta seriously, seriously blog this.

John McCain, in his first act of dementia, has chosen a former beauty queen to be his running mate.

Now, lest I seem completely indifferent to this woman's executive experience, let me say that I feel she is eminently qualified to govern one of the few places in the U.S. less populous than her own state, including ND (pop. 640K), VT (pop. 621K), DC (pop. 590K) or WY. (pop. 522K) Likewise, she would be a capable mayor of one of the following U.S. Cities: Baltimore (637K) ranks 20th, Charlotte (pop. 672K) ranks 19th, Memphis (pop. 674K) ranks 18th, or Fort Worth (pop. 681K) ranks 17th.

Hypothetically speaking, since a brisk 3 a.m. run to the toilet could render President McCain a rather stately corpse I wonder how much more or less comfortable I would be with the mayor of Indianapolis negotiating the removal of troops from Iraq. Since Governor Palin's resume also includes multiple terms as a mayor (Wasilla AK) prior to becoming governor I'm sure she will do as well as the mayor of Indianapolis. However, it is worth noting that being the mayor of Wasilla (pop. 9,800) requires winning the support of as many people as it might take to get elected to the Student Assembly of Cornell University.

Admittedly, my Party's talking points have some validity. It is the quality, not necessarily the quantity, of her experience which matters. But it must be mentioned that for the fiscal year 2006-2007 the budget of the State of Alaska was $6.7 billion. By comparison, one would have to go all the way to Number 362 on the list of Fortune 1000 Companies to find an organization with the same level of revenue. So--hypothetically speaking--should President McCain have a brain aneurism while fulminating over legislation passed by Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi, it's good to know that Sarah Palin will have experience with budgets larger than those of Bed, Bath & Beyond or Whole Foods.

I also concede that as governor she does make some life-and-death decisions as head of the Alaska Army National Guard. Wikipedia tells me there are 70 armories and 1850 guardsmen in the state. That means in the event of a call-up Gov. Palin would have authority over as many lives as the junior and senior classes of West Point. Certainly then she is at least half as qualified as the Commandant of the USMA.

So while I trust that John McCain fully believes Gov. Palin to be qualified to assume the Presidency should he be unable to complete his term of office, I think the decision proves his judgment to be suspect.

I am a lifelong Republican. I support my Party. I think Gov. Palin would make an interesting candidate to see in a primary battle someday. However, since she was obviously chosen to bring novelty to the ticket I think that John McCain no longer appears to take this election seriously. As more and more people contemplate this, they will recognize that he himself is not the better candidate for President and will elect Barck Obama.

Congratulations Senator McCain. As you so delight in doing, your maverick actions have once again betrayed the interests of your party. We will not only lose this election, but we may have to spend as many as eight years suffering the effects of your misguided choice.