We Get the Government We Deserve
As I was laughing hysterically at the comic above (this is just one panel…click here to read the whole thing…I love Bad Reporter) in today’s paper, Ted was reading about how Obama’s poor choice of analogies is pushing voters over towards McCain/Palin. I will admit, when I heard Obama’s comment, I thought, “That was not a smart comment to make. Even though McCain made the SAME COMMENT about Clinton and her policies last year, in this charged environment, and so soon after Palin’s folksy joke about Hockey Moms and pit bulls with lipstick, it did appear that he was calling her a pig. Not wise. But clearly, people are getting completely bent out of shape and taking it much further than it deserves. Here are a couple of quotes from women who have decided to vote for Palin because they identify with her:
“Barack Obama underestimated the power of lipstick,” said Joanne Healy of Montclair, Va., “The thing I like about Sarah Palin is she is an American woman like the American women I know and associate with.”
Mary Beth Style, 50, of Centreville, Va., Palin is “a real person who knows what it’s like to be a real person.”
All I can think when I read comments like that is, I love my friends, but I don’t think I want any of them to be President. It’s a hell of a job, and I don’t want an average person. I want someone smarter than us, wiser than us, who surrounds themself with people just as smart, if not smarter. When I read comments about how she’s just like us, and that’s a reason to vote for her, I think of a line in an old Don Henley song, “We Get the Government We Deserve”. (I know that expression didn’t come from the song, but seriously, the tune runs through my head when I hear stupidity and politics running so closely together.) With people making decisions about the direction our country will take for the next 4 years, decisions about who will lead our country, what policies they will make to try to repair our economy, repair our Constitution, when our soldiers will come home from war, on and on and on, I, for one, want people to stop looking at folksy charm, and start looking at actual issues. One of my bloggy friends, Starshine, said that she and her husband just want to see a detailed, side by side comparison of the candidates’ views on the important issues, and for the rest of this to go away. Amen, Starshine, Amen.
8 Comments
Rain
That’s the truth and just plain scary. I don’t understand women who would like to run the country and will vote for another woman because she’s like them. I also thought it amazing when Palin said she was immediately ready to be president. It means she has no clue what the job entails or believes it’s all about figureheads and posturing. I hope women wake up and think before they vote. Gender is no reason to vote for or against someone. I can just imagine what your mom would have said about all of this.
Cherry
Ok, so when I interview someone I am the “sanity checker” of the team of interviewers. I am looking for cues if someone fits in, can communicate effectively and is over all a good person. But I also ask questions and get a feel for if they can do the job, because at the end of the day I don’t need to fill the position with my friend or someone I can shoot the shit with, but I need someone who will excel at the job at hand.
In the end, I may not want to go grab a coffee with the person, but if they are awesome at their job then I’ll be happy to have hired them (as long as they don’t become a pain my ass!).
Ted
If I’m applying for a job where, say, it’s important to understand the binary language of moisture evaporators, but my expertise pretty much revolves around going into Toshi Station to pick up power converters, then I would say that I’m not qualified for the job — no matter how winning my personality.
J
Ted, at least we know who IS versed in the primary language of moisture evaporators, don’t we?
Gosh, the geek factor around here is set at 11.
C
Hubby and I have been following all the politics going on in the States. It seems American news is always on Canadian TV, so it’s pretty hard to avoid. I honestly didn’t see anything wrong with what Obama said. It was just a phrase that has been largely taken out of context (in our opinions…not that anyone asked! LOL!).
That whole interpretation of the “lipstick on a pig” thing is a terrible misuse of what he said. I was shocked that people would actually think that he was referring to Palin when he said that.
We’ve got our elections coming up in October. Still not as interesting as American politics, but it’s getting more sensationalized. Don’t know if you caught the “pooping puffin” incident. Pretty juvenile. It actually made me laugh to see how silly people can get.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080909.welxnpuffin0909/BNStory/politics/home
Nance
Here, here, J.! Look what happened last time the American people, in all their wisdom, voted in the Guy Most Likely To Have a Beer With. Sigh. We got Average, and what was the aftermath?
At our large inner-city high school of 2200 students, we had a principal who was a fun guy, very laid-back, who basically came in and threw out all the rules. He decided to just kind of “play it by ear” and deal with stuff as it came up. Our 8 years of his “leadership” was like a hostage crisis where we teachers basically held the lid on the place and the inmates tried to run the asylum. We all agreed he was a neat guy to have a backyard barbecue with, but as a leader he was a disaster. The day he left, you could hear the cheers ring out on all three floors of the school. Even the parents breathed sighs of relief.
The next principal hired was a tough, steel-spined woman who laid down the law the minute she walked in the doors. The difference across the board was palpable. In every arena. We went from Academic Watch to Excellent on the state report card. No accident, that.
I think the analogy is apt.
J
Hey Nance, last weekend we were hanging out with some friends, one of whom is a middle school teacher, and another whose kid goes to that same middle school. They were discussing how they were ready to pull their kids from the school last year, and this year they’re SO MUCH HAPPIER, because of the new Principal. I said, “What made the difference?” They said, “This one is strict and no-nonsense. The last one wanted to be everyone’s friend.” So there you go. Schools improving all over the place. 😉
Jimmy
Oh lawd!!!!!What’s next???…nappy headed pitbulls?