Freaky Friday: John Edwards & Karl Rove to Debate

Did anyone catch this last Friday? The Buffalo News has learned that the University of Buffalo intends to include in its Distinguished Speaker Series a debate between John Edwards and Karl Rove on September 26. John Edwards and Karl Rove. Naturally, my mind immediately searches for the nearest comparison to such an unpredictable and unlikely competition of the minds (I use that term loosely).

The fastest duo to surface is, of course, Dopey vs. Beelzebub. But that’s too easy. I’m looking for something more nuanced. More apropos. Barbie vs. Cobra Commander? No…. Nemo vs. Ursula? No…. Luke Sykwalker vs. Jabba the Hutt? No! Not even close. John Edwards has no Force.

Gumby vs. Squealer from Animal Farm. That’s it.

Yes, I remember that John Edwards is a former trial attorney, but the images of him getting smoked by Dick Cheney in 2004 are seared into my brain. And while Karl Rove may have the morality of a dung beetle, his ability to misrepresent facts with a straight face is supernatural and would require Edwards to acquire an encyclopedic knowledge of politically-related statistics and their sources to properly refute Rove’s machinations. My not-so-amateur prediction is that John ain’t got the stuff. And I’m being kind.

If the debate is televised, I will certainly perform the masochistic duty of viewing the event - with a fist firmly planted between my teeth. Naturally, I try to avoid having Rove’s visage offend my home from the television and relegate my involvement with him by reading his erroneous comments online. Blech.

In the meantime, I’m going to entertain myself with paint.net and make fun graphics with hopeful themes.

john edwards crushes rove's head

I made Rove’s eyes red, but they may be too small to tell.

And did you see the headline on The Huffington Post this morning that Rep. Henry Waxman is considering legislation that would prevent a White House employee from being paid by taxpayer money to work on political affairs? He might wait until Obama is elected to launch this legislative attempt.

I’m encouraged by the possibility that Obama will roll back a number of powers Bush and Cheney concentrated at the executive level. McCain, of course, would not. Checks and balances are so silly, aren’t they?!

And one last tidbit of morning news - let’s give Howard Wolfson a big round of applause and wish him good luck as he joins Fox News. In a way I get it - he wants to bring a democratic voice to the network. But I also think he’s selling his soul to do it. Although, he seemed comfortable bending the truth when he worked for Hillary, so maybe he’ll fit right in.

ABC 4/16 Democratic Debate: An Exercise In Absurdity

Who caught last night’s debate on ABC? If you did, you are probably feeling like I am this morning, thinking I’ll never get those ?@#! 90 minutes of my life back. My sentiments are loudly being echoed across morning cable news, the blogs, commentary and news websites. Let’s just say that Democratic peeps are angry this morning.

As well they should be.

Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopolous didn’t what I would call “moderate” the debate. It’s more like they TMZed the debate, avoiding important, substantive topics that will actually factor in the candidate’s abilities to govern the nation. Instead, all the “manufactured issues” - as Barack delightfully refers to them - were hurled again and again at BO and HRC in a clear effort to humiliate them, catch them off guard, or somehow lead them into a gaffe that will be played on loop across all media in the Western Hemisphere until the Pennsylvania primary. It was disgusting - like they were political paparazzi. If it wasn’t for the wonderful distraction of Top Chef airing a few minutes afterward, I would have finished that bottle of Chianti in an effort to dull the shock and awe of the evening.

Let me also bring up the fact that George Stephanopolous worked for the Clintons. Closely. For a long time. And while, he wrote a tell-all after his departure, doesn’t his previous employment kinda serve as a conflict of interest? I know we’re all adults here, but I thought that was in poor taste. And for me to say something is in poor taste is really hanging it out there. Plus, Charlie Gibson is very capable of shaming ABC’s reputation on his own.

