This is not a political website, and this story is not meant to favor one candidate or the other. Instead, it is a brief inside look at what happens nowadays when Big Washington descends on Hometown America. Something is very wrong with this picture.

We have confirmed the truth of this story. It is an accurate description of what took place in a little town in Oregon when the Bush Campaign arrived a few days ago.

It is a symptom of the total disconnect between the government and the people. Somebody needs to come back down to earth and remember who we are: humble, hard-working, ordinary folks. All of us, including our leaders.

Writing in the Oregonian, Paul Murdoch of Jacksonville, Ore., described a recent presidential campaign visit:

“This is an idyllic place, caught in a very pleasant time wrinkle. We’re tucked into a corner of the Rogue Valley, where the Siskiyou and Cascade mountains come together. We have a low tolerance for excitement. We haven’t seen a sitting president in town since Rutherford B. Hayes. He complained about the hotel bill.

“Just where things got out of hand, I couldn’t say. I guess everybody was amped up, including the local police recruited for the event. No one was quite sure what to do. At one point, the Secret Service requested that police clear an area. Police wanted protesters to move down the street but stay on the sidewalk. There were too many people for that, so some slipped into the street.

“Police in riot gear and face shields responded with paintball guns. They fired capsicum pepper pellets into the crowd. Someone fell down. The man who stopped to help him up was hit seven times in the back.

“Our local police chief was upset at the turn of events. He’s a very nice man. Things just got out of hand.

“The next morning, the president left. Same procession. The cereal box he ate from was featured on the front page of the local paper.

“At the end of it all, I was struck by one thing: How much do you suppose all this cost”

To read Mr. Murdoch’s full story in the Oregonian, click here.

Reflect that there are many more modest ways to keep our leaders perfectly safe without all of this brouhaha. Sometime soon, Washington DC had better rejoin the rest of this country. Right now, it’s more like an occupying power than what it should be, the strong heart of a good and gentle nation.

NOTE: This Insight, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.