A freedom-fighting power-grabbing maverick

A few thoughts on the debate last night:
1) The whole maverick thing is baffling to me. The dictionary defines a maverick as a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates. Our current president is a maverick and look where that has landed us. McCain keeps talking about Obama's liberal voting record and wondering how he can possibly "reach across the aisle from that far left." I wonder, how does a maverick reach across the aisle? It would seem to me that a maverick doesn't give a fuck about the aisle at all, or about bridging differences. Palin said that she never compromised when she was governor, somehow things just worked out and she also said that McCain would give up nothing to accommodate the bailout plan. Both of those sound like statements made by a person who gets what they want (what THEY want) no matter what. No one likes compromising but we all know that to get anything done in politics (and in life), compromises have to be made. And with a nation as ideologically divided as we are right now, I sure don't want someone in office who is going to tell us all to fuck off while they get their way. Last but not least, let's have a chuckle over her description of herself, McCain and the rest of their camp as a "team of mavericks." Sounds like an oxymoron to me, a team of individualists? Interesting.

2) When she started the Reagan quote that "freedom is always just one generation away from extinction," it made me think about watching the mini-series John Adams, and how concerned our founders were about freedom. It's what our country was founded on, why people fought and died and why the constitution was so vital to establishing the new government. What they warned against and what our government is set up to prevent is a consolidation of power. They knew that unchecked power is the single biggest threat to freedom. We've seen that freedom eroded by the unchecked power of Bush and the most indicting examination into the record of Sarah Palin is how she has wielded power in ways that go beyond the boundaries of her office. But then she continued, saying that "We don't pass it to our children in the bloodstream" and there was something about the use of the word blood that made me think "yes, but we do pass it to them in a stream of blood." Her and McCain's rants about how we're WINNING in Iraq but those damn liberals want to pull us out waving "the white flag of surrender" before we've had a chance to really fully kick some ass made me queasy. Fighting for freedom to me means fighting against the corruption of power in our own government, not killing people thousands of miles away.

3) Speaking of power, did you catch this statement by Palin? "I'm thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president's policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are." I don't know what the last half of that is supposed to mean but holy shit, the woman's already power-grabbing and she's not even there yet! Did you see the twinkle in her eye when she said it? They're combing the constitution looking for loopholes that extend the executive branch even farther into the other branches than Bush did. God help us. She's a shark in the skin of a kindergarten teacher (with the vernacular of Ned Flanders) determined to have history remember Dick Cheney as a pussycat.

4) Last but not least, Palin said many times said government should get out of our way and let us live our lives but still believes it has the authority to deny gays the right to marriage? Actually, I was pretty dismayed that this was one of the only issues both parties agreed upon. How does shrinking the role of government and defending freedom fit into a belief that people should be denied the legal right of union? She said "Ameerican peeople" eleven times in the debate but I still don't believe for a second that she cares one iota about me. And what about her confusion between government and Wall Street? She mentioned the greed and corruption on Wall Street every time she made reference to how government has failed us. Unbelievable that she still can't make sense of the issue. You can't say you stand for smaller government and bash the players running the deregulated markets at the same time, jeez!

Biden, I think, came across like a guy just as capable as Obama of being president, who has his own opinions but is also committed to supporting Obama's agenda. He seemed comfortable and natural while Palin was running on such a high level of adrenalin, I thought she might collapse at the end of it. Did anyone else notice how red her eyes were? I guess she's probably been practicing twelve hours a day for a week and hadn't had much sleep. About half-way through, the whole thing turned into a big love-in with those two swapping comments about how much they admired and respected each other. Biden was definitely under her spell. Did you see Palin's husband hovering over her shoulder at the end when she was chatting with Biden? Hilarious! He doesn't trust her any further than he can throw her and, I'm sure, rightfully so.

An unsung hero

I just finished watching the HBO miniseries John Adams, via Netflix. I found this brief portrayal of the first 50 years of U.S. independence, from the perspective of John Adams, to be fascinating. Adams is an unsung hero in our country's founding. Even in the story, he grumbles that he'll be eclipsed in history by Washington, Jefferson and Franklin. While the show illuminates his singular devotion to the cause, his tenacity in bringing the aforementioned men into their place in history, and his personal sacrifices, it also reveals why he is perhaps overlooked in the hearts and minds of Americans.

Adams was highly intelligent and principled but also abrasive, self-righteous and devoid of grace and charm. The guy just bugged people. Washington, tall and strapping, bravely led the army that secured our freedom from the British and even Adams saw him as a natural leader. Jefferson, charming and thoughtful, was an idealist who created some of the most beautiful thoughts and words that shaped our young country. Franklin, an entertaining eccentric, was a brilliant inventor and diplomat extraordinaire. The French were in love with him and they hated Adams.

Yet for all that made Adams unloved by history, without his pushing and tenacity we may never have declared our independence, may never have won the war and may never have had a lasting document declaring our rights. In the same way that Jared Diamond said (quoting Tolstoy) that all of the ingredients must be present to create a civilization and that only one missing is enough to prevent it from forming, Adams was part of a pot of ingredients that all had to be present in order for freedom to be formed. I think it's so interesting how messy our independence was; how many times it almost didn't happen and how much every man (and woman) sacrificed for the cause. Adams did not even live in the states during most of the revolution as he was in Europe trying to secure support for the war. Once America was free, he was serving as ambassador to England, and did not enjoy the freedom he helped build, nor spend time with his children for whom he secured that freedom, for many years.


Aside from the historical importance, the miniseries is incredibly well done. I hardly ever say this, but the directing is amazing. Everything from the script, production design, acting and cinematography supports the highly intimate portrait of a man and his relationships that is rarely seen in a historical drama. Astonishing is the humanness of the men who were our early presidents: Washington, Adams and Jefferson. Washington was exhausted by the position and couldn't wait to pass the torch. The job was a constant struggle for Adams as he was disliked and plotted against in party politics and only after 36 votes of the electorate was the tie with Aaron Burr broken to elect Jefferson.

Also fascinating, is the lifelong tie between Adams and Jefferson who died on the same day, 50 years after the declaration of independence on July 4. That they ended up on opposite sides of issues that have shaped American politics since, almost seems to be an intrinsic part of the success of our government. Whether we should have a strong central government or be a collection of republics, whether we should rely on a written constitution or allow each generation to dictate its own laws and whether a man should serve office strictly on his own sense of right and wrong or if party politics and the bigger picture should shape that term have been debated for over 200 years.


At times I was emotional, overcome with patriotism and in awe of the brilliance and faith of these men. Other times I was amazed that it all came together and disgusted to discover that despite the best intentions of most, even then greed, power and egos came into play to distort and corrupt our newly formed government. All throughout, the founding fathers have their own doubts as to whether this nation can actually live up to the ideas they set forth for it; can any collection of people really honor such high ideals? As Adams says "Posterity! You will never know how much it cost us to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it."