I think the first time I actually stopped and said, I cannot believe they are asking these types of questions was when Georgie asked of Obama, “Do you think Reverend Wright loves America as much as you do?” Now, if that’s not the most fucking retarded question a moderator can ask of a presidential candidate who has very good chances of actually ending up in The White House, I don’t what is. Perhaps the boxers vs. briefs inquiry Bill Clinton received in 1992 can compete, but that was on MTV. By a kid. This was George Stephalopolous. On ABC.

The debate continued on, unhindered by much relevant discussion on topics with which the next president will grapple. Lightly touched were gas prices and the economy and the Iraq War and education, but that generally happened when the candidate could steer their answer away from some idiotic question about bitterness and Bosnia.

Furthermore, all the analysts this morning are talking about how poorly Obama did or how Clinton won the debate. Which is odd when every poll I’ve seen indicates the majority of those polled think Obama won the debate. HRC quickly jumped on the attack wagon whenever the moderators brought up a “manufactured issue” against Obama, including the whole William Ayers topic (read Obama’s bio, people - if for no other reason than he will probably be the next president of the US). Obama repeatedly defended HRC right along with himself, saying the two are speaking a lot and campaigning hard and of course there will be some verbal missteps.

I thought he handled the issues well and was genuinely surprised to see all the negative reaction the analysts were having today. I think that largely stems from their desire to see a beat-down and want Obama to get in there an mud-wrestle Hillary and his unwillingness to stoop was disappointing to them. To the rest of us “every day” folk who can see the forest for the trees, he did well and we like that he’s not treating the primary like a bar-room brawl. That’s why all the polls are showing people thought HE won. These anal-ysts need to take a few or go on vacation. Out of touch doesn’t even describe it anymore.

Lastly, and this point really has nothing to do with the debate, but Charlie Gibson said he was sure every American said a prayer for Virginia Tech as it was the anniversary of last year’s massacre. Not a big deal. However, in an effort to please the masses and ensure rating, news organizations are forgetting on a large scale, that over 20 million Americans are atheist or agnostic. We don’t run around waving flags and brainwashing new recruits or sending disciples to tithe to our organization or they’re going to hell. We’re not organized. That’s the whole point. I would also almost guarantee that there are quite a few more closet atheists and agnostics who fear repudiation and being ostracized from their family and community where they to admit their disbelief.

I remembered Virginia Tech and held the deceased in my heart for a moment. I did not pray. The sentiment that “every American said a prayer”, while not wholly offensive, is indicative of an ignorance that atheists and agnostics are the fastest-growing sector in the faith, or lack-thereof, segment of our society. Most atheists and agnostics are educated and watch debates and watch news and are growing disgusted more and more with the assumption that everyone is Christian, a sentiment which IS offensive to A LOT of people.

I understand news organizations need to appeal the masses and already-brainwashed group-thinkers are more likely to buy the products advertised during the commercials. I would advise news organizations (especially CNN), however, in their efforts to dumb-down their programming, to remember that some of us have progressed beyond the culture of fear that our afterlife is determined by faith in the words of men from long ago who sought to control the masses and succeeded beyond their wildest imaginations. It is embarrassing and appalling to watch, so I will continue to garner the majority of my information from the Internet - which I suppose is what we should all do anyway.

In the meantime, we can only watch as humanity progresses, some more slowly than others - as demonstrated by mainstream news organizations, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopolous.

Reaction To Last Night’s Debate And Theories of Media Bullying Clinton

It was exciting. At first. That prolonged debate on health care during which Hillary rolled over the moderators’ shushing attempts like that Clear Lake dentist rolls over cheating husbands. I don’t understand why the whole wide world is all pissed off at Russert for throwing her fastballs later when she so pointedly treats moderators like inconveniences at debates. She has a potent of history of open combativeness with and disrespect of the press for over a decade and then resorts to the role of victim and claims she doesn’t get a fair shake. Gag, you know? Just gag.

Sure, Russert didn’t ask Obama once to “commit right here and now” to do whatever he said over and over the way he did Clinton. He didn’t launch Sumo attacks at Obama the way he did Clinton to pry a clear answer from her cold, thin lips. But, then Obama doesn’t react to them with the condescending arrogance she does and doesn’t have the history of kicking them out of The White House when her husband became president.

