But what did they have to eat??

At the inauguration luncheon, that is. That is my question about almost every event or occasion, especially a luncheon, which we all know is vastly more important than just a lunch.

In case you're wondering, here's what they had, with wine pairings:

First Course

Seafood Stew in puff pastry
Duckhorn Vineyards, 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley

Second Course

A Brace of American Birds (pheasant and duck), served with Sour Cherry Chutney Molasses Sweet Potatoes
Winter Vegetables
Goldeneye, 2005 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley 

Third Course (some people call this Dessert)

Apple Cinnamon Sponge Cake and Sweet Cream Glacé
Korbel Natural “Special Inaugural Cuvée,” California Champagne

Well, then. That sounds like a lot of food and beverage for a midday meal. Was it followed by an inaugural nap?

And I have a few other questions:

Since when is asparagus a winter vegetable? According to the recipes Di Fi has thoughtfully made available, the vegetables included carrots, Brussel sprouts, wax beans, and asparagus. Asparagus in January? That's just unpatriotic. No way that was grown in the U.S. At least Di Fi used her clout to insist all wines be from California.

What is a brace of birds? I looked it up. Merriam-Webster's 11th lists a panoply of definitions, many of which are clearly not what is meant here. But there is 6: a position of rigid attention. Could be. Maybe they had those birds sort of propped up. Or 7: something that arouses energy or strengthens morale. Yes—that's got to be it.

Why didn't they let George Bush stay for lunch? According to the schedule, they put him on his helicopter and waved him away just before lunch. Maybe he got a boxed lunch. Could that be what Michelle had in that box?

What I thought of it all

I know everyone's just dying to know, so here's my wrap up, illustrated by photographs shamelessly borrowed without permission. We'll go in chronological order.

THE GLOVES

I am crazy about most things green, so you can imagine what I thought of Michelle Obama's green gloves. Which matched her green shoes. So happy about that.

THE MUSIC
While I didn't think Aretha Franklin sounded on the top of her game (I can imagine Jennifer Hudson having sung this better), there is absolutely no doubt that she was working that hat. To wear a hat like that rather than having the hat wear you is something only she could have pulled off. She looked fabulous.

I absolutely loved the adaptation of Copeland's "Simple Gifts" performed by Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Anthony McGill, and Gabriele Montero. My MIL appreciates Ma's playing but is consistently disturbed by his facial expressions and movement, feeling that it distracts from the music. To me he looks like a man who takes joy in the music and the connection with other musicians, and I love seeing it. Too bad they look like they're playing in front of a baseball backstop.

THE BIBLE

Hmmm. As a nonbeliever (did you hear the shout out to us in the address?), I'm uncomfortable with invocations, benedictions, references to god, participation of clergy (especially one of these), and bibles in public ceremonies. Separation of church and state anyone? But the history of the bible used today was undeniably interesting. Not only was this bible used for Lincoln's swearing in, but Lincoln's oath was administered by Robert Taney, the Supreme Court justice who wrote the majority opinion in the Dred Scott decision, which extended slavery into the territories. And today a black hand rested on it to take the oath of president.

THE SPEECH

Sasha and I agree—a job well done. I think he hit the right notes in a message of both hope and caution. To me, this seemed like an address that reached out to and celebrated all Americans. I wonder though how it played to conservatives. If we can resist from a slugfest, I'd love to hear what people outside my liberal bubble thought. Are you hopeful? Do you feel we stand together or still apart?

I particularly liked what he said concerning one of our greatest challenges:

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

My question is which comes first: the unclenched fist or the hand? A diplomatic game of rock, scissor, paper. Are we big enough to reach out a hand to a fist? Today I feel hopeful that we might be.

THE GOODBYE

As angry and disappointed as I have been over the past eight years, I am grateful for the goodbye being civil and dignified on both sides. Just one thing, Mr. Bush. Keep going. Don't look back. The place to look now is forward. Have a safe trip.

The election: My final words

What a night. I stand with the people who believe that last night the American people took back the soul of this country. I am proud to be an American.

For the past several years I have not been. And that doesn't mean I'm not patriotic. It only means that I want to be proud for a reason, and reasons have just not been there. The Bush administration has been marked by arrogance, dishonesty, and corruption. I'm not proud of that. But last night we took our country back.


