Don't leave a voicemail, seriously.

So I'm not a fan of Bill Clinton. (I've mentioned that a few times in the past.)

Someone after my heart.

The part about the economy is especially relevant I think. I can't say I'm surprised exactly that people don't seem to understand the way macroeconomics works, but it was all right on the pages of The Economist, not a lesser known publication, for YEARS before the crash. All they talked about was "the bubble," on and on and on. The information was readily available to anyone who cared to look into it. The adage "if it seems too good to be true it probably is" is hackneyed but often too true. The tech bubble was unsustainable in a very obvious way, and Clinton taking credit for what was the eye of the hurricane of the Decline of the American Empire is pretty...hubraic I suppose.

The Hilary commentary in that piece is the usual sort of misogynistic garbage, but the the Bill stuff is accurate to my seething, liberal, rage-filled heart. I wasn't surprised Bill couldn't even bring himself to tone down the self-aggrandizement last night at the Convention. Michelle Obama was shooting Hilary darts, but Hilary comported herself like a member of a PARTY who has to step up and get shit done now that she's lost. Bill? What a fuckhead, I swear. Yeah, he got in a lot of the campaign talking points, but he just came off (again) like someone not pleased they aren't in charge. I also saw he's running for the DNC chairmanship? HOLY SHIT NO!

Another way Bill shows his colors.


Anyway, that vitriol expended, I was saying yesterday that this campaign feels a lot like the first Clinton campaign in that the rhetoric, while obviously brainwashy, feels good. That's what we do, so I won't even get into why electing officials because we feel good about them is probably not the best way to run our country. I suppose "I like his attitude" is better than "he hates everyone I hate" as a reason to vote from someone.

Karl Rove is a pundit on Fox now? That's so over the top it's almost comical--except it makes me want to cry.

What? Dude, Chris Matthews is the reasonable person in this clip. They should hire that blonde woman to be a commentator on Fox, she's perfect for them. I think the person in the comments who says these people are Republican operatives is probably right. There's a humorous lampoon of McCain on huffpost regarding an attack ad on the Obama kids that I read HALFWAY through before I realized it was really a joke. I half believed it could be true!


Anyway, yeah, Joe Biden continues to be awesome.

What an utterly brilliant speech. I said to Jenn yesterday that I'm impressed all around this Convention with the speech writing. DAMN.

There were the usual silly catchphrases ("change doesn't come from Washington, it comes to Washington" and so on), but the brilliance in Obama's speech was him taking it up above the watershed. Basically, he cut McCain's entire campaign off at the knees. He said "everything you have to say? I'ma say it now and make you look like an asshole when you try to bring it, bitch!" Amazing. Just perfectly well-played.

McCain can't touch Obama head to head in the eloquence race. The issue is, will anyone actually listen to the "we don't have to agree on abortion, but we can all agree on reducing unwanted pregnancies"(& etc.) angle.

The choice to have this acceptance speech on the anniversary of the I Have A Dream speech is weird. I don't know what I think about that. Somewhat ott, and also triggering for the passively racist swing voters.

What's up w/ the COUNTRY SONG??????? Um. I hope that's not the campaign song. Also, WHAT? Ok, going a little too far trying to make everyone purple instead of red or blue there. Too far, DNC.

I LOVE Michelle and the girls. I suppose it's too much to ask we actually win this year, right?

So my actual take on Obama is this: he's a REAL activist who has a shot at being an activist for the world. That's fucking amazing. It's almost so amazing I'm willing to put the cynicism aside and believe at least in the Democratic Party if not in America totally. I'm volunteering for the campaign even with my work commitments. Even if No We Can't, THIS, just THIS is something so fundamentally amazing that I'm in awe. It's not just that we have a PoC as a Presidential candidate for one of the major parties, it's that he has CONVICTIONS. He's not just another trust fund kid who went to Yale and spends summers on his private island--this is a guy who came up working his ass off organizing and making a difference for people in poverty. It's like, gasp, a leader with integrity like my personal hero Jimmy Carter. We can have a Jimmy Carter NOW? That's not something I ever expected to see happen. I hope to look back in my old age and say "Jimmy Carter was the second most honest/trustworthy/ethical President." I really do.

WELL DONE AMERICA!!