John McCain has had a worse day than last Friday, but it was the beginning of a long presence in Hanoi. If Senator McCain's performance in the debate was not a deal-breaker for undecided voters, then Sarah Palin will be the bullet that ends the pulse of the Republucan campaign in 2008.
It is not appropriate to blame McCain. The handlers from his party have managed to take the likeable, engaging maverick operating on a shoestring, and managed to convert him into a cookie-cutter Republican candidate, scarcely distinguished from former Georgia Representative Pat Swindall, who left office in disgrace in the late eighties.
The Republican handlers are under the illusion that voters actually care about their social conservative wedge issues when the car is out of gas, the pumps are dry (as they are in the southeast), the house is getting foreclosed on, and the 401(k) is more like a 179(B). One suspects that an unemployed individual on the edge of returning to the land of the renter would be happy to host the most flamboyant Gay wedding in history on his lawn, if it means he has a job and gets to keep his lawn.
McCain, the ever-aware pilot, is much too savvy a politician to allow himself to come off as the acrimonious, infirm elderly man we saw on Friday night. The rambling rants were characteristic of the misanthropic message of a party which is willing to sacrifice a war hero who did not always hew closely to a party line which makes no allowances for living up to Christian doctrine which it finds inconvenient.
The Republican party wants to sell the voter upon experience. They want the voter to know that Barack Obama is naive and doesn't get it.
Experienced military leaders lost 4000+ American servicepeople, while the inexperienced Barack Obama was of the opinion that they should not have been committed. The best we can hope for is a draw, and now Saddam isn't there to occupy the Iranians. Oh yeah, by the way, WHERE THE HELL IS BIN LADEN?
McCain, and Republicans "got it," that lax oversight in the housing and financial sectors would be great for the economy because we can trust bankers and lawyers to police themselves. Highly motivated financial people can be counted upon to behave diligently and ethically, right?
And there was nothing AT ALL naive about tax breaks that allowed manufacturing jobs to be shipped overseas at a rate that very nearly replicates the giant sucking sound that H. Ross Perot counseled the American public about in 1992-but he never imagined that the slurping would come from the People's Republic of China instead of Mexico...and the Chinese would be holding a trillion dollars of American debt as a result.
Very well, then, maybe experienced, non-naive people who "get it" aren't all that they are advertised to be. So the Republicans are going to bring out their own inexperienced, naive person who doesn't get it. Governor Sarah Palin makes Dan Quayle look like Shakespeare.
One hopes that the awkward interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric were a tactic to lower expectations for the debate with Joe Biden. Regrettably, one suspects that Governor Palin is as dumb as a bag of hammers. However, she is much easier on the eyes.
Those who had a complaint about Senator Clinton were less motivated by her genitalia than they were by a perception that the Senator from New York is a bit too tempestuous to be effective in the presidency. Governor Palin does exhibit a level of tempestuousness, but her targets are satirists and those who question her qualifications.
One would guess that "Saturday Night Live" is not shown in Alaska at all, but a quick perusal of the website for Palin's former employer, KTUU in Anchorage, indicated that it is an NBC affiliate. Did she expect her loud arrival on the national stage to pass unnoticed by parodists in New York? Making fun of public figures has been part of the program's description since 1975, and the producers and network know their audience is more likely to give Obama a pass.
A cagey tweener could have seen that coming. Why didn't the 44-year-old? Oh, she talks about having gotten into politics by moving from the PTA, but my math indicates that her oldest child must have started kindergarten at 18 months old.
Getting back to the experience issue, (and away from a rant fueled by lust for Tina Fey), if her experience running a city of any size were characterized by some spectacular accomplishment or demonstration of competence one may be inclined to listen. Giuliani's miracle in New York comes immediately to mind.
However, we are presented with a small town which shares many of the same difficulties of towns its size nationwide. Adding the state into the mix, one wishes for a record which reflects the kind of forward-thinking leadership that puts a state in good stead for future prosperity. Zell Miller's helmsmanship in Georgia is a perfectly fine example of a man who did an outstanding job of running a state that cannot simply dig a hole and have it puke up oil.
Regrets to Governor Palin, but without the North Slope, Alaska would be likened to the Mississippi of the Arctic. That is not entirely fair. Mississippi would be justified in being insulted by the comparison.
So the Republican Party now expects us to put on the Emperor's New Clothes, and accept that this is the best ticket that they can offer. No. Mike Huckabee has spoken eloquently about the Republican lack of political prowess this year.
And he is the next Republican who has a chance of ever being elected president.
29 September 2008
16 September 2008
How Obama Gets His Groove Back
Apparently, Your Wandering Gentile is a Black, Muslim, Socialist, Anarchist, Miscegenist, Anti-American Pawn of the New World Order, harboring closeted homosexual tendencies, immediately disposed to the murder of infants and the elderly, and perverting kindergarteners with free access to pornography.
Wow, I got all of this for one small donation to the Obama campaign!
To those who share their viewpoint with the lead paragraph, I would also like to say that I dislike puppies, SUVs, and the idea of persons wearing uniforms being granted the authority to review my papers on a whim. While we're at it, the idea of a fence as a barrier between my nation and the rest of the world suggests an infrastructure to convert the nation I love into a prison, an idea which is spectacularly offensive.
Okay, I don't really dislike puppies, but I am allergic to them.
I live in the middle of America, the suburbs of a major city, with an income, age, and educational attainment that sit exactly in the middle. I am John Doe. I am the guy who John McCain got in 2000, and the man he lost in 2008.
That being said, the Obama campaign has a couple of issues that need to be fixed...yesterday.
