OPERATION: HEMPSTEAD

Location of the third Presidential debate of the 2008 campaign.

Sit tight, because things are about to get even more painful.

I'm sure Obama and McCain will mention the crash on Wall Street. Certainly, they will talk about heartbreak on Main Street, as the price of food goes up, retirement savings vaporize, and homes fall apart.

Meanwhile, banks fail, jobs are lost, and everyone still alive "hunkers down" like a Galveston beach house before the economic Ike.

"We'll come out of it," they will say. But not until after crime goes up, the dollar drops, and many, too many, dreams are lost. And that is if our government doesn't go bankrupt first. What was it about the American dream?

(I think I forgot while watching Reality TV.)

And so they face off, the daring Obama and the intrepid McCain, in the land of Hempstead.

Will it be obvious to them?

Will they think about it as they talk of reviving the America workforce and economy? Will it flash through their minds as they duel tax revenue versus deficit spending? Will the thought of it scream out to them as they bemoan the cost of healthcare?

If this one slips through unnoticed, it'll be the Mother of All Ironies.

There is a reason why the town of Hempstead, New York is named after an illegal plant.

Never mind the tens of thousands of incarcerated citizens that were busted for smoking it. Never mind the sick citizens that have found an "evil" plant to heal themselves with. Never mind that this plant represents a medical tool that can be used to treat a variety of major and minor sicknesses, including cancer. Never mind that this same plant can be used to manufacture paint, clothing, paper, food, building materials, rope, canvas, and biofuel.

Oh, and never mind that Cannabis sativa L. was grown in Hempstead to fuel a prominent regional economy.

The important thing is that at one time, Hempstead farmers were forced, by law, to grow hemp in rotating cycles to rehabilitate poor soil.

Well, never mind all that. Just throw it out with the American dream.

We should just remain scared.

Ultimately, the important thing is that BOTH Obama and McCain have very little hair.