Dumbest. Election. Ever

[WilliamPitt]

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/091104Y.shtml

Dumbest. Election. Ever.
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Friday 10 September 2004

"I hate television. I hate it as much as peanuts. But I can't stop eating peanuts."

- Orson Welles

The clearest indication that the country is coming out from under the massive psychological concussion of September 11 is the fact that we are all enduring the stupidest Presidential election season in recent memory. If we were all still walking around in the cat-like state of readiness we operated under for at least a year after the attacks, we wouldn't put up with this garbage.

Swift Boats? 527s? Who served or didn't serve, and how and why and when and where? They're talking about a war that ended 29 years ago. Bush v. Dukakis was close - a mythically stupid race, to be sure - but this current crapgasm is pinning the needle on the Dumb-O-Meter. It is no small thing that the guys who ran Bush's race against the Duke are the same guys running Bush's race against Kerry today. In '88, the thing turned on flag-burning, Dukakis in a tank and the racist meta-message of Willie Horton.

This entire election, thus far, has been about television. All the issues widely discussed stem from television advertisements. For the television news media, this is like free money falling from the sky. They cover to the hilt any story stemming from a television advertisement - which they can show, and then talk about, and then show, and then talk about, lather, rinse, repeat - and so the campaigns make this garbage the focus of their whole act. It's like a Mobius Loop for really dumb computers.

...more...

[wtmusic]

1. Dumbest. Candidate. Ever. n/t

[MissB]

2. Thank you Will

I'm sure you've heard it before, but your words are like a breath of fresh air.

[Walt Starr]

3. Best Post on DU in MONTHS!

Keep this one kicked above the BS.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

15. No Walt. Your own efforts to discredit Bush's ribbons

were greatly valued by many of use here and beyond DU.
One of the ground games is to impugn the honesty and integrity of the opposing candidate, and Bush is seen as honest by a great many of the sheeple. They did their damned best to make sure Kerry came off as a phony war hero, and we owe them big time in return.

What I am saying is that I'm afraid this dirty work MUST be done to level the playing field. There will be time to hash out the issues, but the CHARACTER of the man is a CRITICAL component of the campaign. This is indeed a stupid phase of the campaign, but quite necessary.

[Walt Starr]

4. Kicked. To. Top.

:kick:

[PDittie]

5. I'm going to pass this around, sir

if'n you don't mind...

[WilliamPitt]

6. Fine by me

:)

[IdaBriggs]

7. Kick.

But I am still in love with the "Bush lied on his Nat'l Guard Application" story. :) http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=783187#

[Tafiti]

8. Comedic Relief for the Dumbest Election Ever

In case anyone is interested in hilarious cartoon strips talking about the election, among many other things, check out this website. These comic strips are available in book format, but the website has 'em all anyway. These 40 strips span about 3 years, starting in Oct. 2001. The creator is David Rees, the site is called "Get Your War On". For starters, check out #1 and #39. Classic.

By the way, these comic strips involve gratuitous swearing, so if that offends you, you may want to steer clear.

http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war.html

[newyawker99]

9. Hi transistor97!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Tafiti]

16. Hey thanks!

Randomly stumbled across the site and I love it!

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

21. Welcome to DU!

And I love "Get Your War On"
I believe they're being printed in Rolling Stone now, too.

[VelmaD]

10. Jesus Fucking Christ, Will...

I'm running out of superlatives. :)

Just. Wonderful.

[chiburb]

11. Excellent! I stole some of it for an email to this columnist:

See post # 30...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=782728&mesg_id=782728

[WilliamPitt]

13. Cool!

Thanks!

[VOX]

12. "Crapgasm" says it all, Will...

I cannot bear to watch any more cable "news" talking heads spewing out sewage by the gallon.

If the media is indeed the fountainhead of the shit-flow, or an unholy particpant in it, a major airing-out is going to be required.

Just how that can be accomplished at this point, I don't yet know -- but I'm pondering it, and mightily.

[stellanoir]

14. but why oh why. . .

can't we steer the dialogue back to more substantive issues. . .like say. . .er. . .earth tones. . .? Damn it!

kidding

great article as always

got lots of theories on the boomers as well.

[Ravenseye]

17. It's Funny Because I Came Here To Post...

nearly the same thing. Just not as well written and based more on an anecdote from last night.

I was at a bachelor party and the subject at my end of the table turned to the election. These were relatives of my friend about to take the plunge, and I had never met them before. Turns out like nearly everyone I meet it seems, they were anti-bush.

One of them talked about Bush being AWOL, and how he sat in his chair for those infamous 7 minutes. He mentioned how these alone made him unqualified to lead the nation at a time of war.

I responded that I didn't care that Bush may have shirked his National Guard duty. It doesn't matter to me. That Kerry served honorably, or Bush did not...well, though I can see how people would look to see what character it shows, I'm more interested with what and how the people have shown they can lead. I don't think what a 22 year old does, necessary reflects on what a 30, 40, 50, or however old a person is. I have a friend who when he was 22 was drunk constantly, rarely bathed, and was generally just on a bad path. Since then he's cleaned up, gone sober, found a moderate form of religion, and now teaches english to troubled kids, trying to help them. In twenty years should I judge him and his reations when he's 50 based on what he did when he was 22?

