Eight years ago I told everyone that would listen that George W. Bush was a no-good son-of-a-bitch pseudo-politician, and that his election would be the bane of the Republican party for decades.Chalk one up for the Liar.
I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly state that Barrack Obama is a no-good son-of-a-bitch pseudo-politician, and that his administration will be a huge embarrassment for the Democratic party.
It is my sincerest hope that sometime in my lifetime we can elect one single United States President based on merit rather than manufactured populist appeal.
I can dream, can't I?
19 comments:
Ouch. You were right on, on the first account…but I gotta say wrong on the second…
Doesn’t it say something that people actually paid attention this time? Participated as it were? You may not have a hurrah to give for the winner of this little race but you gotta give a heads up to that. It’s a little bit like New Years in D-town tonight, and I for one, raised my glass more than a few times to ring it in.
Sorry, Man. I already drank the Kool-Aid. For all of our sakes, I hope you are wrong and the Kool-Aid is right.
I don't think McCain was the answer here. He may have been a more seasoned politician, but public image is a big part of this election. At least we can be pretty sure that Obama won't be making up songs about bombing anyone.
Well, you also said Rex Grossman was a "douchebag." And he turned out to be the Greatest Quarterback of All Time (or G-QAT)!
I hope you are wrong and he can actually do something. He hasn’t done anything yet is his life but give pretty speeches up to this point. I hope he can be a good to great president. The only problem is hope is not a strategy and we could all be fucked. Clinton had 8 years to fuck shit up and we hoped that Bush would unfuck some of it. Instead he left Clintons mortgage mess untouched and created his own huge fucking mess for 8 years. Now we are sitting on top of a turd 16 years high. How much shit can you stack up until the whole thing just fucking goes away?
The country NEEDS Obama to succeed or someone soon to succeed. We could see the end of a great country in our life time if someone doesn’t get us to pull our heads out of there asses.
DOOM! DOOM! DOOM!
I'm just calling 'em like I see 'em.
I met 'W' back in 2000, right after he secured the Republican nomination. From the get-go, he struck me as a smug condescending prick. Didn't like him.
I met Obama on January 4th, 2005 (the day he was sworn into the Senate). From the get-go, he struck me as a smug condescending prick. Didn't like him.
I've worked with both the Bush administration and Obama's Senate office in my old job, and have experienced nothing in my time there to discount my original assessment on either of them.
As for voter "involvement"; this participation more resembled and outbreak of laughing malady than a sincere movement for political change. I talked with endless Obama supporters, and couldn't get one single intelligent arguement for why he should be president. All I ever heard was "George Bush", "Hope", "Change" and other meaningless bumper-sticker talking points.
Which, coincidentally, is EXACTLY what happens when you ask a die-hard Bush-booster for a single reason why 'W' isn't the worst president of the modern era. No substance, all "9-11", "terrorist", "freedom" mumbo-jumbo.
I hope like hell that I'm wrong on this one, but the exact feeling I have right now, I also had 8 years ago.
We all know how that worked out.
Oh, and to clarify: When I say that I've talked with supporters, I'm talking about friends that are working within the Obama campaign - People who's career is in politics, intelligent people. I'm not talking about random idiots off of the street.
Every time I engage them in a debate about his qualifications they always just start going on about what an embarrassment 'W' is to the office of the Presidency. I agree wholeheartedly with them, then ask for details. I get nothing.
Which (once again) is exactly how the Bushies spoke back in 2000. They were outraged that Bubba got a BJ from a porky page in the Oval Office, and all they wanted to talk about was what an embarrassment Clinton was to the office of the Presidency.
___
If anyone can give me a solid arguement for why Obama is qualified for the highest office in this land, without using buzzwords, Bush, or touchy-feelie feel-good nonsense, I'd be greatly obliged. Hell, if you're half-way convincing, I'll eat my words.
Here's a good place to start: This is his Senate legacy I can't find anything in there worth mentioning that was passed into law.
Happy hunting.
I'm curious…what would you define as a "sincere movement for political change" then? Throw out an example even if it be hypothetical…also further explain/define "pseudo-politician"...is it, in this case, synonymous with puppet, poster boy, etc. or something else entirely?
