Joe Biden needs to do his job!

Joe Biden needs to do his job and we need to applaud him for it!

Coming home this morning I was listening to talk radio and what I heard made me cringe.  The discussion centered on whether Joe Biden would really “take it to” Sarah Palin in the VP debates.  The point was that Joe needed to exploit her inexperience in foreign affairs but there was a certain line, not yet defined, where he would start to be perceived as “picking on” or maybe even abusing her if he continued to press the issues with her.

Excuse me?  Isn’t that his job?  Don’t we all want him to do that?  If anybody is answering no to that last question, you need to check your motives because that is the wrong answer.

Some of us (mostly people voting for Obama) kid about Grampy McCain and his mistakes.  Having him in the White House is literally scary enough because of the gaffes he has already committed when under considerably less pressure than he will assume if he becomes president.  The reality is that no matter what the condition of the presidential candidate, any person exercising their right to vote needs to subject the vice presidential candidate to almost the same scrutiny.

If you are like me, you have never heard of Sarah Palin before Friday’s announcement.  In this age of super information overload, I am sure we will catch up quickly on her life and times.  So most of us will be evaluating her through news articles and the vice presidential debates.  I WANT Joe Biden to pressure her LONG and HARD.

Do you really think that foreign heads of state will cut Sarah any slack if she is president?  Do you think the Joint Chiefs of Staff will cut her any slack?  It’s a long way from swigging a couple beers with the boys and talking about the buck you just brought down to sitting with a bunch of war hardened commanders trying to decide whether to use the nuclear launch codes after a crazed head of state from some third world country has just threatened to do you harm.

So personally, I want Joe to run Sarah through her paces.  Take her through a stress test and see if there are any cracks.  Feminists may rail against such treatment.  If they do it’s case in point.  Some men are just chauvinists and they don’t want women in positions of power no matter what happens.  That’s unfortunate.  Other men truly want the best person for the job.  For the latter, Sarah needs to be fully evaluated.  EVERYBODY in America should want her to be fully tested. 

When women start to “leak” their intentions of voting for Grampy if Joe is too abusive to Sarah they only add fuel to the fire that women are “soft” and they take their movement at least one step backwards.

In many situations there is a litmus test.  In this situation here it is:  If Joe was opposing another man, would we even be having this discussion?  I don’t believe we would.

Sarah may be worthy to be a vice president and maybe also president.  She may have all of the qualities to assume those roles.  She may become one of the most revered politicians our country has ever known.

It’s Joe’s DUTY to do the best he can to help each American decide where she belongs for themselves.

Pride and joy

I was writing an e–mail today and used the words “pride and joy” to describe my daughter.  I had just dropped her off for her second year of college and for whatever reason I am truly missing her.

 

This time seemed harder than the last time.  Maybe the last time was easier because I had had her around for eighteen years before she left home.  This time, she had been away for eight months and was only here for four months.  Those four months flew by.  Now she is off for another eight months.  Sure she’ll be back for visits but it’s not the same.

 

Back to the “pride and joy” term.  I’ve used it before and not given it a second thought.  This time I really analyzed it.  It really is true and adequately encompasses my feelings.

 

I know a blog is not permanent but it is a mechanism for my daughter to connect with her dad on those late nights when she is still up studying for a test while I’m snoring away.  When she feels lonely or down, she can look at the blog and remember how much her Dahee (pet name) loves her and hopefully it will lift her spirits.  Please indulge me:

 

 

Honey, sometimes when I look at you a flood of feelings wash over me.  When I sit back and distill those feelings it really does comes down to pride and joy.

 

The pride comes from me spending your entire lifetime watching you grow up.  You’ve grown from the planetoid (inside joke) in your mother’s lap to the little girl at Disneyland to a seemingly confident high school student and now a college sophomore.  How many times did I hear a teacher say, “if only I could copy your daughter 25 times . . . . .”?

 

I’ve watched you go from playing violin in middle school to the clarinet in high school to playing Guitar Hero in our basement.  I’ve seen you go from giving the boys a run for their money when you played coach pitch baseball to being one of only four girls in our entire city nominated for consideration for a prestigious athletic award.

 

It’s not the awards that make me proud.  It’s not your grade point average.  It has nothing to do with your achievements although they are many. 

 

It’s the person you have become. 

 

You may think your dad is naïve.  I know more about today’s world than you may think.  I realize that you are subjected to many pressures during your normal day.  It seems as if there are so many more options for losing your way today than when I grew up.  We lived in a box when I was growing up compared to the world you are growing up in.

 

There is the pressure to fit in, to get good grades, to be cool and so many more.  With all of that coming your way, you keep your head straight and most of the time, do the right thing.  It really is incredible.

 

Then there is the joy.  You make me laugh.  You are one of the funniest people I know.  I do take pleasure in your achievements.  Sometimes when you fall asleep on the couch I just stare at you like I did when you were in your crib so many years ago.  I love to watch you.  Sometimes your Smaher and I will laugh when we think of some of the things you have said or done.  I cherish every moment I spend with you.

 

 

I have been around CEOs and celebrities that I truly respect.  My admiration for you dwarfs my admiration for them.  I am a huge fan of the person you have become!

 

So here I sit with tears in my eyes.  I want you to know that no human could ever love and cherish you more than I do.  You are truly my “pride and joy”.  Pleasant dreams Bunny.