argh, a culture war redux.
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At first I thought McCain's VP pick would be a boost to Obama. No foreign policy experience (Alaska is next to Russia? are you seriously offering that as a reason for having international cred?). Not a swing state (why not fmr PA Governor Ridge?)
Then. Revelations of her teen daughter being pregnant. Husband a former member of something called the Alaska Independent Party, which may be secessionist in nature. Some Alaska state trooper/family imbroglio. Hurricane Gustav not slamming New Orleans.
Now, class, who wins this scenario? Republicans, who go on to rule like they won a landslide when they get 50.5% of the vote, and divide and conquer America into blue and red states when, as we prove here, the truth is we're kinda in the middle and never so neatly defined.
We have seen this every damn time since 1968. Fuckers.
Comments (19)
did not get this post notif, very interesting indeed
yeah, the MOS is being kinda wonky.
Dude that is kismet indeed.
Must be the name.
Great Politico article BTW.
We can only pray that a sufficient number of other Americans have grown sick of having their sympathies so cynically manipulated.
"We can only pray that a sufficient number of other Americans have grown sick of having their sympathies so cynically manipulated."
I agree. This election cycle has proven to be as cynical as any I remember. On the one hand we have a candidate who's every pronoucement about the war in Iraq (post-invasion) has been 100% wrong who insists he was right every step of the way. (the record be damnned)
On the other hand a candidate who has done our elections a serious disservice by curtailing free speech. A candidate way too eager to appeal to the wishy-washy middle of the road.
I said six months ago that McCain's best chance was to gather in the independants, disaffected Dems & Repubs. Looks like that's his game plan.
Meanwhile, watch for Jeremiah Wright, The repulicans are not gonna let folks forget.
I guess when you run an election with 100,000,000 people the middle of the road will be the outcome...Then folks wonder why there can't be change. The middle of the road isn't usually in the mood to change the system..change the players, but not the system.
It's amazing, on both sides, how the rhetoric changes so glacially. In the end a two party system is a difficult way to decide this stuff, as if there are only two possible ways to govern.
Both parties claim to be different, to know what America needs, but why is the outcome so often the same?
Call me cynical (and you'd be right) and skeptical (and you'd be right), but I think the main goal of either party is to raise money and win elections.
Does the center want real change...I don't think so. They want to change the players. Changing the game is a different story. To do that, I think you'd have to dump the 2 parties and that would take something a little more drastic than pushing red or blue on a touch screen.
Here, here Cody.
I agree with you.
I do too.
George Washington warned of this, of Party becoming more important than Country.
I'm not against parties, I just want more viable choices, or a real discussion of issues and an ultra-transparent, open government accesible to all. Having a lot of money does not necessairly make a person do the right thing. As a country we have settled for this two party system.
Mostly, I just want folks to be involved (voting at a minimum). That's the only way this works for people...Corporations are more focused, they know how to make the system work for them because they know what they want.
The only reform corporations seek in Washington is that which benefits their bottom line...People need to take back the power granted to them by the Constitution. The people are supposed to set the agenda. At this point, neither of the major parties seem to be offering that option to me.
In my mind, both parties use issues to make folks take a myopic view of the big picture while they horde the power that shouldn't be in their hands.
Nice post. I feel your pain.
Clapping at ivy.
Cody, DMDM and Ivy: yep, I agree 100%. Every reformer who goes to Washington is shocked and stymied by the powers of the lobbyists and big money (whether big oil or unions or whatnot). Obama was def wrong on the surge, but right on the timetable. McCain is being much more cynical and Rove-ian than I anticipated.
I still stand by my comment that January 2009 when W departs is still a better day regardless of White House occupant.
When W leaves it will be good. Not a good President.
Whether Obama is right or wrong about the surge is moot! We shouldn't have been there in the first place and almost everybody, including Obama, knew/said that we didn't take enough people when we did go. If we took enough people in the beginning the surge wouldn't have come up.
And another thing...How do we win? What did we win?When we leave, no matter when we leave, the enemy will say that they won and we will say we won. Like W always says, this is a different kind of enemy. Too bad we fought the same old war. We fought it smarter because of the excellence of the miltary. The way they study conflicts and strategies and adjust is very cool. I believe they understand what is happening and have actually learned lessons from Vietnam. Too bad they were used disingenuously for political and other purposes instead of defense. Our military was failed by its civilian leadership..they took over, blew up,rebuilt, and pacified a country...To what end? For what purpose? How did what the US miltary did in (if you are honest) a fairly short time help end Islamic Extremism? How did this miltary action, help to patch up the thousand year old differences between Sunni and Shia? Has what the military has done even tipped the needle toward Middle East peace? Has the invasion of Iraq brought any further understanding of the Arab/Israeli conflict or lessened its intensity?
They always say..follow the money. Who has benefitted the most from the War in Iraq? I will say one benificiary is a majority of people in Iraq, which is a nice consequence of the invasion, but not the mission. I do not think the American people benifitted, but some people in America did.
Listen, until there is real change, people have to take an active role in lobbying, because that's how things get done. I know defense contractors have very good lobbyists.
ARGH... that's all I got !!!
Uh-Oh,Lizzie's turning into a pirate
I'll see to it all the candidates walk the plank ARRRRRRRR ;) Shiver me timbers Cricketarse !!!
Aye Lass,I am a but a scurvy cricket dog..
;)