Ice in the pants, Ezra, ice in the pants
Ezra Klein is my homeboy, but yeah, this is over-the-top:
Obama’s finest speeches do not excite. They do not inform. They don’t even really inspire. They elevate. They enmesh you in a grander moment, as if history has stopped flowing passively by, and, just for an instant, contracted around you, made you aware of its presence, and your role in it. He is not the Word made flesh, but the triumph of word over flesh, over color, over despair. The other great leaders I’ve heard guide us towards a better politics, but Obama is, at his best, able to call us back to our highest selves, to the place where America exists as a glittering ideal, and where we, its honored inhabitants, seem capable of achieving it, and thus of sharing in its meaning and transcendence.
Call me a cynic if you must, but Obama is a politician. I’m not looking for politicians to be my friends, or to make me into a better person, or to give my life meaning. Hell, I’ve got beer for all three of those things.
What I am looking for is a politician that can be influenced to make certain policy changes that I endorse. Like, I dunno, ending the Iraq war. Or, uh, providing national health insurance. Or maybe, just maybe, lessening the influence that big business has over our government. When you start talking about politicians like they’re anything more than tools to be used to further goals, you’re setting yourself up to get horribly punk’d. Put it to you this way: what you wrote above sounds a lot like how John Hinderaker talks about Bush, how Peggy Noonan talks about Reagan or how K-Lo talks about Romney. And while Obama is obviously better than those three guys in just about every conceivable way, that doesn’t make him otherworldly. Repeat after cynical old Brad: he is just a politician.
…and on an unrelated note, this is sad.
HTML adds: Lambert’s post is a nice antidote to Ezra’s vapid idolatry.
Amen
Call me an Obama skeptic. Listening to him speechify is a lot like eating Chinese food. Now, if this is a political tactic to not be the “scary black guy” and cater to the Repub Lites and conservative-leaning indies, well, he worked that gambit in IA well and presumably it’ll play in NH.
But, lest not forget the wonderful track record Iowans have in selecting the next President of the United States! Look on the Rethug side in 88, hmmmm, first place Bob Dole, second place Pat FREEKIN’ Robertson, third place, former national title-holder in the gutless pandering division, George Bush Sr. It’s no wonder Romney tanked. Or Clinton.
I’m one of the DFH who simply doesn’t “get” Obama. I guess I have to turn in my librul Demmycrat card.
Sometimes it seems like the insurgency is killing the best people. I have a small handful of friends and acquaintances who have been killed. I did not know Andy Olmstead, but I read his entries on OW and he seemed pretty cool for an officer. The last friend of mine who died turned down a slot at Ranger school to follow his NCOIC to the Stryker brigade at FT Richardson, against my advice. It really bugs me to this day that that choice helped get him killed, and his NCOIC was a douchebag.
Obama is not an orator.
Cuomo was an orator. Clinton was an orator. Hell, Reagan was an orator.
Obama’s a well-rehearsed preacher.
Just FYI, I kinda like Obama and think he could make a good preznit. But no one should ever revere a politician like this. It’s just dangerous.
It’s morning in America again, again…
Wha’s he saying? Klein gets wood when he hears Obama speak? What exactly is being “elevated?”
There’s nothing wrong with feeling inspired by oration; Dr. King achieved his goals, in part, because of his incredible speaking skills. (I always feel a bit of sympathy for anyone who speaks on MLK Day, since the speaker will suffer from the implied comparison to the subject.) I’d argue for just a bit less cynicism than does Brad; politicians are leader-managers, whose success increases with their ability to inspire us.
Mark Crispin Miller, in The Bush Dyslexicon, notes that LBJ actually did all of the great civil rights work, which JFK just talked about. But Kennedy certainly inspired young people to get behind leaders like LBJ, to get that job done.
WRT to the topic at hand (and not the footnote), Edwards gave what I thought was the best speech of the night. I sent him $25 as result – my first contribution of this cycle.
There’s nothing wrong with feeling inspired by oration; Dr. King achieved his goals, in part, because of his incredible speaking skills.
Difference being, MLK wasn’t running for office. Politicians get elected, usually, because they’re good at manipulatin’ people with purtty words. I may get inspired by hearing someone speak every now and then (see: Belichick press conferences) but never by someone who’s hounding after my vote.
