classicBacsik

McBush and the MILF First; Country Second

Okay, this is what the Republicans wanted, so I'm giving it to them.  The perfect - we really care about people - photo op in advance of the storm tomorrow. 

Mississippi governor (and ex-RNC chair) Haley Barbour allegedly invited McBush and the MILF to Jackson for a 'briefing' (not to be confused with photo op) on the imminent storm.  Don't they look concerned and presidential???

Less than 24 hours from landfall, I'm sure that there is nothing better for the governor of Mississippi to be doing than escorting these three new BFFs around Jackson.  I'm sure that they couldn't have been briefed via conference call!!

McBush will be screaming 'Country First' for the next 65 days, but this photo op is really 'McCain First' when he shows up and has resources diverted to his photo op.  Don't forget that during the Iowa floods out of respect for the wishes of the governor of Iowa (no photo ops, please), Obama stayed away and McBush showed up.

McBush and the MILF: The Palin Pick is Irresponsible!

A crotchety old senator, with a penchant for beauty queens, is running for President.  The extreme wing of his party threatens a 3rd candidate will oppose him if he doesn't shore up his conservative credentials, so the crazy old senator selects an unqualified, but sexy, governor/mayor/hockey mom - who he's only met once - as his running mate.  They load into the campaign bus and the hilarity ensues.  See it this fall on the RNC network - McBush and the MILF. 

Hopefully it'll be cancelled after just eight weeks.

Full marks to Bill Maher for his hilarious moniker of the Republican ticket: the Maverick and the MILF!  But this blogger prefers not to distinguish John W. McBush as a maverick, ergo...the Republican ticket will be referred to herein as McBush and the MILF.  It would be funny if it weren't so serious. 

Sarah Palin is an amazingly irresponsible choice for VP.  When McBush is having surgery and Vice President MILF is in charge, and Vladimir Putin decides it's time to go into the Ukraine, do you want her to be answering the phone at 3am? Of course not.  Do you want her to be managing your military son or daughter? Of course not.  This is a reckless, clueless pick.

All day today, the Republican talking heads, in lauding the pick of Sarah Palin as McBush's running mate, are claiming that her executive experience trumps that of Barack Obama.

This is fundamentally unsound and foolish for three solid reasons:

1) If executive experience is the important factor and she's more qualified than Barack Obama, then she is also more qualified than John McBush;

2) George W. Shrub had executive experience; and

3) Barack Obama is a very intelligent student of the world.  He has studied local, national, and international issues his entire life.  He has been preparing for this job his entire life.

This story should not have to be told, but the Republicans will continue to hammer this experience message and the Democrats will continue to respond in some fashion in these three ways.  Hopefully.

The McBush Gimmick - Lightweight Sarah Palin

The happiest person in the world must be Dan Quayle.  At least Dan Quayle was a Senator with some national experience.

John McBush selected the governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, to be a heartbeat away from the most important job in the world.  She's been the mayor of a hamlet of 9,000 people, she been the governor of the 47th most populous state for 20 months, and she has recently said, 'I don't really know what's going on in Iraq because I've been concentrating on my state and my kids'.

Is this real?  This person should be the Vice President????

NO!  Of course not, this is ridiculous, desperate, and insulting.

Here's what a right wing, Republican talking head said about Sarah Palin's foreign policy experience.  This is truly all that they've got!!

A beauty contestant as a mate and as a running mate!  Thanks for giving America back to the Democrats and to the American people, John.

Unity: the Compelling Narrative is Complete!

The Democratic convention displayed a powerful consistent unity narrative from start to finish.  We saw an Obama (Michelle), two Clintons, and another Obama clearly demonstrate that the Democrats have one goal - defeat John McBush.  In the middle we got plenty of cohesion that spotlighted Joe Biden.  The four days flowed beautifully toward the knockout punch delivered by Barack.  It was fantastic political theater and a wonderfully ascendant narrative.

