Hillary is Channeling Hubert Humphrey, While Barack is... Doing What Exactly?
I happened to catch a couple of hours of Road To The White House on C-SPAN this weekend. Back to back, Hillary and Barack addressing the folks in retail politics venues.
First, Hillary!!!!!!
(There cannot be too many exclamation points)
The Happy Warrior!
That's what they used to call Hubert Humphrey when he was leading FDR Democrats away from Bobby Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy, back to the nightmare of LBJ's Vietnam War. The way he smiled! Grinned! Enthused! Never a downer moment, no matter how dark the reality.
But he has met his match in Hil!! Never mind empowering Bush to bomb Iran in a mad effort to double-down on a bad bet just so she can fend of Ruthless Rudy in the general election. The heck with that potentially deadly decision and its long term consequences. She's SO optimistic! No sentence uttered that doesn't lilt upward. Every gesture palms up, arms lifting. She is thrilled to be here! Thrilled to see you, and you and you! Grinning from ear to ear -- and when she does that, she gets a trifle jowly and actually looks like Hubert Humphrey.
Meanwhile, there's Barack. Eyes downcast to his notes or gazing out into the nowhere in particular. Every other phrase punctuated with an uh or ta. Every gesture, the palms of his hands down, pressing home the last in a list of the burdensome points he's making. Or the palms are moving sideways as he ticks off the same endless list. His voice monotonic, staccato -- this and then (pause) this and then (pause) this and then, finally, dum-de-dum--DUM. This. Hand out, pushing down.
What is he doing? Keeping himself in check? Why? We know he can speak in rousing cadences. He did it in the Joshua generation speech in Selma last March and at the Democratic convention in 2004. Why is he holding back?
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The most exciting clip I have seen of Hillary so far in this presidential race was the 1984 Apple remake video. Hillary is the most programmed candidate in this race and is saying nothing that surprises or excites anyone. Where is Mario Cuomo's 1984 Tale of Two Cities speech. America is at a crossroads. Wall Street may be sky high but there are many Americans flying by the seat of their pants without health care, a secure job or permanent housing. Hillary's platitudes assure only the dim witted. THE CLINTONS ARE PERCEIVED AS DISENGENUOUS FRAUDS by a wide segment of the American population.
please let us vote on records not gestures
Enter John Edwards?
Just musing.
Have a good evening all,
Ani
While the gasbags blabbered this weekend about Hillary and Barack, Rudy and Mitt, the real president put up a few videos about his position on the political issues the mainstream media claims he has "transcended" since winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Go to current.com. Hit "currently popular." If Gore decides to enter the race, this whole discussion is pointless. Amazing HuffPost and the rest of the so-called news has yet to pick up on this event.
I wish Gore would enter the race, but he'd need to do it right now. The deadline for getting candidates on primary ballots is getting near. Example: Here in Virginia you have to get 10,000 signatures of voters to put your candidate on the ballot. Every candidate has to do it, and get it done by December 10, 2007 for the February primary. If Gore announced today he'd have less than 8 weeks to get 10,000 signatures. That's more than 1,000 per week. Where would he get the people to do it? Are the Hillary and Obama people going to drop what they're doing and get signatures for Gore?
Al has pretty much missed his chance to get on the primary ballot in Virginia, and I imagine time is running out in other states.
We can keep hoping, but if he hasn't announced by Thanksgiving, forget it. He's not running.
I think he's not ruling it out because it keeps media attention focused on him. He can milk that for another month or so.
I don't think he wants to run. Look at his face, he's reluctant and exhausted.
Gore is a globalist and a member of the same Council on Foreign Relations that Hillary and Bill are (Hillary is a part of a more "inner" circle and has been groomed for this moment for YEARS). If he does enter the race at the last minute it will because they pressured him and/or they realized Hillary couldn't pull it off.
As to what Obama is doing/not doing...Barrack you have 3 months left to do SOMETHING, else.
Cuz what you've done so far ain't workin, (and I'm a fan.)
