Why, tell me why?

Back and forth, back and forth. Rev. Jeremiah Wright says; Sen. Barack Obama responds. Blah, blah, blah. If you're a political junkie, you've seen, heard and read it all by now.

I just have one question: What is Mr. Wright up to?

As columnist Bob Herbert put it very succinctly in The New York Times, "The question that cries out for an answer from Mr. Wright is why -- if he is so passionately committed to liberating and empowering blacks -- does he seem so insistent on wrecking the campaign of the only African-American ever to have had a legitimate shot at the presidency."

Clearly, this isn't helpful to Mr. Obama in the upcoming North Carolina primary -- unless you think that state's Republican Party is running a campaign highlighting the Wright-Obama connection for nothing.

But we haven't heard the end of Mr. Wright who clearly is relishing his moment in the national spotlight for which Republicans, in this screwiest of political years, should give great thanks.

Enough Katrina already

Is it me, or do other people agree that we have done enough to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina? This is one natural disaster that just won't go away. How many more unaccounted billions of taxpayer dollars need to flow into the city before it's enough? The answer is as elusive as a cure for AIDS.

Now Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, in his continuing pander tour to traditional Democratic constituencies, is getting in the act. According to the senator from Arizona, the Bush administration blew it, and he'll make sure it never happens again. Talk about piling on. Is Katrina the political gift that keeps on giving, or what?

I still want an explanation for all those school buses sitting in water instead of transporting people to safety.

Conservatives aren't likely to jump the reservation over Mr. McCain's comments. But how about some people from New Orleans standing up to tell us about all the exciting things THEY are doing rather than more talk about more government? Enough is enough.

On the turntable this week

The Dave Clark Five -- Finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month, the Fab Five gave the Beatles quite a run for their money in 1964 and '65. These guys were a lot more than "Glad All Over." Personal favorite: the "Having A Wild Weekend" soundtrack from the DC5's only film which marked John Boorman's debut as a director. It's a noirish classic of sorts, look it up, AKA "Catch Us If You Can." And don't miss Tom Hanks' induction speech for the band: He really captures what it was like to be a kid in the '60s.

Early Belle and Sebastian -- Scotland's greatest band?

Eve of Destruction by Barry McGuire and Let's Live for Today by the Grassroots -- Two great albums that share the same producer/songwriter in P.F. Sloan, and as result many of the same songs. But what a difference a few voices make.

Jackie Gleason presents Music, Martinis and Memories -- Hey, it's always Happy Hour some place in the world, isn't it?

Thanks to Steve and Andrea for the Grand Funk T-shirt. That's one band I don't play too often, but out of sight, out of mind.

Remember when it was all about Bush

Say what you will about the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, at least the candidates are focused on each other and their differences. Not too long ago the hallmark of Democratic Party politics was who could spew the most vitriol about President Bush.

Arguably that worked in the 2006 elections, but it proved to be a classic be-careful-what-you-wish-for victory. Democrats now in control of Congress have done virtually nothing to curb Mr. Bush's efforts in Iraq and elsewhere. In fact, according to the latest Rasmussen poll, the president's approval rating is up, although a deeper reading of the numbers should dispel any Republican hopefulness.

Sens. Clinton and Obama have gotten the message, though. Gone are Cindy Sheehan and the MoveOn.org crowd. The two Democratic contenders are running against each other instead of Mr. Bush, and voters are the beneficiaries. As muddled and mixed-up as things are these days, it's important to know what a candidate stands for rather than just hearing a chorus of "no's" about the other party's guy.

In a visit to eastern  Pennsylvania this weekend, I heard no talk of the current administration with Tuesday's primary bearing down. Instead, the mostly Obama crowd I was with was talking about their candidate's positive message and what a healthy change they felt that would be for the country. We'll see.

Of course, Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican presidential candidate, will be joined at the hip to Mr. Bush by Democratic operatives come the fall. But in the meantime, it's nice to be debating the issues and looking to the future instead of picking through the entrails of the past eight years.

