Awash in the political tsunami of hopeful presidential nominees swarming over us on TV, the author, writing for the "Corbin News Journal" in Kentucky, is reminded of something she read a few years ago. At the time she just thought it was just a funny story. Now, she says, it begins to make some sense.

The story goes that one fine evening a Mrs. George Wood called a Dr. Martin Satterfield, a veterinarian, from her home. It was about her mule, Horace. After asking a few questions and hearing the answers, Dr. Satterfield said, “Give him a dose of mineral oil, and if he ain’t alright in the morning, call me, and I’ll come out and take a look at your mule.”

She wanted to know how to give the mule the mineral oil and the Doctor said “Give it through a funnel.”

She protested that the mule might bite her, and the Doctor, becoming exasperated, said, “You’re a farm woman, and you know about those things. Give it to him in the other end.”