Hillary Goes Shopping For Curtain Rods

Since Senator Hillary Clinton dropped her bid for the Democratic party nomination for President, she has scarcely been seen. She has not returned to her vacant Senate chair in Washington D.C., which is surely getting awfully dusty by now. She has gone back home to Chappequa, New York. Spokesmen from her campaign said she and Bill were enjoying some much deserved down time.

So what's a girl to do when she realizes her highest career aspirations are in the tank, probably for good? On top of that, her philandering husband her soul mate, Bill, has his own busy schedule to keep. Now that he is not stumping for Hillary, he can return to to his ridiculously high priced speaking engagements which have him hopping all over the country. Rumors are surfacing once again (not that they ever left) that he is not doing all his hopping alone.

If I were guessing I would say that Hillary is going domestic, however briefly. I'll bet she is redecorating some portion of her home and is at this moment picking out wallpaper border for the bathroom, shopping for curtain rods or planting a new garden for the backyard.

Why do I say this? When a woman can't control her man, she tends to focus attention on her career. When she can't control her career, she tends to focus on her man. When both of these spheres are spinning out of her reach, the typical woman is dogmatic about finding some area in her life to control. If her children are grown and no longer require hovering, the next two areas ripe for re-arrangement are (1) her body and (2) her home. A woman can decide and have complete jurisdiction over the amount of brownies she will consume straight out of the pan in one sitting. If she really sets her mind to it, a woman can hit the treadmill in earnest and turn into Lara Flynn Boyle in no time.

For Hillary, I have a hard time seeing her take the body makeover route. She has such a lovely wardrobe of pantsuits, why diet and pilates her way out of them? No, it is much more likely she will choose the other source of female pride - the home. I know she has millions of dollars to spend on a decorator but that's not the point. When you're having a crisis of control, you have a fundamental need to get your hands dirty. Dig in the soil, grab that paintbrush, shop online at WroughtIronHaven.com and order candle holders, wall art, and garden fixtures till your heart's content. Go full out Martha Stewart, nothing halfway. It is therapeutic and helps you regain some measure of control over your world.

Yes, I believe Hillary Clinton is licking her wounds right now but is also seeking solace in her home. If you can't be President of the United States, you can still be the Queen of your Castle.

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Image Enhancement For Politicians

As the primaries come to an end, and we all settle in for the push to the general election in November, I have some advice for John McCain and Barack Obama. During the primaries some of those seeking the nomination tried to prove that they were "just common folk" by downing booze with the locals. Drinking whiskey in Tennessee might be better than Cosmopolitans, but it still plays into the general stereotype of politicians, -- "Were they drunk when they passed that bill?"

Instead of going for the "drunk" vote, how about the working man vote? Get yourself a good pair of work boots. I mean, really, rather than hearing people say "I see he is boozing it up on the campaign trail, -- I'd have to be boozing it up to vote for him" wouldn't you prefer to hear them say something like the following. "Cool work boots. He almost looks as if he has put in day or two of real work in his life."

So head on over to Work Boots USA and select from their assortment of 511 Tactical Footwear, Bates Boots, Belleville Boots, Caterpillar Work Boots, Converse Footwear, Corcoran Footwear, Danner Boots, Hi-Tec Outdoor Footwear, Magnum Footwear, Matterhorn Footwear, Rocky Footwear, Thorogood Boots, and Wolverine Footwear.

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Hillary Bids Adieu...For Now

Senator Hillary Clinton has announced that she will be suspending her presidential campaign this Saturday. Campaign workers were told that Friday will be their last day. This suspension does not automatically release her delegates to Obama, so technically she can still jump back in the race and persuade the super delegates, should some embarrassing Obama scandal erupt before the convention.

Does this mean Hillary will now go gently into the night? Probably not. One doesn't just turn off raw determination like a light switch and there are still things Hillary wants, like possibly the VP slot. It is unclear at this point whether Obama is equally determined to withhold it from her, pressure or no pressure.

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Obama Cuts And Runs

Today, Barack Obama submitted his resignation from membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ. The political burden of Jeremiah Wright and Michael Pfleger became too much for him.

My question is this, if it is right for him to withdraw from membership now, why was it not the right thing to do for the last twenty years when the same anti-American, anti-white vision has been cast from the pulpit?

I think it was the "Wright" thing for him to do now, but he still must answer questions about why he has chosen to remain in that environment and raise his children in it. Without answering questions about his twenty year membership he leaves the impression that his withdrawal at this time is not a principled decision but an act of political expediency.

