Here’s how I figured it would happen: I’m sitting in a greasy spoon off some steaming Georgia blacktop, flirting with a red-headed waitress and waiting on a diablo sandwich and a Dr. Pepper, when in walks none other than Jerry Reed.

In the contest between John McCain and Barack Obama, nobody is confused about which candidate has experience and qualifications for the job of president. Two recent developments have brought the issue of preparedness to the forefront. And the truth is that, of the four major party candidates, Obama is the least experienced.

The surprise choice of Gov. Sarah Palin to be John McCain’s running mate seems to be the gift that may keep on giving.

Wow! What a country we live in. One way or another, history is going to be made in America this election season. We are either going to elect the first African American President, the oldest first–term American President or the first woman vice president on November 4. 

Faithful readers of this column will know that once, long ago in a galaxy far away, I was a high school English teacher. Since I retired five years ago, I’ve found that I don’t miss the daily commute, the
meetings, the paperwork, the constant changes in curriculum.

It is now abundantly clear that Sen. Barack Obama will become this nation’s 44th president when he takes the oath of office on Jan. 20.

The debate over drilling on federal lands has come home: from the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge to the coast of Virginia. Record-high oil prices — fueled in part by a weak dollar and speculation — led leaders in both parties to backpedal on longstanding commitments not to place oil rigs on the Atlantic coast. Even as economists of all stripes acknowledged that offshore drilling will do nothing to reduce prices at the pump, politicians still wavered. Why?

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Every four years, Americans traditionally tune into the presidential campaigns around Labor Day.

Labor Day generally signals the end of summer. 

America, our God-given right to eat hot dogs without worry is under siege.

With my Baltimore Orioles suffering a blowout loss on Tuesday night and with none of the cable networks showing Andy Griffith reruns, I was forced to watch coverage of the Democratic National Convention.

Tonight, if all goes according to plan, a stadium full of Obama supporters (and curious onlookers such as the media) will join the delegates of this week’s National Democratic Convention in Denver to hear from the party’s primary-anointed candidate.

In spite of the title, this is not some sappy, uh, romantic tale about a man and a woman who had a grand love for each other and then one of them moves away or disappears for decades and then they find each other again but it’s too late because one of them dies but it’s still oh so romantic.

Americans can take justifiable pride in the stellar performance of our athletes in the 2008 summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Democrats open their national convention today amid troubling news. Several recent polls show presidential contenders Barack Obama and John McCain now in a dead heat.

Last week someone sent me an email that just infuriated me. Quiet often I get such emails because my friends are so outraged they just have to share the email. 

Every four years, I sit in front of the television, glued with interest to hours of coverage. No, I’m not talking about presidential conventions and election results. I’m talking about the summer Olympics, held this year in Beijing, China. 

The worst thing about the downturn in the newspaper industry, aside from massive layoffs, careers in ruins, frozen salaries and the grim realization that my only other marketable skill is frying hushpuppies at the fish camp, is the cutback in good, old-fashioned monkey coverage.

I’ve been watching with mixed emotions the war-mongering underway this month between Russia and Georgia, and so far what it portends is hardly reassuring for the rest of Europe, or the world, for that matter.

“Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
— Vernon Wormer, Dean of Students, Faber College (From the film “Animal House”)

Most companies know that to stay in business they must deliver quality goods and services to consumers.

More than 2 million people have contributed to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Kathi Ream of Falls Church, Va., is not among them.
And she’s steamed about it.

No doubt about it; Virginia is the place to be in November.

Last Saturday, the Washington Post reported on a program in use in the Prince William County Schools (PWCS).

Note from Scott: Here’s the winner of the Write Scott Hollifield’s Column While He is On Vacation or Performing His Court-Ordered Community Service Contest as chosen by a panel of semi-experts. View and comment on all the columns by going to http://www.mcdowellnews.com and clicking on the Write Scott’s Column Button.

Barack Obama has recently been asking voters whether they are better off than they were “four years ago or eight years ago.” But the real question is whether you are better off than you were two years ago.

I suppose when they say it’s not advisable to watch either sausage or laws being made because neither is very pretty,

The image of the sign posted outside the Sherwood Forest Shores swimming pool where other kids and I spent most of our summer vacation remains etched in my mind.

Few will deny that a person’s home has a special place in our society. Federal, state and local laws have been written to ensure that individuals and members of their families can feel safe in the houses or apartments they occupy. Even the U. S. Constitution (Amendments III and IV) says that homes are entitled to special protection.

It was inevitable. Hillary Clinton is back, and she’s John McCain’s new, not-so-secret weapon.