What a stressful lead up though. I was such a mess at work, unable to concentrate on anything, that I finally decided the only thing that would bring me any peace was to hug my kid. So I headed home, grabbed my pie basket, and headed out to school for my love fix. It helped. So did the fact that NPR called Pennsylvania while we were driving to our election party.

The Usual Suspects gathered for an evening of election watching and home cooked Chinese dinner featuring Obama Beef and (a favorite from the last gathering of this kind) John Kerry Shrimp. The John Kerry election night had of course been a disappointment, but the shrimp had been great. Everyone dug into their wine cellars and brought out the good stuff, the best of which was opened when CNN called Ohio. It was at that point one of us declared "Game over!"

When Obama's win was finally called, we dragged the kids away from Speed Racer and in to watch the concession and acceptance speeches with us. "Sit down and pay attention," we said. "This is history." Many of us remembered the only other time we had heard parents gather children and say this: Nixon's resignation. My family was on a pack trip up in Montana, and someone climbed a tall tree to place a radio that we listened to huddled in a light rain. We knew by the looks on the adults' faces that it was big. Like I'm sure our kids knew last night.

McCain's speech was gracious. I was impressed and am happy that he leaves the race on a positive note, showing us the man we glimpsed when in the heat of the campaign he told a supporter at a rally that Barack Obama is a decent family man who we do not need to fear as president. Obama's speech was one for the ages. I could listen to it over and over.

My joy at this outcome is tempered by two things. California proposition 8, amending our state constitution to ban gay marriage, appears to have passed. I thought a constitution was supposed to protect rights, not deny them. I'm convinced that in another generation (hopefully less) we will look back on this for what it is: a violation of civil rights. I'm optimistic: Look how far we have come on race in a single generation. I really believe that in American, anything is possible.

And I'm not happy to know that people who did not see the election go their way are angry, scared, and pessimistic about our future. One of the most amazing benefits of participating in the blogosphere is that I have conservative friends. Religious ones even! I live in an area so homogeneously liberal that I rarely come in contact with people whose views differ much from my own. Blogging has enabled me to get out a little. Many of us will never agree, but let's keep talking. And listening. We really are in this together.

What's wrong with me

I've been distracted, anxious, unsettled. And on the eve of an election that, if the polls are to be believed, is going my way. What's up with that?

I had to bake my way through three pies (two pumpkin, one Dutch apple and quince) to see my way clear. Here's my problem.



Yes, it's a cartoon. Yes, it's Homer Simpson. But my mind is back in 2000. The night of that election, I went to bed with Al Gore as my next president. The next morning I woke to news that not only was this possibly not the case but that something even worse was taking place: When there were questions about the accuracy of vote recording, the Republicans did not want votes recounted. If you're confident you've won an election fair and square, why wouldn't you? And anyway, isn't this a democracy? Isn't counting votes what we do? I think it was one of the saddest days ever for Americans.

As so while I'm reasonably confident that the election will go the way I see as positive progress (Obama, Dems. in control, no on Calif. propositions 4 and 8), my trust in the American democratic process was broken in 2000 and has yet to recover.

Tomorrow night I will hunker down with the people I love the most—kids and all—to wait it out. I think we'll be happy with the results, but for me it will be tempered with sadness by the doubt I have and by the knowledge that regardless of who wins, a good many people (many of them good people) will be unhappy, angry, and scared. That's how divided and broken these past eight years have left us. I can only hope that on the morning after, we can move on together.

It's not true!!!

It's a frame-up job actually, courtesy of that shifty Jen, food blogger extraordinaire and general ass kicker.

Someone is also using this propaganda to frame my conservative (yes, there's at least one in every family) brother-in-law. It is absolutely not true: We will both vote. Someone's got to cancel him out. 

As a matter of fact I have almost finished voting. Husband and I are on permanent absentee voting status so we can sit down with our pile of campaign literature and noodle it all out. 

Sophie was  home with a head cold yesterday, so I had chance work on it. My ballot is complete, but I need to leave it out for Husband, so he can copy it consult it while making his own decisions this evening. Here's the ones I really give a rip about:

• Yes on 1 (high-speed train between SF and LA)
  

• Yes on 2 (treatment of farm animals)
  

• Yes on 3 (Children's hospitals)
  

• No on 4 (parental notification of abortion)
  

• No on 7 (renewable energy—bad for small alternative energy providers)
  

• No on 8 (limit on marriage—don't fuck with my state constitution; don't legislate love)
  

And the debate goes to . . .

