So most of my friends seem to take for granted the idea that Barack Obama will in fact be elected POTUS in November. I hope they are right.
I am not so sure, though. As time passes, I become less and less sure of that outcome.
Sure, McCain CAN'T STOP falling all over himself making gaffe after gaffe, misspeaking after misspeaking, but I am telling you people, all is not as well as you HOPE it is.
I got home from work LATE tonight, because a table came in late and STAYED till after 11, which as it stands, can sometimes be ok, but is generally an hour later than we'd like. Ugh. Their staying way later than one would expect was OK enough, sort of, due to their, ahem, 18% tip, and the fact that Wednesday nights are now "open mic" nights so I woulda been hanging out waiting for no one to show for a bit after 10:30 anyway. The open mic nights are gonna be slow to develop, which I acknowledged from the start.
The point of this off topic blurb derives from the fact that these folk, the five of whom I will not describe other than to say that they are white and much younger than they should have been, in order to maintain their anonymity (and, sorta, mine), drove me, with their discussion, to actually start writing down what they were saying for transcription here, later. (If we're all lucky, we just won the award for longest sentence of the entry.)
So what I will do below, is outline some highlights of their conversation, by paraphrasing and ad-libbing as I see fit, around their actual quotes. Except where humor demands, I will attempt to be as accurate as possible.
In their defense, most of the talking was done by the "mouthy broad" (note quotes) who had a LOT to say, NONE of it even remotely informed. Individual gems include "I get all of my information from Fox News...Sean Hannity is a fox....what you call un-stability (sic) I call spontaneity and fun" (in defense, of all people, of Bill Clinton), and, the absolute worst, amidst a smattering of (what had been) mildly anti-semitic humor, "My family went to the oven!" (as a joke). To their credit, no one laughed. That was followed by general silence.
All of this was only slightly more entertaining than the sex discussions that preceded the political discussion. Sadly for me, I was not in a position to write down quotes from that one. I coulda learned a thing or two. We continue...
Did you see Michelle Obama on the view? She came out and gave that "fist-punch" (sic) and oh, oh no. Oh no..."That is so ghetto. That is so ghetto." Well, we'll see what happens, but if Obama wins "he WILL be assassinated."
Well, he's got the black vote, and he's got the young people interested, and he has "the elite vote.... A lot of colleges are liberal....But in the end McCain is going to blow him away." I think the President is a man who sticks to his guns and doesn't give in. "I love George W. Bush" (all four then say they voted for him). "I can't stand Obama."
One of my favorites (discussing McCain's VP choice): "Condoleeza Rice may be dull, but she is a black woman."
Someone close to me (who will also remain anon) confessed that they "just aren't ready to vote for someone named Hussein Obama yet."
Furthermore, their are clearly two tones emerging. The one that I hope to belong to is the tone that says "let's look at the issues and the future and the candidates answers to questions put to them, and let's make a decision based on that, be it for McCain or Obama."
My opinion on McCain is that he had the opportunity to be one of the greatest Presidents of our time: in the year 2000. I think the same is true of Al Gore. Really, I think that most good political leaders, given the "opportunities" present by 9/11, would have made better use of their "political capital" than ole W. (This reminds me of another "quote"... in a mocking tone one described her nieces and nephews, who "thought Al Gore was some kind of movie star, like, you know, b/c of that stupid documentary he did.)
Were we all to zoom back to 1999 and pick again, from the pool of W, McCain, or Gore, I think most of us can agree that America would be in a much better position, today, had we the ability to pick either of the other two.
Now, eight years later, McCain's time has past, and he is simply too old to hand the reins to, considering the fact that his VP will be permanently on call for his opportunity to stand up as the incumbent in chief. Is what America really needs 10 years of Mitt Romney?
But the tone separates. Where most would hope for (and even more would purport to hope for) a tone similar to the aforementioned tone of calm, even consideration, an increasingly large group of folk seem to be called towards a derisive, dismissive tone, in which Obama is such a joke, such an abomination, that he deserves nothing more than a passing smirk.
This tone manifests itself straight from the McCain campaign, which truly took such attitudes to new heights with their Britney/Paris ad. So, so mature.
I made the point today to someone that a big complaint is Obama's skilled oration, implied therein that it is a cover for a broader lack of ability and intelligence. However, Obama practically shines when given the opportunity to answer questions posited to him in interview form. The same cannot quite be said of Mr. McCain, on either front.
Another fun thing this girl actually said was that "Obama ignored the troops in Germany, so..." (and this is the kicker) "he could shoot three pointers." She failed to acknowledge or seem to know that said video clip was of him shotting baskets WITH SOLDIERS. Sheesh. But I did call it.
I'm getting tired, so I will cease for now. My apologies for all the harping on this, but I really do think this whole thing will be very, very close, and it is therefore of utmost importance that as many people as possible approach their decision with the proper TONE, no matter who their choice may be in the end.
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I like Hoots & Hellmouth and all, a lot, even. But how do they get higher billing than Steve Earle on that Folk Fest Commercial that's been playing ad nauseum for the past few weeks, on the tv.
Colbert does "Teach Your Children" with CSN on his show tonight, and you get a great shot of David Crosby just staring at Colbert in utter fascination b/c he is SO GOOD AT SINGING. I love when he sings with the guests, cause he always does it with such a high degree of skill, and he is so obviously having the time of his life.
I hope you appreciate all the linking I do. I find the best way to look upon said links without losing your place in the very important text, is to right click and select open in new window. Consider this your tip of the day.
I'll have to give it another listen, but on first run that newish Gnarls Barkley record is NOT as good as the first one. Where are the JAMZ boys???
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