How do you catch a cloud and pin it down? How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand?
So, if you missed it, history was made yesterday. The aptly named speech, "A More Perfect Union", was precisely the right speech at precisely the right moment, given to a national audience. Clintonistas must be infuriated right now and McCainiacs are furiously researching new and better ways to pin down the rhetorical shadowboxer. He was on the ropes for a moment, but he slipped away once more.
The problem is that Barrack Obama isn't a man. He isn't a candidate. He isn't even human. He's an idea. He's a vision. He's the dream of progress made flesh. And you can't fight that.
People don't like Barrack Obama because of his policies. They don't vote for him because they think he'll fix the economy or get us out of Iraq. They vote for him because he makes them feel better about their world, about their country, and about themselves. They vote for him because an African-American president, by simple fact of existence, purges America of its original sin. It cleanses away the guilt, the shame, the divisions, and the hatreds of slavery. Or at least, it promises to.
What Clinton is desperately trying to do, and what McCain will have to succeed at, is to make Barrack Obama a man. A candidate. Because if people begin to see him as a real person, rather than the image of redemption and the promise of an end to racial division, then some serious questions can be asked about who the man is. Then you can play politics and start swinging away. In fact, if voters see Obama as a real human being at any point in this election, he's probably finished.
But how do you do it? How do you pull him down off his pedestal when he can evade punches like the Reverend Wright story? That should have brought down anyone. And it may yet bring down Obama, but it won't be that story alone that does it. Obama's inspiring presentation of his clear analysis and insight into race relations in America saw to that.
As a man and a candidate, he's got all kinds of problems. But as a vision, this guy keeps getting better and better.
And if you're just here for the punch and pie, here's a girl doing 21 accents.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Never make my move to soon....
To the media, wherever it may find them:
"Left me with a Keno card
This life in Vegas sure ain't hard
I ran it up to about fifty grand
Cashed it in and held it in my hand
That kind of word can get around
And make a lost love come up found
I hear you knocking baby at my door
But you know you ain't living here no more
It's too bad
I think you made your move too soon."
-Sincerely yours,
Hillary Clinton, March 5, after taking Texas and Ohio, with apologies to B.B. King
There's a certain sense of drama about this election. It's electrifying. That means the politicians are doing their jobs right. There are so many different roles being bandied about and everything is so very very fluid. Nothing has stuck yet and everything can still change. It's a time for hero's and villains.
We've got the fighter jockey war hero, still fighting the good fight. There's the old man of the establishment, out to stop the new generation and desperately grabbing for power. The voice of reason who said we needed more troops in Iraq long before it was popular, who takes stances based on principle and not on political expediency. The same man who reversed his unpopular opinion on illegal immigration. The savior of the Republican political hopes and the only man who stands a ghost of a chance against the Democrats, damned by the stalwarts of his party. John McCain.
And then there's the American dream come to the flesh. A man who's meteoric rise is the stuff of hope and dreams. Literally. A man who says he represents bipartisan compromise and a new day in Washington, with the single most partisan voting record of any Senator. A man who would show a bold new American face to the rest of the world, and a mere three years ago he was a lowly state senator, debating state cigarette taxes and school lunch menus. Is Barrack Obama the man who will lead America boldly into the next generation (while presenting the same tired ideas carried over from the old)?
Not if the Ice Queen has anything to say about. The most reviled woman in America today, the very mention of her name brings flecks of spit to the mouths of raving conservatives, eager to show their distaste. The first female candidate with a true chance to be president, a woman who has fought for her ideals and principles for over 40 years, even if those principles have been proven wrong for over 40 years. A woman who doesn't wear a single shoulder-padded pant suit without first calculating the political impact it might have. Is she the true standard bearer of change? The one who has the experience to fight her ideals past tough old opposition congressmen? Perhaps, but if conservative America has anything to say about it, Hillary Clinton will only ever again visit the White House after standing in line for a tour.
So many messages to get out, so little time. Which face of these multi-faceted three will the public choose to believe? How will we remember them in five years? Who knows? But you can be sure, in five years, none of them will be seen as they are today. The next few weeks will mold and shape opinions and the next few months will hammer those shapes into steel, a steel so strong that only time and the perspective it brings can change it. And it's all happening right now.