I have news, people. Clinton has a lot more baggage than he does - she has many more decisions to answer for than he does, more fuckups, more disingenuous and politically calculated speeches. She is perpetually fake, with her friends and close supporters saying they wish she would show the public the manner she uses in private. Obama is politically calculating, no doubt, but you don’t get that feeling that he’s dramatically different in private. I’m just not resentful that I don’t see that side of him the way, at least I am when I see her. She’s legendary for the disconnect between her private self and public self. This is one of the core reasons the public trust doesn’t gravitate toward her full-cheeked smile. And let me tell you, I bet I’d like her private personality a lot. Even if she looked at porn. I’d probably like her more. She should throw some cuss words into those speeches. Even a “hell yeah!” here and there would push those public approval numbers up, I’m sure of it! Let’s get some shots of her gambling and throwing back some tequila! That’s how you rise in the polls. At least here in Texas. She tried that whole, “I eat hot peppers a lot” line, but that just gives everyone visual images I will not go into.

The bottom line is, like I heard an analyst on MSNBC say recently in response to Clinton’s interview where she said she felt misunderstood, that Clinton has been in the national public eye since essentially 1992 and if she’s still misunderstood, who’s fault is that really? It her fault, dagnabit! It’s the fact that every word, every look, every piece of jewelry, every laugh, and smile, and eye-contact, and hair placement is a political calculation that includes side-stepping reporters’ questions and failing to knock that feeling of “well, I think she could do the job…but I don’t know…” from those of us who pay attention and will show up to the polls.

Last night was no different and we were all expecting more. I mean, come one, it’s go time! All she could come up with was a McCain line that Obama wanted to bomb Pakistan - which was ridiculous and garnered a small, immediate laugh from B.O. Her jumping in after the Farrakhan question lowered her score when she said, “Well, something like this has happened to ME as well when I was supported by an anti-Semitic group and REJECTED their support!” Nice try, hon. Not gonna make it.

And she still refused to answer his accusations about the negative effects of her plan to mandate health care - which I have serious concerns about! She hasn’t even addressed once what would happen to a person who didn’t fall in line with her plan and that really pisses me off. People are living paycheck to paycheck and in huge debt - even if health care costs were decreased dramatically, many millions would still not be able to afford it and the answer is to criminalize them? Or what? Because I don’t know how a mandate is enforced in her plan. She won’t tell us.

As far as Obama goes, he was good, but less than stellar. There were a couple of Fred Thompson-esque responses to questions that lacked depth and were fairly short. It’s great that he is comfortable with himself politically enough to agree with her on issues, but other times his answers were as simplistic as a 12th graders. It’ll be good once the nomination process is over and he can take a little time to bone-up in areas where he doesn’t have a lot of understanding. Also the word is MASSACHUSETTS, not MASSATOOSETTS. Phonetically: MASSACHOOSETS. God, I hope this isn’t his “nookular.” That would just kill me to have another president who can’t pronounce easy, regularly-used words correctly. He’s supposed to be a good orator…

All in all, he won. He won because he didn’t lose. We didn’t have visions of Hillary Clinton landing on an air-craft carrier with the banner “Mission Accomplished” on full display behind her. It was like she was trying to put out is unstoppable prairie fire with one of those handheld fans you take to the ballpark.
Her “It’s so curious how I always get the first question” immediately followed by the disingenuous “I mean (breathy laugh), I’m happy to answer them, I just think it’s curious!” was just a bomb. I mean BOMB. The first panel member to give his assessment of the debate afterward mocked her by telling Keith Olberman, (paraphrasing) “Fine, Keith, I’ll answer, but you always give me the first question!” If she wanted to give the media a softball to use against her over and over she couldn’t have done any better.

