In the year 2008, most Americans would acknowledge that their national politics has degenerated into quite a sorry state in recent years. Name-calling and mudslinging, detraction, slander and libel have never been so commonplace. Not a single solidly-pro-life candidate is likely to win Republican nomination, much less Democratic nomination, for the presidency. People are being asked which candidate they like or trust instead of which candidate measures up to their core convictions. A significant minority of allegedly pro-life Americans is even placing a candidate's support for the "War on Terrorism" ahead of his position on abortion. Finally, thanks to the endemic corruption of our modern political system, the presidential candidates likely to be nominated do not come close to truly representing the American people.

I've avoided the debates until now because I saw them as little more than exercises in media manipulation.  This time, I wanted to watch the Republican debate just to hear the other candidates respond to Ron Paul.  Unfortunately, I had a scheduling conflict so I asked a kid to take notes for me.  As the debate began, I drew a quick seating chart of the candidates to help the kid keep track of who said what and then ran off.  BTW - this is not snark.  This is a straight rendition from a 9 year old.  The only changes I made were for spelling errors (except the names).

It must have been more difficult thant I thought to keep track of all the new names.  That's the only reason I can think of to explain why this  reporter devised their own naming strategy to keep track of the candidates.  Aside from that, it seems they got all the high points.

Follow me below the fold for the 9-years old rendition of a fight between Sarge, Wrinkles, Bunny Ears, Oily, Beagle Eyes and Carrot Face...  

By Jason Miller

Thomas Paine's Corner

http://www.bestcyrano.org/T HOMASPAINE/?p=515

"Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class."

--Al Capone

It has taken Nuremberg-class war crimes, craven ineptitude by Congressional Democrats, foreclosures on every other home in the neighborhood, and a metaphorical gun to our heads when we fill our gas tanks, but growing numbers of us US Americans are shedding our smug insularity.

Ron Paul caused a stir in the latest Republican presidential debate in Durham, New Hampshire on Wednesday, September 5, delivering a warning to his rivals that to voice support for the calamitous Iraq War policies of Dick Cheney and George Bush risked a calamitous defeat for Republicans in the 2008 election.

Given the venue in which such a dire warning was delivered, it was virtually certain that a strong response would be forthcoming.  It came from Mike Huckabee and seemed  appropriate considering where the Arkansas governor stands in the Republican field.

Huckabee is attempting to demonstrate that he deserves the support of the red meat rightists who diet regularly on Fox News and diatribes by drug-addicted Rush Limbaugh while Rudy Guiliani and Mitt Romney backpedal and work overtime to re-define themselves after having to adopt what the hard right deemed heresies they embraced to voters in New York City and Massachusetts to get elected.  

Guiliani and Romney are therefore compelled to make the case that they surely had not previously pandered to Eastern voters, but have since seen the true light and embraced principles that would prevent Pat Robertson from gagging, a good first step to displaying legitimacy with the party's stalwart rightist base.

In my previous diary, I intimated that we Americans should channel our dissatisfaction with our corrupt politicians into grassroots organizations and movements, and suggested the possibility that if we can "Save Darfur", we should be able to save our own country. Now in order to prevent disappointment, we should avoid getting our hopes up too high for the immediate recovery of democracy in the US. Washington, DC has been the prime target of corporate fire for many years, so we should not expect to rebuild it in a day--or in a couple of years. What we need to do is start with small, simple choices and build up momentum gradually.

Money is power! America does not have power to control our own destiny as we do not print our own currency. This puts us at mercy of the money master power elite that want to take total control over America and it's people. In fact, the money masters have already hijacked many vital elements of our current government!

Be scared.  Be very, VERY scared!

Six terrorists caught!!!  Holy Moses, they're coming to get us.  They're going after our troops . . . HERE, on our own soil! These guys were pure evil . . . and "Catastrophe in New Jersey" surely would have devastated life in America as we know it!

The mastermind, a pizza delivery boy, "Clearly, one of the guys had an intimate knowledge of the base from having been there delivering pizzas," U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said.

This man and his cohort's vast knowledge of the 11.3 square mile maximum-security military base was just one of the key ingredients in their planned Catastrophe in New Jersey (or operation CINJ -- pronounced Singe).