. . . Joe the Plumber. Or so says George Will: "If the winner of this debate is the next President, the next President is Joe the Plumber." Would that be better or worse than Sixpack Joe? I'm not sure.
But I think he's right. If you came into the debate on the Obama side, that's where you left. Likewise if you came in a McCain supporter. I think this was a debate that solidified, not changed, opinions. These undecided voters . . . who are these people anyway?


We watched the debate as I cooked dinner and Sophie did her homework. She had many questions, among them was when George Will made the above comment in the post-debate commentary: "Mama, is that Joe Plumber??" No, honey, it's not.

But I'm sort of worried about waking up to this on the front page of the New York Times.

When bloggers conspire, genius is born

I know my blog friends are brilliant, talented, and generous, but if I ever needed proof of this I now have it.

While I was whizzing away to nowhere (except better endurance) on my spin bike at lunch, Lisagh was busy over at the Garage whipping me up this in response to my last post, where I noted that there is (amazingly) not a single image on the internet of John McCain as a garden gnome:

Thank you, Lees. My life is now complete, and I think the internet is a richer place.

A new job for John McCain

I've been thinking lately that this president business might not work out so well for Mr. McCain. Apparently, others agree.

A friend of mine visiting from New Zealand reports that John McCain has been written off by the British press already, noting that the conservative rag to which her mother subscribes had a column that included the observation "He couldn't possibly be president, but he'd make a superb garden gnome."

Of course this sent me immediately scrambling on the internet for a picture of John McCain wearing a pointy red cap. I searched all variations of "mccain garden gnome" to no avail. It's upsetting; I cannot get the image out of my mind.

But I found these. What do you think?


Yeah. I think that will work just fine. 

Sometimes we just a need a funny

My friend Mark, a super smarty, usually sends all his friends commentary on the financial collapse, which I must give him credit for predicting over a year ago. He's been warning us for ages to do all sorts of things that mostly amount to "get the hell out," although even he would probably admit that it's too late for those of us who have not done so to do so now. 

As an example of what an excellent guy he is, he could have crowed loudly today. Instead, he realized we all desperately needed a good laugh, and so he sent this.

Thanks for a day off, Mark.

More email from Barack

You might remember that the Obamas and I correspond regularly through email. They like to keep me up-to-date on the campaign, and they're interested in what I think. So this morning I received the following from Barack:

Subj.: What do you think?

Cindy—

I thought the differences between John McCain and me were pretty clear
tonight. [Indeed.]

I will fight for the middle class every day, and—once again—Senator McCain didn't mention the middle class a single time during the debate. [Really? Not once?]

If you agree that we need to cut taxes for 95% of working families, reduce health care costs, and end the war in Iraq responsibly, then I need your help right now. [I agree.]

And if you heard John McCain push more of the same discredited policies, including tax cuts for the wealthy and giant corporations, tax increases on health care, and continuing to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq, then now is the time to act.

Four weeks from tonight, we'll know which of us will be the next president. [I'll have to stay up all night. The last time I went to bed happy about the outcome of an election, I thought Al Gore was my president.]

The time to make a difference in this election is running out—will you make a donation of $100 or more right now? [That Barack—he's always hitting me up.]

https://donate.barackobama.com/townhall

Thank you,

Barack

I would love to tell him how I think it went, but the truth is I didn't see the debate. I'm sure he will understand.

Dear Barack,

According to news reports I have read this morning, even though most people found the debate a real snooze, it sounds like you nailed it. Good job.

I can't give you any further specifics though since I didn't get to watch the debate. I know! Can you believe it? Here's what happened.

I came home from work a little early, put a boneless leg of lamb roast in the over on a low temperature, and took off to pick up Sophie from school. I figured I could get home, add potatoes to the pan, make a vegetable and a salad, pour a glass of pinot, and it would be Debate Time. Good plan, no?

