Saturday, December 29, 2007

Here on the extreme left...

Election debate is a little different in my household than at other places in the country. This probably has to do with the fact that Michael and I are radically leftist in our politics compared to, say, Democratic candidates that further big business interests over effective social services and equate shoddy health insurance policies with universal health care.

Anyway, here are some gems from recent conversations. I should add a disclaimer, though, that none of these gems occurred in the course of sincere political debate. It's mostly cynicism and humor as a defense against the sorry state of American politics. Maybe it solves nothing, but oh is it amusing!

^ me and my friend Jeremie on life after Bush:

Jeremie: Will we recover?
me: depends on what you mean by "will"
Jeremie: In 2009?
me: you know the top contenders right now are Clinton and Giuliani
that's not really boding well for our future.
Jeremie: Oh come on.
You may hate Clinton, but she's a helluva lot better than Bush.
(But then again, I would settle for Nixon at this point.)

^ Michael on recent poll results:

Giuliani's numbers are going down, but Clinton's still up by 30 points. We may really be looking at a choice between Romney and Clinton. The only worse choice I can think of would be Pat Buchanon and ... Stalin.

^ my cousin Will and Michael on Clinton as President:

me: (reading Will's facebook quip about a poll that asks if women would make good Presidents) My cousin Will says, "This question is absurd. Of course a woman can be as effective as a man, gender and race are not defining characteristics of a leader. This however is a loaded question aimed at Hillary. The poll will be interpreted as support for Mrs. Clinton. Hillary would be nearly as bad as Jimmy Carter."
Michael: Huh. I see Hillary and I think Stalin. He sees Hillary and he thinks Jimmy Carter. I guess she really can be all things to all people. All bad things.

1 comment:

E in Atlanta said...

And I thought the last national election cycle was bad...dear god, this one is going to be even worse. Double for us, because Atlanta is gearing up for a particularly nasty mayoral race as well.

THe city might, for the first time, split entirely along class lines instead of racial divisions. It's a big shift, and quite frankly I expect the worst behavior from all sides.