Plus, just because when you see a nit you sort of want to pick it, how is it that:
“Obama is, at his best, able to call us back to our highest selves, to the place where America exists as a glittering ideal, and where we, its honored inhabitants, seem capable of achieving it, and thus of sharing in its meaning and transcendence.”
…but his speeches “don’t even really inspire.”? What is inspiration, if not all of the above?
Yeah, that is way over the top. But that is the current state of “journalism” today. I don’t “get” Obama either but I will gladly take him or Edwards or Hillary.
It will be fun to watch the GOP eviscerate themselves over Huckabee. They are already calling him a “Christian Socialist”. Fun times.
What I am looking for is a politician that can be influenced to make certain policy changes that I endorse. Like, I dunno, ending the Iraq war. Or, uh, providing national health insurance. Or maybe, just maybe, lessening the influence that big business has over our government.
As John Edwards has prosimed to do.
Klyde- basically yeah. That’s why I’m (very tentatively) gonna vote for Johnny E. But I’d have no prob with Obama either.
Any Dem’s just all right with me
Any Dem’s just all right, oh yeah
Any Dem’s just all right with me,
Any Dem’s just all right
I don’t care what they may know
I don’t care where they may go
I don’t care what they may know
Any Dem’s just all right, oh yeah.
Pathetic. And we’re supposed to forgive Ezra his past idiocies because “he’s so young,” yet he keeps up with the childish analyses like this utterly laughable bit of puffery.
Obama biblificates me when He spreads His Word. Seriously, His speeches grip my flesh with a loving hand, slowly arousing my inner senses, as my entire being begins to erupt while his Words stroke me with passion as history begins flowing from my girded loins.
He makes me need a towel.
…oh, and yes, another brave American dying in that wasteland of Iraq will never cease to be sad.
Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where’s the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn’t there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn and dream
of what I need
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ’til the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero ’til the morning light
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life
Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There’s someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder end rising with the heat
It’s gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet
Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I would swear that there’s someone somewhere
Watching me
Through the wind end the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach
Like the fire in my blood
Even Bonnie Tyler won’t be able to save you from that idolatry.
It’s morning in America again, again…
Exactly. The liberal Reagan: All good feelings, stirring speeches, and little else.
Better than Hillary, simply because he wasn’t around to vote for the war, but still.
And Ezra’s post is creepy.
It IS starting to get scary, Huckabee’s supporters think he’s running for god, Obama’s supporters are starting to think He is God.
It should get confusing after that.
“All good feelings, stirring speeches, and little else.”
The reality is that is what wins elections. You can like it or not, that’s up to you but it is simply how things are. Unless of course you are a Bush and your brother runs a banana republic known as Florida and daddy has the SCOTUS in his back pocket. Then you can get away with a lot of shit. For the rest of us though you have to either play to people basest fears or their highest dreams. It’s one or the other.
I agree, this is some creepy shit. I’d hate to see liberal/progressives be like rightwingers, with wet dreams about Glorious Leaders like Reagan or Bush… I thought being leftwing meant that you were too smart to fall for creepy shit like that.
And, hey, speaking of things that FUCKING CREEP ME OUT about the USA, which is my country of birth although I haven’t lived there for 37 years now—
the super-patriotism, the joyous singing of songs, the waving of flags, and most of all, those FUCKING GI-NORMOUS AMERICAN FLAGS (one of which I saw Tom Hanks standing in front of yesterday in the idiotic cartoon-strip version of history known as “Charlie Wilson’s War”)—
Riddle me this— do Americans ever stop to think that there is a real good reason why NO OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD indulges in this kind of super-wankery— with the possible exception of North Korea? And that every other country is laughing behind your back at this idiotic display, however much they might admire Apple Computers, Thomas Jefferson, rock music, or Hollywood movies?
I don’t regularly get to Obsidian Wings. Thank you for linking me over, reading Andy ‘s last post was the most important thing I did today.
Role, role, role in ze history!
Here is the text of Obama’s speech. Plus video. Plus adulatory comments. Plus troll bait. Am I missing something?
1 more thing, then I’ll shut up… can haz credit for Obamagasm?
“do Americans ever stop to think that there is a real good reason why NO OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD indulges in this kind of super-wankery— with the possible exception of North Korea?”
