this week in politics

Some thoughts on the Democratic National Convention by a Democrat---

1. I watched Hillary's speech to the DNC. I thought she did really well. Yes, there were a lot of "I" sentences in there, but really, let her have her moment, folks. She did something extraordinary. And it would be a hard speech to give, but she did it by saying all the right things--"no way, no how, no McCain," "Barack is my candidate and he must be yours too," and she did well making the comparison between McCain and Bush. Several commentators said her heart wasn't in it, and that she didn't say Obama was ready to lead, but I think the press just wants a fight here, as it makes for a good story. I certainly felt, as a supporter, good about voting for Obama come November.
2. Bill Clinton was impressive as always. I was a little worried about his crazy comments from the primary fight, but he really explained, as someone with only his unique perspective can, why and how Obama was the right candidate. Did anyone else notice how he said Obama is the best man for the job? I couldn't help but think that was his one deliberate dig. Other than that, he spoke very convincingly.
3. Biden--didn't watch his speech, but I did watch his video clip and intro by his son. He's a smart and experienced guy. Maybe not the biggest "change" from same old same old Washington politics, but he's got a good story and I've always admired his handling of the judiciary committee. I want it to come out that Bush called him for advice after 9-11.
4. Obama himself--eh, not his finest moment, but he has set such a high bar for himself. Sweet family pictures. Not much about his Kenyan family, and that surprised me, because even though he didn't spend much time with his dad's side growing up, he's certainly reconnected with them now. Does he want to portray a certain image? He was certainly raised by his mom's side, but doesn't object when the media calls him African-American and not biracial.

Upcoming Republic National Convention musings---

1. I am sure John McCain is secretly happy to cancel some of the RNC events due to the hurricane because he can minimize his time on stage w/ Bush, Cheney et. al. And, as far as the hurricane goes, he spent the day talking to the Mississippi governor. At least he is doing something. Still, he thought Iraq was safe too because he could walk around, escorted by the military, in the green zone.
2. Sarah Palin. Seriously, I have so many thoughts in my head about this pick, I don't even know where to begin. First, good that he picked a woman (of course, the Dems did it 24 years ago!) but seriously, does he really think smart Hillary supporters are going to embrace a PTA mom who doesn't trust women to make their own decisions about their bodies? As my friend T said, it is shameless pandering, and we don't switch parties because someone on your ticket has ovaries. (Ms. Palin has already removed the two lines from her stump speech thanking Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton because they were booed). She's pro-life, pro-gun, pro-hunting, pro-drilling in Alaska, sued the Federal government for putting polar bears on the Endangered Species list, and has 2 years of gubnetorial experience. Really, that's the best woman you could find? Sure takes away any sting from the critique that Obama has no experience. It's a gutsy move on McCain's part. I don't think she's been vetted that extensively, but she helps him with his maverick message, appeals to conservative Republican women (which the old white guys of the Republican party never seem to take all that seriously), shows the evangelicals of his party that he's serious when he says he's pro-life and anti-gay, and she brings youth to his campaign. Still, with all this talk of "Country First," my first thought is, you wanted to put your country first, so you chose someone who has basically zero foreign policy experience a hearbeat away from the presidency, and the central issue in your campaign is security?

3. Also, just wanted to say that Bobby Jindal is probably the most scared man in Louisiana right now. He's a rising star in the party, and all that will go to hell if he messes up the hurricane response.

Some Medical Stuff

R had septoplasty on Monday to fix his deviated septum. He also had some polyps in his nose removed, three cysts in his sinus cavity drained, and his turbinates reduced. The surgery was successful and the doctor said that R has been living with chronic sinusitus for years, and that whenever he complained that he felt like there was fluid in his ear, it was because the biggest cyst, full of the most pus, was right behind is his right ear.

It was done under general anesthesia and they kept him overnight because he also has obstructive sleep apnea and they wanted to make sure that he could breathe after the surgery with the packing and splints in his nose. He came home on Tuesday and he was very tired. His nose itches with all the dried blood and his head hurts from the splints, but overall, he's being a pretty upbeat patient, very hopeful that this will help him breathe better and help lower the pressure on his CPAP mask.

On Wednesday, when the fog of anesthesia lifted and he could focus a bit better, he told me "now that I can think, I have a lot of questions." And I was able to hand him a notepad that had a timeline. Every hour's blood pressure readings, notes from what the doctor told me after the surgery, which antibiotics were in his IV drip, how many milligrams of morphine he had been given before the packing in his nose was removed, everything basically, that I knew. Three different nurses asked me in the two days that I was with him in the hospital if I was a nurse. When I said no, but explained that I'm just anal, they laughed and said I was so concerned about the details and seemed to know so much, they just assumed I was in the field.

