The BobboSphere: Don't believe everything you think.

It's tough to lead a union local these days. Your members expect miracles and your boss would rather see your hindquarters disappear over the horizon, never to return. It's especially hard to lead a union local in the heart of Dixie where the scars of slavery and Jim Crow still cut deep into the body politic.

The FreightLiner 5

How did it happen? We finally had a Democratic primary where a genuine national discussion could perhaps cut through the Gordian knot of race, gender and class. Instead we blinked at the last minute and settled for something far less. We cry for "change" at political rallies then like the horses in Anna Sewell's classic Black Beauty, we run back into the burning barn of familiar prejudices and stale political infighting.

It would be easy to surrender to cynicism and sit this one out. I have a Trotkyist friend who impatiently dismissed all of the candidates, even Dennis Kucinich, as tools of capitalism, not worthy of anyone's vote. What made me sad is that a lot of his criticisms of the Democratic Party candidates actually made sense, despite being framed in a 20th century left-over ideology.

So what are we supposed to do?