If Obama was deeply disappointed by Michael Pfleger's "divisive, backward-looking rhetoric," then why has he not expressed that concern in the past. Michael Pfleger is acting and speaking as he has always acted and spoken. And, in the past, Obama has embraced Pfleger and Wright. What has changed? The only thing that has changed is that Barack Obama is running to become President of the United States and it doesn't set well with the American voter for a candidate to spend all his time hanging out with those who are terrorists, slum lords, racists, and anti-American.

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Missing The Humor In The Campaign

What is the one trait that always appears on lists of "things I want in a spouse" but rarely if ever appears on lists of "things I want in a President?"

You got it; a sense of humor.

And its a good thing, too, because ever since Mike Huckabee got out of the race the candidates have shocked us, cried, pandered, drank whiskey, and just about everything other than show any evidence of a sense of humor. Smirking doesn't count.

If you can want humor is a spouse, if you can want humor in a buddy, if you can want humor in a pastor (dare we go there?), then what is wrong with wanting your Presidential candidates to show a little humor.

For those of you who like me are finding much to make you aghast but little to bring a smile to your face, the following video might be a little shot in the arm.

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More Obama Spiritual Advisors On The Loose

Barack Obama's spiritual advisors keep getting curiouser and curiouser. This past Sunday at Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ, guest speaker Micahel Pfleger implied Clinton was a white supremacist who believed she would win the nomination because of "white entitlement."

Pfleger, a Chicago Catholic pastor who practices black liberation theology, is a regular guest speaker at Trinity church. He was introduced at Sunday's sermon by Obama's new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss III, who called Pfleger a "brother beloved, he is a preacher par-excellence, he is a prophetic powerful pulpiteer."

After Pfleger's remarks about Clinton, Moss thanked Pfleger repeatedly.

Pfleger told the Trinity congregation, "We must be honest enough to expose white entitlement and supremacy wherever it raises its head."

He continued: "Reverand Moss, when Hillary was crying, and people said that was put on, I really don't believe it was put on. I really believe that she just always thought, 'This is mine. I'm Bill's wife. I'm white. And this is mine. I just got to get up and step into the plate.'

"And then out of nowhere came, hey, I'm Barack Obama. And she said, 'Oh damn, where did you come from? I'm white. I'm entitled. There's a black man stealing my show.'"

Pfleger then mimicked Clinton crying as the audience erupted into applause and gave Pfleger's remarks a standing ovation. Clinton has become emotional during several interviews this year, and some media commentators have questioned her sincerity.

In his sermon, Pfleger added, "She wasn't the only one crying. There was a whole lot of white people cryin'."

Obama is a longtime associate of Pfleger, even referring to him in a 2004 Chicago Sun-Times article as a key source of spiritual guidance.

I can't imagine that the Hillary supporters out there will be jumping up and down with excitement over this mockery of their number one gal. In fact, the Hillary fans who are unsure of Obama might very well be pushed into the McCain camp in droves.

This comes at the worst possible time for Barack, just when he is seeking to woo those independents and wavering Democrats into the Obama hypnotic euphoria. He would do well to keep his ragtag team of 'spiritual advisors' tied up in an attic somewhere until after November.

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Clinton Regrets Assassination Remark

Hillary Clinton says she was simply making the point that there have been Democratic primary contests have that gone into June. Clinton has apologized for referencing the assassination of Robert Kennedy.

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Barack Obama Assassination?

Much is being said about Hillary Clinton's comment that she is staying in the presidential race because there is a chance Barack Obama could be assassinated. That was a really stupid thing for her to say. But are such thoughts completely out of left field?

Just a few weeks ago there were several international news articles addressing this possibility. Here is an excerpt from Mideast Youth:

A lead op-ed in the New York Times today by Edward N. Luttwak draws attention to Obama’s irtidad, his decision to leave the Muslim faith he was born into. According to Islam, which defines the children of any Muslim father as Muslim themselves, Obama’s conversion to Christianity is an act of apostasy. “Indeed,” writes Luttwak, “it is the worst of all crimes that a Muslim can commit, worse than murder…”

Blogs from The Daily Howler to the San Francisco Sentinel are abuzz with this “new” finding–that Obama as president would be at risk of assassination. Luttwak notes that Muslim law “prohibits punishment for any Muslim who kills any apostate, and effectively prohibits interference with such a killing.” The security ramifications are huge, Luttwak claims:

At the very least, that would complicate the security planning of state visits by President Obama to Muslim countries, because the very act of protecting him would be sinful for Islamic security guards. More broadly, most citizens of the Islamic world would be horrified by the fact of Senator Obama’s conversion to Christianity once it became widely known — as it would, no doubt, should he win the White House. This would compromise the ability of governments in Muslim nations to cooperate with the United States in the fight against terrorism, as well as American efforts to export democracy and human rights abroad.

