Monday, April 14th, 2008
“You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothings replaced them, and they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
The only reason this is a problem for people is because he is right. If Barack Obama was not running for president and was instead a professor at Harvard releasing the findings of some sociological survey or even just an intelligent person with an idea, nobody would care about this. People would either a) dismiss it altogether which would only happen if b) anybody bothered to read it or pay attention in the first place.
He is not a professor however, he is running for president so commenting on the state of the people who inhabit the land he is hoping to govern is off limits. that makes perfect sense. I have always said that the quality that i most look for in a president is to sugar coat the truth so i dont have to think about what is wrong with my country. I want my president to only tell me good things and if there are no good things to tell i want him to make them up and when there only bad things going on in the world i want him to spin them and twist them and manipulate them in such away that they appear to be good. Just like we have now. I want a liar. i want someone to patronize me and pretend that i am stupid and i will gladly play along because it is my president who is asking. If you can relate to these thoughts then please leave this site and go back to sleep with your gun under your pillow where you’ll be safe from intelligent thought and reason.
What surprises me about this whole thing, is that what Barack said isnt even a new idea. it is widely accepted information. Arent there examples of this exact thing happening through out human history? When people get scared and frustrated and there arent easy answers they turn to things they can control and that have always been their for them. In America, as well as in every country to ever grace this planet, these things have always been religion, an intolerance for people that are different from them and eventually violence.
This isnt news, this is just how it works.
Do I wish he hadnt said it? Yes, but only because now he has to answer for it. Do i think he’s wrong? I most certainly do not. I have a bigger problem with Hillary Clinton and John McCain choosing to respond to this by pretending that people who are really struggling in Pennsylvania and in other abandoned industrial towns throughout the US feel just fine about their lot in life. they arent bitter. They’re happy.
No one is blaming them for being bitter so there is no need to get defensive John and Hill. Recognition of things like the state of the people in the nation you are hoping to govern is what the job of President is all about. Its called compassion and empathy. Maybe Barack’s biggest asset in this election is that he wasnt built in a generic politicians factory and come equiped with both of these abilities.
I bet you a million dollars that factory used to be in Pennsylvania but is now in Mexico or China.
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Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
First of all, what was up with the guy that introduced Barack? His name was Harris Wofford and he is a prime example of why we shouldnt discount the fact that Barack can make a good speech as a quality we look for in our president. His opening address was so awkward and poorly constructed that it was almost impossible to listen to. I found myself doing work for those couple of minutes to distract myself from its awfulness. I know it isnt the most important thing in the world but if our current president has shown us anything its that if you are an elected official and therefore a public figure you should be able to string two words together and make them make sense. if you cannot you are going to look like a moron. Im not saying Harris Wofford is a moron but he looks like one. George Bush on the other hand is a moron.
The speech:
This was not a leave me alone speech. This was not a ‘please stop calling me names’ speech. This was a speech to reaffirm in the minds of Americans that he is not your normal candidate for president. He wasnt born of the standard mold that the majority of our elected officials come from. He outlined his personal history and the history of race in our country early in this speech and spent the rest of his time tying those facts together beautifully and in a way that was designed to make anyone listening question their part in the past present and future of this country. it wasnt a speech in which Barack went on the defensive trying to provide facts to put the subject of his race and his relationship to his pastor to rest, it was a speech in which he was trying to bring those things to the front of all of consciousness so we might all consider what it means.
The thing i most took away from this speech was a call for unity. a call for the people of the united states to, as he put it, “have a common stake in one another.”
