I have not said a lot in recent days about pop culture, because it doesn't seem relevant at the moment. I also have not said much about the financial crisis because a) My knowledge of the issue is limited, and b) I have family members that work in the industry and I am mainly concerned for what they face each day.
The numbers are beyond the comprehension of most of us who don't work in this realm. We see news reports of losses that we simply can't understand. Where will it end? How long will this harm the average person? I certainly don't know. Panic doesn't seem to make sense in terms of what most governments advisements say, but it is the obvious emotion.
A less obvious emotion is that of attendees at McCain/Palin events. It has been widely reported that people in the crowd at their speeches have yelled sentiments such as "Kill Him" or "Terrorist" when the top two on the republican ticket are speaking about Obama. So far, the republicans have not made any publicized attempt to stop this kind of genuinely frightening behavior.
Deomocrats didn't make any similiar calls for violence when they were frustrated by being behind Bush in 2004, at least to my memory. Granted, those folks were not in such horrific financial times. Their retirement didn't seem to be in the balance at the moment.
But the man they elected so proudly has apparently trashed their retirement, and they are directing anger at an African-American who has run a decent campaign. They can't stand it and they are getting unruly. It honestly frightens me when I look at the video of McCain supporters who seem to be "erratic", as the disputed word in this campaign goes.
If Obama wins, as it seems we'll see, will this frightening anger be an issue beyond election day? I honestly worry about that based on the anger of what I have seen.
By the way, can you imagine John McCain telling his angry crowd to stop with the dangerous rhetoric?
Friday, October 10, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
The Joke's Over?
"Did you hear the one about Sarah Palin and the...."
Chances are, you've heard a few sentences that started that way in recent weeks. Maybe they came from friends. Perhaps it was from the host of your favorite late night talk show. Lots of e-mails probably began that way.
But after last night's vice presidential debate, you won't hear near as much Sarah Palin humor.
Why? Well, she wasn't a flaming, unmitigated disaster. She wasn't great, but she wasn't the awful mess that her interviews leading up to the debate had made so many of us expect.
Democrats all over the country likely settled in to watch Palin get tangled in her own words and embarrass her party. Instead, they got a rigidly rehearsed speech crammed into a debate setting, with equally rehearsed folksy words and phrases tossed in for down-home effect. Not the stuff of genius, but also no blunders that will be played ad nauseum on cable news. The bits that we'll likely hear will come in the form of a highlight reel of her "Wasilla-isms".
But did she look presidential? Much has been made of the fright caused by her being just one breath from a 72 year old man in poor health away from leading the free world. And rightly so. In this area, nothing has changed. The thought of her as commander in chief still makes me want to check immigration laws for other countries.
However, I will admit that it is a bit easier to understand how she became the governor of the fourth least populated state in America. I've always heard it said that Alaskans are an odd bunch. She showed enough savvy on the stage in St. Louis to demonstrate how she convinced these quirky masses in the land of the midnight sun to put her in charge. But not much more than that. Decent, but not at all great
So how did she manage to make a respectable showing, when all recent indications were that she would get pummeled by an experienced guy like Joe Biden? We'll never know for sure what happened at the McCain home in Arizona during the Palin cram sessions. But I'm guessing that it must have made anything most of us experienced in college look small time. Imagine having Warren Buffet tutor you for an econ final.
So while Palin didn't swallow a bottle of genius pills, she did make as decent a showing as could be expected. The best outcome of this for the McCain campaign will be a reduction in Palin jokes, which will focus things for this last month of the campaign itself. That's not a bad situation for anyone. Good fodder for comedy is always nice. But there are issues in our country right now that are much more important than laughter generated by current events.
Now, as you always ask after debates...who won? Check with the debate coach at your old high school and I'm confident they would say that it was Biden. He was polished, overly polite, knowledgeable and followed proper debate procedure. And from an intellectual standpoint, he was FAR superior.
Palin avoided questions, inserting answers to items she wanted to discuss. She at one point told the moderator she wasn't going to stick to the requested topics, basically daring anyone to hold her feet to the fire. She also offered very few specifics. Her style above substance performance had the likes of Pat Buchanan giggling and giddy. But all of this does not constitute victory, and the polls conducted afterward clearly said Biden was the winner.
Chances are, you've heard a few sentences that started that way in recent weeks. Maybe they came from friends. Perhaps it was from the host of your favorite late night talk show. Lots of e-mails probably began that way.
But after last night's vice presidential debate, you won't hear near as much Sarah Palin humor.
Why? Well, she wasn't a flaming, unmitigated disaster. She wasn't great, but she wasn't the awful mess that her interviews leading up to the debate had made so many of us expect.
Democrats all over the country likely settled in to watch Palin get tangled in her own words and embarrass her party. Instead, they got a rigidly rehearsed speech crammed into a debate setting, with equally rehearsed folksy words and phrases tossed in for down-home effect. Not the stuff of genius, but also no blunders that will be played ad nauseum on cable news. The bits that we'll likely hear will come in the form of a highlight reel of her "Wasilla-isms".