But a few miles from Sophie's school, a white gaseous substance started billowing from my front hood. Thinking it would be a bad idea to get stuck on the small winding rural road I was about to enter and not wanting to burn up my engine, I pulled over. Remember how I don't have a cell phone? Because Husband points out that I work at a desk with a phone sitting on it? That doesn't cost us anything? Right. So instead of calling someone for help or at least calling the school to say I might be late picking up Sophie, I hitchhiked the last few miles to the school, where I set up my Crisis Command Center Station at the school secretary's desk.

Eight phone calls to AAA and over two hours later (I had to raid the school kitchen to scare up some dinner for my hungry kid), not one but two tow trucks show up in front the school, one from each direction. Duh. Thank goodness Husband had arrived by this time and could get all irate with AAA about the delay. By the time we got the car towed to our shop in Berkeley and got home, the debate was long over.

BUT MY ROAST. It was totally fucked. Just look at it:

At least the house didn't burn down.

And the car? A blown radiator. Estimated repair cost? $600.

So I'm glad the night went well for you. And I'm glad you're focusing on the economy. You know what Sophie said as I tucked her in last night? "Mama, I am worried about the car." I assured her that the car will be fine and we'll have it back in a few days. She said "No, Mama. I am worried about the cost."

Hang in there. It's almost over.

Best,
Cindy

The debate: It has been revealed

Alright. Just one thing more about last night's debate and I'll return to recipes. Promise—Thai peanut sauce coming up. 

Apparently I was not imagining that Palin avoided answering many questions. (You know how you wake up in the middle of the night and wonder "Wow. Did that really happen?") It's all diagrammed here, you see.

Many thanks to the brilliant Aden Nak for figuring it all out and to the always informative Wonkette for pointing the way.

The debate: We ate,we drank, and we watched

Eating dinner while watching television: Don't say it's never happened at our house. It probably just won't happen again until November.

So we hunkered down with a good bottle of wine (our homemade 2003 Cab) and got busy with our Palin bingo sheets (our thanks to Piggy Toes for this steer).

Here's what we thought: No, she did not self-combust on stage. But neither did she answer many of the questions, even acknowledging such with responses to Gwen Ifil's questions such as "Can I talk about [me, my record, a subject on which I've been told exactly what to say]?" It was often as if she saw the debate as two-minute blocks of free air time. The question she evaded that I thought most disturbing was the one (also given to Biden) about her shortcomings or Achilles heel. Apparently, unlike Biden, she has none. Like Bush, she seems incapable of introspection and devoid of humility.

And the winks? 

Did ya just wanna slap er?

Tonight's debate: Let's get ready!

Pencils out, please! When was the last time you diagrammed a sentence? Been a while, no? It's often a useful way to figure out what someone is saying and see if it makes sense. And who among us has not been a little concerned about what's been coming out of Sarah Palin's pie hole lately? You know if SNL can use quotes with hardly any modification, you're in deep water.

The helpful people over at Slate have given us a hand at getting going. As they demonstrate, some sentences are fairly straightforward (it's all relative, you know). Take, for example, Palin on her foreign policy experience:

It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where—where do they go?

Still here? Don't go away.

I know that John McCain will do that and I, as his vice president, families we are blessed with that vote of the American people and are elected to serve and are sworn in on January 20, that will be our top priority is to defend the American people.

Man, the wheels are coming off the cart there. Families! Blessed! Defend! Serve! Yeah!! It's all there!

But if that's too mentally taxing, relax and turn up the sound to see how my absolute favorite Palin impersonator shows us preparations for this evening's entertainment. 

I know they've got her locked up at McCain's ranch madly dumping talking points into her head, but I'm with those who say "Just let Palin be Palin." Because people really need to see what is there—or rather, what's not. 

I've instructed Husband to go down to the wine cellar (otherwise known as our basement) and bring up a bottle of something good. It's going to be quite an evening. 

The Silver Lining Department

You know things are bad when someone like me returns from the gym over lunch hour to their desk and the first thing I do is NOT eat my lunch but check the stock market. Good thing there wasn't food in my mouth when I looked at that ticker yesterday.

One thing I'm wondering: Is there any way to really stick it to the big investors who got us into this mess in the first place without taking down ordinary prudent personal investors like myself? No? I didn't think so, but I thought I'd ask.

