Not Much to Talk About?

Well, yesterday it was Hurricane Gustav. That was newsworthy and hurricanes tend to pre-empt other news. Especially, meteorologists get that crazed look in their eyes! This is what they live for! Junior reporters doing live remotes get their breaks (hoping to follow in Dan Rather’s footsteps)! When Gustav turned out to be gentler than expected (thank goodness), the media was left with virtually nothing to talk about today.

From first thing this morning, every network has done major features on Gov. Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter’s pregnancy. Well, welcome to the real world, all of you!

Many families today – make that huge numbers of families -have to cope with unwed pregnancies and child-rearing of another generation of children. Many of these mothers do not marry the fathers. It is so much of a common thing, and many of us have been touched by this. Yes, it is not right, but it is fact. It’s life today. (Remember, we are no longer looking at the Cleavers as your average family: most mothers work outside the home. This is not the 50s.)

Concerning the coming Presidential Election and the non-stop coverage: let me make a couple of comments and put forth an idea.

The Presidency of the United States is without a doubt the worst job a person could apply for. I mean it! If you get to live out your term, you will come out of possibly an eight-year stint with grey or white hair, plenty of wrinkles and a furrowed brow. You will have a few less friends and influence than you had going in. Your pay will be rather low by today’s standards for top executives but you do get secret service protection for the rest of your life. (Just what everyone wants: someone tailing them to the supermarket or department store.)

As for being Vice President, well, that is a job where you pretty much stay in the background, unless of course, your President dies in office. Sometimes you would become well-enough known to run for President yourself. Of course, that could put you in the situation for as long as 16 years! Whoa!

So, perhaps a few people of enormous credentials have noticed that this just might not be the job they want.

So, when we have a few good people – true patriots who indeed are willing to sacrifice to serve their country – well, what happens?

Let me count some of the ways we knocked off some of the people willing to run. We said they were: too Mormon, too old, too Hispanic, not Hispanic enough, too Libertarian, too show biz, too female, too Black, or perhaps not Black enough . . .

So, shall we set up Gov. Palin as too human?

Some people need to sit back and think about what it would be like to have one of us in the White House. Because, it looks to me as though some of these people are indeed, one of us!

Granted, John McCain is NOT one of us. Not too many of us have gone through the sacrifices this man has, all in the name of love of country. In an era of longevity, he should not be considered old, but of course, he might have a little more money than most of us.

Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle are pretty ordinary people in a country built on immigrants and working people trying to provide quality education and good starts for their children.

Joe Biden has suffered some of the painful events others of us have suffered: widowed with young children to raise and severe afflictions and illness to overcome.

So, perhaps we have something we have not had in the past! Perhaps we can finally elect an individual who can relate to ordinary folks, who are, after all, the employers of the President of the United States of America.

So, as an employer, why not just listen and see who you would like to elect. Because, this time, you have the chance to elect one of us!

Now, is there something else you’d like to talk about?