END OF AN ERA

ON THIS DAY SO VERY CLOSE TO EID AL ADHA, (ABRAHAM'S OBEDIENCE TO GOD) AND ALSO TO NEW YEAR'S EVE,....   I AM ENCOURAGED BY THE REMEMBRANCE OF MAJOR FIGURES OF AMERICANA ,...JAMES BROWN, WHO GAVE ALL AMERICANS "SOUL,”.....AND FORMER PRESIDENT GERALD FORD, WHO GAVE AMERICA   "A SENSE OF TRUST AND BALANCE" IN POLITICS. 
 
     BUT I ALSO ADDRESS THE UNDERLYING TURMOIL IN AMERICA THAT THREATENS OUR NATION AT HOME AND ABROAD. . .  SADDAM HUSSEIN'S EXECUTION REVEALS A PERVASIVE DISTRUST AND HATRED THAT UNDERMINES THE NATION/STATE OF IRAQ AND ALSO UNDERMINES THE CHENEY/BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S ABILITY TO PRESENT A CREDIBLE POLICY.
 
     MY CHALLENGE AS A NATIONAL LEADER IS TO EMBODY THAT SENSE OF FAIRNESS THAT HAS BEEN THE HALLMARK OF OUR AMERICAN REVOLUTION FOR MORE THAN ELEVEN SCORE AND TEN YEARS,....
                      "GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR ...MASSES YEARNING TO BREATHE FREE,"    EMMA LAZARUS
 
.....THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ,  .......THE U.S.  CONSTITUTION ARTICLE VI "NO RELIGIOUS TEST.....,"     ........THE "FIRST AMENDMENT,"    ...AND CIVIL RIGHTS...
   "I HAVE A DREAM THAT ONE DAY THIS NATION WILL RISE UP AND LIVE OUT THE TRUE MEANING OF ITS CREED:--' WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.' ”M.L.KING, SPEECH AT MARCH ON WASHINGTON , 1963
 
    AS OUR NATION LOOKS TO OUR FUTURE, WE MUST REMEMBER ANOTHER TIME AND PLACE WHEN MANY AMERICANS IN MY GENERATION SAW OUR NATION DIVIDED ABOUT ANOTHER CONFLICT IN ASIA ;    .... THE WISDOM OF MANY OF OUR ELDER STATESMEN INCLUDING FORMER PRESIDENT GERALD FORD (WHO DISAGREED WITH THE CHENEY/BUSH ADMINISTRATION) IS TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS ABOUT THREATENING GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD.
 
    MY OWN EXPERIENCES AS A TEXAS CANDIDATE  IN THE POST 9-11 ERA, HAVE BROUGHT TO LIGHT A "DESPERATE GRASPING" FOR POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES THAT  NOT ONLY ARE INAPPROPRIATE, BUT ALSO REPRESENT A "CIVIL VIOLATION" OF THE HIGH STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES THAT WE (AMERICANS) PROCLAIM AS OUR OWN GLOBAL MISSION.
 
        FINALLY, OUR CAMPAIGN IS ABOUT BECOMING A "GOOD NEIGHBOR," NOT ONLY IN EVERY LOCAL COMMUNITY IN AMERICA , BUT ALSO IN OUR NATIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE AND AROUND THE WORLD.