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[Michael]

 The McCain Mutiny.
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Why Republicans Are Jumping Ship and How You Can Help Them Find a Lifeboat

It's been that kind of week for John McCain. Obama gets an endorsement from Gen. Colin Powell, McCain gets one from Al Qaeda. No kidding.

More and more Republicans with hearts and brains are jumping ship because they see a ship wreck ahead and don't think McCain will make a very good captain. Once the "brilliance" of choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate wore off, the stupidity and self-serving shortsightedness of it set in. As Obama began to look more and more like a President for the times, Palin began to look like a President for the End Times. Last month, conservative columnist Kathleen Parker wrote a column for the National Review calling on Sarah Palin to withdraw from the ticket.

In recent weeks conservative commentators like Christopher Buckley endorsed Obama, as have Barry Goldwater's kin from McCain's home state and Arne Carlson, former GOP governor of Minnesota. You'll find more endorsements on a prominent website called Republicans for Obama. In addition to a long list of Republicans who favor Obama, the website offers an articulate endorsement of its own:

    We need a leader who can lay the foundations of another American Century-someone who can get past our partisan and ideological divisions, as we strengthen our standing in the world and tackle the challenges we face at home. We need a leader who understands our differences, but who also knows the importance of finding common ground. While we continue to debate and address many issues on which we all have strong opinions-abortion, gay rights, the relationship between church and state, to name a few-we need a leader who can command the support needed to break our government's paralysis and meet the growing challenges we face as a nation

    Senator Obama is the one candidate who can unite the American majority that wants to move forward and improve the long-term economic well-being and independence of our nation.

In other words, they believe Obama is more functional, more able to navigate us through the problems of the times. Newspapers seem to agree. Many that endorsed George Bush four years ago have gone for Obama this time. These include two Texas papers, the Houston Chronicle and the Austin-American Statesman, as well as the Denver Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Kansas City Star, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and even the Salt Lake Tribune, which wrote:

    Out of nowhere, and without proper vetting, the impetuous McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. She quickly proved grievously underequipped to step into the presidency should McCain, at 72 and with a history of health problems, die in office. More than any single factor, McCain's bad judgment in choosing the inarticulate, insular and ethically challenged Palin disqualifies him for the presidency.

Could it be said in any plainer terms? By a newspaper with a highly-conservative and largely Mormon constituency, no less? But the endorsement goes much further than condemning McCain:

    Still, we have compelling reasons for endorsing Obama on his merits alone. Under the most intense scrutiny and attacks from both parties, Obama has shown the temperament, judgment, intellect and political acumen that are essential in a president that would lead the United States out of the crises created by President Bush, a complicit Congress and our own apathy.

That says it pretty plainly. Obama is functional, and we need functionality right now more than anything. Among those who are able to see past their partisan loyalties, the distinct differences between McCain and Obama as leaders are apparent. As of last Friday, newspaper editorial endorsements have favored Obama 58-16. Thus far, 26 papers that backed Bush in 2004 now support Obama.

Your Handy-Dandy-Last-Minute-Political-Conversion Kit

So what does this all mean? It means that there is an opportunity and an opening over the next dozen days to speak to friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances who have emotional, spiritual and political intelligence and who are of the Republican persuasion. I've been engaged in several of these conversations, and here's what I've found:

Surprisingly, but not surprisingly, a number of the Republicans I've spoken to have an affinity for Obama. And why wouldn't they? He's firm, he's pragmatic, he's inspiring as a leader, a uniter not a divider. In demeanor, he is a conservative. However, their considerations include:

--They don't know that they can trust him. He's a Democrat, after all.
--They're concerned he will bring "socialism," whatever that is.
--They HATE and DESPISE and yes, I said "hate and despise" Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and all the other straw man liberals. Their fear is that a Democratic majority in Congress plus a Democratic President will bring about socialism. How exactly do they define "socialism" and why are they so afraid of it? I dunno. That's why they're Republicans. You'll have to ask them.


