who's online

I just saw that Chris posted a couple of pics. Go to home page and then the Ariel & Chris link. And the Alaskan Bleichers have a new post at long last. Sarah's site is really developing, and she has an update on the debate at Ole Miss.

Bennie

The reports are that Bennie is recovering well but slowly. The pain is at least being managed better. They will be moving him to another hospital for up to two more weeks of recovery before being released to go home. I haven't seen him yet. The staff seems to limit visits more than other hospitals (or maybe it's this particular floor), though there has always been someone with him during visiting hours. Ursula has been there a lot and deserves some rest and relief of her own. Cyndi has been there a lot, too, and the children have coordinated a bit more to stagger visits and help their mother. Cyndi is much less stressed going into this new week. Even Michael seemed so stressed when I saw him last the night of the operation. Janey came up this weekend.

champagne apples

Ariel joined us for our trip for Dixon apples on Saturday. The local media had been reporting heavily on the smaller crop this year, and the orchard has become intensely popular the past few years with long lines for cars and another line of people with wheelbarrows waiting to get into the apple shed. I should have known, but apparently it was being reported on Saturday morning that the first day was Friday and there were three hour waits to get apples.

We left around 6:30 in the morning. The boys were rustled out of bed in their pajamas. We grabbed a few snacks and headed out. We arrived before 7:30. There was no wait for a parking space and only a short line of wheelbarrows in the orchard. We dawdled a bit and within an hour of arriving left with 4 bags of champagne apples. (About two bushels in all.) There was no cider available.

It reminded me of balloon fiesta, which begins this weekend. You get up before dawn, put the kids in the car with their pajamas still on, bundled in blankets, get in a long line of cars, park, then into more lines and a crowd of people milling about, sipping their coffee, enjoying the brisk fall morning, and talking. Instead of green chile breakfast burritos at the balloon fiesta, you have apple fritters at the orchard.

The morning was gorgeous in the canyon. Jack wandered a bit around the orchard, while Ry steered the wheelbarrow. On the way back, we toured the Cochiti campground, another Corps of Engineers campground by a man-made lake, and stopped in Bernalillo at The Range Cafe, where we had excellent Huevos Rancheros, a breakfast burrito, tortillas, red and green chile, pancakes and scrambled eggs. A quick stop for clipboards and a pencil sharpener and before noon we were home, ready for a nap. A very nice Saturday morning.

Ariel took a few apples, and Jack took some to school for show and tell.

a few rotten apples

On the way up to get apples, Ariel, Cyndi and I spent most of our time talking about the debate the night before, the debate coming, and the financial bailout.

I haven't heard what the consensus is on the debate. I don't think either McCain or Obama had any slam dunks. I thought that if you are a McCain supporter, you will think he won the debate. I think this is because he came off a bad week and it could have gone bad during the debate. I thought Obama came off well--informed and articulate. With the way McCain is running his campaign, with the same ol' GOP tactic of distorting facts, and that smirky smile during the debate, I've changed my mind that he is a good guy.

I don't have a problem with Obama's coolness. It does appear to me more deliberative and even presidential.

The distortion of records is irritating. The campaigners must think we are stupid, which unfortunately maybe we are. But everyone must know from basic civics in school that bills come loaded, so that voting yeah or nay on a bill doesn't really reflect a position on a particular part. I know it works to attack the other person, but I'm really hoping to see a debate that addresses issues, and the attack seems particularly hypocritical and mean-spirited because we were promised that the campaign would be elevated.

All in all, McCain's shoot from the hip style, mixed with his reliance on GOP campaign tactics, is diluting his appeal.

I've seen some of the Palin interviews and now I'm not quite so up in arms about her potential appeal. Has it faded, I wonder, among those who were so supportive when she first appeared? She comes off poorly. She's even lost much of her self-confidence, which was probably her biggest asset. In watching the interview with Couric, it made me think of those clips that were around for a while a few months back of that unfortunate Miss Teen contestant. The contestant had obviously been coached for the interview portion of the pageant. She probably had an arsenal of stock answers, but she only knew just a few. Someone told her she could take those stock answers, pick up a few key words from the question, and make a convincing sounding answer. But the question confounded her, and she spoke plain nonsense. It was painful to watch, in the same way it was painful to watch Palin.

I'm not the first to make the connection. I went to YouTube and already there were at least two videos satirizing Palin in that way. One showed her interview with Charlie, who asked about the Bush Doctrine. You see Palin answer, but you hear the Miss Teen contestant's answer. In another one, you see the contestant on stage answering the interview question, but you hear Palin's answer to Kouric about Russia and Canada bordering Alaska.

