Tuesday, April 29, 2008

It Ain't Over Til It's Over

I've always liked Joe Walsh. It certainly doesn't hurt that he wrote "Rocky Mountain Way" and "Life's Been Good", but he also had what I believe is the definitive opinion on demise of the Eagles. Joe has suggested that as far as he was concerned, he was the only member of the Eagles for a stretch of time from 1980 until the most recent reunions, since the other guys all lost interest or their tempers and left. He was the only one who never quit.
While we are being bombarded with Obama's crazy clergy connections and Hilary's illusory hardscrabble working class upbringing and McCain's wistful inability to control the thoughts and deeds of his own supporters, nobody told Ron Paul that he was finished. Ron's a Republican Representative from Texas, and he's still running for president of the United States. Yes, a Republican from Texas, but wait: "Our continued presence in Iraq is serving as a recruiting tool for al-Qaeda. A recent National Intelligence Estimate found that the U.S. presence in Iraq has had a 'rejuvenating' effect on the terrorist group."
Doctor Ron Paul wrote that. And he means it. "On my first day as commander-in-chief, I will direct the Joint Chiefs of Staff and our commanders on the ground to devise and execute a plan to immediately withdraw our troops in the safest manner possible." Well, how about that? Or this: "The biggest threat to your privacy is the government." He's worked to repeal the Patriot Act.
Now go ahead and ask me if I'm voting for Ron Paul.
Well, in a word, "No." Because he also says, "I want to abolish the unconstitutional, wasteful Department of Education and return its functions to the states." School vouchers. Brrrrr. Then there's that whole "Pro-Life"/"Pro-Gun" dichotomy. Yuck.
In the end, I'm glad to know that Joe is still out there making music, and Ron's busy keeping our electorate honest, but I don't think I'll be having either of them over for tea anytime soon.

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