Mainly, their dislike of Democrats (and boy, do they HATE Michael Moore ... there's even a sick, sick movie out right now where a Michael Moore type character gets beaten up and abused because he's campaigning against the 4th of July) is based on the impropaganda that's been drummed into their heads that liberals hate America. It makes no sense whatsoever to argue against this belief. It makes more sense to recognize that their hatred of liberals is on par with the way so many progressives despise George Bush, Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin.

This realization provides an interesting avenue for constructive conversation. Instead of arguing, be curious. Two questions I've found very helpful are: What are your greatest hopes for America? What are your greatest concerns? These questions can more easily lift us out of our dueling dualistic positions and turn our attention from facing each other down to looking outward in the same direction. As you both engage in this process, you will likely discover something very interesting. Your friend's perspective will be wider and more sophisticated than the stereotyped Republican position. They will also very likely find your position far more functional and nuanced than their stereotypical Democrat.

This, unfortunately, is the respectful dialogue that our media discourages, and we so rarely engage in publicly. (This is all set to change, by the way, as we will report in next week's Notes From the Trail.) Once there is rapport and a listening, here are some of the questions you might ask:

    * Are we really better off than we were eight or even four years ago?
    * Is it possible that military might isn't enough to win the battles of the 21st century, and that we might need a few more tools in the toolkit?
    * Are you satisfied that the Bush Administration has leveled with the American people and conducted their affairs on the up-and-up?
    * How is it that the party of fiscal fitness has run up a debt unrivaled by any Democratic Administration, culminating in a virtual financial collapse? (And don't blame the Democratic Congress here. Congress hasn't been able to pass any spending bill without the President's consent.)
    * Are you comfortable with Sarah Palin picking up the proverbial 3 a.m. phone call? Or do you take some comfort knowing that even if she is President, the same folks running the show now -- the oil companies and other overly-influential corporations -- will be running the show then too?
    * Are you comfortable with John McCain as emotionally fit to be President? Or -- in spite of your predisposition towards voting for a Republican -- you find Obama a more credible leader?
    * Do you have a sense -- even though you may be reluctant to admit it -- that the Republican Party has gone astray? Are you more enthusiastic about Ron Paul than John McCain?

Folks, these are transformational times we live in. And in order for transformation to take place the first thing we need to do is transform the trance. Those who've been served just "red tribe" kool aid for the past decade, truly and wholeheartedly believe what they have been hearing is the truth. The Rush Limbaughs, the Michael Savages, the Sean Hannity's all have one thing in common: They speak passionately to the fears and anger of average Americans. Instead of pointing towards a holistic solution however, they choose the assaholic approach of constructing straw men -- the stereotyped "liberal" who barely exists in reality -- and making that straw man the enemy to distract us from the real issues.

The further we move from the straw man conversation that has been used to displace understandable anger at America's slow devolution from great nation to de facto banana republic, the closer we come to breaking the trance. The breaking of a trance might not be a pleasant thing, at least not initially. My friend Norie Huddle reports that years ago, she spoke to an official in the Reagan Administration about her advocacy for peace. The man got furious, and threw her out of his office. "You just don't understand!" he shouted, "YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

A few years later, she got a call from that same man. "That conversation changed my life," he told her. For the better, we might add. The anger over being duped is a powerful force, and it may be turned on the messenger bearing the news. In those cases -- and in any case -- it's important to remember the following when engaging in any kind of political discourse with a perceived adversary:

1. Aretha said it best: R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Say unto others what you would have them say unto you. As we continually emphasize at our newly-founded Department of Heartland Security (see below), our true security in oneness is in the "land of the heart." From this place of great potential love and coherence, we can address the differences in belief. As Swami says, "Time to leave the static of the head for the ecstatic of the heart. The more we expand the heart, the less we will need to shrink the head."

2. Be kind, and be non-attached. You are not trying to force a belief onto anybody, but you are calling the other person forth to explore a new possibility.

3. As much as possible, find ways to look out in the same direction rather than face one another down.

4. Be curious how their concerns and positions might illuminate a blind spot in your own point of view. Remember that the ultimate trance is the trance of separation. Even if you end up agreeing to disagree, if you stay connected in the heart you lay the groundwork for further dialogue, healing and breakthrough.

