“The only people can say that they aren’t immigrants are the people sitting right here,” [Obama] says and points to the tribal leaders.

This is that new-fangled Progressive thinking. You get to re-define words to mean what they don’t so you can say what you want to say and sound all intilekchual. And stuff.

So when the first “Native Americans” crossed the land bridge from Asia to America, they were native, and not immigrating. Well, ok, if nobody lived here we’ll buy that that is consistent with what they are saying.

But what about the next group of wanderers? Surely there was more than one group of people sauntering over to Alaska. Were they immigrants, too?

Bottom line is, Cassie’s right and Obama’s just dead wrong (imagine that!) … if you were born here, your a native. That’s what the word “native” means. Or at least that’s what it always meant until Progressives decided that words mean what they want them to mean at any particular point in time.

native (adj.) c.1374, from O.Fr. natif (fem. native), from L. nativus “innate, produced by birth,” from natus, pp. of nasci, gnasci “be born,” related to gignere “beget,” from PIE base *gen-/*gn- “produce”

I once went to see Navajo flutist R. Carlos Nakai. During the day before the performance, he was to speak at a local coffee house. I am a fan of the music, and I was curious as to what a musician might have to say or be expected to say at a coffee house. So I went. Besides, the coffee was good there.

Some ponytailed, tweed’n'socks’n berkenstocks guy opened with a question:

“How do I respect you, as a Native American?”

His answer was priceless. In a kind of a “what the hell kind of question was that?” tone, he said

“Why do you WANNA to respect me?”

After which my respect for him went beyond respect for his musicianship. That is what I would call the answer of a true Human Being, as they would put it.

He went on to tell a story about a friend who was arguing about whether or not he was a native American, and R. Carlos’s answer was:

“Were you born here?”

The polls say that 70% of America is unhappy with Bush. What they don’t say is why. Liberals assume that it means that 70% of America is liberal like they are. But there is a significant number of conservatives in that number who are unhappy because Bush isn’t conservative enough for them. How big that number is, I don’t know.

At any rate, it’s all about that slice of the middle of the pie right now. He’s facing a candidate that is so distasteful to conservatives that he won’t lose many of them. They’re doing PR. Shoring up the brand name by watering it down to appeal to more people.

Me, I’m hoping for a continued hard line against militant Islam, a few conservative judges, and a course that doesn’t steer as close to socialism as Obama would try to take us.

Which is why I’m voting for McCain. No matter who he has speaking in prime time.

I wish I could be more enthusiastic about it, but at least I know for why and for whom I am voting.