But did she look presidential? Much has been made of the fright caused by her being just one breath from a 72 year old man in poor health away from leading the free world. And rightly so. In this area, nothing has changed. The thought of her as commander in chief still makes me want to check immigration laws for other countries.
However, I will admit that it is a bit easier to understand how she became the governor of the fourth least populated state in America. I've always heard it said that Alaskans are an odd bunch. She showed enough savvy on the stage in St. Louis to demonstrate how she convinced these quirky masses in the land of the midnight sun to put her in charge. But not much more than that. Decent, but not at all great
So how did she manage to make a respectable showing, when all recent indications were that she would get pummeled by an experienced guy like Joe Biden? We'll never know for sure what happened at the McCain home in Arizona during the Palin cram sessions. But I'm guessing that it must have made anything most of us experienced in college look small time. Imagine having Warren Buffet tutor you for an econ final.
So while Palin didn't swallow a bottle of genius pills, she did make as decent a showing as could be expected. The best outcome of this for the McCain campaign will be a reduction in Palin jokes, which will focus things for this last month of the campaign itself. That's not a bad situation for anyone. Good fodder for comedy is always nice. But there are issues in our country right now that are much more important than laughter generated by current events.
Now, as you always ask after debates...who won? Check with the debate coach at your old high school and I'm confident they would say that it was Biden. He was polished, overly polite, knowledgeable and followed proper debate procedure. And from an intellectual standpoint, he was FAR superior.
Palin avoided questions, inserting answers to items she wanted to discuss. She at one point told the moderator she wasn't going to stick to the requested topics, basically daring anyone to hold her feet to the fire. She also offered very few specifics. Her style above substance performance had the likes of Pat Buchanan giggling and giddy. But all of this does not constitute victory, and the polls conducted afterward clearly said Biden was the winner.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Save Your Boos For Halloween
Been to see your favorite team lately? If so, and if they happened to be having a bad day, was their performance greeted with a chorus of boos from the home crowd?
In this era of expensive tickets and unlimited fan expression, it is nothing to hear a thunderous negative response from the crowd at a home stadium. And when that crowd is questioned about their actions by the host on the local sports talk station, you will hear an endless parade of callers defending their right to let the coaches and athletic director know that they don't like what they are getting for their money.
The fans are certainly within their rights to let the coaches have it on game day. Indeed, that instant gratification probably provides some minor amount of relief to a guy in the stands suffering through a lousy performance.
But cooler-headed fans often try to be the voice of reason, asking the boo birds to think about the possible consequences of their actions. In reading about some recent recruiting news in the SEC, I think these folks now have a stronger argument.
Josh Nunes, a high school quarterback from Upland, California who is rated as the number twelve prospect in the country at his position by Rivals.com, had committed to play football for the University of Tennessee in the fall of 2009. He is a big kid with a strong arm, good high school stats and a four star rating, and he was headed for Knoxville.
But after his commitment, Nunes attended the UT game against Florida a few weeks ago in Big Orange country. As you know if you watched, Tennessee looked especially flat in losing 30-6 to the Gators and the crowd let them have it. According to sportswriter Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Nunes family expressed concerns to UT officials about this booing, as well as the crowd response at other UT home games.
Now, a couple of weeks later, Nunes has changed his commitment and will attend Stanford next fall. BOOOO!!!!!!
Anyone who has seen UT play this fall knows that their offense looks awful. In conference games against Auburn and Florida, they have scored a total of 18 points. Junior quarterback Jonathan Crompton has looked as though he is in over his head, and the prospects for improved offensive outputs against other top defensive teams in conference are not good.
Under these circumstances, the idea of losing a highly rated quarterback prospect should be a painful thing for UT fans. An elite QB who comes in and starts for three years can be a program changing talent. How different would things have been in Knoxville if fans had discouraged a visiting Peyton Manning with their reactions, and instead of going to UT he had followed in his dad's footsteps and enrolled at Ole Miss? And as you ponder that question, think about how the folks in Oxford, Mississippi would answer.
However, if you read some of the Tennessee fan message boards, they consider Nunes a wuss and question whether he would have been a good long term fit for their program if he didn't like hearing a little bit of booing from the crowd. And certainly a tough guy like Peyton wouldn't have been influenced by crowd response, would he?
It's important to remember that the people we are talking about in the recruiting process are 17 or 18 year old high school seniors. Judging the sort of things that might influence their decisions through adult eyes is the sort of reactionary mistake made by people who also shower boos down upon teams of 18 to 22 year old college students when they play poorly. And though you are certainly entitled to do both, you might ask yourself if you should.
Let me put it another way. A kid on a recruiting visit at any university is treated like a future hero. He is told he will be the big man on campus at a school that worships football. He is shown the finest facilities, fed the best food and pampered in any way that fits within NCAA rules. But what happens when the biggest event of his weekend visit, the football game, is memorable mostly for the deafening boos from the crowd after a fumble or an interception? Any recruit that your program truly wants will have plenty of options, and some of the schools he visits may have fans who are a bit more polite.