The choice we face is profound, and more and more individuals and groups are seeing it every day. That is why it's important to take nothing for granted here. An overwhelming Obama victory will tell the world -- and ourselves -- that America is ready for political climate change. Yes, there are valid concerns about election fraud, voter intimidation and other dirty tricks that may have worked in the past. The one immediate cure for all of these shenanigans? A landslide victory that everyone knows beforehand is going to be a landslide victory so those who would try to tamper would recognize it is futile.

The next issue of Notes From the Trail will deal with an event -- we're calling it The Function at the Junction -- that will very likely determine America's pathway after the election. What is it? Sorry ... you'll have to wait until next week. For now, first things first. On to up-wising, evolution and enduring political climate change.


How YOU Can Have an Impact Between Now and Election Day
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In addition to the aforementioned political conversations across the red-blue divide, here are three other things you can do between now and then:

1. Cohere With Coherence via the Wise USA. In addition to all the activist activities, you can engage in "subtle activism" as well. Beginning on Saturday, October 25th and continuing through November 6th, a series of online events will help us focus our attention on the best possible outcome for the election. WiseUSA doesn't endorse a candidate, just a field of greater coherence and functionality. Here is their prayer honoring the Heart and Soul of America:

    We the people, the ancestors of our great, great grandchildren, call forth the deepest wisdom and the highest compassion from the heart and soul of America, for the benefit of the entire Earth community and the next seven generations.

    May Wisdom Prevail in the USA
    May Peace Prevail on Earth

I will be offering an online program -- a Talkcast -- on Monday, October 27th from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. PCT. If you want to participate, the number to dial in is (724) 444-7444; Call ID 24753# then 1#. Or you can participate on line by using this link: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=24753&cmd=tc

2. Join MoveOn's call to call voters in swing states. You can host or attend a "call party" locally and do your part to influence the election outcome. I did this in 2006, and it was a heartening, enjoyable experience.

3. Yes Magazine has offered an enlightening article on what you can do to insure that you get to cast your vote, and that that vote is counted.

Get yourself spiritually geared up for political climate change. Engage with others. Make sure all your voting ducks are lined up. Regardless of the October or even November surprises the forces of fear, intimidation and manipulation may be cooking up, remember "Only love prevails."

Be cheerful. Be fearless. Let's do whatever we can to empower this new field of reality so that we all have something to celebrate in November ... and in January.


Join Heartland Security as We Weave a Web of Mass Construction
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Of course, the election is only the beginning. We all realize that the evolution we seek involves we the people coming to the realization that we are the leaders we've been waiting for. While we can hope that Barack Obama will shift the direction our ship of state is taking, we together must re-create the missing ingredient in "government of, by and for the people": the people. Or, more accurately, the healthy central voice of we the people. This is the "moral authority" that transcends religion, and affirms the virtues and values that reflect spiritual wisdom and secular ethics, that the 90%+ of us who aren't sociopaths can agree on.

Meanwhile, we must also build the butterfly economy locally from the grassroots up, as the caterpillar economy deconstructs all around us. We must find respectful forms of communicating with one another despite disagreements, and empower those locally and globally who seek solutions rather than serving themselves by perpetuating the problems.

The Department of Heartland Security is a new website and context for living into the realization that modern science and ancient wisdom both agree on: The next phase of human evolution is the understanding that we are each and all cells in the body of humanity. But having this realization is just the first step. The real question is, how do we live from this new understanding? How does this awareness change our "internal terrain" and our relationship with others? What are the implications for our political and economic system? Most importantly, how do we begin to live this new reality now, in our homes, in our communities, our country and the world.

Heartland Security is the online community for people who get this new evolutionary distinction, and are ready to apply it. Our official launch is January 11, 2009 (One, One, One aka Interdependence Day), and at that time we will release our multimedia ebook, Heartland Security: A New Humanifesto for a Thriving World.

