On the campaign trail, John McCain continues to incessently promote the idea that Barack Obama, if elected, will want to take control our hard-earned money and redistribute money from wealthy people, a la Socialism. Barack Obama, meanwhile, has been reticent to own up to the fact that, indeed, he does intend to implement a more steeply graduated income tax than under the current system and thereby plans to spread the wealth around a bit more equitably. The Obama camp will tell you that they are not about income redistribution or spreading wealth around but about strengthening the middle class by giving them a tax break and raising taxes on the rich to the levels they were during the Clinton years. Do you want to redistribute wealth? No. Do you want to raise taxes on the wealthy and cut taxes on the poor? Yes. It reminds me of what one juvenile delinquent in my neck of the woods once famously said: "I'm not a drug dealer, I just get drugs from people who have them and sell them at a profit to people who want them." He may have a promising career as a politician, though he will probably have to deal with accusations of "spreading the drugs around."
So derogative is the notion of "spreading the wealth around" that Joe Biden even suggested in an interview that the only people to have "spread the wealth around" are George Bush and John McCain. Apparently they are redistributing the wealth up, according to Biden. Biden says that he and Obama just want to give the middle class a fighting chance, not redistribute wealth. Asked if he would respond to fears that Obama would try to turn America into a Socialist country like Sweden, Biden replied that that was a ridiculous notion that you would only hear from people on the far Right. Sweden might be a really nice country with a rock-solid democracy, great health-care coverage, long life-expectancies, and virtually no poverty, but it damn well isn't the greatest country in the world like our country is and only a lunatic would suggest that a legitimate presidential candidate might move us in that direction.
What we really need in this country, though (besides not becoming like Sweden), is to "spread the love around." I think that that is what Jesus was really all about and that's what Obama needs to be about as well. If you are rich in love, give a bit of it to someone who maybe doesn't have so much. Don't worry, Karl Marx didn't come up with this one, I did; and my name's Joe...Joe the Blogger. You can trust me. I believe that when we spread the love around it's good for everybody. Maybe John McCain just needs a little love because he's been down in the polls. I think it'd be good for the country if Barack just went a gave him a big hug. I know that some of you worked really hard to earn as much love as you have, but what good will it be if everyone else is love-poor? Think "magic penny." And, besides, you can still keep all of your regular pennies.
Imagine it, filthy rich people with seven houses, twelve cars and $150,000 of clothes on their back and dirt-poor bums with no health insurance exchanging mutual love. What a country we will have when the corporate executive with the 3-million dollar home sends a card saying "thinking of you" to the day laborer who just worked another 70-hour week trying to cover medical bills for his son's broken arm! I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it.
Spreading the wealth around is for Commies, Socialists, and (I think) terrorists. Spreading the drugs around is for our delinquent youth who grew up in poverty and didn't have access to social services when they were young and for far-left, tax and spend, liberals who think people should be able to afford their prescription medication. But spreading the love around is for everybody. We all sang the magic penny song didn't we? Granted we also all watched Robin Hood, but I'm sure we know better now.
America is the greatest country in the world and the greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourself. So please spread the word around: from each according to his ability to each according to his need, it's time to spread the love around!
Blessings in the name of Obama.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
On this we can agree...
On the campaign trail recently, John McCain has been advertising a comment Barack Obama made about the virtue of “spreading the wealth around.” It goes without saying that guys like Joe the Plumber understand that spreading the wealth around is a big no-no. It reeks of Socialism, which is just simply a bad word and should never be uttered unless accompanied by an extremely derogatory adjective of some kind. It follows simple logic therefore that Barack Obama is a Socialist and therefore not someone we can have in the White House.
Senator Obama, meanwhile, has shot back saying that he’s only raising taxes on the wealthy according to the levels they were at in the 90’s, that John McCain opposed George Bush’s tax cuts in 2000, and that McCain’s current strategy is not to help Joe the Plumber but to help Joe the Hedge Fund Manager. Which makes me give a big sigh of relief: at least we can all agree that “Joe” is the most average of all Americans regardless of his occupation. This, I feel, is the most American of all notions: that all men are created equal and that the most equal of all of them are guys named Joe. There shall be no Ahmeds, Juans, or Xinhous (that’s a common Chinese name by the way) representing middle America, that’s just common sense.