One last note...Nunes went to football camps at Stanford and told the daily paper in Knoxville that contributing factors in his decision were "distance and difficulty of getting there (Knoxville) from my home". He also said that he had mistakenly thought he would not have a chance to play at Stanford.
While this might sound like UT's fans are off the hook for souring the kid on their school, I suspect he was just trying to fib in order to be nice.
In addition to interest from UT, Nunes was being recruited by Florida and Oklahoma. These are two of the best programs in the country, while Stanford has been at the bottom of their conference for a few years now. So the chances that such an elite QB who attended the Stanford football camp did not get a scholarship offer from that school until very late in the process, after he had already committed elsewhere, are extremely slim. And it was not a matter of wondering whether he could get into Stanford, because one of the other schools considered by Nunes was Harvard.
The best guess here is that Nunes committed to UT, but changed his mind after the Florida game. He didn't want to go halfway across the country to get booed, so he went the safe route and stayed close to home at Stanford.
In this era of expensive tickets and unlimited fan expression, it is nothing to hear a thunderous negative response from the crowd at a home stadium. And when that crowd is questioned about their actions by the host on the local sports talk station, you will hear an endless parade of callers defending their right to let the coaches and athletic director know that they don't like what they are getting for their money.
The fans are certainly within their rights to let the coaches have it on game day. Indeed, that instant gratification probably provides some minor amount of relief to a guy in the stands suffering through a lousy performance.
But cooler-headed fans often try to be the voice of reason, asking the boo birds to think about the possible consequences of their actions. In reading about some recent recruiting news in the SEC, I think these folks now have a stronger argument.
Josh Nunes, a high school quarterback from Upland, California who is rated as the number twelve prospect in the country at his position by Rivals.com, had committed to play football for the University of Tennessee in the fall of 2009. He is a big kid with a strong arm, good high school stats and a four star rating, and he was headed for Knoxville.
But after his commitment, Nunes attended the UT game against Florida a few weeks ago in Big Orange country. As you know if you watched, Tennessee looked especially flat in losing 30-6 to the Gators and the crowd let them have it. According to sportswriter Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Nunes family expressed concerns to UT officials about this booing, as well as the crowd response at other UT home games.
Now, a couple of weeks later, Nunes has changed his commitment and will attend Stanford next fall. BOOOO!!!!!!
Anyone who has seen UT play this fall knows that their offense looks awful. In conference games against Auburn and Florida, they have scored a total of 18 points. Junior quarterback Jonathan Crompton has looked as though he is in over his head, and the prospects for improved offensive outputs against other top defensive teams in conference are not good.
Under these circumstances, the idea of losing a highly rated quarterback prospect should be a painful thing for UT fans. An elite QB who comes in and starts for three years can be a program changing talent. How different would things have been in Knoxville if fans had discouraged a visiting Peyton Manning with their reactions, and instead of going to UT he had followed in his dad's footsteps and enrolled at Ole Miss? And as you ponder that question, think about how the folks in Oxford, Mississippi would answer.
However, if you read some of the Tennessee fan message boards, they consider Nunes a wuss and question whether he would have been a good long term fit for their program if he didn't like hearing a little bit of booing from the crowd. And certainly a tough guy like Peyton wouldn't have been influenced by crowd response, would he?
It's important to remember that the people we are talking about in the recruiting process are 17 or 18 year old high school seniors. Judging the sort of things that might influence their decisions through adult eyes is the sort of reactionary mistake made by people who also shower boos down upon teams of 18 to 22 year old college students when they play poorly. And though you are certainly entitled to do both, you might ask yourself if you should.
Let me put it another way. A kid on a recruiting visit at any university is treated like a future hero. He is told he will be the big man on campus at a school that worships football. He is shown the finest facilities, fed the best food and pampered in any way that fits within NCAA rules. But what happens when the biggest event of his weekend visit, the football game, is memorable mostly for the deafening boos from the crowd after a fumble or an interception? Any recruit that your program truly wants will have plenty of options, and some of the schools he visits may have fans who are a bit more polite.
One last note...Nunes went to football camps at Stanford and told the daily paper in Knoxville that contributing factors in his decision were "distance and difficulty of getting there (Knoxville) from my home". He also said that he had mistakenly thought he would not have a chance to play at Stanford.
While this might sound like UT's fans are off the hook for souring the kid on their school, I suspect he was just trying to fib in order to be nice.
In addition to interest from UT, Nunes was being recruited by Florida and Oklahoma. These are two of the best programs in the country, while Stanford has been at the bottom of their conference for a few years now. So the chances that such an elite QB who attended the Stanford football camp did not get a scholarship offer from that school until very late in the process, after he had already committed elsewhere, are extremely slim. And it was not a matter of wondering whether he could get into Stanford, because one of the other schools considered by Nunes was Harvard.