 

The Mugabe two-step

Kudos to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for criticizing the inaction of African leaders in the face of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's ongoing theft of elections in his benighted country. His fellow kleptocrats on the continent have been reluctant to criticize Mr. Mugabe because of his historical status as the "freedom fighter" who liberated his country from colonial rule. The truth is many of them share his dictatorial tendencies and don't want a world spotlight drawing attention to what they've been up to.

Mr. Mugabe has systematically taken his country, once one of the most prosperous in Africa, down to the level of Haiti, and much of the world has looked the other way. Now he's stealing another election.

Following Ms. Rice's strong comments yesterday, so-called mediator Thabo Mbeki, the president of South Africa, stepped down after doing virtually nothing. It will be interesting to see if any other African leader is willing to increase pressure on Mr. Mugabe to release election results that are sure to spell the end of his reign.

As Ms. Rice put it bluntly, "Where is the concern from the African Union and from Zimbabwe's neighbors about what is going on in Zimbabwe?" Indeed.

Pope Benedict XVI in remarks at the United Nations today called for more first-world aid to Africa, echoing similar comments by President Bush on his recent trip there. But unless African leaders show that they are interested in bettering the lot of their own people and not just their own bank accounts, it's ridiculous for taxpayers to throw more good money after bad.

Stones clean it up - but never stop

Martin Scorsese's "Shine A Light" is unquestionably one of the most visually satisfying concert films ever. The camera hangs lovingly on every power chord from Keith Richards' guitar, and Mick Jagger's Energizer bunny-like performance leaves the viewer exhausted by show's end.

But the first few minutes of the film showing the Stones meeting with former President and Mrs. Clinton and their extended family (the concert was a fundraiser for the Clinton Foundation) will have most rock fans reaching for their barf bags. Yeah, I know the '60s were a long time ago, but no Stones fan wants to see the band behave like just another group of political suck-ups.

And what happened to those salty lyrics, guaranteed to offend women and all racial and ethnic groups? Gone were the offensive lines in "Brown Sugar" and "Some Girls" and the Kennedy verse in "Sympathy for the Devil." Have the bad boys gone good? Oh, Keith, say it isn't so?

Of course, Mick does drop the f-bomb and some other choice profanity -- even though the audience knows the ex-president's 12-year-old nephew and other youngsters are on hand for the show. Cursing apparently is still protected speech for the politically correct. Just watch those dicey social observations, boy.

Oh well, guess these days there's no place for a street-fighting man.

Obama gets the big picture

While his political opponents quibble over his language, Barack Obama is absolutely right about one thing: Americans are in a bad mood these days. We're in a war that, no matter which side you're on, seems never-ending. The economy is the worst it's been in years with no end to bad news in sight.

Baby Boomers, worried about their impending retirement years with their faltering pensions at risk, now face seemingly uncontrollable health care costs which in many cases are putting their very jobs at risk. Fewer and fewer companies, with the other economic strains at work, are enamored with the thought of paying the health bills of an aging work force -- and its family members.

Young voters are just coming into that world, and job and economic security must seem like oxymorons to them.

Accordingly, in this election cycle, Mickey Mouse-gotcha politics isn't sticking like it has in recent years. Mr. Obama misspeaks. His minister is a racist. His wife says something many people don't like. So what? In years past, things like that could derail a candidacy. Not this time. This election cycle, despite far more media coverage than ever, when every throat-clearing is turned into a potential gaffe, it appears that American voters are not going to be distracted. They want a change. Call it hope, call it what you will, but don't call it business-as usual.

Mr. Obama is charismatic and well-spoken. He offers an intangible feeling that better days are ahead. His message, trite as it may seem to some, is resonating across traditional party, class and racial lines. Is he too naive? Too inexperienced?

Hillary Clinton and John McCain personify business-as-usual. They've both been in Washington for years now and done little, if anything, to alleviate -- or prevent, for that matter -- the problems we now face. So much for experience, one might reasonably conclude.

Much can and will happen in the months until Election Day, but as Ms. Clinton has already discovered to her dismay, there's something happening here that traditional political strategy can't cope with. Call it the times we live in. Short of a stunning upturn in the American psyche, Mr. Obama will ride that wave into the White House. And no amount of gotcha is likely to change that.