Cyndi's dad

Bennie (Papa) had surgery yesterday and is recovering today. He had what I think of as calcification around his spine near his neck and upper back which was strangling the spinal cord. He was in a lot of pain, couldn't use an arm, and was having difficulty walking. The entire family was at the hospital yesterday, visiting him. Reports are positive on the surgery, though I'm sure he will need lots of rest to recover. Cyndi is hopeful and will be looking for signs of improvement. She looks forward to seeing her dad going on trips again and playing his guitar at church.

Abiquiu Lake, Riana Campground

We spent one night at Abiquiu Lake. Before leaving Saturday morning, we had dinner with Ariel Thursday at El Pinto.



Abiquiu Lake is a reservoir controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers in the heart of Georgia O'Keefe country. Imagine her landscapes and you know the panoramas around the lake. We decided to go there because it's about two hours from our home, it has showers, and the temperatures should be mild this time of year.

The Riana campground sits on a mesa above the lake. It is not forested, mostly cedar and small pine trees. The temperature during the day reached the mid or upper 70s (in mid September) and there was a cool breeze as we set up the tent. The evening was cool but always comfortable. There was a slight rainfall as evening approached.

I took on the cooking duties. I grabbed some food and ice Friday night at the grocery store after work, so I had some ideas about meals. (I loaded up the gear Saturday morning, and since the gear is at hand ready to go, and since we've had some experience now, and since we were only staying one night, packing was easier and lighter.) Cyndi loved the meals. Grapes and watermelon on our drive. "Bratwurms" when we arrived around lunchtime. Barbecued chicken on the campfire ring in the evening. Homemade chocolate chip cookies Cyndi made before the trip. A hearty breakfast in the morning. After the tent is up and Jackson blows up the mattress, Cyndi sets up the sleeping quarters, and she cleaned up after the meals.

We did some exploring, but Cyndi did much more exploring on her mountain bike. She loved it. A nice workout for her, and a little alone time for a change. We brought some bikes and "scooters" for the boys, and they said the best part was riding them (at high speed) down the hill to the playground and shoveling and climbing and spinning on the merry-go-round.

We drove the switch backs down below the dam (it turns into a pleasant dirt road along the river) and down to the boat launch. We checked out Ghost Ranch on the other end of the lake. We didn't go swimming or fish. (The boys need some good, simple rods.) There were a few boats on the lake but very few. There are two roads down to the lake, with some picnic areas and family fishing spots, along with the boat launch and a dock, between the turnoff for 96 and the campground. The visitor's center next to the dam was closed.

There are basically three loops of sites at Riana. Some beautiful spots nearest to the lake, numbered in the low to mid thirties, and some nice walk-in tent sites with "pads". I think all sites have a table, a grill, a campfire ring, and a lantern holder. Two shower facilities in all. Very clean campground. We chose our site at one of the highest spots for the view, a short walk to the showers, and the cover over the picnic table. We were next to the park attendant, who was very nice. The sites on this loop have water and electric, and Jackson was able to play his computer with the car parked next to the outlet. Mostly RVs on this loop. We had a few neighbors, but it was not crowded at all. One neighbor played music at night, but at least I liked the songs. There is a strict quiet hours policy between 10 and 6, the gate closes at 10 at night, and there's a clear prohibition posted against alcohol. Needless to say, we were very discrete with the bottle of wine we brought for dinner.

With the rainclouds all around, we didn't get to see a huge display of stars at night, as we expected. There was a little wood left at the site to burn and Jackson and Rylee gathered up some dead twigs to add to the fire. The chicken cooked perfectly over the coals in the ring. I brought a sauce I conjured up in a small grape jelly jar while packing the cooler in the morning to brush on the chicken. We had an old package of jiffypop leftover from a prior trip, and we were able to pop some of it and not set it on fire. The boys played with their glow sticks. Mostly, we sat and watched the glow of the sun setting.

After coffee and breakfast, a long bike ride adventure for Cyndi, and a trip to the playground, we took down the camp, packed the car, showered and changed into clean clothes. On our return, we stopped in Abiquiu (about 15 miles) and had an excellent lunch (and the boys split a rupidebeer float) at the Abiquiu Inn.