The best guess here is that Nunes committed to UT, but changed his mind after the Florida game. He didn't want to go halfway across the country to get booed, so he went the safe route and stayed close to home at Stanford.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
MLB Playoffs 2008: Predictions
National League Matchups
Dodgers vs. Cubs- Chicago has a significant edge in terms of pitching and hitting, as well as home field advantage with a group of rabid fans who think this may finally be their year. It is possible that Manny Ramirez could continue the hitting rampage he started when he came to L.A., and that might be enough for the Dodgers to slip past the Cubs. But I don't think so. Chicago just has too many weapons. Cubs in 4
Brewers vs. Phillies- The very presence of the Brewers in the playoffs is a great story. After so many years of frustration, a close call last year, a manager change in the last two weeks of this season, and clutch performances from the most overworked ace in the league, Milwaukee is in for the first time since 1982. And I'm afraid the satisfaction of just getting there will have to be enough. The Phillies have built a quality squad that will likely be very competitive for a while to come. They have great depth in terms of power and run production, the front end of the rotation is solid, and nobody this year has gotten past closer Brad Lidge. Phillies in 3
American League Matchups
White Sox vs. Rays- If any team's story is nearly as compelling as that of the Brewers, it would be the Rays. Ever since they entered the league in 1998, the Rays have been godawful. Every now and then in professional sports, you see an expansion team find success not long after they enter the league. Not the Rays. It took a while. But after doing one thing well for the last few years...drafting talent...everything came together this year. Led by certain AL Manager of the Year Joe Maddon, the success of the Rays has been a true feel good story. On the other side of things I think it took everything the White Sox had this season just to get into the playoffs, especially after yesterday's one-game playoff with the Twins. The Rays are rested and have the home field, where they have been as good as anyone in the league. Rays in 4
Red Sox vs. Angels- After two World Series wins in the last few years, the Red Sox are baseball's current elite postseason club. But the Angels dominated their division on the way to 100 wins and have tremendous balance all over their roster. Manager Mike Scioscia may be the very best in the game at this point, and his teams play great fundamental baseball. The Sox don't have Manny anymore, and Big Papi has had an off year by his standards. Still, they won't give up easy. Angels in 5
National League Championship Series
Phillies vs. Cubs- These two teams have fairly comparable lineups, though Ryan Howard is obviously a potential difference maker at the plate. But I give the edge to the Cubs based on starting pitching, home field advantage and the intangible of needing to break the curse of so many years without a championship. Can you imagine the party on the north side when the Cubs clinch a spot in the World Series? Cubs in 6
American League Championship Series
Rays vs. Angels- I'm going to make the comparison of the Rays to the 1991 Braves as a team that finished last one season and first the next, filled the field and won with home grown talent, and gave an inspired performance that was the talk of baseball throughout the year. There are so many reasons to pick the Angels, but I just think that the Rays have the extra thing going for them that the Braves had that year. Rays in 6
World Series
Cubs vs. Rays- Tampa is a small media market, but the ratings for this matchup will be huge thanks to the national following of Chicago. Cubs fans will throw a party in the streets that will be epic. The city will come to a standstill. The Rays have home field advantage thanks to the silly All Star game rule, and that will get them a couple of games. But the curse will be broken this year, Cubs fans. Chicago has four starting pitchers that they can send out very confidently, which no other club can claim. Cubs closer Kerry Wood is going to be a hero in this one, and look for Aramis Ramirez to swing a hot bat. Like the aforementioned Braves team from 1991, the Rays will have to settle for second best. Cubs in 6
Dodgers vs. Cubs- Chicago has a significant edge in terms of pitching and hitting, as well as home field advantage with a group of rabid fans who think this may finally be their year. It is possible that Manny Ramirez could continue the hitting rampage he started when he came to L.A., and that might be enough for the Dodgers to slip past the Cubs. But I don't think so. Chicago just has too many weapons. Cubs in 4
Brewers vs. Phillies- The very presence of the Brewers in the playoffs is a great story. After so many years of frustration, a close call last year, a manager change in the last two weeks of this season, and clutch performances from the most overworked ace in the league, Milwaukee is in for the first time since 1982. And I'm afraid the satisfaction of just getting there will have to be enough. The Phillies have built a quality squad that will likely be very competitive for a while to come. They have great depth in terms of power and run production, the front end of the rotation is solid, and nobody this year has gotten past closer Brad Lidge. Phillies in 3
American League Matchups
White Sox vs. Rays- If any team's story is nearly as compelling as that of the Brewers, it would be the Rays. Ever since they entered the league in 1998, the Rays have been godawful. Every now and then in professional sports, you see an expansion team find success not long after they enter the league. Not the Rays. It took a while. But after doing one thing well for the last few years...drafting talent...everything came together this year. Led by certain AL Manager of the Year Joe Maddon, the success of the Rays has been a true feel good story. On the other side of things I think it took everything the White Sox had this season just to get into the playoffs, especially after yesterday's one-game playoff with the Twins. The Rays are rested and have the home field, where they have been as good as anyone in the league. Rays in 4
