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Whenever Dick Cheney speaks about how he believes the Obama administration has put America at greater risk of terrorist attack, or whenever a right winger accuses Obama of dithering on Afghanistan, this reality needs to be thrown back in their face:

Osama Bin Laden was within military reach when the Bush administration allowed him to disappear into the mountains of Afghanistan rather than pursue him with a massive military force, a new Senate report says.

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The so called public option is actually neither public nor much of an option. Yet it appears that the form and/or presence of this so called “public option” is what may make or break health care reform. I’m sure you’ve heard both sides of it.

Either…

The public option will provide needed competition that will force private insurers to be more efficient and cost effective, while offering consumers true choice in health insurance, and finally covering the tens of millions of Americans who have no insurance.

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I was on the road most of last week, and during that time, it’s become even more clear how poorly served we are by our “elected representatives,” on both sides of the aisle. Yes, whether you are red or blue, there’s blood below for you.

On the right, in the past few days we’ve seen a Facebook poll asking “Should Obama die,” followed by a Republican representative declaring that Obama is “an enemy of humanity,” followed by a columnist at NewsMax declaring the only solution to the “Obama problem” is a military coup.

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In the ongoing slapfest between members of the former administration and members of the current administration, our latest offering comes from former propaganda minister Karl Rove. Speaking of VP Biden, he said:

“He’s a serial exaggerator. If I was being unkind I would say he’s a liar, but it’s a habit he ought to drop,” Rove said on FOX News. “You should not exaggerate and lie like this when you are the vice president of the United States.”

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In these troubling times, the story lately has been one of huge bonuses for those who failed, and then got bailed. And now, the backlash:

An angry U.S. senator introduced legislation Friday to cap compensation for employees of any company that accepts federal bailout money.

Under the terms of a bill introduced by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, no employee would be allowed to make more than the president of the United States.

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Yesterday, CNN showed Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech in its entirety. I was a month shy of 5 years old on the day of the speech, August 28, 1963. And the changes in this country with regards to race have been quite remarkable during my lifetime.

A CNN poll “found 69 percent of blacks said King’s vision has been fulfilled in the more than 45 years since his 1963 ‘I have a dream’ speech — roughly double the 34 percent who agreed with that assessment in a similar poll taken last March.” But the dream was about more than one man in one job.

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I recently saw a cartoon that struck home, as someone who is often asked about camera choices. One character says to another who has a camera around his neck, “your camera takes nice pictures.” The character with the camera replies, “your mouth makes nice compliments.”

Sure, everyone has got a nice digital camera these days. But being a good photographer requires more than just equipment. Sure, anyone has the capability to take a really nice photo … when you’re in the right place at the right time and just happen to capture a magic moment.

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When I was a kid, back in the 60’s and early 70’s, we were taught that anyone had the chance to grow up and be President.

But that wasn’t quite true back then, and we were too young to see it. However, I think it finally is true today, and I am old enough to appreciate the significance.

It’s important to remember that America’s most precious documents, like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, were also products of their times. In the beginning, it was only white male land owners who had the right to vote, never mind run for office.

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I know it is a difficult day for those who vote Republican. In fact, it’s been a difficult year, filled with bile, bewilderment, and disappointment. And for some, delusion as well.

It’s time to pack all that away, and look at the world anew. It’s time to ask with new eyes, how did the Republican Party get to this ugly place?

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There are 5.75 million registered voters in Georgia, and 3,000 polling places. I read a prediction of a national turnout of 64% of registered voters, so let’s generously estimate 70% in Georgia. 4,029,900. That’s, on average, 1,343 people per polling place. On average, that’s 112 people per hour the polls are open, at each and every one of those 3,000 precincts.

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On one ticket, we have a professor of Constitutional law, and on the other ticket, we have someone who appears not to understand the document at all:

Palin told WMAL-AM that her criticism of Obama’s associations, like those with 1960s radical Bill Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, should not be considered negative attacks. Rather, for reporters or columnists to suggest that it is going negative may constitute an attack that threatens a candidate’s free speech rights under the Constitution, Palin said.

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I decided I’d better tell this “joke” before it’s old news. During the course of this looonnng campaign, odd things can happen to one’s brain. In my case, I’ve come to think of the election when I drive up to the GA 400 toll booth.

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A few weeks ago, I wrote that “in Georgia, there’s going to be a lot of people who haven’t voted since the last presidential election very angry to find they’ve been purged from the voter rolls.” And it appears it is much worse than I had feared. It’s not just people who haven’t voted in the past three years:

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If you are among the 10% or so who are still undecided in your choice for President, may I suggest that you now have as much real information as you’re going to get? Oh, you’ll hear a lot more over the coming 28 days, about radicals from the 60’s and Vietnam. Ayers and Keating. Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh, my. You will learn as much, or more, about the person saying these things as you will about the person they’re talking about.

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There’s a lot of people worried about losing their jobs today. 435 of them, specifically, in the House of Representatives. Unlike their Senate brethren, they are all up for re-election in November.

And yesterday, they behaved accordingly.

George Bush, Dick Cheney, Henry Paulson, and John Boehner were collectively unable to sway more than 65 House Republicans to vote for their plan (133 voted against).

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At 2:30pm yesterday John McCain yesterday told us he was going to immediately suspend his campaign in order to head back to DC to work on the bailout crisis.

He called David Letterman personally and told him he would not make it to Dave’s 5:30pm taping, as he was going to get on a plane and head back to DC.

Then at about 6:30pm, Dave caught him, live, doing an interview with Katie Couric instead of appearing on his show. Dave shouted at him, “Senator, do you need a ride to the airport?”

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