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Obama 2.0
Two days ago N.Y. Times columnist Frank Rich wrote that it's time for Barack Obama to retire "change we can believe in" and launch a new campaign theme. That seems to be the general consensus -- Obama 2.0 (and it had better be something that's analagous to Windows XP over Windows 98) needs to begin on Thursday night. And I can't imagine what he could say that would really make a serious difference in perception except...well, what about saying "it ain't me, babe -- it's us"?
In July 1960 JFK said the following in his Democratic Convention acceptance speech: "Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom promised our nation a new political and economic framework. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal promised security to those in need. But the New Frontier, of which I speak, is not a set of promises -- it is a set of challenges. It sums not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them."
It would be great to hear something along these lines from Obama -- no promises, no magic wands, grim up, we can do it -- but the conventional wisdom is that the teletubbies are so submerged in their WALL*E lifestyles that being challenged to do greater things would be, like....whuhdesay?
As I wrote earlier this morning, the average middle-class American is (and has been for some time) totally drunk on tech-comfort martinis, and he/she really doesn't want to know or hear about anything that interferes with the buzz-on. That's because the narcotic effects of a flush 21st Century comfort life (SUV, iPhone, LCD, Blu-ray, prescription mood medication...the whole schmeer) is far, far more enveloping and reality-diminishing than the lah-lah lifestyle of the French aristocracy in the late 1700s or the family of Czar Nicholas II before the Bolshevik revolution.
Nonetheless, I think Obama needs to go for it anyway by saying "it's up to you," "a nation is only as great as its citizens," and "I can't deliver any magic potion -- no president can -- but we can make things better if we all decide to give it up some and pull together, and that means living in the here-and-now of the 21st Century and engaging in the world as it is, not as it was, and that means electing a president who -- yes! -- uses a computer and knows from Mac Powerbooks, and it also means fighting the corporations tooth and nail for the soul of our country, and that means pushing back on the politics of greed and selfishness, now and forever."
The people who say they don't yet know Obama after 18 months of campaigning are either (a) Mongloid or (b) lying. We all know that "he doesn't share our values" is a racial code phrase, but anybody who's still claiming ignorance or serious uncertainty about the guy at this stage is basically saying he/she would rather not have Cleavon Little be the town sheriff. That's what it boils down to. The TV commentators rarely allude to, much less acknowledge, the ocean of racism that lives under this country's terra firma, particularly in the backwater areas. It's sorta kinda there, the media says, but not quite as much as you'd think. Bull. They're doing the old sidestep.
The people who believe John McCain is better equipped to handle the military and political challenges of the presidency are simply coming from a place of dedicated ignorance. McCain has shown time and again that he's doddering and fuzzy-brained, gets lots of things wrong, misremembers history, and is emotionally invested in bluster and aggression....and yet people say he's the guy they'd trust more in the Oval Office. It's insane, illogical. The real reason has to lie elsewhere.
Obama is far from perfect, but he's obviously brighter, sharper, less macho- belligerent and more in touch with the here-and-now world than McCain is capable of being (or willing to be). He has as much if not more experience than Abraham Lincoln had when he began his first term as President; ditto Woodrow Wilson and JFK. Older conservatives just don't like the idea of a black guy in the White House -- that's it. People are who and what they are, and you can't wave a magic wand and change human nature. My mother -- well read, loves the arts, never a conservative -- used to voice racist reservations about Obama when she first heard about him.
A guy on a Yahoo answer page wrote fhe following about two weeks ago, to wit: "Experience is evidentally not a reliable measure. When judging presidential performance vs. their experience, it's all over the map. No reasonable correlation between experience and performance.
"Of course, the same is true in business. For example, most of the computer companies that are now mega-corporations were started by kids in garages.
"I myself got hired by a very big, very famous company into a pretty important position with no experience, I just convinced them to do it. I wound up being one of their two top performing executives and brought very significant turnaround to several departments in the company. No experience.
"Nowadays, I hire people because of what they can do, not what they have done (or not).
"If experience was so important, then only the top senators would have a chance in elections, the ones that have been in the senate for 25 years or more. Has this been the case? Ever?
"Experience does not matter, either to performance nor to the American people. Because we're smarter than that. Experience doesn't guarantee a person -- it just tells you about what type of person they are."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 25, 2008 at 11:56 AM
comment #1
BurmaShave says ...
