A three hour tour? A THREE HOUR TOUR?

Quiz for you: which candidate for president said this concerning Reverend Jeremiah Wright?

"I can only say that I am sure, knowing Senator Obama, that he does not share the extreme views that were expressed that I saw on television."

It was John McCain.  Imagine that, if you can.  Obama is his likely challenger in November, and while the rest of the GOP is foaming at the mouth over the smear potential of the Wright sermon videos, McCain pretty much has declared that it should not be an issue.  Do you think the rest of the Republicans will mirror McCain's opinion?  I sort of doubt it.

Here's another question: which candidate has said nothing about this except for "He would not be my pastor."

That would be Hillary Clintion of course, who believes that "as far as she knows" Barabk Obama is not a Muslim.  Maybe HRC has been so quiet about the Wright issue because she's talking to James Frey about how to elaborate real-life experiences.  I wonder if Frey has ever been to a war zone?

I voted for Obama in the primary and will in November if he is the nominee.  I will not vote for Clinton under any circumstances.  Ugh.  I can't believe I am saying this publicly-if Hillary Clinton somehow weasels her way into the nomination, I am voting for John McCain.  That will be the first time in my life that I have voted for a Republican presidential candidate.

Why?  Well, why not?  I've mentioned how disappointed I have been in the Clintons lately, but after this Bosnia thing I am actually scared of her being in control of anything.  I don't believe that Clinton thinks she lied about her visit to Bosnia.  I think she actually believes what she said to be the truth.  I also believe that she has a strong sense of entitlement, that she thinks that she deserves the presidency.

I know it takes a lot of ego to even consider running for president, but Hillary Clinton is a meglomaniac.  She is delusional.  There is no way she is fit to be president.  Jeez, what would I do if Guiliani or Romney were the GOP candidate?  I'd have to go into exile for the next year.

Be fully prepared for the onslaught once the race is set, for there is no doubt that there will be ads all over the place telling us that Obama is an anti-american muslim dog killer.  Amazing that a guy like that wants to be president.  His plan to kill us all must be devious.

I ranted about the GOP running on BOO! in 2004-"vote for us, or the terrorists will kill you."  They will run on BOO! again in 2008, but in terms of "Vote for us, or the big bad black men will get you."  By the time the conventions are over, that is the only way that the GOP will be able to win, especially in the deep south. 

And that is what this whole thing about Jeremiah Wright is about.  It's fear.  Fear of losing control.  Fear that the establishment will be "replaced" by something else.  And it's completely ridiculous.  Not to mention incredibly racist.

Here's a politically and racially motivated-free random 11:

1. "When I Want You"-Del Amitri.  These boys just fell off the planet in the mid-90s didn't they?  Their Waking Hours CD gets more play on my stereo than 95% of everything else I own.  You sent greetings from Liverpool, and I took the next train.  Liverpool?  Who named that city and why?

2. "Driver 8"-REM.  I see they have a new album coming out soon.  I can't think of anything interesting to say about this song, so I'll mention that I've been watching Natural Born Killers for the last hour or so, and that I've never seen it.  Bizarre.  I have no idea what Oliver Stone wants this film to be, but I'm guessing he wanted it to be a three hour acid trip.

3. "Wine Safari"-Rolfe Kent.  Rolfe?  Isn't he the dog that plays the piano on The Muppet Show?  This is from the Sideways soundtrack.  I sort of which I had been watching this movie for the last hour instead.  This movie made me a Paul Giamatti fan (though it is not his best work-see American Splendor if you haven't already).  I haven't seen any of the John Adams mini-series on HBO yet.  Kind of having a hard time picturing Giamatti as Adams.

4. "The Painted Desert"-10000 Maniacs.  This is almost two different songs now, since I have been to the Painted Desert recently (that's relative-the song came out in 1988, I was there in 2006).  It really is amazing how the color of the desert changes depending on the time if day.  The landscape in late afternoon, when the slowly falling sun makes most of the desert a bright red, is best.  Still doesn't make me want to camp in it like the people in the song though.

5. "Miss Halfway"-Anya Marina.  I heard this song performed life on NPR's "Whatta Ya Know?" but have since been told that it was popular on an episode of "Grey's Anatomy."  I feel stained by the association.

6. "Slit Skirts"-Pete Townshend.  He is incredibly underrated as a songwriter and solo performer.  His White City is my favorite album of all time.  Hard to believe I used to listen to this song on vinyl way back as a high school freshman, when the line "I was just 34 years old and I was still wandering in a haze" made him seem like such an old man.  Hmm, I might have been wandering in a haze at 34 myself.

7. "Ticket to Ride"-The Beatles.  Just added a bunch of Beatles tunes to the 'pod.  I'm reading the biography of them that came out in 2005 (I think) which is so long and detailed but fascinating, and has me on a kick with their music recently.  Looking at their songs and albums, it amazes me that they were only around for eight years.  I found out last Sunday that my son (who has passed the three month mark) is a fan of the boys from Liverpool (Liverpool.  Liverpool?), as a medley of their work soothed him down from a rough patch and even put him to sleep with a smile on his face.  My favorite Beatles song?  Think I have to go with "Hey Jude."

8. "Fortune Teller"-Robert Plant and Allison Krause.  If their Raising Sand album does not win a billion Grammys next year, there should be an investigation.  And this is one of the only so-so tracks on the CD.

9. "Minutes to Memories"-John Mellancamp.  Still ain't too happy with him for selling out to Chevy after he ranted for years about people who did, but can't bring myself to jettison his stuff from my catalog.  This song makes me think of Champaign, Illinois.

10. "Dry Country"-The B52s.  I was a senior in college when this came out, and I remember a friend of mine had one of those fake flowers that moved to rhythm, and this song made it move like no other.  Maybe I have been watching this movie too long.  At least now I know why Tom Sizemore turned out the way he did.

11. "Even Better than the Real Thing"-U2.  Almost had a full one without U2.  Take me higher.  So is this movie a commentary on the media?  I'm starting to think it is.  Why is Robert Downey's character Australian?  Is he a symbolic Rupert Murdoch?  Did Tommy Lee Jones come straight from his "Batman Returns" scenes to the set of this movie?  He looks exactly the same.  Nice 'stache.  Hey that's Robert Jordan at the end!  He's a news dude from Chicago.  Why is he on there?  Did he get paid?  OK, it's definitely a media thing.  I get that now.  I'm guessing Stone absolutely loved how this flick gets the conservatives into a froth.