Be What You Want to Be

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Oh, what I love so much about Halloween is the freedom to be whomever you wish.  Tonight I watched goblins and fairies come to my door and I rewarded their beauty with candy corn.  Little do these tiny humans know that when they grow up people will judge them based on how they dress and who they are.  Young and innocent, with the help of a costume, they get to be who they want to be.  I wish I could wave my magic wand and make every day a day when we could be whomever we wish.  Happy Halloween!

Always Check Your Sources

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From the WSJ today:
Politico: John McCain hung his final presidential debate performance on an Ohio plumber who campaign aides never vetted. A day after making Joseph Wurzelbacher famous, referencing him in the debate almost two dozen times as someone who would pay higher taxes under Barack Obama, Mr. McCain learned the fine print on the plumber’s not-so-tidy personal story: He owes back taxes. He is not a licensed plumber. And it turns out that Mr. Wurzelbacher makes less than $250,000 a year, which means he would receive a tax cut if Mr. Obama were elected president

Oh, how very embarrassing.  Every good speaker knows to check their source of information before using it in a speech.  You would think that a presidential candidate who is behind in the polls would have been a bit more cautious on the content used in the debate.  I guess your never too old to learn.

The Art of Answering Your Own Question

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Watching the 2nd Presidential debate tonight I was reminded of the art of answering your own question.  Both candidates displayed it quite well.  No matter the question, the answer always contained the key message the candidate wanted to state.  Asked about retirement, Obama suavely commented that we can’t get to retirement if we don’t deal with taxes and then promptly answered his own question about what to do about taxes. While politician used this technique all the time, it is handy for us every-day communicators as well.  I don’t condone not answering the question asked, but I do marvel at those who can answer the posed question and also incorporate their own agenda.