So many things I'd like to touch on and so little time. With a night of high-school football coverage behind me (and a Muskogee win I might add, 21-7, over hapless Union), I thought it appropriate to just get to the point and address several issues.

Issue 1. Al Gore needs to be the next Democratic nominee for president. I spent part of my Friday watching an episode of SNL from May, and Gore did the opening, joking about all the things he accomplished as our nation's chief executive.

The premise of the bit, of course, is that he had been elected.

Oh, wait. He was, wasn't he?

Gore's image across the country as a self-deprecating progressive politician, combined with his continued association with the Clinton era and Hillary's recent mumblings about foregoing a run at the White House, make the Tennessee native the perfect Dem nominee in 2008.

First, his public feels like he got jobbed in 2000. There's a high level of motivation to get a little political revenge for that nightmare.

Second, science has backed Gore up on all his rants regarding global warming. Even with Republicans throwing out gay marriage and flag burning as the topics of importance within the public discourse, the health of our environment still resonates with way more people than for which we'd give it credit.

Third, he has Howard Dean's populist fervor without the shouting. Unfortunately, he does have a lisp, but -- hey -- we can't all speak like Dubya, right?

Finally, who else do the Dems have? Nobody. John Kerry was talking about kicking the collective asses of those swift boat ad mongers all across the country should he run again in 2008, and I just want no part of it. First, I don't buy that John Kerry could kick anybody's ass, and -- second -- if the Massachusetts senator couldn't beat Bush in 2004, then he won't beat anybody this go-round.

Besides, the Republicans -- mark my words -- will be nominating Rudy Giuliani. Take that to the bank, and unless the Dems get it together or Jeb Bush decides to run, Rudy's our next president.

Issue 2. Don't look now, but the economy is about to get really freakin' good again. I'm talking 1997 levels.

Call me a conspiracy freak, but I'm not convinced that lower gas prices aren't the ploy of Republican oil producers hoping for a resounding midterm November victory. However, what I've read about oil production and the likely economic reaction to dropping prices suggests that recent trends do point to another run at the go-go 1990s here in the next couple of years, which underscores the need for a strong Democratic candidate in 2008.

Issue 3. Ann Richards. God bless that woman. However, I've got a beef with the American public on this one.

As much as I loved me some Ann Richards, I think there's a double standard with regard to public opinion and strong women leaders. On the one hand, folks love the gun-totin', whiskey-shootin' (formerly) grandma on her motorbike. On the other, people absolutely hate Hillary Clinton.

To me, Ann Richards espoused traditionally male strength traits in a female's body and with a Southerner's touch, whereas Hillary encompasses strength in general. Not female or male per se. To me, that's a double standard.

Doesn't mean I didn't love Ann Richards, but I just don't get why people are so turned off by a strong woman like Hillary.

Issue 4. Rosie O'Donnell is going to completely turn The View into must-watch-TV. A week ago, she made reference to taking a bath with her kid, noting that the kid asked about Rosie's pubic hair.

The kid asked Rosie, "When will I get my fur?"

Barbara Walters nearly had a stroke.

I can tell you from seeing viewer e-mails at the station that Ms. O'Donnell is very much hated in this state. However, having watched the first couple weeks of Rosie on the mid-morning ABC staple, I've gotta say: She's damned funny and a bit edgy.

Can't say I was a giant Rosie fan before this or during her syndicated talk show of a few years back or even her time doing Improv shows on A&E or VH1 or whatever the hell it was on. However, I've gotta give her some props.

Now, this doesn't mean I think she'll last more than a year or two on the show. The GOP is taking aim at her for claiming radical Christianity is just as dangerous as radical Islam.

Ideally, intellectually, I agree with Rosie. Practically, as in what it means to me physically over the next several years, I completely disagree. However, my interpretation of what she was saying was the former. Of course, the GOP turns any statement, any discussion into a snippet with the sole purpose of either provoking anger or fear.

In other words, we just can't discuss anything anymore.

Issue 5. I watched Spalding Gray's 1992 follow-up to 1987's "Swimming to Cambodia," which I have never seen, called "Monsters in a Box." Man, I didn't know much about this guy before seeing him as a character actor in "The Paper."

However, he was brilliant, odd, very tragic (he committed suicide, as some of you will know, by leaving his apartment and jumping into the East River), and I was mesmerized watching him talk. That's what he did. He made these movies, autobiographical pieces, where he just talked.

Brilliant. If you scan by it on the ol' DVR, record it. And, if you own "Swimming to Cambodia," lend it to me.