Part of me was smug (actually, who am I kidding, a LARGE part of me was smug) that I had taken such good care of my husband, had focused on all of the details, and could answer his questions about the procedure in a way that no one could answer my own from when I spent 10 days in the ICU last year. This, I thought, will show him how to do it when I go in for my c-section on November 3rd. I also felt a little sad for myself, wishing I had had someone take the same level of detailed notes to fill in the gaps of my knowledge, so that I could have avoided basically crying for a month and painfully piecing together a diagnosis from haphazardly scanned medical records.

And then, last night, when he took a shower, R noticed that a giant patch of the hair on his upper thigh had been shaved. He asked me what happened there, and I didn't know. I hadn't seen it, no one had told me about it, and so it wasn't in my notes. I know the lesson I'm supposed to take away from this is that we can't know everything and answer every question for our loved ones because we aren't in the OR, we aren't doctors, and well, even if we were, we're human and we miss things. So I'm supposed to cut him some slack because he's not as detail-oriented as me, men and women handle medical crises differently, etc., right?

Too bad. I may not be perfect, but I still did what I was supposed to do better. Will I ever get over feeling like this?

Shitty Days

That's what I've been having. After Boo Boo woke up on Saturday, I spent about 45 minutes reading to him in a small bathroom while he sat on the throne, just hoping he would do something that wasn't an accident. We went cold turkey this past weekend. No diapers all day long, except for a birthday party on Saturday and at night. You see, on Friday, his teacher admitted she was frustrated, explaining: "I made sure he drank at least 8 ounces of water every hour. After nap time, he looked pained. By 3 pm, he was clutching his tummy. By 4 pm, he couldn't sit down, his bladder was so full. I took him to sit on the potty every 15 minutes for 3 hours. And he would not go." Finally, to give him some relief, they put on a diaper. Our weekend was full of laundry, cleaning up, and lots of quality time in the bathroom.

Notice the red Tonka truck in front of the potty. It was motivation--he didn't get to play with it until he peed in the potty. Tonight? Sweet success. He did have one accident, but peed in the potty three times!

John Edwards

It's Official. John Edwards admits he had an affair with Rielle Hunter while his wife battled cancer. He says the child is not his, though. I feel let down. With Bill Clinton, we all knew we were getting a womanizer when we voted him into office for a second term. With John Edwards, I thought I was just getting a progressive who cared about poverty, his family, and equal access. Plus, John Edwards and his wife appeared to be such good friends, and that's what I loved about their marriage, or what I could see from the outside anyway. I've heard her speak and tell the story about how they go to Wendy's to eat 99 cent nuggets on each wedding anniversary because the first year after they married and were both studying for the bar, that's all they could afford. I know first hand how a devastating illness can break a relationship, but it's just so sad. Poor Elizabeth. And it was pretty irresponsible of him to seek the nomination this time around knowing that his past could come out to bring down the Democrats again, were he to be the nominee. Statistics say that about 60% of married men will have an affair during their marriage. He's part of that One America.

Updated to add: Here's the link to the interview he gave Nightline last night. Edwards knows how to give a firm denial. I believe him on the money thing. He said he never ordered payments, never knew of payments, no one made payments on his behalf... this is pretty unequivocal. But what he didn't clearly say is that he didn't hold the Hunter baby. He said he doesn't know who's in the picture, and that he wasn't wearing a tshirt, and that he's held many babies. But he didn't say he didn't hold her baby that night or that the baby wasn't there. Thoughts? I think it's pretty clear that the meeting at the hotel was an extortion attempt, he told Elizabeth afterwards that there was no resolution. Good for him for at least saying no money, and for not trotting Elizabeth out to sit next to him in the interview. The wives always look silly standing by their men in those situations. As Tammy Wynette said though, "after all, he's just a man."

Tropical Storm Edouard

Boo Boo and I stayed home and had a rain day yesterday for Tropical Storm Edouard. We didn't want any thunder to "scare our ears" so we did a "thunder go away" dance with our Thunder Stick:

and practiced writing our letters and coloring holding the crayon correctly with our pincer fingers:

We also made a delicious, Paula Deen modified chicken, spinach, artichoke and mushroom casserole for dinner:


and cupcakes for dessert, yum!

We also watched Cars, read about 15 books, and napped together. It was a very fun and relaxing day, and I really needed it!