Im at work right now and im trying to put my thoughts together on what i just heard and i have so many emotions about it that im not quite sure how to begin. I guess what i most feel is relief. relief that he didnt take the low road and start calling people out about how people may have wronged him during his campaign. If you dont come away from that speech seriously considering your place in the history of our nation then you either arent listening or you have a lot more work to do regarding yourself and how you regard humanity. he said several times that he is not perfect and that he doesnt expect America to be perfect, not in one election and ultimately not ever when it comes to ones personal feelings about race. but I did get the feeling that while he doesnt expect us to be perfect he at least expects us to make the effort, whites, blacks, latinos and asians to understand where we are all coming from. where black people are coming from, where white people are coming from, where their immigrant ancestors are coming from. he expects us to do the work and consider why we feel the way we do about people that dont look like us. and it may have escaped you while you are reading this but it didnt escape me while i was writing it, he EXPECTS things of us other than that we vote for him. he wants this country to be great and he wants us to reach our full potential as people and as a nation.
im sure all the candidates in some way want this same thing and i dont question their general sincerity but i do question the level of their sincerity. I wonder how much they have actually considered the American people and their emotional intelligence, and how that emotional intelligence compassion, can be even more important than the intelligence that makes us good at math or science or remembering facts and dates, in their desire to be president. im sure some but after todays speech i wonder if they do the same way that Barack does.
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Monday, March 10th, 2008
My Tuesday nights usually look something like this: get home at 6, pet the cat, talk to Nicolette, determine if we have anything better to do that night, decide we dont, order Chinese food around 7, pick it up around 730, watch American Idol from 8-9 pretending like there isnt primary coverage for that hour and then when American Idol is over settling in behind the “Best Political Team on Television” to watch hours of primary coverage on CNN. Its been this way since primary season began and only once have we had any kind of break from the routine, the week there were no primaries on Tuesday, and even then i was itching like an addict for the sweet sounds of Anderson Cooper and his never ending cast of talking heads and punditing showoffs.
I think though, tomorrow, the routine will come to an end. Ive been sitting here all day reading articles about Barack and Hillary and how they might run together and Barack saying theyre not. Ive read every one of Newsweeks dozen or so articles published online today about Hillary Clinton culminating with an exclusive Q&A during which she says nothing new or interesting or anything that might dissuade me from thinking that this ‘interview’ is really just a series of quotes put into the context of an interview using newly written questions that correspond to a previous statement. To be honest, I am just tired of the whole process. The back and forth and the, quite literally, he said she said, its just so tiring and if you’re supporting someone its nerve racking and i just dont want to do it for a while.
I think i might swear off primary coverage until Pennsylvania by then, hopefully, a victory either way will really mean something. Hillary won both Texas and Ohio and what did it mean? Nothing, it didnt mean anything. Any delegates that Barack lost on Super Tuesday 2 he got back by slaughtering Hillary in Wyoming. So, he still has a sizable delegate lead. He is still leading in the popular vote. In polls he is still beating John McCain soundly while Hillary struggles to maintain even a one or two point lead. They even have her losing in some polls. Congratulations Hillary on your big wins last week. They were totally meaningless.
I think this Tuesday im going to make a big salad, watch American Idol and then read a book or work on wedding plans. Something constructive. and if between now and Pennsylvania something monumental happens and a group of primaries in smaller states may actually shape the end result of this thing maybe I’ll tune in to Anderson, Wolff, Candy and Dana and let them sing me sweet lullaby so that when i wake up the next day this whole crazy thing is over and we can get down to the business making a real difference.
Keep on Chooglin’
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Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
Doesnt it sound like the title of some new Ashley Judd movie? In reality, from everything i have read this morning, the title of this blog refers to the situation Hillary Clintons presidential campaign finds itself in. One of the things i had recently begun to admire about her campaign is how it generally acknowledged the fact that it was in bad shape. I think its pretty classy when someone can admit that someone else is probably going to win but that you are going to buckle down, give it your best shot and hope that things turn around for the better. She said during the debate last thursday that if things didnt turn around and she didnt win the nomination that she “would be fine.” Thats nice i thought, now i dont have to feel bad when Obama wins denying America its first female President, which, i have to admit, i was sort of starting to feel bad about. Apparently however, Hillary was just really really wonderfully high on Thursday, woke up on Friday, still a little hazy but generally cognizant, watched the video of the debate and said, “What? What did I say? I’m not going to be fine! Im going to be pissed! Much like I am right now!” And so Team Clinton got desperate but unlike before she decided to garnish her desperate with a heaping spoonful of crazy and now instead of seeming determined she seems ruthless.