This one does. This one notes that America is one of the few nations in the world that has never been invaded and lost. I also note that those countries that have had the shit kicked out of them, Germany, Japan, now have a much better attitude and play a little more nicely with others. This makes me afraid.
can haz credit for Obamagasm?
What say you, Gods of Google?
I should google first ask questions later :p
I have a prediction, that Barrack Obama is the anti-Christ mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. How else can you explain Obama’s Messiah complex and his large following, vauge promises and charisma. He will usher in the end of the world and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will emerge from Heaven on a White Horse and slay the anti-Christ and his evil minions and usher in God’s Kingdom on Earth.
Rats.
I dunno.
Hillary, for all her faults, at least has a political axe to grind. She would do some (politically) nasty things to her past adversaries. Even though political revenge might not fix anything, it would at least be cathartic. If it came between real progress (i.e. raising the minimum wage) or watching Cheney get indicted, I’d rather have real progress but would settle for the indictment.
I’m not sure whether or not Obama is serious with his “Let’s-all-come-to-a-big-table-and-talk-about-stuff” approach, but it seems rather niave. I mean really. American politics is full of opportunists and small groups that lobby against the greater good. Thinking that we should sit down and meet these people half way seems, well, a little Broder-esque. For example, let’s say that Billy Kristol wants to murder 10,000 Iraqis, and Kucinich wants them all to live. If Obama were to broker this deal, we’d have 5,000 dead Iraqis and Kucinich would get a “Moral Highground” button.
I’m rooting for John Edwards.
It’s weird, I had an IM conversation with a not-super-politically-sophisticated friend earlier today that was pretty much EXACTLY like this. He was gushing about Obama bringing America together, bringing “change,” etc. I said pretty much exactly what Brad says here.
It’s OK for people to get excited about a leader or potential leader, but when Chris Matthews and Ezra start deliberately and explicitly invoking Biblical language to describe a candidate–worse than bringing religion into politics, imputing a religious level of importance to a politician…yeah, bad medicine all around.
I’d vote for Obama if he’s nominated and I’ll be happy if he wins. Beyond that, my man-lust is subdued at best.
So I take it you’ll be voting for him then huh Booger?
Barrack Obama is the anti-Christ mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. How else can you explain Obama’s Messiah complex and his large following, vauge promises and charisma.
Wait a minute–he’s right! Who’s ever heard of a charismatic politician with a large following who made vague promises? It’s truly a sign of the End Times!
I would never vote for Obama nor any other democrat, a vote for Obama would be a vote for the devil which would be a sin against God. However if Osama “anti-Christ” Obama wins then God will have the last word.
I dunno. Ezra’s job is to write. More to writing than tippy typing words on the glowing box. You want to write with strength, passion, conviction, power. Or at least I try to do that when I write a piece like that.
If Edwards gets the nomination, I’ll skip to the polling place with a lightness in my heart.
If Obama gets the nomination, I’ll stride briskly into the voting booth and pull the lever decisively.
If Clinton gets the nomination, I’ll hold my nose, and with a sadness for what once again might have been, I’ll pull the lever, wander aimlessly out of the polling place, lay down on the warm sidewalk and cry.
But in any case, it’s gonna be a “D” who gets my vote, and many just like me who, regardless of the degree of hopelessness, know for certain that more killing, more warfare and more unilateral belligerence will only speed the undoing of america, not just the ideal, which may well already be dead, but the execution of that ideal.
So what the hell! Why not try to get excited about one or more of these guys? Brad’s right, in the cold light of reality we understand all too well the role they play and the reasons they do what they do. But if you are among those of us who don’t feel there’s any surviveable alternative, let’s at least try to find our enthusiasm. What’s the harm?
mikey
“Hillary, for all her faults, at least has a political axe to grind. She would do some (politically) nasty things to her past adversaries.”
I’m in complete agreement with you. That is what I’ve been thinking for a while even though my pref would be for Edwards. Hillary is pissed off and she knows where the DC bodies are buried. I want revenge.
And when I say that I don’t mean I want petty, violent vengeance. I want Gonzales to spend the rest of his natural life sitting alone in a small cell thinking about his crimes. Same for the rest of the thugs.
“I would never vote for Obama nor any other democrat,”
But if Obama is the anti-christ then he’ll bring about the end times and that’s what you want isn’t it? So I think it would make sense for you to vote for him.