If media coverage of Hillary seems harsher lately, it’s because she’s LOSING. And they are reporting on what’s happening. They’re not reporting on her ideas or the issues. They’re reporting on how the campaigns are going and hers is going shittily, to put it lightly. If Obama’s was sucking ass, they’d be on that like white on rice, too. But he’s doing well for whatever reason and that’s what the media is saying. “Her campaign isn’t going well.” “His campaign is picking up steam.” OHMYGOD, call in the media patrol, Hillary’s the last one picked for kickball!

Grow up, suck it up, this is national politics and Hillary, you started the campaign thinking it was in the bag and then you brought out your secret weapon, Bill, who reminded us how much the partisanship of the 90’s sucked. Sure, the media isn’t the unbiased, effective weapon against corruption, valiant body protecting the publics’ interest. But take a good, hard look in the mirror when you’re wondering where the fault lays for your coverage and your political progress. And don’t do it with a flashlight on your face, saying “bloody mary…bloody mary…” Do it with the lights on.

Getting Geared Up For The Debate

It’s going to be exciting!! The last scheduled debate and Hillary’s potential Waterloo. The election season is so topsy-turvy, the fat lady is frustrated. She always gets a note or two out and then the cane (large one) emerges from the wings and yanks her behind the curtain as candidate after candidate skirts the grim reaper of political campaigns.

I don’t know if I’m ready for the all-out brawl between Obama and McCain yet, despite the beating of the war drums audible across every media medium - can we at least wait for the coin toss? At least Nader’s presence will provide some comic relief.

The Hillary/Obama contest is drawing to a natural close and the majority of Democrats seem ready to bid her adieu - though I doubt she’ll go down without a fight. Politics is a spectator sport and I’ll have a couple of bottles of Texas bock ready for the show when the clock strikes 8 (Central Time, that is). Tim Russert, with his permanently furrowed brow, and Brian Williams, with his pristine hair that even a war zone couldn’t ruffle, will try to assert their steerage of the vessel so forcefully to remove any off-script ideas from that head of Hillary Clinton’s.

But she’s a desperate woman, People! And desperate women do desperate things. Even today, her friend Chris Dodd threw his lot to Obama, which can only convince Hillary further it’s now or never. Do or die. Sink or swim. Beat her opponent about the head with her political prowess or pack up her plethora of pant suits and take a tropical vacay. I cannot predict which direction she will take - conciliatory, accusatory, defensive, offensive, aggressive, condescending, friendly, valedictory? She can do them all with ease. And I can’t wait to watch.

And if you don’t want to watch the debate, Valerie Bertinelli will be on Larry King talking about her drug use and sex with Stephen Speilberg. Wolfie says CNN will have an interview with that fruitcake radio host who embarrassed McCain when he called Obama a hack.

Clinton Gets Nasty - Does That Make Her A Bitch?

This weekend, Hillary’s bipolar campaign decided to tack toward the scolding and mocking - away from the friendly and conciliatory. She scolded Obama for “misrepresenting” her stance on NAFTA and later mocked him, saying that,”I could just stand up here and say ‘Let’s just get everybody together, let’s get unified.’ The sky will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect.” You can watch the video on The Huffington Post here.

Applying the word “bitch” to Clinton can ignite a shitstorm of controversy, with women claiming men never receive such epithets. I wholeheartedly disagree, as I apply the words “dick,” “asshole,” “asshat,” “weiner,” “ankle-grabber,” and many, many more to many, many men in and outside the political arena.

Let’s get real. Clinton is a bitch. You can see it clear as day in her clip on Saturday telling Obama, “Shame on you” in that mean school-marmy affect she has. The continual replaying of the clip has sent ripples of cringes across this nation of ours. A lot of powerful women can be called bitches and others can’t. Being a bitch isn’t a bad thing and certainly doesn’t mean Clinton wouldn’t or couldn’t be a good president. Quite the opposite, in fact. But it’s not her bitchiness that will lose this election for her.

