Land of the Free

Every once in a while there's a special event that reminds us of the wonderful freedoms we do enjoy (and must be vigilant to protect) here in the U.S. of A. After 140 days in bullshit captivity by the North Korean government, the brave, young Current TV journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, have returned home to free soil thanks to the visit by President Bill Clinton.

It seems impossible not to be moved by this statement by Ling:



Impossible not to be moved except, perhaps, if you're a hardened Neocon Conservative with a worldview stuck in the Cold War:

But, since Bill Clinton has a hand in their release, someone's got to step up and naysay the effort, and predictably, that task has fallen to former UN ambassador and noted rage-walrus John Bolton, who says the "Clinton trip is a significant propaganda victory for North Korea, whether or not he carried an official message from President Obama."

Thank you, John Bolton, for once again demonstrating the completely theoretical nature of Neocon philosophy. Not only does it not take into account in any way the two American lives at stake (let alone Euna Lee's young daughter with whom she was reunited) vs. some "propaganda" belt notch, but since there's no Iron Curtain or Eastern Bloc anymore, and Kim Il Sung is as marginalized as a tinpot dictator can be, that propaganda victory may be limited to his own state-run television system.

Go play your mental games with yourself, John. This is America. You know, give us your tired, your hungry, your falsely imprisoned.

Welcome back, Laura and Euna.

Astronauts and Christians

Nice to see Obama's space policy endorsed by former astronauts John Glenn and Ben Nelson:

Two well-known space pioneers on Sunday endorsed Senator Barack Obama's space program, which calls for lengthening the life of the Space Shuttle so that the U.S. is not without its own ride to the International Space Station.

Former Ohio Senator John Glenn and current U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, both former astronauts, said flying the shuttle beyond 2010 may now be critical in light of Russia's recent invasion of the Republic of Georgia.

Just in case you thought a new Cold War would be Republican-only?

Meanwhile, Barack's been talking to influential evangelical voters, which helps kill the Muslim smear and also show, in this clip, his toughness and rectitude.

There's a lot of fear right now that McCain will somehow win. And that is always a danger -- Obama, by historical measures, is an underdog until November 5th, no matter how far ahead he may be in the polls.

But Obama has always been a strong finisher. In the only truly competitive campaign of his political career, for the GOP Presidential nomination in 2000, John McCain was completely outflanked by Karl Rove and George W. Bush.

Obama didn't need to be pounding McCain last month as much as he needs to starting with his nomination acceptance speech a week from Thursday. He has to send the delegates out of Colorado, the organizers, even the news media fired up and completely ready to go.

Obama's been the best at pacing himself, storing energy where he can and unleashing moving political ideas and spectacle. He has a great shot at bringing all but the least forgiving Clinton supporters into the fold. After all, there will be openings on the Court.

I guess the bottom line is, do you trust him to run the best Democratic Convention since 1932?