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We have a system in our household. At 7 am, the Contrarian comes to wake me up. “Babe, babe, ….babe, it’s 7. . . .” he croons. Today, it was punctuated by a second statement. “Are you ready to be shocked?”
“mmmwhhhat?” pushing the cobwebs from my mind.
“Obama won the Nobel prize.”
“For what?”
“For peace.”
“Where?”
“I dunno, I guess for everywhere.”
My immediate reaction was, “Oh, lordy, Hannity and the Fox nuts must be preparing the samurai swords for hari kari.” (before you start, I know hari kari is incorrect. But I’m NOT looking up the correct term.)
That was more than enough incentive to bounce out of the bed and get the TV on. And the Contrarian quickly began arguing quite convincingly that this was not a “day for man work” given that such “perfect days seldom come along” when we can sit and watch “Fox implode all day.”
I’m normally not into “breaking news” since, by the time you get here, you already know it anyhow. I’m not a 24 hour news service. I generally wait until there is a back story that rises up and suggests a look. But this is just too delicious you know to put off.
I mean, good grief through all those long eight years of misery, at least we could count on the fact that the international community was in solidarity with us in our agony of mediocrity. They hated the dumbed down cowboy as much as we did, for both his utter incompetence and his arrogant swaggering of American power to the detriment of all.
How must the rabid nearly incoherent right feel, as once again the Antichrist has managed to come up smelling like roses? I mean can you imagine the number of newspapers that are being shredded by snarling maws of insane hatred? Coming on the heels of their utter glee that Chicago was turned down for the Olympics, it is like alcohol on the wound, no? They must be squealing again about how the world is a cult of Obama.
Taking the wind from their sails, they now find themselves once again forced to mute up or find excuses, or yes, even to rant at the unfairness of it all. Why cannot EVERYONE get it that this man is the evil genie sent by Satan to destroy the world? Why is it only they, this small remnant of not so well educated, not so well paid, workers who get it? I can imagine, just barely their agony.
No, I’m not one to gloat, no I am not. I take no pleasure in telling you these things. No I don’t. I mean I felt bad when Tommy Delay had to quit Dancing with the Stars due to stress fractures. I can understand his misery, I’ve felt misery from the stress he’s delivered me for years. I can empathize. I surely can.
Foxy missed not a beat, turning the announcement on its head. This is not praise or recognition for Obama and thus for the US, but actually another cheap shot at Bush. They, (the world), hated him you know. WITH GOOD REASON FOX! If Fox could ever get the reality of things. Bush was a gnat, a nasty creature who irritated a good portion of the globe, but he is gone, and I doubt many are spending must time and effort in finding ways to “pay him back.” History will do that quite nicely, thank you.
Rethugs are no doubt huddled together trying to figure out a strategy to deal with this. More impetus to the health care reform which has, it seems, finally turned a corner of sorts. The polling is now decidedly on the side of public options and Republican “positives” are in single digits these days.
They rather clearly thought it bad form to express their happiness at the Olympic thing. Plenty of it got out, and they looked, well, unpatriotic. How to remain patriotic and still cast this as somehow no big deal? I saw only Orrin Hatch and he suggested that somehow Obama must gather from this honor that he “just doesn’t represent the left, but all the people.” I don’t know how he arrived at this bizarre conclusion but well, it was an effort not to be seen as sour.
Meanwhile behind the closed doors, and in the trailer parks and world wrestling ring sides, the usual pouting and cursing will continue. The man can give a good speech, but he’s still stupid as, well, I can’t conceive what, since they think Sarah is a intellectual ideal. There will be renewed calls for “gathering our guns and marching” and “getting our country back.” For some, there will be the confounding reality that shocking as it seems, it seems the world is not aware that he’s BLACK! Like Colbert, they “don’t see color.” And there will be more claims of socialism, from the milder nuts, and fascism and Nazism from those that more than likely could spell neither.
What we have here folks is a honor directed to America, represented by our President. It is a recognition that we are trying to repair the damage we have done. That we are fully in the world, not above it. That we recognize our responsibilities and want to bring our considerable power and history to bear for good. For peace and conversation, for empathy, sympathy, compassion, and justice. That is what Barack H. Obama symbolizes today. In his unfailing offers of a handshake and a listening ear, Obama has signaled that America is one among equals, not the bully on the block.
It’s a good day!
Existential Ennui 