Real Talk!

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shakin' hands, sayin', "How do you do?"
They're really saying, "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Oh yeah

These beautiful words are the lyrics to WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
Written by: George Weiss & Bob Thiele

It was famously performed by: Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong and it is that version that resonates within me... well... most of the time... because, ya, I'm a hopeless optimistic.

Okay, so it's Halloween, almost.... but it's not the spooky ghosts and goblins, witches and vampires that have me worried... it's the U.S. election.

I can't even understand why there is campaigning... and then, I look around inside my own circle and I see the distrust... AND the rising climate of mistrust...

(Distrust and Mistrust.... these words are worth looking up, if you aren't familiar...there is a real difference between the two)

& speaking of real differences between the two... I shudder to think that anyone would consider voting in the United States without taking at least a quick look at the candidates... I mean, outside of television commercials, sound bites, media conjecture etc....

Today, I thought I'd make it easy for anyone who is too lazy to look for themselves... I did a really quick look at the background of Barack Obama and John McCain... and I took at look at what issues they (or their handlers)have felt important enough to note on their campaign websites.

For what it is worth, I'd like to share that information with you. Please note, I will give you the campaign website addresses. Obama's site has a neat little pdf booklet that outlines issues, you can download it for free, without signing up to anything... you just need to look for the skip signup button.

McCain's Issues:
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/issues/

The Economy
Energy
National Security
Health Care
Iraq
Homeownership
Veterans
Immigration
Education
2nd Amendment
Judicial Philosophy
Homeland Security
Fighting Crime
Natural Heritage
Agricultural Policies
The Sanctity of Life
Climate Change
Ethics Reform
Space Program
National Service
Technology

Obama's Issues
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

Strengthen the Economy
Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief
Create Good-Paying Jobs
Create a Regulatory System for the 21st Century
Support American Labor
Change Washington
Make Affordable Accessible Health Care For All
Preserve Social Security and Strengthen the Economic Security of Our Seniors
Give Every Child A World Class Education To Compete In The Global Economy
Plan For A Clean Energy Future
Restore Fiscal Discipline
Support Rural Communities
Reclaim the American Dream for Women and Their Families
Fix The Broken Immigration System
Plan to End the War in Iraq & Other Foreign Issues
Dealing With Terrorism and Extremism
Combat Poverty
Plan For Universal Voluntary Public Service
Plan to Strengthen Civil Rights
Secure America and Restore Our Standing in the World
Keep Our Sacred Trust With Veterans

& I do believe that their backgrounds, tell us much about the men, too:

Barack Obama:

Barack Obama was born to a white American mother, Ann Dunham, and a black Kenyan father, Barack Obama, Sr., who were both young college students at the University of Hawaii.

When his father left for Harvard, she and Barack stayed behind, and his father ultimately returned alone to Kenya, where he worked as a government economist. Barack's mother remarried an Indonesian oil manager and moved to Jakarta when Barack was six.

Barack later recounted Indonesia as simultaneously lush and a harrowing exposure to tropical poverty. He returned to Hawaii, where he was brought-up; largely by his grandparents. The family lived in a small apartment - his grandfather was a furniture salesman and an unsuccessful insurance agent and his grandmother worked in a bank - but Barack managed to get into Punahou School, Hawaii's top prep academy. His father wrote to him regularly but, though he traveled around the world on official business for Kenya, he visited only once, when Barack was ten.

Obama attended Columbia University, but found New York's racial tension inescapable. He became a community organizer for a small Chicago church-based group for three years, helping poor South Side residents cope with a wave of plant closings. He then attended Harvard Law School, and in 1990 became the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review.

He turned down a prestigious judicial clerkship, choosing instead to practice civil-rights law back in Chicago, representing victims of housing and employment discrimination and working on voting-rights legislation. He also began teaching at the University of Chicago Law School. Eventually he ran as a Democrat for the state senate seat from his district, which included both Hyde Park and some of the poorest ghettos on the South Side, and won.

John McCain:

John McCain was born in 1936 at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone, Panama, to naval officer John S. McCain, Jr. (1911–1981) and Roberta (Wright) McCain (b. 1912).[ His father and his paternal grandfather both became four-star United States Navy admirals. A remarkable military family, his older sister Sandy and younger brother Joe, followed his father to various naval postings in the United States and the Pacific.

