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Please share your thoughts on his endorsement of Barack Obama on this morning's "Meet the Press."

Sorry, gang, I've been slow in the saddle this week, so I'm just catching up on the John Lewis brouhaha that caused blog newcomer Jim, er, Joe Crow to brand the civil rights icon a "Black Fool."

Most of you know that John Lewis, an Obama supporter and a veteran of the civil rights movement, last week compared John McCain's campaign tone to that of segregationist George Wallace, the former Alabama governor and 1972 presidential candidate.

Lewis said he was “deeply disturbed by the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign. What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history. Senator McCain and Governor (Sarah) Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse.”

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For those of you who couldn't wrap your minds around my contention that Sarah Palin should be judged for tolerating bigots (or to use Kin's kinder, gentler word, idiots) last week in Florida, consider John McCain's actions Friday in Minnesota:

McCain took the microphone from a woman who said Obama is an Arab. McCain said, "No, ma'am," and he called Obama "a decent, family man."

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You betcha Sarah Palin doesn't like Barack Obama "palling around with terrorists," referring to his occasional association with Bill Ayers, a member 40 years ago of the Weather Underground.

According to Sarahcuda, America can't trust this Barry Obama guy for the company he keeps, right? UnAmerican, isn't it? Nevermind that Barry was 8 when Ayers was with the group.

Well, Sarah Sweetheart, since arrows are being slung, what about your adoring throngs in Clearwater, Fla., earlier this week? According to Dana Milbank of The Washington Post:

Palin's routine attacks on the media have begun to spill into ugliness. In Clearwater, arriving reporters were greeted with shouts and taunts by the crowd of about 3,000. Palin then went on to blame Katie Couric's questions for her "less-than-successful interview with kinda mainstream media." At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, "Sit down, boy."

We can imagine what the racial epithet was.

So since McCain & Crew wants America to judge Obama by the company he keeps, does America judge them by the bigots with whom they "pal around?" Sure, people get excited in the heat of the moment, but that's the kind of heat McPalin needs to extinguish -- quickly.

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OK, I couldn't help but tune in and watch the opening of Saturday Night Live. This skit pokes fun at all players of last week's veep debate: Gwen Ifill, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin.

If your skin is thin, and you have no sense of humor, dont click on the following link.

On a related note, the McCain campaign's strategy to go after Barack Obama on "character" issues strongly suggests desperation. Sure, character is important, when the matter is related to the candidate's ability to serve as president. But Palin came off looking silly questioning Obama's patriotism because he serves on a board with Bill Ayers. Obama was 8 when Ayers was doing his thing, as distasteful as it was. Shouldn't the campaign focus on the issues of war, economy, health care, etc.? If I were held accountable for things my associates did 40 years ago, heaven help me.

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Sarah Palin did what she set out to do: Reverse her slide toward being a Republican embarrassment and reinvigorate her base.

Frankly, the folksy, "aw shucks" schtick got a bit old for me, but I'm not her base. She wasn't seeking my blessing. She reached who she needed to reach, and reasonable minds would agree on that.

She still lacks depth on the issues that matter to most Americans, but to use Kathleen Parker's line, my "cringe reflex" wasn't exhausted. Let's just say Tina Fey won't have as much material to work with this week.

BTW, what's up with McCain conceding my home state of Michigan!? That stuns me. Macomb County, a Detroit suburb, is supposed to be the pivotal county in a pivotal state. And it is chock full of Reagan Democrats, which means it's ripe for McCain. Any thoughts?

Question for you: Were we being so eager to punish the fat cats on Wall Street that we were willing to jeopardize the economy by initially urging congressman to reject the $700 billion bailout?

Apparently, that "cut off the nose to spite the face" sentiiment is turning. Congressional staff report that anti-bailout calls from constituents have given way to calls to "DO SOMETHING!" The public decided Congress needed to get over the partisan intransigence and come up with a solution to the nation's financial crisis. It looks like that got some congressmen off the dime with a renewed purpose to try to hammer out something and get it to Bush by the end of the week. We're all flying blind here. I haven't spoken with one person who is happy about the bailout; all fear the unknown of what will happen with it---and without it.

David Leonhardt of The New York Times wrote a wonderful contextual piece about the similarities of today's financial meltdown and the Great Depression.

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President Bush told us Wednesday night that "our entire economy is in danger." Apparently, John McCain thinks he is the man to save it.

Gimme a break. More likely, Johnny Mac just isn't ready for prime time. I'm referring to the Friday night debate with Barack Obama. Or maybe he wanted to slow Obama's roll. Polls show that voters trust Obama more than McCain to fix the economy. Whatever the reason, McCain came up with the ultimate "dog-ate-my-homework" excuse: It's the economy, stupid.

The Maverick Man has thrown this 2008 soap opera, er, I mean presidential campaign for a loop again by suspending his campaign and heading back to D.C. to tackle the financial crisis. Sure, this country is in a financial mess. Should McCain and Barack Obama stay in the loop and up to date on the developments? No doubt. But please, don't exploit the economy as an excuse for taking a powder from a crucial and pivotal presidential race. Take your case to the people.

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The Bush administration wants Congress to cough up $700 billion for the mother of all bailouts. In typical fashion, there's seems to be a "give us the money and go away" attitude. Hmmm...I think the last time we fell for that ruse without stipulations, we ended up in an unnecessary war in Iraq.

If Congress goes down this road, it should definitely tread lightly....demand accountability and oversight on how Treasury divvies up such a golden egg. There's something about this whole thing that leaves me queasy.

s

I'm from Michigan, and I'm looking at the latest proposed multibillion intervention from the government--- a $25 billion loan guarantee to the auto industry---and I'm thinking: When do the bailouts stop?

(Of course, John McCain and Barack Obama have given the idea their blessing. As you know, Michigan and Ohio are battleground states.) I'm mindful of the bailout Lee Iacocca secured for Chrysler in '79, and he turned that company around.

But I'm conflicted. I am a product of GM's largesse that helped create this country's middle-class. As a former employee, I also can say that GM for one hasn't been the most efficient company. And when I broached the idea of SUVs with 6-cylinder engines with my brother, a 32-year employee, he told me to get real. When I talked with my cousin, formerly an engineer with Ford and now a design manager with Nissan, he laughed me out of the room. Fuel efficiency, he noted, meant smaller vehicles with tighter spaces. Americans, he said, wouldn't give up their built-in cup holder space for better gas mileage.

So here we are. Heard an economist on the radio the other morning say that the newspaper industry was in trouble. He asked, tongue firmly in cheek, if my industry was next for a bailout. (Brothers, can you spare a dime?)

Seriously, Wall Street and now Detroit? When does it end---or does it?

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