Fred Thompson is a Consistent Conservative and still has a good chance at winning the Republican nomination. Once the American people catch wind of Thompson’s Conservative principles and hear him articulate them (which he can do very well like Reagan before him did) they will rally around him in droves and he will be unstoppable, carrying possibly as many States as Reagan did in 84. Thompson could probably in addition to carrying all the States Bush won in 04 carry the swing States of New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.
Worst President Ever:
Those displays always make me laugh, particularly when in cinema or other forms of media because it’s just so blatantly ridiculous. I remember seeing Spider-Man 3, and just before the climax, as peter Parker goes to fight the Big Bad, he races across the rooftops, spotlights on him, and passes a GINORMOUS AMERICAN FLAG AS HE STRIKES A HEROIC POSE.
I started laughing out loud in the theater. Buckled over in my chair at how blatant that was.
People watch too much TV.
noen, that makes baby David Broder cry. There is no greater heresy in the Village than the idea that a current or former government official might be held accountable for committing a crime. Accountability is only for people that have consensual oral sex. It’s Time For The Healing To Begin.
And mikey, I don’t think anyone necessarily has a problem with Ezra being excited or writing in an inspirational tone, but you have to admit that this was way, way, way over the top. Even if you don’t think it’s wrong, you have to admit it’s embarrassing and goofy. “Not the Word made Flesh, but the triumph of words over flesh.” Yuh. Uck.
Yeah, you’re right Jake. I’m such a Romantic.
What’s the harm?
Politics as usual. On the other hand I don’t recall any Boners for Kerry floats doing the parade circuit in 2004, so what the hell.
Bastion Booger said,
January 4, 2008 at 22:03
I would never vote for Obama nor any other democrat, a vote for Obama would be a vote for the devil which would be a sin against God. However if Osama “anti-Christ” Obama wins then God will have the last word.
Dad told me He liked Obama.
Did you want to argue with Him, Boogsie?
If Obama wins the general election in 08 I will predict that he is the anti-Christ (thats what I should have said in my earlier post rather than already predicting Obama is the anti-Christ) however even if he will usher in the end of the ages I will still not vote for him because it would be a sin and God would punish me once I got into Heaven by taking away my rewards so in essence I would be in Heaven for eternity with out being able to enjoy it which is what happens to all back-slidden Christians.
Not sure if you can just pull the lever for Obama decisively…you may have to light a candle and let the light of history wash over you as you feel his presence and realize that with his greatness you will understand upon pulling the lever, that you too will become enlightened.
Fred, Fred … FRED!
Wake up! Lookit! You got Bastion Booger’s endorsement! Combine that with your endorsements from Pat Sajak and Thomas Sowell and it’s money in the bank!
Wake up, Fred! History is in the making!
FRED!
Boogers, we’re entering our 7th year of war…think your bible has anything to say about that and the anti-christ?
Zzzzzzzzz …
Huh? Wha -?
Oh. ‘nother endorsement. That’s nice.
Zzzzzzzzzz …
When you start talking about politicians like they’re anything more than tools to be used to further goals, you’re setting yourself up to get horribly punk’d.
I could not agree more. Although I was pretty disappointed in Obama victory in Iowa speech, so maybe my opinion doesn’t really count.
If Obama wins the general election in 08 I will predict that he is the anti-Christ (thats what I should have said in my earlier post rather than already predicting Obama is the anti-Christ)
I interpret this as meaning that Hitlery and Edwards still have a good shot at being elected anti-Christ.
I’m going to vote for Hillary and make no bones about my choice.
I know where she stands. I don’t trust Edwards, because Edwards has shown a willingness to pander to anyone and everyone (look at how he treated Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan as bloggers, or his cheap political ploy about apologizing for his Iraq war vote).
I don’t trust Obama because, while he smears Hillary on her Iraq vote, he votes in lockstep with her on each and every funding bill, and a man who is all about “principles” ought to shut up and sing the tune he’s talking, and Obama skipped the frikkin Iran “Sense Of The Senate” vote so he couldn’t be held accountable.
Yet here he is, the dahhhhhhhhhhhhhling of the liberal left, a man who’s oilier than Bill Clinton was.
Hillary may suck, but at least I know precisely HOW she’s going to suck (go ahead, make the most of it).
