Get Out The Blue Light, The Man Wants a Blue Suit

So said the haberdasher to his tailor.

http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/76783/

Above is a link to one pundit's thoughts on an aspect of today's politics.

I found it to be, while clearly opinionated, a pretty good summary of events and quotes regarding the topic she addresses.

I am the founding member of The Lunchmen, a group of guys who meet for lunch weekly at a local pub and restaurant called The Yardarm, in Orleans, MA on the Outer Cape. (A well deserved plug for John and Jane Sully, my friends and proprietors of the joint.)

Our raison d'etre is to discuss subjects generally proscribed for polite company. But since we're not necessarily always polite we forgive ourselves. The topics include, among others, Religion, Philosophy, Science and Politics, plus anything of a personal nature one is willing to share such as our and our mate's current physical pains and complaints, which are ongoing at our age. In addition, we look forward to a good, hearty laugh, without pure as the driven snow female induced guilt, at a good locker room joke if and when any of us can remember one.

The group, to outsiders, would likely be considered center/left politically. That's a bit ironic since most of us used to consider ourselves at least conservative, with a small "c", if not
Republicans.

Crucial issues change over time, and often so gradually as to escape observation and recognition for a time. In my own family I see evidence that labels like Republican, Democrat, Conservative, Liberal have often survived long after they have ceased to reflect what they used to stand for.

We have three retired ministers with advanced degrees, one English professor, at least two English majors, five who attended Ivy League or Potted Ivy League colleges, one industrial/chemist/ scientist, two industrial company CEO's, one public school educator, both as teacher and superintendent, and one marketing manager for a well known manufacturer of farm equipment. All of us have retired.

A couple of weeks ago some of the group said they would have a problem if voting in the General Election required choosing between Hillary and McCain.

The link shown above contains information that should be important to anyone with such a problem. It clearly shows a bias, but for the most part the events and quotes cited seem to be factual, at least according to what I've observed over the past year.

All but one of our group supports Obama. One, not I, supports Hillary.

It's said that people don't really change. I believe that as much as a I believe that right handers don't change into left handers or vice versa, unless they see a need to become other handed to get something they really want. Then they are likely to change behavior and do what they can to appear to be the opposite of their natural preference and nature.

That's a good thing if one needs to develop a skill with one's opposite hand for shooting as the center on a basketball team, or develops the skill of acting as the good guy or the bad guy to get parts as an actor in movies, plays or television.

This never ending campaign season has been characterized by some of the most egregious shape shifting seen in recent years. None of the candidates on either side is wearing a completely clean skirt when it comes to dis-ingenuousness. But some skirts are dirtier than others.

Romney, as a presidential candidate, decided he could only win if he courted the far right, and spoke out against abortion, gun control, gay rights and extolled all things right winged.

As governor of Mass(I live in Mass, and did when he was governor) his posture, not to be confused with standing upright, but in the sense of posturing, was 180 degrees opposite of his recent ended presidential campaign posturing.

Another example is John McCain. Please click on the link at the top of this post to read what Arianna is huffing about when it comes to John McCain.

At today's Lunchmen gathering there seemed to be general agreement that what John McCain has said publicly over the past few weeks, coupled with reminders that over the past year or so, what he has said has had more to do with where he was standing when he said it than with authentic, personally held principles, has resulted in a loss of respect from those of us who had once admired him as a person.

Leanderthal, Lighthouse Keeper