YOU know what it’s like, I’m sure. The perfect phrase, the perfect 
metaphor, occurs to you because your mind is open that way, the perfect demolishing description of an important political candidate, occurs to you because you’re kind of a jazz musician guy, and at the very moment those three words come into your consciousness, the guy at the other end of the bar, a real uptight-looking, larger-than-life character, well, his Blackberry rings, he answers it quietly and immediately looks up at you and back down, and you just KNOW he’s had his attention on you the whole time, he glances at you one more time real quickly, pays his bill, and goes out the front, and so, I’m sure, like I did, you go out the back, quietly, we can pay the bill tomorrow, out the bathroom window, and immediately you hear siren
s and look toward the nearby wall, measuring it for jumping. And the whole time, you’re thinking, “More than 50% of people who read this phrase are going to be offended by it” – your old liberal feminist buddies – the guys worst of all – and all the faux outrage you’ll get from the rightwingers once they receive their talking points – leaving only the rough and rowdy progressives to defend you – and the worry of the moment PROPELS you over that wall and you are on a sprint to your car, heart pumping, your head cherishing the thought “I and only I have the perfect three-word phrase to describe how things really are in this election season” – and then a German shepherd starts up with his barking – you toss him the hot dog which had been conveniently though inexplicably kept in yo
ur pocket all day – and there’s your car and you’re off! Will your blog-boss even let you use that word, especially in the title of a post? Who cares at this point? The adrenaline is pumping and somebody is going down, hopefully it’s a Republican candidate. Damn! Sirens, flashing lights! Is that for me? Does this cop really know what the stakes are this year? More war and injustice versus a vista of hope? No, of course he is focused on his job. I know this neighborhood. QUICK right and I totally lose him. OK. I do not really need this car. THIS neighborhood, I practically own. They will hide me as this phrase gains currency, I don’t care WHO gets credit for it. I will hide out, regain my strength, blog under fake names with newfangled IP-concealers… and we will pull this off, my brothers and sisters. Oh, did I say: “W. With Tits.”
I found several more of Eric's comments and reposted them. One I don't see is where he identified this criminal…
So you are seeing her as similar to President Bush in substance and form. I am sure you are not the only one. There is that familiar pattern in place there. I especially note the disappearance of these characters when things get tough. They certainly have un-accountability down to a science. To me, they are like that couple, Nick and Nora (?) the mysterious invisible and now, NOT visible, duo who choose when, what and whom to engage.
Here are Deepak Chopra’s observations and comments about Govenor Palin’s appeal:
She is the reverse of Barack Obama, in essence his shadow, deriding his idealism and exhorting people to obey their worst impulses. In psychological terms the shadow is that part of the psyche that hides out of sight, countering our aspirations, virtue, and vision with qualities we are ashamed to face: anger, fear, revenge, violence, selfishness, and suspicion of “the other.”
In her acceptance speech Gov. Palin sent a rousing call to those who want to celebrate their resistance to change and a higher vision.
Look at what she stands for:
–Small town values — a denial of America’s global role, a return to petty, small-minded parochialism.
–Ignorance of world affairs — a repudiation of the need to repair America’s image abroad.
–Family values — a code for walling out anybody who makes a claim for social justice. Such strangers, being outside the family, don’t need to be heeded.
–Rigid stands on guns and abortion — a scornful repudiation that these issues can be negotiated with those who disagree.
–Patriotism — the usual fallback in a failed war.
–“Reform” — an italicized term, since in addition to cleaning out corruption and excessive spending, one also throws out anyone who doesn’t fit your ideology.
Palin reinforces the overall message of the reactionary right, which has been in play since 1980…………….
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/obama-and-the-palin-effec_b_123943.html
Vern,
You guys need to focus on McBush, not Palin. This strategy is going to sink your battleship amigo.
Art,
You are right…. and I think the Govenor Palin thing is beginning to set in as more of the same. It was a brilliant move to pick her and disrupt the message of the democratic convention, but as time passes and as these very real economic crises unfold, “personality” will take a back seat to who can get the actual work done.
Upcoming things:
Debates this Friday at 9 pm, eastern.
Expect WAMU to meltdown.
Troopergate proceedings will be held with or without subpeoned Palin staffers and/or Todd Palin, October 10.*
*Who really thinks that circumventing due process looks smart or transparent? This could very well backfire badly. McCain will ultimately be saddled with his poor decision making skills on this choice, including his failure to vett his running mate properly, as well as sending in scads of legal workers to thwart the legal process that was approved by the entire legislature just a short time ago.
It just goes to show your level of civil discourse is lower than mine.
Lower than most I would hope.
I hope that others feel the same way and take all of this into account for future reference.
I really expected a much higher level of social intercourse from the state Democratic Volunteer of the Year, Vern and your new tag team sidekick RV.
LOL. Just had to do something with that phrase that popped into my head. You’ll notice I have been writing more about McCain, though, but we can’t forget that this is the person HE chose (or was forced to choose) to be a “hearbeat away” from leading the Free World – and she has SO much in common with the current failed occupant it’s not funny! Except she does have that … gender thing going, which they thought was a pretty clever touch.
Now I think of it, I wouldn’t be surprised if folks in Rove’s and Cheney’s circles use the same phrase among themselves…
Why the change of picture Vern? Someone you trust tell you it was too distasteful?
No, I decidded it had nothing to do with the story. I had been looking last night for pictures of “cops in bars” or “secret service in bar” and there weren’t any, but that one seemed funny to me. Changed my mind today and put a secret-service looking guy.