I've always known the American people are pretty damn stupid, but this election season has turned into farce. Nobody's even trying to sound intelligent anymore. Everyone is playing games and telling lies and taking sides for completely insane reasons.
McCain gets a phone call from Obama last week asking him to agree to the two of them putting out a joint statement about the bailout plan. McCain ignores him and goes on television saying he is suspending his campaign to go back to Washington to rescue the economy. He leaves Obama in the dust and then does not really suspend his campaign, nor go immediately back to Washington. First he and Bill Clinton need to massage each other's egos at Clinton's big shindig in N.Y. and then McCain goes back for some kind of photo op at the White House with the lame duck, only the lame duck has also invited Obama and so McCain pouts at the meeting/photo op because Obama shows some leadership.
McCain then plays coy with Obama and the debate commission, refusing to say whether he will participate. Obama heads down to the debate and McCain blinks, then spends 90 minutes refusing to look at Obama and scowling at the camera. The media think McCain did well. The viewers think he looks like a grumpy old man. Then he returns to Washington where he spends some time on the phone talking to legislators, ostensibly getting them to agree to vote for the bailout.
On Monday morning, before the vote, McCain takes credit for its impending success, then blasts Obama for "phoning it in," which is exactly what McCain did. Then the republicans throw a snit fit and refuse to vote for the bill McCain has already taken credit for getting passed. The poor pitiful republicans say they voted against it because big bad Nancy Pelosi hurt their feelings. How did she hurt their feelings? She dared to tell the truth - that this entire problem started with Saint Ronny Reagan and is the result of the Republican love affair with deregulation. If you want the republicans to vote for a bill, I guess, you can't tell anyone the truth about them.
As a result, the Dow dropped 777 points and 1.2 trillion dollars was lost by the American people. And god only knows what will happen tomorrow or the next day or the next. Well, we do know Joe Biden is supposed to debate Sarah Dolittle on Thursday, if she doesn't have to rush back to Alaska to repair an oil pipeline or something.
In the meantime, the drama of Sarah Dolittle, the fake candidate, continues, with McCain holding her hand for a second interview with Katie Couric. Seems little Sarah had an oops moment when a voter asked her about Pakistan. She did a big "no-no" by saying what Barack Obama said, which is if we have to cross the border we will. This is a big "no-no" because Uncle Johnny wants to attack Obama for saying it (even though he would probably do exactly the same thing) and now he can't because little Sarah said it. So now he has to be her chaperone. Asked by Couric if she feels she is ready to be vice president, she says "not only ready, but willing and able, if we are so blessed by the American people." (I really wish she would stop that evangelical-babble - the American people vote, they don't "bless.")
And as the American people sink deeper and deeper into recession, and wonder if they will have jobs tomorrow, the media pundits debate about the upcoming debate. Is Sarah Dolittle really that stupid or has she been "overcoached?" How will she do on Thursday? Will Biden blow it by not being nice enough to her? After all she is just a girl. I even heard David Gergen, someone I usually credit with intelligence, using a golf metaphor to describe Sarah's problem: too many coaches spoil the swing. How he could continue to insist she is qualified for the job of vice president is beyond me. This continuing defense of such an unqualified person makes the pundits sound just like the sycophants who praised the naked emperor's new clothes.
Can it get more ridiculous?