McCain entered the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. There, he was a friend and informal leader for many of his classmates, and sometimes stood up for targets of bullying. He also became a lightweight boxer. McCain came into conflict with higher-ranking personnel, he did not always obey the rules, and that contributed to a low class rank (894 of 899), despite a high IQ. He did well in academic subjects that interested him, such as literature and history, but studied only enough to pass subjects he struggled with, such as mathematics. McCain graduated in 1958.

McCain was taken, a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years and subjected to severe torture. He was released on March 14, 1973. After being treated for his war injuries, McCain studied at the National War College.

McCain retired from the Navy on April 1, 1981 as a captain. He was designated as disabled and awarded a disability pension. Upon leaving the military, he moved to Arizona. His 17 military awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and Navy Commendation Medal, for actions before, during, and after his time as a POW.

In 1982, McCain ran as a Republican for an open seat in Arizona's 1st congressional district. McCain's Senate career began in January 1987.

I'm not going to say much about the VP Candidates...

I'm tired of brewing tensions between Palin and key aides to McCain. Now, frustrated McCain advisers are describing Palin as a "diva" who is "going rogue."

CNN contributor and Republican strategist Ed Rollins said Palin was "mishandled" during the earlier part of the campaign, and as a result, "she's become a target of a lot of ridicule."

But, he said, "She definitely is going to be the most popular Republican in this country when this thing is over."

The media has given us a great deal of insight into Sarah Palin, the family woman. Her family has really become an important part of her political persona. Her speeches include friendly "shout outs" to the students of her school teacher brother and she is a devout supporter of special needs children because her son, Trig Paxson Van Palin was born last April with Down Syndrome.

Palin's husband Todd, also a politico AND champion snowmobile racer; is handsome and her children, Bristol, Piper, Track, Willow and Trig were bestowed with unusual names that Palin says are full of personal meaning.

They are an active, energetic, Christian family... shall we leave it at that?

Ya, I think I might enjoy having Sarah and the gang over for dinner... but honestly, her lack of fundamental understanding of key issues and of real experience is really quite frightening…

and I’m not ready for Caribou Barbie in power. I don’t want a cheerleader to have one foot in the White House. I can’t handle a hockey mom with her finger on the nuke button… even though she really knows how to engage her crowd.

& the thing is, that really, Joe Biden seems to be an all-around nice guy. If you take the time to check it out.

Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to an Irish Catholic family-he is the son of Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. (1915–2002) and Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Finnegan (born 1918).

Biden's father had been fairly well-off earlier in his life, but had business problems and was having difficulty by the time Biden was born. For several years the family had to live with Biden's maternal grandparents, the Finnegans when the Scranton area went into the 50's economic decline,Biden's father could not find enough work.

Negative impressions of drinking alcohol in the Biden and Finnegan families and in the neighborhood led to Joe Biden's becoming a teetotaler.

In 1953 the Biden family moved to an apartment in Claymont, Delaware, where they lived for a few years before moving to a house in Wilmington, Delaware. Joe Biden Sr. got work as a used car salesman, and the family's circumstances improved.

One of Biden's grandfathers was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate.

Biden attended the Archmere Academy in Claymont, there he was a standout wide receiver on the high school football team and played on the baseball team as well.

On August 27, 1966, Biden, then a law student, married Neilia Hunter. Neila was was from an affluent background in Skaneateles, New York and had attended Syracuse University. They had met in 1964 while on spring break in the Bahamas, and he had overcome her parents' initial reluctance for her to be dating a Roman Catholic.

Joe and Neila had three children, Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III (born 1969), Robert Hunter (born 1970), and Naomi Christina (born 1971).

Biden began practicing law and then entered into the 1972 Senate Election. Biden's campaign had virtually no money and was given no chance of winning- however, won the November 7, 1972 election in an upset.

A few weeks after the election, Biden's wife and one-year-old daughter were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Hockessin, Delaware. Biden's two sons, Beau and Hunter, were critically injured in the accident, but both eventually made full recoveries. Beau, became Delaware Attorney General and an Army Judge Advocate scheduled for service in Iraq and Biden's younger son, Hunter is a Washington attorney.

Biden has since been elected to five additional terms, in most cases with about 60 percent of the vote. He is now the longest-serving senator in Delaware history.

A single father for five years, Biden left standing orders that he be interrupted in the Senate at any time if his sons called. In remembrance of the accident, Biden does not work on December 18th…

What's not to like?