May 19, 2008
The Drugs Don’t Work
I really hope Obama is the superhero that so many believe he is, although forgive me if I’m a little too cynical to build a shrine in my front yard. However, having long resisted recidivist tendencies to canonize politicians (ok, I liked Ron Paul…sue me), I like some of what the man has to say (except the the populist shit), and definitely more than the other Gynormous Government Guy, Little Johnny McWar. Key being to forget all paeans to limited government this go around. The Republicans have been lip-syncing their minimal government tall tales for over a decade now and most rational folks have seen beyond the rhetoric, but still they go unpunished. At least the Democrats never promised. Americans want their utopia now more than ever, with an ever growing delusion that the righteous power of Government can deliver it. Which probably explains why we also demand of the president extraordinary superhuman powers:
The chief executive of the United States is no longer a mere constitutional officer charged with faithful execution of the laws. He is a soul nourisher, a hope giver, a living American talisman against hurricanes, terrorism, economic downturns, and spiritual malaise. He—or she—is the one who answers the phone at 3 a.m. to keep our children safe from harm. The modern president is America’s shrink, a social worker, our very own national talk show host. He’s also the Supreme Warlord of the Earth.
I’d love to drink the kool-aid, kids, but the fact of the matter is that the drugs don’t work anymore…
We are so on the same page on this one. I also really WANT to believe that Obama is going to make this country better. But there is no one who could live up to hype like that, and it is the rock star messiah hype that makes me want to puke. Great post.
I hate how it boils down to a sporting event, but so be it…this will be one mean match.
I admit it. I have drunk the Obama Kool-Aid. Still, I wonder about your attachment to Ron Paul. I mean, the guy clearly has a problem with Evolution, which is a serious setback in my book. With idiots like Ben Stein touting movies like Expelled, can someone who shares this opinion really be counted as credible?
There is some serious editing at :35 in that youtube…and sure enough, it’s been discussed elsewhere. There are lots of personal beliefs I don’t share with Ron Paul, and Barack Obama for that matter. Both of them are religious and I am not. So what. That has nothing to do with how they would govern, especially with Ron Paul, who would do more for personal freedom than ANY of the current status quoticians. I’m a firm believer in small government, for many reasons I have discussed on this site, and RP was the only candidate to dare speak up about overblown scope of government. That’s not a republican thing by the way, it’s called classical liberalism. Ben Stein is a douch, whatever.
Point taken.
I think that its a sad state of affairs that you have to be ‘religious enough’ to even apply for the job. Still, I no matter what Ron Paul could do for personal freedom, I don’t think its just a ‘so what’ that he is dubious on points of science. It puts a dent in taking him seriously in my book.
Anyhoo, you can delete the double post. Thought I clicked away and didn’t submit when it was actually a ‘awaiting moderation’ on the comment.
Another side note, I’ve been testing WordPress Automatic Upgrade and it’s quite nifty.
You know what else is quite nifty Rick? Air, fresh clean air. It’s the kind of air that you have to go OUTSIDE to get. You should try it sometime. As my good friend Elton says, “and a, oh the change is gonna do me good”.
Say you love the outside!