Barack Obama hurts my wittle feelings
Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for US President (I write this on Tuesday and it's all but certain Bo will get the nod this coming Thursday), announced Senator Joe Biden as his Vice-Presidential running mate last Friday.
This hurts my feelings. It's intellectually defensible, strategically arguable, and safe. But emotionally it sucks.
Joe Biden is not the cloth from which Change We Can All Believe In was cut.
He's an intellectual light-weight. He was unimpressive during this year's Democratic debates. He's never framed a foreign affairs issue, or reframed any issue to cut through the spin.
Barack Obama said, in explaining his choice, that Joe Biden 'gets it' and that Joe Biden is ready to be President. Really? Him?
Biden didn't even come close to passing the test for US Presidential material during the Democratic primaries; he failed in his 1987 attempt to be the Democratic nominee when it was revealed that he plagiarized Neil Kinnock, the British Labour leader (
channeled him actually according to Jack Shafer in this article). (And this was the second charge of plagiarism against Biden - granted even the Gospels were plagiarized off some guy named Eddy* - and politicians have to do so much talking that it's difficult not to want to channel some other politician now and again - and, they figure, as long as it's on message WTF.)
But mostly, Joe Biden is the wrong choice because Joe Biden doesn't bring anything fresh, new, innovative to the political table. What startling new ideas has he championed? Where is
his so-called Change We, etc, etc?
Biden is a political workhorse who commutes home every night to Wilmington, Delaware. He's ground it out in the Senate for 35 years. But workhorses plow fields; they don't develop better methods of land use, or innovate farming processes.
Say it ain't Joe, Bo.
Please leave a message after the tone
The message from the DNC in Denver is that Bo is the leader 'we've been waiting for'. He's The One. Really? Him?
He's capable, they say. He's got integrity, they say. He's an historic choice, they say.
I predict this election is going to be tight. Foremost, because of the race thing. Americans have a race thing. Many Americans don't want to vote for someone who is not like them, someone with whom they can't sit down and relate to 'on a gut level', someone they can't 'have a beer with'. Someone black.
Doesn't make sense to me but that's what they seem to be saying. Personally, I don't care if the leader of a country is an arugula-eating, pointy-headed, elitist as long as he makes sensible, long-term consensus-based, negotiated decisions that keeps everyone alive, who are currently living, and ensures the planet survives for the next two generations or so. You know, for the kids.
The people who can do this well are rare and are sometimes odd. They, say, read books sometimes. They reflect sometimes. They might drink a bottle of Dom Perignon a night. They might be uncommon thinkers. Sometimes.
The problem with this 'Bo can be Our Leader' message is it runs counter to the reality that life is a
team sport. No one can do anything alone. Bo won't save the planet. Or your life. Or get you a job 'you can believe in'. If it takes a village to raise a child think about how many people it takes, each doing one action at a time, to change the world. No, Bo can't do it alone.
This is the message I think ought to be delivered:
In 2008 Americans will get it right. We will change Washington by electing a President who isn't afraid; isn't afraid of Americans, isn't afraid of Europeans, or Asians, or Persians; an American who has read Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson. We will elect a President who is worldly, community minded; who has a passport and has been abroad. We will elect a Congress who is interested in public service; who embrace ideas and hard work. In 2008 we will once again fan out and get involved in the local school boards, the city councils, the state legislatures. We will once again be a government of the people for the people. We will take pride in learning how to live and work together. We will make choices that may seem hard, at first, but decisions that will lead us to create community together; we will change the way we do business; we will change the way we live in our cities; we will love our neighbours as best we can. In 2008 we will start to spend less time watching TV and more time celebrating life.
In 2008 we will be the Change We Want to See in the World. Please join us.
That's what I think.
And another thing
Yeah. So, who should Bo have picked as a running mate? Try Colin Powell.
Sure he's another black man and Americans have that race thing. But if McCain thinks he's got the international foreign relations, commander-in-chief thing down cold because he flew a plane over Vietnam in 1969 and spent the last 30 years hobnobbing with defense contractors then wait til he gets a load of Colin Powell's CV.
How many troops has McCain commanded? Yeah, baby. Shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down.
Colin Powell would have reinforced the message that Bo was into working across the aisle and working for all Americans.
Anyway.
Goodnight and God Bless!
xo
MVL
*Ed's Note: Source removed from Internet**
**Ed's Note: Or maybe I was paraphrasing
Steven Wright's bit about the Pyramids.
Either, or.
