We watched the President’s speech last night. It is inescapable to me, at least at some moments, that I may well be witnessing one of the great presidents of our history. Of course it is too soon to know that in any meaningful way, yet, at times, I am simply in awe of the brilliance and extraordinary abilities of this man.
Last night was one of those occasions certainly. The command of information and the skill in expounding upon it cannot be denied. Of course much depends on the success of the economic plans set forth. If the economy shows signs of recovery within a year, then I think Obama can expect that his agenda in all arenas will go forth with approval.
His delivery was as usual flawless, and the speech was well crafted. There were a ton of remarks that were met enthusiastically with applause and shouts, and quite a few that were tailored in a fashion that the Republicans were forced to get up and clap too. On one occasion you could see Mitch McConnell actually leaning over and whispering to a colleague before standing reluctantly and giving some perfunctory applause. “It will just suck to see this in an electioneering ad, me sitting down glumly while everyone is cheering for eradicating disease among children. I gotta stand up much as I hate it.” Oh hate it they did, but they stood and limply clapped. It was genius in the way only Obama can do.
This of course scares Republicans to no end. It terrifies the reactionary right fringe who liken Obama to Satan himself. We, those who voted for him and continue to support him, are “followers” and his appeal is designated as cultish in origin. Most of this of course is mere rhetoric and meaningless, but frighteningly, some scrambled brained people actually believe this. If you don’t believe me, the try to get a look at the piece from The Daily Show last night, where two individuals made conflicting claims about him. One was featured on Hannity, so you know they are legit.
One, a white man claimed that Obama fits the description of the anti-Christ. The other claims he is the spittin’ image of Hitler. Laughable, but ye god’s some demented sorts really do believe this. Of course they believe the second coming will be any day now, and most have been espousing THAT for the last 30 or more years too. The new target date after 2000 proved to be a wash, is 2012 I’m told.
Although I am loathe to give any advertising for Foxy Noise, one has to drop by on evenings such as this just to see what’s going on there. I’m reasonably convinced that each of the usuals, especially Fred Barnes, Brit Hume, Charles Krauthammer, and super neo con Billy Kristol has barf pails next to their chairs, so upsetting are the Democrats to them.
In any case, only the middle two were on last night. Now, you must catch these fools, for you will be rewarded with gales of genuine laughter. First you have to get through Hume’s pouty rendition of how it ain’t fair. “It isn’t at all fair,” he moans, looking over his reading glasses. “Obama gets to give a speech in the House chamber, that beautifully decorated awe inspiring backdrop. Then of course, he has a captive audience of hundreds. Then of course one has to admit, he is a great orator, whatever you might think of the substance.”
Then we get to Hume’s real assessment of Bobby boy Jindal’s “Republican response.” “Um,” says our Brit, “given the terribly unfair playing field, and that Bobby stood in front of a dais and talked to a camera with no audience, well, Bobby was um, well awful, not his best night.” The others, being Krauthammer (Katzenjammer kid to me), nods solemnly, “Yes, who could compete with all that Obama had going for him, but no, Bobby just didn’t do well.”
I mean I was close to running off to tinkle in the toitoi before I wet myself. It was that funny.
That Bobby didn’t do well is an understatement. He plainly sucked big time. First he started out with a rambling and totally “so what” story about his earliest days. You see his parents came to this country before he was born. He was as he put it “a pre-existing condition.” Why he used that to say that his mother was pregnant with him I don’t know, but he then moved on. His dad got a job and set up a payment plan with the hospital where he was delivered. His dad paid each installment faithfully.
Thank God, Dad paid the bills, and Bobby was born. Apparently in Louisiana, hospitals can prevent births for deadbeat users of their services if they don’t pay up on time. At least I guess that his was his point, but one can’t be sure. He never tied it to anything.
Mostly he talked in a strange cadence that was akin to a elementary teacher explaining how to add two oranges and three apples to seven year olds. Mostly it seemed that he had not read Obama’s speech at all. He warned of the taxes that everyone would have to cough up to pay for the stimulus bill. I guess since “read my lips” was a lie, they figure all such pronouncements are lies.
If Bobby is the answer to Republican prayers to avoid the great Northern Palin attack, then I say, well done! He’s nearly as bad as her and a welcome opponent. All in all, a most wonderful night. I think the country is reassured, Democrats are energized and increasingly confident, Republicans are washing the accidents out of their shorts today, and all’s right with the world.
Existential Ennui 