The Experience Rope a Dope

Not sure if repeated requests from the giant and snake to return marks a popular demand to come back, but here I am, like it or not. I actually wrote a post back after the New Hampshire primary, after my initial euphoria for Obama beating Clinton was crushed by her comeback win in New Hampshire (see below). But of course there has been some water under the bridge since then, so let's get into it.

Picking Palin has proved to be the "rope a dope" a strategy. The Dems couldn't and cannot help themselves from pouncing on her lack of experience, but in the process they actually highlight the issue of experience more than they would like. Now you have Obama, who has an incredibly thin resume, comparing his experience as a community organizer to her's as a small town mayor.

She is pissing off all of the right people - you have some honest Democratic women out there who truly are happy she was chosen even if they won't vote for the ticket, but I would venture to say that most feminist women cannot stand her. The fact is that feminism, for whatever reason, is more attractive to ugly women; the good looking ones don't really need it. Maybe it's not right, but it is no doubt true. And the fact is that someone like Palin is always going to be the primary beneficiary of the Wellesly girls with the dull shaving blades pushing against the establishment. So the old boys are up there ... they know they got to give up part of the store, but they also know they got a choice ... they can give it up to the attractive woman who does not spell women with a "y" and who enjoys her life, or you can give it up to the womyn with hair armpits and chips on their shoulder the size of small trucks. It's a no brainer.

As a pro lifer, it’s hard not to love this women. Having the down syndrome kid with knowledge of it beforehand is completely laudable. The value of a life is not a function of IQ, and a kid is not a consumer choice; the opposite opinions, held by many on the left, are not to their advantage in an election. I would be willing to bet that there are many (certainly not all) pro choicers who view having a child like that as the morally incorrect choice. During the primaries, Obama made the comment that he wouldn’t want his daughters to be punished for life if they got pregnant as a teenager. So you see a kid is the oddest of consumer goods – unlike a great sports car, which is awesome to have at any point in your life – a kid is only a good consumer choice if the timing is exactly right. In a way his comment was refreshingly honest – the usual “I am personally opposed, but” line wasn’t offered. That is one of the interesting things about Palin’s daughter being pregnant – its the exact circumstances that he was referring to when he clearly implied he would at the very least support a decision to abort if not encourage it. That could hurt him I think if it is emphasized – there are a lot of people who are tepidly pro-choice, but who still don’t respect those who choose to abort.

Biden won't be able to help himself in over-reaching and going after her in a debate. He is way too impressed with himself, and he'll underestimate her. It's hard hoeing for a white male in the Democratic party these days - the only chance you have is a decent personal tragedy. I think about a guy like Chris Dodd reflecting on the choice of Biden, and what comes to mind is General Turgeson in Dr. Strangelove, when the Russian ambassador is describing the Doomsday machine, and Turgeson says to another General - "I wish we had one of those Doomsday machines." There's Chris Dodd, one tragedy short of his shot at political glory, looking at his wife in a slightly odd way, letting his mind wander to what might have been, cursing Biden's luck. At best a good tragedy only gets you the Vice Presidential nod these days - you got no shot at the head job. Look at Edwards - he's got a kid who died tragically as his story in 2004, and more recently his wife of course had a recurrence of cancer, and that wasn't enough to do anything for his Presidential campaign. Of course, he jumped the gun a little bit on the next part of that tragedy daydream!

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Uuuuuugggggghhhhhhh!

God I hate election season, and I hate it with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns when a Clinton is running. Or is it a Rodham? Or does she even have a last name? In fact I think she would be far less of a disaster than Obama as President, but I'll take him over her just to spare having to hear every sentence for the next 4-8 years begin with "You know" in that vapid condescending voice.



I should know to be more confident in my pessimism, having abandoned it after Iowa thinking that maybe, just maybe, she was cooked. Now it is back with a vengance. Looking back on that blissful 5 or 6 day period, I am reminded of how I used to look forward to the Washington Times headlines each morning from 1998 - 2000, each time naively thinking that such headlines would surely force the resignation or removal of Clinton from office. Headlines such as:



"Clinton found in oval office with farm animals in compromising positions!"

"Clinton auctions off Lincoln bedroom on E-Bay"

"Clinton violates Cuba embargo and uses cigar for unusual purposes!"

"Clinton gropes grieving widow, but feminists invoke a "one grope" rule for Democratic Presidents"

"Clinton credibly accused of rape ... does anybody care?"



Every such headline put a spring in my step, but alas it came to naught. Just as I suspect Obama's Iowa win will come to in the end. Of course the crying game is getting a great deal of attention as having turned the worm in New Hampshire, with various people speculating that the Ice Queen showing her human side seemed to turn voters. What has gone completely ignored is the context of what made her emotional. The quote was something along these lines - "this country has given me so much, and I would just hate to see it go backwards." So what chokes her up is her opinion that if anyone other than her gets elected the nation will surely regress. The almost tear may have shown that she is human, but the quote clearly shows she is an egomaniac. Not to mention the implicit notion that a nation of 300 million dynamic people is utterly dependent on who is President.



It reminds me of Clinton's spin on his presidency, where fighting impeachment was his way of saving the Consitition. Clearly, back in the 1980s, the Constitution was in peril, so Bill decided to drop his pants in an Arkansas hotel room in front of a state employee to launch his ingenious plan to save the Constitution, which involved perjuring himself, being disbarred, most likely coaching witnesses, and other nefarious and tasteless deeds. But the end of saving our Constitution surely justified all of these means, and we should be eternally grateful to him that he risked so much to save the dying Constitution. Three cheers for Bill!