Letting loose her inner bitch and then speaking mockingly and condescendingly of Obama’s “message of hope” the next day just signals her campaign is grasping at straws and getting desperate. She’s like the girl toward the end of the night who really wants to hook up but even the ubiquitous beer goggles aren’t getting her any play. Too late, you’re a mess, go home and lick your wounds. She couldn’t win on inevitability. She couldn’t win on the issues. She couldn’t win on personality. Insulting Obama supporters certainly won’t convince them to abandon his ticket in droves. Bitchiness might have worked before, but not now. It’s just pathetic now because it’s purpose is so transparent.

So far, Obama has shown no proclivity towards getting down in the dirt with her, but - needless to say - the debate tomorrow night on MSNBC promises to be very interesting indeed. Maybe she can channel the Ultimate Fighting Champion and Eleanor Roosevelt at the same time and pull a miracle out of her ass. I doubt it, tough. The fat lady is entering the building…

Unimportant Notes About the CNN Debate 2/21

Remind me to write CNN and request that they never schedule a debate the same time as “Survivor” ever again. For those of us who play Fantasy Survivor, it was just too much! I had to digitally record the Fans vs. Faves - so don’t tell me who was kicked off!- we’re watching it tonight. Come one, James!

Now, let me ask you, can you recall any other, out of the tens of presidential political debates held during this campaign season, seeing the audience sitting on bleachers??? NO! I love my alma mater - especially this year’s basketball team - but COME ON! I discussed earlier that holding the debate in the Rec. Center would add a WT element, but seeing the bleachers just brought it all home. Of all the venues in all of Texas and Austin alone, they chose one in which the majority of the audience would be hunched over, uncomfortable and waiting for the discussion (these are not debates) to end. And it did end earlier than usual - it didn’t even last a whole two hours. (it was neat seeing William Powers, the president of UT, onstage with the candidates - I used work for his secretary when he was a professor at the UT School of Law. I wonder if he still walks around with an unlit cigar in his mouth wearing soccer sandals…)

And poor Hillary, that TX humidity had really gotten to hair - all flat and unflattering - but she made up for it by treating the moderators like annoying gnats and asserted her own topic schedule many times during the night. Personally, I think it’s great when the moderators shut up for a bit and let the candidates go at it - that’s a debate! In any event, Chris Matthews said something on MSNBC last night to the effect that they wouldn’t be able to pull those shenanigans next Tuesday during their debate with Brian Williams and Tim Russert at the helm. He’s probably right.

Hillary did comment about how amused she was when she watched “some show” this week and an Obama supporter couldn’t name his legislative accomplishments. I’m pretty sure Kirk Watson was in the audience, but I wouldn’t be my life on it, and he was probably wishing the Earth would swallow him. That comment kind of made me want to pop her in the mouth, but she was booed for her “change you can xerox” comment and that made it better. I wish before all this broo-ha-ha someone had asked one of her smaller surrogates about her legislative accomplishments. Something tells me the word “litany” would not apply to their answer.

There were not fireworks, no surprises, other than her conciliatory “I’m honored to be sitting up here with Barack” and “no matter what happens, we’ll be fine” comments. He seems so appreciative, I thought they were going to start making out then and there. She did set herself up for an honorable exit from the race March 5, however.

I think she’s pretty much out of it now, and thinks it’s best to maintain solidarity in the Democratic party and that’s so sweet of her. Texas and Ohio are not going to give her the delegates she needs - probably because she hasn’t had a good campaign since Feb. 5 - and, as Obama pointed out last night, every major newspaper in TX has endorsed him. I’ve been seeing Obama ads since then and Hillary’s only started up here a couple days ago. And the background guitar on one of his ads is awesome, so I actually like seeing it over and over as opposed to almost all other political ads I’ve ever been subjected to.

The only other thing I found noticeable about the debate is the great detail with which MSNBC covered it. It was, after all, a CNN debate and MSNBC has shown resistance in their coverage of debates on other networks in the past. Last night, they showed clip after clip with CNN all big and bright behind the candidate’s heads. CNN had covered MSNBC debates in the past - now I guess they’re getting chummy with their quid pro quo.

