Thought Theater

They say it's the truth behind the humor that makes it so funny. In the following videos, The Daily Show proves this premise beyond a shadow of a doubt.

This past week, Jon Stewart and his cohorts traveled to Minneapolis-St. Paul to cover the Republican National Convention. As it turns out, it's what they uncovered that will make you howl with laughter. Then again, given the gravity of the upcoming election, it could also make you cry. Go figure!

He doth protest too much! This is one of the most amazing interviews I've seen in a long time. In the following video, this guy, Ryan Sorba, begins by asserting that Barack Obama is a pro-sodomy activist and then proceeds to offer a scripted diatribe on the origins and evils of homosexuality.

The truth of the matter is that he typifies the Christian mindset that simply cannot get past their own obsessions with all things sexual...and in Ryan's case...all things gay. I would love to know where he gathered all of his opinions...because he sounds like the kind of person who grew up going from one Jesus Camp to another.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he's entertained being a minister, spent time in a seminary, and battled homosexual desires his entire life. The level of fear and loathing he exhibits externally has to come from an internal struggle of immense proportions. The gayness of others simply cannot elicit this much attention from a well-adjusted individual.

Frankly, if I thought I should be straight...and my choices were between being gay and being a programmed robot like Ryan...I'd learn to accept my homosexuality. This is the kind of guy that Dan Savage talks about...who ends up in a public restroom having sex with a man...or when caught...proclaims that he has a wide stance.

The frightening part of this entire situation is knowing that this guy was found at the Republican National Convention. Should there be any doubt as to the absolutely absurd ideologies that are held by a number of Republicans, here's the evidence. Heaven help us...this is the kind of lunatic we're up against. Utterly Unbelievable!!

Apparently some small town mayors have little knowledge of community organizers. On the other hand, that's not fair to the countless mayors who do get it. Yes, Sarah Palin's snide remark drew rousing cheers from the GOP faithful...but I suspect that her attempt at sarcasm may have the opposite effect come November 4th. It seems rather ironic that the McCain campaign wants to portray Barack Obama as an elitist...while ridiculing the very work that clearly suggests he isn't one.

Perhaps we're talking about the difference between those with backbones and those who slither about without them, eh? Perhaps I'm just confusing a pit bull with a python? Nothing a little lipstick won't fix, right?

Perhaps if Barack Obama could have done his community organizing in the McCain's private jet...while wearing outfits that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars...and feeding a drug habit on the non-profits dime...with a married woman in tow as his adulterous girlfriend...and with an unwed pregnant daughter...Republicans could see fit to honor his service. Nah, morality and values must be upheld...we just can't have those sinful and militant homos destroying the family.

Then again, even though Barack Obama makes a point of honoring John McCain's military service, we just can't expect the GOP to do the same with community service. If Barack would just admit that being the chosen one is reserved for POW's, I'm sure the GOP would reconsider. In the meantime, John McCain needs a pit bull with lipstick to sling his shit...because he can't lift his arm that high...because he was injured when he was a POW. Did I mention he was a POW in Hanoi...who was tortured. Oh, and she was a small town mayor. That's all you need to know.

Disclaimer: The use of the following exclamatory expression should in no way be construed as an admission of the existence of the big kahuna...or any other deity.

Oh. My. God.

There is no limit to the denial that Christians will go to in order to affirm their belief in the Bible. Let me repeat...NO LIMITS. In the following video, deccha1981 proceeds to debunk the claims of John Pendleton...a Christian apologist with a brain capacity that makes one wonder if some of us were left out of the evolutionary process.

How's that for creating my own hypothesis out of thin air...I must be having a spiritual awakening, eh? It won't be long before I can speak in tongues and heal the sick...for a small fee, of course.

Anyway, the following video is the first of five in which deccha1981 will dissect our esteemed anti-evolutionist. I'll post the rest of the videos as they become available. This should be fun so be sure to keep an eye out for the follow up postings.

