I will try to not have a heart attack this week

With the good comes the bad.

Last week was the Democratic National Convention. So now this week will be the Republican National Convention.

And I may not watch it.

While I firmly believe in looking at two sides of an issue, even if my mind is made up, my heart just won't be able to take it.

I tried really hard yesterday to watch Fox News as their pundits pontificated about the effect of Hurricane Gustav on the convention. I was doing well until one of them, Fred Barnes, remarked that the relief effort of Hurricane Gustav wipes away the ill feelings of the inaction during Hurricane Katrina.

After ten minutes of mental profanities and two minutes of feeling slightly guilty for wishing that I could jump through the television and bury my foot in Barnes's ass, I came to the conclusion that maybe just this once, I don't have to look at both sides of an issue.

I'm an Obamaniac and I'm proud of it. And I am not voting for him solely because of his color. I am voting for him because he is a Democrat. The fact that he is an African-American is simply icing on the cake.

But you know what? What if I was going to vote for him solely because of his ethnicity? In this political climate, just what is wrong with that?

After all, John McCain choose Sarah Palin as vice president simply because she is a woman and evangelicals are excited about her because she claims she is also one.

But who is going to point the finger at that?

And speaking of choices and heart attacks, I see the Log Cabin Republicans have endorsed McCain.

While I understand the need for them to be autonomous, I also have to say that they aren't that smart.

The Log Cabin Republicans cited several reasons why they support McCain, but I want to talk about one:

An endorsement will give Log Cabin better access to a McCain administration.

Yeah right. How much access do you think they will get when James Dobson starts threatening to pull supporters away from McCain unless he stops "legitimizing the homosexual agenda?"

How much access do you think they will get once Donald Wildmon gets his followers to send letters to the White House demanding that McCain not meet with them.

Unfortunately the Log Cabin Republicans' endorsement of McCain glosses over an ugly but true fact regarding Republican politics. Since Reagan, every Republican presidential candidate sooner or later have had to pander to the religious right and the anti-gay industry.

And McCain is no different (hence the pick of Palin). When and if the time comes that McCain has to choose between Log Cabin Republicans and the religious right, just what can they do?

They don't have any real power in the Republican party. If they do, would someone please write me and tell me just what it is.