But as for this Socialist thing, we all probably know by now that Jesus was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor. We also know that Barack Obama was a community organizer and Sarah Palin is a governor who spent campaign money (from Joe the plumber/hedgefund manager/teacher/firefighter/small business owner’s taxes) to buy fancy clothes for her family. Furthermore what we all probably suspect is that Jesus was also a Socialist or, at least, that he thought when you spread the wealth around it’s good for everybody. He once advised a very wealthy man to sell all that he had and give it to the poor (Matthew 19:21) after all. Sounds pretty Socialist to me. And while I guess I can’t call Jesus “un-Christian,” I sure as hell can call him “un-American.”
There you have it: Barack Obama and Jesus are both too un-American to be president. I think we all suspected this from the beginning anyway—I mean, how many honest, hardworking, unlicensed, back-tax owing plumbers named “Barack” do you know? And if you did, would you even trust him to unclog your toilet? Of course not; you’d tell Barack to call his boss and send Joe on over, because that’s what this country’s all about: having a name you can trust.
That's why I say, "Obama for Jesus, not president!"
Senator Obama, meanwhile, has shot back saying that he’s only raising taxes on the wealthy according to the levels they were at in the 90’s, that John McCain opposed George Bush’s tax cuts in 2000, and that McCain’s current strategy is not to help Joe the Plumber but to help Joe the Hedge Fund Manager. Which makes me give a big sigh of relief: at least we can all agree that “Joe” is the most average of all Americans regardless of his occupation. This, I feel, is the most American of all notions: that all men are created equal and that the most equal of all of them are guys named Joe. There shall be no Ahmeds, Juans, or Xinhous (that’s a common Chinese name by the way) representing middle America, that’s just common sense.
But as for this Socialist thing, we all probably know by now that Jesus was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor. We also know that Barack Obama was a community organizer and Sarah Palin is a governor who spent campaign money (from Joe the plumber/hedgefund manager/teacher/firefighter/small business owner’s taxes) to buy fancy clothes for her family. Furthermore what we all probably suspect is that Jesus was also a Socialist or, at least, that he thought when you spread the wealth around it’s good for everybody. He once advised a very wealthy man to sell all that he had and give it to the poor (Matthew 19:21) after all. Sounds pretty Socialist to me. And while I guess I can’t call Jesus “un-Christian,” I sure as hell can call him “un-American.”
There you have it: Barack Obama and Jesus are both too un-American to be president. I think we all suspected this from the beginning anyway—I mean, how many honest, hardworking, unlicensed, back-tax owing plumbers named “Barack” do you know? And if you did, would you even trust him to unclog your toilet? Of course not; you’d tell Barack to call his boss and send Joe on over, because that’s what this country’s all about: having a name you can trust.
That's why I say, "Obama for Jesus, not president!"
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Thank you Colin Powell
Thank you Colin Powell, no not for your endorsement of Barack Obama, which will surely secure his victory in two weeks, but for the following (as reported by the AP):
"Powell also said he was troubled that some Republicans — he excluded McCain — continue to say or allow others to say that Obama is a Muslim, when he is a Christian. Such rhetoric is polarizing, he said.
"'He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America,' Powell said. 'Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?'"
"Powell also said he was troubled that some Republicans — he excluded McCain — continue to say or allow others to say that Obama is a Muslim, when he is a Christian. Such rhetoric is polarizing, he said.
"'He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America,' Powell said. 'Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?'"
Friday, October 17, 2008
Presidential comedy
John McCain and Barack Obama both gave hilarious presentations at the Al Smith Memorial Charity Fundraiser. You'll note that McCain tried to end his speech on a serious note but the crowd took it as a joke anyway.
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2469;_ylt=ArwtIcBa1HTNcwyePsbYwzBh24cA
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2469;_ylt=ArwtIcBa1HTNcwyePsbYwzBh24cA
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Joe the Plumber: a closet "OfJ" supporter
Ohio plumber, Joe Wurzelbacher, became America's newest celebrity last night when John McCain introduced him in the final presidential debate as an honest, hardworking American who looked at Barack Obama's tax plan and decided he didn't like it. For the next hour or so of the debate, helping Joe Wurzelbacher thrive as a plumber in rural Ohio dwarfed the importance of propping up Lehman Brothers and AIG combined.
