The A.D.D. Election

Last week it turned out that Hillary Clinton had had to lend her campaign five million dollars. I couldn't believe it. And I meant to write about it. But now several days have passed and no one seems to care any more. When I first heard about the loan, I thought it was big. In fact, I thought it was Big. I thought that if the news about the loan had come out two days earlier, just before Super Tuesday, it would have hurt Hillary. Also, it seemed to me it must have been completely traumatic for her. Let's face it, the Clintons are not exactly famous for picking up checks. I don't think they've paid for a Coca Cola in the last thirty years. The whole episode made me start thinking about women and money, and I could definitely have written an entire piece on the subject if I'd had time, but by the time I had time, no one really seemed to be talking about it; they'd moved on.

And so had I.

This is the attention-deficit-disorder election. Everything is happening at warp speed. Everyone is bouncing around on the net and changing the channel. Everything is shifting so quickly that there's almost no point in trying to keep up, but I'm trying. The other night, at a Super Tuesday gathering, I was so busy trying to keep up that I changed the channel and I managed to crash the entire cable system. It was not my fault. I kept saying that. I had changed the channel very carefully, because I know from my personal life how much trouble you can cause by crashing the system. Everyone at the party was good-humored about it, even though it took about forty-five minutes for the cable system to reboot and they had to move to the bedroom. Meanwhile I went home and flipped from channel to channel desperately trying to figure out what had happened on Super Tuesday. The day it was all leading up to. The day that was going to change everything. The day it was going to be decided. You remember Super Tuesday. It was seven days ago. Before the loan. Before the end of Mitt. Before David Shuster said "pimping" on television. Before the Virgin Islands and Maine. Before we all realized there was no avoiding learning about the superdelegates. Before Hillary fired her campaign manager.

By the way, I turned out to be wrong about the $5 million loan hurting Hillary, because now it turns out she raised $10 million this week. Women and money. Big subject. Too bad I'm no longer focused on it.

Why is John McCain so strangely subdued?

I have a fantasy about myself and Barack Obama. My fantasy is that he calls me up, asks for my advice, and I tell him to stop looking down at people. It makes him appear supercilious, especially on the debates. When he's on Meet the Press, it sometimes seems as if his eyes are closed. Maybe it's the set. I don't know. I'm sorry this is the sort of thing I focus on in my political fantasies, these petty cosmetic things, but I do. Sunday morning we changed the channel to Face the Nation, and there was Mike Huckabee. Such a funny guy. Loved the bit about eating squirrel. Of course I disagree with him on pretty much everything and there's no circumstance, including some sort of I-Am-Legend scenario, wherein I would ever vote for him. But I swear, if he were a serious candidate, I would be having a fantasy about telling him to fix his teeth.

Buy orange juice.

Less than two months ago, everyone I know thought that Rudy Giuliani had the Republican nomination sewed up. And then, suddenly, he was over. I've never seen anyone vanish so quickly. I wasn't surprised, though. Rudy wasn't having any fun and you could tell: it was as if he believed he'd died and gone to hell. Running for president has to be the worst job there is. Last week everyone who was running for president was hoarse. Bill Clinton was on 1010 WINS, and he was so hoarse you couldn't even tell it was Bill Clinton. Even I am hoarse, just from talking about the election.

Here's something British journalist Peter Pringle said recently that bears repeating: he said that watching Bill Clinton in this election made him realize he could not spend four to eight more years worrying about whether Bill Clinton would get home at night.

Sunday morning, as we were changing channels, we saw George Bush on Fox. He looked great. He laughed in a strange inappropriate way when he was asked if he had approved waterboarding. You know that laugh, that weird heh-heh laugh. He seemed cheerful and peppy. And why shouldn't he be? He's not running for president. He didn't have to live through Super Tuesday.

You remember Super Tuesday. It was about a zillion years ago.

Comments

[LisaGiocondo]

I got tired of hearing Obama's preachings a long time ago. It's a good thing someone who isn't in love with him had a camera rolling when he indulged in this charlation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M6x1H08aFc&eurl

[ntmessage]

All this noise moves so fast without any real content that the people can end up voting uninformed or for someone they do not know. Little is vetted, except the bickering of how an issue was talked about, not a debate on the content of a meaningful issue that would actually affect peoples’ lives. Obama’s those so-called plans are simply lists of bullet points. Plans for someone so new need meat and ought to include what tangible rational is behind how the plan would succeed. Not just copying someone else's presentation points. Nevertheless, in an ADD society he seems to get away with it.

Politicians, like Obama and Clinton will do anything to get elected. Unfortunately the debate is limited to he said she said drivel and smear orchestration. What about the $5M? She wrote a book and got $10M from it. Duh. The media then just moves to the next dreamed up potential scandal.

What of real issues that affect citizens. Since today I am picking on Obama, lets name just a couple what are the Ethanol and Insurance industries are lovin the chosen one? No secret we have tremendous food inflation and Obama is beholden to companies like Archer Daniels Midland who want to use more corn for Ethanol. Fact: this approach does not lower gas prices and will accelerate food inflation, like cereal. Paying 4 bucks a box now. Just wait. See what Bush did for gas prices…

False rationalizations like - I don’t want to be forced to have health insurance – even though we all pay for it anyway, 7k each. Rhetoric right from the Insurance companies’ talking points. Answer: get rid of middlemen that waste 30 percent of each healthcare dollar. Obama’s plan puts a windfall into insurance company’s coffers.