Bill Maher is my hero! Last nights show simply reminded me of that fact. While one could argue that his acerbic tongue alienates the religious right and those voters who might be persuadable, I've come to the conclusion that it may be the only way to fight a war with ideological fanatics.

Honestly, in the course of an hour, Maher's program did more to refute the nonsense spewed by the GOP and their Christian allies than you'll find in a weeks worth of cable news programming. Maher's take no prisoners style may not be appropriate for a news format, but we desperately need more of his clarity and candor.

Truth be told, we live in a nation that is being fed a choreographed script that has little connection to reality. We've just ended a week of watching the GOP and John McCain do what they do best...tell lies...over and over again. Unfortunately, they succeed in this endeavor because they are, for the most part, telling their tall tales to a willing audience...an audience that is capable of ignoring science in favor of its cherished Biblical babble.

Never have I seen such a willingness to pander and such a hunger to accept it. All the GOP needs to do is toss out the necessary code words and the flock is willing to march in lockstep...assured that their beliefs will not be challenged and facts will not be allowed to interfere with the precepts of their fantastical faith.

OK, let's start by looking at the opening segment of last evenings program...a faux commercial premised upon the Palin family's "pentecostal" predisposition...for celebrating pregnancy. You see, if you're a Christian, you can do no wrong...even when contradicting the judgments you heap upon everyone else. The simple fact that you believe in Christ...and are willing to tell everyone you do...makes everything you do part and parcel of God's will. So as we've seen with the pregnancy of Bristol Palin, if you're fornicating for Jesus, you go girl...let the spirit (and the sperm) be with you!

Look, in my mind, if the Palin's and others can celebrate their small town small mindedness as a badge of honor, the rest of us who live in this country have every right to ridicule their right wing rednecks. If Levi Johnston can state the following on his MySpace page, we can surely call him a holier-than-thou hick.

"I'm a f - - -in' redneck" who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes."

"But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s- - - and just f - - -in' chillin' I guess."

"Ya f - - - with me I'll kick ass."

Is that supposed to be charming? Is that representative of the family values we embrace? You see, the GOP flew him to their convention and paraded him on the tarmac...with John McCain virtually giving him a hand job...and then the network cameras cut away to him and his knocked-up honey (celebrities anyone?) while mommy spouted her nonsense.

OK, aren't these the same people who had a fit when we got a split second view of Janet Jackson's breast? Mind you Jackson wasn't knocked-up...and Justin Timberlake hadn't knocked her up...and the two of them were simply performing a song on a stage. The reaction of the GOP? Outrage...sinful...disgusting...immoral...unfit for our children to see...fine the shit out of the network! In other words, performance art is far worse than parading a teenage boy and and his knocked up girlfriend for 40 million Americans to glorify...teens who have MySpace pages containing the crap noted above...teens who haven't the good sense to use contraception...all because we're concerned about the upholding of family values?!

Well excuse me, but why is Hollywood the big bad villain...the home of secular elites...the epicenter of all that is wrong with America...and Wasilla, Alaska is home to the newly found titular head of the Republican Party...and the newly impregnated family values virgin mother? Tell me, what's wrong with this picture? Quite frankly, I'm sick and tired of being told that my values are inferior and that I'm a member of the educated elite. Since when did stupidity wrapped in Christianity become a virtue?

I'm capable of distinguishing the entertainment value of Janet Jackson's breast from the idiocy of having sex without a condom...and I don't need no stinkin' Bible or abstinence only program to figure it out. Her breast isn't going to make me hire a male prostitute or tap my foot in an airport bathroom stall to solicit sex...just as the Bible isn't going to keep Levi Johnston's sperm from impregnating polly purebred.

I'm reminded of Howard Beale's famous soliloquy in the movie Network in which he stated the following:

We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad.

You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell,

'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!'