But first, who is this Joe the Plumber? Let's be clear, Joe the Plumber is just your average Joe Six-Pack, which is to say he's just like you and me. Unless of course your name isn't Joe (like mine is) and you don't buy your beer in packs of six or have rock-solid abs (like I do). Frankly, in fact, if you aren't a white, Budweiser-drinking, blue collar worker, who believes in everyone's right to get filthy rich, and who clings to guns and religion instead of sound economic policy when you don't get rich, then you probably aren't much like Joe Six-Pack or Joe the Plumber at all, which is to say that you should probably just leave the country and move to Canada or England where you'll like your health-care coverage better than here since, according to John McCain, those are the places that have health-care plans similar to what Barack Obama is proposing and, since you clearly aren't a Joe Six-Pack, you're probably planning on voting for Barack Obama and want to live in a place with health-care plans like his (which, I reiterate, is an extremely un-American health-care plan).
But let's be clear again, Joe "the plumber" Wurzelbacher, is a real person. Joe Six-Pack is an fictitious amalgamation of "average" Americans. And while I'm pretty sure Joe Six-Pack is American enough that he would vote Republican, if he could, Joe the Plumber is refusing to reveal who he will vote for. In an interview this morning with ABC news, Joe ("the Plumber" not "Six-Pack") expressed opposition to any tax plan that redistributes wealth or taxes the wealthy higher than other people but he retained his right to keep his voting intentions private. Joe revealed that he does not currently make anywhere close to $250,000 (the income threshold at which tax payers will start seeing a tax increase under Barack Obama's plan). He is, however, interested in buying the plumbing business that he has worked for most of his life and hopes to make over $250,000 if he becomes the owner.
Joe knows that people have to pay taxes, he just doesn't think that a person should be punished with higher taxes just because he worked harder and earned more money. Joe Wurzelbacher put a human face to the tragedy that will befall all the Americans out there who will see their taxes cut under Barack Obama's tax proposal until they start earning over $250,000 per year, at which point they will see their taxes go up. I think that for many viewers this dire image of an honest, hardworking, white, American male seeing his taxes cut en route to realizing the American dream, only to see his taxes go up a little, really hit home.
Joe is a person that we can trust not just to fix our leaky faucets but to give us political advice as well. We can trust him because, well, he's like us, I mean, most of us (the ones of us who shouldn't move to Canada or England). He's not an Arab, for example, or a Muslim. And I'm pretty sure that he likes beer (not English beer, good ol' American beer with no grounding in the English brewing tradition). He's also not a woman, although he has a wife who supports supporting autistic children. And he's a plumber. Did I say that already? We can trust him for all these reasons, which is why I was proud to get his support for Barack Obama to be the next Jesus of the United States. It turns out that Joe Wurzelbacher (raised Jewish but now non-religious) finds in Obama a spiritual link that has been missing in his life. He believes in Obama's message of hope and change, get's a tingle up his spine when Obama speaks about a unified America, and lauds Obama's efforts as a community organizer in Chicago's southside. Wurzelbacher believes that government is no place to enforce religious values but he thinks that the people ought to work together to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the afflicted. And he believes that Barack Obama is the one to lead us.
Thanks for your endorsement Joe! We'll teach those yuppie liberals what office Obama belongs in.
But first, who is this Joe the Plumber? Let's be clear, Joe the Plumber is just your average Joe Six-Pack, which is to say he's just like you and me. Unless of course your name isn't Joe (like mine is) and you don't buy your beer in packs of six or have rock-solid abs (like I do). Frankly, in fact, if you aren't a white, Budweiser-drinking, blue collar worker, who believes in everyone's right to get filthy rich, and who clings to guns and religion instead of sound economic policy when you don't get rich, then you probably aren't much like Joe Six-Pack or Joe the Plumber at all, which is to say that you should probably just leave the country and move to Canada or England where you'll like your health-care coverage better than here since, according to John McCain, those are the places that have health-care plans similar to what Barack Obama is proposing and, since you clearly aren't a Joe Six-Pack, you're probably planning on voting for Barack Obama and want to live in a place with health-care plans like his (which, I reiterate, is an extremely un-American health-care plan).