It's fun thing to watch, huh?
"Left me with a Keno card
This life in Vegas sure ain't hard
I ran it up to about fifty grand
Cashed it in and held it in my hand
That kind of word can get around
And make a lost love come up found
I hear you knocking baby at my door
But you know you ain't living here no more
It's too bad
I think you made your move too soon."
-Sincerely yours,
Hillary Clinton, March 5, after taking Texas and Ohio, with apologies to B.B. King
There's a certain sense of drama about this election. It's electrifying. That means the politicians are doing their jobs right. There are so many different roles being bandied about and everything is so very very fluid. Nothing has stuck yet and everything can still change. It's a time for hero's and villains.
We've got the fighter jockey war hero, still fighting the good fight. There's the old man of the establishment, out to stop the new generation and desperately grabbing for power. The voice of reason who said we needed more troops in Iraq long before it was popular, who takes stances based on principle and not on political expediency. The same man who reversed his unpopular opinion on illegal immigration. The savior of the Republican political hopes and the only man who stands a ghost of a chance against the Democrats, damned by the stalwarts of his party. John McCain.
And then there's the American dream come to the flesh. A man who's meteoric rise is the stuff of hope and dreams. Literally. A man who says he represents bipartisan compromise and a new day in Washington, with the single most partisan voting record of any Senator. A man who would show a bold new American face to the rest of the world, and a mere three years ago he was a lowly state senator, debating state cigarette taxes and school lunch menus. Is Barrack Obama the man who will lead America boldly into the next generation (while presenting the same tired ideas carried over from the old)?
Not if the Ice Queen has anything to say about. The most reviled woman in America today, the very mention of her name brings flecks of spit to the mouths of raving conservatives, eager to show their distaste. The first female candidate with a true chance to be president, a woman who has fought for her ideals and principles for over 40 years, even if those principles have been proven wrong for over 40 years. A woman who doesn't wear a single shoulder-padded pant suit without first calculating the political impact it might have. Is she the true standard bearer of change? The one who has the experience to fight her ideals past tough old opposition congressmen? Perhaps, but if conservative America has anything to say about it, Hillary Clinton will only ever again visit the White House after standing in line for a tour.
So many messages to get out, so little time. Which face of these multi-faceted three will the public choose to believe? How will we remember them in five years? Who knows? But you can be sure, in five years, none of them will be seen as they are today. The next few weeks will mold and shape opinions and the next few months will hammer those shapes into steel, a steel so strong that only time and the perspective it brings can change it. And it's all happening right now.
It's fun thing to watch, huh?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Revealations, Ruminations, and Regrets
Jay Cost has a great breakdown of the race right now. In it, to spare those poor souls for whom reading is an unpleasant chore for the anemic grey matter that rests comfortably above their necks, he presents a statistical arguement for why Obama's victories have not been due to any sort of momentum, but rather, because of the demographic contituencies he has put together.
Black voters vote for him overwhelmingly, but so do white voters with incomes over $50,000. Hillary plays better with women and Hispanics. The states that have voted so far haven't bucked any of the trends, it's more of a coincidence that 7 states that have favorable demographics for Obama were stacked in a row. It's a very interesting arguemnt.
And it indirectly highlights one of the critical aspects of politics in general: image management. The Obama campaign may be able to turn a demographic coincidence into actual momentum. In essence, they would take something that doesn't necessarily exist, if Mr. Cost is to be believed, and make it exist. And then it would have always existed; people will look back on this recent sweep of seven states as the time when Obama began to pull away.
But only a fool would count Hillary out. She's proven that too many times in an election where there are very good reasons to not trust previous patterns.
On the other side of the aisle, it's obviously over. Going back over some of the prediction I've made, I find myself a bit chagrinned at my initial thoughts on John McCain (interesting side note: do I like him more now because he won or because I know him better?). I find myself respecting McCain, and maybe regreting some of my earlier animosity.
Perhaps it's a weakness or psychological trick that draws those of us who follow politics in like moths to the quadrennial flame, but I really do think he's the best possible nominee. I think that now. I didn't then.