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Who Will McCain Pick For VP?

Plenty of intrigue in the news these days about the presidential election. All of the talk about Hillary staying in the race just in case Barack Obama is assassinated - - did she really say that out loud? McCain inviting potential VP candidates to his vacation home in Sedona to talk -- Charlie Crist, Bobby Jindal, and ... what? Surely not Mitt Romney. It shouldn't be a surprise that my preference would be Mike Huckabee.

Here is what Mike Huckabee had to say about the VP slot on a recent interview with Tavis Smiley:

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The Many Faces Of Hillary

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2008 Election Results Accidentally Leaked

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Presidential Candidates Faith Committments

The following is an excerpt from an article in the Grand Forks Herald:

All the top Democratic presidential contenders spoke of their faith this election year. But more than any other Democratic candidate, Obama has made religion a core part of his message and outreach.

The Illinois senator has held faith forums, created a grass-roots support network of “congregation contacts” and has spoken in evangelical churches that Democrats had rarely visited.

His strategy is rooted in the Christian faith he found as an adult through Wright at Trinity United Church of Christ, a predominantly African-American megachurch. In fact, Obama has said he came to a personal faith in Jesus and actually walked down the aisle to the front in response to Wright’s call to faith.

Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope” was inspired by a Wright sermon.

But last month, Obama distanced himself from his pastor, after video circulated of Wright’s most inflammatory rhetoric from the pulpit. Among the most remarked upon sound bites was Wright proclaiming “God damn America” for its racism. He also accused the government of flooding black neighborhoods with drugs. In a March 18 speech on race that was partly aimed at damage control, Obama described the history of injustice that fueled Wright’s comments, while also condemning his pastor’s statements and acknowledging the resentment of whites.

Obama appeal

Obama’s focus on racial reconciliation has a special appeal to traditional Bible believers. Their concern about diversity has intensified recently, in part because of the growth in immigrant churches in the U.S. and by a new awareness that conservative Christianity is spreading dramatically in developing countries.

James Guth, an expert on religion and politics at Furman University in South Carolina, said Wright’s comments haven’t killed Obama’s chances. The candidate has built up some good will and “curiosity” through his outreach to evangelicals, including appearing at a Christian AIDS summit hosted by megachurch pastor Rick Warren and his wife, Kay.

But Guth said Wright’s views inevitably would receive extensive publicity, as would Obama’s denomination, the United Church of Christ, considered the most liberal of the mainline Protestant groups.

Clinton, too, is a mainliner: she has been a Methodist all her life and says she is from a long line of Methodists.

She has said that her ancestors in the coal-mining regions of Great Britain were converted by Methodism’s founder himself in the 1700s.

In an interview in February with the Christian Broadcast Network, Clinton said, “It was thought in my father’s family his great-grandfather actually heard John Wesley preach,” she said.

Asked to describe her faith, she said, “It is the person, it’s the scriptural, it’s the traditional, and it is also very much in keeping with my understanding how faith can be based in reason as well as passion.”

Clinton’s faith

She talked of the “continuity of the faith tradition that I was given as a gift, which I then had to make my own. And I did because as a Methodist, which I am, we look at the roots of our faith, our personal relationship with God, obviously through Jesus Christ, which gives us a sense that we’re not only saved and that we’re called and that we are given much and therefore much is required.”

All accounts of her life say a youth pastor had a profound influence on her during her high school days, in applying her religious faith to social issues and the questions of the day.

While in the White House, the Clintons usually attended a United Methodist congregation, which is her denomination. President Bill Clinton was raised a Southern Baptist and knows the Bible well and is able to talk freely with pastors about religious and spiritual issues.

She has acknowledged that speaking about her faith does not come naturally to her. But she became active in an evangelical Bible study group in Washington in the 1990s and credited it with helping her personally. Like Obama, Clinton is a strong supporter of abortion rights, a stance not shared by most evangelicals and Catholics and many mainline Protestants.

But Clinton spoke in December at the annual Global Summit on AIDS at Saddleback Church near Los Angeles, one of the leading evangelical congregations, headed by Warren, the best-selling author, who wrote “The Purpose-Driven Life.” She quoted the book of James, that “faith without works is dead” and added that for “many of us the golden rule calls on us to act.”