Many political pundits are calling the just completed Democratic national convention the most well orchestrated convention in history.  For me, it rivals the sense of cohesion I saw at both of Ronald Reagan's coronations.  One of the beautiful things about tonight is that it wasn't a royal coronation (like those of Reagan), it was a celebration of unity under Barack Obama.

Obama came onto the scene exploiting the non-war, unity niche.  We all realize that but for Hillary's one vote in 2002 to allow force against Iraq, she would be our candidate today.  Therefore, Obama has used his consistency call for unity, in the country as well as in his party, to get to this point.

I was ready for the 'why can't we all get along' speech but, for the first time in a while, we had a Democratic Presidential candidate who didn't step lightly around his opponent nor did he allow the Republicans to dictate the post convention spin (as they had throughout July and August).  Obama called McBush on his volatile temperament (you'll hear this word a lot), his lack of judgement, and his ideological ties to the Shrub.  He talked about his normal upbringing, and showed white America many images of his white family (mother and grandparents).  He referenced Martin Luther King glancingly, and only at the end of the speech. 

Barack Obama is qualified to be President and will roll through these last 67 days.

Troubies: Alice, Part 2

The most recent Troubie show (Troubadour Theater Company), Alice in One-Hit Wonderland, Part 2 was as good as it gets in Troubieland - it was freakin' funny!  Their wit and athleticism was solid as ever, and the whole effort was tighter than some recent shows.  This time, the story was about Alice Nelson (her last name was news to this 46 year old who grew up with the Brady Bunch) dreaming her way through Wonderland.  The one hit wonders (particularly Sunshine Day and the Humpty Dance) and the Brady Bunch episode references were great and timely to the story.

This may be the first Troubie performance with no penalty flags throw, and most of us who are veteran Troubie watchers would prefer more adlibbing (especially with Beth Kennedy getting so much stage time), but the cleverness of the story and the writing made this show extremely fun. 

The point of this entry is not to do a full review, it's merely to tell my fellow Los Angelenos to don your Burbankian garb and race to the Falcon Theater in Burbank as soon as possible.

Troubies - see you in September for the U2 show.

Russians Will Remain in Georgia and No One Can Stop Them

It seems that after signing the cease-fire agreement with Georgia, Russia has decided that the West (i.e., our blustering president and very busy military) has no teeth.  The proof is in the Russians' actions.  Russia will maintain 18 'observation posts' inside Georgia.

That's 'inside' Georgia.  Not inside South Ossetia and nowhere near the locations outlined in the cease-fire agreement (i.e., their pre-August 7th positions outside of South Ossetia).  The Russians realize that our skilled tactician of a President is just pissing into the wind when he threatens them with consequences.

With no one to stop them, where will the Russians go next?

Russia's Sphere of Influence Expanded

The successful cease fire in Georgia is welcomed news around the world.  No one wanted to see continued destruction over two tiny, rogue territories.  The boundary of Russian influence has now been redrawn at the Georgian and Ukrainian borders as well as any other Baltic or Caucasus states.

It's clear that President Saakashvili (pictured at left) made an enormous strategic blunder when he sent troops into South Ossetia.  It was probably unlikely that Russia would have pushed all the way to Tbilisi, but they moved into Georgian territory, and their superior military might and economic strength is a powerful signal to the West (we are considering Georgia and the Ukraine for NATO membership) that Russia will not sit by quietly as it's borders are encroached upon.

The agreement is an embarrassment for the Georgian President because the Georgians are proud of their heritage and they consider South Ossetia and Abkhazia historic parts of their country. 

Saakashvili's brash words that 'Russia has not heard the last of Georgia' is probably just posturing, his future as President is in serious doubt, and they will probably lean more toward Russia than the West in the near future.

The cease fire deal was negotiated by the French President, not by the US President.  This is because our international standing is so tarnished that the Shrub was reduced to posturing on the lawn of the White House, weakly threatening Russia with removal from the G8, instead of having the ability to militarily stand behind the Georgians.  The same Georgians that we promised to walk through their democratic experiment successfully.  Another democratic opportunity is probably lost and the war in Iraq is the reason.