But all is not lost! Really! There is good news in this! It is this: We have been handed ANOTHER bad thing we can blame on George Bush. Let's see how that list is shaping up:

1 major terrorist attack
2 unsuccessful wars
1 badly responded to hurricane
1 nasty Department of Justice scandal
1 democracy undermined
Civil rights eroded
Failed banks? Stay tuned—still counting!
Jobs lost? Families without health insurance? Homes in foreclosure? Too many to count, and just too many.

Do you feel safer than you did eight years ago? More financially secure? Prouder to be an American? REALLY? What I'm saying is THIS IS NOT A COINCIDENCE.

Do I really think these things are all his fault? YES, I DO. They are all the results of his administration's policies. He's reminded us repeatedly that he's the leader. And so he is.

But not for much longer!

<

So here's to the more nails in the coffin of Bush's legacy. Sometimes it's important not to be gracious. He has nearly ruined this country and everything it stands for. But if we can learn and change, we can go forward.

Are you coming?

She who should be nameless

I'm talking about Sarah Palin, of course. Because it is just NOT GOOD to keep talking about her. I get too angry and have fantasies about beating the crap out of her, which end badly because then she shoots me with a high-powered rifle. And it prevents everyone from talking about THE ISSUES of the campaign and the people who are actually running for the main office (remember those guys?). I think it's time to move on, and I've got a plan.*

The next time someone makes a remark about Sarah Palin her, just look at them blankly and respond with "Who? No, I'm not aware of anyone by that name. Did you hear what Joe Biden just said about McCain's years of anti-regulation stance concerning the financial markets? The stance he changed to pro-regulation, oh, just yesterday afternoon? Let's sit down and talk about this some more. Let me buy you a drink."

But I'm willing to grant one exception for discussing her and invoking her name: Ridicule. If you want to make fun of her or watch other people make fun of her, that's ok. Because it would truly be a crime to forgo watching Sarah Benincasa's YouTube impersonations** of Sarah Palin that person.***

Sarah Benincasa (you can say that name all you want according to my plan!) started her series of vlogs shortly after the Republican convention and has been cranking them out ever since. It would not be a waste of time to view all of them. 

This is the first:

And I like this one a lot because Dina Heath Barr, formerly off-stage, comes out for a little action. 

And while we're having fun at Sarah Palin's &*#%^'s**** expense, here's a little joke someone forwarded me that we can play on her while helping a good cause at the same time:

We may have thought we wanted a woman on a national political ticket, but the  joke has really been on us, hasn't it?  Are you as sick in your stomach as I am at the thought of Sarah Palin as Vice President of the United States?
  
Since Palin gave her speech accepting the Republican nomination for the Vice Presidency, Barack Obama's campaign has raised over $10 million dollars.  Some of you may already be supporting the Obama campaign financially; others of you may still be a little honked off over the primaries.  None of you, however, can be happy with Palin's selection, especially on her positions on women's issues.  

So, if you feel you can't support the Obama campaign financially, may I suggest the following fiendishly brilliant alternative? Make a donation to Planned Parenthood.***** In Sarah Palin's name. And here's the good part:  when you make a donation to PP in her name, they'll send her a card telling her that the donation has been made in her honor.  Here's the link to the Planned Parenthood website:
       
     http://www.plannedparenthood.org/
       
You'll need to fill in the address to let PP know where to send the "in Sarah Palin's honor" card.  I suggest you use the address for the McCain campaign headquarters, which is:
       
     McCain for President
     1235 S. Clark Street
     1st Floor
     Arlington, VA 22202
       
Feel free to send this along to all your friends and urge them to do the same.

That sounds like fun, doesn't it? It's so important to stay positive!

* I thank the mother of my friend Gina for this strategy, which not only accomplished her objective but has given us one more excellent Ann story to enjoy.

** My deepest thanks to friend and blogger Gwendo for bringing this important material to my attention, as well as for buying me the miniature ice cream cones I could not find at my own Safeway. She knows what's important in life.

*** You know, maybe we should give her a symbol like Prince had when he was not Prince. But I can't get my keyboard to produce a wee little middle finger salute. Or a little gun. I'm working on it. 

**** How does that work for you?

***** Planned Parenthood is spending a lot of money fighting a proposition on California's November ballot requiring a waiting period and parental consent for young women to have access to abortion. And I don't think you had to grow up in my house to know how important defeating this is. Although that would surely help.