There's a general store called Bode's (gas pumps, and maybe some firewood?) in Abiquiu, which is in a beautiful small valley with many signs for art studio tours. We saw a small vineyard along the road. We toured the grounds of the Inn, and it looks like they have some very nice accommodations. There was an eclectic sculpture garden. The food really was prepared very well. The restaurant is casual and pleasant. There's some wonderful art hanging, a gift shop, and a gallery upstairs.

I enjoy the peace of driving on these trips, but driving through Espanola is still not very pleasant. I was hoping it had changed. Going north on 84/285 there's a left, a right and then another left in town, and the directions are not that well marked. (This is also the way to Ojo Caliente until the road splits outside Espanola.) Once in town, keep a sharp look out for arrows to Chama on the way up, to Santa Fe on the way back. We stopped at a produce stand on the way back just before getting into Espanola.

I remembered again how I didn't like this stretch of driving. When we go to Taos, there's a little bypass we take to avoid most of Espanola (I always forget where it is exactly but always manage to find it) or we drive the longer, slower high road, which is one of the most beautiful drives anywhere, taking you through Nambe, Chimayo, Truchas, and Penasco. The stretch through Pojoaque is built up now, too. Good for the pueblo, but also a bit sad. The Lottaburger there is long gone. And the newly constructed highway taking you past Tesuque and the opera still is unnerving even though the view of the Sangre de Cristos is beautiful if you are a passenger. I had a lot of time to reflect on all of this (and more) on the drive. Once you are close to Abiquiu, though, you remember why you came.

Jackson was a tremendous help in setting up the tent and taking it down. I foresee a day when camping will be much easier with the boys' help. Jack's great. He loves being involved. It was fun to work with him and I realized how much he can do now. He packed the poles away when we took the tent down. Together we folded the tent and the ground tarp, walking the corners together. I asked Jackson to sweep away the dirt and rocks from the tarp, and he took it on energetically. When Ry wanted to help, too, Jack left him a small pile of pebbles to sweep away. Ry tried to help set up the tent, too, as Jack placed the poles around the tent. Poor guy smashed his finger with the rubber mallet, pounding in a stake. It wasn't bad, just a short cry. As Ry likes to say, "It's okay."

I have an old Swiss army knife that Jackson likes to see when we camp. I hardly ever use it, but it's nice to know it's there. I keep it in a tool chest with other emergency, repair, and spare stuff I almost never need. Jack's still too young to have a knife, but he carried it in his pocket most of the time and now we keep it in his tackle box, along with his flashlight. I told him when we were driving home to put it there for next time.

He thought he lost it when we got home. He looked all around the car, moving seats and his stuff, while I unpacked everything. He didn't tell me what he was doing, but I knew. Some things I put back on shelves in the garage. Others went inside, where Cyndi quickly unpacked them and started a load of laundry. When he couldn't find it, Jackson went in to tell Cyndi in dread. Cyndi helped look while I unpacked the last items from the rooftop carrier. (We've got our money's worth with that carrier; holds the miscellaneous odds and ends, such as folding chairs). It didn't take long for her to find it. (He told me offhandedly later that it was in his pocket the whole time; he must have known I knew.) Cyndi didn't say anything, either. Jack was really relieved.

I was thinking while this was all happening that there was a lesson here, but I also knew that he was suffering with worry. Jack really treasured the knife and he knew I had trusted him with it. I think my dad gave it to me, not when I was a boy, but later, and what's more all the tiny tools worked and nothing was missing. It looked almost brand new. We had talked several times about taking care of it, mostly for safety reasons. Honestly, I knew I wouldn't really miss it. My camping box has other tools I'd grab long before I'd ever pick it up to use. "It's okay," as Ry says philosophically.

So I didn't say anything while he looked for it. I admired him for looking so hard on his own, stoically searching, not saying a word. Of course, Cyndi had faith that it would be found. He doesn't know it yet, and won't for a while, but it's already his.

I know this is off-topic, but I'll mention it anyway: I've been trying to wrap my thoughts around the current economic crisis. It makes all the fuss about Palin seem so insignificant now. I can't help thinking, as I try to sift through it, that the costs of Bush's policies are bankrupting us and that there will be many who will benefit from this while many more will pay the price, all the while we are told we cannot afford basic needs, like health care. That's my general reaction for now. I suppose there's opportunity somewhere.