I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it:

"I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

Perhaps that's why I so admire Bill Maher...he is as mad as hell...and he doesn't want to take it anymore...and he is at the window yelling...imploring us to refuse to take this crap anymore.

Take a look at the comments of Dan Savage during last evenings show. Note the clarity he displays in cutting through the utter hypocrisy being demonstrated by the roll-out of their right wing Republican with a vagina...the new life support system for the dicks who run the GOP and use these seemingly cuckolded Christians to win elections and run this country into the ground...while lining their licentious pockets.

Gotta hand it to the GOP's good old boys...they're on the verge of successfully repackaging tokenism as feminism...while f-----g over the vast majority of Americans...men or women...along the way. It's one hell of a hat trick. If they succeed, when the buzzer sounds, the loser will finally realizes he or she's been "scored upon"...but only when it's too late and the rabbit's already dead. As Maher so aptly puts it, welcome to plutocracy!

Honestly, the words coming out of Savage's mouth are an adherence to truth...a moral manifesto far superior to the scripted pabulum that is coming out of Sarah Palin's mouth. Seriously, it's impossible to respect the GOP and the governor when they are so willing to corrupt and misconstrue Christian values for votes. It's even more difficult to respect those voters who allow themselves to be used in this fashion. The truth of the matter is that out of their own lack of self-examination and their delusional and dogged adherence to denial, the voters who enable the GOP are actually embracing a doctrine that is fully situational and summarily subjective.

When Savage mentions the role of women, and James Dobson's belief that women should remain at home with their children, he's referencing Focus on the Family's involvement with, and support of, Promise Keepers...the group that rose to national notoriety under the guidance of former Colorado University football coach, Bill McCartney.

Generally speaking, the objective of Promise Keepers was to empower men to take back their roles as the leader of their families...and to simultaneously instruct the women in their lives that their role should be subservient to that of their husbands...all out of an adherence to God's instruction, of course.

While McCartney was busy empowering men, his daughter, like Sarah Palin's daughter, was also busy getting pregnant while unmarried. Let me be clear...getting pregnant is not the issue and I pass no judgment upon these young women. In fact, I have great sympathy for them and the lack of logical instruction they are receiving from their parents.

You see, if one thing is true of children, it's their ability to see inconsistency and hypocrisy. Unfortunately, their typical reaction to it often includes the acting out of self-destructive behaviors. In many ways, they do this to demonstrate the dissonance that exists in their lives...a primitive attempt to tell mom and dad that they are full of shit.

In other words, they lack the authority to sit mom and dad down, so they subconsciously seek to force mom and dad into reflecting upon their inane ideological irrationalities. Sadly, these efforts rarely succeed. In fact, it often forces the child into further embracing the doctrine of their parents as they rarely have the means to support themselves. Hence we witness a process of perpetuation that involves breaking the spirit of one's children such that the cycle of indoctrination is self-sustaining. As the old saying goes, "The sins of the father will be visited upon the son."

The bottom line...what these people are selling just doesn't work...and it's time to say so...loud and clear...over and over...and to elect leaders that will not coddle them.

OK, so let's close with a look at this weeks New Rules.

As always, Maher cuts through the John McCain mumbo jumbo of, "My friends... ignore the ground noise and the static" to present us with unfiltered reality. Maher quickly slices through the BS...pointing out the many misrepresentations that accompany the GOP's rhetoric. Maher closes with a clear indictment of the oft heard meme that Barack Obama is an elitist.

Maher aptly highlights the real issue...that the GOP has figured out the means to play upon the insecurities found in all too many voters. Rather than vote issues, too many American voters are stuck in a never ending battle with their own nefarious narcissism.

America needs change...but I fear it wont begin until the Democrats take the GOP, kicking and screaming, out to the wood shed for an old fashioned whooping. I'm looking forward to watching it unfold on November 4th. In the meantime, I'll be standing at my window...yelling at the top of my lungs, "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

Quite frankly, the GOP's political parlance is the equivalent of being told that one can engage in a circle jerk with one's self. I think it is actually more akin to placing one's head up one's behind. Yes..it's still a circle...but the outcome isn't quite as pleasant.

