Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you’ve both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn’t have let you have. But I also know that it hasn’t always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn’t make up for all the time we’ve been apart. I know how much I’ve missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me—about how I’d make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn’t seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that’s why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential—schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college—even if their parents aren’t rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you’ll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.

Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country—but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free—that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.

That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better—and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It’s a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you’ve had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much—although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.

These are the things I want for you—to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That’s why I’ve taken our family on this great adventure.

I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.

Love, Dad

And Hillary knows it. At this point we can only speculate why she has declared her intention to campaign in West Virginia and Oregon this next week. My guess is that she hopes to recoup some of the millions she donated to herself.

Her victory/concession/donate@hillaryclinton.com speech in Indianapolis last night reminded me of when Oral Roberts declared God told him he would die if he didn’t raise some number of millions of dollars. Back then my pastor, Wayne Smith, promoted a bumper sticker reading: “Send Oral To Heaven In 87″.

I loved Wayne Smith.

Democratic party leaders should be as wise as Pastor Smith. He knew when to stand up to the power players. They should have to the courage to stand up to the Clintons and call it what it is. Panhandling and positioning herself for 2012, even if that means damaging Obama, the Democratic party or America itself.

The fat lady sang, they can tell her they saw it here.

I think that, after listening to the following cleaned up audio, that my conclusion can only be that Mickey Kantor didn’t say anything offensive at all. I think he was referring to the polls with the “Those people don’t know shit” comment and the other comment sounds nothing like the N word now that its cleaned up.

I am sorry I ever posted any of it but since I did I will leave it, along with my apologies for jumping to conclusions, even if those conclusions seemed like they were caught on film.

Sorry Mickey.

UPDATE Part IV: (I post this first to give Mr. Kantor the benefit of the doubt. Updates 1-3 are below the original post)

I just read Kantor’s defense and he certainly seems adament about never having used /that/ word.

Then again, so did Mark Ferman. Still.. I would like to believe him. Maybe the second slur was doctored rather than enhanced. When I crank the volume I hear it but I won’t rule out the possibility that I am hearing it because I am predisposed to after watching the first video.

The first slur “Those people are shit” seems, to my hearing, maybe saying “Those people are shit(or shitting)..(unintelligible) Whitehouse.” This would tend to put the second slur out of context and so I am left wondering, Did he, or Didn’t he.

My thinking on this now is that someone with the equipment needs to enhance the soundtrack so this man is exonnerated if he is innocent and put out to pasture if he is not.

Original Post:

If not, it doesn’t matter, according to Clinton adviser Mickey Kantor.

Looking at polls in the documentary, The War Room, Kantor is seen with James Carville and George Stephanopolis. You know, the very same George Stephanopolis that moderated the ABC Ambush (debate) and will be hosting the 60 minutes Hillary Infomercial (town hall) in Indianapolis on Sunday, hours before voting begins.

Kantor says, “It doesn’t matter. Those people are shit.”

He looks up and says, “Oh, excuse me.”

Then he leans over near George and says conspiratorially, “How would you like to be a worthless white nigger?”

With the cameras rolling…

UPDATE:
The video is gone back (but without subtitles):

However if you watch documentary, The War Room (1992), crank the sound up when Kantor enters the picture and watch his lips carefully.

Here is the relevant clip from the documentary, Kantor enters at 4:37.

Wonder how long till they pull this clip.

UPDATE PART II:

ABC has pulled its story. Here is a screen shot of what was here (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/05/clinton-informa.html) an hour or so ago.

And here it is now:

UPDATE Part III:

It’s ba-ack. (Only different.)

“They just did 15 months for you, give them 15 minutes of your time.”

I can’t say it any better than the Dad of a soldier did in this video.

Update: Here is some salve for the disillusioned soul; proof one man can make a difference.

Army widens probe after finding bad conditions at Fort Bragg

.. Rogers said it was too soon to know whether the Fort Bragg problem was an isolated incident. He acknowledged the revelations from a video shot by the father of an 82nd Airborne Division soldier showing poor conditions such as mold inside the barracks, peeling interior paint and a bathroom drain plugged with sewage.

The soldier’s father, Ed Frawley, said he was disgusted by the conditions that greeted his son and the rest of his 82nd Airborne unit that returned on April 7-8 after a 15-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

“We let our soldiers down, and that’s not like us,” Rogers told reporters. “We let our soldiers down. That’s not how we want America’s sons and daughters to live. There’s no good excuse for what happened.”

Read the rest here.

You can hear the evidence and read the story here, here and here.

In order to ensure adequate righteous outrage at this tactic, I provide to you the following definition from Wikipedia. Please pay particular attention to the highlighted keywords.

