triste, but there is hope

Watching Charlie Rose...Main story is Kerry's "botched joke." Charlie is interviewing DNC Chair, Howard Dean and my eyes just started to get wet.

I was totally a Dean zealot for months when he was actually a presidential hopeful. I thought he was one of the most brilliant, well-spoken, and good humored politician I had ever known.

Then the most re-dick thing ever happened. You know, he got "too excited" and his voice sounded "scary" and "shrill" and everyone turned on him and it was crushing.

And then we lost the election.

And you know the rest.

Seeing him with Mr. Rose tonight just made me feel that crushed feeling in my stomach again, but Mr. Dean's rosy cheeks and quirky/stiff smile were beaming...optimistic. I felt better...

Second half of Charlie Rose: David Kuo interview. What a sweet, mild, articulate man. (the poor guy has a brain tumor, Charlie brings it up right away) He grew up thinking that main purpose of politics was to "serve the poor" (his political ideal was Bobby Kennedy) ...but he knocked up a chick in college, she had an abortion and he ended up working for the Religious Right.

[shudder]

When he first met Dubya, they spent hours talking about "economic, racial and social justice."

Wow. Yep. Kuo was inspired and thought that Bush's faith and politics were truly "compassionate."

But then he sees Bush, up close, as "deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives" and sees him do nothing.

So, he writes this book, "Tempting Faith," simply one of the most fascinating pieces of evidence to show those masses of religious and Bush-supporting folks (yes. I just wrote folks.)and ask them what they think Bush has done for them.

I think it's the biggest no-brainer of all time. (Yep, he *used* that whole compassionate conservative bullshit to get elected, cuz he knew how he could play the peeps)BUT, I still think Kuo is brave and it really has a chance to help the DFL for the mid-term elections.

Just more of that hope thing....