Ariel's home

Ariel arrived back in New Mexico on Wednesday. The boys were very excited to see her when she came over yesterday. More energy than usual. Last week, Ry drew a portrait of his family. There was Ry surrounded by Mom, Jackson, Ariel and Dad, all with big smiles. So we went to El Pinto with Ariel last night for calabicitas burritos, huevos rancheros, and lots of beans and chips. We sat on the patio. Our waiter wasn't there the night McCain and Palin bought some chile, but he did see Hilary when she came and he liked her. Ry talked a lot with Ariel but I don't remember what. He goes along with just about anything. Jackson gave a narration to Ariel about his movie. Cyndi and Ariel talked about bicyling, and we all talked about Fairbanks, Jenni's wedding, and meeting Chris in France or Italy when he gets some R&R time. We caught up with other family. Ariel's had enough travel for the moment, so she's probably not joining us for an overnight camping trip to Abiquiu Lake, but next weekend she may join us on a trip for Dixon apples. Yeah! Good to see her. She looks great.

another state fair weekend

Sunday morning was cool and breezy. After bacon and scrambled eggs, we went to the state fair. It was uncrowded. We walked directly to the petting barn, then saw the rabbits, the horses, the sheep and goats, and the cows. We toured the exhibition hall, which was mostly kitchen knives demonstrations and really, really bad junk. We stopped at the Backyard Circus, which was a terrific show. It included the children and ended with a puppet parade. We bought an Indian taco at the Indian Village just as they had the flag-raising ceremony, which was accompanied by a drummer and a singer. They boys ate a hot dog and a corn dog at the food court, next to a diving show. Rounding out the boys' state fair diet were cotton candy and cherry slurpees. Our last stop was to see Nicholas's lego entry. The crowds were entering, the day was getting hot, and the parking lot was full as we left.

Cyndi and I went to see The Women. It just opened and so it was showing in the large theater. There were many women sitting in the audience who came in twos and threes and alone. There was a grand total of 4 men in the audience. There are no men in the movie. A boy does appear near the end. Our boys stayed home with their cousin Jordyn.

Saturday morning Jackson, Rylee and I filled up the tank with gas, before the prices go up again in the wake of Hurricane Ike. We bought two sets of storage shelves for the garage. When we got home, I began moving all the stuff in the garage and assembled the shelves while the boys pulled out and rediscovered everything in the garage. Around six, the boys had moved into their bedroom to disassemble that room, leaving a yard full of lego pieces, balls, cars, trains, etc., etc., and I, now crippled, started the coals so we could have a Bleicher week-end cookout. The basic Bleicher week-end cookout, as confirmed by Lisa in one of her recent comments, is ribeyes, salad, and wine. After dinner, I retired to the garage to put away the last of the odds and ends, mostly tools, screws, nails, paint brushes, and left over materials from a smattering of repair projects.

I moaned all night.

sam & eddy

Ry is in his second week of preschool. Ry likes to stay up at night with me as I unwind by surfing back and forth between MSNBC and Letterman, catching glimpses of a recent movie playing for the umpteenth time or an old movie (recently, Anatomy of a Murder and Now, Voyager) or a re-run on TBS or a ball game or the top 10 plays of the day or Project Runway or the weather channel.

With just a little prodding, Ry will tell me about preschool. The trucks and shovels aren't on the playground this week, but the slide is stil there. He sang itsy bitsy spider. They look at books but they don't read them. He always washes his hands after potty. They don't take naps. He likes the play dough. He's brought the same toy car (remote control or transformer, don't know exactly) to show and tell, and he does explain how it works. And he has two friends, Sam and Eddy. They're boys. It took two days of going through boys' names to get their names. Now we know. He says he'll know more friends at school.

wasilla connection

I'm setting a political course for this blog at the moment. I saw that Lisa sent me a follow up email to her prior comment, and Dad's forwarded a note that's circulated on the internet (Gary passed it on to him) and a reaction from someone he knows from Wasilla about the new pol phenom, Sarah Palin. At least the family is campaigning among themselves. I have yet to speak much with Cyndi's family. A couple of mild Republicans among the in laws but otherwise Dems, too. Cyndi probably shares Lisa's surprise that Palin IS such a phenom.

I see there are efforts to deconstruct Palin. I dont' know that it'll amount to much. So she's padded her resume. Not much news there. How fascinating that she is the center of the national election! Dems for now just have faith that time will tell and the luster will fade. Polls are even at the moment, with McCain/Palin enjoying a bump ahead.

We shall see if Charlie can ask any tough questions or just lobs softballs. Charlie actually has a blog site, but he's not posting his thoughts. I just saw that there looks to be about 1300 comments and proposed questions posted that ABC says are being directed to Charlie.