Dozens of corporations are ready for the Obama change machine. Of course, the media reports BS not real issues. Gas, food and health costs need public debate. And what the heck does let's get out of Iraq responsibly mean. Is that a plan? The media and blogs are too lazy to cover real issues.

[LizDexic]

In what alternate universe did George W. Bush "look great"...?­?

[UtahLiberal435]

It's not ADD, it's the poisonous influence of 24/7 "news".

[S1m0n]

"Less than two months ago, everyone I know thought that Rudy Giuliani had the Republican nomination sewed up."


That's pretty much all we need to know about the insular remoteness of the american political punditocracy.

Seriously; you guys need to Get Out More. If I owned a large media chain, I'd force the lot of you to go and spend six months covering city council elections in flyover states.

[SocialConscience]

Nora,

You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned Barack's tendency to condescend. Make that tenfold if it is coming from Michelle. They would be wise to lose the tone of superiority. Especially given some of the petty comments, "if you can't run your own house", "I'll have to think about it (voting for Hillary), and "no second run", this couple is clearly not above the fray. Barack is using his partner to dish out all the dirty snipes, and it sullies his character. I love the inspirational rhetoric of Barack, but it seems like a veneer that hides a nebulous plan for the presidency.

[kellygrrrl]

Thank God we've got Big Pharma Daddy to help us with our collective ADD. Universal ADD meds for all!!!!!!

[woundedduck]

Uh, Nora, this is the ADD nation. We can't even remember there's a war going on.

[lastams]

Bill Moyer’s had an interesting interview with
Susan Jacoby author of “The Age of American Unreason”, this week.

From that interview:

“you have a geographic Roper poll that I quote in my new book-- they polled Americans between ages 18 and 25. Only 23 percent of college-educated young people could find Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Israel, four countries of ultimate importance …by the way, that h-- it had the letter-- country's lettered on it. So in other words, it wasn't a blank map. It meant they didn't really know where the Middle East was either”
Well, I would say that if only 23 percent of people with some college can find those countries on a map that is nothing to be bragging about. And that has to have something to do with why as a country -- we have such shallow political discussion­s.”

She also contends that,

“…one out of every five Americans still believes that the sun revolves around the earth.”

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02152008/watch2.html

Now, take that the percentage of Americans that still believe in G.W. Bush and compare that to how many still believe the Sun goes round the Earth.
Goes a long way to understanding his appeal, no?

[realitytrumpsbull]

It's called 'the big snowjob'. Persuasive arguments, persuasive speeches, big smile, arm gestures, fakery, in other words, the reason you feel confused is that it's all a big hype session...­if you want to find out more about the Pandidates, go to their websites, and read what's posted there. Make a copy for yourself, printed, so there's none of that after-the-fact revision. Funny, how things change...k­ind of like someone messes around in there.
It's all a confidence game. They have great confidence that you'll be paying taxes, and so do I. Foreverrrr­rrrrrrrrrr­r.........

[mamacat]

Well Nora, I agree, and disagree. First, you are difinitely right about all of the pundits talking about this, that, and the other thing. The things the pundits don't want or can't talk about, are the issues. They incessantly talk about personalities, and tactics and strategies, but not how the candidates agree and disagree. So much for most of the pundits.
Where I disagree with you, is that actually there isn't enough talking. We need more talking about issues. Stop the personal attacks, and discuss why America feels it has the right to attack and occupy countries that are no threat to it. That is just one issue, albeit a very important one, that needs to be discussed.
And that is another thing.....­why are these things seemingly discussed, if at all, only during campaign season? There are innumerable important issues we should all be concerned about, and I don't mean whether Clemens takes steroids or not, or whether Paris Hilton makes a fool of herself again this week or not.

Bring back all the candidates who have dropped out, and have more discussions about what needs to be done to improve this country, and how to do it. Biden, Paul, Richardson, Dodd, and Kucinich have a lot of worthwhile experience and some very important suggestions. I would like to hear more from them. Failing that, let Obama, Hillary, Paul, McCain, and Huckabee have debates at least twice a week, and show us what they have to say.

[LisaGiocondo]

Well, Nora -- fasten your seatbelt, because the bumpy ride has only just now started:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aMzI3I6BAo_U&refer=politics

Obama's Ties Might Fuel `Republican Attack Machine' (Update2)

By Timothy J. Burger

Bloomberg.com

[mouselion]

Yeah, I noticed that too -- Giuliani completely vaporized after dropping out. He's in some posh uptown exclusive bar, sipping gimlets or whatever, laughing his laugh and smiling his weird smile. Telling stupid jokes, and probably not even thinking about the election at all...

McCain? He's just resting up before the big dog-fight.­.. (got conserve energy so he can get his claws out)... but, don't worry, he ain't feeling down...

Sometimes I wish I had a cable system TO crash...

[ImaRascal]

I can relate to A.D.D. and cable TV, and cups of coffee, and wasn't Supertuesday in the Superbowl and.....
David Coyne (aka DCLugi) does it... well.. here see for yourselves! at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA9KFAXizs4

[streettabby]

hey -- There hasn't been enough time to fully savor the departure of Rudy yet, let alone Mitt.