So yesterday I see the clip showing Obama answering one of McCain’s stupidities directly. Today I see this via
I don’t begrudge Obama R&R, but can’t he and the Democratic Party figure out a way for him to get his rest without setting himself up for an article such as this? Good grief!

Fortified by daily workouts at the gym, he looks fit. But his face seemed drawn as he addressed a town hall meeting here Wednesday, the toll of a week spent parrying Republican rival John McCain’s charge that his antidote to the energy crisis is tire inflation.

Ever thought of pacing yourself, Senator, and getting some good managers?

Then there’s this:

Arrangements are being made to accommodate reporters (at a cost of $11,500 each for the week), but the campaign is putting out word there probably will be no real news.

Right, the news is going to stop because Obama is on vacation? You could always throw a barbecue. The press just luv them some barbecue.

OK, we can’t drill our way out of the current gas price crisis, but the mere lifting of the off shore drilling ban by President Bush took the wind out of the speculator’s sails and the price of a gallon of gas dropped below $4.00 per gallon, and without a single additional drill bit hitting earth!

Barack Obama says no to drilling. He says put more air in your tires. Well we cannot inflate our way out of it either.

Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi also says no to drilling. In this video she says she wants to use the strategic petroleum reserve instead of exploring for more oil. Using the petroleum reserve unless we are absolutely unable to get oil elsewhere, or have to fight a war is the epitome of irresponsibility. She will not allow an up or down vote on the floor of the House because she knows it will pass. She has another agenda. Too bad it is not the agenda of the American people.

We need an alternative to oil. But while we are looking for it, people need to drive to work. Having these irresponsible Democrats in charge of the congress is bad enough. If they control the Presidency and the congress there will be no hope for low income Americans, the ones most affected by high gas prices.

Remember to inflate your tires on your way to the polls in November. If that doesn’t save you any money, vote no on irresponsibility, vote no on Democrats.

At least, that paraphrase is my interpretation of a recent bit of news-commentary on the statistics of party affiliation:

the share of the electorate that registers as independent has grown at a faster rate than Republicans or Democrats in 12 states. The rise has been so significant that in states like Arizona, Colorado and North Carolina, nonpartisan voters essentially constitute a third party.

read the rest of the New York Times article here

Of course, being the mass-media establishment that it is, the Times chose to focus the piece on the fact that the Democrats are gaining significant ground on the Republicans, rather than take much time to consider what it means that more and more people are registering their discontent with the two-party circus.

My take: The mainstream media is very content to throw out tidbits like this suggesting that third-parties may be due for a rise in November. After all, if something big did happen, they would want to be able to say that “they were on top of it,” supposedly chronicling history in the making. The truth, quite obviously is that history is being written and made on the blogosphere, that intense web of text, links, audio, and video. On the blogosphere there are far fewer and less powerful editors, thus content flows more freely and opinion is not pitched to the lowest common denominator (bizarre crime stories and celebrity politicians). Where non-partisan discontent will end up finding a home in November is still up for speculation. These people need to know that they have a choice. Minnesota’s state fair is just around the corner and I plan to be there with the Constitution Party, letting people know that there is a choice between McCain and Obama and his name is Chuck Baldwin. The more that concerned citizens, people who are smart enough to know that the two-party system is failing them, are aware of alternatives, the more likely it is that they will get over their fears of “wasting their vote” and do the right thing. 2008 may not see the election of a third-party candidate, but, if we really push for it, this may be the year that millions of voters embrace third party politics. So get out there yourself. Eat food on a stick and let people know that they have a choice!