I thought after the second debate and Obama didn't mix it up with Hillary, a deal had been struck for him to be her VP. Even if that happened now, (and it's bloody unlikely,) I still wouldn't vote for Hillary after Kyl/Lieberman.
Hillary and Humphrey share another thing, the anti-war left will riot BOTH their conventions, but Chicago 68 will seem cute and quaint compared to the Democratic 08 convention.
Which, if it happens, will prove the "anti-war" left even more stupid than they seem. Doing so will virtually guarantee a Democratic loss - how well did that Nader vote work out last time? Is America better off for it?
And I lived in Chicago in 1968, and there was nothing cute or quaint about it. And we got Nixon. Worked great, didn't it?
Like it or not, we do have a system here, and the way to succeed is to take control of that system, not dance around it chanting and waving signs. If you need to do something to feel better about yourself, go repeat some affirmations in a mirror or something.
1. My thinking was all wrong. If Hillary supports infinite war in Iraq, a war in Iran, a trillion dollar military budget, we should support her because she is soooooo uch better than George Bush. I know I am a fool for having an ideology. if Hillary is another war President, maybe things need to get worse before they get better.
2. Too bad poor hubert lost the election. Musta been those stooopid leftist students getting what they deserved in Chicago for being so stoopid to actualy have an anti war ideology! What could be stoopider? Everyone should have had a candle light vigil in their living rooms rather than have the temerity to shed some light on that "shameless electrified corpse" of nominee Hubert Humphrey after Eugene McCarthy walked away with the nomination.
3. I believe in Centrist, Sober and Bipartisan politicians. Take yer stooopid antiwar protests and if we kill another million Iraqis, then it would be BETTER FOR A Democrat to KILL THEM. They will feel much better about it!
I know this, Humphrey lost. It could be Obama is holding back because he is not in Selma making these speechs but Iowa and NH, where the population is mostly white. Maybe he thinks they wouldn't understand him making speechs about civil rights. Comments about his aah umm,
between sentences and looking no particular place,is so true. I thought I was the only one who noticed that.
His problem is he ran too soon. He knows he is not going to be accepted for president yet. If he had only waited til the next time. He would not be that old, he would have more savvy and able to express himself. By that time I am sure that this country would accept a black president.
Maybe it's just practice.
Reagan after all ran a number of times before he finally caught on.
Total years in elected office:
Edwards - 6 (one term, U.S. Senate)
Clinton - 7 (one term, U.S. Senate, re-elected 2006)
Obama - 11 (4 terms, Illinois Legislature, halfway through first term in U.S. Senate)
Answers:
Q#1 Hillary believes she has been annointed the "Chosen One" and, subsequently has adopted the mannerisms of Tammy Baker before the fall.
Q#2 Obama really really doesn't want to be the President of the United States.
Why does the punditocracy demand a sermon on the mountain from Obama every time he opens his mouth? I recognize that the past African American candidates have been ministers as well as our past leaders, Martin, Malcolm, etc.; however, Obama is a constitutional lawyer. As a result sometimes he will give college style lecture, sometimes a bold and inspiring sermon or maybe just a good old fashioned pep rally. He and his supporters seem to understand that he has a broad skill set. Why are you trying to stuff him in a box?
Honestly, I can't even force myself to pay attention to those two; they are totally run by the same consultants who brought down Gore & Kerry. What about the way Edwards speaks and gestures? I am enthusiastic about that campaign because he acts and speak the same way I would; really concerned and pissed off about where we've gone the last 8 years and will continue to under any more neo-con dictatorial or blue-dog milquetoast "leadership".
It's hard to miss isn't it? He looks and sounds like he's not ready for prime time. He looks like his heart is just not in it.
My view is that the man is tired. He's looked exhausted the past few times I've seen him. He needs a few days off.
It may very well be that Hillary peaks to early. Perhaps, in her elation of being 'inevitable" and the 'chosen one', she may make a major boo-boo or two. There are already a couple of potential flip-flops that may be in the mix if she stumbles again or if there are major revelations about Norman Hsu and 'other' surprises.
With the Clintons, you never know which, of many, sheletons will claw their way to the surface. Stay tuned.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
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