The campaign must address the fact that issues that face black America are fundamentally the same issues that face white, latino, asian and native Americans. Economic issues in particular have a disproportionately negative effect on black Americans, as do questions of selective enforcement and overt bigotry. To Obama's credit, all of the issues which are not receiving the attention appropriate to their importance were addressed in The Audacity of Hope.
The focus has to be moved on two fronts.
The first front is to demonstrate credibly that the interests of Americans of every identity are more alike than they are different. That in and of itself is a whole hell of a lot easier to say than do. The Republicans have been spectacularly effective in communicating that Obama and his supporters are different and strange, in such a fashion as to make a monolithic body which is questioned for its ability to be considered as a part of America.
This is the overwhelming theme of Conservative opinon, particularly talk radio which has a twenty year head start on Liberal talk radio. The best idea is not by attempting to discredit or disprove allegations, but by moving the conversation to where the audience overlaps in opinion with Obama.
As Chris Rock pointed out in Head of State, the worst thing that Bugs Bunny could do to Elmer Fudd was not blowing him up, but kissing him. An Obama presence with The Portly Pundit and Hannie Pie would be a better opportunity to reach middle America than a billion dollars worth of TV ads. All he would have to do is show up for an hour, take a couple of phone calls which are likely to come from hostile people, and hope the presenter would blow his stack, or in the unlikely event of a civil discussion, he connects with an audience which was not likely to seek his message.
Whether or not Democrats like it, Limbaugh and Hannity are big power brokers in the middle of America. A great big chunk of their audience is rural, white, and blue collar, a few of whom are highly susceptible to rumors and innuendo. The idea is not to mine those who are absolutely opposed to Obama under any circumstances, but appeal to the large component of middle class listeners to these programs who are fair minded and willing to review their decisions based upon a fair hearing of the facts.
There is no question of "legitimizing" Right-wing talk radio. It is not an issue of legitimization or de-legitimization. Right-wing talk radio simply is and no definition of the word is necessary. There is nothing to fear except abandoning an audience which lives in Obama's weakest demographic. One counts upon the junior Senator from Illinois bringing his charisma and charm to the microphone, swinging a few opinions to his side. This idea is a winner.
The other front is deemphasizing the "Change" brand. Senator Obama's resources have him in a position to upgrade his brand from "Change" to "Hope." One supposes that the Gentle Reader is considering that The Wandering Gentile is in deep need of a drug screening after suggesting that Obama show up on Rush Limbaugh and alter his branding.
Change tells the voter that the candidate would do things differently from the current administration, but it does not delineate how or how much. The idea of casting a candidate from the incumbent party as the incumbent is proving to be a non-starter. Hope is what persuaded voters to Clinton in '92, Reagan in '80, Roosevelt in '32. While McCain's policies are deeply similar to Bush's, he remains a different man, thusly falling under a generic idea of change.
It's not persuasive, nor was it ever. The Obama campaign requires the message of Hope to propel the conversation in its direction. Change without hope? Hell, I can get that with McCain. Non-Traditional on the ticket? Sarah Palin is not a traditional person on the ticket. Change is coming regardless.
No, change kind of sucks as a message. Obama would be well served to dance with the one what brung him, and that one is Hope. This is the point where the Clinton assets should come to the table. The Clinton brand was built on hope in the nineties, a particularly potent message in the atmosphere of the Bush 41 recession and the Keating Five. Considering the atmosphere where financial institutions are dropping like cell phone calls in the boonies, and all of the other crud the economy is going through now, hope combined with a clearly articulated agenda has a lot of potential.
The idea is not for either candidate to change their positions, but for both candidates positions to appear clearly and comprehensibly to the electorate. This absurd pattern where both parties' wedge issues are taking center stage needs to end now. While the candidates engage in volleys of juvenile name calling and finger pointing, the issues affecting the quotidian lives of real Americans are not being addressed.
A gifted orator and communicator like Obama can survive the slings and arrows of the partisan opposition if his campaign sticks to the qualities that make him compelling combined with a principled and concrete discussion of his positions. Playing a game invented by his opponents suggests that Obama's presence at the inauguration would be at the discretion of President-elect John McCain, not the American people who have worked so hard to support him.
One asks- does Senator Obama feel that the campaign lives up to the expectations of his supporters?
Wow, I got all of this for one small donation to the Obama campaign!
To those who share their viewpoint with the lead paragraph, I would also like to say that I dislike puppies, SUVs, and the idea of persons wearing uniforms being granted the authority to review my papers on a whim. While we're at it, the idea of a fence as a barrier between my nation and the rest of the world suggests an infrastructure to convert the nation I love into a prison, an idea which is spectacularly offensive.
Okay, I don't really dislike puppies, but I am allergic to them.
I live in the middle of America, the suburbs of a major city, with an income, age, and educational attainment that sit exactly in the middle. I am John Doe. I am the guy who John McCain got in 2000, and the man he lost in 2008.
That being said, the Obama campaign has a couple of issues that need to be fixed...yesterday.
The campaign must address the fact that issues that face black America are fundamentally the same issues that face white, latino, asian and native Americans. Economic issues in particular have a disproportionately negative effect on black Americans, as do questions of selective enforcement and overt bigotry. To Obama's credit, all of the issues which are not receiving the attention appropriate to their importance were addressed in The Audacity of Hope.
The focus has to be moved on two fronts.
The first front is to demonstrate credibly that the interests of Americans of every identity are more alike than they are different. That in and of itself is a whole hell of a lot easier to say than do. The Republicans have been spectacularly effective in communicating that Obama and his supporters are different and strange, in such a fashion as to make a monolithic body which is questioned for its ability to be considered as a part of America.