And people are starting to notice. Here are todays headlines from some of Americas major news soures:
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/us/politics/26clinton.html
The Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/columnists/lupica/index.html
New York Magazine
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/02/clintons_barbs_condoned_by_the.html
Im sure this list can be updated as the day goes on (we can also debate the term “major news source”). During a normal election, and issued by a standard candidate, Hillary’s attacks might be seen as just that, attacks politically motivated and not personal but, when they come from the mouth of a Clinton, they sound petty and jealous and rude and condescending. Some part of me would feel bad for the way she comes off during her speeches and press conferences if i didnt think she wanted to look this way. I think she wants to seem desperate. I think she wants people to think that she will do whatever it takes to be president. i think she is hoping that people connect this ruthless desire of hers with the thoughts that maybe, because she wants it so badly she is willing to risk her reputation and her sanity, that she really loves us, that she really cares for us and that she really would be the democrats best candidate for president. Unfortunately for Hillary the more people see her in this desperate and flailing state the more people see the underlying truth of her campaign: that it doesnt have anything to do with you, me or America, its all about Hillary and her Arthurian quest to be president. I do feel, if Barack had to drop out for whatever reason and she became the default nominee and managed to beat John McCain, that she would make a decent president while in office, i dont question her intelligence and her policies and vision seem to be grounded in a general willingness to be a good person and a good president. But in the same way that George Bush’s White House has been described as having a “mob mentality” so will the Clinton’s. It will cost our government and our country dearly if anyone stands in the way of her “causes.”
Am i being to hard on her? I dont know, maybe, maybe not. What i do know is that her plan is back firing on her. Every-time someone reads one of the stories listed above, of which a differenent but similar version will be printed in every newspaper and magazine from now until she decides to drop out, the American people wince and then run to embrace the candidate that doesnt make them feel like a bad person for supporting the candidate of their choice. Your not going to hear Barack tell the American voter that their delusional for not voting for him but you are hearing that from the Clinton’s everyday. When Bill Clinton, in Texas last week, told a crowd of people, “If we win in Texas and Ohio i think we an get the nomination, if we dont then we probably wont. Its in your hands,” he was basically saying My wife and I are holding you all personally responsible for not letting us be president. It has nothing to do with how they ran their campaign or how they spent their money or how the conducted themselves or how seriously they took Baracks initial bid for the nomination. Its our fault. Yours and mine. She wanted it and we took it from her. We should be ashamed. Well, Im not ashamed and neither is anyone else. we will be ashamed if Barack wins Texas on Tuesday and she doesnt drop out of the race. we will be ashamed if she continues to try to pry elected delegates away from Barack just because the DNC’s arcane election rules says she can. We will be ashamed when the Clinton campaign starts to circulate a picture Barack should be proud of, dressed in a traditional African outfit while visiting Africa, in an attempt to appeal to America’s “ignorance” hoping we will mistake his attire for something having to with being a Muslim. Oh wait, thats already happened. Well then you win Hillary Clinton. I am ashamed. Ashamed that our electoral process has come to this. Ashamed that someone cannot remark on your record and your positions without you running around and unfoundly calling them a liar and a cheat. Ashamed that everytime you say that this election has nothing to do with race and gender you try and drag it back through the mud of gender and racial divide.
I will close today by saying thank you to Hillary Clinton for confirming that i made the right choice on Super Tuesday. That i chose to support the candidate that himself chose to stay above all of this nonsense.
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Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Big win by Barack Obama last night. That’s 10 in a row folks. Keep on chooglin’.