As far as the 7 minutes go. I see no problem with it. Maybe he was just trying not to panic the kids. Maybe he wasn't sure exactly what to do. He probably was aware that if he were truly in danger that the secret service would snatch him out of the room. He hesitated. Big whoop. It shows he's human. That's a good thing in my opinion. If people expect our presidents to be men without fear and hesitation, then they need to elect Daredevil or Green Lantern. Cause a comic book is the only place you're going to find someone like that.

What do I care about? Will Pitt here pretty much laid it out. Jobs lost. Health care costs skyrocketing. Loss of international respect that may never be regained. Underfunded programs for education. Letting environmental policy be dictated by the energy and petrochemical industries (did you mention that one?).

I'm not voting for Kerry because I hate Bush. I'm not voting for Kerry because I think Bush hesitated on 9/11. I'm not voting for Kerry because Bush was AWOL. I'm voting for Kerry, not because I love Kerry, but because Bush, in practice, has been one of the worst Presidents in the history of the United States.

If thats not a good enough reason to vote for Kerry, then I have a television commercial you need to see.

[Blue_Roses]

18. Yep, and here I am pissed off

at a man who is a billionaire and who could really give a rat's ass if I live or die,:eyes: because he likes his tax cut and wants more $$$$$$...

This election is sending me off the deep end:crazy:

This needs to be spread far and wide...excellent.

[Joe Fields]

19. I second that emotion, Will, but you should read my related post.

[friesianrider]

20. Ditto on the praise, Mr. Pitt....

My Mom and I get our news from truthout like Republicans get theirs from FOX. Your pieces are great - keep up the great work :)

[realFedUp]

22. Cheney's done

I bet they'd like to put a lid on him.
The more he talks the more people see
how insane and on the edge he really is.

[Greyskye]

23. Hey Will - typo in 5th paragraph

The Swifties! Denounce the ad! I denounce all ads! But denounce that add!

That last 'add' should be 'ad'.

Great read! :thumbsup:

[WilliamPitt]

24. Thanks, being fixed.

[sandnsea]

25. You got it

No wonder half of America doesn't vote. (crapgasm, oh shit, lol, where'd you come up with that?)

[WilliamPitt]

26. .

[wiggs]

27. 15, 16, 17, 18

I wish we were talking about these as well:

15. Unauthorized 700 million diverted from Afganistan (unconstitutional)

16. Secret Energy Task Force meetings a result of which corporate buds benefitted from WH policy

17. Lying to Congress regarding Medicare costs (impeachable offense)

18. Pillaging of the environmental protections put in place over many previous administrations

Each one of these is more important than ribbons vs medals or Selectric I vs Selectric II. I agree that media helps with dumbing down public debate. I also believe that Rove takes advantage of this aspect of the media and the way people interact with it. He is probably very happy to see what confusion, waste of time, and muddied waters result from a few well placed diversion statements. The more debate there is about AWOL, Cambodia, 527's, ads, etc.., the better Rove likes it. The more we talk about who said what about whom, the less time we spend on the issues. The more ridiculous the public commentary, the better for Bush. They did release the Killian memos, after all.

I can imagine Rove watching proudly as a small unofficial statement spoken discreetly to one supporter or another makes its way into the public discourse, finally becoming part of a nation-wide soap opera debate. Like the high school physics film in which one ping-pong ball is thrown into a room filled with mouse traps, each holding another ping pong ball -- one sets off another and the two of them set off two more, etc...

Ever get the impression that some of the most ridiculus things said by the administration are MEANT to generate a tempest in a tea pot? Would people ever say things as stupid as this administration without an ulterior motive?

And the discussion is about to get lower with the Kelley book coming out. Will Kelly's book sell more than Graham's and Hersh's combined?

Sorry for the rant....had meant to just post the four additional items that we should be talking about, but my keyboard just kept going.

[wadestock]

28. When you operate out of anger or fear, yes you're dumb....

William, we're living in the age of the right wing "thinkers"....NOT.

Of course these people don't think on average...they don't WANT to think their way out of problems....they want OTHERS to do the thinking for them...

They've adored Rush for giving them an answer to all of their problems....aka liberals......owners of all insidious, self-destructive, non-capitalizing, and immoral elements of our society.

They generally believe the world is "maintenance free"....kind of runs itself...and economics works the same way.

They've fallen in love with George W. Bush for saving them from terrorism. They want simply answers, not complex problems.

Freedom without responsibility is a self-destructive free for all.....

[KoKo]

29. Kerry is not technically a "Boomer," though. Born in 1943 he's a "war

baby." War babies are very different from Boomers. Otherwise your article is a fun read.

The Baby Boomer Generation site is a source for trends, research, comment and discussion of and by people born from 1946 - 1964.

http://www.aginghipsters.com/blog/archives/cat_culture.html

your friend,
koko :hi:

[Scairp]

30. You're kidding, right?

Have you forgotten the War on Gore? "Invented the Internet"? How about "discovered Love Canal"? Or "earth tones"? Maybe "farm chores" and "Love Story"? Those were smart? Of course, each and every one of those bogus, bullshite phony stories came from our enemies, the mainstream media. New York Times, Washington Post, et al., pushed this crap for two years against Al Gore. The Rove lie machine merely pimped those claims for their own gain. Personally, I think that was WAY dumber than what is happening now.

[MissB]

31. kick (nt)

[WilliamPitt]

32. .