Washington Talkin' Blues

Fun election-day tunes at the end of this post!

First, fare thee well Studs Terkel. More later on him, though words from this inept writer could hardly do justice to a man who defined America through his own mastery of the language, and the language and stories of the people he spent a career preserving.

Now.

We here at the Mountain have drunk the Kool Aid.

The lovely Mrs. Mountain and I, along with some of our fellow traveling, tax and spending, wealth distributing elitists, will be attending the Barack Obama rally Tuesday night in Grant Park here in beautiful Chicago. Yup, we scored tickets. Witness to history, 'n' all that.

I honestly don't know if we'll be witnessing a victory speech or a concession speech. Perhaps it will be neither, as this election could take days or weeks to resolve. Who knows?

I wouldn't call this an endorsement of any sort. Who cares who some blogger is voting for? Most folks have already made up their mind, one way or the other, and if someone is still undecided this late in the game, I'm not sure what argument they're waiting for to convince them.

I'm voting for Obama because of his stance on issues that are important to me. I'm a big ole bleeding-heart liberal, fer chrissakes! My Republican friends (and yes, I do have some) are voting for McCain based on issues important to them. Others are voting 3rd party for the same reasons.

Regardless of who wins, I hope they have the best interests of everyone in this country.

I hope everyone finds time to vote on Tuesday, if you haven't already taken advantage of early voting, no matter who you're for. A few hours in line is nothing compared to what folks endured during the Suffrage movement of the early 20th Century or the Civil Rights movement of the 50's and 60's.

Probably could have been more obscure with the following songs. Oh well.

Can't believe the Sam Cooke tune hasn't been used by the Obama campaign yet. Perhaps it's too obvious. As far as we're concerned, Woody Guthrie is the poet laureate (along with Walt Whitman) of these here United States. And Frank Sinatra is..well..he's Frank Sinatra.


Sam Cooke: A Change Is Gonna Come (mp3)

Woody Guthrie: This Land Is Your Land (mp3)

Woody Guthrie: Better World A-Comin' (mp3)

Frank Sinatra and Dinah Shore: It's All Up To You (mp3)

Vote, guldurnit!