Look, I'll happily give the GOP credit for creativity and cunning. They do both well...especially when they combine the two to further their deceptive agenda. At the same time, there is something offensive about the audacity exhibited in the execution.

I want to focus on one particular situation...one that I believe typifies the sickening symbiotic relationship that has flourished between the GOP and the religious right...a coalition akin to two ambitious and unscrupulous tramps engaged in a classic contortion...one I'd equate with a shallow and sleazy 69 suckfest.

So here's the backdrop. The McCain campaign, rightly so, rolled out their vice presidential nominee in a carefully crafted appearance at their convention. She hit all of the right notes demanded by the Christian conservatives who had threatened to twiddle their thumbs come November 4th...unless John McCain toss them a bone...or at least the lipsticked pit bull to gnaw upon the bones of the enemy.

Nothing wrong with any of that...even though I find it to be the equivalent of a marriage of convenience. After all, it's just the logical progression in the politicization of the world's oldest profession...and we know the GOP has always been "pro-business".

With that said, we can move onto the treachery...and the hypocrisy. The issue at hand is the GOP's strategy to insulate Palin from any unwanted media scrutiny...while manufacturing the meme that the mainstream media is out to get her. First, take a look at the following discussion between Chris Matthews, Pat Buchanan, and Michelle Bernard. In the video, Buchanan adopts this meme and argues that the GOP and the McCain campaign have every right to shield Palin from "unfair" media scrutiny.

Matthews, who I've often criticized for his biased treatment of Hillary Clinton, correctly calls Buchanan on his shameless spinning of campaign rhetoric. In essence, Buchanan and those complicit in the effort to use Palin for political gain (the GOP elite and their Christian conservative cohorts) are attempting to craft a paper-thin persona they feel will garner votes in November.

Again, nothing wrong with that objective...since every campaign does the same. However, the McCain campaign has chosen to take it to another level...electing to scapegoat the mainstream media in order to prevent them from scrutinizing Palin. In truth, it hasn't been the MSM that dug into Palin's personal life...but they want to make that case in order to justify their refusal to make their candidate available for questioning.

As if this weren't enough, the strategy has taken another turn designed to further sully the media and keep Palin in a protective bubble. Shortly after the McCain operatives initiated this strategy, some members of the MSM suggested that the campaign would schedule a few softball interviews and then argue that they had, in fact, made the candidate available. The goal, of course, centers on keeping Palin away from the tough questions.

Enter the manufactured GOP outrage aimed at Oprah. As the Drudge Report story goes, Oprah and her staff have been engaged in an internal spat over whether they should schedule Palin for an appearance prior to the election. Mind you, this contrived consternation is coming from the same people who routinely attack Oprah...accusing her of a liberal bias, of promoting a false religion, and of being a part of the elite celebrity media.

So here's the multi-faceted set up. The GOP and the McCain campaign don't want Palin interviewed by the media...but they also want to discredit those portions of the media they frequently frame as left-leaning elitists...all designed to further the idealized image they are attempting to attach to Governor Palin in the minds of voters. Call it theater in the extreme.

Let's jump ahead to the end view. Absent palpable positions on the issues, the damaged GOP brand must rely upon caricature creation, character assassination, and cynicism if they hope to win in November. Hence, the selection of Palin must be viewed as an expedient political calculation. Pick a relatively unknown woman from a remote state...who can energize the tepid evangelical base...capitalize upon the anger over the Clinton loss...offset the historic ramifications of a black candidate...and inoculate the party and the candidate from the media scrutiny that would accompany such a superficial strategy.

