- Well, I'm back after a long weekend and I'm fired up, baby. So much has happened in a mere few days that it's almost hard to comprehend. The aura of the Democratic National Convention in Denver has faded a bit, and my hope and optimism has slightly soured as the nation's focus shifts to the Republican response. Meanwhile, a devastating hurricane once again devastated New Orleans, though, luckily, the damage wasn't quite as severe as it might have been. But still, it made for a tense weekend in terms of national news. But never fear, Fall TV was here, to take our minds off of all of our problems, personal and national. It felt like last season of TV had only just ended, but already Michael Scofield and Blair Waldorff were back to provide weekly escapism.
First of all, I had a fun three-day weekend. Hit the town in Hollywood, enjoyed some quality R&R, finally got a few friends together to check out the kickass director's cut of DARK CITY on Blu-Ray, and did a little shopping to boot. I finally picked up newfangled Bluetooth thingie, as they are now pretty much a necessity here in LA, where it's illegal to talk on a cell phone whilst driving. But don't worry, you will NEVER see me walking around and talking on a bluetooth looking like a total ass. If I am ever caught doing this, I hereby give permission to whoever spots me to punch me square in the face. But anyways, it really is crazy to think that it's already SEPTEMBER. Holy lord. Definitely the most unsummer-y summer of my entire life ... then again, I guess it's always summer here in LA.
- By the way, everyone here who hasn't seen it should make an effort to check out an underappreciated gem of a movie known as Dark City. It's a late 90's sci-fi noir from Alex Proyas, director of The Crow, and stars such luminaries as Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, and William Hurt. It's a dark, visually stunning, mind-$#%& of a movie, and in my humble opinion it's one of the greatest sci-fi movies there is. The new Director's Cut has a few small improvements over the original, but the main thing is just see the movie - the less you know about it going in, the better. I actually saw this movie in the theaters way back when, apparently I was one of about 5 people who did. But I remember being totally enthralled by it at the time, and it's one of those flicks I eagerly show to anyone's who's yet to check it out.
- Okay, let me talk politics. So get your hard-hats ready, folks, it's time for some ranting.
- First off, the big news from this weekend is obviously the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate. It really is amazing - the choice was at first baffling, then possibly brilliant, then potentially disasterous. In a mere span of days, Sarah Palin has gone from a virtual unknown to a national obsession, but it remains to be seen if this will make her an asset or a liability to the Republican ticket.
Personally, I think the choice and the process by which the choice was made reeks of desperation. As many of my female friends have commented, the notion that the mere fact that Palin is a woman is somehow a draw to female voters is insulting and a total reach on McCain's part. This is an election about ISSUES, and I can't help but think that when Palin's ultra-conservative ideology is further exposed, most of America's moderate and liberal-leaning women will confirm for themselves that she does nothing to bolster McCain's appeal.
But, to watch the Republicans squirm and make this messy effort to talk up Palin like she's the second coming ... well, it's both funny and disturbing to watch play out. It's crazy, because even as rumors persist that the Palin pick is already viewed by insiders as a trainwreck in the making, publicly, Republicans are positively beaming about the selection. She's a reformer! She's a maverick! She was the head of the Alaskan National Guard, by-gum! The fact is, Palin is the inexperienced leader of a sparsely-populated state. She is a lifetime NRA member, staunchly anti-abortion and pro-creationism, a former beauty pageant runner-up, a former Pat Buchanan supporter during his presidential bids, and currently involved in an ethics investigation. And yes, as we've all heard ad nauseum, her teenage daughter is preganant.
Oh, but don't worry, the teen daughter is MARRYING the baby-daddy, so it's ALL-GOOD. Yep, because a young girl marrying some random dude is a GREAT life decision. THAT in a nutshell is the Republican mentality. And of course, Sarah Palin is pro-abstinence-only education.
But wait, Newt Geingrich is on MSNBC calling Palin a potential Republican party leader who will be a figurehead for generations to come! Joe freaking Lieberman is praising her as someone who will shakeup Washington. Don't worry, I'll get to Joe in a minute ...
Now, the apparent train-wreck that is Sarah Palin is both good and bad from the Democratic point of view. It's good in that, hopefully, her potentially disasterous selection as a vice-presidential candidate will only help Obama and Biden, and make people question McCain's judgement even more than they already have. I mean, a simple look at his vetting process tells an interesting story. McCain WANTED to go with Lieberman, but McCain the great maverick was stopped from being a great maverick by the Republican base. So a last-minute decision was made to go with Palin, literally two days after McCain had first met with her. This was McCain's first huge choice as a potential President-to-Be, and he made it hastily and in a fashion that went AGAINST his instincts and instead appeased the Washington insiders. Wait, wasn't McCain supposed to be a maverick?
And yeah, Palin is supposedly such a risk, so unconventional ... why - because she's a woman? Because she's young and inexperienced? Because she was a surprise (read: bad) pick for VP? Yes, Palin was a surprise, but in reality her selection was total fan-service to the hardcore Republican base. They got their right-winger, and they got their version of a "rock star." But this new rock star might very well crash and burn, and it might very well happen sooner rather than later. I'm anticipating / dreading her speech tomorrow night. Because like I said - Palin is both good and bad from the Democratic viewpoint. Good for Obama because of the trainwreck factor, but bad because, if God help us, McCain somehow wins this thing, then yeah, we're pretty much screwed.