Biden at least seems to be taking his debate with her seriously enough not to believe it'll be a slam dunk.

Meanwhile, I downloaded Obama's "blueprint" to be convinced.

And I think I'll undo the control that moderates comments to this blog.

no politics monday

We had a nice weekend. I actually ran on both Saturday and Sunday. Cyndi got bike rides both days. It was very warm. The boys played outside on their scooters, and we went swimming twice. Cyndi got another swim lesson on Sunday. We got some DVDs and books from the library on Ry's card and picked up a Dion's pizza and turkey salad. After my run on Saturday we went to the dollar store and got out under $5. Then a late lunch of whole pinto beans, chicken tacos, breakfast burrito, huevos rancheros, sopapillas and honey, and red chile. We added the old speakers and mouse to the laptop in the boys' room where Jack sets up his "office." Someday, he'll get a real student desk. And someday later, some bunkbeds. After church, where the boys kept losing their bakugan toys (little plastic balls that open up into transformers) as they rolled among the pews, we had coffee and donuts with Janey, who was visiting her daughters in town. Birthday cake for Dorie Sunday night.

I talked with Ariel. She'll be coming September 16. She sold her car and they were putting a few things in storage. She thinks she'll be in Albuquerque at least until Christmas. She'd like to find a publishing internship or work a little, travel a little and write. There are plans for graduate programs next fall back east. And she'll be visitig Emily in Hawaii in December and they'll do the Honolulu Marathon together.

I need to train for something. In April there's Big Sur, and Nashville has a country music marathon around the same time that could be fun.

Nashville's not far from Sarah, who's including posts in her blog about her first Ole Miss football game. I got a good email from Dad, detailing the wedding and promising pics. Cyndi spoke to David for his birthday and he said the wedding was great. I heard from Sandra, too, about the wedding, and she sent me some information to update the family history. I need to get back to that. Lisa sent me a comment which is under the cspan post.

Fall's coming. State Fair is here. Dixon apples will be harvested in just a few weeks. And we'd love to get a camping trip in this month. Did I mention we drove up to Santa Fe on Saturday? It rained most of the day. Had a late breakfast at Pasquale's (the boys and I ran from the car with our umbrellas), strolled the plaza (an arts-and-crafts show, where we found a small santuario or retablo of St. Pasquale, the patron saint of cooks), stopped at J.Crew and Toyopolis, and ran to the St. Francis in the pouring rain so I could get the car. On our way back, drove through La Cienega, got lost when we didn't take the turn off to Los Golondrinas, and circled back to stop at Sunrise Springs to have a glass of wine, an appetizer, some rolls, and a very expensive macaroni and cheese for the boys. The restuarant was very quiet and so were the grounds as we walked around the pond afterwards and strolled about. A strangily damp day.

Equal Time

Since I made a few comments about the Dem convention, I thought I'd add my two cents about the GOP convention that ended last night, for what it may matter.

The choice of Sarah Palin for VP is the biggest surprise. There's plenty to like about her, and I think voters will be drawn to her in droves. Throughout the campaigning leading up to the nominations, I thought that a Democratic win for president was inevitable. Bush & Cheney would be ousted, even though they were leaving anyway, along with the Republican party. McCain was a hero and the only palatable choice among Republicans running but he never seemed maverick enough to disengage himself from the GOP. Now my gut tells me that the GOP ticket has better than an even chance to get into the White House. It may depend on the electoral college again and a few, small swing states, like New Mexico.

The Dem convention theme seemed to be not so much Obama's stump speech about change--I still don't have any clear idea what he proposes to change but I trust that his administration really will bring about change in the country's goals and aspirations--but more to make the point that at this moment in time a Democrat, whoever he may be and whether or not you supported him during the primaries and despite any reservations you may still have about him, must be elected president to undo the course set by the past Republican administration. (A course begun with Reagan and Gingrich and the Christian right, and whatever merit the course had has since become sullied.) We cannot afford another Republican mandate. Judicial picks really do matter.

I don't think I am alone to have reservations about the Democratic ticket, despite my reluctance to re-admit Republicans into the White House. So the choice of Palin is awe inspiring.

