Webb on the Web and More ...

I promised that this blog won't be nearly as political in 2007 as it was in 2006, but I have to give due time to Virginia Senator Jim Webb. I'll talk about the picture above in just a moment.

As you may recall from blog entries ranging from last summer through the November election, I tried my best to point out the many, many flaws of Virginia Senator George Allen as he campaigned against Jim Webb. I was never a particularly great fan of Webb, I just thought that he, or 90 percent of the American public, would be far better than George Allen as a senator from our commonwealth.

When I heard that Webb would be delivering the Democratic response to the Bush State of the Union Speech, I must admit I was a bit nervous. After seeing numerous clips of Webb on the campaign trail, I knew he wasn't the most charasmatic guy. No one will ever mistake him for Barack Obama (more on that below).

While Webb didn't impress anyone with his personality or the delivery of his speech, I thought his content was excellent. You can see Webb on the Web here. Once you go to the link, you'll be able to view in Quicktime or Media Player. I hope you take a few minutes to check it out.

Speaking of Obama, though, I briefly turned on the TV this morning to see that just about every network was going to have him on their morning shows to respond to the State of the Union address. This guy is unquestionably the media darling. Well except Fox News. But I am already starting to worry about the race for the 2008 election.

As usual, the media is playing favorites. Obama and Clinton are getting most of the coverage while the rest of the field fights for a few minutes of face time. I mean, how many of you have seen former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel on TV? Yeah, I actually know Mike. I've had dinner with him and his lovely wife, Whitney, a few times. Mike's a good guy currently living in Arlington, Va., and he's been working on changing government for years, but he gets no coverage.

What am I saying here? I'm not sure, but I think my point is that the PEOPLE of this nation need to seek out candidates and learn about them without relying on the mainstream media. Remember how Howard Dean was the intriguing newcomer on the national political scene in the 2004 election and then the media turned on him and crucified him after the infamous Dean Scream?

And poor John Edwards. Here's a guy who was also promising in 2004 but then got caught in the disaster known as John Kerry. As a friend of mine just stated about Edwards: "He'll need to work hard to scrub the Kerry stink off him." Apparently the media has forgotten about Edwards, who had that Obama charm just four years ago and now seems to be an also-ran in the eyes of the mainstream media.

At any rate, it's clear that Bush is STILL leading us down the wrong path. It's clear that politics is still politics. And it's clear that the presidential race of 2008 (now that it's barely 2007) is going to be long, brutal, and expensive. Is this why crap like American Idol is how we spend our time as a country?