“It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument …” Jerry Lytle, a neighbor and my walking partner

C hange.  Change we can truly believe in.  Change, change, change.  So, this is what change looks like: Joe Biden. Rahm Emanuel. Tom Daschle. Bill Richardson, the Backstabber. Eric Holder. Robert Gates. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The list goes on.  Remnants.  Retreads.  Hey, hey, the gang's all here.  Hey, where are John Kerry and Dennis Kucinich and Al Gore and Jimmy Carter and the Kennedys … and what’s his face’s name?  And Ms. Brazille?  And John Edwards, or is he gone for good?  And that millionaire Mormon, Romney?  And also that Baptist Minister from Arkansas, Huckabee?  How come they’re not in the team? 

And where’s Chuck Norris, Governor Huckabee’s sidekick and action star of B-rated movies and the All-American Karate champion and master?  And Reverend Jesse Jackson?  And Reverend Al Sharpton?  And Reverend who-you-ma-call, whose name I’d rather not mention before I am accused again of being a racist.  How about Bill A.?  And Joe, the Plumber, who I heard is now Joe, the Painter?  

But seriously now … by re-creating Abe Lincoln’s “team of rivals” and staffing his cabinet with America’s best brains, President-elect Barack H. Obama may be already fulfilling his vision of a “unified” United States of America.

A nd really and truthfully, as a Democrat and an unabashed Clintonite, I am happy to see Mr. Obama staffed his cabinet with … well, Clintonites. 

Mr. Obama’s transition from Messiah to Moses to JFK and now to Lincoln, has really been dazzling.  Try to imagine that, really.  I dunno about y’all, dear readers, but I am THRILLED that Mr. Obama could also be another FDR.  Why?  The NEW DEAL, remember?  That was FDR’s mantra.  Just like Obama’s mantra of CHANGE.

Mr. Obama’s unprecedented political personality had been aptly put this way by Rich Lowry, a columnist for the New York Post: “We still don’t know who Obama is – he’s been a SHAPE-SHIFTER throughout his career.  But he’s showing a ruthless pragmatism as he morphs into an establishment Democrat.” 

Hey, whatever it takes.  Ruthlessness or whatever.  Unprecedented or whatever.  One thing for sure though: Mr. Obama displays an unprecedented air of command for a president-elect in defining his agenda for January 20 and beyond.  We don’t know him now, but we shall soon know who he is.

What we know of him presently is that he has sent a message that he doesn’t really have enemies.  He has FORMER enemies, and he has the smarts to turn his former political enemies into … subordinates.  That’s a dazzling move, I think.  Definitely, Mr. Barack H. Obama is a brilliant man, with an enormous quantity of finesse and cool, and I wish him well in January and beyond….

GOV. SARAH PALIN IS WANTED: T here are three political personalities that intrigue me – Mr. Obama, Ms. Hillary and Ms. Palin.  Do y’all know that in addition to more than a dozen offers to write a book, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has 800 requests for interviews and appearances, and she’s considering them all?  And the list includes invitations to make appearances in 20 foreign countries, all expenses paid for, PLUS a new set of wardrobe in each of her appearances.  I kid you not.  That was reported by the Associated Press.    

So … you Palin bashers out there, who demonized this sexy and gorgeous and enigmatic woman and called her a “dingbat” and “stupid,” eat your hearts out!  And just like what I have wished for Mr. Obama and for Ms. Hillary, you betcha, I also wish Ms. Palin well.  And more so, because she’s swell and she swells in the right places.

ON PACMAN VS. DE LA HOYA: T here’s a lot of buzz going in the Fil-Am community all over America about the Pacquiao/De La Hoya fight tonight in Las Vegas.  Some say that Pacquiao will win the fight.  Others say that Pacquiao will lose.  Here’s my take on it:

De La Hoya will make HOYA out of Pacquiao, that’s for sure.  Ain’t no way a little man, like “Pacman,” as he’s called by fans in the Philippines and by Filipinos world-wide, can defeat a much bigger man, like Hoya.  All the odds are against the Pacman: weight, height, experience and class.

I think this is merely an EGO and MINDLESS thing for Pacquiao to be fighting this fight.  His many easy wins in the past against pipitsugin fighters have gone into his head, and he begun to believe he’s now the INVINCIBLE Filipino version of Superman.  As we all know, the American version of Superman, Christopher Reeves, fell off his horse while riding and became a paraplegic and was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life until he died a couple of years ago.

I really hope that Pacman would still be awake after the first round to realize his mistake.  And, I pray that they won’t cart him away on a stretcher after a few rounds with La Hoya.  Please don’t get me wrong, because I really wish Pacman well.

And to all my critics, who wish me NOT well for my political and non-political views, let me quote my good friend and my neighbor and my walking partner, Jerry Lytle, who said: “It’s impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument, Jesse.”    

If that’s true, then my critics win in all respects.  And ignorant or not, I wish them all well, too.  JJ