Democracy's On The Move- A Topsham Maine Journal

We're like turkeys in the woods of Topsham Maine this election season, waiting for the next crumbs to lead us deeper into the thickets of the November 2, 2004 election. Last evening the Vice-presidential debate between Vice-President Dick Cheney and Senator John Edwards was the second hurdle to observe as the election-turkeys come home to roost. From our vantage point here in Topsham, Maine, the clear and convincing winner was Senator Edwards because of his statesmanship. I've cruised the blogs today looking for somebody in the web-universe to identify with my opinions. It was difficult to wade through all the spin. But we are an independent sort here in Topsham, Maine - and Democrats are the minority group, rising just slightly above the turkeys' status on Thanksgiving eve. Nevertheless, anybody, even a turkey, could see the trap the Vice-President was systematically setting for Senator Edwards who was obviously getting under the the skin of the incumbent vice president. Like garlic stabbed into the breast of a pre-cooked turkey, the Vice-President began to carve up Senator John Edwards like a cutting board artist. Ho, Ho....the charming Senator Edwards did not respond in kind but kept a statesmanship demeanor and even took the low blows with charm and good nature. Ho, Ho....and the Vice-President says (like a patient in the first stages of Alzheimers Disease, "...and I never met you until tonight..." Ho, Ho....and gets caught in his own web of spiraling deception when the Democrats immediately circulated pictures of the two in the same room together on three separate occasions. Ho, Ho...But, responds Senator Edwards, "the Vice-President is a man who, as a Congressman, voted against the Head Start Program for pre-school children, against Meals on Wheels for the aged, against a decree calling for the release of Nelson Mandela and against the Martin Luther King holiday..." Ho, ho...An eye for an eye....I liked Senator Edwards because he stood his ground, always kept to the high road and articulated the issues that matter to average people. But, on the personal side of the political equation, Senator Edwards was sincerely sympathetic when addressing the issue of gay marriage and the Vice-President's gay daughter, a situation that drives the dicey social issue home in the Cheney household. To his credit, Vice-President Dick Cheney accepted the graciousness from Senator Edwards and passed on his 90 second rebuttal to the issue of gay marriage....a politician giving up 90 seconds of the microphone? Welllll....Ho...Ho...Ho, indeed! Now, some of the blogs I've visited on this issue say how much Vice-President Dick Cheney looked like a "grand-father", so he was a difficult man to dislike. Well, I say, if you want a grandfather image on a political debate then ask Santa Claus to sit down and fold his hands as though in prayer in front of the television camera. This Vice-Presidential debate is about issues and your grandfather has nothing to do with it. So, my vote, as cast on many a blog today, is for Senator Edwards because he brought statesmanship back into politics. Now, on to Friday for the second Presidential debate. Ho, Ho....and "Gobble, Gobble".