The Republicans, in a strategy that tips its hat to Karl Rove, have adopted the Obama theme and made it their own. So now everyone is for change. (And everyone is united.) The problem I see for the Republicans is that eventually some clear voice will state the obvious. The status quo is a Republican-led course. Electing Republicans will not change the status quo. And the best these mavericks have to offer is outing Republican corruption. That's great, but it's not the substantive change I think the US needs. McCain can't convince me that he and Palin are going to end partisanship if they cannot define a middle ground. The ticket seems to be drifting further to the right. I don't believe for a second that the Republicans will bring about real change in the broad realm of energy--its source, its production, its technology, its management and consumption, its innovation, its cost, both financially and ecologically, and our commitment--which is probably our most important issue at the moment. Republicans, I fear, belatedly and reluctantly only pay lip service to any change in energy policy. Except, of course, that they're anxious to drill.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are all over themselves with God Bless the USA and red-white-and-blue spectacles. I don't think they have much to offer--I can't imagine now what they will have new to offer--to counteract the appeal of the new Republican ticket. I don't think any McCain-Obama debates will be persuasive, and Biden could lose a debate with Palin. It seems unlikely there are any skeletons that may be exposed. Most people seem to have already dismissed the daughter's pregnancy as a real issue, even though I suspect some people had (only) a second's worth of self-righteous indignation given Palin's purported conservative position. I thought it odd that when the pregnancy was disclosed, mom took pride in asserting that her daughter "chose" to keep the baby. What a strange word choice.

And in a stroke of brilliance, the real issue about Palin--her obvious inexperience--is foreclosed. Obama is bright, articulate, and on the right side of issues, but my reservation about him was always about his lack of experience.

(My second reservation was his position on Iraq. He was right from the start but he did not have to account for the politics of the decision making. We all knew at the moment it began that it was ill-considered and ill-advised. The war was motivated by arrogance and hubris, if not greed. It was orchestrated by power mongers who insist on running government as though it were a corporation or a fiefdom and they were immune from personal responsibility. Even though we knew in our heart of hearts that the war was a gross mistake and that Bush was, well, it's the sad truth, an idiot, we were also mesmerized by the shock and awe and caught up in the humvee rides in the swirling sandstorms. Given his position, Obama couldn't seem to address in practical terms the horrible situation that came about. When Democrats supported the troops, and obstensibly the war, it was because the war was a fait accompli that couldn't easily be undone without grave consequences. Although he denies it, he later backpedaled, and it's clear McCain will go after him on that. That's the point of the "I'd rather lose the election than lose the war" position.)

Dems can hardly attack Palin on the inexperience issue. We applaud both Obama and Palin for being outside "politics as usual," a sad platitude, because they are novitiates. At the same time, however, we need people who dare to work within the political system to get things done, however small or big the accomplishments may be, and who have demonstrated they are good at it. They are both vulnerable. Sure, Obama has come up to speed since he first ran, but who's to say Palin also cannot come up to speed? I guess the argument is that Obama has some experience on a national level while Palin has some experience on the administrative level. Is it a wash?

Obama has to be ready for Day 1; Palin only has to be ready for Day 2. And, my god, we've managed to survive somehow with some other clearly inexperienced, and not even very bright, elected officials. Unfortunately, Palin will be learning under the wings of Republicans. She's a hearbeat away, and McCain sometimes looks like hell. (He's been through hell, so no surprise, I guess. Yeah, he's old, but his mom looks pretty strong at 96.) And as undeniably appealing as Palin is, she's also scarily conservative. (Sorry, I personally don't think a life-time NRA membership is a credential for politics anymore, but I do appreciate the love for hunt and game she must share with most, if not all, of her fellow Alaskans.)

Palin won't attract the women who supported Clinton. She's going to attract the men and women who might have sat on the sidelines this year because now they are excited. She's going to attract the people who began to doubt their support for Republicans. She's going to attract all the regular people who really are on the front lines and in the trenches of social and economic issues.

So I saw the Republican convention. Not as much as the Dem's, but I was there in front of CSpan every night. (I did, however, play more chess with Jacson and Rylee during the telecasts on those nights.) I couldn't stomach most of the speeches. Republican friends say they liked Gulliani's speech, but I turned away after a couple of minutes. Romney and Lieberman, egads, they were horrible. Palin had a good speech, clever in places, and it showed her personality to good effect. I liked the montages and tributes to McCain, but his speech wasn't motivating. Why do so many of these speeches bog down in the middle? Do they really think we need a line itemization? There have to be better ways to accomplish that, and, frankly, they all sound so hallow. I'm so tired of the anecdotes about people they met on the campaign trail and how they're running to protect them and help them. (They all do this now.) Fred Thompson, who strikes me as a washed out actor and never a serious presidential candidate, was the best speaker.

Wow, what compelled me to write this? Maybe to look back at it later?