Red Sox vs. Angels- After two World Series wins in the last few years, the Red Sox are baseball's current elite postseason club. But the Angels dominated their division on the way to 100 wins and have tremendous balance all over their roster. Manager Mike Scioscia may be the very best in the game at this point, and his teams play great fundamental baseball. The Sox don't have Manny anymore, and Big Papi has had an off year by his standards. Still, they won't give up easy. Angels in 5
National League Championship Series
Phillies vs. Cubs- These two teams have fairly comparable lineups, though Ryan Howard is obviously a potential difference maker at the plate. But I give the edge to the Cubs based on starting pitching, home field advantage and the intangible of needing to break the curse of so many years without a championship. Can you imagine the party on the north side when the Cubs clinch a spot in the World Series? Cubs in 6
American League Championship Series
Rays vs. Angels- I'm going to make the comparison of the Rays to the 1991 Braves as a team that finished last one season and first the next, filled the field and won with home grown talent, and gave an inspired performance that was the talk of baseball throughout the year. There are so many reasons to pick the Angels, but I just think that the Rays have the extra thing going for them that the Braves had that year. Rays in 6
World Series
Cubs vs. Rays- Tampa is a small media market, but the ratings for this matchup will be huge thanks to the national following of Chicago. Cubs fans will throw a party in the streets that will be epic. The city will come to a standstill. The Rays have home field advantage thanks to the silly All Star game rule, and that will get them a couple of games. But the curse will be broken this year, Cubs fans. Chicago has four starting pitchers that they can send out very confidently, which no other club can claim. Cubs closer Kerry Wood is going to be a hero in this one, and look for Aramis Ramirez to swing a hot bat. Like the aforementioned Braves team from 1991, the Rays will have to settle for second best. Cubs in 6
The Most Anticipated Debate in Modern US Political History
I consider myself to be a person who has followed presidential elections pretty closely throughout my adult life. Maybe not Jeff Greenfield close. But more than, say, the jackass I once saw in Hopkinsville, Kentucky who had a bumper sticker on the tailgate of his truck for the local labor union right next to one touting the reelection of Bush/Cheney.
Let me put it another way; I didn't just vote for Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro a few months after I turned 18, I actually went to hear Mondale's wife give a speech on the steps of the courthouse in my college town just a month prior to her husband's catastrophic loss to Ronald Reagan. Listening to the wife of one of the least charismatic and most soundly defeated politicians in history give a speech is like asking for World Series quotes from the guy who mopped the locker room for the 1998 Padres.
And so it is with at least a moderate amount of time in my life wasted on viewing the presidential election process that I make the following declaration...this Thursday's debate between democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden and republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is the most anticipated political debate in modern US history.
Yep, hands down. Most anticipated ever. Presidents. Vice presidents. Name whatever office you like. Bill Clinton could debate the ghost of JFK over who got the most tail, and I'm not sure it would be watched as closely as what is scheduled for this Thursday night.
But these are the vice presidential candidates, you say. How could this be the main event? True, history would indicate that the debate between two people seeking a job that involves going to lots of state funerals shouldn't be too thrilling. And one could argue that there have only been only two mildly memorable events in the history of televised vice presidential debates:
1. In 1988, Senator Lloyd Bensten tells Vice President Dan Quayle that he is "no Jack Kennedy", in one of the greatest understatements and most bastardized quotes in history.
2. Retired Admiral James Stockdale, running mate of third party candidate Ross Perot, makes the aforementioned Quayle and Senator Al Gore seem brilliant, as he looks confused, fumbles with his hearing aid and asks "Why am I here?" during the 1992 debate.
So maybe we would all be hoping for, at best, some memorable quote if this debate came down to one between Joe Biden and some boring conservative blowhard like Mitt Romney. Perhaps the loose-lipped Biden would break the ice by telling BYU grad Romney that Wall Street is broker than a polygamist on Mother's Day.
But compared to what we actually may hear, such a joke or gaffe would amount to a minor footnote. Instead, we get what looks to be television magic this Thursday night in the form of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
When I talk about the anticipation level here, it is all about Palin. The politically inexperienced governor, who has managed in barely a month in the spotlight to utter one infamously inexplicable quote after another, will step to the stage that evening with an overwhelming number of voters and pundits expecting nothing short of disaster. Palin's shockingly uninformed performances in interviews with Katie Couric and Charles Gibson likely have only her most blindly devoted supporters believing in any sort of positive outcome.
To speculate about exactly what sort of verbal blunders Palin will treat us to is wasted effort. You could have racked your brain for days and never come up with what she has already given us. That is why so many of people can't wait for this to unfold.
The McCain team has Palin at one of the Arizona senator's homes for a "debate camp" this week, in anticipation of a performance that could be the death nail for a campaign that already appears as though it has gone in the tank. While "debate camp" might sound like something where campaign aids are stealing Palin's underwear and freezing it for laughs, the stakes are actually quite high. Palin's recent performances have come as the McCain team has behaved in an erratic and bizarre way during the current financial crisis. A memorably bad performance by Palin is very likely more than the McCain team can possibly overcome.
