Thursday, May 1, 2008

No-bama (5)

I know they say that you shouldn't kick a man when he's down, but I've been kicking this guy since he was up, so it seems only fair. This guy is melting fast. The sad thing is that all his wounds are self-inflicted--which is what people really mean by "seasoned"; a more experienced politician running at this level would know better. The glad thing is that this is happening now; my biggest fear was that he'd coast through, get the nomination, and be seriously fucked in the fall campaign.

Let's start with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. I mean--really? For a guy who knew he wanted to be president from about his second month in the womb, why didn't he run--fast, with his family in tow--the minute he had the slightest inkling of what his "spiritual advisor" thought? First sign of a rant--out the door. His polite distancing really wasn't enough. He said a couple of words then presto-chango shifted the focus to a discussion of race in America. Yeah, we probably need that conversation, but not in the middle of a presidential nomination campaign, not a bunch of bland platitudes, and not when the real subject is the hate-mongering sermons of your pastor.

Next, let's talk about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. I mean--really? The gets a taste of national coverage, and anybody thinks he's just going to go away? He's here--and he'll be back even if Obama manages to shift the focus away from him for a few minutes. This is news. Holier-than-thou Barack with a seriously deranged "spiritual advisor." Even Britney and Lindsay take a second seat to this.

Ok, then there's the "cling to guns," etc. remarks. We can skim over the insult to middle Americans; that's been covered enough. When I first heard this, I thought, "This man went to Harvard. Don't they teach history there?" Two of the cornerstones of this country--before there was such a thing as the United States--were guns and god. Why would he think any of this has changed? Founding principles stick with us, and there's a damn good reason why the first and second amendments to the Constitution cover god and guns. I don't think this was a mistake; Obama was surrounded by his true constituency, and he spoke from the heart. I think about the South Park episode where Kyle's father gets a hybrid and immediately becomes so overcome with his own self-righteous that he moves the family to--you guessed it--San Francisco. I love the city, but it does have that liberal elitist reputation.

Finally, let's face it, the man looks tired. At one of campaign stops a man commented on how run-down he looked, and Obama replied that he'd been campaigning for president for 15 months. I mean--what the fuck?!? So has Hillary, and she doesn't does look like she's ready to drop in her tracks. If this is how this bozo stands up during a nominating campaign, it doesn't bode well for a full-blown contest with an organization that proved many times over that it hasn't met a single jot of sleaze it won't manipulate in order to win an election.

Hopefully voter in the few remaining primaries will vote sensibly and the super delegates will at long last do the right thing for the party--and the future of the country.

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