And then there were five – uninteresting, uninspiring, unqualified wannabes.
Are US politics boring, entertaining, laughable, irrelevant? Or all of the above? Here are a few of just this week’s laugh track highlights
Rick Perry the debate flop goes huntin' for Turkey without a gun or a thought in his head. (photo/Charles Dharapak)
Rick, outside of Texas this is the Turkey you need to understand better. First, it's bigger than Texas and it's more important.
Who’s the turkey? Perry or Turkey?
How can any clear thinking American think that Rick Perry might be a good President? And if there was ever any doubt, his recent babble in this week’s debate should put it to rest. Instead of saying what he said, he should have stuck with his usual “I forgot …oops.” He said that Turkey is ruled by Islamic terrorists. DYFBI (do you fecken’ believe it)? First, it’s simply not true. Second, even if it was, the most naïve intern at the State Department knows you don’t say such things publicly. Rick, as President, if you were to say something like that about North Korea you just might start a war. And get this, his response to the outcry of criticism was: “This is a country that’s got some explaining to do to the United States.” Now that’s bright – such a grasp of foreign affairs. Rick, go home to Texas where, obviously, foot-in-mouth disease is readily accepted.
Does Uncle Sam really want a leverage buyout guy? (photo: pslawnet.wordpress.com)
Should the nation be run like a business?
There’s been plenty of talk about the pros and cons of someone like Mitt Romney – a man with business experience – being able to solve America’s problems. Mitt says it’s a good thing; Newt and the other candidates say it’s a bad thing – referring to that “vulture capitalism” stuff. So which is it?
Well, Mitt was in the leverage buyout business at Bain Capital and he did make billions for his investors and hundreds of millions for himself. And, according to him, created a 100,000 jobs – a fact that Newt questions incessantly. But the leverage buyout business isn’t about creating jobs, it’s about cutting costs, consolidating assets and leveraging debt in order to achieve big returns for investors. Jobs? They mostly get cut, not added. So Mitt, how is that experience good for America? And the second part of that idea raises another question. Leveraged buyout is all about using debt to leverage the spending by borrowing big and yet, at this time in America’s economic doldrums, we need to lower our debt not increase it. So Mitt, how exactly does your resume fit America’s needs? Because a nation has a lot more responsibilities than a business and is a tad more complex.
Sarah, oh Sarah, go away. Go huntin' with Dick Cheney. (photo:desmogblog.com)
Is Sarah’s endorsement of Newt a bump or a bummer?
OMG! She’s back … but we shouldn’t be surprised. Sarah is in our face again and thanks to Fox’s endless chase for ratings they’ve given her a stage for her usual blather. She actually thinks she’s a somebody, a political maven, when she’s just a diva for the shallow end of the Fox audience, which, come to think of it, is most of it. She said in an interview with Sean Hannity, “If I was a South Carolinian I would vote for Newt …” Of course, Newt is desperate so he’ll take it in hopes of picking up all the pick-up-driven, tobacco-chompin’, Bible-thumpin’ South Carolinians he can get. And Sarah’s husband, Mr. Todd Nobody from Alaska, has already endorsed Newt. That will give Newt a bump in the polls of at least two deer hunters, three gun-totin’ rednecks and a couple of lame-duck hunters. If you care, here’s Sarah’s 1:43 second thought provoking insight.
Stephen, add Jon Stewart as your VP and you're a shoe-in
If Colbert wins, who’s the VP?
Steven Colbert has inserted himself into the GOP primary race and with considerable success. The Google search numbers place him higher than Gingrich, Santorum and Perry and almost as high as Romney and Paul. And this past week, his search numbers increased by 260% compared to just a 23% increase for Paul and drops for the other candidates. Not bad for a fake candidacy. Of course, in many ways, they are all fake. If we’re lucky he’ll be more than a distraction and because he’s the brightest among this laughing stock of under qualified has beens, he may well change the game. Can you imagine what would happen if he added Jon Stewart as VP on his ticket?
Economic problems didn't start yesterday or last year or three years ago, they started in 2003 with the war.
It’s the economy stupid. And of course it’s George W and Cheney’s doing.
Here’s a poll you won’t find the GOP talking much about. A majority of Americans believe that former President George W. Bush is more responsible than President Obama for the current economic problems in the country, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. (Posted 01/18/12 by the Washington Post). Here’s the essence of it.
“Fifty-four percent of respondents said that Bush was more to blame while 29 percent put the blame on Obama; 9 percent said both men deserved blame while 6 percent said neither did. Among registered voters, the numbers are almost identical; 54 percent blame Bush, while 30 percent blame Obama. Independents, widely considered the most critical voting bloc this fall, continue to blame Bush far more than Obama for the economic troubles. Fifty-seven percent of unaffiliated voters put the blame on the former Republican president, while 25 percent believe the blame rests more with Obama. Heck, even one in five Republicans say Bush is more responsible than Obama for the state of the economy!
The economic blame game numbers are somewhat remarkable given that Obama is in the third year of his presidency, a tenure defined by the continued economic distress in the country. Republicans’ attempt to use the economy to drag the incumbent down won’t be as simple as some in the party might think.”
Anyone who has taken Economics 101 already knows this but it’s good to have a few numbers to substantiate it.
Stay tuned to the circus, it gets better. Or worse, depending on whether you’re laughing or not.