To run or not to run

Around my office there has been much discussion of McCain's recent selection of a vice presidential candidate. Palin's stand on the issues has really got us in a panic, so in the name of mental health, we've tried to focus occasionally on other aspects of the situation:

"I am the president of a PTA," I sniff. "And I have better glasses." They reply "Shit, Cindy. You would make a much better vice presidential candidate!"

But before I say sign me up, I think we should discuss this. I often find the two-column pro/con approach useful for considering such weighty issues. So here we go.

Would I Make a Good Vice Presidential Candidate?

Cons. My record could be sort of a problem here.

1. When I was a teenager, I did buckets of drugs. Really, just buckets. These things tend to get brought up in campaigns and rarely in a flattering light (e.g., "She really cleaned up nicely, didn't she?" or "Wow. She must have really started out with a lot of brain cells.").

2. I have knowingly hired illegal migrant workers. The fact that I paid them a decent wage (albeit under the table) and drove down the hill to pick them up burritos for lunch probably doesn't mitigate this.

3. I am an atheist. And while you would think that separation of church and state would render the fact that I have no church inconsequential, there seem to be a lot of people who think that being godless means lacking a moral compass, a sense of justice, and sense of greater humanity.

4. I have called in to work sick and then gone skiing. More than once. 

Pros. Alright! Here's my excellent platform. If you're not happy with Sarah Palin, you'll like me!

1. I will not support shooting wildlife from airplanes. There's just got to be better ways to spend one's time. And I'm not much on hunting, but isn't it more or less of a sport these days? Somehow chasing an animal to the point of exhaustion using aircraft and then blowing its brains out as it collapses just doesn't seem very sportsmanlike. I mean, for christsake, get down there on the ground with them and at least pursue them under your own power.

2. I will support reproductive rights. I just love how conservatives advocate for small government except when it comes to this issue. Maybe it's a fiscal thing: Social and environmental programs cost money. Maybe they figure that money they save on sex education and access to contraception is money that can be better spent on—oh, say—the military. Yes, that's it! But wait, that doesn't make sense. A pregnancy for many teenagers means the end of their education and increased dependence on social programs. But, wait! We can cut those! Money saved and god happier! But I think that's all bullshit. As I said, I will support reproductive rights. Even for Bristol Palin.

3. I will support gay rights, including gay marriage, equal access to benefits, and all the other things the rest of us have. I'm just not that interested in who you want to fuck. Unlike Sarah Palin's church, which is obsessed with it to the point of developing a program to "pray away the gay." Why would anyone want to pray away or mess with in any way the part of a person that determines who they love?

4. I will support public libraries. I will not seek to ban books. Haven't we had enough trouble with an administration that thinks people do not need information?

5. There are no voices (god or other) in my head telling me to kill people. You would think this is a given among people running for public office or even roaming the streets at will. And yeah, I know she is trying to claim she was invoking Abraham Lincoln, but I think that's bullshit. I think she really believes what she said, and it's reprehensible that she can't own it because it's not politically expedient. At any rate what Lincoln said was this: "[M]y concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right." Which is not the same thing as what she said.

So, I dunno. What do you think? Maybe I'm not ready. Oh, wait. No one nominated me. OK, I'll go back to posting recipes.

Something beautiful

So I thought I'd take a break from things unpleasant and horrible to show you what Sophie and I found at our produce market the other day.


It's a bright saffron-colored cauliflower. Sometimes, I explained to Sophie, you buy something just because it's pretty.

She agreed, and we added it to our hoard of tomatoes, figs, nectarines, and other goodies that will soon be gone.

Sophie allowed me to steam half of it (it was sort of her cauliflower), but the other half she kept for making an appetizer for us.

She drizzled raw florets with a little olive oil and lemon juice, topping it off with a sprinkling of black flaked salt.

She then paired it with a mixture of the most delicious little golden organic Thompson grapes and almonds (don't ask me where she came up with that combination).

Ok, that's very lovely and all, but don't get the idea I'm still not seething with rage over campaign goings-on. Do you think for just a minute people could stop discussing Sarah Palin's lifestyle choices and focus instead on where she stands on the ISSUES? Because then it would become alarmingly obvious that her views are very extreme and not in line with those belonging to many even within the Republican party. Right? Right????? Please tell me yes. Because I think there is something really wrong with a person who believes that a war is necessary because it is "God's plan."