I think the fact that he has run a remarkably organized, glitch free campaign, not taken any of the bad advice he was given, surrounded himself with a few bona fide free marketeers and foreign policy heavies, almost never sounded the tired class war/nanny state tropes democrats rely on too heavily because they ran out of ideas a while back, is obviously not a member of the Sharpton/Jackson guilt club, seems to have read the US Constitution, seems obviously prepared on questions of policy (unlike his opponents) and has an eerie sense of what is appropriate in a given moment (for example, keeping the celebration sober and brief last night) recommends him pretty well.
Whereas a long legislative record inevitably hurts a candidate. And Bush has pretty much obviated the notion that previous executive experience is a must.
So Obama's lack of experience actually helped him in his campaign (as I remember pointing out to you last year) and we can only hope the bully pulpit gives him some executive goose to wield the whip. Allowing Pelosi and Reid to ride roughshod will be a huge mistake and one of the first things he'll have to show his mettle in.
So it is a matter of faith--but, hell, it always is, anyway.
P-Dawg. Let's see how well he's able to control Pelosi and Reid when he asks them to go along with the tax cut he promised and that you'll never get.
Liar, I hope that something good comes out of the term of this empty suit, but I suspect that you are correct.
By the way, Liar - Just to keep things reasonably civil, I'm composing a list of things that are in bad taste that you will probably say, but shouldn't, at key moments of during the swearing-in. They will be funny, but you probably shouldn't say them.
Old Dog, if I lived my life expecting something a politician told me regarding taxes during an election to come true, I'd be...trying to come up with a witty way of saying 'waiting a long time.'
When politicians speak of taxes during election seasons, that is your cue that it is safe to head for the fridge.
P-Dawg, William Perry can't help us now!
Onto the whole "sincere political change" issue:
In case you haven't noticed, President Dumb-Dumb is at the end of his 8 year term - He couldn't run again. You can't really rebel against the establishment once it's taken it's ball and gone home.
In fact, he's fucked everything up so bad that he has, in effect, poisoned the 'republican' brand. He did so by betraying everything that the Republican party has traditionally stood for; smaller government, restrained fiscal policies, limited foreign intervention, protecting constitutional liberties, etc.
God, does that guy suck it.
Anyhow, Just by showing up to the game in the opposition uniform, Obama had a huge head-start. How huge? Without any discernible legislative record, and no specifics on any executive policy goals, he held the lead from the get-go. There were a lot of things promised (a whole lot), but there were no specifics, no concrete "I will do this" promises, and nothing all that different than any other campaign promises made by any candidate (save Ron Paul) in this cycle.
In order to have a true movement for "change" you have to at the very least mention something that is going to change other than the guy behind the podium and the White House draperies.
The only true "momentous change" I can see is that this candidate is African American. That's pretty momentous, but the Obama campaign has smeared anyone who has mentioned race in the entirety of this campaign as a hatemonger. Just ask (my good friend) Geraldine Ferraro, who merely suggested that Obama had an edge because more Americans wanted to vote to put a Black President in office, than those who wished to see a woman in office.
I'm not quite sure if I'm engaging in hate-speak at this point in pointing out that he's black (despite the Obama campaign trumpeting that fact endlessly since McCain's concession speech), so I'll just appologize and move on to the next point.
Just because everyone thinks that they're part of a huge political movement doesn't make it so. Just like a bunch of guys dressing up like Storm Troopers and heading down to the Comic-Con doesn't make them elite soldiers of the Galactic Empire.
If you can't name one single party platform issue, you're not part of a movement, you're just another jerk-off on the bandwagon to God-knows-where. You have no vested interest in representative democracy if you're following fashion rather than politics. You're just a slightly older version of the 1990's frat-boy rocking the Che Guevara t-shirt thinking that he was the lead singer of Rage Against the Machine.
Speaking of which, Here's a HUGE clue that you're doing it wrong: If your candidate has a mega display at Urban Outfitters, replete with $30 t-shirts and GObama headbands, right around the corner from the $25 hippie-flower hair-clips and flanked by a display of discounted drinking board-games.
W fucking sucked - I've been screaming that song to anyone within earshot over the past 8 years, but to suspend any and all criteria for anyone from the opposition party as a perceived slight to the outgoing president isn't revolutionary; It's fucking insane.
Mr. P-Dawg,
One quick point of clarification on Bushie's "executive experience":
Most of the power lies with the Texas Legislature The governor of Texas has only two real powers: 1) To grant pardons (not a one death-sentence reprieve) and 2) To veto legislation (we all know he won't veto shit unless it somehow relates to "Snowflake babies" in some way, shape, or form).
