SORRY I'VE BEEN AWAY SO LONG, Joel.
AS PER OUR conversation this morning on the streets of BROOKLYN,
AND IN ANSWER to your request for more political blogging,
(A REQUEST YOU ARE ALONE IN MAKING)
HERE is a much better assessment of why my TWITTERING about the debate was ALL WRONG.
THAT MY COME-UPPANCE should come at the hands of PAT BUCHANAN is appropriately shaming.
AS I SAID IN FRONT OF THAT COFFEE SHOP, what we who refresh political blogs all day long forget is this:
THERE ARE A LOT OF DEMOCRATS who like but are still wary of Obama--FOR WHATEVER REASON--and are waiting for a cue that it's OK to support him.
CERTAIN FORMER PRESIDENTS are not giving them that cue, but apparently, on Friday night, OBAMA DID.
WHAT'S MORE, since I am used to McCain's unnerving blinkyness and weird, mad smiles, the fact that he did not end up screaming obscenities just made him seem like a statesman to me.
BUT I GUESS TO THOSE WHO DO NOT REFRESH POLITICAL BLOGS ALL DAY, his angry condescension seemed surprising, and unpleasant.
ALL THE MORE REASON we should step away from the blogs and get out into the world, especially those parts of the world known as battleground states.
I ALSO STAND BY the other statement I made in front of that coffee shop: I NEED SOME MORE COFFEE
That is all.
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Dear Mr. Hodgman,
Newspaper accounts have indicated that you have filmed a celebrity cameo appearance in Battlestar Galactica (as a doctor!), yet you have failed to mention this fact on your web log. What gives?
And, this is not unrelated your post about the debate, given the recent revelation that Senator McCain's twitchy, angry presentation style of late can easily be explained by the fact that he is actually a beta Saul Tigh that was never fully debugged.
Hodgman,
You have, using WORDS, expressed the exact thoughts & feelings I experienced this weekend.
I politely ask that if you will be getting in my head in the future, please be sure to tidy up after you leave.
cheers
I would like to second Joel's request such that he is no longer alone in making it.
I heard no new policies regarding foreign affairs, nor any meaningful reformulations of old policies, from either candidate. And both artfully skirted the question of what must remain UNDONE in light of America's current financial crisis.
So, in determining a winner, I had to judge based on different criteria than substance or statesmanship.
On my scorecard, I awarded exactly one point, and it went to McCain, for his bold and unexpected use of the word "festoon." For whatever reason, Obama just couldn't match that kind of rhetorical razzle-dazzle.
Hodgman,
First off, I second...err third the request by Joel. More politics....and more cowbell!
I argued with my liberal friends last Friday who thought McCain's perfomance was going to win over independents more than Obama's. Undecided voters want to hear how each of the candidates will effect thier own lives. Obama talked about issues people care about every chance he had. Whether it was feasible or not, Obama talked about offering real help to people (tax relief to the middle class, healthcare, money for college, more government oversight of the economy) and real solutions to ongoing problems (Iraq, Afganistan, etc). On the other hand, McCain came across as obsessed with a select number of issues that mainstream America just doesn't care a whole lot about (ear-marks, earmarks, earmarks, I'm a maverick, etc). And I think people took a long listen to McCain and simply could not hear anything that sounded very different from what Bush has given them for 8 years.
Yet again, Obama knows how to connect with people and it showed.
Mr. Hodgman,
I, once again, wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of the debates and the wary Democrats waiting for the green light from certain party elders like Bill Clinton who's support would generously be referred to as "luke warm," but more accurately be referred to as "begrudging." Luckily, I think as the election nears and they see more of Obama in action in these debates, I think they'll feel comfortable voting for him even without that support from the establishment.
Also, on the flight back from Orlando, I read "More Than You Require," and just wanted to say I think you've outdone yourself. Thanks again for taking the time to talk with us and share your insights.
Chris Fredda
(of the B&N production crew Chris Fredda's)
p.s. When does the first volume of the Hodg-man comic hit the stands, and will it surpass the critical acclaim of your previous series, The League of Extraordinary Hodgmen?
I enjoyed your article in Sunday's Boston Globe about Massachusetts.
You are only the second person I know of who's ever to pointed out that Massachusetts resembles a slightly smaller, somewhat distorted version of the United States. The first was my third grade teacher who went on to suggest that my hometown of Weymouth could pass for a smaller, slightly distorted version of Massachusetts.
For years I thought this cartographic recursion was the only decent thing my town had going for it. Then I found out Weymouth manufactures most of the world's supply of Tang.
@master AGREED about mccain's splendid use of the word "festoon." i thought he sounded mean, and his weird fixation on eliminating earmarks as a cure for the financial crisis was just nonsense, but the literary panache he showed with that marvelous verb just thrilled my little geeky heart. major props, mccain.
anti-props for your nutty "spending freeze" jibber jabber. i'm surprised that didn't get more coverage. it's a bizarre, ill-considered policy that's probably not such a great response to a time when we might need to spend more money on i don't know UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE? and it's important as another example of mccain's penchant for making rash, theatrical proclamations. seriously, i don't anyone who as in love with the GRAND DRAMATIC GESTURE as john mccain is and i work in the theater. kinda dangerous for someone vying for a job that'll put a nuclear arsenal at his fingertips.
ALSO: i know it will do no good, but i wrote an email to bill clinton after i watched that MTP sunday. his parsimonious, equivocal praise of barack obama reminded me of those dark days in '98 when i felt like i couldn't believe a word the man said. i want to like clinton--i certainly admire his intellect and political acumen--but it's hard to see this as anything other than a craven attempt to undermine obama's campaign for an HRC '12 run. and that's just kinda gross.
Yes. More political blogging, please. Thank you.
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