Robert Owens
I Want to be Happy
By
Oct 8, 2008 - 8:04:02 AM

I want to be happy.  I want to have hope.  I want change and I know that things cannot keep going the way they are.  So why is this election cycle, which is all about hope and change, driving me to despair?  I’m getting to the point where the idea of merely being depressed makes me happy.  

The recent Conclave of the Anointed, even though it was a mile high, offered little in the way of surprises.  We all expected the cheerleaders of the mainstream media to continue cheerleading; Chris Matthews, an anchor for MSNBC, is a case in point.  Presented as an objective newsman, he gushes, “It’s part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama’s speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don’t have that too often.” Who also told us, “I’ve been following politics since I was about five.  I’ve never seen anything like this. This is bigger than Kennedy.  Obama comes along, and he seems to have the answers. This is the New Testament. This is surprising.”*  Now there’s some objective reporting that I’m sure won’t be subject to the new Fairness Doctrine because it’s just, you know so objective.

Avoiding a decision that might actually signal something beyond change in rhetoric, only Himself tapped Bill “Bugsy” Daley’s good buddy Say-it-Ain’t-So Joe, a nice guy and a professional outsider who’s been in the Senate more than half his life, to be his understudy.  The media cheerleaders assured us this would be good because Uncle Joe actually has some experience.  

Then along comes McSame, the Neocons, and the other Republicans-in-name-only throwing a curve with the choice of Sarah Palin as their candidate for next-in-line.   Aren’t they following the script?  Didn’t they get the memo?  Every day, the cheerleaders tell us this year is going to be a Democrat sweep.  The old war horse is nothing more than the designated loser and here he is trying to challenge the self-proclaimed appointment with destiny by picking a woman!  I mean, HE could have picked a woman.  There was even one woman who won more votes than HE did, but did HE pander to the crowd like that?  NO!  HE stood HIS ground and chose a well-connected party hack who isn’t ashamed to plagiarize speeches, say crazy things, and at least has one son who’s a professional lobbyist.  These Republicans!  Why don’t they just lie down and play dead like they’re supposed to?  This reminds me of one judge I heard speaking to a defendant at the beginning of a trial.  After refusing to allow a jury trial, they pontificated from the bench, “I have already decided what my verdict in this case will be, but if you want to waste your time and mine by presenting a defense, go ahead.”  Don’t these Republicans know this is a Democratic year?  Why don’t they listen to ABC, NBC, or at least CBS and learn the truth.  This is a Democrat year, all the newspeople agree, so why waste our time with these cheap theatrics?  I mean, get real, a woman for VP?  If that was the order of the day, wouldn’t HE have picked a woman?

Back to being happy and having hope.  If the national news doesn’t do it for you, why not turn your eyes a little closer to home.  In our last election, we brought in ALMOST a completely new Board of Supervisors.  The verdict still isn’t in whether we will get a new way of doing things in Chesterfield County, or learn to our dismay that the new Boss really is just like the old Boss.  Perhaps we the people will be heard and instead of government for, by, and of the special interests, we will get the opportunity to be a community designed for people and not just as an ATM for those who have the right connections.

Wait a minute, that thought didn’t make me very happy either!  I want some big-smile, laugh-out-loud happiness.  I guess I’ll just hang around with the other people who are seeking friendship and fellowship down on the Chester Village Green on Saturday mornings.  By the way, have I shown you the newest pictures of my grandkids?

* Christopher Matthews (As quoted in Primary Scream New York Observer February 5, 2008)



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