Noted conservative columnists are saying that Palin has no longer has any business on the ticket, and commentators are speculating about who would replace her if the McCain campaign were to wise up and seek a more qualified VP candidate. But it would be a shocking thing to see Palin removed at this point. If she were to leave "to spend more time with her newborn child", it would be a lie so transparent that the damage already caused by her presence would be amplified and the entire McCain team would look thoroughly incompetent. Even a "maverick" who does the unexpected would stun the political world by admitting this huge mistake.
So instead, we'll get to settle down in front of the tube Thursday night giddy with the thought that Palin will say a plethora of things that are fodder for the next Tina Fey skit. The smart money says that the writers at Saturday Night Live will have trouble narrowing it down to which ridiculous Palinisms they include. I told family members this today and I fully expect it to be true; You will remember where you were this coming Thursday night for years to come.
Let me put it another way; I didn't just vote for Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro a few months after I turned 18, I actually went to hear Mondale's wife give a speech on the steps of the courthouse in my college town just a month prior to her husband's catastrophic loss to Ronald Reagan. Listening to the wife of one of the least charismatic and most soundly defeated politicians in history give a speech is like asking for World Series quotes from the guy who mopped the locker room for the 1998 Padres.
And so it is with at least a moderate amount of time in my life wasted on viewing the presidential election process that I make the following declaration...this Thursday's debate between democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden and republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is the most anticipated political debate in modern US history.
Yep, hands down. Most anticipated ever. Presidents. Vice presidents. Name whatever office you like. Bill Clinton could debate the ghost of JFK over who got the most tail, and I'm not sure it would be watched as closely as what is scheduled for this Thursday night.
But these are the vice presidential candidates, you say. How could this be the main event? True, history would indicate that the debate between two people seeking a job that involves going to lots of state funerals shouldn't be too thrilling. And one could argue that there have only been only two mildly memorable events in the history of televised vice presidential debates:
1. In 1988, Senator Lloyd Bensten tells Vice President Dan Quayle that he is "no Jack Kennedy", in one of the greatest understatements and most bastardized quotes in history.
2. Retired Admiral James Stockdale, running mate of third party candidate Ross Perot, makes the aforementioned Quayle and Senator Al Gore seem brilliant, as he looks confused, fumbles with his hearing aid and asks "Why am I here?" during the 1992 debate.
So maybe we would all be hoping for, at best, some memorable quote if this debate came down to one between Joe Biden and some boring conservative blowhard like Mitt Romney. Perhaps the loose-lipped Biden would break the ice by telling BYU grad Romney that Wall Street is broker than a polygamist on Mother's Day.
But compared to what we actually may hear, such a joke or gaffe would amount to a minor footnote. Instead, we get what looks to be television magic this Thursday night in the form of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
When I talk about the anticipation level here, it is all about Palin. The politically inexperienced governor, who has managed in barely a month in the spotlight to utter one infamously inexplicable quote after another, will step to the stage that evening with an overwhelming number of voters and pundits expecting nothing short of disaster. Palin's shockingly uninformed performances in interviews with Katie Couric and Charles Gibson likely have only her most blindly devoted supporters believing in any sort of positive outcome.
To speculate about exactly what sort of verbal blunders Palin will treat us to is wasted effort. You could have racked your brain for days and never come up with what she has already given us. That is why so many of people can't wait for this to unfold.
The McCain team has Palin at one of the Arizona senator's homes for a "debate camp" this week, in anticipation of a performance that could be the death nail for a campaign that already appears as though it has gone in the tank. While "debate camp" might sound like something where campaign aids are stealing Palin's underwear and freezing it for laughs, the stakes are actually quite high. Palin's recent performances have come as the McCain team has behaved in an erratic and bizarre way during the current financial crisis. A memorably bad performance by Palin is very likely more than the McCain team can possibly overcome.
Noted conservative columnists are saying that Palin has no longer has any business on the ticket, and commentators are speculating about who would replace her if the McCain campaign were to wise up and seek a more qualified VP candidate. But it would be a shocking thing to see Palin removed at this point. If she were to leave "to spend more time with her newborn child", it would be a lie so transparent that the damage already caused by her presence would be amplified and the entire McCain team would look thoroughly incompetent. Even a "maverick" who does the unexpected would stun the political world by admitting this huge mistake.
So instead, we'll get to settle down in front of the tube Thursday night giddy with the thought that Palin will say a plethora of things that are fodder for the next Tina Fey skit. The smart money says that the writers at Saturday Night Live will have trouble narrowing it down to which ridiculous Palinisms they include. I told family members this today and I fully expect it to be true; You will remember where you were this coming Thursday night for years to come.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
What Would Henry Burton Do?
While I'm watching the current presidential campaign unfold, I can't help but think sometimes of Henry Burton, the fictional worker for a fictional Jack Stanton campaign in the Joe Klein novel Primary Colors.
You've probably either read the book, seen the movie, or are at least aware of the subject matter. If so, you know that Burton's work on the Stanton campaign in the world of fiction is said to be based on the work of George Stephanopoulos during the 1992 Bill Clinton run for the White House. Henry Burton is a good and decent guy who is thrust into the world of bigtime politics because he gets the impression that Stanton, unlike so many other politicians, genuinely cares about the common man and will work for the best interests of such people. Burton's journey through an ultimately victorious national campaign leaves him feeling confused, compromised and disheartened. You can't help but like Henry, and you feel for him throughout the conflict he faces.
