I apologize for the long blogging hiatus. I realize that this has been hard for those millions of you who can't get through your day without checking in to see if I've had any words of wisdom, so I'll try not to be gone so long again. Thanks for your patience.

Last week was a week from hell. Every day, either I or one or more of my children were at the doctor for one ailment or another. Bryant had 3 shots, Bradley had spacers put in and I had a CT Scan. Those are the highlights.

As for my ringing ear, since my CT scan showed crystal clear sinus cavaties, the ENT is now going to test me for a couple of inner ear issues, one of them being Meniere's Disease. He reduced me to 2000 mg of sodium per day and told me to cut out caffeine and stress. I'm working on the caffeine.

So, what to blog about on my first day back? How about this:

What does a picture of Dennis Haysbert have to do with Senator Barack Obama, Democrat, Illinois? I think a lot. Because Dennis Haysbert is best known for his role on the hit show 24 as first Senator and then President David Palmer.

Now, I know that the ABC show Commander in Chief, starring Geena Davis, was a trial balloon to see how the country would react to a woman president, clearly in hopes of preparing us for a President Hillary Clinton. Well, for whatever reason, the show bombed. And things aren't looking too bright for Senator Clinton's presidential aspirations either.

However, the new rising star of the Democrat party is this man, Senator Barack Hussein Obama. He is extremely well-spoken, obviously intelligent, and just seemingly a pleasant guy to be around. Democrats are swooning over his potential, and I've heard more than one Republican show some interest in him as well.

My theory is that 24 did for the country unintentionally what Commander in Chief attempted but failed to do, get us ready for the first non-white male president. Look at the similarities: both are attractive, charismatic African-American family men with two kids, both senators (and senators normally do not become president - the last one was JFK in 1960. And for another wild hare - if TV were real, that would be quite the cooincidence seeing as how they were both assassinated by a sniper. But we all know TV isn't real, even if sometimes our friends have to remind us.)

Where was I? Oh, both democrats, both articulate and comfortable in their own skin. Interestingly, David Palmer was strong on terrorism, something democrats aren't real well known for. So will this be a subliminal message to the country that Obama would be hard on terrorists too?

What makes it even more interesting to me is that 24 is a show loved by conservatives. I'm sure that the hard line against terrorism isn't all that appealing to a liberal democrat. So if Obama does get the Democratic nod, it will be really interesting to see how many Republicans jump on the bandwagon.

Sadly, I feel that Mr. Obama is just another liberal. Consider the statement he made last week when he was asked if he thought some people wouldn't vote for him because of his race. His answer was yes, he thought that there surely were people who wouldn't vote for him because of his race. But then he added that those are probably the same people who wouldn't vote for him because of his politics. Translation: Republicans are racist, Liberal talking point #13.

Be prepared, because once Christmas is over, the 2008 race to the presidency will be underway. It's going to get ugly out there. While my stomach doesn't lurch and convulse at the thought of President Obama quite as much as it does at the sound of having to say President Clinton again (or would it be President Rodham?) I still shudder to think about the course of our country under a liberal commander in chief. Mr. Obama would be a formidable opponent for any candidate.

Let's pray that a strong conservative steps up to the plate. Soon.