This is the overwhelming theme of Conservative opinon, particularly talk radio which has a twenty year head start on Liberal talk radio. The best idea is not by attempting to discredit or disprove allegations, but by moving the conversation to where the audience overlaps in opinion with Obama.
As Chris Rock pointed out in Head of State, the worst thing that Bugs Bunny could do to Elmer Fudd was not blowing him up, but kissing him. An Obama presence with The Portly Pundit and Hannie Pie would be a better opportunity to reach middle America than a billion dollars worth of TV ads. All he would have to do is show up for an hour, take a couple of phone calls which are likely to come from hostile people, and hope the presenter would blow his stack, or in the unlikely event of a civil discussion, he connects with an audience which was not likely to seek his message.
Whether or not Democrats like it, Limbaugh and Hannity are big power brokers in the middle of America. A great big chunk of their audience is rural, white, and blue collar, a few of whom are highly susceptible to rumors and innuendo. The idea is not to mine those who are absolutely opposed to Obama under any circumstances, but appeal to the large component of middle class listeners to these programs who are fair minded and willing to review their decisions based upon a fair hearing of the facts.
There is no question of "legitimizing" Right-wing talk radio. It is not an issue of legitimization or de-legitimization. Right-wing talk radio simply is and no definition of the word is necessary. There is nothing to fear except abandoning an audience which lives in Obama's weakest demographic. One counts upon the junior Senator from Illinois bringing his charisma and charm to the microphone, swinging a few opinions to his side. This idea is a winner.
The other front is deemphasizing the "Change" brand. Senator Obama's resources have him in a position to upgrade his brand from "Change" to "Hope." One supposes that the Gentle Reader is considering that The Wandering Gentile is in deep need of a drug screening after suggesting that Obama show up on Rush Limbaugh and alter his branding.
Change tells the voter that the candidate would do things differently from the current administration, but it does not delineate how or how much. The idea of casting a candidate from the incumbent party as the incumbent is proving to be a non-starter. Hope is what persuaded voters to Clinton in '92, Reagan in '80, Roosevelt in '32. While McCain's policies are deeply similar to Bush's, he remains a different man, thusly falling under a generic idea of change.
It's not persuasive, nor was it ever. The Obama campaign requires the message of Hope to propel the conversation in its direction. Change without hope? Hell, I can get that with McCain. Non-Traditional on the ticket? Sarah Palin is not a traditional person on the ticket. Change is coming regardless.
No, change kind of sucks as a message. Obama would be well served to dance with the one what brung him, and that one is Hope. This is the point where the Clinton assets should come to the table. The Clinton brand was built on hope in the nineties, a particularly potent message in the atmosphere of the Bush 41 recession and the Keating Five. Considering the atmosphere where financial institutions are dropping like cell phone calls in the boonies, and all of the other crud the economy is going through now, hope combined with a clearly articulated agenda has a lot of potential.
The idea is not for either candidate to change their positions, but for both candidates positions to appear clearly and comprehensibly to the electorate. This absurd pattern where both parties' wedge issues are taking center stage needs to end now. While the candidates engage in volleys of juvenile name calling and finger pointing, the issues affecting the quotidian lives of real Americans are not being addressed.
A gifted orator and communicator like Obama can survive the slings and arrows of the partisan opposition if his campaign sticks to the qualities that make him compelling combined with a principled and concrete discussion of his positions. Playing a game invented by his opponents suggests that Obama's presence at the inauguration would be at the discretion of President-elect John McCain, not the American people who have worked so hard to support him.
One asks- does Senator Obama feel that the campaign lives up to the expectations of his supporters?
15 September 2008
Somewhere in Texas.
I need to stop paying the blamed phone bill.
0630, Central Time. A happy dream featuring several celebrated hotties is interrupted while it's still dry by the dulcet tones of Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London.
Profanity. Your Wandering Gentile fumbles about the bunk of his Kenworth sleeper for his spectacles, his telephone, and the little Bluetooth thingie so his caller can be heard. It is understood that one can use the handset, but we have gotten past Lon Cheney, Junior having a pina colada at Trader Vics, and usually this driver, Patchy Ground Fog (not his real handle), does not call at this foul hour unless it's important.
"Professor! I'm lost in Atlanta."
Expressively vocalized profanity. "What are you looking for?"
"Toronto Circle Industrial Park."
"Exit 38D off the Perimeter, turn right between the Quik Trip and the Waffle House."
It should be noted here that in Metro Atlanta, QT and the Waffle House have such aggressive expansion strategies that if one forgets to set the alarm, there will be scattered, smothered and chunked hash browns, nine drunks, a large soda cooler, and an Horchata smoothie fountain downstairs before one feels the need to get up to pee.
"Can you be a bit more specific?" PGF asked.
"There's a decommissioned Kroger that's now a dollar store with day laborers in the parking lot across the street."
"That's no help."
"I gotta go. Mrs. Wandering Gentile is on the other line."
Frantic, exclaimatory Spanish fills my ear. One of the Hijastras has overslept for the third time this week, and it's only Tuesday. "...so I need to go down to the QT and get twenty dollars for a taxi..."
"The QT is a block from the school! The walk won't hurt either one of you!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" At this point, I realize that my comment was not understood to be reflective of the cardio-pulmonary benefits of a brisk walk on a delightful Atlanta fall morning. It was understood as a critique of Mrs. Wandering Gentile's physique, which is also delightful and requires no change whatsoever. There was no way I was getting out of this; I needed a crowbar to get my foot out of my mouth.
