I know of nothing that’s even half as crazy as the current democratic race for the presidency! It’s a conversion of the pariah papparazzo (PP) culture, combined with the media appetite that the PP culture has created amongst its citizenry and those two dynamics are then mashed into the one quality that all presidential contenders have: AMBITION
(Photo courtesy of www.detlefjumpertz.com/…/archives/2005/05/)
YING-YANG OF AMBITION
Ambition embodies true duality as it’s both a seedy and base characteristic and also an iconic American virtue. The Latin root meaning for ambition is ambitio, which means “to go around for votes” so its very etymology is political in nature, though it’s modern application is routinely outside of the political sphere. With that in mind, doesn’t the Democratic primary have two candidates that embody that very duality of Ambition.
YOUR VEGAS IS SHOWING
In the same way that the commercial for Vegas Tourism has a tagline “your Vegas is showing”, I think that Mrs. Clinton’s ambition has been showing for some time now. It’s just so obvious that she would stop at nothing to become president. She was hit with the carpetbagger label as she ran for the Senate from New York City and her viability as a national candidate was underscored by simply winning the election. Who else can move to a state like New York and just as soon as their bags are unpacked, declare that they can best represent that state in the Senate? It’s like she threw a dart at a map, while blindfolded, and whatever state that the dart landed is where she was gonna run for political office.
Every time she misspeaks, over emphasizes her input on some past policy or has her camp muck-up the campaign, her ambition is preening like a peacock or the buttocks of a baboon. She wants to be the president so bad it is questionable to what lengths she will go. Thats not good. It’s what gives politics a bad name and validates the idea that the only goal of a politician running for office is to get elected and the only goal once elected is to get reelected.
HONEST ABE (Or at least the closest thing thats running for the Dems)
Obama on the other hand, is taking a route that not only imbues his ambition with virtue, but it almost makes him the anti-Hilary. He doesn’t appear to be overly ambitious or regard the presidency as his birthright. In fact, he’s in a sweet spot. He’s the guy that nobody thought could do it and now he’s doing it like nobody thought he could. As circular as that sounds, it’s telling that the potholes lining his route to at least the nomination, if not the White House, have not “slowed his roll”. If he pulls it out and wins the democratic nomination, it wouldn’t be for a lack of crisis in the campaign. Every week its something new that the press has made an issue about over Obama.
If Obama wins the nomination he will be the Teflon candidate, mainly because all of the grenades launched in his direction were inconsequential in the reality of what the next president could and should do for America. The press must think Obama a weak minded, cult member waiting to happen. Ready to be indoctrinated and drink the Kool-Aid of any person whose hand he has shaken. He’s constantly being linked to an acquaintance or colleague or pastor who has done or said something controversial in the last forty years, as if those people can potentially impact his decisions about foreign policy or health care or legalizing prostitution (oops, wrong blog). Perhaps i should make it my business to meet Obama, because I would like a say in how this country gets run when he reaches office.
The debate last night was good TV, even if the moderators asked such nonsense. They did ask questions that research probably showed the people wanted to hear the candidates answer, but it was certainly not enough meat and potatoes while too much stuffing!
Tags: Abe, ambition, April 16th, Debate, honest, Obama, Philly