Yeah, I mean, reading this on my phone really reminds me how much better I have it than the Romanovs.
Posted by BurmaShave at August 25, 2008 1:27 PM
comment #2
mutinyco says ...
Not XP over '98.
Mac over PC.
Posted by mutinyco at August 25, 2008 1:33 PM
comment #3
mutinyco says ...
BTW/ I just read an op-ed by Ed Rollins. He said McCain screwed up by slating his acceptance speech for the same night as the Giants' season opener...
Posted by mutinyco at August 25, 2008 1:46 PM
comment #4
Teacher's Pets says ...
Actually, I liked that line about our electronically-induced dementia being worse than the French aristocracy. They were so rich and so few that they had no other option but to embrace the fact of their domestic and foreign class warfare, where we can delude ourselves into pretending we're just like everyone else, that we have the right to our lives as they are and the things we own....
Posted by Teacher's Pets at August 25, 2008 1:46 PM
comment #5
mutinyco says ...
It would be a smart move for Obama to attend the defending Super Bowl Champions' game. He could get regular-Joe press opposite the GOP convention.
Posted by mutinyco at August 25, 2008 1:49 PM
comment #6
moviesquad says ...
Great! Obama is a rockstar, and McCain is a doddering old fool. That about sums up 70% of the posts on Hollywood-elsewhere these days.
Can we get back to movie talk yet?
Once Obama wins, is Wells going to feel it necessary to defend daily the mistakes he's bound to make in office?
Posted by moviesquad at August 25, 2008 2:01 PM
comment #7
JaggedUnderpants says ...
None of this could possibly assuage Victoria Jackson, though:
http://shareddarkness.com/2008/08/24/victoria-jackson-hates-obama.aspx
Errr... wow.
Posted by JaggedUnderpants at August 25, 2008 2:27 PM
comment #8
gruver1 says ...
Wells to moviesquad: Guys like you pop up and mouth off every so often, and I tell them the same thing every time. HE is about whatever's going on from this corner of the world...anything swimming in the current that seems to move the game along. For me, mostly, the good stuff is mostly found in the world of movies now and then, and of course DVDs. But it's also politics. Or it is this year, at least. If you don't like the mix of Hollywood and politics and whatever...fine. Scoot along. It's a big world out there. Whatever you want or need, it's probably out there. And if it isn't, you can try to create it yourself.
Posted by gruver1 at August 25, 2008 2:34 PM
comment #9
Josh Massey says ...
"But the New Frontier, of which I speak, is not a set of promises -- it is a set of challenges. It sums not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them."
Unfortunately, that's about a million miles away from the modern Democrat mindset. And about 900,000 away from the Republican one.
Posted by Josh Massey at August 25, 2008 2:35 PM
comment #10
LYT says ...
The right are already up on arms about Michelle Obama's comment that Barack will put you to work, and there'll be no room for cynicism. They claim it sounds like government-mandated socialism or somesuch.
Had Rove been around in the '60s, he might well have said the same about JFK. But that sort of thing gets more traction now.
Posted by LYT at August 25, 2008 2:36 PM
comment #11
Richardson says ...
I want to say, this is one of the better pieces you've written here, Jeff. But one question...
"That's because the narcotic effects of a flush 21st Century comfort life (SUV, iPhone, LCD, Blu-ray, prescription mood medication...the whole schmeer) ...
"and that means electing a president who -- yes! -- uses a computer and knows from Mac Powerbooks"
Aren't these two thoughts incredibly contradictory?
Posted by Richardson at August 25, 2008 2:38 PM
comment #12
moviesquad says ...
Yeah, I don't like it. As a long time reader, I've only popped up because the overwhelming amount of political opinion has forced me to comment. If I wanted to hang out at the DailyKos, I would.
I find your doppelganger David Poland's blog has turned into an almost identical mix of the same subjects with the same opinions.
Posted by moviesquad at August 25, 2008 2:40 PM
comment #13
gruver1 says ...
Wells to Josh Massey: Like I said...ask the teletubbies to meet challenges, and to serve rather than be served while Korean and Vietnamese women give them pedicures?? Out of the question. We are not Spartans, but 5th Century Romans, belching on exotic meats and grapes and fine wines.
