Which Was the Style at the Time

I don't normally point out or clearly denote the allusions and references I make. I leave it up to you as a reader to either know it and glean from it layers of connection and meaning or to pass over it. Like explaining a joke, it would not be a part of any meaning for you no matter what lengths I went to to explain my intention or why the particular reference makes sense, unless of course explaining the joke were itself a part of the meaning.

As I began this, I thought it might be important in this case to clearly point out to what the title refers, but upon reflection I don't think explanation would offer anything more whether you knew the source or not. I am tempted to think, because it is so hilarious in my head, it would have to be hilarious to you as well. But the truth is, it would only remain an example of how we may talk past each other, how things can only make sense if they make sense in our world, how certain elements escape translation.

So let's close the curtain and get back to what's what.

So I'm filled with hope. Regular readers of this blog ought to find a more worthwhile way to spend their time but should also remember that I am part of the problem. I am inspired and hopeful about the prospect of an Obama presidency- Pffttt, Who am I kidding. "Prospect"? Let's just say it now- "President Elect Barack Obama."

So I am inspired and hopeful. They're an inspiration and hope of a type I could put into words but are perhaps better expressed by recounting the actions of KTLA News' evening anchor, Emmet Miller. (Which is still putting it into words). Last night, while trying to read his prompter's promptings connecting the significance of Obama's delegate count to Martin Luther King's "Dream" he almost lost it. Twice. What a baby. Am I right? High five!

I'm not a baby, so I'm not going to get all farklempt trying to explain what is so amazing to me about the possibility of an Obama Presidency. Policy concerns aside for a moment, (and really that's what we do) there's an incredible meaning in the symbolism of Barack's success. The new voter turnout, the appeal to youth, the demonstration that we create history, the utopian (used technically) possibility that challenges us to live rather than sleep through life- they all point to what might be in a way that transcends some of the worst of the past and makes a "God Bless America" bumper sticker worth more than a chip on one's shoulder. Of course the possibility of a president that will honor the Constitution again is pretty cool too. Whatever- we mustn't underestimate the symbolic value of Barack Obama.

But... But, we are still who we are.

So I'm watching McCain in Louisiana this morning and I'm worried. I'm worried because of the past. I'm not worried about the past with John McCain in inverse relation to the way I'm hopeful for the future with Barack Obama. I worry about the past because I remember how painfully stupid President Jesus looked in debates with Al Gore and John Kerry and that that was ultimately an asset for him.

One might think we would want a thoughtful, articulate, familiar with the issues, intelligent visionary to be our president. You might think we would want our leader to, in fact, be better than us in many ways- elite if you will. Or maybe you wouldn't think that because you've seen what we actually do.* Eight years ago we resented how mean and unfair it was to make W look bad. With Bush-Gore, more observers actually thought Gore was smarter, more well-spoken, more accomplished, and more capable, but all that made him less likable. W was aided by a "C'mon, give him a break" handicap and carried forward by the momentum of a collective "You think you're better than me?!" angst.

I remember all that as I watch John McCain this morning- doddering around on stage, stumbling over words, twitching, saying "My Friends" as often as he blinks. In all, he looks tired and confused and in our popular perception, that means old. He is old but I think he stumbles over his words because he knows he is making misstatements. I think the bewildered look of his countenance belies the double-mindedness required by his pandering to the worst elements of his party. He is a bad speaker because he is stale and uninspired. None of this because he is old.

Still if there's a perception that he is wrong and confused because he's old, not because he is wrong and confused, it is an out. We, as a nation of idiots, generally don't like it when the smart person in the room points out our idiocy. We may further balk at the uppity young black man being rude to the aged war hero.

And now John McCain has thrown down the gauntlet of a dozen town hall meetings around the country. A dozen opportunities for Obama and McCain to contrast foreign policy ideologies. A dozen opportunities for Obama to be the bad guy because he points out that McCain has left his blinker on. A dozen opportunities for Obama and McCain to debate health care proposals. A dozen opportunities for Obama to not respect his elder. A dozen opportunities for Obama and McCain to debate whether, let alone how, the Constitution applies to the president. A dozen opportunities for Obama to have to let slide because he's old grandpa's inappropriate comments.

Yes. I am saying that.

The only way John McCain can become president is if we give into the ideological claim old people have on us.

The important thing was, I had an onion on my belt
They Might Be Giants Podcast

* I never voted for the guy and would likely vote for a thousand monkeys making decisions at a thousand typewriters for a thousand years before casting a vote for W, but I have to say "we" because we are all responsible for being the people that have allowed him to be our president. It was one thing when a close minority of voters chose W after Clinton. That guy made it look like being a competent president was a walk in the park- if you were being chased by a pack of rabid dogs. Hounded from day one and he still managed to do the job. But then we chose him over Kerry as well. Even taking our version of Latin American voting/selection methods into account, we are all responsible.