We are currently gathering our Council of Allies, and Profounders -- sponsors who see their missions and visions as resonant with ours. In addition to providing the resource for our start up phase, these Profounders will be honored in the e-book and on our Profounders page, where their words and messages will be seen by thousands -- and hopefully millions -- of eyeballs. Please go here http://www.departmentofheartlandsecurity.org/ to find out more and to become part of our community at this pre-launch time -- while membership is still free.

[Michael]

 INAUGURATING A NEW PRECEDENT
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by Steve Bhaerman

January 20, 2009 is a day that will live in "famy." The inauguration of Barack Obama marks a collective step in the right direction for the United States and humanity as we move from a fear-based state of emergency to a love-based state of emergent seeing. Or, as Swami will declare in his upcoming State of the Universe Address, "The shift has finally hit the fan."

Here's the good news and the other news: Nothing will ever be the same. The shift is more than regime change at the top. The real shift is "routine change" at the grassroots, and in fact at every level. We -- collectively and individually -- can no longer hide behind stories of disempowerment and victimhood. We are conscious co-creators, on the cusp of graduating from children of god to adults of god.

Just as surely as the eight-year hard knocks course called the Bush Administration was an outward reflection of our collective consciousness and the lessons we needed to learn, these coming years also reflect our current awareness -- and the challenges we face as a nation and as a humanity. We are confronted with a casino economy that is unhinged from the natural world, a web-of-life threatening autoimmune dysfunction called warfare that we somehow consider "normal", and an ecological crisis where we humans are finding ourselves the most endangered species of all.

While the Obama presidency will no doubt bring a fresh breeze of hope and functionality, it is up to "we the people" -- that is, our collective will and willingness -- to bring about fundamental change. Notice that on three fundamental issues, Barack Obama has not yet turned the corner to offer the fundamental change that is needed. These issues are:

1. The Unhealthy Care System. Rather than adopting a single-payer universal health care program, the Obama Administration is avoiding two big fat elephants in the living room -- health care providers who make their profits by denying care, and drug companies that make their profits by inflating costs and "indoctornating" physicians to over-prescribe.

2. Out of Touch with Israelity. Unquestioning support of Israel (actually the neocon militarists in Israel) in every questionable venture taken in the name of "self-defense" and misrepresenting the shortsighted, fear-based and manipulative policies promoted by AIPAC as the will of the Jewish people in America, Israel and the world.

3. Bailing Out Financial Giants (and Moral Midgets). While the vast majority of Americans -- right, left and center -- smell the bailout as a scam, money has continued to flow to the top to bail out these institutions instead of funding value and innovation in the economy. Those same perpetrators of the "legal" ponzi scheme called leveraged lending are still in charge of our economic system.

While you and I and our neighbors might see through all three of these issues, Obama cannot change any of these policies unless and until there is such a profound "up-wising" that everyone in the world knows the vast majority of Americans support a health care system that is both healthy and caring; that we support a Middle East policy that reflects justice and not "just us"; that we favor an economy that rewards true value and our true values.

To achieve these fundamental changes requires that we become the leaders we've been waiting for, so that a wise leader like Obama will be able to move us forward without sticking his neck out. It means we must transcend the beliefs in our heads in favor of the loving coherence in our hearts, so that we listen and communicate respectfully with those we disagree with.

We cannot expect our leaders to be any more conscious, functional and courageous than we are. As above, so below. How can we expect the Palestinians and the Israelis to sit down together to work out a practical solution -- or, for that matter the Democrats and Republicans -- when we have a close family member who we've made so "wrong" that we haven't spoken to them in years? As the Swami says, "I have a dream ... that someday all the peace groups will stop fighting one another."

As we emerge from the darkness, stories of grievous perpetrations are likely to emerge as well, of conspiracies and "con's piracies." The shadow side of our growing empowerment is the old story that there are just a few people in the world gathered in small, secretive groups who "control everything." I think that's great news! Why? Because it means there are way, way, way more of us than there are of them!

It's time for the big "us" who recognize that we're all in it together, to weave that web of mass construction that weaves humanity back into the web of life and makes us all "interdependently wealthy."