Perhaps it's the lackluster position that the Republican party finds itself in now. After 8 years of Bush and compassionate conservatism, talk of Democratic irreleveance as a national party seems further away than 3 years ago. Who would have thought that the Golden Boy of the Right, George W., would have been the man who sundered the conservative coalition apart? But the base is dispirited, the religious right is petulant, and the libertarians are cynical and bolting. The moderates are showing signs of Obamania.
Into this politically hellish perfect storm, could a better candidate be found than one who has clearly been at odds with his President and the extreme factions of his party? A man of nigh-on unimpeachable personal character, who also draws Hispanic and Independent voters in large numbers? A man who actually has a proven record of bipartisanship? In fact, a man who has shown himself to be so willing to work with moderates that the wing nuts of his own party did everything they could to torpedo his nomination?
I think not.
Black voters vote for him overwhelmingly, but so do white voters with incomes over $50,000. Hillary plays better with women and Hispanics. The states that have voted so far haven't bucked any of the trends, it's more of a coincidence that 7 states that have favorable demographics for Obama were stacked in a row. It's a very interesting arguemnt.
And it indirectly highlights one of the critical aspects of politics in general: image management. The Obama campaign may be able to turn a demographic coincidence into actual momentum. In essence, they would take something that doesn't necessarily exist, if Mr. Cost is to be believed, and make it exist. And then it would have always existed; people will look back on this recent sweep of seven states as the time when Obama began to pull away.
But only a fool would count Hillary out. She's proven that too many times in an election where there are very good reasons to not trust previous patterns.
On the other side of the aisle, it's obviously over. Going back over some of the prediction I've made, I find myself a bit chagrinned at my initial thoughts on John McCain (interesting side note: do I like him more now because he won or because I know him better?). I find myself respecting McCain, and maybe regreting some of my earlier animosity.
Perhaps it's a weakness or psychological trick that draws those of us who follow politics in like moths to the quadrennial flame, but I really do think he's the best possible nominee. I think that now. I didn't then.
Perhaps it's the lackluster position that the Republican party finds itself in now. After 8 years of Bush and compassionate conservatism, talk of Democratic irreleveance as a national party seems further away than 3 years ago. Who would have thought that the Golden Boy of the Right, George W., would have been the man who sundered the conservative coalition apart? But the base is dispirited, the religious right is petulant, and the libertarians are cynical and bolting. The moderates are showing signs of Obamania.
Into this politically hellish perfect storm, could a better candidate be found than one who has clearly been at odds with his President and the extreme factions of his party? A man of nigh-on unimpeachable personal character, who also draws Hispanic and Independent voters in large numbers? A man who actually has a proven record of bipartisanship? In fact, a man who has shown himself to be so willing to work with moderates that the wing nuts of his own party did everything they could to torpedo his nomination?
I think not.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Rhetorical revelations and the obfuscating Obama
Obama. Obamania. Obamaniacs.
I recently was involved in several discussions about this guy where I just didn't have the time, or it would have been horribly impolite, to really get into why he'd make an awful president. That's right, I said it. And yes, I AM going there.
Let's start with his eyes. Those piercing dark eyes that crinkle up when he smiles. And his smile, his so spot on, so warm and friendly smile. You know who also has great eyes and a smile? Tom Cruise. Tom "I Believe Alien Souls are Inhabiting My Body" Cruise. So lets move past the whole "he looks so good" thing.
But then there's his Voice. It's the Voice of a new generation. The Voice of a new America. Our hopes and our dreams and our highest aspirations are carried up higher and lifted to new horizons, guided by the melodious sounds of his vocal chords. To quote another famous wordsmith, "his words are a very fantastical banquet, just so many strange dishes."
There is power in words. Words are important and inspiring. But words are important because they are symbols, simple sounds strung together in patterns that have recognized significance. Take away that significance and what do you have? Words are inspiring because of their message. If that message is undeliverable they have no substance. Without substance behind them they're simply foul. And, "foul words are but foul air, and foul air is but foul breath, therefore I shall depart unkissed."
Obama has a decent record as an Illinois State Senator. He has a tolerably decent record as a U.S. Senator. He hasn't been in bed with a dead girl or a live boy yet, so that's good. He was just rated as the most liberal senator in the entire body, so I have some issues with his politics, but lets put that aside for a minute and just look at his ability to deliver on his message.
