Hope you're having fun

Are you going to the Sunset Concert to hear that reggae band tonight, Bloggy? Not me. I'm still in South Carolina, having 'fun in the sun'. How about you? Did you watch John Edwards' speech last night? He's a master of the catchy phrase, isn't he? Like the twist on Vice President Cheney's "help is on the way" from four years ago. Repeating "hope is on the way" three times was a bit too much, yet the guy's so darn sincere, the excess can be overlooked -- as can the fact that the statement is illogical. He's saying, in effect, that his listeners are in a state of despair, lacking hope for better days. At the same time, he's asking us to believe that hope is coming. But if we're hopeful that it's coming, then it's already here. Not that this blog ever lacks hope . . . . We're talking rhetoric here.

Making waves

The beach in South Carolina is really cool for such a desolate place, so far from the capital of Southern Illinois. The sand is fine and hot, while the water's warm and wavy. The night before last, it stormed, so the surf was more active than usual yesterday. Or perhaps it was the ripple effect of Theresa Heinz Kerry's speech up north, the night before.

Dick Cheney was here the day I arrived. Not on the beach, of course, but speaking at a fundraiser, according to a local newspaper conveniently placed over a urinal in Myrtle Beach. He raised $400,000 at the event, according to a knowledgable guy at the bus depot.

The debate between Edwards and Cheney should be interesting. This blog would like to predict that salty old Dick really sticks it to the one-term Senator, who's still wet behind the ears, politically speaking -- that would make this blog more penetrating than mo(i)st). But probably it will be a wash -- awash with hope, cynicism, and facts . . . like so many sea shells on the strand.*

*blogitor's note: metaphor subject to change, as the tide turns