Big Day for Lori and Michael

Hi everyone.

I am getting married today. I probably should be more concerned about the weather (it is drizzling) than about the Presidential race. However, I don't think we have invited any wicked witches to the event, so I don't think there is a likelihood of the rain causing real problems at the wedding. As for the rest of the witch community (Wiccans, I am looking at you!) there is no evidence of Good Witches being caused harm by H2O incursion.

The presidential race, otoh, is another matter entirely.

The majority of people I have spoken with do not have confidence in Sarah Palin to step up, should the need arise. To her credit, she has nice legs, a nice photogenic smile and spouts the party line, with a bit of training, quite nicely. In case you missed it, she is a maverick, and so is John McCain. She isn't an idiot, but she isn't a President, either. I think it is safe to say that she is just not ready for it. Her supporters, some of whom acknowledge the inadequacy in her background, argue that it isn't likely to happen, this "Sarah Palin today assumed the role of President" headline.

Bloggers, on the other hand, conspiring with insurance companies and their actuarial tables, beg to differ. This isn't like inviting wicked witches to your wedding. If I recall my Oz lore correctly, there were only two wicked witches in the first place. One of them perished when Dorothy dropped a house on her. The other one was melted, proving the theory that water could be fatal to a wicked witch. So, I am confident that my wedding day will be fine. We may get a bit wet, but it won't be the end of the world.

John McCain, otoh, appears to have about a 14% (1 in 7) chance of dying before his first term ends. I have some confidence in the randomness of chance, and of course he has had the finest health care available, pretty much his whole life. There is the matter of the infamous five and a half years he spent in a PoW camp being tortured by freedom hating terrorist insurgents defending their home against the U.S. of A, but I digress.

I do not have much confidence in the ability of numbers on a page in an insurance agents office somewhere to predict the future. It should be noted that opinions on the odds of his survival vary, one blog placed the odds of his perishing before inauguration day 2013 at 5% (and "Barry" Obama's at about half a percent) but I didn't spend a lot of time researching what bloggers think. I call this page In My Opinion for a reason.

This is what *I* think. I would put the likelihood of his surviving the first term, or even the first 6 months, at about 50/50. Between his age and health history, especially the PoW experience that left him not able to raise him arms above shoulder level, he is a damaged man. He is also a good man, in his heart. This race for the White House has twisted that heart, but if he were to be inaugurated next January, you would see him truly want to take on the weight of the world's problems and try to solve them.

Every other President, up until the current one, has been aged with some rapiditiy by occupancy at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I expect it would age John McCain exponentially, and he is alredy old and infirm. I would never wish him ill, but I am realistic enough to want to insure against the possibility of being saddled with a Barbie Action Figure in the Oval Office.

I happen to believe that John McCain is a good American, a good man, and is owed a debt of gratitude by the American people. I just don't think that the balance due is the White House. I'd sooner invite a wicked Witch to my wedding.

Best Wishes,

Michael

Witches Disclaimer: If you are, in fact, a wicked witch, I hope you realize this was not intended to defame or insult or harm you in any way. It is intended as political commentary and humor. You weren't left off the wedding invite list because you are a wicked witch, but rather because I don't know you, or because the idea was to keep the number of people showing up lower and you just didn't make the cut. Don't blame me. My input there was minimal.

Mere Coincidence?

In case you haven't heard, there were two possibly unrelated stories out of Michigan Friday morning.

The first story I heard on NPR, on my way to work. John McCain is leaving Michigan. Apparently, the McCain Presidential campaign has decided that Michigan is not worth trying to win, and has pulled almost all it's campaign workers out of the state. The Republican's national and local committees will still run ads there, but the candidate's campaign there is over. Seems odd, in a battleground state, but then I am just an observer. I am certainly not calling this The Cover Story. Whether he gets it or not is not for me to say, right?

The other story, linked above, probably doesn't help to explain it. Bill Teer spent the past five months growing a pumpkin that reached a size of 450 pounds, but now he is probably wishing he had spent a little of that time guarding it properly. Overnight, his prized gourd has disappeared. Presumably, stolen.

John McCain is a war hero of impeccable character, and is married to a beer heiress. He is wealthy beyond most peoples wildest dreams, and - save a few scurrilous campaign ads he feels the need to stand behind - a completely honest man. Why would he steal a pumpkin, except for the challenge, the adrenalin rush, and presumably, the pies?

I, for one, believe that the fact that he left town the next day is mere coincidence. If you are in posession of any evidence to the contrary, you should call the Great Blanc Township police in the 810 area code and report it.