His message is change. Non-partisan change, working from a centrist position to move America forward. His voting record is one of the most partisan on record in either party, so I'm not sure he means it, but lets assume that he does. The next president is going to have to deal with two major issues, right off the bat: the economy, and Iraq.
Economically speaking, one of three things is going to happen: serious tax increases, serious spending cuts, or deficits that will put already legendary Bush level spending to shame. What's the centrist solution there? Probably some amalgamation of tax increases on the rich and corporations (which will slow down the economy even further), spending cuts for the military and perhaps one or two entitlement programs, and continued deficits. Notice how I'm not even mentioning what nationalized health care will do to the economy. Now, he's being advised by reasonable centrist types, so that's good. He's also backed away from some of the protectionist garbage that other Democratic candidates, and even Republican candidates (Mr. Huckabee, I'm looking at you here) have been peddling. So we'll pretend that he'll somehow keep the left wing of his party mollified while he reaches towards the center fiscally and move on (.org).
But on Iraq, his hands are so tied it hurts. How does he pull away, as he's committed to doing, from a situation that even Democrats are acknowledging is getting better? He loses the military worse than Clinton did if he tries. And if he keep troops present, even in a much more peaceful Iraq (as our Arab allies, fearful of the chaos of 2006, would privately like us to do- to say nothing of Iraqi's themselves), how does he keep his party together? How does he tell Democrats who have sweat and fretted (and sometimes even frothed) for so long to get their party in a position of power so that they can get us the hell out of Iraq that he plans on staying for a few years? That's an Obama speech I'd love to hear.
And we're going to be expecting a man who was only a relatively busy state level politician just a few short years ago to be able to handle challenges like these? Really? Really?
He's shown no executive ability, no brilliant legislative ability, and no ability of any kind other than his truly legendary power to speak pretty. And he does it so well it hurts. He does it so well that I sometimes find myself wishing there was some substance there. He has the number one requirement of a politician down pat: he can get people to care about him. But where's the substance?
Where's the beef?
I recently was involved in several discussions about this guy where I just didn't have the time, or it would have been horribly impolite, to really get into why he'd make an awful president. That's right, I said it. And yes, I AM going there.
Let's start with his eyes. Those piercing dark eyes that crinkle up when he smiles. And his smile, his so spot on, so warm and friendly smile. You know who also has great eyes and a smile? Tom Cruise. Tom "I Believe Alien Souls are Inhabiting My Body" Cruise. So lets move past the whole "he looks so good" thing.
But then there's his Voice. It's the Voice of a new generation. The Voice of a new America. Our hopes and our dreams and our highest aspirations are carried up higher and lifted to new horizons, guided by the melodious sounds of his vocal chords. To quote another famous wordsmith, "his words are a very fantastical banquet, just so many strange dishes."
There is power in words. Words are important and inspiring. But words are important because they are symbols, simple sounds strung together in patterns that have recognized significance. Take away that significance and what do you have? Words are inspiring because of their message. If that message is undeliverable they have no substance. Without substance behind them they're simply foul. And, "foul words are but foul air, and foul air is but foul breath, therefore I shall depart unkissed."
Obama has a decent record as an Illinois State Senator. He has a tolerably decent record as a U.S. Senator. He hasn't been in bed with a dead girl or a live boy yet, so that's good. He was just rated as the most liberal senator in the entire body, so I have some issues with his politics, but lets put that aside for a minute and just look at his ability to deliver on his message.
His message is change. Non-partisan change, working from a centrist position to move America forward. His voting record is one of the most partisan on record in either party, so I'm not sure he means it, but lets assume that he does. The next president is going to have to deal with two major issues, right off the bat: the economy, and Iraq.
Economically speaking, one of three things is going to happen: serious tax increases, serious spending cuts, or deficits that will put already legendary Bush level spending to shame. What's the centrist solution there? Probably some amalgamation of tax increases on the rich and corporations (which will slow down the economy even further), spending cuts for the military and perhaps one or two entitlement programs, and continued deficits. Notice how I'm not even mentioning what nationalized health care will do to the economy. Now, he's being advised by reasonable centrist types, so that's good. He's also backed away from some of the protectionist garbage that other Democratic candidates, and even Republican candidates (Mr. Huckabee, I'm looking at you here) have been peddling. So we'll pretend that he'll somehow keep the left wing of his party mollified while he reaches towards the center fiscally and move on (.org).