"I only meant to say..."
"Who are you with in Texas? Are you with your ex?"
I made a biiiig mistake two years ago, and confessed to once having a girlfriend in Laredo. To be honest, I cannot recall what she looked like, aside from the fact that she bleached her hair, but there are days when it seems that Mrs Wandering Gentile believes that I was pleasuring every female from El Paso to Beaumont. I was near Brownsville, closer to Miami than the most distant parts of the Lone Star State.
"I'm by myself."
"Are you shooo-wah?" The funny thing is that Mrs. Wandering Gentile's long residence in the Garden State has left her with a perfect Marisa Tomei inflection on this particular phrase, despite English being her second language.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm at my receiver. I have to get rid of this trailer. I'll call you in a few minutes."
Boop handset dead. Before I can unbuckle my seatbelt, Springsteen informs me that he was born to run. Mrs. Wandering Gentile's ringtone seemed appropriate for a woman with a deep connection to New Jersey. "Who are you with?"
"Nobody."
"I'm checking." She hangs up. Oh, this is a needy morning.
Warren Zevon is back.
Mr. Zevon beat the Boss by approximately one nanosecond. Seatbelt unbuckled, I explain to Mrs. Wandering Gentile that I am still alone, and I have Patchy Ground Fog on the other line.
"Oh, so your friend is more important than your wife? Have you turned gay on me?"
"He's lost on the Perimeter," I explain, and Mrs. Wandering Gentile comprehends instantly that it is a sin of genocidal proportion to leave anyone lost on the Perimeter.
"We will talk later..."
"PGF, where are you?"
"I think I got off on the wrong exit. None of the signs are in English."
"What language are they in?"
"Tagalog."
"Okay, that's Little Quezon City. Turn right on Georgia 761, follow it to US 37, turn left, and that will put you at the rear entrance to Toronto Circle."
Patchy Ground Fog hesitates. "Landmarks?"
"Three Waffle Houses and a Quik Trip. Oh, and there's a Sunoco between one of the Waffle Houses and the Quik Trip."
"Sunoco?"
"It's the only one inside the Perimeter. It used to be a Quik Trip." We hang up, and I finally deliver the paperwork for the load.
My phone trills. Area code 307. Wyoming. Somehow, I don't think Dick Cheney is calling to thank me for using extra gasoline in the Pornstar Minivan. I am not in a good mood. In fact, I am in a pretty bad mood. "Do I know you?"
Silence.
"Do I know you?"
A cheery voice comes across the line with my given name, which I haven't used since Reagan's first term. The great thing about not using one's given name is that anyone who uses it without a proper introduction has already confessed that he wants money. "This is Brett Cooledge from Nightcrawler Home Warranty! We fixed your air conditioner last summer."
"No, you didn't. It got so bad that Chuchu the Parakeet was sweating and swearing like Roseanne Barr passing a kidney stone. Now what the hell do you want?"
"Why, we would like to give you the opportunity to renew your home warranty!"
"Renew it? The contractor you sent showed up without tools in a rusted out Gremlin, and his kid ate the remote for my television."
"He brought a child with him?"
"No! He brought a small goat! No thanks." Patchy Ground Fog called back and I switched over to him.
"Professor! I got issues like Reader's Digest! 761 was blocked for construction, and I got diverted back onto the expressway. But it wasn't the right expressway. Do you know how to say 'sorry about what happened to your shrubbery' in Urdu?"
I need an unlisted truck.
0630, Central Time. A happy dream featuring several celebrated hotties is interrupted while it's still dry by the dulcet tones of Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London.
Profanity. Your Wandering Gentile fumbles about the bunk of his Kenworth sleeper for his spectacles, his telephone, and the little Bluetooth thingie so his caller can be heard. It is understood that one can use the handset, but we have gotten past Lon Cheney, Junior having a pina colada at Trader Vics, and usually this driver, Patchy Ground Fog (not his real handle), does not call at this foul hour unless it's important.
"Professor! I'm lost in Atlanta."
Expressively vocalized profanity. "What are you looking for?"
"Toronto Circle Industrial Park."
"Exit 38D off the Perimeter, turn right between the Quik Trip and the Waffle House."
It should be noted here that in Metro Atlanta, QT and the Waffle House have such aggressive expansion strategies that if one forgets to set the alarm, there will be scattered, smothered and chunked hash browns, nine drunks, a large soda cooler, and an Horchata smoothie fountain downstairs before one feels the need to get up to pee.
"Can you be a bit more specific?" PGF asked.
"There's a decommissioned Kroger that's now a dollar store with day laborers in the parking lot across the street."
"That's no help."
"I gotta go. Mrs. Wandering Gentile is on the other line."
Frantic, exclaimatory Spanish fills my ear. One of the Hijastras has overslept for the third time this week, and it's only Tuesday. "...so I need to go down to the QT and get twenty dollars for a taxi..."
"The QT is a block from the school! The walk won't hurt either one of you!"
"What is that supposed to mean?" At this point, I realize that my comment was not understood to be reflective of the cardio-pulmonary benefits of a brisk walk on a delightful Atlanta fall morning. It was understood as a critique of Mrs. Wandering Gentile's physique, which is also delightful and requires no change whatsoever. There was no way I was getting out of this; I needed a crowbar to get my foot out of my mouth.
"I only meant to say..."
"Who are you with in Texas? Are you with your ex?"
