Thirty five years ago tomorrow the man who aspires to be our next President of the United States was released from captivity in Vietnam and returned to his homeland.

Watch as in this new campaign ad those who have known him well offer their assessment of the Senator McCain.

Duty, Honor, Country. Thank you Mr. McCain for enduring hardships most of us could never imagine and finding the strength to do so in the name of America.

Military service is not a qualification to be POTUS and should never be looked upon as such. In the past few weeks though I have watched with interest as the democratic candidates attempt to format a campaign predicated on the “mood” of the country.

Let’s be nice to each other this week and go for the jugular the next. We’ll agree to the rules the DNC sets forth for states such as Florida and Michigan until it no longer meets our needs and then we’ll change horses in mid-stream. Maybe race and gender baiting will work..sure it will give us opportunities to show we can be contrite when necessary. We won’t provide too many specifics on our programs we wish to see legislated as that might open the door to our opponent to challenge that which many already know is not feasible. It’s all about power first..then people. And when all else fails a tear shed here or there should do the trick.

I see nothing genuine about any of the above. Those who do, (and I have friends who prefer one candidate or the other on the democratic side) never seem to be able to be specific about what it is that draws them to Senator Clinton or Senator Obama.

The same applies when I ask them to please specify what it is they dislike about President Bush. The illegal war argument is old, and besides it is easily pointed out that one of the Senators voted for the war while the other voted against. If you support the former then you had better really dig deep and figure out what her position is on any given topic as on Iraq it is ever changing. Should you prefer Senator Obama, just ask yourself what happens when an immediate withdrawal from Iraq takes place. If you answered chaos and demoralization of our forces then you would be right.

Make no mistake, I am less than thrilled across the board with the choices we have been presented in this election cycle. But as it stands now, I will support the man who understands Duty, Honor, Country and not those who pontificate about hope, change and empty promises.

Video HT:Hot Air

Have you ever heard anything so pathetic?

I could never give this post the justice it deserves as well as The Anchoress, so I suggest you go over there and read what she has to say on this whole topic of victimhood.

Update: Here’s a quote of Jeremiah Wright’s from today’s Wall Street Journal:

In a sermon delivered at Howard University, Barack Obama’s longtime minister, friend and adviser blamed America for starting the AIDS virus, training professional killers, importing drugs and creating a racist society that would never elect a black candidate president.

The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., pastor of Mr. Obama’s Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, gave the sermon at the school’s Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel in Washington on Jan. 15, 2006.

“We’ve got more black men in prison than there are in college,” he began. “Racism is alive and well. Racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run. No black man will ever be considered for president, no matter how hard you run Jesse [Jackson] and no black woman can ever be considered for anything outside what she can give with her body.”

Mr. Wright thundered on: “America is still the No. 1 killer in the world. . . . We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns, and the training of professional killers . . . We bombed Cambodia, Iraq and Nicaragua, killing women and children while trying to get public opinion turned against Castro and Ghadhafi . . . We put [Nelson] Mandela in prison and supported apartheid the whole 27 years he was there. We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God.”

His voice rising, Mr. Wright said, “We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic. . . . We care nothing about human life if the end justifies the means. . . .”

Concluding, Mr. Wright said: “We started the AIDS virus . . . We are only able to maintain our level of living by making sure that Third World people live in grinding poverty. . . .”

Considering this view of America, it’s not surprising that in December Mr. Wright’s church gave an award to Louis Farrakhan for lifetime achievement. In the church magazine, Trumpet, Mr. Wright spoke glowingly of the Nation of Islam leader. “His depth on analysis [sic] when it comes to the racial ills of this nation is astounding and eye-opening,” Mr. Wright said of Mr. Farrakhan. “He brings a perspective that is helpful and honest.”

Why doesn’t Obama denounce this kind of racism and anti-Semitism?

It must be terrible for a man to live, unforced, in a country he so apparently despises. You know the old commercial: Delta is ready when you are.

Reading this aticle about Ed McMahon brought back to mind the laughs that he and Johnny Carson provided to television viewers over their many years together.

They say some things can never be duplicated, I think the team of Carson and McMahon fit that description.

The title of this post would no doubt be deemed accurate by most…but the accompanying video might just provide a light moment for some.

Here’s a teaser:

It gets better. You see, Reid is actually sitting next to a fire, replicating not only the topics covered by FDR, but the setting as well. There’s not much to laugh about in Washington these days, but this is downright funny.

For those interested in the dates and networks settled upon by candidates Clinton and Obama for yet two more debates, the information may be found here.

My choice for story of the week comes from the state of Oklahoma.

Not only does the story offer an unusual twist involving a bobcat, but the ranch would likely be a terrific place to visit: