Tear Heard 'Round the World

"Look at me, I'm as misty as"...well, anyway it seems this moment has turned the tear into a Rorschach test for just about every person imaginable!

How fascinating to watch the reactions and unending analysis over what essentially was a slight show of emotion and vulnerability: Was it real? Was it fake? Was it planned?

What was it?! What does it say about us -- this fetishistic fascination with a loved and hated woman? Oh, the humanity. If it's weak to show real emotion and strong to show no emotion then maybe a robot should run for president (not counting Romney who, by the way, had public bouts of tearing up and wasn't called out for it).

If this is what sways elections then policy positions, experience, intelligence, a grasp of the issues and a vision for America are absolutely meaningless in this context.

Is he or she nice? Who would you have a barbecue with? Who would you date? Who could be left alone with your children? How real are their hunting skills? How does their spouse treat them? What do their kids look and act like? Who famous people are endorsing them, and of course what the candidate looks like is very important. Wow!

Are we still in high school or what? How can we as a nation be taken seriously if we treat our leaders as celebrities and not leaders. Not to mention the breathless frothing at the mouth of certain cable news personalities with their adolescent glee at every permutation in this campaign.

If ever there was a need to properly present the candidates and maturely educate ourselves and other voters, maybe there is some hope. But right now we are all caught up in things that have nothing to do with the real qualifications to run for office.

Let's just get it over with and have a swimsuit competition and a talent competition and very, very simple questions for our contestants. I mean candidates!

Comments

[Kzb]

"A certain cable news network" What happened to making Fox News call itself opinion journalism? Bill Krystol and Juan what's his name with their "she pretended to cry" crap and their bosses and co workers all belong at the Enquirer, or better yet, the Globe.

[wcfar]

The elections became less than what they should be when the 2000 and 2004 elections were manipulated into a win for Bush. No American can step up to the voting machine and expect his/her vote to be a legitimate, meaningful expression of political choice. The machines are rigged, the parties are crooked, and the American people are deluded if they think the election process means something anymore. We are like sheep needing a shepherd. Until we demand in a real way, our country back and for our votes to count for something, the rich boys are gonna walk their walk and talk their talk. And the government is in lock step with the corporate hogs. Somethin's happening here, there's a man with a gun over there, telling me I got to beware. That's where it's at now Richard. Regards to you.

[TexanJane]

Great points made, Richard. Bush teared up after 9/11 all the damn time. His daddy, as mentioned above, broke down at a ceremony honoring Jeb and everyone wanted to hug him.

But something today hit me while I was driving.
Hillary said, "I see what is happening and we have to reverse it". (or close to that).

It struck me when she first said it that the line ought to have been: "I see what has happened..­."

Today I wondered if she was talking more about the campaign and Obama's electric reception than the country as a whole.

A simple matter of her verb's tense - is happening v. what has happened.

And I determined that her tears may have had more to do with her falling poll numbers than with what BushCo has done to damage the country.

[Desiderata]

If Obama seems to hang around too long.
And you're thinking you need a better campaign song.
Just remember victory can be found behind each misty eye.
So let your hair down, Hillary, and go on and cry.
Just let your guard down and go on and crrrryyyy!

[kellygrrrl]

High School? are you kidding ... this is Middle School Mentality.

that's where "MSM" came from

[Badenia]

It takes a special breed of people to want to be president. The relentless attacks: woman are self serving - men are not, a crackle in a voice becomes a meltdown, a difference of 200 votes makes one canditate the winner, the AKABA reference.­.. I am not a fan of Mrs. Clinton - but now I will do everything in my power to get her elected! Just to shut up all those male chauvinists.
What the talking heads dish out as news is insulting the American public. No other country would accept platitudes disguised as news.
There are many female heads of state all over the world. Angela Merkel was elected on her merits (after an 8 week campain...­). The German press presented the candidates in a respectful manner. The European press belittles the American talking heads....

[BigFella]

"Let's just get it over with and have a swimsuit competition and a talent competition and very, very simple questions for our contestants. I mean candidates! ?"

Hasn't that already started, with Huckabee's illegal immigration and geography statements?

http://FIGHTPTSD.ORG

[brutus948]

But crying on TV to get votes is even a worst crime played by our policticians than the crime we are doing by voting for them

[arkansawtravler]

I have read variously over the past two days the reason Hillary won was: tears, iron my shirt, fear mongering, bus loads of illegal voters, electronic voting machines, bad mouthed obama, Bill's intervention, name position on ballot, I know there was a couple of more but after the above it doesn't matter. Not one Internet Blogger or National media nitwit gave her credit for actually connecting with the voters on the issues. We are a nation of fools, had such an event occured in Europe there would have been more than a few cars burned. When the media is unwilling to live up to its obligations or is co-opted by the establishment then an important failsafe is lost. We already understand the administration would not piss in your ass if it was on fire and the democratic congress is as impotent as a eunuch in a harem. I highly encourage every citizen to not only verbally make yourself heard but physically make your self present at any and every political event possible.
And if the economic conditions continue the current trend, buy yourself a few acres of land, start a garden, raise some chickens, learn about subsistence living, YOU MAY NEED IT! BEEN THERE DONE THAT!

[langstonhughesfan]

Hillary's favorite song: TEARS FOR FEARS--"Everybody Wants to Rule the World!"

[Overd0g]

No, but maybe someone who was in command of their emotions would be good.

[ConnieInCleveland]

Just a thought, but hasn't the media spun whatever fits the program?
Are there questions about the polls and the votes being different? Yes! Were there voting irregularities? Yes! Were the polls wrong in areas with electronic voting, favoring Hillary? Yes! Were the polls closer for Obama in areas with paper ballots? Yes!
Has the media just admitted their mistakes and moved on? Yes! Nothing to see here, move along. Will we? I hope not! There are questions???? How about some answers, other than MSM saying, "Oh, my bad, ooops".
Could they be spinning all the hype, enabling them to smokescreen any voting irregularities with "Oh, it was the tears"?
Mainstream media is filtering John Edwards, equal to diminishing his campaign. They are picking and choosing the spin. Facts are facts, spin is spin distorting facts. People with voices need to start challenging the spin with facts! But since there is never an investigation, facts are left as questions? It's an 'Assault on Reason'!

[amosduncan]

I think it says we have a shlocky media. To what extent that's our own fault is another question..­..

[radicalmoderate]

So true. The issues we face get so much worse every day we ignore them while the "urinalists" get even farther from adressing them than the politicians do. When are the "urinalists" goint to be vetted. Is their a piss test for being a jerk or just plain stupid?

Infotainment is 1984s answer to the Ministry of Truth. Yikes!

[Moose49]

Right on! How ironic that it takes a comedian and an actor (a damn good one by the way) to call out the media and pundits for their superficiality, for treating the presidential campaign as a reality show, rather than real life.

They also need to be called out for treating it as a horse race rather than a competition of ideas about the future of our country and world -- one in which the American people are participants rather than the spectators the media assumes we are.