I made a biiiig mistake two years ago, and confessed to once having a girlfriend in Laredo. To be honest, I cannot recall what she looked like, aside from the fact that she bleached her hair, but there are days when it seems that Mrs Wandering Gentile believes that I was pleasuring every female from El Paso to Beaumont. I was near Brownsville, closer to Miami than the most distant parts of the Lone Star State.
"I'm by myself."
"Are you shooo-wah?" The funny thing is that Mrs. Wandering Gentile's long residence in the Garden State has left her with a perfect Marisa Tomei inflection on this particular phrase, despite English being her second language.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm at my receiver. I have to get rid of this trailer. I'll call you in a few minutes."
Boop handset dead. Before I can unbuckle my seatbelt, Springsteen informs me that he was born to run. Mrs. Wandering Gentile's ringtone seemed appropriate for a woman with a deep connection to New Jersey. "Who are you with?"
"Nobody."
"I'm checking." She hangs up. Oh, this is a needy morning.
Warren Zevon is back.
Mr. Zevon beat the Boss by approximately one nanosecond. Seatbelt unbuckled, I explain to Mrs. Wandering Gentile that I am still alone, and I have Patchy Ground Fog on the other line.
"Oh, so your friend is more important than your wife? Have you turned gay on me?"
"He's lost on the Perimeter," I explain, and Mrs. Wandering Gentile comprehends instantly that it is a sin of genocidal proportion to leave anyone lost on the Perimeter.
"We will talk later..."
"PGF, where are you?"
"I think I got off on the wrong exit. None of the signs are in English."
"What language are they in?"
"Tagalog."
"Okay, that's Little Quezon City. Turn right on Georgia 761, follow it to US 37, turn left, and that will put you at the rear entrance to Toronto Circle."
Patchy Ground Fog hesitates. "Landmarks?"
"Three Waffle Houses and a Quik Trip. Oh, and there's a Sunoco between one of the Waffle Houses and the Quik Trip."
"Sunoco?"
"It's the only one inside the Perimeter. It used to be a Quik Trip." We hang up, and I finally deliver the paperwork for the load.
My phone trills. Area code 307. Wyoming. Somehow, I don't think Dick Cheney is calling to thank me for using extra gasoline in the Pornstar Minivan. I am not in a good mood. In fact, I am in a pretty bad mood. "Do I know you?"
Silence.
"Do I know you?"
A cheery voice comes across the line with my given name, which I haven't used since Reagan's first term. The great thing about not using one's given name is that anyone who uses it without a proper introduction has already confessed that he wants money. "This is Brett Cooledge from Nightcrawler Home Warranty! We fixed your air conditioner last summer."
"No, you didn't. It got so bad that Chuchu the Parakeet was sweating and swearing like Roseanne Barr passing a kidney stone. Now what the hell do you want?"
"Why, we would like to give you the opportunity to renew your home warranty!"
"Renew it? The contractor you sent showed up without tools in a rusted out Gremlin, and his kid ate the remote for my television."
"He brought a child with him?"
"No! He brought a small goat! No thanks." Patchy Ground Fog called back and I switched over to him.
"Professor! I got issues like Reader's Digest! 761 was blocked for construction, and I got diverted back onto the expressway. But it wasn't the right expressway. Do you know how to say 'sorry about what happened to your shrubbery' in Urdu?"
I need an unlisted truck.
01 September 2008
McCain Concedes!
If the Republicans' week improves much more, the title of this post may be accurate.
We'll start off with the end of the Democratic convention. Could one imagine the conversation in the West wing of the White House?
Staffer: Can you believe it? 84,000 people in Mile High Stadium! 38 million television viewers.
(Bush overhears.) Bush: What was it?
S: That show Obama put on last night.
B: Who does he play for?
S: (quizzically) The Democratic party.
B: Are they in the AFC or the NFC?
Poor Bush, he has been a gift to political satirists the likes of which has not been seen since Jerry Ford. Sadly, when Bush goes away to reclaim his title in his Texas village, neither McCain nor Obama is lampooned easily. Thankfully, a sense of humor does not have to be limited to politics.
The 38 million quote does not include 4 million watching on PBS, nor C-span viewers. In the interests of those opposed to Senator Obama, only 4 million or so people were watching the speech on Fox News. One in ten taking the spin that trends anti-Democrat is not necessarily a bad sign for Republicans, until one sees that the liberal-inclined MSNBC had an almost identical rating.
For those of us in the real world, the number that really matters is the one that says Obama's speechifyin' beat the finale of American Idol. Forty million people chose to stay tuned for a political speech. This is not 1976, when the conventions ate up all four channels, nor were there any VHS or DVDs available. In 1976, if four channels said you were watching a political convention, your only other option was turning the TV off.
The worthy Conservative opposition, one surmises, is preparing another assault based on William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Lack of Experience, Celebrity, or the Famous Photo of McCain in Vietnam as a POW. One suspects that even McCain is tired of this trite approach, particularly in light of the classy and tasteful salute to his opponent on the last night of the Democratic convention.
How else does one explain Sarah Palin? Was the support of the vital and critical Fairbanks Political Machine going to be the deciding factor in the election? Was the bake sale committee co-chair at Erk Russell Junior High in Waynesboro, Georgia, unavailable? Is the estimable Republican candidate suffering from Alzheimer's?
None of the above is accurate, of course. Rumors abound that McCain wanted to choose his friend and supporter Joe Lieberman as his Vice-Presidential nominee, but the plan was nixed by the party. One suspects that McCain made a decision along the lines of, "if this is how they want it, who is the least able option available?"
McCain did not have Daisy Duck as an option.