But on Iraq, his hands are so tied it hurts. How does he pull away, as he's committed to doing, from a situation that even Democrats are acknowledging is getting better? He loses the military worse than Clinton did if he tries. And if he keep troops present, even in a much more peaceful Iraq (as our Arab allies, fearful of the chaos of 2006, would privately like us to do- to say nothing of Iraqi's themselves), how does he keep his party together? How does he tell Democrats who have sweat and fretted (and sometimes even frothed) for so long to get their party in a position of power so that they can get us the hell out of Iraq that he plans on staying for a few years? That's an Obama speech I'd love to hear.
And we're going to be expecting a man who was only a relatively busy state level politician just a few short years ago to be able to handle challenges like these? Really? Really?
He's shown no executive ability, no brilliant legislative ability, and no ability of any kind other than his truly legendary power to speak pretty. And he does it so well it hurts. He does it so well that I sometimes find myself wishing there was some substance there. He has the number one requirement of a politician down pat: he can get people to care about him. But where's the substance?
Where's the beef?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The mind boggles....
Can someone out there please explain to me what this conservative hatred for John McCain is all about? I understand where it comes from. "Ooh, he's a maverick," "Ooh, he did that campaign finance reform thing and that immigration reform thing. But where does this visceral, better-Clinton-than-McCain, HATRED come from?
Your guy didn't win, so you're taking your ball and going home? Really mature. Don't bitch and moan when you're required to sign up for national health care. Which will be the number one issue that a Democratic congress and a Democratic president will want to pass. Hey conservatives, you think that a $1.2 trillion prescription drug plan is bad? Let's look briefly at what a national health care plan would be like.
Ok, I exagerate slightly, but not much.
McCain has an 82% rating from the American Conservatives Union. He's just not going to kowtow to establishment media and beg forgivness for their differences. This childish game of "our way or the highway" that Rush Limbaugh, George Will, and others are playing is ridiculous.
Ridiculous: worthy of ridicule. Something to be mocked.
Your guy didn't win, so you're taking your ball and going home? Really mature. Don't bitch and moan when you're required to sign up for national health care. Which will be the number one issue that a Democratic congress and a Democratic president will want to pass. Hey conservatives, you think that a $1.2 trillion prescription drug plan is bad? Let's look briefly at what a national health care plan would be like.
Ok, I exagerate slightly, but not much.
McCain has an 82% rating from the American Conservatives Union. He's just not going to kowtow to establishment media and beg forgivness for their differences. This childish game of "our way or the highway" that Rush Limbaugh, George Will, and others are playing is ridiculous.
Ridiculous: worthy of ridicule. Something to be mocked.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
For the record...
No poems, no snazzy videos, no jokes. Just a cold, hard, quick, "for the record" update.
Iowa Results:
1. Obama
2. Edwards
3. Clinton
4. Nobody cares about you
1. Romney
2. Huckabee
3. McCain
4. Thompson
5. Paul
6. Giuliani
7. Get out of the race, it was over for you a long time ago.
Everyone will continue to Iowa except perhaps Thompson, who's gotten no traction and nobody likes him anyways. Edwards loses the race if he loses Iowa. So does Obama, probably. Giuliani seems to be trying the avaunt guard strategy of losing races to win. That might work in jiu jitsu or something, but not here. Paul is nuts, who knows how long he's going to stay in the Republican primary. Key world there: Republican. Look for the Huck-a-boom to die down and McCain might take off.
We'll see.
Iowa Results:
1. Obama
2. Edwards
3. Clinton
4. Nobody cares about you
1. Romney
2. Huckabee
3. McCain
4. Thompson
5. Paul
6. Giuliani
7. Get out of the race, it was over for you a long time ago.
Everyone will continue to Iowa except perhaps Thompson, who's gotten no traction and nobody likes him anyways. Edwards loses the race if he loses Iowa. So does Obama, probably. Giuliani seems to be trying the avaunt guard strategy of losing races to win. That might work in jiu jitsu or something, but not here. Paul is nuts, who knows how long he's going to stay in the Republican primary. Key world there: Republican. Look for the Huck-a-boom to die down and McCain might take off.