A push poll is a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll. In a push poll, large numbers of respondents are contacted, and little or no effort is made to collect and analyze response data. Instead, the push poll is a form of telemarketing-based propaganda and rumor mongering, masquerading as a poll. Push polls are usually the “innuendo” manifestation of knowledge gleaned from opposition research on an opponent. generally viewed as a form of negative campaigning. Push polling has been condemned by the American Association of Political Consultants, and is illegal in New Hampshire.

Now let’s review the keywords along with some synonyms:

• Guise - cloak, cover, disguise, false colors, front, mask, masquerade, pretense, pretext, semblance, veil, veneer
• Propaganda - misinformation, distortion, lies, rabble rousing, fear-mongering, demagoguery
• Rumor mongering - Gossiping, scuttlebutt, innuendo, misinforming, calling fire in a crowded theater, crying wolf
• Masquerading - a false outward show, false appearance, pretend to be someone or something that you are not
• Innuendo - insinuation, implication, incrimination
• Negative campaigning - Bush, Rove, Clinton
• Condemned - wrong, guilty, worthless, unacceptable
• Illegal - against the law, prohibited, criminal

And now you know.

Remember the days when states each had one license plate, proudly declaring something special about its people or place? Florida was The Sunshine State, Missouri was The Show Me State, Kentucky - The Bluegrass State, New York - The Empire State.

Gone are those days.

Florida long ago abandoned it’s claim to sunshine in favor of saving the whales, the turtles, the dolphins, the panthers, the manatees, the everglades, bears, the Buccaneers, and unborn children.

Now a new plate is being debated, the “I Believe” plate. Considering that we already have 8,342 plates, I have to say, this isn’t much more than shrug worthy - until another group applies for the “God Is Dead” plate. And you know its going to happen.

Florida will be sorry it didn’t stick to sunshine.

Currently Available Florida License Plates:

ENVIRONMENTAL

• Animal Friend
• Aquaculture
• Conserve Wildlife
• Discover Florida’s Oceans
• Everglades River of Grass
• Fish Florida
• Indian River Lagoon
• Large Mouth Bass
• Panther
• Protect Florida Springs
• Protect Florida Whales
• Protect Our Reefs
• Protect Wild Dolphins
• Save Our Seas
• Save the Manatee
• Sea Turtle
• Sportsmen’s National Land Trust
• State Wildflower
• Tampa Bay Estuary
• Trees Are Cool

MISCELLANEOUS

• A State of Vision
• Agricultural Education
• Agriculture
• American Red Cross
• Boy Scouts of America
• Challenger/Columbia
• Choose Life
• Corrections Foundation
• Donate Organs
• End Breast Cancer
• Family First
• Family Values
• Florida Arts
• Florida Educational
• Florida Golf Capital of the World
• Florida Salutes Veterans
• Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch
• Florida Special Olympic
• Hospice: Everyday is a Gift
• Imagine
• Invest in Children
• Keep Kids Drug Free
• Kids Deserve Justice
• Live the Dream
• Motorcycle Specialty
• NASCAR
• Parents Make A Difference
• Police Athletic League
• Police Benevolent Association
• Salutes Firefighters
• Share the Road
• Stop Child Abuse
• Stop Heart Disease
• Support Homeownership For All
• Support Our Troops
• Support Soccer
• U.S. Air Force
• U.S. Army
• U.S. Coast Guard
• U.S. Marine Corps
• U.S. Navy
• U.S. Olympic
• U.S. Paratroopers
• United We Stand

PROFESSIONAL SPORTS

• Florida Marlins (Baseball)
• Florida Panthers (Hockey)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (Football)
• Miami Dolphins (Football)
• Miami Heat (Basketball)
• Orlando Magic (Basketball)
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Football)
• Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Baseball)
• Tampa Bay Lightning (Hockey)

UNIVERSITIES

• Barry University
• Bethune-Cookman College
• Clearwater Christian College
• Eckerd College
• Edward Waters College
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Flagler College
• Florida A & M University
• Florida Atlantic University
• Florida College
• Florida Gulf Coast University
• Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences
• Florida Institute of Technology
• Florida International University
• Florida Memorial University
• Florida Southern College
• Florida State University
• Jacksonville University
• Lynn University
• New College of Florida
• Nova Southeastern University
• Palm Beach Atlantic University
• Ringling School of Art and Design
• Rollins College
• Saint Leo University
• Saint Thomas University
• Southeastern University
• Stetson University
• University of Central Florida
• University of Florida
• University of Miami
• University of North Florida
• University of South Florida
• University of Tampa
• University of West Florida
• Warner Southern College

I post this to make up for my earlier weakness.