- But just to inject some optimism, and without seeing what Palin's speech tomorrow will be like, I remain confident that the attention around Palin is mostly a mix of disbelief and skepticism. Sure, the Newt's of the world are in love with her, but even the most hardcore of Republicans seem to be damning her with faint and half-hearted praise. It's crazy to see them flailing around, praising her as fresh and as an outsider, when that's the same anti-Obama argument they've been using all along. Newsflash - you can't have it both ways. Most people I've talked to quickly saw through McCain's gimmicky pick ... now let's see how she holds up under the scrutiny to come. Again though, the DNC was ultimately so well done, so well put together. Obama and Biden should still have some great momentum ...
- And I don't think that that momentum is going to be slowed much by Fred Thompson or Joe Lieberman. Fred Thompson's good old boy speech tonight was almost funny in its nuttiness. You know, I love how Thompson's speech was all about the quality of McCain's character, and yet he spent his intro talking about how McCain as a twenty and thirty-something was basically an arrogant, rule-breaking ass, who dated strippers and partied his military career away. Now that's a character witness! And it reminds me a bit of another guy ... oh yeah ... our current esteemed President ...
- Yeah, President Bush gave a short speech via video tonight, because the Republican candidate wants nothing to do with the sitting president, aka the leader of his party! Bush gave his usual nonsensical kind of speech, and it's obvious he and McCain aren't on the best of terms. But just remember people, no matter what, McCain is running on a ticket ENDORSED BY GEORGE W. BUSH.
- Now, as for JOE LIEBERMAN ... seeing him up there onstage at the RNC made me shudder in anger and feel physically ill. What made Joe turn to the darkside I do not know, but it was obviously some kind of a mixture of delusion, insanity, and just plain spite. Because in all his great wisdom, Joe Lieberman still maintains that he agrees with McCain in approximately ONE issue! Are you kidding me, Lieberman. We get it - McCain is your friend, etc. This is politics, Joe, this is not like voting for highschool yearbook superlatives. I don't care who is running for President - if it was my best friend, my family, or Superman - I WOULD NOT VOTE FOR THEM if I didn't agree with them on the issues! The ego involved in Lieberman's decision to sacrifice his beliefs and sell-out to McCain is staggering. So Joe Lieberman is telling me that because he believes McCain is more of a hawk on national security, that he's willing to throw away every Democratic belief he has in the name of supporting a war that we know we were misled into fighting?!?!
You know, in my old bedroom in Connecticut, I have a signed proclamation from Joe Lieberman on my wall, in honor of my Bar Mitzvah day, presented to me via my Dad in 1995. I was always proud to have that connection to Joe Lieberman, I was proud that my state of Connecticut had a Jewish senator who seemed to serve his constituents with honor and distinction. I even was a vocal supporter of Joe Lieberman when I was in college, when some fellow students attacked him for his views on the videogame industry. I didn't quite agree with Joe's stance, but I trusted that he was a guy who had his heart in the right place.
But now, I am embarassed that I have that plaque on my wall. I'm embarrassed that my senator from Connecticut is someone who would enter a senate race as a Democrat, lose, and then, after the fact, re-enter as an Independent in a desperate bid to save his spot in the Senate. I'm embarassed as a Jew that one of America's most prominent Jewish politicans is so narrow-minded in his views towards security in the Middle East that he'd believe that a war in Iraq was worth fighting even if it was initiated under false pretense. And I'm embarassed as a Democrat, that a Democratic senator of such tenure and distiction would break ranks with his party, right as a new, promising candidate has burst onto the spotlight. With Barack Obama as our nominee, I'm prouder than ever to be a Democrat, and yet at this same moment, Joe Lieberman virtually defects from the party? That to me is the sign of a man who's lost touch with reality.
Lieberman's slimeball speech tonight was, frankly, hard to listen to. He spent most of his time praising McCains' character, but gave few concrete reasons why he personally supported McCain on Obama in any substantive manner. Lieberman's somewhat harsh critique of Obama as a youngster not yet ready to lead sounded like the words of a bitter old man who had seen his time in the spotlight come and go. And Lieberman's constant appreciation of the applause from the Republican crowd revealed him as a man so desperate for acceptance and adulation that he'd compromise all of his beliefs for a single night in front of a receptive audience. But you know what the capper was? The fact that Lieberman unabashadly praised Sarah Palin, both in his speech and to interviewers afterwords. Lieberman circa 2000, the Lieberman who actually had something of a backbone, would have been first in line to challenge Palin on any number of issues that they did not see eye to eye on. I mean, looking at Lieberman's record, what on earth does he have in common with Sarah Palin? How can he as a lifelong Democrat so vocally support such a staunch conservative? That right there is the final straw as far as I'm concerned - Lieberman has drunk the Republican Kool-Aid and has become McCain's glorified lapdog. If McCain went ahead and picked Dick freaking Cheney as his running mate, I think Lieberman would have supported it.
- I only feel sorry for Lieberman in that he's abandoned his principles because of a war based on lies and waged with incompetency. Somewhere, Al Gore - a man who's actually stuck to his principles and kept a shred of integrity - is giving Lieberman a well-deserved one-finger salute.
- Alright, I think I'll save my first batch of Fall TV reviews for another post. These rants take a lot out of a guy, you know?
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