As such, the goal was to maintain secrecy, strike first, strike often, repeat the meme regardless of the facts, and hope to convince voters that every segment of the media is wrong and biased...thereby discrediting or diminishing any of the facts that may come to light about Governor Palin. In other words, the goal was to avoid all media appearances and infer the totality of the partiality found in every segment of the media. In fact, they never intended to have Palin appear on Oprah...they simply made the calculation that an inquiry would return a declination and allow the advancement of the meme.

Disgusting as this strategy may be, the real tragedy is far greater...as is the need to insure that it doesn't come to pass. The unholy alliance that exists between the evangelical elite and the GOP elite...designed to dupe voters...must be exposed and broken. Otherwise, change will never occur.

Unfortunately, this double-headed monster has succeeded in melding the narrow and intransigent mindset of morality, held by a majority of voters, with the overarching and well-disguised ambitions of those who stand shielded from scrutiny behind the pulpit and/or the podium. So long as these two tyrants are able to execute their obfuscated objectives, they will pursue and produce the propaganda needed to perpetuate their obsession for power and profit...at any cost.

Therefore, this election may well be the quintessential battle to break the strangle hold of those who have shown little hesitation to place their hunger for power ahead of the health and well-being of the nation. Like the religion they invoke to achieve these goals, the promises they make to the voters they court are equally ethereal and lacking substance. While they espouse the virtue of values in order to win votes, they defy virtue while working tirelessly to amass all that they view to have material value.

So long as we enable them to obtain their earthly desires, we will continue to forego the future we are told to faithfully await. It's an exchange we can no longer afford. Sarah Palin is a puppet...perhaps a knowing one...perhaps not...but a puppet nonetheless. This theater of the absurd will only go dark when voters demand a better production...in the ballot box.

Try as they might, the McCain campaign is doing all it can to convince the public and the press that they have given Sarah Palin a thorough examination and found her fit to serve as the Vice President and assume the role of the presidency should anything happen to their 72 year old candidate.

Unfortunately, a number of second opinions...from qualified GOP operatives...are beginning to paint a much less favorable picture. In the following video, Peggy Noonan, a former Reagan speech writer and long standing GOP apologist...and Mike Murphy, a former GOP strategist...are caught off camera expressing their grave doubts about the Palin selection.

Clearly, the McCain campaign is attempting to manufacture a far more favorable GOP narrative and insure that party minions stay on message with a carefully crafted script. Unfortunately, the above video and the following transcript of a CNN interview with Ben Stein seem to suggest that a number of GOP pundits have serious doubts about the McCain selection.

O'BRIEN: That was Fred Thompson last night. One of the very few times that the economy actually came up in a speech. It wasn't really the theme last night. Certainly it's a fact of daily life, though, for tens of millions of voters who say it is the No. 1 issue for them as they pick a president.

With me to talk about dollars and jobs and votes is Ben Stein, a man of many achievements, including a best selling author. His latest work is called "How to Ruin the United States of America." Almost sounds like a cookbook.

Mr. Stein, nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.

You have been --

BEN STEIN, AUTHOR, FMR. NIXON SPEECHWRITER: Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: My pleasure.

You have been a speech writer and a lawyer for President Nixon. Let's talk first about Governor Palin's speech. What do you think she needs to get across? And as a speech writer yourself, how do you navigate some of those tricky things, the controversy, with specifics that some people said they want to hear?

STEIN: I don't think she has to do much. I think as one of your previous guests said, expectations are so low, if she basically can put one word in front of the other, people will be impressed. I don't think anybody is going to be picking on her about her daughter, I don't think anybody is going to be picking on her about a 22-year-old DUI for her husband. People want to know if she is a down to earth, pro-family, pro-life conservative. And I'm sure she'll hit that one right out of the park.

I've met her. I've had a long, long, long conversation with her. She's a fireball of a speaker and I'm sure she'll do very well.

O'BRIEN: How about America's energy economy? Talking economy with you today.

STEIN: Well, we --

O'BRIEN: Yes, go ahead.