McCain is the only one of the three remaining main presidential candidates who has a recent religious change of sorts.

Raised an Episcopalian, including attendance at the elite Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., where daily chapel was required (Episcopalian is the most common denomination of U.S. presidents) McCain reported last year he had begun attending North Phoenix Baptist Church in Arizona several years ago. It’s a huge congregation of the conservative Southern Baptist Convention.

He has said he was not “born again,” in that congregation, nor rebaptized. According to the Christian Science Monitor last fall, McCain said he “came into that church, I sat down, I got the message of redemption and love and forgiveness, and it resonated with me. I found going to that church was beneficial to me in my life.”

Like Clinton, McCain never has been comfortable talking freely about his faith, saying first it’s a private thing.

But McCain says he prays every day. His father, an admiral, prayed twice daily on his knees, McCain said, probably to keep him from drinking.

His own faith sustained him during his 5 ½ years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, an experience that led him to public service, he says.

“There is no logical reason for me to be on Earth, if you look at my life, so I should spend this time trying to serve a cause greater than myself,” he told the Monitor last fall.

He had moments of transcendent grace among the horrors of the prison camp in Hanoi, McCain told the Monitor.

He told of a North Vietnamese guard releasing him from painful rope tortures for a few hours. Then on a Christmas Day, being allowed a rare few minutes of freedom outside in the courtyard. The same guard walked up and stood beside him, then, using his sandal, drew a cross in the dirt with his sandal. After looking at McCain for a moment, the guard rubbed it out and walked away.

“My friends, I will never forget that man,” McCain said emotionally at a town hall meeting, the Monitor reported. “I will never forget that moment. And I will never forget the fact that no matter where you are, no matter how difficult things are, there’s always going to be someone of your faith and your belief and your devotion to your fellow man who will pick you up and help you out and bring you through.” (Read More . . . )

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Quotes of Rev. Jeremiah Wright

"The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes three-strike laws and wants them to sing 'God Bless America.' No! No! No! God damn America for killing innocent people."

"The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color."

"It just came to me over the past few weeks, ya'll, why so many folks are hating on Barack Obama, He doesn't fit the model. He ain't white. He ain't rich. And he ain't privileged....Hillary (Clinton) fits the mold. (Rudy) Giuliani fits the mold. Europeans fit the mold. Rich, white men fit the mold."

"Hillary never had a cab whiz past her and not pick her up because her skin was the wrong color. Hillary never had to worry about being pulled over in her car as a black man driving in the wrong … ,"

"Hillary was not a black boy raised in a single-parent home - Barack was. Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich, white people. Hillary can never know that. Hillary ain't never been called a n-----. Hillary ain't never had her people defined as nonpersons. Hillary ain't had to work twice as hard just to get accepted by the rich, white folk who run everything or to get a passing grade when you know you are smarter than that C-student in the White House."

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In 2008 U.S. Religious Vote Fragmenting

The following is an excerpt from an article by Agence France-Presse:

Meanwhile the Democrats no longer escape to a secular refuge whenever religion enters into the political debate.

Obama this month pointed to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, which starts "Blessed are the poor," as being a more fundamental tenet of Christianity than "obscure" passages of the Bible denouncing homosexuality.

And while dogged now by incendiary sermons by his former pastor, the Illinois senator has placed the "audacity of hope" squarely in a Christian tradition that does not embrace left-right divisions.

For her part, Clinton has described how her Methodist faith helped her survive the personal anguish of her husband Bill's affair with Monica Lewinsky.

The former first lady has accepted an invitation to an April 13 event in Pennsylvania called "The Compassion Forum," an inter-faith dialogue taking place just before the state's April 22 primary. Obama and McCain have also been invited, organizers say.

The success today of bestselling books such as "The Great Awakening," by nationally prominent preacher Jim Wallis, also suggests a blurring of the old divide in religion and politics.

"Those on the religious right did it wrong, allowing their religion to become too partisan, too narrow, and too ideological," Wallis writes.

"They were used by politics and did plenty of using themselves -- using both people and issues to further their own agenda. But I believe their day is over, and we have now entered the post-religious right era." (Read more...)

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New Video Footage From Hillary's Bosnia Trip That Proves She Was Telling The Truth

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Clinton Embellishes Past Experience

Hillary Clinton greatly misstated an experience in Bosnia that has opened the door for her foreign policy experience to be scrutinized.

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Why Hillary Clinton Is Losing

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Michael Bloomberg Confirms That He Will Not Be A Candidate For President

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Who Will The Running Mates Be?

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Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Clinton - Obama Comprehensive Health Care

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