Christmas Meditation

Over the years we've celebrated Christmas all over--East, West, North and South. What I've come to realize is that the location doesn't matter nearly as much as the company. After you pass a certain age, Christmas becomes a lot more about making your kids (or grandkids, but I'm not to that age yet) happy. The presents you get for them are way more fun than the ones you receive. I think almost every parent would make the choice to give their children what they wanted.

Thinking about that makes me reflect on the meaning of Christmas. The Father loved His only Son, but He also loved us--enough to give us the very best that He had. Yes, Christmas is too commercial, too hurried, too hectic, and so on. But it doesn't have to be. We can and should stop and thank God for our salvation. That's exactly what Christmas is about anyhow. The love of God shown to us, and celebrated as we share and show our love to others.

It Depends What the Meaning of "Saw" Is

Presidental candidate Mitt Romney did it twice recently--he said he "saw" his father march with Martin Luther King. Now there's no question regarding the civil rights commitment of George Romney, both as governor of Michigan and as a private citizen. But the statement Romney made TWICE, first in his "religion" speech and then again on Meet the Cuomo Aide. And it's not true. There's debate over whether the elder Romney did ever march with King. Contemporaneous reports suggest not, but a couple of witnesses have been put forward by the campaign to say they did see it happen. Regardless, there's no question Mitt wasn't there.

So today Romney was defending his remark with a resort to the dictionary definition of saw. Ugh. I thought we were through with that line of work after Clinton and "the meaning of is." Just tell the truth.

But then, this is the guy claimed to be an avid hunter--when he wasn't. And claimed to have gotten an NRA endorsement--when he didn't.

But he wants us to believe he's converted to being a real conservative. I guess I'll believe that when I "see" it.

State of the Race

Now that we're inside three weeks (although who but the ultimate political junkies care about caucuses and primaries during Christmas and bowl season???) to go till the first votes are cast in this interminable election cycle, here's what I see:

For the Democrats, Hillary shows every sign of being a hemophiliac. Without the aura of inevitability, what else does she have to offer? Sorry, but being first lady is not exerience in leading a government (even if it's part of a two for one sale). Obama continues to be dogged by people who object to color--in this case the raw green of inexperience and callowness. The Breck Girl is hanging around the fringes hoping for an opening. But it ain't looking good for Mr. Edwards...and that's before the National Enquirer (run of course by a former Clinton crony--not that this fact means anything) drops another bomb on him. Cheating on a wife fighting cancer is not exactly the recipe for electoral success.

The GOP side is an even bigger mess. The liberal Guliaini is finding it hard to close the sale. The maverick McCain is trying to rise from the dead, but elephants have long memories. Thompson never has caught fire, although there are embers flickering here and there. The Mormon Mitt is not a conservative. Never has been. Never will be. For Orrin Hatch, I'd vote--for this guy, not so much. Finally, Huckabee is riding high. But we've already tried a small state Southern governor from the liberal wing of the Southern Baptist Convention who didn't know anything about economics or foreign policy. So unless you liked Jimmy Carter, don't vote for Huck. He's strongly pro-life, but he's wrong on everything else.

In a better world, Duncan Hunter, the only man in the race who is a solid, committed, experienced, proven conservative with a record of leadership would be running away with this thing. Sadly as we all know, that's not the case. It is still my intention to vote for him (assuming he's still in the race by February 5). If Hunter's out, I'll reluctantly take Thompson as the best of a poor field.