But let's be clear again, Joe "the plumber" Wurzelbacher, is a real person. Joe Six-Pack is an fictitious amalgamation of "average" Americans. And while I'm pretty sure Joe Six-Pack is American enough that he would vote Republican, if he could, Joe the Plumber is refusing to reveal who he will vote for. In an interview this morning with ABC news, Joe ("the Plumber" not "Six-Pack") expressed opposition to any tax plan that redistributes wealth or taxes the wealthy higher than other people but he retained his right to keep his voting intentions private. Joe revealed that he does not currently make anywhere close to $250,000 (the income threshold at which tax payers will start seeing a tax increase under Barack Obama's plan). He is, however, interested in buying the plumbing business that he has worked for most of his life and hopes to make over $250,000 if he becomes the owner.
Joe knows that people have to pay taxes, he just doesn't think that a person should be punished with higher taxes just because he worked harder and earned more money. Joe Wurzelbacher put a human face to the tragedy that will befall all the Americans out there who will see their taxes cut under Barack Obama's tax proposal until they start earning over $250,000 per year, at which point they will see their taxes go up. I think that for many viewers this dire image of an honest, hardworking, white, American male seeing his taxes cut en route to realizing the American dream, only to see his taxes go up a little, really hit home.
Joe is a person that we can trust not just to fix our leaky faucets but to give us political advice as well. We can trust him because, well, he's like us, I mean, most of us (the ones of us who shouldn't move to Canada or England). He's not an Arab, for example, or a Muslim. And I'm pretty sure that he likes beer (not English beer, good ol' American beer with no grounding in the English brewing tradition). He's also not a woman, although he has a wife who supports supporting autistic children. And he's a plumber. Did I say that already? We can trust him for all these reasons, which is why I was proud to get his support for Barack Obama to be the next Jesus of the United States. It turns out that Joe Wurzelbacher (raised Jewish but now non-religious) finds in Obama a spiritual link that has been missing in his life. He believes in Obama's message of hope and change, get's a tingle up his spine when Obama speaks about a unified America, and lauds Obama's efforts as a community organizer in Chicago's southside. Wurzelbacher believes that government is no place to enforce religious values but he thinks that the people ought to work together to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the afflicted. And he believes that Barack Obama is the one to lead us.
Thanks for your endorsement Joe! We'll teach those yuppie liberals what office Obama belongs in.
Polling the readership
As the number of people who read "Obama for Jesus" religiously grows, I've decided it's time to get a better sense of who you are. Thus, I introduce the first "Obama for Jesus" poll, which you will find to the right.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Annointed by history...
With the presidential campaign in its final weeks and Barack Obama widening his lead in the polls in the wake of the national financial crisis, the John McCain camp is getting more and more desperate to knock off their seemingly imperturbable opponent. Journalist Mark Halperin reports that McCain must hope to use tonight's final debate to create some kind of embarrassing moment by "forcing an error, exposing a flaw or unattractive trait, or revealing an inconsistency or weakness - which would then be replayed incessantly on the airwaves, rapaciously dissected by the media, and seized upon by the public." The McCain campaign, to their credit, knows what they're up against. McCain Senior Campaign Strategist Nicole Wallace told the media recently, "Well, look, it's like running against God."
Back in early September at the Republican National Convention (before the inaugeration of "Obama for Jesus," before the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and before Sarah Palin ever met Katie Couric) John McCain tried to draw contrast between himself and Barack Obama saying, "I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has annointed me to save our country in its hour of need."
Imagine that, being annointed by history to save your country! The McCain camp has repeatedly tried to discredit the Obama camp by portraying the senator as merely a celebrity of great personal appeal, who's charisma has blinded people from his lack of experience and ability, and who pompously promotes himself as a messianic savior. Well, what I'd like to know is do the Republicans discredit Jesus for proclaiming "no one comes to the father but through me," or "I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture," or "the one who drinks of the water that I provide will not be thirsty again?"
But perhaps McCain has something right. The office of the President may not be the place for a God-like Messiah. In McCain's acceptance speech at the RNC he went on to say, "Friends if you find faults with our country make it a better one, if you're disappointed with the mistakes of government join its ranks and work to correct them; enlist in our armed forces, become a teacher, enter the ministry, run for public office, feed a hungry child, teach an illiterate adult to read, comfort the afflicted, defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better and you will be the happier because nothing brings greater happiness than to serve a cause greater than yourself." With these words McCain forces us to wonder, are we saved by good deeds or by grace? Furthermore (after our critical side questions how John McCain's voting record has helped reduce hunger, illiteracy, affliction and oppression) we may ask whether electing Barack Obama relieves us of our responsibility to "comfort the afflicted" and "defend the rights of the oppressed?