Ok, ok. I'm back to meditating on the beauty of a cauliflower. These are tough times, you know. 

Thank you, Gloria

As Sophie and I drove home from her violin lesson yesterday, we tuned into NPR to hear Mitt Romney spewing his characteristic intolerance and ignorance. Sophie wanted to know what we were listening to. I told her. "The John McCain guys??" Yes. The other team. "Well, that SUCKS!" To which I responded "First of all, as we have discussed, I really don't like you using 'sucks' in that way. It is crude and does not make you sound like the smart person you are. Second, even though we disagree with people, we can listen to what they say with respect."

So there I was listening to Rudy Giuliani later that evening while practically convulsing with loathing and sobbing "He is evil! He is bad! Make him stop!!!" And of course it got worse as the evening wore on. Being a good example is hard.

But thank you, Gloria Steinem for aiding my recovery from last night's viewing by putting it in perspective. You're right.

The Obamas and I are tight

Very tight. We email each other, you see. Just yesterday morning I received this email from Michelle (we're on first name basis, of course):

Cindy—

My mom, the girls, and I left home in Chicago and got to Denver yesterday. What a beautiful city!

The convention started this morning, and everyone here is getting ready for the big week.

All the work you've done is at the heart of what's happening here, and our team filmed a short video to give you a look behind the scenes at the convention center.

Take a minute to check out the video and share it with your friends.

This week, folks from across the country will get to know Barack and our family a little better. Tonight I'm giving a speech at the convention, and I'm planning to share a few stories about the Barack I know—the husband, the father, and the man who shares my dreams for our girls, for this country, and for our future.

Before my speech, we're also going to show a video introducing our family to families across the country. Make sure to turn on your TV at 10:30 p.m. EDT (8:30 p.m. MDT) to see it, or you can watch it at www.BarackObama.com.

This is such an important moment, and I hope you'll join me by tuning into the convention tonight and all week long.

Thanks,
Michelle

What? You received the same email? Well, Michelle has a lot of friends, you know. I wrote back:

Michelle—

Good luck with your speech. I know you will knock it out the park.

Tell the girls Sophie says Hi.

Best,
Cindy

She did not write back, but that's ok. I know she is very busy. But Barack got back to me this morning:

Cindy—

I am so lucky to be married to the woman who delivered that speech last night.

Michelle was electrifying, inspiring, and absolutely magnificent. I get a lot of credit for the speech I gave at the 2004 convention—but I think she may have me beat.

You have to see it to believe it.

And make sure to forward this email to your friends and family—they'll want to see it, too.

You really don't want to miss this.

And I'm not just saying that because she's my wife—I truly believe it was the best speech of the campaign so far.

Barack

That's nice, isn't it? I wish Husband thought I was electrifying.

Now it's Michelle's turn to write. Here is what I'm sure she will say:

Hi Cindy—

Thanks for your good wishes.

I think the speech went well, but can you believe they played that cheesy Stevie Wonder "Isn't She Lovely" over the applause? WTF? Of course I'm lovely! But that is hardly the point. I am smart, accomplished, well-educated, and articulate. So is Ted Kennedy, but did they play that song for him? Noooooooooo. Hillary may have kicked a few cracks in the glass ceiling, but there's clearly still work to be done. Lovely my ass.

Anyway, thanks for letting me blow off steam. The girls send their love.

Yours,
Michelle

I'm so happy Michelle and Barack are my friends. If you would like to be friends with them, just go here. And tell them you're a friend of mine.

Could this be it??

The picture, I mean. In the past certain pictures and video clips that have been overplayed and overinterpreted by the media have on occasion almost singlehandedly sunk campaigns.

Remember this one?


That had to hurt.

And who will ever forget the Dean Scream, although he wasn't doing too well at that point anyway.

And John Kerry's campaign was not helped by this picture:

Although I would have been perfectly fine with a windsurfing president because I know the idea that someone who changes with the wind on a windsurf board would change with the wind on policy is just plain dumb.

But if the American people had just listened to their inner voices when they saw this picture, we might have been saved measureless national pain and embarrassment.



And so I am wondering now, in this campaign, could THIS be that picture?

My plea to the media: Take this one and RUN WITH IT.