PS. The phrase “after all” needs to be one word. Afterall. That’s how I automatically write it and then spell check kicks in and tells me what an idiot I am. Afterall. Like nobody and another and nevertheless. Am I right? Webster’s? Anybody? Bueller?

Debate Tonight In UT Rec. Center

Apparently, the peeps are pissed because this CNN debate is invitation-only. I entered a drawing for tickets, but my happy butt is still in Fort Worth, so the gods of political debate were not smiling on me. My beef is that’s the thing is in the Rec. Center and I know that has recently been renovated - I had to trudge around the construction during the majority of my college tenure - but there are so many other great venues at UT, I don’t know why we had to go WT (white trash) on the whole thing! Bass Concert, the Frank Irwin Center, the LBJ Auditoriam, and other concert halls… hook ‘em?

Fun and Interesting News

1. I could not tear myself away from the Clemens/McNamee hearings today! And I had a lot of shit to do! While never a big fan of soap operas, I’m sure those hearings would beat out General Hospital for a daytime Emmy with those satisfying fireworks. As a Longhorn and former Houstonian, it was bit of a punch in the gut to hear Clemens named in the Mitchell Report and to see his incredible (as in, not-credible) behavior subsequently. While I doubt perjury charges will go all the way (and Clemens would sooooo be the husband in a prison cell if they ever did), Rog is lying like a mofo. Buh-Bye. You suck.
2. According to Think Progress, Goober Bush’s fiscal year 2009 budget is insanely high. Do we need more proof that Repubs have abandoned the fiscally conservative ship? If that’s a priority for voting Republican, many a head needs to be pulled out of many an ass.
3. The Senate admonished Larry Craig today for “men’s room incident” as MSNBC calls it. Wow, that took soooooo long for no reason. And he’s still a senator. And he’s still creepy creeperson. Come on, you either committed the crime of disorderly conduct (and while sex in the bathroom is nasty, it’s not nearly as bad as pretending to be hetero so you can be a senator from Idaho and attack B.Clinton for getting his goodies off) or you committed the crime of pleading guilty when you were actually innocent. Either way, you committed a CRIME. And you’re still a SENATOR. Makes me want to move to Fiji and wear a sarong. BTW, has anyone noticed that most of the congresspeople convicted of a crime are Repubs?? Or is that just me?
4. Too bad Romney dropped out of the race before he could really launch into McCain’s record of flip-flopping (Bush tax-cuts, immigration, etc.) - an argument to which I really looked forward. Well, his holier-than-thou declarations during past Republican debates that waterboarding is torture and should never be used to collect intelligence were simple, hollow slurs of a drunken man. Drunken with desire to be president! He voted no, that’s N. O. Feb. 12 to ban (as in NOT USE) the use of waterboarding and other “harsh interrogation methods” by the CIA. It would take a miracle of biblical proportions (and I’m not even christian) for the Repubs to win the election, but his action today is lubing the already-slick road to the presidency for the Dems like a prostitute on the Vegas Strip!
5. Kudos to Steven Spielberg for relinquishing his post as artistic advisor to the 2008 Beijing Olympics in response to China’s involvement in the relentless and brutal violence in the North African country of Sudan. Now, I had harbored a undiminished resentment toward Steve-O for leaving Amy Irving for Kate Capshaw back in the 80’s, but this certainly raises his honor capital with moi.
6. Fun!!! The Feb. 24 CNN Democratic Debate will be held at the Univ. of Texas inside the LBJ Auditorium. Hook ‘em.
7. AND, last but not least, if you like real news and hate funny, sometimes a little mean news (why the hell are you reading this blog?), then look away cause this 23/6 post on the Huffington Post is frigging hysterical, “Inappropriate Hottie Rundown: Prominent and/or Pimped-out Children of Presidential Candidates“. I laughed so hard, I almost coughed up a lung - those writers are talented!! For real, read it.