Twenty months as Governor of Alaska? Who is kidding whom? It doesn't take a Navy man to know when the commander is scuttling his tub. One suspects that McCain has had enough of the internecine backbiting, and the low tone of the campaign to date. Palin takes experience, judgement, agreement, foreign policy, and overall suitability for the national stage off the table.
Even McCain's friends came up with the same list of half a dozen better-seasoned, more suitable female candidates for Vice President as your Wandering Gentile did in five minutes. Only Dittoheads consider her to be worthy of the position, the Portly Pundit being the original server of Palin's Wasilla Kool-Aid. This is stunt casting. McCain himself does not believe he can win.
Palin is a hard-core Pat Buchanan Republican, a wing of the Republican party that has consistently accused McCain of being a "RINO," Republican in name only. This is the wing of the party that has aligned itself against McCain's attempts to work across the aisle, fought him tooth and nail on Campaign Finance and Immigration Reform, and accused him of being everything but being Ted Kennedy in drag.
As we here at the Wandering Gentile were mulling this over, just before this composition opportunity, the news broke that Governor Palin's seventeen-year-old daughter is, uh, knocked up. One supposes that this is the first pregnancy, and that the earlier report of the special-needs infant belonging to Bristol is inaccurate, although the circumstantial evidence is quite compelling.
So let me see if I got this straight, the family-values, evangelical Conservative beloved by both the Portly Pundit and Hannie Pie, is so compelling and convincing as a leader that her 17-year-old daughter goes out and engages in extramarital sex? Good Lord, this is turning into a telenovela, only lacking better scripts for inclusion on the Univision schedule.
One report had Governor Palin looking for a cheerleader outfit while shopping with Senator McCain. Hey, Sarah, let us know if those come in Maternity sizes!
It would be one thing if the candidate were living to a high standard on the official story, and evidence backed it up, but it's another to pretend that your family is a cold weather version of The Waltons until it turns out that Wasilla, Alaska, is actually located somewhere in the Valley of the Dolls.
One begs the Gentle Reader's pardon, but if I am the parent of a special needs infant, the last thing on my mind is going to be the day-to-day operation of a state and a Vice Presidential campaign. In fact, the commitment and attention necessary, parents working full-time would certainly have an investigation going from the Department of Family and Children's Services. And a busybody Republican of an authoritarian bent would be the first person to drop a dime to call DFACS in Georgia.
Of course, there would also need to be a boatload of independent DNA testing. This is the most uncomfortable feeling that your Wandering Gentile has had in some time, and the fear exists that there is more than meets the eye. Something is just creepy about this situation, covered-up and not accurate at all. When creepy is mentioned here, one is not referring to normal, witness to hypocrisy creepy, but Old Testament, survivalist, Stephen King tripping on acid creepy.
Who, after all, would be in a better position to cover things up than the popular, young, socially conservative governor of a remote state? (Steve! Call me! Have I got a story idea for you! You too, Maury Povich!)
And as if the whole Sarah Palin mess were not enough, a hurricane takes aim on New Orleans, pre-empting the first day of the Republican Convention, and reminding everyone in the country of the Bush admistration's zenith in Profiles in Cowardice. On the bright side, it saved the Republican Party the embarrassment of having to call the first day for lack of interest.
It also goes to show that God has made His endorsement, and it appears that He's a Democrat.
We'll start off with the end of the Democratic convention. Could one imagine the conversation in the West wing of the White House?
Staffer: Can you believe it? 84,000 people in Mile High Stadium! 38 million television viewers.
(Bush overhears.) Bush: What was it?
S: That show Obama put on last night.
B: Who does he play for?
S: (quizzically) The Democratic party.
B: Are they in the AFC or the NFC?
Poor Bush, he has been a gift to political satirists the likes of which has not been seen since Jerry Ford. Sadly, when Bush goes away to reclaim his title in his Texas village, neither McCain nor Obama is lampooned easily. Thankfully, a sense of humor does not have to be limited to politics.
The 38 million quote does not include 4 million watching on PBS, nor C-span viewers. In the interests of those opposed to Senator Obama, only 4 million or so people were watching the speech on Fox News. One in ten taking the spin that trends anti-Democrat is not necessarily a bad sign for Republicans, until one sees that the liberal-inclined MSNBC had an almost identical rating.
For those of us in the real world, the number that really matters is the one that says Obama's speechifyin' beat the finale of American Idol. Forty million people chose to stay tuned for a political speech. This is not 1976, when the conventions ate up all four channels, nor were there any VHS or DVDs available. In 1976, if four channels said you were watching a political convention, your only other option was turning the TV off.
The worthy Conservative opposition, one surmises, is preparing another assault based on William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Lack of Experience, Celebrity, or the Famous Photo of McCain in Vietnam as a POW. One suspects that even McCain is tired of this trite approach, particularly in light of the classy and tasteful salute to his opponent on the last night of the Democratic convention.
How else does one explain Sarah Palin? Was the support of the vital and critical Fairbanks Political Machine going to be the deciding factor in the election? Was the bake sale committee co-chair at Erk Russell Junior High in Waynesboro, Georgia, unavailable? Is the estimable Republican candidate suffering from Alzheimer's?
None of the above is accurate, of course. Rumors abound that McCain wanted to choose his friend and supporter Joe Lieberman as his Vice-Presidential nominee, but the plan was nixed by the party. One suspects that McCain made a decision along the lines of, "if this is how they want it, who is the least able option available?"
McCain did not have Daisy Duck as an option.
Twenty months as Governor of Alaska? Who is kidding whom? It doesn't take a Navy man to know when the commander is scuttling his tub. One suspects that McCain has had enough of the internecine backbiting, and the low tone of the campaign to date. Palin takes experience, judgement, agreement, foreign policy, and overall suitability for the national stage off the table.
