Analyzing lawn signs

It's election season (heavy sigh). As such, we see quite a few lawn signs out there. Most are pretty straightforward: vote for this or that person, party, or ballot issue. But a few can be confusing.

Out on a Sunday drive with my dear mother yesterday, the signs were on display in all their, all their, uh, glory. Yet I was taken aback in confusion by one which I actually spied on about three lawns. It said, plainly, Romeo Concrete.

It didn't identify a party. It didn't say anything about Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or tiny little political party of your choice. It was not red, white, or blue in any combination. There wasn't so much as a small, star backed elephant or donkey on it to clue me in on what the sign supported.

I can't find a Romeo Concrete on any party website. I can't find where he/she/it is running for anything at all, or where he/she/it (they?) stand on any issue or ballot initiative. Indeed, politically I can't find anything about it at all.

So I think I'll vote for Romeo Concrete. If I'm in their district that is, which I can't find out either.

Respect Barack Obama

Barack Obama, for the Democrats, is now the man. That’s okay; he is a Democrat and he’s who they want. So let’s keep it that way, and not let anything detract from it. For you see, what we are going to hear a lot about in the coming months will be his pedigree, and how that gives us the chance to make history. But why should that matter? If Dr. King is right, we should be judging him by the content of his character as we decide whether to vote for him or not. Becoming President of the United States is history making enough without sidebars regarding what are supposed to be insignificant matters. You want to respect and vote for Barack Obama? Respect and vote for him as a man, period. You want to not vote for him? Then don’t vote for him because of his stands on the issues and on what he says and does rather than for knee jerk and indefensible reasons. That’s respecting him as a man as well. Don’t vote skin color pro or con: when we can do that, we will have matured that much more as a nation.