STEIN: We've got some real problems with the economy. I mean, the economy is really a very serious problem. We're not in a recession. But real (ph) wages in this country have not risen in 35 years under Republicans and Democrats. They have not risen. They are lower now than they were in 1973.

I'm told by people who know these kinds of things, that if you made all the banks in this country strictly accountable for their losses, most of the banks in this country would be insolvent right now. The real estate sector is in trouble, the auto sector is in deep, deep trouble, the retail sector is wavering, the finance sector is in real trouble. This administration has really got to get up off its back side and take some action, especially about the finance sector, right now.

O'BRIEN: What do you see in Governor Palin, or do you see anything in Governor Palin, that maybe she --

STEIN: I don't see a thing about --

O'BRIEN: Yes, go ahead.

STEIN: I don't think she has said a word in her whole life about the national economy, which contributes to making this one of the oddest choices in the history of presidential politics. I think this may go down as the most peculiar vice presidential choice there has ever been.

O'BRIEN: Well, expound on that a little more for me, because if I were a Republican strategist standing here, I would say, she's got five kids, a woman who has managed -- has executive experience. You know the drill. You've heard them around the clock coming on to talk about that. So what makes it odd for you?

STEIN: Look, they were selling themselves as the team, the ticket of experience. That's out the window. They're selling themselves as the ticket of steady habits. That's out the window. They're selling them as the ticket of people who are ready to deal with America in a foreign policy crisis. That's out the window.

What we have now is back to, what you might call, fundamentalists, born again, backwoods, values of the United States of America. That's fine. I love those values. I'm all for them. I believe in intelligent design, which I'm probably the only person ever to be on CNN who believes in that. But let us be fair about this, she's a very different person from what John McCain was advertising himself as.

And in terms of the economy, as far as I know, she has absolutely zero background in it. That's fine, neither did John F. Kennedy. But somebody's got to get in there and fill her in on it really quick.

O'BRIEN: Is that doable? Again, back to the speech writing thing, which is how we began, that's lot to learn before --

STEIN: It's doable. It's a lot to learn. It's a lot to learn before a presidential campaign where you're going to have people, very smart people, from the media picking her apart little bit by little bit.

She's got to have around her very, very smart people, telling her the basics of the economy, telling her the basics of foreign policy, night and day. She's going to have to be like that business in the "Superman" movie where the little super baby was traveling through space and they're giving him a tape of all the knowledge in the world for him to absorb. She's going to have to have people like Martin Feldstein (ph) from Harvard, probably the best Republican in Congress and America, around her every second drilling in her head what she has to know.

O'BRIEN: A lot to learn.

STEIN: She should have Henry Kissinger babysitting her. O'BRIEN: Well -- duly noted.

Ben Stein, thank you. Appreciate the time.

We're going to have more convention --

STEIN: Thank you.

If Ben Stein, an ardent ideologue, is willing to offer this level of criticism, one has to wonder how close the party establishment may be to outright mutiny. Even though I doubt John McCain would ask Palin to withdraw from the ticket, the damage may have already placed the Palin candidacy on life support. If so, there is little reason to believe that McCain's presidential aspirations will be achieved.

While I realize the GOP has been quite successful in manufacturing credible caricatures for their candidates, the selection of Palin may finally push some members of the GOP punditry to jump ship. Yes, there is a concerted effort to hold the chosen position and defend the selection of Palin, but the tide of doubt may well be too great to withstand.

In fact, I suspect that a number of these pundits may feel their own reputations are at stake should they continue their efforts to carry the Palin candidacy...especially in light of the prevailing evidence and a growing list of disquieting contradictions.

The problem the GOP faces, by complaining about the media's probing of the Palin candidacy, is an ever expanding awareness of the concerns that John McCain is prone to hasty decisions and the exhibition of an erratic temperament.