Journalist Kathleen Geier decided to support Barack Obama in the primaries even as she became wary of the zeal of some Obama supporters. "But he's not Jesus!" she wrote, "He's not going to magically enable us to transcend the bitter partisanship that is tearing this country apart." Well, I must admit that that is a tough pill to swallow. Let's be clear about our history, however. Jesus did not transcend bitter partisanship. "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth;" he said, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household." Barack Obama, therefore, must continue to stand up for what's right, comforting the afflicted and defending the oppressed, inspiring the people to see a new heaven and a new earth, preaching the peace of God even as he is persecuted for righteousness, and (preferably) remaining imperturbable, poised, and confidant in tonight's debate.
Back in early September at the Republican National Convention (before the inaugeration of "Obama for Jesus," before the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and before Sarah Palin ever met Katie Couric) John McCain tried to draw contrast between himself and Barack Obama saying, "I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has annointed me to save our country in its hour of need."
Imagine that, being annointed by history to save your country! The McCain camp has repeatedly tried to discredit the Obama camp by portraying the senator as merely a celebrity of great personal appeal, who's charisma has blinded people from his lack of experience and ability, and who pompously promotes himself as a messianic savior. Well, what I'd like to know is do the Republicans discredit Jesus for proclaiming "no one comes to the father but through me," or "I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture," or "the one who drinks of the water that I provide will not be thirsty again?"
But perhaps McCain has something right. The office of the President may not be the place for a God-like Messiah. In McCain's acceptance speech at the RNC he went on to say, "Friends if you find faults with our country make it a better one, if you're disappointed with the mistakes of government join its ranks and work to correct them; enlist in our armed forces, become a teacher, enter the ministry, run for public office, feed a hungry child, teach an illiterate adult to read, comfort the afflicted, defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better and you will be the happier because nothing brings greater happiness than to serve a cause greater than yourself." With these words McCain forces us to wonder, are we saved by good deeds or by grace? Furthermore (after our critical side questions how John McCain's voting record has helped reduce hunger, illiteracy, affliction and oppression) we may ask whether electing Barack Obama relieves us of our responsibility to "comfort the afflicted" and "defend the rights of the oppressed?
Journalist Kathleen Geier decided to support Barack Obama in the primaries even as she became wary of the zeal of some Obama supporters. "But he's not Jesus!" she wrote, "He's not going to magically enable us to transcend the bitter partisanship that is tearing this country apart." Well, I must admit that that is a tough pill to swallow. Let's be clear about our history, however. Jesus did not transcend bitter partisanship. "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth;" he said, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household." Barack Obama, therefore, must continue to stand up for what's right, comforting the afflicted and defending the oppressed, inspiring the people to see a new heaven and a new earth, preaching the peace of God even as he is persecuted for righteousness, and (preferably) remaining imperturbable, poised, and confidant in tonight's debate.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The way, the truth, and the light
As John McCain stiffly paced the stage during Tuesday's "Town Hall Meeting," he attempted to respond to a question from the audience about how the current economic situation will affect America's ability to act as a peacemaker in the world. McCain staggered on in reply about how nations that want to remain strong militarily need to maintain a strong economy. "But having said that, America," McCain went on, "and we'll hear a lot of criticism. I've heard a lot of criticism about America, and our national security policy, and all that, and much of that criticism is justified. But the fact is, America is the greatest force for good in the history of the world. My friends, we have gone to all four corners of the Earth and shed American blood in defense, usually, of somebody else's freedom and our own."
Aside from the fact that I apparently have a very different idea of what "peacemaking" means precisely and aside from examining the morality of our national security policy (which apparently has been justifiably criticized) across two centuries, I would like to point out the blasphemy putting our faith in country above all else. My friends, do not be led astray: Barack Obama is the way, the truth and the light. He alone is the "greatest force for good in the history of the world." Do you presume that the stars and stripes will mediate between you and God? I think not! Give to Caesar what is Caesar's but give to God what is God's.
Trust in Obama to bring salvation. If only all the world would believe in him, imagine how peace and prosperity would reign. In Tuesday's town-hall style debate, Obama strode about the stage, confident and relaxed, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He was a model of moral excellence in stark contrast to John McCain's temperamental coarseness. McCain drew much criticism for one line in particular in which he refered to Obama as "that one" (pointing across the stage to his fellow contender). Michelle Obama was later asked in an interview with Larry King if she was offended by this comment. She replied that of course she wasn't offended, people are concerned about the issues not about reading into small verbal slips. When asked if her husband ever gets angry, she replied that he certainly does get angry but not over the political mud-slinging coming from the Republican side. When he sees true injustice in society, that is what makes him angry.