“I will still not vote for him because it would be a sin and God would punish me once I got into Heaven”
God is already going to punish you for the two wet suits and the butt plug. Unless he’s into that, then maybe you’ll get an extra special reward.
I thought back-sliding Christians went to Hell. You know, that place you guys made up because just following the rules like us good Jews wasn’t enough of a carrot-stick system?
Now you’re telling me you just wait around Heaven like the knobs in front of a nightclub listening to everybody inside dance?
I remember seeing Spider-Man 3, and just before the climax, as peter Parker goes to fight the Big Bad, he races across the rooftops, spotlights on him, and passes a GINORMOUS AMERICAN FLAG AS HE STRIKES A HEROIC POSE.
Have you endured The Postman?
Once the anti-Christ is manifested to the world and the Great War of the Ages is ushered in, the Rapture will happen and all the Christians in the World including myself will be taken up by the winds of the four corners of the Earth into Heaven and thus will be spared from the terror that will come upon the Earth. So no this war is not the war mentioned in the Bible because the Rapture hasn’t happened yet.
Bubba: I tried, but I feel asleep like a third of the way in to the beginning of it.
Skeptical, skeptical. I don’t want any more heroes in my face sucking up the oxygen. Nor do I go for the Koombaya.
Yah, I’ve been praying for the rapture so you’d get taken up, but so far, nothing.
Probably cause some dude made it up.
Look who’s in such a hurry. You going to rush God on his Rapture timing, Booger? He does as He wilt. If the war of the ages (wasn’t that WW1?) has to start before the Rapture commences, what makes you think you get to leave the second it starts? Maybe the past 7 years have been the drumroll.
Now you’re telling me you just wait around Heaven like the knobs in front of a nightclub listening to everybody inside dance?
I think maybe you get let in, but you have to go to like the celestial designated driver area or something. It’s still better than purgatory, which is basically a waiting room where they show Montel reruns and there’s a Sudoku on the table that’s already been done in pen, but it’s not quite cool as Hell, where you get to fire guns with Hunter Thompson and play wingman for Wilt Chamberlain at the bar.
Note to the Booger man, the Earth is round. There are no corners for your “winds” to come from. Unless you mean God will break a different kind of wind.
I tried, but I feel asleep like a third of the way in to the beginning of it.
This is the normal response to The Postman. The trick is to set an alarm for about ten minutes before the movie ends. Keep firearms and consumable toxins under lock and key.
I started to read that post earlier this morning, got to They elevate. They enmesh…
Vomiting commenced and then I deleted Ezra from my bookmarks. Pathetic is right on.
Why does Booger want Fred Thompson to break wind on the American peopel?
“Why does Booger want Fred Thompson to break wind on the American peopel?”
So he can get high on the fumes.
What’s all this Rapture crap? I thought we banned Xtianity already.
Put your burqa back on boogerhead. You smell like poo.
And then after Obama’s speech, the ghost of Ronald Reagan wept, and his tears flew into the sky and became what we call today the Aurora Borealis.
Anyway. The man-crushes on Obama are pretty unseemly. I think there’s still a contingent of Democrats who miss the days of the Kennedy brothers, back when being that… well, royal about our political leaders didn’t look stupid.
Or wasn’t brought attention to, at least.
Vengeance is mine.
So stop saying what I’m going to do.
As if ANY mere mortal could know.
HTML adds: Lambert’s post is a nice antidote to Ezra’s vapid idolatry.
yes. that is exactly how I felt.
Vengeance is mine, quoth Alvis! Then she shot that guy right in the friggin’ face!
I’m starting to enjoy this new BoogerBot as much as the Fake Gary.
Sometimes I wish I had a life.
Wow, look for Actor212’s endorsement to appear in campaign fliers.
Still, watching the Kansas/VTech (two teams I don’t even remotely give a shit about) game yesterday seems to be paying dividends. If the National Championship Game is the same night as the NH primary, double bonus!
Hey, what makes Booger think HE’S saved? Not his decision, it seems to me. He PRESUMES, which falls under one of the Great Sins, doesn’t it?
My main worry about Obama (and not in terms of his ability to be a President, but in terms of whether he’ll get elected) is this picture : he’s basking in the glory of his victory (I guess). Many people find politics “distasteful”: it’s a very undemocratic attitude to have and it’s been put forth and used by people with specific agendas, but that’s another topic … we do have to deal with the attitudes that are if we want to change them. The question is, in his rush to talk about being a “transformative candidate” will Obama actually deal with attitudes as they are in order to be in a position to actually change them?
