"...now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country..."

I've typed that a million times - like many of you, probably - while practicing typing skills, under my mom's tutelage. I've always liked that it ended with "country", and not the original wording of the phrase, which is "party."  

I've been reading through all the comments on the various threads, especially since Wes' post asking for everyone to unite behind Senator Obama.  Many old faces are back on the blog today - for the first time in many months.  Welcome back  - it's good to see you - and I mean that sincerely. 

I'm also very sincerely hoping those of you who are considering leaving now - or who feel this blog will suddenly become an unwelcoming place for Clinton supporters, now that Wes has asked all of us to get behind the presumptive nominee - know that this will always be a welcome place for e-v-e-r-y  o-n-e of Wes' supporters, and I give you my word on that (for at least as long as I'm still welcome here anyway ;-) ).

I know many of you who have been here day in and day out, working your hardest to support Senator Clinton, first because Wes endorsed her, then on her own merits, are tired, deflated, hurt, disillusioned, disgusted and down-right pissed off. You also know I fully understand those feelings.  But, I'm asking you to hang in here a little longer.  Please. Please.  Stay. We need you.

See all those keywords at the top of this entry?  I didn't add those to make it easier for the search engine.  I added them because they are why hanging in here a little longer is so important.  They are what this election is about.  Those issues.  Those things that affect every one of us every day, and always will.  Not Obama.  Not Clinton.  Not even Wes.  This election is so much more than who sits in the White House for the next four years. 

Presidents are temporary.  But if we don't get good, solid people into both houses of Congress, and into the Governors' mansions, and state houses, and local governments - then we will never see the end of that list of topics at the top of this blog; we will never see the problems we face solved! Presidents will come and go, but that list will become permanent.  I don't want that list to be the epitaph of our country. I don't think any of you want that, either, and I'm pretty damn sure Wes Clark doesn't want that.

So, at the risk of becoming a seriously annoying broken record - WE NEED A VETO-PROOF CONGRESS! We need this no matter who sits in the White House.

There are some truly good, honorable and gifted people running for office this year.  They are people who have spent their lives in service to their country and communities.  We need them to win.  They aren't the usual suspects.  They aren't the lesser of two evils. They might actually fix problems.  But if we don't help them - and I mean specifically us, here, and on the Yahoo boards, and blogs, and mass mail lists - us, Clark supporters - then their races just got a helluva lot tougher to win.  Wes has endorsed around a dozen people this year - but you'd never know it by the blog posts.

Let's face it - we've all been mostly caught up in the presidential primaries, and relatively ignored the congressional races.  I'm not trying to chastise anyone - I'm begging you all to stay and help - and I'm especially begging those of you who can't/won't support Senator Obama.  We (all of us and Wes) had an enormous effect in the 2006 elections.  We need to do that again in 2008 - it's more crucially important than ever!

Having said all of that  - I promise not to repeat my "congressional races" meme for one week from today.  That means Friday the 13th (always one of my favorite days - what can I say - I live to be contrary) - I'm going to post a list up here of all the candidates Wes has endorsed so far, and start bugging the begeesus out of all of you to help Wes help them any way you're willing.  Fair warning.  I can be a real pain in the ass if I'm not persuading you fast enough ;-)

Until then - please - everyone - take a big deep breath - gather your thoughts - relax a little  - take a week off - blog about silly stuff - and try to bury the hatchet (if I can do it without it ending up in someone's head, then anyone can!) with anyone who's pissed you off on here in recent months - that goes for both candidates' supporters.  It's not as hard as trying to get those blood stains out - take it from the janitor.

;-) Kelly

P.S. - and no...I'm not posting my phone number on a blog this time.  See?  Even I can learn a new trick! :p