My friends, we have before us a leader with the moral integrity to love the enemy and hate evil, and the fortitude to lead the oppressed and evict the money-changers from the temple. I tell you the truth, the light has come to the world and yet the people love darkness rather than light. We must follow in the ways of Obama and be salt of the earth, letting the shining light of our city radiate brightly from the hilltop.
Blessings.
Aside from the fact that I apparently have a very different idea of what "peacemaking" means precisely and aside from examining the morality of our national security policy (which apparently has been justifiably criticized) across two centuries, I would like to point out the blasphemy putting our faith in country above all else. My friends, do not be led astray: Barack Obama is the way, the truth and the light. He alone is the "greatest force for good in the history of the world." Do you presume that the stars and stripes will mediate between you and God? I think not! Give to Caesar what is Caesar's but give to God what is God's.
Trust in Obama to bring salvation. If only all the world would believe in him, imagine how peace and prosperity would reign. In Tuesday's town-hall style debate, Obama strode about the stage, confident and relaxed, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He was a model of moral excellence in stark contrast to John McCain's temperamental coarseness. McCain drew much criticism for one line in particular in which he refered to Obama as "that one" (pointing across the stage to his fellow contender). Michelle Obama was later asked in an interview with Larry King if she was offended by this comment. She replied that of course she wasn't offended, people are concerned about the issues not about reading into small verbal slips. When asked if her husband ever gets angry, she replied that he certainly does get angry but not over the political mud-slinging coming from the Republican side. When he sees true injustice in society, that is what makes him angry.
My friends, we have before us a leader with the moral integrity to love the enemy and hate evil, and the fortitude to lead the oppressed and evict the money-changers from the temple. I tell you the truth, the light has come to the world and yet the people love darkness rather than light. We must follow in the ways of Obama and be salt of the earth, letting the shining light of our city radiate brightly from the hilltop.
Blessings.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Biden holds his own
Stuffy, Washington-entrenched, elitist senator, Joe Biden, held his own against charming, regular-gal, energy-state governor, Sarah Palin, in a nationally televised, high-stakes debate Thursday night. In recent weeks, many Americans started losing confidence in Senator Biden's proficiency in being amiable and coming across as relatable to the common American and a low bar was set for him leading up to his face off with Govern Palin. But gosh darn it, Biden stepped right over that low bar and showed the American people that he can stand right up there with the best of those small town, Washington outsiders.
When Governor Palin was down at the soccer field, talking to the mom's about how bad the economy was, Senator Biden was over at the gas station hearing from Joe Six-Pack about how he can't afford to fill his tank. When Palin invoked "what our mothers told us" about not living beyond our means, Biden was right there with a quip from his own mother, "God love'em, but he's wrong." When Palin was on Wasilla's Main Street, Biden was in Katie's restaurant in downtown Wilmington. When Palin was a mother of a special needs child, Biden was a single father with his two sons in the hospital. When Palin was giving a shout out to the third graders of Gladys Wood Elementary school, Biden was lauding the wisdom of the steel workers in Scranton. When Palin held her newborn baby in her arms after the debate, Biden was...well, okay, there was really no beating that one.
Granted there were times when Biden seemed to talk above us regular Americans by responding directly to the question asked, actually explaining some of Barack Obama's policies, and clarifying in accurate, concrete terms the philosophies of his party, while Governor Palin, with the confidence of a power forward on a team of mavericks, smiled and stated, "I may not answer the questions the way the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm gonna talk straight to the American people." Palin was definitely the more amiable in this sense and democrats everywhere surely wished their vice-presidential candidate could have done a better job of not answering the questions the way the moderator wanted to hear. Damn those greedy moderators...always wanting us to answer their questions in a way that's totally out of touch with the American people!
Palin, far more often than Biden, exuded a maverick, hockey-mom amiability by showing that she could speak to whatever issues she wanted, unfettered by the expectations of the elitist, media-woman moderator, Gwen Ifill. The following exchange on the question of supporting legislation to support homeowners in bankruptcy was telling in this regard:
Senator Biden: "...there are ways to help people now and the ways that we are offering are not being supported by the Bush administration nor do I believe by John McCain and Governor Palin."