Or will he continue to bask in glory when the chance arises and turn the politics-haters off, figuring he’s too power-hungry, etc. Some of this, no doubt, is racism … but still, it is a perception he needs to fight, rather than feed into, no in spite of it being racist, but because it is racist. Will Obama fight or will he just try to transcend it all?
“…Consistent Conservative…” does that mean always wrong?
The truth is, I know I’m saved because I believe in the death, burial and ressurection of Jesus Christ and confessed Him as my personal Lord and Savior.
Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead thou shalt be saved.”
Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Therefore I KNOW I AM SAVED!
I’m not seeing any work.
Like tests in school, you ALWAYS have to show your work.
“He is not the Word made flesh”?
Good to know.
Not a dry seat in the house!
Ezra’s right, this time. Sometimes things change.
And beyond a certain point, finely cultivated cynicism is as stupid as everything it mocks.
But at least nobody mocks better than finely cultivated cynicism. So even if we’re stupid, who will mock the mockers?
Behold Obama’s enmeshment!
Will Obama fight or will he just try to transcend it all?
He’d better fight. All the stuff about unity is total bullshit because Republicans (and a bunch of Democrats) still won’t like him if he wins, and he’s got to know that. He’s gotta fight or his ass is going to be kicked all over Washington.
Bastion Booger said,
January 4, 2008 at 22:17
If Obama wins the general election in 08 I will predict that he is the anti-Christ
Dude, if he is the Anti-Christ, then nothing you say or do will stop him from winning.
And if he’s not, God’s going to be very angry at you for bearing false witness against your neighbor, so no soup for you!
Mock me, Obama disciples, through the goalposts of hope.
Norbiz,
Are you kidding? They’ve already asked me for another thousand bucks and promised to make that a bumper sticker!
Prints gonna be kinda tiny tho…
Bastion Booger said,
January 4, 2008 at 23:12
Therefore I KNOW I AM SAVED!
BUT CROSBY KNOCKS IN THE REBOUND! PENGUINS WIN! PENGUINS WIN!
“Difference being, MLK wasn’t running for office. Politicians get elected, usually, because they’re good at manipulatin’ people with purtty words.”
Dr. King was a political leader, just not an elected one. Whether he manipulated or inspired is your judgement call; a commentator on WRAL-TV (one Jesse Helms) used to rail about how the evil Communist King was a-rilin’ the gullible young’uns. But we must also consider intent behind the words. Getting poor people to vote against their own economic interests via Bible-banging demagogery counts as manipulation; citing the Bible to demand justice for the downtrodden, to the benefit of all but a few oppressors, becomes inspiration in my eyes.
All of that said, we’re supposed to be a republic based upon reason. I’d happily vote for a dry technocrat who would implement the policies I want. If he can also inspire, so much the better.
I agree with billy pilgrim, teh Boogster is awesome. This is way more fun than Gary’s dull statements and refusal to respond to anything.
Boogster:Gary::Pastor Swank:Michael Medved
Just more entertaining.
Bastion Booger said,
January 4, 2008 at 22:22
So no this war is not the war mentioned in the Bible because the Rapture hasn’t happened yet.
Two questions:
A) How do you know it has happened and you weren’t Simply Left Behind? (shameless blog plug). After all, according to Revelation 17 only 144,000 people will be admitted to Heaven upon the return of Christ and even those are 12,000 Jews from each of the Twelve Tribes.
Since you’ve put it out there that you’re “Saved”, you’re clearly not Jewish. And they don’t sell “Jew In A Can” to get that born again smell of you.
B) I’m sorry, but did you just put God Himself on a timetable?
Since I’m a Christian minister, I would choose your answer carefully if I was you.
I agree with billy pilgrim, teh Boogster is awesome.
I dunno, I’m pretty well color-blind in the tiresome, cheeto-and-piss-stained, drooling, own-fart-sniffing, pompous, needle-dick, godbag troll wavelengths.
But I never get tired of seeing “I like pie!” so the Boogster doesn’t bother me.
Shaloms, preciouses.
who will mock the mockers?
Either the mods or the rockers.
hee hee. Mods.