Posted by gruver1 at August 25, 2008 2:41 PM
comment #14
StoneFan1 says ...
CNN
Obama 47% - McCain 47%
Gallup Daily Tracking Poll
Obama 45% - McCain 45%
Posted by StoneFan1 at August 25, 2008 2:45 PM
comment #15
StoneFan1 says ...
CNN
Obama 47% - McCain 47%
Gallup Daily Tracking Poll
Obama 45% - McCain 45%
Posted by StoneFan1 at August 25, 2008 2:46 PM
comment #16
Richardson says ...
StoneFan - Not that I think Obama will ultimately win, but, right now, those numbers are inflated by the large percentage of Clinton supporters claiming they will vote for McCain out of spite. When push comes to shove, no Clinton supporting is that stupid; they'll throw their vote away on the Green Party (a female candidate!) or Cindy Sheehan before they'll give it to McCain.
I'm just hoping his bid for her voters will hurt his support from his base. But that's probably too much to ask.
Posted by Richardson at August 25, 2008 2:49 PM
comment #17
moviesquad says ...
And Wells, if you'd been paying attention to what Obama says, he's all about promising the magic potion. That's his shtick. He's even running an ad promising a $1000 credit for hard-working, middle class Americans paid for by big oil. Gotta love that "new politics" of buying votes. Talk about encouraging the teletubbie class to remain tubby.
Posted by moviesquad at August 25, 2008 2:52 PM
comment #18
buster says ...
What is the alternative? Isn't that the vision for the Great Society? Everyone is equal and gets to frolick in their material splendor?? If middle-class lifestyle is so abhorrent, why are we so concerned with helping the poor get there?
Curious how you envision the pinnacle of society? Everyone sitting around by a campfire reciting Dylan Thomas to one another?
Posted by buster at August 25, 2008 3:11 PM
comment #19
Chapman Carruthers says ...
Buster, you just gave me a workplace chubby. Not cool.
Posted by Chapman Carruthers at August 25, 2008 3:16 PM
comment #20
C-PhreekII says ...
moviesquad - it's pretty much a lost cause at this point. This is Exhibit A that refutes the idea that those with journalistic backgrounds are better prepared for running blogs because they too show just how badly editors are needed to rein them in at some point.
Poland isn't nearly as bad on the whole. And I don't mind a little personal politics, but the constant stream only reinforces the idea that reporters need to be specialized or they can really come off as ill-prepared or just downright out of their depth.
Posted by C-PhreekII at August 25, 2008 3:55 PM
comment #21
SpinDozer says ...
What is the alternative? Isn't that the vision for the Great Society? Everyone is equal and gets to frolick in their material splendor??'
Nope, though that's obviously what retailers would have the most interest in. I believe the Great Society was about increasing the opportunities of the poor in terms of education, nutrition, and health. Something happened along the way.
Posted by SpinDozer at August 25, 2008 4:00 PM
comment #22
gruver1 says ...
Wells to CPhreekII: What I wrote here is sensible, perceptive, rooted in verifiable reality. I know when I'm banging out filler or scoring with some kind of substance. But you're a dick. You're just a taunter, a naysayer, a needling troll. I'm asking you again -- why are you here? I hate you, you hate me or find my stuff constantly problematic...why don't you go somewhere where there's more of a friendly give-and-take vibe? Go --find your green pasture.
Posted by gruver1 at August 25, 2008 4:18 PM
comment #23
buster says ...
I agree SpinDozer, but education, nutrition, and health are means towards what end?? What defines a society at its pinnacle? You've got all these healthy, educated people standing around in four years, what are they supposed to be doing? Ok, I'm being facetious with the four years, but it's a rather profound question. Taken to its logicial conclusion, once we are all healthy, educated, and successful, what are we left with but leisure? And who's to say one idea of leisure, be it iPhones, SUVs, and LCD's (of which I own none, btw) is bad while, hell, Wells didn't define what's acceptable...
If the ultimate goal is to provide each member of society with a comfortable life, then how can one criticize how others choose to comfort themselves??
Posted by buster at August 25, 2008 4:19 PM
comment #24
buster says ...
