Politics, Politics, Politics
Gentle reader,
I have been asked by my nephew, Aaron Nielsen, i.e. The Wheelbarrow Man, to post something to this blog. When confronted with this, my first thought and reply was, "Perhaps I'll just delete both my blogs and be done with it!", disappearing from the web in a flash of ones and zeros and remaining just a memory for those lost souls browsing somewhere between pop music and porn. Second thoughts sometimes reveal our better nature, though, and with that I shall take up young Aaron's challenge and write something about the topic he requested: politics.
On a day that will likely see the resignation of a hypocritical New York politician over whores in hotel rooms, let me say that I do not like to delve into this world which, when compared to other pursuits such as used car sales, makes the automobile dealers look like candidates for canonization. Politics is a dirty business. I would rather discuss such lofty subjects as art, philosophy, music and bowel movements. But since this is his wish, I shall let loose a few of my thoughts on the current American presidential campaign.
I just put my request for a Pennsylvania absentee ballot in the post. I hadn't planned on doing this, thinking that the Democratic candidate I am supporting this year, Senator Barack Obama, would likely have things wrapped up by now. But Senator Hillary Clinton is determined that her "right" to the nomination shall not be denied her, and we have probably not yet seen the worst of the actions in the Clinton bag o' tricks. Why am I supporting Obama? For me he signals a change of leadership in the Democratic party which could finally put an end to the partisan battles which have been par for the course since the fall of Nixon and the end of the Vietnam War. He is backed by a lot of grass-roots, young blood volunteers, and his lack of Washington connections and "experience", as the former First Lady likes to bring up, is refreshing, since the "experience" of Washington insiders has got us into the mess we are in today. He wants to find a way to end the war in Iraq and build bridges where Bush had burned them. And being the first non-white to have a realistic chance at the presidency, Obama also provides a way to help mend the divisive wounds which have festered in America ever since the first Negros arrived in chains on the docks of Jamestown.
On the other hand, Hillary comes across as a real bitch. First, it is her sense of entitlement to the presidency. I believe she thought, perhaps right up to the Iowa caucuses, that she would easily cinch the nomination and be automatically acclaimed and anoited as the chosen one in Denver, as all Democrats hailed her as the second coming of Bill. Secondly, you get the feeling that there is nothing driving her more than raw ambition, and that if she has to walk over the corpse of the Democratic party to get the nomination, she'll do it. If it takes a tear to get women to vote for her, she'll cry. If it takes a scary commerical to get the terrorised crowd to vote for her, it's on the air. Of course, Limbaugh's wingnut crowd are licking their chops at having Senator Clinton as the nominee, since they can just drag out the old Clinton playbook. That's why he's convincing his listeners to vote for Hillary in the primaries, since they realize that, instead of their anti-Clinton strategy, they may have to resort to the old Republican racist strategy if Obama is the nominee. With the country being more and more integrated in terms of race (and more and more divided in terms of class) that type of strategy may no longer fly outside of a few places like Bumfuck, Alabama.
Finally, I have a personal anecdote against Hillary Clinton. My wife, Katja, was collecting autographs back in the 1990's, and she had sent away for some from prominent American personalities. It was quite interesting to see the responses she received. Some movie stars, like Tony Curtis, actually wrote a nice greeting on the photograph, as did the current Republican challenger, Senator John McCain. Bill Gates signed his name in ink, as did President Bill Clinton. When we got the photo of Hillary Clinton in the mail, we found she had sent a photo with a facsimile signature, printed at the bottom of the picture. She couldn't even take time from her busy schedule as First Lady to sign a fucking photograph, but, just down the hall, the Commander in Chief and leader of the free world could. That sort of sold the deal for me. Bill Clinton, for all his foibles, is at least authentic. Hillary's just a bitch.
I have been asked by my nephew, Aaron Nielsen, i.e. The Wheelbarrow Man, to post something to this blog. When confronted with this, my first thought and reply was, "Perhaps I'll just delete both my blogs and be done with it!", disappearing from the web in a flash of ones and zeros and remaining just a memory for those lost souls browsing somewhere between pop music and porn. Second thoughts sometimes reveal our better nature, though, and with that I shall take up young Aaron's challenge and write something about the topic he requested: politics.
On a day that will likely see the resignation of a hypocritical New York politician over whores in hotel rooms, let me say that I do not like to delve into this world which, when compared to other pursuits such as used car sales, makes the automobile dealers look like candidates for canonization. Politics is a dirty business. I would rather discuss such lofty subjects as art, philosophy, music and bowel movements. But since this is his wish, I shall let loose a few of my thoughts on the current American presidential campaign.
I just put my request for a Pennsylvania absentee ballot in the post. I hadn't planned on doing this, thinking that the Democratic candidate I am supporting this year, Senator Barack Obama, would likely have things wrapped up by now. But Senator Hillary Clinton is determined that her "right" to the nomination shall not be denied her, and we have probably not yet seen the worst of the actions in the Clinton bag o' tricks. Why am I supporting Obama? For me he signals a change of leadership in the Democratic party which could finally put an end to the partisan battles which have been par for the course since the fall of Nixon and the end of the Vietnam War. He is backed by a lot of grass-roots, young blood volunteers, and his lack of Washington connections and "experience", as the former First Lady likes to bring up, is refreshing, since the "experience" of Washington insiders has got us into the mess we are in today. He wants to find a way to end the war in Iraq and build bridges where Bush had burned them. And being the first non-white to have a realistic chance at the presidency, Obama also provides a way to help mend the divisive wounds which have festered in America ever since the first Negros arrived in chains on the docks of Jamestown.
On the other hand, Hillary comes across as a real bitch. First, it is her sense of entitlement to the presidency. I believe she thought, perhaps right up to the Iowa caucuses, that she would easily cinch the nomination and be automatically acclaimed and anoited as the chosen one in Denver, as all Democrats hailed her as the second coming of Bill. Secondly, you get the feeling that there is nothing driving her more than raw ambition, and that if she has to walk over the corpse of the Democratic party to get the nomination, she'll do it. If it takes a tear to get women to vote for her, she'll cry. If it takes a scary commerical to get the terrorised crowd to vote for her, it's on the air. Of course, Limbaugh's wingnut crowd are licking their chops at having Senator Clinton as the nominee, since they can just drag out the old Clinton playbook. That's why he's convincing his listeners to vote for Hillary in the primaries, since they realize that, instead of their anti-Clinton strategy, they may have to resort to the old Republican racist strategy if Obama is the nominee. With the country being more and more integrated in terms of race (and more and more divided in terms of class) that type of strategy may no longer fly outside of a few places like Bumfuck, Alabama.
Finally, I have a personal anecdote against Hillary Clinton. My wife, Katja, was collecting autographs back in the 1990's, and she had sent away for some from prominent American personalities. It was quite interesting to see the responses she received. Some movie stars, like Tony Curtis, actually wrote a nice greeting on the photograph, as did the current Republican challenger, Senator John McCain. Bill Gates signed his name in ink, as did President Bill Clinton. When we got the photo of Hillary Clinton in the mail, we found she had sent a photo with a facsimile signature, printed at the bottom of the picture. She couldn't even take time from her busy schedule as First Lady to sign a fucking photograph, but, just down the hall, the Commander in Chief and leader of the free world could. That sort of sold the deal for me. Bill Clinton, for all his foibles, is at least authentic. Hillary's just a bitch.
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