Since you’ve put it out there that you’re “Saved”, you’re clearly not Jewish. And they don’t sell “Jew In A Can” to get that born again smell of you.
Well, not officially, but gefilte fish will do it if you’re in a pinch, though.
Brad-
Looks like you and Dennis .Perrin are on the same page today.
Well, not officially, but gefilte fish will do it if you’re in a pinch, though.
Damn, I forgot about The Fish That Saves Sinuses.
This actually worries me about Obama. I’m thrilled that he’s bringing new voters into the process. I’m worried about what happens if the reality doesn’t match the rhetoric and they get their hearts broken.
I didn’t have a very easy time with the Roberts nomination after all those wonderful speeches.
I’m worried about what happens if the reality doesn’t match the rhetoric and they get their hearts broken.
I predict a huge wave of newfound outrage at Chappaquiddick.
I thought being leftwing meant that you were too smart to fall for creepy shit like that.
Ezra is not leftwing, never has been, never will be.
And beyond a certain point, finely cultivated cynicism is as stupid as everything it mocks.
Luckily, we ain’t nowhere near that point yet. And it’s hard to get any stupider than seeing someone talking about a politician like a twelve year-old emo kid gushing over a band.
I was quite moved by the “sad” link. May Andy RIP. And thank you.
I don’t consider Ezra’s post to be in any big conflict with Lambert’s. Though I come down reflexively on Lambert’s side, I try very hard not to underestimate the power of One.
Obama is clearly a gifted politician. If he wins, he had better be.
I’ve met Obama. He was the first guy in 20 years to render me speechless, by asking me who I was. I mean, I’ve taken on in front of large audiences powerful people many times. “I’m nobody,” I said, for the first time in my life. Barack was one chair from me.
OT, one of the more humiliating moments of my life.
So, I come down hoping for Obama’s promise, expecting Hillary’s machine, and wishing for Edwards’ fight.
Lots of game left, as they say.
I’m not looking for politicians to be my friends, or to make me into a better person, or to give my life meaning. Hell, I’ve got beer for all three of those things
Well, it depends–it you’re drinking Coors or Budweiser or MGD, that’s not going to work. Magic Hat #9, for sure it will.
I was talking with a co-worker this morning and we both agreed that the whole “Well, he seems like the kind of guy that would be cool to have a beer with” mentality is insane.
Ezra is not leftwing, never has been, never will be
No, he’s the dickhead who, in his Pandagon days said that he finally tipped on supporting the war because the hippies at UCSC repulsed him so much. So fuck Ezra Klein and his squishy centrism.
I like Ezra just fine.
Those of you Perfect Ones should stand up and tell us how you’ve never been wrong, or even disagreed with.
He’s a good, smart, sensible, honest, fair man. And I disagree with him all the time, as I did above.
Obama’s finest speeches do not excite.
Phony liberals (who do not excite)
Phony liberals (you know they type)
Ezra Klein’s a fucking tool.
In response to Klein, Jonah Goldberg has a divination of his own (emphasis his).
Quite an impressively compact statement of passive-aggressive paranoia.
I’m undecided about Obama … I definitely prefer Edwards because he knows where the battle lines are in this fight and he isn’t afraid to point them out. But…
It’s nice to know that at least one of the Dems can give that inspirational kind of speech that gives even fairly cynical pundit wannabees that weird squishy feeling deep down inside. Nothing wrong with getting people all fired up, and there’s nothing wrong with believing it, if only for an evening. Course, maybe you shouldn’t blog about it right away if you want to keep your fairly cynical pundit wannabee cred. Wait until the pheromones wear off.
The term, however, is “orator”. We used to have a lot of them, before focus groups and sound bites.
Quite an impressively compact statement of passive-aggressive paranoia.
Does it beat “(R)esident Bush”?
“Edwards gave what I thought was the best speech of the night.”
Edwards was at risk of morphing into Sally Struthers.
Sally Struthers as Fran Clinton in The Getaway.
Sexiest role in the history of fictional veterinarian’s wives.
Oooohhh, bay bee…
mikey
Killed in Iraq:
http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/01/andy-olmsted.html
I thought being leftwing meant that you were too smart to fall for creepy shit like that.