It’s So Hard To Be So Good

Our democratic candidates put the gloves back on and tried to make a few soft jabs when they weren’t busy patting each other on the back. Woopity-doo. The lack of interruption from Wolf did mean the candidates get to talk a bit more at-length about their issues and the conversational manner was so much better than watching their campaign speeches on the road as they shout into the microphone in the same manner my middle-school teachers use to use during fire drills. Please move calmly to the exits! Every child deserves health care!

Overall rating: Booooooring. And this is the last day before Super Tuesday. I expected those two to reign it in a bit, but come on! We didn’t even get any Hillary shoulder-shrugging, closed-eye, raised eyebrow “You’re retarded if you don’t know how awesome I am” type statements. I don’t believe Barack’s oratory skills are what everyone claims they are - he is easily interrupted, spoken over, and he uses “ah..ah” way too much to formulate arguments in his head. If he goes up against McCain, I don’t think that will be an issue though.

Best meaningless one-liners of the night: 

Obama - In response to a question assuming the U.S. government is like a business and neither Obama or Hillary have run a business, what would qualify them for president more than Romney, Obama says it doesn’t look like Romney has received a good return on his investment in the race for The White House.

Clinton - In response to a question regarding a possible Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton alternating presence in The White House, Clinton responded that it took a Clinton to clean up the first Bush’s mess and it’ll take a Clinton to clean up the second Bush’s mess.

Noticeable things to Notice:

• All the celebrities in the crowd. There were a bunch. Some I had thought were dead…
• That awful Hillary laugh was back. Yikes! “I laugh at you, you imbecile!!” (makes me shudder)
• Chelsea’s dress at the end of the night - way Little House on the Prairie-ish. I certainly wouldn’t have rushed on stage after the debate with that on.

I did enjoy seeing the preview we’ll get when we have solidified Repub and Dem candidates and the Dem campaign slogan strategy of saying that electing a Repub will mean the continuation of Bush’s policies. Moreover, and I’ll borrow a phrase of the icky Pat Buchanan’s, that McCain is basically Bush on steroids. Word, Pat. Word.
Were any minds changed or any decisions solidified tonight? I don’t think so.

Oooh, CNN announced Snoop Dogg will be on Larry King tomorrow night. Maybe I’ll buy some Courvoisier and curl up for that quality programming.

The Jan. 24 Repub Debate in Florida

Next Tuesday will be fun. Slowly watching the death knell toll for Giuliani’s presidential campaign will give me a bit of satisfaction. Who knew that McCain and Giuliani would essentially trade positions in the polls between August of last year and now? It amuses me to no end to see inevitability turned on its head - and for campaigns for president proceed without Ben Franklin determining who emerges as the victor. Romney is basically diarrheaing cash into his campaign, but I still think enough voters are smart enough to recognize his severe, late-in-life political 180’s prove he’ll proffer whatever ideals and promises necessary to win an election. Blech. If offends my political senses to no end. And not much offends me. Really, ask anyone I know.

Every pundit said Romney won the debate last night, though, but only because the other candidates weren’t dog-piling on him and he was able to shed his ankle-grabber status of previous debates. Last night was like watching the Teletubbies or a bunch of men massage each other in a steamy Japanese bath. What was that about?

This is what I heard:

• Oh yeah, right, the downturn of the economy is serious! I mean, everyone, knows that. We just haven’t talked about it before because Tim Russert only wanted to ask about troops or gays or something.
• Giuliani, you’re so cute and we’re so glad you’ll be getting out of the race soon. Then we won’t have to look at your mistress and wonder how many times you banged her before you actually got divorced.
• Hillary Clinton is the devil and we will all suffer a severe case of the terrorismitis if she’s elected.
• I can be funnier than the other guy.
• Abortion is no longer the big issue (hallelujuah and praise jeebus!).