We'll see.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Personal Note about smiles
I was recently reminded of a thing I told a friend a long time ago. I was in a particularly good mood and a girl asked me what I couldn't stop smiling about. My mind paused for a second, trying to calculate all of the variables that had brought this inescapable smile to my lips, and, failing, left me with nothing to fall back on but a description.
"It's the sort of smile that starts briefly," I said, "but when you try to repress it, you find that you can't. It slowly expands, as though happiness refuses to be denied." Her eyes lit up with undeniable interest, and a slight glimmer of recognition begged me to go on. And when I did, I found that she was the first person I had ever encountered that had had a moment of pure happiness that they were willing to talk about. Mine occurred when I didn't get on a bus; hers occurred when she did. These types of conversations happen when you're 17.
I recently discovered another type of feeling, long since familiar, but never identified. It is a combination of the anticipation, anxiety, uncertainty and then resolution that both precedes and follows an important decision. The moment begins with the recognition that ones actions in the present moment will have consequences that radiate out into the future.
It continues into the growing awareness of the possibilities of action, generally options that have been previously thought out. I could do A and X would probably happen, or I could do B and Y might result. As the moment progresses, you have either selected an option beforehand or you recognize that action is needed and hope for the best, leading to a decision.
By a decision, I don't necessarily mean telling someone you'll do something. You can tell anyone everything and everyone anything. I mean the moment where you commit yourself irrevocably to a course of action. For example:
"I love you."
"I'll be there."
"You're right, Jack is a shitbag."
"I don't know, I've got nothing against Jack."
"I wish I could, but I can't make it."
"I'm sorry, I don't love you."
And once you're committed, the moment ends with the realization of the new course of action you're set upon. "Well, for better or worse, I'm doing X. Hope I thought it all through."
Experience has taught me that I have not, in fact, thought it all through. But I find myself enjoying those moments of action. Those seconds where life hinges on a word.
...
For what it's worth, I also enjoy those moments where people recognize something familiar in each other, be it a love of art, music, poetry, politics, beer, coffee, movies, sports, jokes, or some other form of common identity. Perhaps even smiles.
And, as always, I try to keep my ego in check, and offer something to those who have read this far and felt they have learned nothing.
"It's the sort of smile that starts briefly," I said, "but when you try to repress it, you find that you can't. It slowly expands, as though happiness refuses to be denied." Her eyes lit up with undeniable interest, and a slight glimmer of recognition begged me to go on. And when I did, I found that she was the first person I had ever encountered that had had a moment of pure happiness that they were willing to talk about. Mine occurred when I didn't get on a bus; hers occurred when she did. These types of conversations happen when you're 17.
I recently discovered another type of feeling, long since familiar, but never identified. It is a combination of the anticipation, anxiety, uncertainty and then resolution that both precedes and follows an important decision. The moment begins with the recognition that ones actions in the present moment will have consequences that radiate out into the future.
It continues into the growing awareness of the possibilities of action, generally options that have been previously thought out. I could do A and X would probably happen, or I could do B and Y might result. As the moment progresses, you have either selected an option beforehand or you recognize that action is needed and hope for the best, leading to a decision.
By a decision, I don't necessarily mean telling someone you'll do something. You can tell anyone everything and everyone anything. I mean the moment where you commit yourself irrevocably to a course of action. For example:
"I love you."
"I'll be there."
"You're right, Jack is a shitbag."
"I don't know, I've got nothing against Jack."
"I wish I could, but I can't make it."
"I'm sorry, I don't love you."
And once you're committed, the moment ends with the realization of the new course of action you're set upon. "Well, for better or worse, I'm doing X. Hope I thought it all through."
Experience has taught me that I have not, in fact, thought it all through. But I find myself enjoying those moments of action. Those seconds where life hinges on a word.
...
For what it's worth, I also enjoy those moments where people recognize something familiar in each other, be it a love of art, music, poetry, politics, beer, coffee, movies, sports, jokes, or some other form of common identity. Perhaps even smiles.
And, as always, I try to keep my ego in check, and offer something to those who have read this far and felt they have learned nothing.
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