Not a whole load of "experience" there.
Everybody just figured that he was an unknown quantity, but would surround himself with people who knew the political process and could shape his decisions down the road.
That worked out.
I'm going to touch on the other points you raised in a brand-spanking-new post. Lucky you!
Interesting…and I’ll give you your commercialism complaint but temper it with this – politics relies on marketing…isn’t that what you were doing in DC? That being said, I am not a frat boy/sorority girl, ( and although I may very well be the lead singer of Rage Against the Machine, I’m pretty sure actually) I have never owned a Che tee (my Aeroflot, Mayakovski, and Soviet Women’s Lib tee-shirts are not of that ilk dammit, nor the Berthold Brecht – he at least had an argument for critical thought over blind association – all are statements on image/(by way of visual culture – art) or theory rather than fashion statement, – that’s a different kind of image and anyway, I investigate before I publicize – that crap ruined the Che tee for those of us who might have been so inclined) being non-partisan I fully investigated the platforms presented and you can bet that I voted on the candidate that, BASED ON RESEARCH, seemed to have the most merit by way of argument and belief. Incidentally, I never chalked that up to rebellion or a movement of any kind. I was just questioning your language from a linguistic perspective.
If you don’t have faith in MY critical engagement (as far as deciding on which candidate was worth my vote) think on the rest of the D-town crew…are you seriously throwing those kids into that category? These are neither fashionistas nor hipsters (post or otherwise) these are intelligent thinking people who are not so easily hypnotized. And yes, as much as I voted FOR Obama/Biden, I voted AGAINST the McCain/Palin ticket because having THAT follow Bush just seemed like a bad idea any way I turned it over. Which I did, thank you very much.
Incidentally, my father shares your view point, he stopped into work today to bitch about Obama, call me a communist and order a decaf, though I dare say he is a bit more fond of kid W. But you and me, I think we’re just gonna have to agree to disagree on this one.
Wordage (in juxtaposition of said campaign) in this response I imagine you’ll take to issue – belief/ faith, I tossed those in there just for you :)
P.S. the GIM show is the 23rd and Paulio has been lookin for you as he has some discs to pass off which I may or may not have already mentioned…who knows, at this hour all I’m thinking about is Cocteau’s essay on Chirico, a glass of scotch, another cigarette and some Nina Simone.
Miss Suzanne,
I deeply love you and all of the D-Town crew and, no, I don't think that you're all idiots, but it is slightly perplexing to me. It's like the nation found its way into Trent's secret stash.
I'm going to try and draw a parallel here (and probably fail miserably).
I worked with these people (and deep within the DC political scene) for many years. That was my job - I got paid actual money for it.
So, it's kinda like when a couple of your friends walk into your bookstore and say something like "Oh wow, They have Kahlil Gibran's 'The Prophet' in Hardcover!!!"
You've read that piece of shit and know firsthand that it's packed cover-to-cover with horseshit and empty promises, but still you just can't bring yourself to say so and break their dear little hearts.
So you kinda hint around at a few other (better) choices, but can't quite give the truth to them with both barrels.
They end up buying 2 copies of that dreck, and then you have to listen to them drone on and on for weeks and weeks about how that shitty little book changed their lives. Then, eventually, they get tired of that and discover 'The Celestine Prophecies'.
The cycle begins anew, but at least they're reading.
It's kinda like that.
I go out of town for a fucking sales kick off and the blog explodes with the best political speak/debate I have heard. I agree with many of the points on both sides. My biggest beef with the Obama support here in NC is all the fucking hippies in Chapel Hill. I would ask for points on why Obama deserved my vote and would get a commercial quote. I would then say “ Did you just quote a commercial to me? Is that how you decide who is a good candidate?” People get real pissed then and call me a Bush hater. Which I respond “ He is a fucking idiot and has ruined the Republican Brand for the foreseeable future.” Which then the look at me like I just grew a dick on my forehead. Someone with ear shot hears me bash Bush and jumps in on me about he is not that bad, insert all stuff DC has said.
Then people just call me a douche and say I just want to argue. I then politely tell them “ Yes I am a douche but it’s not call arguing its called debate. It allows the free flow of ideas and our country was based on it. You should try and pull your squirrel brain away from the hypno box. You might be surprised what happens when you start using your brain, then you again your head may explode.’’
Update:
http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2011/03/15/president-obamas-trivial-pursuits-2/
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