More on political wedges.

Someone brought this to my attention and I have to share.

Making America Stupid
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

In there, he has this to say (among many other things),

I dwell on this issue because it is symbolic of the campaign that John McCain has decided to run. It’s a campaign now built on turning everything possible into a cultural wedge issue — including even energy policy, no matter how stupid it makes the voters and no matter how much it might weaken America.

This highlights what I touched on a few days ago.

I think this also illustrates a good point;

I respected McCain’s willingness to support the troop surge in Iraq, even if it was going to cost him the Republican nomination. Now the same guy, who would not sell his soul to win his party’s nomination, is ready to sell every piece of his soul to win the presidency.

Yes, John McCain WAS a maverick 8 years ago when he was unwilling to bow down to the religious right. I considered voting for him then. When I heard he was throwing his hat in again this time, I was hopeful for the same John McCain I've seen in the past--the one who was willing to butt heads even within his own party. I wanted the John McCain who treated John Kerry with civility and refused to belittle his friend even when others in his party spent great amounts of time and money doing just that. Mr. Friedman, however, has it absolutely correct. Today, John McCain is selling his soul. His maverick days are long gone.

In order to disguise the fact that the core of his campaign is to continue the same Bush policies that have led 80 percent of the country to conclude we’re on the wrong track, McCain has decided to play the culture-war card. Obama may be a bit professorial, but at least he is trying to unite the country to face the real issues rather than divide us over cultural differences.

YES. That's it exactly. When I watched Obama speak at the DNC, I felt energized. I felt ready for a new tomorrow where we work together to pull our country back to its former glory. When I listened to the speeches at the RNC, I was shocked at the bitterness and attempts at division. True, there were things said by the Democrats that weren't sunshine and roses, but those were NOT said by the nominees. Sarah Palin gave one of the most bitter speeches I've heard in a long time and she's the Vice Presidential nominee.

That article is wonderful. It goes on to point out how creating this cultural wedge just serves to take our eyes off the real issues and real problems. I don't want to fight with my Republican friends. I don't want that bitterness in politics. I want to work for change--REAL change.