Sunday, January 13, 2008

Live Fritos or Diet

It's been a quiet week out here in Lake Woebegone, -oops, wrong intro.

Hello chums; hope all is well. I have been inordinately tired as of late (related to the arrival of season 3 of Lost from our Netflix queue- you can't watch just one) so I haven't been posting much. This will soon change.

I did want to highlight a different New Hampshire primary narrative than the one that is doing the rounds as conventional wisdom however, as it makes a lot of sense to me and shows how once a discussion is framed it is very hard for alternative explanations to break through to public consciousness.

The CW claims that Hilary confounded the world and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by sobbing slightly, possibly derailing the Obama campaign as she somehow captured the hearts of many and squeezed the balls of the rest destroying scientific polling in the process.

Another, less heard version suggests that the pollsters screwed up their samples on an epic scale and the Clinton machine's get-out-the-vote effort was better established in NH (after all, she's been running in effect since her husband left office and all his sleepers were still in place from 92 and Gore 00). And even with all of this, Barack Obama closed within 3 percent of the woman considered Democratic shoe-in nominee 12 months ago on the strength of only 5 days of frontrunner-hood.

Every time you hear Obama lost New Hampshire, remember that two and a half months ago he was 16% behind Clinton in opinion polls. In that time he made up 13% against the heir apparent. That's a lot of inertia, name recognition, and machine to push against, and yet he almost pulled it off.

I'm loving these races: whoever wins the Dems have the chance to send a real battle-hardened, road-tested candidate with the potential to make gender or racial history out of Denver and into November. Meanwhile Republican voters are seriously considering opting for either an old man who wants to prolong the war, a man who has changed position so many times this month alone his autobiography should be called the Mittra Sutra, and a man who believes Earth and all creation postdates the invention of beer and that the US government should be solely funded by a regressive 23% sales tax.

Seriously, if the Dems contrive to lose this one to yet another religious "national security" nut job I have already got Country Mouse to promise we're leaving.

10 comments:

Maestra said...

As a "religious nut job" myself, I will not be voting for any other nut job having learned from my last voting experience and I say that with no guilt because as a Christian I realize that, like many other groups in society, there are those who corrupt and bring shame. Clinton or Obama will be my choice I haven't yet decided which. I liked this post but i'll leave you with this fact that even Jesus himself knew that there would be 'religious nut jobs".

This is what he said about them

"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’"

Matthew 7:15-23

Wisdom Weasel said...

He personally said that did he? And it was recorded contemporaneously? They had a really good 24 hour rolling news network in 1st century Judea, after all...

Teasing aside, acknowledging that there are both extreme and moderate religious people doesn't lessen the threat to human progress and understanding of the extreme ones. Perhaps if moderate religionists did more to take back both the pulpit and the headlines from their fundamentalist brethren we wouldn't be facing the outside prospect of a man with the theological equivalent of a 6th grade education becoming president.

Listmaker said...

but huckabee lost so much weight! and he plays the guitar! and his last name is funny! i wish i could vote in the republican primary on super tuesday.

Maestra said...

" Perhaps if moderate religionists did more to take back both the pulpit and the headlines from their fundamentalist brethren we wouldn't be facing the outside prospect of a man with the theological equivalent of a 6th grade education becoming president."

I agree

Wisdom Weasel said...

Sheesh! That loveable yet dangerous Arkansas Baptist ex-fatty is everywhere- he's even taken over this comment thread!

Oh, Huckabee, you millenialist scamp!

Jim said...

Dano-

I had a concise comment all ready to post and "voila," Blogger ate it. Instead, I give you the "Ramblin' Jim" version, much longer and more incoherent than the original that I tried to post in the early hours of the AM, after getting up and doing my pre-dawn imitation of an author.

Here goes:

You better have the bags packed, just in case!

Being the stalwart baseball fan that you are, I hope you can appreciate my political comparison, using a Red Sox analogy.

The Democrats (whom I’ve “affectionately” dubbed, “the gang who couldn’t shoot straight”) remind me of the pre-2004 Red Sox.

For those members of “Red Sox Nation” (oh how I’ve come to despise that term and one that Tom Caron, Hazel Mayo and the other NESN dimwits love to trot out, like salivating Pavlovian dogs; we now are being treated regularly to new variations of that trite phrase, with the following: “Patriots Nation,” “Celtics Nation,” and I’m sure, the ultra-original, “Bruins Nation,” but I digress) who remember the pre-World Series, Manny being Manny, Rem-Dawg commercial, passing for a ballgame days, the Sox could always find a way to piss away a good thing.

I’ll never forget Tiant’s heyday and the famous August swoon, when the heralded bats of the Sox went south and they lost a four game series to the Orioles, all one run affairs, and another promising season went down the sh*tter. I think it was ‘72, or ‘73. And then there was ’75, Bucky “Bleepin” Dent in ‘78 and then, much of the 80s (who among the true believers will ever forget Bob Stanley, Billy Buck and the ’86 Mets Series). Or the pre-steroid Clemens and his meltdown in the ALCS, against the A’s?

I think you see my point through the haze. If anyone can f*ck it up, it’s the Democrats. The Republicans can run McCain (a walking Geritol commercial), an empty suit, historical revisionist (Romney), or the Creationist guitar player; it doesn’t really matter.

Actually, don’t worry about buying new luggage for your trans-Atlantic voyage, since there’s not a “dimes worth of difference” between the two parties anymore, so it really doesn’t matter.

You and I will continue to blog, I’ll write another book about Maine and the good ‘ole days and we’ll drink some beers in July, or August and argue about the finer points of whoever the Dems run, Mr. Change, or Lady MacBeth, like it really matters.

It’s all theater, really.

Wisdom Weasel said...

Some good points there Jim, and I am indeed wondering who will be the Dems' Grady Little, failing to get the hook out before Clinton/Obama/Edwards is pictured on a windsurfer in a speedo/unflattering tankini wearing a blaze orange Elmer Fudd hat in a misguided attempt to hack the varmint hunter demo.

That said, I'm much more comfortable with a political battle (regardless of whether one can slide a piece of paper between the general crapness of either major party) that is based on arguments over who makes the best CEO rather than the best Pope.

I'll take competency over character and pragmatism over dogma any day of the week.

Anonymous said...

If that happens, I'm coming with you.

Bill Norris said...

mainelife is going to have to fight me for space in your bags.

Wisdom Weasel said...

Soy un coyote cruz-atla'ntico

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