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From Pam's Coffee Conversation: Final Thoughts on the Edwards Campaign:

"And I saw Sisyphus at his endless task raising his prodigious stone with both his hands. With hands and feet he tried to roll it up to the top of the hill, but always, just before he could roll it over on to the other side, its weight would be too much for him, and the pitiless stone would come thundering down again on to the plain."  -- Homer


As I sit here and watch the media circus that is being described as "a political Thriller in Manila" and "the historic debate between a woman and an African American" I can only imagine how historians will view this moment. Forty years from now what will political and journalism historians think about CNN's Wolf Blitzer referring to his "Britney Spears" headset and the talk of $1,000 a ticket to attend a political debate. It says a lot about the times in which we live.

Sometime later I will be posting a recap of tonight's CNN Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate, However, before doing that I have to share my final thoughts on John Edwards.

Despite the fact that I've been jokingly telling my friends that I am in mourning the truth is that since I went down this same road in 2004 I was prepared for the disappointment this time. Like so many John Edwards supporters I realized that his bid for the 2008 democratic nomination was tantamount to the fate of Sisyphus.

The deck ( or timing) was certainly stacked against the Edwards campaign.

The Democratic National Committee was never behind him. The media certainly didn't give him equitable coverage -- he just didn't make "good TV". Big Pharma and the Insurance Industries certainly weren't going to contribute to his campaign. Those who John fights so passionately for are unable to provide the financial resources to keep him in this campaign. The majority of the American public doesn't really want to hear about making sacrifices and helping the poor. And of course, who can compete with Oprah, Bill and Ted. People might say they want change but what they really want is the familiar.

Only history will determine exactly what America lost on January 30th, 2008. For me, I can only compare to the morning that my Mom woke me up and told me that Robert Kennedy had been shot. That moment hurt then and it still hurts forty years later.

From Pam's Coffee Conversation: A Song For Our TImes:

Dow sinks 300, economic woes maim stocks

" Stocks skidded lower Thursday after a regional Federal Reserve report showed a sharp decline in manufacturing activity and as investors grew concerned that downgrades of key bond insurers could trigger further trouble with souring debt."

Friends,

It certainly didn't take a Federal Reserve report for most Americans to know that America doesn't manufacture anything anymore, Just ask any parent who is trying to find a toy for their child that wasn't made in China.

The problems in the US economy ( in specific) and the global market ( in general ) did not happen over night and will not be resolved quickly. No stimulus package is going to immediately turn around a run-way train that has jumped the tracks and has been moving full speed in the wrong direction for years.

If any elected official, campaign candidate, or other politician promises to turn around the American economy in a year and promises to do so painlessly, they are simply lying.

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From Pam's Coffee Conversation: A Civil Response to A Lunatic:

Try as I may to disregard Ann Coulter and people of her ilk, I am compelled to share Elizabeth Edwards' replies to Ann's recent cry for help. Will someone give Ann the help she so desperately needs?

(Add insightful comments here.)