Oh, I wish. The only difference I’ve noticed, over the last 50 years, is that leftwingers fall for what one orator referred to as “the better angels of our nature”, while rightwingers fall for whoever promises to hurt more of their self-perceived “enemies” the most.
But I think Ezra Klein, however pure his intentions, has become the unwitting sock puppet for the Find-Us-A-Messiah wing of what approaches Leftist politics in America, which would be somewhere around centre-right in the rest of the world. I’ll vote for Obama if he’s the nominee, but I’m immune to his glamour.
Speaking of glamour and messianism, anybody taking bets on how long before the first would-be assassin shows up at one of Obama’s events? And will it be a total surprise if said assassin turns out to be a putative “leftist” whose demons have convinced them that Obama has somehow “betrayed” the purity of (for instance) Kucinich’s Party?
There’s a difference between never being wrong and never being so wrong that you support a clearly illegal war of aggression waged by a cadre of lunatic, sanguinary ideologues because you’re concerned about the length of the opposition’s hair and the smell of their patchouli oil.
[…] The Latest News from the City on a Hill? Hold the milk and honey, please. Politicians as prophets often turn into demagogues. Men of mere flesh often take on more graven images the more we know them. Word over flesh? Great! Action on the rotting flesh in Washington? Even better. For all the heavenly rhetoric, the second act will have to happen here on earth. […]
If anyone ever asks you to identify a reasonable conservative blogger, give them the name of Andy Olmsted . . .
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=11602
Those of you Perfect Ones should stand up and tell us how you’ve never been wrong, or even disagreed with.
I’ve been wrong lots of times. Generally, though, I manage to learn something from it and avoid being wrong the same way repeatedly over the next few years. I can damn sure guarantee that if I had a huge audience of readers all too happy to tell me when I’d fucked up, how it happened, and what I could do to avoid doing it again, I’d have to be a cement-headed tool to keep fucking up.
He’s a good, smart, sensible, honest, fair man
I can almost hear HTML guffawing from here. “Sensible“, indeed. That’s the fucking problem.
Sexiest role in the history of fictional veterinarian’s wives.
See also: Damning with faint praise
My vote is on Joan Severance in “Bird on a Wire,” for hottest vet.
I don’t think she was married, though.
Anne Laurie–
First off, that 9:01 introductory paragraph is great. Dare I say, inspiring?
Also, you started walking down a pretty dark road there at the end, but that’s what I like most about Obama–just by declaring, he’s essentially saying, “Yeah, I’ll got shot at, but I can take it.”
And speaking of, fuckin’ G’kar, man. Even in a warzone the dude had his priorities straight, showing up to dis Joe Klein in comment threads. At this point I’d hate this war even if it wasn’t complete bullshit.
Obama may or may not be a gifted politician, but Ezra Klein is definitely a fucking tool. I predict a great future for him in punditry.
If you fall in love with a politician, you’ll get your heart broken, stomped on, shattered into a bazillion little pieces. Ezra’s young, but he’ll learn.
I’m fine with Barack O., kumbayah and all. The only way to have peace is to have peace. If you insist on settling all the scores first, peace will never come.
I don’t trust Edwards, because Edwards has shown a willingness to pander to anyone and everyone (look at how he treated Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan as bloggers, or his cheap political ploy about apologizing for his Iraq war vote).
1. Amanda has endorsed Edwards. If she can get over this, why can’t you?
2. So would it have been better if Edwards had taken the George Bush approach and refused to apologize for his vote for the AUMP, or even admit he was wrong about it in the first place?
Hilary gets no support from me because, while the Bush Administration has spent the last seven years killing innocent Iraqi civilians and wiping its considerable ass with the Constitution, Hilary chose to use her position as a US Senator to . . . agitate against video game violence.
Talk about a cheap political ploy. We had real issues she could have spent her time working to fix. Instead she chose to pander and grandstand. I’ll vote for her if she’s the nominee, but I certainly won’t be happy about it.
That Major guy actually wrote that post after he was dead? Wow, it’s no wonder we have the Iraqis on the run! USA! USA!
[…] in power. Still, while there are a handful of politicians I actually sorta like, I tend toward Brad of Sadly, No!’s view, that “When you start talking about politicians like they’re […]
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[…] Well, no. But I never really held him on that high of a pedestal to begin with. As I’ve explained before, politicians are a means to an end. They use us to gain power through votes, we then use […]