Gwen Ifill: "Governor Palin, is that so?"
Sarah Palin: "That is not so, but because that's just a quick answer I want to talk about again, my record on energy versus your ticket's energy, uh ticket also, I think this is important to come back to..."
Still, in spite of Senator Biden's tendency to answer questions clearly and his second place performance in connecting to the typical, ignorant, image-focused American, he far exceeded the expectations laid out for him. Thursday's debate may not have been a game-changer but Senator Joe Biden certainly did not send Barack Obama's presidential campaign careening off onto a bridge to nowhere.
Speaking of Barack Obama, goodness, with all the hype around the vice-presidential candidates it seems that he has disappeared from the spotlight. Not to worry, he's probably just taking some time off in the wilderness for fasting and prayer.
But if you're still just more interested in Sarah Palin, check out this New Yorker article. I don't really approve of the article's excessive use of satire, but it's funny none-the-less.
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/09/22/080922sh_shouts_saunders
Blessings in Christ.
When Governor Palin was down at the soccer field, talking to the mom's about how bad the economy was, Senator Biden was over at the gas station hearing from Joe Six-Pack about how he can't afford to fill his tank. When Palin invoked "what our mothers told us" about not living beyond our means, Biden was right there with a quip from his own mother, "God love'em, but he's wrong." When Palin was on Wasilla's Main Street, Biden was in Katie's restaurant in downtown Wilmington. When Palin was a mother of a special needs child, Biden was a single father with his two sons in the hospital. When Palin was giving a shout out to the third graders of Gladys Wood Elementary school, Biden was lauding the wisdom of the steel workers in Scranton. When Palin held her newborn baby in her arms after the debate, Biden was...well, okay, there was really no beating that one.
Granted there were times when Biden seemed to talk above us regular Americans by responding directly to the question asked, actually explaining some of Barack Obama's policies, and clarifying in accurate, concrete terms the philosophies of his party, while Governor Palin, with the confidence of a power forward on a team of mavericks, smiled and stated, "I may not answer the questions the way the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm gonna talk straight to the American people." Palin was definitely the more amiable in this sense and democrats everywhere surely wished their vice-presidential candidate could have done a better job of not answering the questions the way the moderator wanted to hear. Damn those greedy moderators...always wanting us to answer their questions in a way that's totally out of touch with the American people!
Palin, far more often than Biden, exuded a maverick, hockey-mom amiability by showing that she could speak to whatever issues she wanted, unfettered by the expectations of the elitist, media-woman moderator, Gwen Ifill. The following exchange on the question of supporting legislation to support homeowners in bankruptcy was telling in this regard:
Senator Biden: "...there are ways to help people now and the ways that we are offering are not being supported by the Bush administration nor do I believe by John McCain and Governor Palin."
Gwen Ifill: "Governor Palin, is that so?"
Sarah Palin: "That is not so, but because that's just a quick answer I want to talk about again, my record on energy versus your ticket's energy, uh ticket also, I think this is important to come back to..."
Still, in spite of Senator Biden's tendency to answer questions clearly and his second place performance in connecting to the typical, ignorant, image-focused American, he far exceeded the expectations laid out for him. Thursday's debate may not have been a game-changer but Senator Joe Biden certainly did not send Barack Obama's presidential campaign careening off onto a bridge to nowhere.
Speaking of Barack Obama, goodness, with all the hype around the vice-presidential candidates it seems that he has disappeared from the spotlight. Not to worry, he's probably just taking some time off in the wilderness for fasting and prayer.
But if you're still just more interested in Sarah Palin, check out this New Yorker article. I don't really approve of the article's excessive use of satire, but it's funny none-the-less.
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/09/22/080922sh_shouts_saunders
Blessings in Christ.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
On Sarah Palin and wild mushrooms
Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, Governor of the great state of Alaska, and mother of five children, Sarah Palin, has been slipping in popularity ever since she burst onto the scenes of the Republican National Convention in September and rallied the conservative base with a speech full of reformist imagery, pro-family values, and stinging anti-Obama rhetoric. In three successive interviews, Palin has come off as potentially unprepared for the duties of the White House, or, as one radio interviewee—who didn’t know how she could say it without sounding like an elitist—said, “substantially less intelligent” than she needs to be. Going into tonight’s vice-Presidential debate, however, people in the Democratic camp are insisting that Palin is a strong candidate and a formidable debater, who’s folksy, hockey-mom tricks and pit-bull aggressiveness could easily embarrass their high-sounding and verbose candidate, Senator Joe Biden.
