It is indeed ironic that the Republican party is looking forward to launching one of their smear campaigns in the event that Oboma becomes the Democratic nominee for president.

It is sad that attempts at long overdue reforms have been slowed by inflamiltory speech, violence and death. The Civil Rights Movement, The Women's Movement ,along with more open sexuality and less class distinction were likely held back 20 years by the actions of some of their strongest advocates, who isolated themselves by fowl language, unconventional dress and violence, all of which were unnecessary.

Ideas are easy to sell!

The Republican party claim of being "God's party" is hyprocritical and almost blastphemous, because they welcomed Southern Democrates [Dixecrates] into their party with loving arms.

Among them were Sentor Strom Thurmond, who fathered a child named "Essie Mae" with his family's black teenage housemaid. This was not an isolated phenomenon. In by gone days, "Southern gentlemen" sometimes lived double lives, many of them claiming to be "Christians".

Growing up in the rural South in the 40's and 50's, I,too, am guility by assoication, having eaten with sinners. If I hadn't, I would have been a social outcast. The tragic thing is that many of these people were otherwise good honest people, they just saw the black race as a little less than human. My next door neighbor, who was a wonderful neighbor, once killed a black man in Alabama.

George Wallace, a truck driver turned lawyer and politician, who became governor of Alabama and later ran for president who appeal was almost solely racist. In 1968 ,I had just moved from Nashville to Chicago when my father became seriously ill, and I had to return to Tennessee just before the 1968 election. There were numerous Wallace bumper stickers in Nashville and the further we got from the metropolitan area the more prevalent they became and even more so in the village where I grew up. 

After being badly wonded in an assination attempt, Wallace repented. His conversion ranked among "Saul Of Tarus" and "Ebeneezer Scrooge" as the most dramatic in history.

While the Civil Rights movement has profoundly changed American society, remnants of racism remain.This is why the South has gone solidly Rebuplican in most elections since 1968.

While much of what is wrong with this country is a result of circumstances, these have been made worse by Republicans' "blind faith" in such things as free markets, let alone capitalism, a lack of compassion and favoritism to the rich and powerful.