Clinton Cocktail Party- I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison

A funny thing happened to my iPod over the last couple of years. I was browsing through my music one day and realized that almost all of the stuff I had downloaded from iTunes was country music. I had Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett, Keith Urban and Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson and Patsy Cline. I’m telling you it was weird. I always prided myself on being one of those snobby, erudite, post-pop-rock people whose tastes varied from The Hilliard Ensemble to Miles Davis to Cecilia Evora to Tellu. But country? How did that get in there?

I guess it all started with my favorite bluegrass CD from Ricky Skaggs and then I heard Heather Myles honky-tonk and the rest of them just started jumping on for good company. Hmmm, good company. Maybe that’s what country music is all about. The themes are all the same and universal. Heartbreak, lonesomeness, joyful fiddles at a country dance, flirting, partying a bit too much. No wonder it’s so much fun. People who like country are just straightforward, tell it like it is folks.

But country music is also about hard work, poverty, faith and pride in country. It captures the heart of rural America, Scots-Irish immigrants, our roots. This is the part of the country where Hillary should have no problem reaching out to people and yet we tend to see it as solidly Republican. But the valleys of Tennessee remembered the committment of FDR to the dam projects that brought power to the heart of Appalachia. Those voters remember Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty and Robert F. Kennedy’s commitment to feeding the poor and lifting the minds.

So, as we turn to Ohio, let’s remember that rural Ohio could use a little attention from the next president as well. As Hillary ushers in her economic stimulus plan with an emphasis on employment in the greening of America, there will be plenty to sing about in the years to come.

Welcome to the Clinton Cocktail Party. This is the time when we sing each others praises instead of drowning each other out. Please say a friendly hello to the Obamaphile standing next to you. Everyone is a friend here.

To the right of the door is Rico, our bartender with flair! Take a minute to say hi and try his featured drink of the day, *Ohio Cocktail*. It’s got a little bit of everything in it. sort of like Ohio where the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame meets country music roots. I’m going with what’s on tap, but, you can order anything you like.

Tonight’s singer *sounds* like he’s from Texas but he’s really from Ohio. Whoddathunkit? David Allen Coe knows all about “The Perfect Country and Western Song”. Actually, this is the cleanest one of his tracks that I can find on Youtube. For those of you who like your country a little bit on the raw side, well, David Allen Coe his your singer. But in any case, you don’t have to call him darlin’:

Ladies and gents, I know I can count on you to not start any barroom fights, so if you find your trigger words getting a little antzy, consider leaving them with Florence, our lovely check room attendent. Our waiters will be circulating soon with sausage stuffed peppadews. hummus and pita and some salty peanuts. Please drink responsibly and tip your wait staff generously.

And sing along if you want. Here are the words.

Short Takes for 2008-02-28

Breaking: “Senator Obama does not make promises he doesn’t intend to keep”! Oh, really?

Barack Obama has ratcheted up his attacks on NAFTA, but a senior member of his campaign team told a Canadian official not to take his criticisms seriously, CTV News has learned.

Wonder who that “senior member” might be?

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Mayor Bloomberg will not run, and “the party” is over!

If a candidate takes an independent, nonpartisan approach … I’ll join others in helping … the candidate who recognizes that the party is over … will be the winner this November

Who is that candidate? Obama mentor Tom Daschle knows.

BLITZER: You sound like one of those moderate Democrats and Republicans who met in Oklahoma recently, who want to see the Left and the Right basically move closer together. …

DASCHLE: Well, it’s not only where I am personally. But I think it’s where the American people are. It’s where Barack is. … It’s why Republicans say, for the first time, you know, I think I can work for that guy

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New LAT poll results show Obama ahead by 6 among likely primary voters (and tied 46-46 among Democrats), but 18 points up in the “already voted” subsample … which would suggest stronger Clinton performance in the 14 states that have yet to vote. OTOH, it’s just a poll.

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“What Nelson Mandela could do in his country, Barack Obama could do in ours”

— Obama surrogate Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Scott Gration, in Columbus, OH

What, defeat our system of apartheid? Jump-start a Truth and Reconciliation Commission? Establish a tradition of one-party rule? Anoint a successor who thinks beet juice cures HIV/AIDS? Or invade Lesotho?

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From the comments:

• Hillary raised $35M in February, and
• Doubts are raised about Obama’s claim that he was running for US Senate when he delivered his October 2002 antiwar speech. Sorry, folks, it’s legit. (His “one superior decision proves my superior judgment” claim, however, is a reflection of immature judgment … as any parent knows.)

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Thought for the Day:

The Great Obama might saw the lady in half, but he won’t make the elephant disappear.

We are at the mercy of frozen pizza and babysitters

That is what this race will come down to. Will the women of Texas be able to rush home from work, get the kids out of day care and arrange for someone else to take Tammy to her dance class and Ryan to karate? Will she have the 25 minutes it takes to heat the oven and throw in the frozen pizza? Are her kids old enough to stay home by themselves for a couple of hours and can they remember to turn off the oven when the pizza is done, or will she have to arrange to find a babysitter of that magical age that is not too young to require a sitter herself in these overly protective times but isn’t too old so that she has better things to do on Tuesday night?

If she’s really desperate, she might have to take the kids with her. They will whine and complain about being (check all that apply) bored, hungry, tired, too cold, too warm, in pain, subject to their siblings’ irritations or endlessly fascinated by something they shouldn’t touch, go near, sniff, smell or taste. In other words, the little darlings will be a complete distraction during the caucus.

These one of a million women with their 2 million children will have to fit yet another hoop-jumping event, on top of voting in the primary, in order to shout down the maniacal Obamaphiles and put an end to the media’s determination to pick our next president.

Ladies, I know you can do this. But I am sooooo sorry we put all of this “fate of the world” stuff on you on a Tuesday night.

Busy day for me today. Non-stop craziness. I might check in at lunch. But I see that ronk has a lot of tasty morsels in his draft box (I swear, I didn’t peek), so I am sure we are all in very good hands.