Obama vs. American Idol. Not much of a discussion? Oh, I beg to differ. I caught a bit of Obama in Texas tonight between commercials of AI, and was definitely impressed at what he had to say. I even detected a little Texas twang in his voice, as he said, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, so much.” (that was pretty much all he said). For emphasis he added, “Ya’ll certainly know how to come out.” Or something moving like that, which roused the 20,000 plus starry-eyed supporters into more violent sign-pumping. It was amazing! All the man had to say was ‘Thank you’, and people went wild!

In contrast, the popular Simon on AI got collective boos whenever he gave a bit o’ constructive criticism. Granted, with his style, he has no right critiquing anybody’s style. But at least he adds some spice to the show. Without him, it would just be ‘yo, yo, yo man’ and Paula’s white-lipped, assuring smile.

Enough with politics. The game reminds me of chess. Ever play chess with someone who pretends to be bad, but has really been playing the game for years? I've done that. I sat down, thinking, 'yeah, I can do this. Poor sucker.' I always begin with the 'Audacity to Hope', and end with a bit of reality. Check-mate! I hate hearing those words, because it means I am most likely not saying them! I've won against such master-minds rarely, but I've learned the trick to maintaining the victory over them all. Beat them once, and never play them again. The losers' way out, yes, but it feels good in a sad, idealistic way.

I wonder if this too can parallel to politics. The games, in fact, do coincide. Two opposing candidates sit down and face each other, each one with a hand on a pawn. Both have similar hopes and dreams. One takes out his opponents horse, but as a consequence loses his knight. It's a give and take game, but there's a deciding difference between the loser and the winner.

The winner sees the check mate in 3 moves. The loser is desperately limping his little pawn down the side of the board in hopes of a queen.

The winner is looking calmly at his pieces. The loser is defensive.

It's all very complicated, and while I cannot profess to be the Queen of Chess Geeks, I do know a thing or two where at least Chess and Geeks are concerned.