Sidelight

Watching last night's round of speakers, I was struck by a simple message from Bob Casey, that the Democratic party is about the nation's strength relying on the opportunity for everyone in it. There is a massive failure in our system because of the inability of the right wing to see that. When each of us can reach prosperity, health and enlightenment, the whole nation is improved by each incremental rise to his/her highest possibility. It works, and that's what has been proved over and over as Democrats replace Rethuglican failed regimes over and over.

As Avedon has expressed very well, this convention is going off the balance beam by trying to make this campaign about the individual candidate, Obama. While I think more of him as a candidate than many of you do, I can see that it's going to take a whole lot of dedicated service from a whole lot of realtime public servants to repair the rents in our nation's fabric from all those who have been ripping out their own piece of the pie. The damage is not irreperable, but it is large.

Casey's speech, eagerly anticipated by Pennsylvania delegates, offered one of the harshest critiques of McCain so far this week. Decrying the fact that McCain, he said, wanted to continue Bush's policies for four more years, he repeatedly said "not four more years, four more months." Soon, the crowd was roused to chants of "four more months!"

"The people of Pennsylvania can't afford four more years of Bush-Cheney economics, because you know what, with John McCain, that's exactly what we get."

Saying McCain had voted with Bush 90 percent of the time, he snapped: That's not a maverick, that's a sidekick."

Four more months. That will be hard to repair, but it's a goal worth working for, hard. It's the only one that makes any sense in view of the past nearly eight years.

***************************************************

Congratulations to Senator Clinton for a strength of character, that has developed from so much dedication to the admirably high principles of the Democratic party. She did us proud.