It’s been a while since I’ve posted here, and I don’t intend to address that in this particular post. Perhaps later.

But last week, MTSU Sidelines Opinions Editor Brandon “Occupy Wall Street” Thomas ran an editorial seeking the “perfect Republican” Presidential candidate in the style of a Craig’s List post. Basically, he took the more extreme elements of the Right and rolled them into a mythical candidate.

Cute. I was inspired to write a Craig’s List-style response from the perspective of the liberal Democrat base… seeking 2008 candidate Obama. I hear it’s in today’s edition, but here is the original, unedited version.

Enjoy.

We were so in love, you and me.

You promised “hope” and “change” – a rejection of “politics as usual” in Washington. You promised a post-racial Presidency. You promised the economy would turn around and that unemployment would never go above eight percent. You vowed to end the Bush Tax Cuts for the Rich. You even promised an end to foreign wars. (David Brooks feels cheated, too.)

And we believed you. We believed you were the candidate who could save us from him… from the legacy of Dubya. I shudder even to write his name.

Now, three years later, we’re wondering where you went. Where did 2008 Candidate Obama go?

Instead of rejecting the old ways of Washington, you wholeheartedly embraced them. You hosted lobbyists and special interests at the White House. And when you didn’t want us to know you were seeing them, you met them only blocks away.

Your promise of a post-racial Presidency has been anything but. The Congressional Black Caucus is consistently at odds with your out-of-touch message as minority unemployment hovers in the mid-teens.

We supported your bailout of Big Business just like you asked, and unemployment shot above eight percent. It’s been above nine percent for 26 months of your so-far 32-month Presidency. And now your plan to create jobs asks for even more money to bail out business.

You couldn’t even manage to end the Bush Tax Cuts for the Rich! For Pete’s sake, Barack, the Top 1% only pay 40% of the taxes in this country! Can’t it be more? Why haven’t you pushed them to pay their fair share?

And instead of ending foreign wars, you doubled them. You committed troops in Libya, sent military “advisers” to central Africa, and ramped up a covert war in Yemen.

You are pulling troops out of Iraq, though. But it’s on a timetable set by your predecessor – Dubya. *shudder*

You were so dreamy, Barack. Your kind eyes. Your winning smile. Your promises of “hope” and “change.” The way you drew thousands of naïve college students to your events with the promise of helping cope with our student loans.

And now I learn your college loan plan will only save me $5 a month?

We miss you, 2008 Candidate Obama. We miss what you stood for, and we don’t particularly care for the shell of a man you’ve left in the White House.

So, if you see this before November 2012, give us something to believe in again.

Josh Fields, a fellow Tennessean and MTSU alum, penned a column about the labor fight in South Carolina and how it may spill over into Tennessee:

The clash between labor unions and businesses is a deep-rooted skirmish, creating fault lines that have helped to shape America’s political landscape.

The latest quarrel is that between the National Labor Relations Board and Boeing Corp., and though it is taking place outside of Tennessee, the implications run deep beneath its bedrock.

At stake in the battle is a $1 billion factory in South Carolina that Boeing hopes will be housing a production line of their new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet. The NLRB claims that Boeing is building the facility in South Carolina to punish the unions in Washington state for past strikes and high wages. The advantage that South Carolina has in luring companies like Boeing is their right-to-work status.

Under right-to-work laws, you cannot be forced to become a member of, or pay dues to, a union. This incentivizes, as has been seen over the past 40 years, businesses to move or expand some production lines to states with these policies. Tennessee is one of the beneficiaries of this status. From major corporations to small operations, Tennessee has experienced a steady growth in its manufacturing base and economic output despite economic downturns and outsourcing nationwide.

It is no accident that states with business-friendly climates attract business from other regions and other nations. Yet, the NLRB attack on Boeing indicates a disturbing trend. As the U.S. economy struggles to find its stride, the push from labor unions on existing facilities grows. Lack of job creation in those regions has put stress on union leaders to keep their grasp on expansion.

Pressure also mounts on politicians dependent on union donations to keep them in power. It is important to note that Boeing isn’t cutting jobs but putting an additional plant in South Carolina.

The implications here are dizzying. Given Tennessee’s business-friendly reputation, are the policies that help maintain its business prestige all for naught? Elected leaders on both sides of the aisle have staked their careers in maintaining and building an environment that sets Tennessee apart from other states. Moreover, Tennessee workers have benefited greatly from the economic freedom and helped to build the solid reputation of our labor force.

Tennesseans should be concerned that unions now seek to prevent right-to-work states from scooping up those jobs. The NLRB appears to be doing its job to protect unions, but in reality it is merely protecting a monopoly at the expense of job growth and competition among the states to offer better economic climates.

The concept of “right-to-work” — that men and women can enter into an agreement with an employer without being forced into a labor union — is what’s at stake here. The battle between Boeing and the National Labor Relations Board could have sweeping implications for right-to-work states like Tennessee.

Check out some of Fields’ other writings here.

It’s Friday. You made it through a truncated work week. Enjoy these headlines:

Speaker Boehner raises $29 million (The Hill)
GOP divided over entitlement cuts (The Hill)
Entitlement talks scare Dems (Politico)
Five pieces to the debt ceiling puzzle (Politico)
Obama. GOP move toward debt deal (Washington Examiner)
NAACP complains about diversity in cable news (WSJ)
Wisconsin schools snub unions, save $$$ (Washington Examiner)

And then several links about the new unemployment numbers. Click them all. Including, Obama advisor says unemployment won’t be election issue in 2012.

Local (Nashville/Murfreesboro):

Madden indicted in death of MTSU athlete (Daily News Journal)
TCAP scores show education improvement (TNReport)
Amazon, Tennessee, Bill Haslam, and a national sales tax (Moe Lane | RedState)

Blogs:

Commentary about public education in ATL (Erick Erickson | RedState)
Eric Holder suddenly ignorant about Operation: Fast and Furious (Big Government)
DailyKos even says the job numbers suck (DailyKos)
Sen. Mike Lee says Geithner is wrong (Dave Weigel | Slate)
Verizon’s new data rates are raising eyebrows (George Scoville | The Dangerous Servant)
LA Times doesn’t understand “discredited” (R.S. McCain | The Other McCain)

A little later than usual this morning, but here’s what I’m reading… lots of things:

SC Senator Lindsey Graham, conveniently conservative during an election cycle (Washington Times)
Obama’s Twitter Town Hall (Washington Examiner), proof he’s worried? (The Daily Caller)
Judiciary Committee to probe Kagan’s involvement in crafting ObamaCare (CNS News)
Romney’s fundraising is scary (Politico)
Bachmann launches her first Iowa ad (The Hill)
Fox News takes on Media Matters (Politico)
Will Congress actually cut defense spending? (The Hill)

Local (Nashville/Murfreesboro):

Nashville City Council candidate critical of opponent’s “single-shot” strategy (Nashville City Paper)
TN may ask Obama to waive some No Child Left Behind requirements (Nashville City Paper)
TN Dept of Elections to raise awareness for new photo ID law (TNReport)
MTSU Centennial gala sold out (Daily News Journal)

Blogs:

Republicans must show they will shoot the hostage (Erick Erickson | Red State)
Thursday’s Abbreviated Pundit Roundup (DailyKos)
The Other McCain talks racist Casey Anthony… or something (R.S. McCain | The Other McCain)
Subsidies or Tax Credits? (George Scoville | The Dangerous Servant)
Dave Weigel compiles some snarky #AskObama tweets (Weigel | Slate)