The inauguration today of a heart-centered leader who is prepared to use our collective intelligence intelligently is a huge gift being bestowed upon America and humanity. But, as the old saying goes, "To whom much is given, much is expected." The age of powerlessness, of hiding out in the "safety" of victimhood, of thinking that complaining alone will change things, of seeking refuge in high ideals that never get tested in reality, that time is over. The time of talk-walking is at hand.

May Good bless us all.

[Daniel]

Seven Reasons for Healthy Skeptism

Even in a city of cynics, the Inauguration of a new president - and the infusion of new ideas, new personalities and new energy that comes with it - summons feelings of reverence.

Barack Obama, especially, is the object of inaugural good feelings. He has assembled an impressive White House and Cabinet team. The country is clearly in his corner. With the economy gasping, and two wars dragging on sullenly, even many Republicans who ordinarily might enjoy seeing Obama fail now root for him to succeed. The stakes are simply too great.

Amid all these high hopes, it may seem needlessly sour to point out why expectations must be kept in check. But it is also realistic.

Here are seven reasons to be skeptical of Obama's chances - and the Washington establishment he now leads:

1. The genius fallacy

There is no disputing Obama has built a Cabinet of sharp and experienced public officials. His staff, especially on national security and economic matters, is often praised as brilliant - and that's by Republicans.

But recent history teaches us to be wary of the larger-than-life Washington figures supposedly striding across history's stage. Consider the economy. Everyone seems to agree Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner are smart, vastly qualified to manage and repair the economy.

Everyone was saying the exact same things about the two economic geniuses of the 1990s: Robert Rubin and Alan Greenspan. Now Rubin has been reduced to making excuses for his involvement in high-risk investments and for helping oversee the demise of Citigroup, which lost $10 billion in the past three months alone. The onetime oracular Greenspan has admitted to Congress that his once-revered economic philosophy had "a flaw," and many blame him for turning a blind eye to the housing bubble.

As it happens, the Obama economic team is full of Rubin protégés, including Geithner and Summers. Geithner had to recently admit he failed to pay taxes on a big chunk of income - as part of his confirmation process to run tax policy and the Internal Revenue Service. As president of the New York Fed, he was integrally involved in the decision not to rescue Lehman Bros., which many see, in retrospect, as a grievous error.

The reception of the Obama economic team recalls the reception of President George W. Bush's foreign policy team eight years ago. Many Democrats applauded the experience of Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell.

As Bush named his national security team in 2000, The New York Times editorialized: "Putting superstar players on the court does not always guarantee harmony or success." In retrospect, that was an understatement, indeed.

2. The herd instinct

The most bipartisan tradition in Washington is to laud bipartisanship, even while lamenting that there is not enough of it.

But the instinct for bipartisanship overlooks an inconvenient fact: Some of Washington's biggest blunders occur when the government moves to do big things with big support. Bush won the much-regretted Iraq war resolution of October 2002 with strong Democratic backing.

The current economic crisis produces similar pressure to get on board the train - never mind for sure where it's going.

It is easy to sympathize with the temptation. Top officials on Obama's team told us in recent days that things are much worse than most people appreciate. The Obama staff and top lawmakers are getting stern warnings that the banking system in particular is extremely fragile and could collapse. So they are moving with amazing speed to pump money into the economy.

First up is the stimulus package that could top $900 billion. It is a mind-numbing number rarely contemplated in U.S. history - and yet it might not work. There are no guarantees people will spend money the government doles out or that it will be enough to offset miserable economic performance elsewhere.

The history isn't encouraging.

Rewind just a few months back. Republicans and Democrats alike said the best of many bad options was to approve $700 billion to prop up banks, mainly to thaw the credit freeze and juice the economy. Half the money is gone now. Many banks took the cash and sat on it. Some used it increase lending. But much of it was wasted or unaccounted for. Now Washington wants to spend the rest of it.

And a top Hill aide told Politico's David Rogers that Democrats will probably need to request even more.


3. We are broke.

The past several months have produced a rare convergence. Something that politicians of both parties find pleasurable - spending money - has overlapped with what economists and policy experts of all ideological stripes said is urgently necessary. As "Saturday Night Live's" Church Lady used to say, "How convenient."

