A Visit from George Washington

I wanted desperately to get this out before the election, but I kind of lost interest in it. It was going to be about George Washington showing up on election night and reminding everyone about his parting words on political parties given during his leaving office speech:

"However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion."



A Visit from George Washington


'Twas the night of Election
And all through the House
Not a creature was stirring
Not even a spouse.

The ballots were counted
By computer with care
In the hopes that no Dade
Again would we dare.

The children were nestled
All drugged by their Valium
While we sat down
To the long night's tallin'.

With Ma in her work clothes
And me in my slacks
We both settled in
For the night's coming attacks.

When there on the tube
There arose such a rumble
I turned to the news networks
To see what was the grumble.

From Fox News to CNN
The Daily Show, too
There appeared an apparition
Dressed mostly in blue.

The faces of 'casters
And pundits alike
Told me the this guy
Was an unscheduled psych.

His hair was as white
As new-fallen snow
And his age seemed ancient
But it really didn't show.

I had seen him before
On the one dollar bill
But there on TV,
He arose such a thrill.

By his stance and his posture
He was obviously the one,
Our first real president
George Washington.

"My friends," he spoke
With a rumbling voice,
"Harken my last presidential words,
Amend your method of choice.

"This two-party system
Ye have set up
Has superficial differences
'Mongst this political soup.

"Abandon thy love for
Bipartisanship
And your allegiance
To many parties equip!"

With that he turned,
Leaving all in stunned silence,
And called to his mates
Without malice or violence,

"On Taft and Roosevelts,
Both Frankie and Ted,
On Jefferson, Jackson,
Abe and Wilson get out the lead!"

And in a puff of smoke
And pin-hearing quiet
He vanished that night
Like pudge during a diet.

He never came back
And wasn't spoken of again
But his message was clear:
From party politics should we refrain.

Nov 1-7, 2008
"Go-bama!"