Say it ain't so

If asked, I might have to say Cheney won the debate. Oh, not because he defended his and the Presidents little profiteering scheme over in Iraq, or proved their domestic policies were working, or made we the people any more clear on how--exactly--any of their plans would benefit those of us who are NOT a multi-billion dollar corporation (or a Saudi king whose castle happens to rest on a strategically attractive hill atop a fuck-load of oil). No. The winning happened waaaay before he ever sat down (what was the sitting thing about anyway? His ticker? Dude can't stand, literally, face to face with an opponent?). They won by exploiting the terror attacks and securing a throwback pre-Kennedy atmosphere; one in which the (bald, white) men who run the country know what they're doing, and you, the peons below, are to shut the hell up, not ask questions, and leave all the tricky 'governing' stuff up to the professionals.

At this point, bold-faced lying, evasion, and the robotic repetition of manufactured spin is viewed as...Strength! Competency! Dedication! Patriotism! If you question the men and their motives you're either an idiot, or a threat to national security. The look on Bush and Cheney's face during the debates... the disgust, the indignation, the arrogance. I was listening to Cheney's answers last night, and was amazed at the ease with which he is able to use hackneyed blame shifting tactics--and garden variety denial. I felt like I was watching a playlet based on the Shaggy song It wasn't me --which is a fun song and all, but not really the kind of thing we should be basing Presidential policy upon.

I'm open to more hopeful views. Love to hear them in fact: antigiest[at]earthlink[dot]net