"The people who believe John McCain is better equipped to handle the military and political challenges of the presidency are simply coming from a place of dedicated ignorance. McCain has shown time and again that he's doddering and fuzzy-brained, gets lots of things wrong, misremembers history, and is emotionally invested in bluster and aggression....and yet people say he's the guy they'd trust more in the Oval Office. It's insane, illogical. The real reason has to lie elsewhere.
"Obama is far from perfect, but he's obviously brighter, sharper, less macho- belligerent and more in touch with the here-and-now world than McCain is capable of being (or willing to be). "
Which is why I'm voting for Obama. The only part of that with which I disagree with is "the real reason has to lie elsewhere".
Jeffrey, it's called marketing. Politicians have been enlisting the help of Advertising and Marketing companies for decades and Obama's campaign has been run as smoothly and with the premeditation of a slick movie campaign. He's trying to convince the American public of one thing while McCain is working towards another image.
McCain's success is the product of good marketing, not simply racism.
Posted by buster at August 25, 2008 4:25 PM
comment #25
SpinDozer says ...
'I agree SpinDozer, but education, nutrition, and health are means towards what end??'
Well, for some, consumerism. Productive work and healthy family and community life for others.
The consumerism you talk about is obviously what 'the logical end' has become, but it wasn't always so.
'McCain's success is the product of good marketing, not simply racism.'
As long as you concede that racism is a vital part of that marketing, we have no disagreement.
Posted by SpinDozer at August 25, 2008 4:46 PM
comment #26
Walter Sobchak says ...
Anyone who doesn't support and vote for Obama is a racist. End of discussion.
Posted by Walter Sobchak at August 25, 2008 4:54 PM
comment #27
Movie Watcher says ...
Another brilliant comment by Walter. How do you do it?
Posted by Movie Watcher at August 25, 2008 5:02 PM
comment #28
bb says ...
Wells, I would enjoy your constant forays into politics more if you had the slightest awareness of political theory or reality, if you weren't an elitist and bigot and if you had the political sophistication of a man your age rather than a 17 year old.
I read and listen to people with opposing opinions every day. I enjoy intelligent debate, and because my background is in TV, Film and The Peace Corps, I am surrounded by people that I tend to disagree with politically. And we have spirited debates that require we bring our A game at all times. We do not allow each other to take cheap shots or twist whatever is in the media because we respect each other too much to allow us to descend into name calling. We respect ourselves too much to take our political thinking in that direction.
You evidently have no respect for yourself or your audience when it comes to political discussion or debate. You attribute the most vile motivations to people because they dare to disagree with you politically. You pass on false information simply because it supports your position. You evidently want to punish those that would vote for the other side by taking away their right to vote and you fantasize about blacklisting actors that dare to support a Republican.
You really are the worst kind of voice in politics.
Finally, it never looks good to argue with people about how "sensible, perceptive, rooted in verifiable reality." your commentaries are. If they are that, you shouldn't have to say so.
Posted by bb at August 26, 2008 6:16 AM
comment #29
spoiled says ...
BB is right on.
Posted by spoiled at August 26, 2008 10:54 AM
comment #30
Terry McCarty says ...
Walter Sobchak wrote:
Anyone who doesn't support and vote for Obama is a racist. End of discussion.
Taking the McCain "POW" answer/excuse to its logical extreme: we could practice a form of enablement by saying that all the brutality and suffering of wartime imprisonment made him entitled to grab all the goodies offered once he was a free politician (i.e. Keating Five, his current marriage, the seven homes/condos, dubious relationships with lobbyists, etc. etc.).
Posted by Terry McCarty at August 26, 2008 11:49 PM
comment #31
SaveFarris says ...
That's because the narcotic effects of a flush 21st Century comfort life (SUV, iPhone, LCD, Blu-ray, prescription mood medication...the whole schmeer) is far, far more enveloping and reality-diminishing...
Remember this list of items whenever somebody inevitably asks "Are you better off now than you were 8 years ago?".
Posted by SaveFarris at August 27, 2008 5:19 AM
comment #32
Dave Polands Gut says ...
This is the problem.
HE HAS NOTHING TO RUN ON!
He is a blank slate. He has never accomplished anything. He is running on lame platitudes.
Posted by Dave Polands Gut at August 27, 2008 7:57 AM
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