"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see." ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

For the last few days, the MSM has been all over the Reverend Jeremiah Wright story.  They've exclaimed how radical he is,  his long relationship with Barack Obama,  and Barack's subsequent Guilt by Association.  They dredge up old fears and smears of Barack & Michelle's alleged and demonstrably false "patriotism problems" and decry how terrible was the rhetoric in those 15-20 second sound bites, how angry, divisive and sharp the contrast with a candidate soaring on a platform of hope and inclusion.  On the left, ignoring for a second the glee exuding from the most fervent and fevered of Clinton supporters, we hear concern that its fodder for the right wing echo chamber, a clarion call for the 527's come the general, and that it raises serious questions about Barack Obama's judgement, something that has been considered a strength and a recurring theme of the Obama campaign.  

And it's all bullshit.  We're all just seeing our shadows.
 

If you're not from Northeast Ohio, and Stark County, in particular, you may not be familiar with the Canton Rep.  (And for good reason...)  Serving Stark County and the city of Canton, Ohio, it is our local fish-wrap, and, good or bad, has a tiny bit of influence on local opinion.  The online site, cantonrep.com, has a lively comments section that can be bitterly partisan, raucous, and (sometimes) even a little bit insightful.  It's worth checking out, if only for a chuckle...

Progressives here have had a tough row to hoe, to say the least, but the defeat of Mayor Creighton to Jamie Healy last fall, and the retirement of long-time incumbant Ralph Regula has made us godless, wild-eyed liberals here in Stark County feel a little bit hopeful.  More on the endorsement and a little bit of the demographics of the Hall of Fame City below the fold...

I know I'm not the only one here a little tired of candidate diaries.  I think it's fantastic everyone is so passionate about "their" candidate.  I feel the same way.  I'm a Barack Obama supporter.  I, for the first time in my life, donated money to his campaign over the weekend.  Money I know I likely couldn't afford to spend, even in the small amount I gave.  Barack Obama is the one I'll vote for on March 4th here in Ohio, but it could just as easily be for Hillary Clinton, and for the same reasons.  I, for one, just don't believe the minute differences between the candidates policies are as decisive as others here most adamantly profess.  But, like I said, this isn't a candidate diary...

 She is incredibly angry with me because I support Senator Obama.  She says that I won't vote for Hillary because she's a "girl".  She blames me that her mother will also likely vote for Barack come March 4th.  (How could she?!) No matter how many times I tell her that if she were to get the nomination, I'd have a Hillary sign in our front yard so big you could see it from space, that I'd plaster my car with Hillary stickers, and that a vote for Barack, at least in my family and I suspect with most Democrats, is not a vote against Hillary, but a vote for Barack Obama, a person I believe in, am inspired by and whom I believe has the very best chance of implementing the policies I think are important.  It's certainly not because she's a "girl"!