Alright. I told anyone who would listen that i wasn’t watching American Idol this year because of the bull crap that they pulled with Josiah (although, after watching last nights proceedings, i am actually sort of glad he didn’t get put through. I forgot that the goal of these early elimination rounds is to pick a song and turn it into adult contemporary trash. Im not sure how well he would have accomplished this and im glad he was spared the embarrassment). Anyway, i DVRed and I watched and half way through some random crumb bum’s rendition of Moon River i was wishing i had stuck to my guns and not compromised my principals due to an absence of acceptable time killing activities while waiting for the polls in Wisconsin to close so that i might bathe gloriously in election night analysis and punditry. Every male performer this year is terrible. TERRIBLE. Even the Australian guy with the record deal, Michael “Two First Names” Johns, was sub par and he sang one of the same songs he sang last week in LA. I can only hope that the girls tonight are better because now, since i have already forfeited my integrity, i have to watch and root for all the men to get kicked off before all the women the same way i rooted for Ace to spontaneously combust mid-George Michael song during season 5.
Also, it’s lunch time here in corporate hell and I just ate a Quizno’s. its close to the office and never crowded. I was nursing a substantial hunger and had forgotten to bring myself a microwavable soup or even a small plastic sack of pretzels. Let me tell you something faithful blog reader, don’t be fooled by advertising or praise from a colleague or friend, eating Quiznos is never a good idea. Ever. I did however just find a piece of Orbit gum, flavor spearmint. Which is always nice
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Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
This is my first official post but I need to back track and comment on a few events before I start dealing with current issues.
- Barack Obama – There is a primary in Wisconsin today and Barack absolutely needs to win it. He can not afford to let Hilary gain even a shred of momentum going into March 4th. I am not politically intelligent as you will see going forward, but if I know anything its that Barack needs to put his foot on the gas here and keep on rolling. I wouldn’t say that im a fervent supporter of Senator Obamas. I haven’t been to any of his rallies and I haven’t donated any real money. I have a bumper sticker on the back of my car and a cardboard sign in the living room window of my house that’s hard to see from the street if the sun hits it just right which it usually does but I am excited about the prospect of this man being our next president. I think issues in Presidential elections are almost secondary. I know that probably sounds crazy but I just feel like once you are in office your reality changes and your issues and beliefs have to adapt accordingly. However I will say that he has been the most realistic candidate this year. He is aware of the divide between Republicans and Democrats and has structured his plans, programs and ideas in a way that will appeal to members of both parties in an effort to do some real work for the good of the country. I haven’t heard him say once, regarding his use of the House and the Senate, that it is, effectively, his way or the highway. I think he believes that when all is said and done we will be able to find OUR way and that’s why Im supporting him for president. If he doesn’t win the nomination I will admit that I will be a little sad about it, but I definitely think that Hilary Clinton will make a fine president. I just think Barack Obama would make a better one.
- The Grammys – Dear God in heaven what a freaking sham this whole event is. If I thought that swearing on my blog would be a good idea I would be swearing all over the place right now. I am just so disgusted with the state of the music industry. I know that no one except the previously mentioned music industry puts very much stock into these things but I personally, as a musician and a card carrying member of the “Not an Idiot Club,” find it just so insulting they someone somewhere actually believes that Amy Winehouse should win any kind of award. I dont feel this way because shes a drug addict, I feel this way because shes terrible. At the end of this post I will list 10 records that came out this year that are better than almost every record that got nominated for any award at this years Grammys. And do I think that Herbie Hancock won Album of the year because the Grammy voters actually thought that it was the best record of the year. No I do not. I think they gave it to him because hes nice and he makes nice music and because he plays the piano nicely and because he has Norah Jones on that record and shes nice. The fools that hand out the Grammys love to reward music that you don’t have to think about, that has a good beat or that you can listen to if youre having trouble falling asleep. Im glad my parents had the foresight to teach me the word Travesty. Try falling asleep to these records(in no particular order):
Against Me – New Wave
Espers – II
Wilco – Sky Blue Bky
PJ Harvey – White Chalk
Dinosaur Jr – Beyond
Miles Davis – The Complete on the Corner Sessions
Grinderman – Grinderman
Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II
Okkervil River – Stage Names
Ted Leo – Living with the Living
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