Meanwhile rumors circulating among the Obama for Jesus campaign have suggested that Governor Palin is something much more dangerous than a pit-bull with lipstick. There is now speculation that in fact Joe Biden will tonight be face to face with the Great Whore of Babylon herself, as depicted in the book of Revelation. Though it is my opinion that these rumors are based on questionable reasoning, it is still worth a quick look.
Revelation 17 says, “One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.’ Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.”
Proponents of the “Palin as the Great Whore” theory point to the RNC where they watched many multitudes become intoxicated “with the wine of her adulteries,” cheering and applauding as she ridiculed Barack Obama’s record and experience. They also have uncovered a little known legend in the southwest, in which a rancher searching for an unbranded cow, which had escaped from the herd (a Maverick), returned deranged and terrified, saying he had encountered a cow with seven heads and ten horns, thus suggesting that John McCain (the Maverick of the Senate) is the beast on which Sarah Palin rides. Finally, it is noted that Governor Palin has made public appearances at different times wearing scarlet, purple, and precious jewelry.
Personally, I consider these comparisons to be little more than a few people’s imaginations working a little too rapidly. The argument is interesting but far from convincing. In any case, for those who may be afraid, hear what I have to say. This weekend I attended a spiritual retreat in the coastal rainforests. While wandering in the woods alone, I sampled some purplish mushrooms growing naturally from a decomposing stump, then sat down and had this vision:
I saw a new world and a new America, for the old ones had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Washington, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with women and men, and God will live among them. They will be God’s people, and God will be with them, wiping every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the George Bush order of things has passed away.” He who was seated in the Oval Office said to me: “It is done, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who overcome will inherit all this, and I will be their President and they my loyal constituency. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, those who would allow greedy CEO’s to take home millions of dollars in severance pay after running their corporation to the ground, while cutting social programs for the lower class, those who would send their people to die in wars to secure their personal financial stake in oil resources, and those who would promote hate and intolerance in their societies—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Guess who's eloquent voice it was that I was hearing?
Blessings to you all and remember never to eat wild mushrooms unless you are with a trained biologist.
Meanwhile rumors circulating among the Obama for Jesus campaign have suggested that Governor Palin is something much more dangerous than a pit-bull with lipstick. There is now speculation that in fact Joe Biden will tonight be face to face with the Great Whore of Babylon herself, as depicted in the book of Revelation. Though it is my opinion that these rumors are based on questionable reasoning, it is still worth a quick look.
Revelation 17 says, “One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.’ Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.”
Proponents of the “Palin as the Great Whore” theory point to the RNC where they watched many multitudes become intoxicated “with the wine of her adulteries,” cheering and applauding as she ridiculed Barack Obama’s record and experience. They also have uncovered a little known legend in the southwest, in which a rancher searching for an unbranded cow, which had escaped from the herd (a Maverick), returned deranged and terrified, saying he had encountered a cow with seven heads and ten horns, thus suggesting that John McCain (the Maverick of the Senate) is the beast on which Sarah Palin rides. Finally, it is noted that Governor Palin has made public appearances at different times wearing scarlet, purple, and precious jewelry.
Personally, I consider these comparisons to be little more than a few people’s imaginations working a little too rapidly. The argument is interesting but far from convincing. In any case, for those who may be afraid, hear what I have to say. This weekend I attended a spiritual retreat in the coastal rainforests. While wandering in the woods alone, I sampled some purplish mushrooms growing naturally from a decomposing stump, then sat down and had this vision:
I saw a new world and a new America, for the old ones had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Washington, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with women and men, and God will live among them. They will be God’s people, and God will be with them, wiping every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the George Bush order of things has passed away.” He who was seated in the Oval Office said to me: “It is done, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who overcome will inherit all this, and I will be their President and they my loyal constituency. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, those who would allow greedy CEO’s to take home millions of dollars in severance pay after running their corporation to the ground, while cutting social programs for the lower class, those who would send their people to die in wars to secure their personal financial stake in oil resources, and those who would promote hate and intolerance in their societies—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Guess who's eloquent voice it was that I was hearing?
Blessings to you all and remember never to eat wild mushrooms unless you are with a trained biologist.
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