With everything that has happened to the John McCain team in the last few weeks, I'm picturing a Burton-like presence out there on the campaign trail somewhere. This person got onboard for similar reasons. They saw the war hero who lived through the hell of a POW experience and then served his country once again in the US senate. McCain seemed kindly and devoted to our young go-getter, a man worthy of working long hours for in hopes of his victory. And so our committed campaign worker threw himself head-first into a ride on the Straight Talk Express.
I'm going to speculate what the last few weeks have been like for this person, and since the fictional Henry Burton, played by actor Adrian Lester in the film version, is a familiar image, you may want to use him in your head as things here play out. Of course, Lester is black and the McCain campaign is whiter than a bridal gown sale at Filene's Basement, so who you picture is up to you.
The Palin Announcement- Henry has spent the summer working tirelessly, getting very little sleep in his hotel rooms, but remaining committed. He watched the democrats in Denver each night with members of the McCain team, and joined them in speculating about how easy they will be to defeat in November. With the democrats reaching their finale, Henry watches Barak Obama address 80,000 wildly enthusiastic fans in a football stadium. "Holy Shit", he exclaims as the crowd on television responds like nothing he has ever seen in any political race in his life. Looking around the room to see everyone staring at him, he stammers, "I mean, uhm, holy shit, what an asshole that guy is." Quietly in his room that night, Henry wonders what his campaign can do to compete with the spectacle he has just watched on television.
But Senator McCain is announcing his VP choice tomorrow. Henry heard loud conversations coming from behind closed doors earlier that week with the name "Lieberman" said many times loudly by the senator. The former VP candidate for the democrats is coming on board for the republicans, and Henry thinks that this non-partisan move will be seen as one of the boldest moves ever in presidential politics.
The next day, the senator steps to the podium to announce that Sarah Palin is his choice. "Who", Henry says with a look of deep confusion on his face.
Team members tell Henry how he and everyone else should be thrilled to have such a "maverick" and true conservative on the ticket with McCain. He listens to Palin talk, but is still stunned. That night in his room, he fires up his laptop and begins to research Palin. For the first time on the road that summer, Henry begins to survey the contents of the mini-bar in his hotel room.
The Convention- After a painful hangover makes the bus ride to St. Paul a living nightmare, Henry gets it together for the pageantry of the convention. Palin, who has never given a national speech in her career and is largely unknown, gets a standing ovation that causes delays on the television broadcasts. Henry's brow begins to crinkle. Palin then makes remarks that belittle the work of community organizers. Henry held a very similar position back in his home town after college. He can suddenly taste the burning feeling that the bottle of vodka back in his room will provide later that night.
Palin Talks to Gibson- While the campaign has scrambled to deal with a number of "attacks from the liberal press" pertaining to Palin, the team has marched forward. And when an evil member of the press is finally allowed access to their exciting vp candidate, anticipation is running high. Henry and his co-workers gather in their hotel room to watch ABC's Charles Gibson interview Palin. Strangely, during a segment when Palin is exaplaining to Gibson how her state is only 51 miles from Russia, Henry violently chokes on his room service meal, forcing a fellow campaign worker to perform the heimlich maneuver on him. Henry is fine afterwards, but later that night the person in the room next to him keeps hearing the phrase "Stop calling him Charlie" over and over.
Economic Catastrophe- Henry had spent the weekend contributing to a speech that the senator was to give, and listens proudly as he claims that the basic elements of the American economy are very solid. Later, as the McCain team is gathered around the television watching the reporting of huge Wall Street firms folding, someone notices that Henry is mising. Wanting his optimism and his help on putting a positive spin on these events for the campaign, they dispatch a young worker to Henry's room. Their phone soon rings, and the young worker has a question. "Henry's not moving, and what are absinthe and Vicodin", he asks.
Okay, so our Henry probably doesn't have it that bad. But things have been pretty disastrous for McCain over the last few weeks. The convention bounce and the ignorant bliss over Palin have been the only sources of optimism, but they went away in a hurry. And somewhere out on the road, there is likely a guy who is accepting his daily talking points with a forced smile and wondering how much worse it can get. He cringes everytime that Palin opens her mouth and knows full well why reporters are not allowed access. He heard about the suspension of the campaign, but knew that there were no altruistic or patriotic motives behind it. He delivers messages that he can no longer bring himself to question, because any serious analysis is too painful. His optimism is gone. He no longer speculates about the high-paying job in D.C. come January, because he will likely be e-mailing resumes out on November 5.
I truly do feel for this guy, whoever he is. I can only imagine how difficult each day has been recently, and I'm sure he'll have a huge meltdown when it's all over. That said, I still hope his candidate goes down in flames.
