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Friday, August 01, 2008
Your daily dose of the Prophet Obama
John McCain's campaign just released the following pretty entertaining anti-Obama ad depicting him as... well, you'll have to click on it to see. Unlike the last ad I posted, this one features a Charlton Heston warning.
Hm, wait a sec. Am I alone in thinking that the presence of Charlton Heston makes almost anything cool?
As Ben Smith at Politico wrote today, Barack Obama's campaign "responded sharply" to this ad, denouncing McCain's "sad...juvenile antics." Maybe the ad is a little juvenile, but the funny thing is how well it made Obama look like a prophet of the divine just by featuring snippets of his own speeches.
Meanwhile, as Kip notes on his blog, those expecting a President Obama to govern like some kind of "liberaltarian" may be sadly disappointed. According to The Associated Press:
"Obama pushed for a windfall profits tax to fund $1,000 emergency rebate checks for consumers besieged by high energy costs, a counter to McCain's call for more offshore drilling."
Hey, I'd like an extra $1,000 as much as anyone. But I prefer Kip's counter-suggestion:
"Good grief, why not just drop money from helicopters on Election Day? It would be far less disingenuous and therefore far more ethical."
I could get behind that. Obama could even dress up as the Joker (from the first Batman) and drop piles of cash from a giant parade float.
Posted by Terrence Watson on August 1, 2008 | Permalink
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Comments
Heston was the man. I watched "El Cid" recently - the man was incredible. How good was he? He made "Wayne's World 2" barely watchable with his 15 second cameo. See for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPg6Q-VUqtc
Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur still stand up after fifty years. His passing marked a true Hollywood legend.
There's a recent story about electoral fraud in Alabama. Three pre-dominantly black - and Democratic - counties had people selling their votes. Lovely.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/us/10fraud.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Screw Nicholson. The new Joker - the late great Heath Ledger - burned his money rather than use it. Now that's bad-ass.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2008-08-01 7:37:27 PM
Zeb,
I saw El Cid a while back... he is really good in that one. The ending even choked me up a bit.
I like the new Joker better, too :-)
Best,
Terrence
Posted by: Terrence Watson | 2008-08-01 7:50:04 PM
Terrence: the end of El Cid was awful history - he actually died in bed - but magnificent movie making. Loved the organ blast!
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2008-08-01 8:13:24 PM
Charlton Heston managed to steal the show from Obama with a 50 year old clip. He was a giant.
Posted by: dp | 2008-08-01 8:24:35 PM
Can we ALL agree that John McCain needs NEW set of Advisers? His recent erratic campaign ad movements leave many shaking their hands!
Posted by: KYJurisDoctor | 2008-08-01 9:15:02 PM
That clip was beautiful.
It makes a very important point. Barry is an idiot with a beautiful baritone voice and an ability to read a prompter. He's no president.
Posted by: John V | 2008-08-02 1:36:38 AM
Obama, the great I am. Great actor, he could win an Academy Award on his orations alone during this endless campaign.
For him, there could be a lucrative second calling in Hollywood. He already has a base of adoring fans where reality is not a factor.
Posted by: Liz J | 2008-08-02 5:24:51 AM
Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that thoughtfulness is a politician's greatest asset.
An intellectually inferior speciment who doesn't grasp nuances but has basically correct instincts and can communicate well will beat a deep, nuanced, thinker any day. Look at Ronald Reagan.
Say what you want about his political instincts, but you cannot deny that Obama is a pretty good communicator -- as good as Reagan, maybe not quite as good as JFK.
If I thought Obama's political instincts were any good, I'd support him even if he wasn't the policy wonk that some political junkies look for.
I think McCain is pressing the right buttons when he focuses on Obama's lack of experience or real accomplishments.
Posted by: Grant Brown | 2008-08-02 4:30:31 PM
Grant,
Agreed.
All of this raises the great old question: would the thoughtful Hamlet have made a worse king than his decisive, ruthless uncle?
Best,
Terrence
Posted by: Terrence Watson | 2008-08-02 4:36:06 PM
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