One month from now, Democrats will likely have passed the massive stimulus bill and Obama will have signed it into law. The new Treasury Department will be well on its way to spending the second $350 billion chunk of the $700 billion bank bailout fund.

After this rush of activity, the ability to spend during the balance of Obama's first term - never mind if there is a second - will be sharply constrained.

Instead, the new administration and lawmakers on Capitol Hill will awaken to another first: the prospect of the national deficit approaching $2 trillion. For most, these numbers are simply too big to ponder. But ponder this: This country has never reckoned with deficits like these.

Wait, it gets worse. Remember those entitlement programs the elderly and poor need more than ever: Social Security and Medicare? In budget terms, they are more troubled than ever.

Social Security's surpluses "begin to decline in 2011 and then turn into rapidly growing deficits as the baby boom generation retires," according to one recent report. "Medicare's financial status," the report said, "is even worse."

Basically, the government needs more money than ever at a time when people are losing jobs, income and confidence.

4. Words, words, words

Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, though starkly different men, both viewed the presidency as pre-eminently a decision-making job. Clinton often waved away speech drafts bloated with lofty language by saying: "Words, words, words."

Obama seems to have a different view of the presidency. He thinks that the right decisions can be reached by putting reasonable and enlightened people together and reaching a consensus. He believes his job as president is to educate and inspire, largely matters of style.

He knows he is good with words. He knows he has great style. So that's why he projects exceptional confidence in his ability to do the job.

We don't know yet how justified Obama is in his self-confidence - or how naive.

But he is almost certain to face many tests, probably imminently, in which the test will be Obama's ability to act quickly and shrewdly - and not merely describe his actions smoothly or impress people with nuance. And an unlike a governor - who must decide what's in a budget and what gets cut, or whether a person to be executed at midnight should be spared - Obama has not made many decisions for which the consequences affect more than himself.

5. He rarely challenges the home team.

Obama frequently talks of the need to transcend partisanship. And he invokes his support for charter schools - a not-terribly-controversial idea - as evidence that he is willing to challenge Democratic special interest groups.

In fact, there are few examples of him making decisions during the campaign or the transition that offended his own party's constituencies, or using rhetoric that challenged his own supporters to rethink assumptions or yield on a favored cause.

Has Obama ever delivered a "Sister Souljah speech"? Ever stood up to organized labor in the way that Clinton did in passing North American Free Trade Agreement?

This is not a good sign. By Obama's lights, the national interest usually coincides with his personal interest. Back to you, Church Lady.


6. Everyone is winging it.

No matter how much confidence Obama or other politicians project, the reality is the current economic crisis has totally scrambled the intellectual assumptions of almost every policymaker. People who used to bemoan deficits want to spend like crazy. Improvisation is the only proper response. But the chances that improvisation will take the country to exactly the right destination - without some serious wrong turns along the way - seem very slight.

7. The watchdogs are dozing.

The big media companies that once invested in serious accountability journalism are shells of their former selves. The Tribune Co. - in other words, the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune - has slashed its Washington staff by more than half. Newspaper chains such as Cox are fleeing D.C. altogether.

The end result: There are few reporters in this country doing the kind of investigative reporting that hold government officials' feet to the fire. Think back eight years to the pre-Iraq war reporting and consider the words of Scott McClellan in his otherwise humdrum book.

"The collapse of the administration's rationales for war, which became apparent months after our invasion, should never have come as such a surprise," McClellan wrote. "In this case, the ‘liberal media' didn't live up to its reputation. If it had, the country would have been better served."

Rigorous reporting is even more important when you have one-party rule in Washington. Democrats, like Republicans, are simply less likely to scrutinize a president of their own. The end result here: Don't expect the Democratic Congress to investigate the Obama administration or hold a bunch of tough oversight hearings. That means the only real check on Obama is the same one it's always been - the voters.

Jim VandeHei, John F. Harris Jim Vandehei, John F. Harris Wed Jan 21, 3:20 am ET