The bottom line is somebody embellished something and did it repeatedly, and to the media that was present at the same event 12 years ago. And rather than just saying “Oops!” they’ve tried to spin the story — modern spin doctors, this is where we flacks/flaks get our bad reputation!

So, with all that said, my Canadian, soon-to-be-American colleague, sent me this Slate cartoon of the day:

In the end she says she “misspoke” and that she was “sleep deprived,” well, Mrs. Clinton, if the phone rings at 3 a.m. you better believe you’re gonna be sleep deprived, what’ll you do then? Once you send the missiles out you can’t bring ‘em home again.

I think Hillary thinks she’s entitled to the presidency and that’s one of the problems with nepotism in politics and she has a real vicious attitude about politics and, in my opinion, give politics & politicians an even worse name. Although I’m not pulling for anyone in particular this election, I am pulling for anyone but her!

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

I think that we should quit fighting drugs in the U.S. Hey, like they politicos are saying, if we can’t win the war why fight it? So my proposal is that we quit all wars that, one, are resulting in lots of casualties (not necessarily the loss of life, the definition is specific to the war), two, cost lots of money, and three, cannot be won easily.

Truth is, the supply of drugs in the U.S. hasn’t gone away, we are still pumping money into the system to try and stop the problem, people are dying of drugs and in drug-related incidents/crimes, probably everyday. So why not throw in the towel? My guess is that’s not what the American people want, and since our politicos have their fingers on the country’s pulse then we should probably trust them to just keep wasting our money.

You think we’re winning the war on poverty? Think again, yeah the economy is good, but are there still people living on the streets? Do we still dole out food stamps? Have we built our last low-income housing project? I don’t think so, but there again, the bright minds in the Nation’s capital know better than us.

My Two Cents: Not all wars will be won within political timelines, does that make them not worth fighting? Do we have a responsibility to see that the Iraqi people are left with a more stable country with less violence and fear of violence? I say that we do. Are wars pretty? Heck no! Are they sometimes necessary? Unless you know a way to convince the oppressors, dictators and tyrants of the world to let go of their evil designs, I think, sadly, wars will be around for a while.

(Photo Credit: townhallmeeting.org)

That said, I think that we need to forgive. The reason I came to this conclusion is that in my mind it proves the opposite of what his comments are supposedly saying. By forgiving rather than condemning, I think we can show that we are in very deed Christians. We read time and time again in the scriptures, “by their fruits ye shall know them,” well “fruits” are evidences or results, so wouldn’t it make sense that, as a faith we, the Mormons, would forgive and show Mr. Sharpton and the rest of the world that we are, by every sense of the word Christians.

My Two Cents: It is very hard for us to forgive, we yearn for justice or vengeance. However, as individuals, I believe we are destined and should be striving to rise above mere humans, forgiveness without repentance is a sign, or “fruit” that we are elevating ourselves above mere humanity. In other words, forgive him and move on, if his intentions are less than kind, the “fruits” will be seen, otherwise it is not our place to stand in judgment.

Well, today all that changed. By now you are probably familiar with, or have at least heard about the Al Sharpton vs. Mitt Romney and the Mormons fiasco. Although I do not agree with Mr. Sharpton’s comments or the manner in which he is handling himself, it does illustrate a good reason to vote (that sounds weird, doesn’t it?).

I think I was stumped because I couldn’t see a reason to vote, but the more I think about it, that’s just it, voting isn’t enough. Mr. Sharpton said “those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways. . .” I believe he is referring to the power of the vote. So that’s where it begins, we must vote, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. Voting by itself is a definitely acting out one’s civic duty, but I don’t believe it is enough.

Now we come to the fact that Mr. Sharpton made any comments at all. This is a great example of the need to, and the freedom we have to open our mouths. Now, let me clarify, I’m not advocating or even suggesting that one should use bigoted or racial or any discriminatory remarks to make a political statement. (The fact that you can is a great testament to the freedoms we espouse and live as a nation.) We need to become more involved, more active, whether that is writing a letter to the editor or organizing a public rally, it doesn’t really matter, make it a point to make a point.

So there’s my Two Cents, sadly, thanks to Mr. Sharpton I now have a good reason why we should vote. The bottom line is that we should vote, but don’t stop there, surely our political leaders didn’t get there simply by voting, no, they had to engage and become engaged in public discourse and dialogue. We need to take more seriously these freedoms, and, I believe obligations, to participate in this thing called democracy and freedom.

Well, as a PR person myself, this happens to us from time to time, only it is actually condoned and, as a matter of fact, I am thrilled when the NY Times uses one of my news releases in it’s publication.

This all leads me to my political post today. My good friend, mentor & former classmate & colleague, Russ Page has done a bit of political posting and his post for today is great! So great, in fact, that I will republish his post right here on my blog–with quotation marks, of course.

“Sending the Wrong Message
This is the very message I am ashamed of and this is a great example of the exact “morons” I refer to in my post. The post isn’t about Bush and neither is that discussion, yet time and time again, that’s how people think the problems will get fixed. Blame it on Bush. The point is we have a problem in Iraq and a lot of people, including Hillary Clinton, supported going into Iraq. Stop falling for political PR rhetoric by changing the discussion to something that won’t fix the issue and start addressing the problem. The pundits I speak about know that contoversy is an almost sure win for press coverage, and the “it’s all Bush’s fault” message is so prevalent that no one ever stops to think about how to fix these issues.

The “Bush is an Idiot” Message is Hurting this Country
Bush may be an Idiot. Don’t miss the point here. There are so many people who focus so much on how they can’t stand President Bush that they only make the matter worse. Yes, I am saying that the Bush haters are contributing greatly to the problem. They spend so much time focusing on what they don’t want that they leave no time to focus on what they do want, which is a different president and to bring the troops home from Iraq. I want the troops to come home. A lot of people do. The mind is a powerful thing, and we create our reality everyday by the things we focus upon and think about.

More on My Hillary Post
I talked about how Hillary’s followers were acting like morons because she blatanly glosses over a question about how she could say she wouldn’t have invaded Iraq if she were president in 2002, yet she voted for it to happen. What was her response? The same as this “brain off” digger I talked about above. . . “It’s all George Bush.” It’s no mistake that people talk this way when political PR people spread this message far and wide and the media run with it. It’s just too bad we have so many people in this country not willing to focus on how to fix the problem instead of just pointing fingers. Bunch of sheepwalkers.”

Content courtesy of Russ Page, www.russpage.net