THE US REPORT

The presidential election continues to percolate, with a black comedian at a fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama referencing ‘hos’ and The L.A. Times declaring, “McCain hoped for a better week.” The paper manages to recap unscripted commentary such as former senator Phil Gramm’s statement about “whining” in the country. Gramm is an economic advisor to Sen. John McCain. The paper further notes the latest Pew poll has Obama ahead, even going so far as to compare the effects of Gramm’s comments as being comparable to the effects of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright on Obama. Pick yourself up off the floor and remember I’m citing a story in a California newspaper.  California spin is among the most fanciful on the planet.

I have a confession. When McCain became the GOP presumed nominee, no one was more surprised than I was. The impact was a little like the morning I was taking my walk, tripped over a pine cone and tumbled downhill, breaking my shoulder. What to do? I could not bring myself to consider supporting Obama. He has minimal experience at the federal level and even worse, comes from the same political machine that seized the presidency for John F. Kennedy. Sen. Hillary Clinton was an option. I would really like to see a female become president, because after all, the longest arm of discrimination in history is against females. That sort of thing is rampant in a number of other countries, many of them in the Middle East. The conundrum for me was Clinton’s liberal record. In the end, I opted for McCain.

Funny thing is he grew on me. What the Times notes as a lack of scripting actually works for the senator, at least in my opinion. That tells me there’s no Machiavellian strategist controlling everything the candidate tells us. The paper makes a huge deal out of McCain’s non-response to the prospect of insurance companies covering oral contraceptives. Sink me. The country’s going to hell in a handbasket tomorrow.

Omitted from the paper’s article is some interesting information from the Pew Poll, embedded in customary enthusiasm for the Democratic Party, reflecting McCain actually had a pretty good week. The headline in the paper might have read, 'McCain wins over base,' had another hand scripted it and had the writers actually read the entire abstract accompanying the poll:

• A positive note for the Republicans is that McCain is now winning the support of 79% of those who supported his former Republican rivals.
• Nearly half of independents (46%) are undecided or may change their minds, up from 28% in June 2004.
• Yet Obama trails McCain by seven points (44% to 37%) among voters ages 65 and older; four years ago, Kerry led Bush by 12 points among these voters. Obama also is trailing McCain slightly among white Catholics, a key swing group that was evenly divided at this stage four years ago but that ultimately voted Republican.

It’s actually refreshing to me to see a candidate who doesn’t spin every word that comes out of his mouth and has strong-willed advisors who speak their minds even if media does take what’s said out of context. McCain's not a hand-wringer, another trait that I find refreshing.

And as far as those “hos” go, Obama might want to put his comedian in touch with Don Imus for a strategy on that so they can keep the senator's comedians on script.