Even McCain's friends came up with the same list of half a dozen better-seasoned, more suitable female candidates for Vice President as your Wandering Gentile did in five minutes. Only Dittoheads consider her to be worthy of the position, the Portly Pundit being the original server of Palin's Wasilla Kool-Aid. This is stunt casting. McCain himself does not believe he can win.
Palin is a hard-core Pat Buchanan Republican, a wing of the Republican party that has consistently accused McCain of being a "RINO," Republican in name only. This is the wing of the party that has aligned itself against McCain's attempts to work across the aisle, fought him tooth and nail on Campaign Finance and Immigration Reform, and accused him of being everything but being Ted Kennedy in drag.
As we here at the Wandering Gentile were mulling this over, just before this composition opportunity, the news broke that Governor Palin's seventeen-year-old daughter is, uh, knocked up. One supposes that this is the first pregnancy, and that the earlier report of the special-needs infant belonging to Bristol is inaccurate, although the circumstantial evidence is quite compelling.
So let me see if I got this straight, the family-values, evangelical Conservative beloved by both the Portly Pundit and Hannie Pie, is so compelling and convincing as a leader that her 17-year-old daughter goes out and engages in extramarital sex? Good Lord, this is turning into a telenovela, only lacking better scripts for inclusion on the Univision schedule.
One report had Governor Palin looking for a cheerleader outfit while shopping with Senator McCain. Hey, Sarah, let us know if those come in Maternity sizes!
It would be one thing if the candidate were living to a high standard on the official story, and evidence backed it up, but it's another to pretend that your family is a cold weather version of The Waltons until it turns out that Wasilla, Alaska, is actually located somewhere in the Valley of the Dolls.
One begs the Gentle Reader's pardon, but if I am the parent of a special needs infant, the last thing on my mind is going to be the day-to-day operation of a state and a Vice Presidential campaign. In fact, the commitment and attention necessary, parents working full-time would certainly have an investigation going from the Department of Family and Children's Services. And a busybody Republican of an authoritarian bent would be the first person to drop a dime to call DFACS in Georgia.
Of course, there would also need to be a boatload of independent DNA testing. This is the most uncomfortable feeling that your Wandering Gentile has had in some time, and the fear exists that there is more than meets the eye. Something is just creepy about this situation, covered-up and not accurate at all. When creepy is mentioned here, one is not referring to normal, witness to hypocrisy creepy, but Old Testament, survivalist, Stephen King tripping on acid creepy.
Who, after all, would be in a better position to cover things up than the popular, young, socially conservative governor of a remote state? (Steve! Call me! Have I got a story idea for you! You too, Maury Povich!)
And as if the whole Sarah Palin mess were not enough, a hurricane takes aim on New Orleans, pre-empting the first day of the Republican Convention, and reminding everyone in the country of the Bush admistration's zenith in Profiles in Cowardice. On the bright side, it saved the Republican Party the embarrassment of having to call the first day for lack of interest.
It also goes to show that God has made His endorsement, and it appears that He's a Democrat.
To Disagree Agreeably
Apparently, the last post chapped someone's behind. There was a private e-mail from a Gentle Reader in my inbox, expressing a vehement disdain for Senator Obama, and bringing a few ideas to mind.
While the Gentle Reader is more than welcome to his opinion, we would appreciate the moment to respond to a couple of the descriptions.
We were bothered by some graphic characterizations of Senator Obama's intelligence, and the intelligence of others who subscribe to a liberal or progressive political philosophy. All discussions are welcome here, but please extend the courtesy that you would expect for yourself and your beliefs to those with whom you disagree.
With regard to your concerns about the Defense of Marriage Act, we reserve the right to disagree with you. It is not so much an issue of gay rights as it is an issue of religious freedom. If Government can define Marriage, then Government can define Baptism, (or Communion/Holy Supper, Confirmation/Bar Mitzvah, Last Rites/Anointing, Gifts of the Spirit, etc.)
Government occupying itself with concerns which are more the province of a faith community hogs up debate time which can be devoted to concerns which are enumerated under the Constitution, as well as pressing issues of importance to the economy. The time dedicated to denying legal sanction would be better spent addressing issues of security and energy.
If my marriage is threatened by a relationship between consenting adults becoming recognized by government, my marriage has a lot more problems than that. The right of inheritance and survivorship is something that should not be denied to any citizen on the basis of sexual orientation. Likewise, no faith community should be compelled to recognize a union which runs counter to its holy text.
These are two separate interests, which have at most a peripherical relationship. A government which cannot extend equal rights for all of its citizens may condemn itself to being unable to extend rights for any citizen.
With regard to energy policy, which the Gentle Reader also mentioned, The McCain policy which only talks to offshore-and specifically not ANWR-drilling is at best inadequate, and at worst myopic. The Obama plan is deeply concentrated on renewable energy, a point which is reflected in discourse by Conservative oilman T. Boone Pickens. It also accounts for the continued need for fossil fuels, which contrasts profoundly with the near silence from the McCain campaign regarding renewable, save for nuclear.
Frankly, the most cogent discussion of energy this political season came from Paris Hilton: We need all of it. Every idea, all American ingenuity must be brought to the table. The one who comes closest to the idea is Obama with the explicit goal of eliminating US dependence on imported oil within ten years.
In our representative form of government, the voices in the minority will be heard, even if they are overridden. There is no one who likes the idea of expensive energy, nor is expensive energy viable for any politician in the long term. Watch for moderate and conservative voices to send the ultra-environmentalists packing in congress, Pelosi be damned.