You've probably either read the book, seen the movie, or are at least aware of the subject matter. If so, you know that Burton's work on the Stanton campaign in the world of fiction is said to be based on the work of George Stephanopoulos during the 1992 Bill Clinton run for the White House. Henry Burton is a good and decent guy who is thrust into the world of bigtime politics because he gets the impression that Stanton, unlike so many other politicians, genuinely cares about the common man and will work for the best interests of such people. Burton's journey through an ultimately victorious national campaign leaves him feeling confused, compromised and disheartened. You can't help but like Henry, and you feel for him throughout the conflict he faces.
With everything that has happened to the John McCain team in the last few weeks, I'm picturing a Burton-like presence out there on the campaign trail somewhere. This person got onboard for similar reasons. They saw the war hero who lived through the hell of a POW experience and then served his country once again in the US senate. McCain seemed kindly and devoted to our young go-getter, a man worthy of working long hours for in hopes of his victory. And so our committed campaign worker threw himself head-first into a ride on the Straight Talk Express.
I'm going to speculate what the last few weeks have been like for this person, and since the fictional Henry Burton, played by actor Adrian Lester in the film version, is a familiar image, you may want to use him in your head as things here play out. Of course, Lester is black and the McCain campaign is whiter than a bridal gown sale at Filene's Basement, so who you picture is up to you.
The Palin Announcement- Henry has spent the summer working tirelessly, getting very little sleep in his hotel rooms, but remaining committed. He watched the democrats in Denver each night with members of the McCain team, and joined them in speculating about how easy they will be to defeat in November. With the democrats reaching their finale, Henry watches Barak Obama address 80,000 wildly enthusiastic fans in a football stadium. "Holy Shit", he exclaims as the crowd on television responds like nothing he has ever seen in any political race in his life. Looking around the room to see everyone staring at him, he stammers, "I mean, uhm, holy shit, what an asshole that guy is." Quietly in his room that night, Henry wonders what his campaign can do to compete with the spectacle he has just watched on television.
But Senator McCain is announcing his VP choice tomorrow. Henry heard loud conversations coming from behind closed doors earlier that week with the name "Lieberman" said many times loudly by the senator. The former VP candidate for the democrats is coming on board for the republicans, and Henry thinks that this non-partisan move will be seen as one of the boldest moves ever in presidential politics.
The next day, the senator steps to the podium to announce that Sarah Palin is his choice. "Who", Henry says with a look of deep confusion on his face.
Team members tell Henry how he and everyone else should be thrilled to have such a "maverick" and true conservative on the ticket with McCain. He listens to Palin talk, but is still stunned. That night in his room, he fires up his laptop and begins to research Palin. For the first time on the road that summer, Henry begins to survey the contents of the mini-bar in his hotel room.
The Convention- After a painful hangover makes the bus ride to St. Paul a living nightmare, Henry gets it together for the pageantry of the convention. Palin, who has never given a national speech in her career and is largely unknown, gets a standing ovation that causes delays on the television broadcasts. Henry's brow begins to crinkle. Palin then makes remarks that belittle the work of community organizers. Henry held a very similar position back in his home town after college. He can suddenly taste the burning feeling that the bottle of vodka back in his room will provide later that night.
Palin Talks to Gibson- While the campaign has scrambled to deal with a number of "attacks from the liberal press" pertaining to Palin, the team has marched forward. And when an evil member of the press is finally allowed access to their exciting vp candidate, anticipation is running high. Henry and his co-workers gather in their hotel room to watch ABC's Charles Gibson interview Palin. Strangely, during a segment when Palin is exaplaining to Gibson how her state is only 51 miles from Russia, Henry violently chokes on his room service meal, forcing a fellow campaign worker to perform the heimlich maneuver on him. Henry is fine afterwards, but later that night the person in the room next to him keeps hearing the phrase "Stop calling him Charlie" over and over.
Economic Catastrophe- Henry had spent the weekend contributing to a speech that the senator was to give, and listens proudly as he claims that the basic elements of the American economy are very solid. Later, as the McCain team is gathered around the television watching the reporting of huge Wall Street firms folding, someone notices that Henry is mising. Wanting his optimism and his help on putting a positive spin on these events for the campaign, they dispatch a young worker to Henry's room. Their phone soon rings, and the young worker has a question. "Henry's not moving, and what are absinthe and Vicodin", he asks.
Okay, so our Henry probably doesn't have it that bad. But things have been pretty disastrous for McCain over the last few weeks. The convention bounce and the ignorant bliss over Palin have been the only sources of optimism, but they went away in a hurry. And somewhere out on the road, there is likely a guy who is accepting his daily talking points with a forced smile and wondering how much worse it can get. He cringes everytime that Palin opens her mouth and knows full well why reporters are not allowed access. He heard about the suspension of the campaign, but knew that there were no altruistic or patriotic motives behind it. He delivers messages that he can no longer bring himself to question, because any serious analysis is too painful. His optimism is gone. He no longer speculates about the high-paying job in D.C. come January, because he will likely be e-mailing resumes out on November 5.
I truly do feel for this guy, whoever he is. I can only imagine how difficult each day has been recently, and I'm sure he'll have a huge meltdown when it's all over. That said, I still hope his candidate goes down in flames.
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