Republicans wanted to rise above the fray (how many former Republican Congress people are in the pen right now?) and be a little better than thou democrat, but I was unimpressed and would likely forget every word uttered last night if I wasn’t blogging about it.

Listen, maybe the inoffensive, non-confrontational American friendliness that I do enjoy cringes to see Clinton and Obama scrap a bit, but I thought we actually were hearing some substantive conversation. Wolfie should have sat back and popped a beer like the rest of us and revel in the relevance of some actual DISCUSSION about some ISSUES. Yes, at first, the jabs took a little getting used to, but in the end I felt like we were closer to seeing what kind of candidates these people really are. Admittedly, I’m not sure the arguments changed anyone’s mind or rearranged any voting blocs, but us political junkies loved it and you know it!

I’ll continue to watch the debates of both parties and toward the end of the season, they’ll be easier to turn into drinking games. Hopefully, Nader will jump in and maybe Bloomberg and possibly some family values candidate and we’ll witness some Political Ultimate Fighting Champion and philosophies and ideals and characters will emerge from behind those particle-board podiums! Actual political discussion.

One can only hope.

Do I Have to Watch Tonight’s Republican Debate?

McCain: (paraphrasing) Americans wouldn’t mind if we had a troop presence in Iraq for 100 years if there were not military casualties.

Huckabee: “[Some of my opponents] do not want to change the Constitution, but I believe it’s a lot easier to change the constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that’s what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards,”

Romney: “Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.”

Giuliani: “…we’re going to carry a 50-state campaign…” (which is why he’s only focusing on Florida and losing to Ron Paul in the other primaries….)

Ron Paul:  “The world’s elites are busy forming a North American Union. If they are successful, as they were in forming a European Union, the good ‘ol (sic) USA will only be a memory. We can’t let that happen. The UN wants to confiscate our firearms and impose a global tax. The UN elites was to control the world’s oceans with the Law of the Sea Treaty. And they want to use our military to police the world….I am writing to you today to ask you to recommit yourselves to this battle. I need your help now, more than ever, in this fight to save the country we love…for the people we love.”

Do I? Do I HAVE to watch tonight’s Republican debate? Maybe some wine will make it bearable…

Intelligent Political Debate (with sarcasm)

As a political junkie who used to perform international geopolitical analysis on a daily basis, it is difficult for me to watch the 2008 campaigns in this most significant election year and simply comment to the “lucky” few around me. I have an appreciation for the political opinion websites because the Internet invaluably allows we are interested parties to exercise our voice - a gift that should never be taken for granted.

Raised mostly in Texas, my political origins were embedded in Republican ideals, as you can imagine. (I have the kind of family that refers to the Civil War as the War of States’ Rights. You can see what I’m talking about) My increasing discovery of the world around me and motivation to recognize the necessity of operating as a community and not merely an individual has refocused my paradigm. While I will never claim certainty or righteousness and will operate with an open mind, I speak my opinion as one who is informed and in constant search for more information. Proper decision-making requires education. And votes and opinions are proving more valuable all the time.

The old guard is slowly retiring their post of self-interest and fear of the unknown. This is an opportune moment for us to stand and challenge one another in an effort to strengthen our political participation and knowledge of those who seek to govern us. In our effort to hone our political consciences, we must never insult one another or think we have a monopoly on “right”. When you cease to learn and listen, your mind becomes petrified and you are no longer useful. Condescension proves nothing other than you can no longer defend your ideas legitimately.

I search for reason and ration and logic in all the decisions I make and all the opinions I form. I seek it in the opinions and views of others. Here, in the southern edge of the Bible Belt in which I live, logic can be a tricky bugger to find. But it’s getting easier. Mostly in the comments of political pieces I read. So, I know those of like mind are out there and that’s comforting. Instead of populating the comment regions of political and news websites, I decided I wanted my own comment page - for catharsis if nothing else. It’s time to stop shouting at the television, if you know what I mean.

Please feel free to leave comments or start a discussion. I live for this stuff. Just don’t be an asshole. There are enough of those in the game already.