Even before Mitt Romney bowed out — with class, by the way — supporters of John McCain, and Republican party pooh-bahs in general, were chastising those conservatives in the media who had criticized Senator McCain.

By Dr. Mark Hendrickson

Let’s consider a simple question: What exactly are we electing when we choose a president of the United States? The traditional answer would be: “Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces and the CEO of the executive branch of government.”

“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Mt 6:16 ff)

The bitter squabbling on the right over the presidential nomination has now entered a dangerous phase. Politics is about winning elections, not winning prizes for ideological purity.

Some suggestions for the next Democratic debate moderator:

1. Sen. Clinton, you oppose the Bush tax cuts because they unfairly benefit the rich. Since the top 1 percent of taxpayers — those making more than $364,000 annually — pay 39 percent of all federal income taxes, don’t all across-the-board tax cuts, by definition, “unfairly” benefit the rich?

Blind dates never work out: everyone knows that ... except I know of one that actually did. But that’s the end of the story. The beginning started many, many years ago.

It took me the better part of the day, but last Friday I was able to copy all the will and estate information pertaining to Coleman P. Owen, the only provable child of Brice and Sarah Law/Lane Owen of Rocky Mount, Meriwether County. Research has indicated that Coleman may have had a sister, Martha, who married John Moncrief, and I have put out "feelers" on Internet lists to see if anyone has proof. There are several references to Moncriefs in Owen family documents, but nothing that would tell us without a doubt that Martha was the daughter of Brice and Sarah. Early census records indicate that Coleman had a brother and two sisters, but I have not been able to find any information on them at all.

My flight to Illinois had been canceled due to inclement weather and I had been told that it would take about an hour before I could retrieve my luggage.

It has been awhile since I’ve undertaken to share the wisdom of my years with those who make the world run, the ones we used to call the “Powers That Be.”

At our grand opening on Dec. 6, Fayette County Commissioner Jack Smith referred to the launching of the Clayton State University-Fayette as a “dream come true.”

As the 2008 legislative session continues, legislation is beginning to move through committees and to the floor of the House for a full vote. This past week, we voted for new measures to protect consumers’ identity. I also joined my colleagues Chuck Martin of Alpharetta and Lynn Smith of Newnan on two pieces of legislation offering tax breaks for Georgians.

Flipping through the pages of People magazine, I saw where a guy with whom I once spent a week in Hawaii had been named as one of sexiest men in America.

Proverbs 13:12 in the New King James version of the Bible says “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” I love the Message Bible’s version of this scripture. It says “unrelenting disappointment makes you heartsick.” We have all had them. Things that we thought would happen that never happened. In fact, the greatest source of pain in our life comes from expectations that we have that we never see come to pass.

It is with great difficulty that I must let the readers of the South Fulton Citizen know that this edition will be the last one our company produces.

“Stupid Black Men: How to Play the Race Card — and Lose,” my new book, comes out Feb. 5, Super Tuesday. Unfortunately for former President Bill Clinton and his wife, no one sent an advance copy.

CHISAMBA, Zambia — It’s 7:15 Monday morning in a cement-block house near this country’s major highway, the paved, two-lane Great North Road. Supervisor Peter Phiri, who helped to build that road during the 1990s, is speaking to 40 employees starting their workweek in a country where AIDS, unemployment and corruption are all rampant. They sit on planks held up by cement blocks in the building their own hands constructed.

Last Tuesday night’s results from Florida in both the Democratic and Republican Party presidential primaries were what I expected, and then some.

Whenever I do an in-depth study on a family, I try to get as much of a "feel" for them as I can, and try to visit the area where they lived, if it is not too far. In the case of the Brice Owen (senior) family, this wasn't hard to do. Last week I went back to Greenville to gather some more Owen/Owens land records. My route takes me from my home near Thomas Crossroads through Sharpsburg, then through Luthersville, then on to Greenville.

The truth be told, I didn’t want to go to the Prayer Summit this week. It’s not that I am against prayer nor is there a desire to separate myself from the pastors and ministers who would be attending the Prayer Summit. Frankly, I didn’t want to go anywhere or see anybody.

The impression takes root and grows. Say! The Democrats could lose this one. Could lose big, in fact.

On which premise no one should stake even his subprime mortgage. But boy, oh, boy, this Clinton-Obama thing, expanded now to compass the Kennedys and their mystique, must strike Republicans as the work of Providence.

Winning and losing. Sometimes there’s a very fine line between the two. It may not be as newsworthy as the presidential election, who’ll win the next American Idol, or even the plunging stock market, but around our house it’s the biggest thing to happen all year. I won an argument with The Wife, an argument about history, no less.

Both political parties seem determined that the federal government should create a “stimulus package” of things designed to cushion a downturn in the economy.

Some “good news, bad news” about birds.

First the good: On Dec. 15, a mild Saturday, 11 volunteers fanned out across the 15-mile-diameter Peachtree City circle for the 108th Christmas Bird Count. Veteran coordinator Brock Hutchins led the pack of sleuths to count the number of species wintering over here – 78 in 2007-08 – and the total number of birds counted – 6,331.

The aptly named Republican “retreat” last weekend at the ritzy Greenbrier resort in West Virginia should have included Democrats because Republicans are behaving just like them.

It was with great excitement and an overwhelming sense of responsibility that I took my seat on Monday in the state House as the 2008 General Assembly session was gaveled in by the Speaker of the House. In the first week of session I had the opportunity to work on several issues that are of great importance to Fayette County and our state. I plan to write periodic updates during the legislative session in an effort to keep the community informed as to what is going on in the General Assembly this year.

Three friends and I were motoring our way from the western edge of Kentucky over to Louisville when someone proclaimed a sudden and immediate need for an orange Nehi soda.

Answers to your questions about life, religion and the Bible

Pastors get some of the darnedest, most interesting questions from people in their churches and people they meet. Here are a few that I’ve gotten over the years of my ministry and via email since this column started.

I sat in the living room of my cousin Lisa’s apartment last year watching the AFC Championship game between the Patriots and Colts with family members I hadn’t seen in years. We ate this great chicken pot pie and had a few beers, celebrating and hooting and hollering as the Patriots ran up an 18 point lead over Peyton Manning and his boys.

After spearheading a disastrous, security-undermining illegal alien amnesty bill last year with Teddy Kennedy, “straight-talking” GOP Sen. John McCain claims he has seen the light.

A subprime lender is one who makes loans to borrowers who do not qualify for loans from mainstream lenders. It’s a market that has evolved to permit borrowers with poor credit history and an unstable financial situation the opportunity to get home mortgages.