For years, McCain has been able to enlist the media in pushing his straight-talking maverick persona. Unfortunately, he may have miscalculated the degree to which members of the media would be willing to participate in advancing his presidential aspirations...at the expense of their own journalistic bona fides.

Yes, the McCain campaign may still succeed in spinning the Palin candidacy as something it isn't...but if they do, I suspect they'll need to do so without relying upon the media. Should they insist upon the further scapegoating of the media, the McCain campaign could well find itself overwhelmed and out maneuvered. As the election unfolds, John McCain may find that he misjudged his media might...pursuing a battle plan that went a bridge too far.

Nothing makes me happier than knowing Real Time With Bill Maher has returned for the closing weeks of the 2008 election. Honestly, his wit and candor provide a welcome respite for reality in the throes of persistent political rhetoric.

In the following segment, Maher covers the gambit...from the practice of biting one's Olympic medal to the always colorful images seen at the Democratic National Convention to the endless effort of financial institutions to sell us programs to prevent identity theft.

He also has a little fun with Michelle Obama's evolving image...offering the observation that she's a combination of Jackie Onassis and the character from the 80's sitcom 227...Jackee.

Maher closes with a critique on the whitewashing of John Edwards from the Democratic National Convention...noting that Edwards' inexcusable indiscretion didn't warrant the silencing of his message...a message of concern for those who struggle in a state of perpetual poverty.

Maher's observations highlight the degree to which all things sexual drive and influence American politics. In the end, it seems that we would rather focus on the personal lives of our politicians than on the palpable problems of the populous.

And now the final keynote speech...the one that catapulted Barack Obama to the place he will stand tonight to accept his party's nomination for the presidency of the United States.

On behalf of the great state of Illinois, crossroads of a nation, Land of Lincoln, let me express my deepest gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention.

Tonight is a particular honor for me because - let's face it - my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father - my grandfather - was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.

But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place, America, that shone as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before.

While studying here, my father met my mother. She was born in a town on the other side of the world, in Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. The day after Pearl Harbor my grandfather signed up for duty; joined Patton's army, marched across Europe. Back home, my grandmother raised their baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through FHA, and later moved west all the way to Hawaii in search of opportunity.

And they, too, had big dreams for their daughter. A common dream, born of two continents.

My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or "blessed," believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success. They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren't rich, because in a generous America you don't have to be rich to achieve your potential.

They are both passed away now. And yet, I know that, on this night, they look down on me with great pride.

I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents' dreams live on in my two precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible.

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation - not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

That is the true genius of America - a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles. That we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm. That we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door. That we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe. That we can participate in the political process without fear of retribution, and that our votes will be counted at least, most of the time.

This year, in this election, we are called to reaffirm our values and our commitments, to hold them against a hard reality and see how we are measuring up, to the legacy of our forbearers, and the promise of future generations.

And fellow Americans, Democrats, Republicans, Independents - I say to you tonight: we have more work to do. More work to do for the workers I met in Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that's moving to Mexico, and now are having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour. More to do for the father that I met who was losing his job and choking back the tears, wondering how he would pay $4,500 a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits that he counted on. More to do for the young woman in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her, who has the grades, has the drive, has the will, but doesn't have the money to go to college.

Now don't get me wrong. The people I meet - in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks - they don't expect government to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead - and they want to.

Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don't want their tax money wasted, by a welfare agency or by the Pentagon.

Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can't teach our kids to learn - they know that parents have to teach, that children can't achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. They know those things.

People don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all.

They know we can do better. And they want that choice.

In this election, we offer that choice. Our Party has chosen a man to lead us who embodies the best this country has to offer. And that man is John Kerry. John Kerry understands the ideals of community, faith, and service because they've defined his life. From his heroic service to Vietnam, to his years as a prosecutor and lieutenant governor, through two decades in the United States Senate, he has devoted himself to this country. Again and again, we've seen him make tough choices when easier ones were available.

» Read more of "2004 - Barack Obama DNC Keynote Speech"