Finally, the Gentle Reader offered a reference to Obama and William Ayres. While some aspects of the relationship are of concern, it seems that the only sources which have informed the Gentle Reader are found on AM radio talk shows. If one investigates further, one finds that Ayers' contemporaries suggest that Ayres' assertions are either factually inaccurate or self-aggrandizing.
When compounded with evidence which was found by a congressional committee (the 1975 Church Committee, bipartisan) to have been obtained extraconstitutionally, there was no possibility of ever charging Ayres. Whether or not one agrees with Ayres' tactics, the fact remains that if charged, he would be innocent until proven guilty. If the ability to charge a suspect has been undermined by overzealous enforcement tactics, then those who have been let down are the citizens who have paid the enforcers to uphold the constitution.
We agree that Ayres' deserved prosecution in order to answer for his actions in the late sixties and early seventies. At best we have the statements of a man who may or may not have an accurate memory, and a body of evidence which is questionable for its completeness or veracity.
The disagreement that exists, as one may understand, is whether a civil relationship between two individuals, twenty years after the fact, justifies holding the innocent party accountable for acts committed without the innocent party's consent or knowledge. Reason and decency must compel one to say that Obama has zero accountability. Whatever expressions of disagreement or reclaim for Ayres' actions by Obama, have appropriately remained private, as our constitution mandates.
To the Gentle Reader who disagrees with me, your dissenting opinion is welcome, and necessary. Without a challenge, your Wandering Gentile is unable to provide as accurate and thorough rebuttal as the issues deserve. We can disagree all day, but as long as we can agree to be agreeable, it can only improve our discourse.
While the Gentle Reader is more than welcome to his opinion, we would appreciate the moment to respond to a couple of the descriptions.
We were bothered by some graphic characterizations of Senator Obama's intelligence, and the intelligence of others who subscribe to a liberal or progressive political philosophy. All discussions are welcome here, but please extend the courtesy that you would expect for yourself and your beliefs to those with whom you disagree.
With regard to your concerns about the Defense of Marriage Act, we reserve the right to disagree with you. It is not so much an issue of gay rights as it is an issue of religious freedom. If Government can define Marriage, then Government can define Baptism, (or Communion/Holy Supper, Confirmation/Bar Mitzvah, Last Rites/Anointing, Gifts of the Spirit, etc.)
Government occupying itself with concerns which are more the province of a faith community hogs up debate time which can be devoted to concerns which are enumerated under the Constitution, as well as pressing issues of importance to the economy. The time dedicated to denying legal sanction would be better spent addressing issues of security and energy.
If my marriage is threatened by a relationship between consenting adults becoming recognized by government, my marriage has a lot more problems than that. The right of inheritance and survivorship is something that should not be denied to any citizen on the basis of sexual orientation. Likewise, no faith community should be compelled to recognize a union which runs counter to its holy text.
These are two separate interests, which have at most a peripherical relationship. A government which cannot extend equal rights for all of its citizens may condemn itself to being unable to extend rights for any citizen.
With regard to energy policy, which the Gentle Reader also mentioned, The McCain policy which only talks to offshore-and specifically not ANWR-drilling is at best inadequate, and at worst myopic. The Obama plan is deeply concentrated on renewable energy, a point which is reflected in discourse by Conservative oilman T. Boone Pickens. It also accounts for the continued need for fossil fuels, which contrasts profoundly with the near silence from the McCain campaign regarding renewable, save for nuclear.
Frankly, the most cogent discussion of energy this political season came from Paris Hilton: We need all of it. Every idea, all American ingenuity must be brought to the table. The one who comes closest to the idea is Obama with the explicit goal of eliminating US dependence on imported oil within ten years.
In our representative form of government, the voices in the minority will be heard, even if they are overridden. There is no one who likes the idea of expensive energy, nor is expensive energy viable for any politician in the long term. Watch for moderate and conservative voices to send the ultra-environmentalists packing in congress, Pelosi be damned.
Finally, the Gentle Reader offered a reference to Obama and William Ayres. While some aspects of the relationship are of concern, it seems that the only sources which have informed the Gentle Reader are found on AM radio talk shows. If one investigates further, one finds that Ayers' contemporaries suggest that Ayres' assertions are either factually inaccurate or self-aggrandizing.
When compounded with evidence which was found by a congressional committee (the 1975 Church Committee, bipartisan) to have been obtained extraconstitutionally, there was no possibility of ever charging Ayres. Whether or not one agrees with Ayres' tactics, the fact remains that if charged, he would be innocent until proven guilty. If the ability to charge a suspect has been undermined by overzealous enforcement tactics, then those who have been let down are the citizens who have paid the enforcers to uphold the constitution.
We agree that Ayres' deserved prosecution in order to answer for his actions in the late sixties and early seventies. At best we have the statements of a man who may or may not have an accurate memory, and a body of evidence which is questionable for its completeness or veracity.
The disagreement that exists, as one may understand, is whether a civil relationship between two individuals, twenty years after the fact, justifies holding the innocent party accountable for acts committed without the innocent party's consent or knowledge. Reason and decency must compel one to say that Obama has zero accountability. Whatever expressions of disagreement or reclaim for Ayres' actions by Obama, have appropriately remained private, as our constitution mandates.
To the Gentle Reader who disagrees with me, your dissenting opinion is welcome, and necessary. Without a challenge, your Wandering Gentile is unable to provide as accurate and thorough rebuttal as the issues deserve. We can disagree all day, but as long as we can agree to be agreeable, it can only improve our discourse.
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