The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Obama: An Authentic Phony

Posted on | September 20, 2012 | 20 Comments

Back during the 2008 GOP primary campaign — most of which actually happened in 2007 — I wasn’t yet an independent blogger, but was “a man under authority” at The Washington Times.

Working on the news side of the operation, the public expression of my opinions was streng verboten, which of course didn’t mean I had no opinion. So it was only in private that I was able to bitch, bitch, bitch about the stupidity of nominating a bald septuagenarian. Never mind that John McCain was an unprincipled backstabbing crapweasel; the real problem was that the “optics” were all wrong.

Even if you could tolerate his self-serving mendaciousness and erratic temper, Crazy Cousin John never looked or sounded remotely presidential in the superficial way that candidates are judged in the TV age. No Hollywood producer would cast someone who looked and sounded like that as president, except in a thriller-drama where the good guy is a rogue CIA agent who exposes the hidden betrayals of the corrupt and craven leadership.

I said that — often and loudly, in private conversations — at a time when it was thought the Democrats would nominate Hillary Clinton, who doesn’t exactly exude empathy. Maybe in a contest against the Chilly Bitch stereotype, the Embittered Old Bald Guy could squeak out a win, just barely, but John McCain never stood a snowball’s chance in hell against the Allstate Man.

It is perhaps unnecessary and unwise to invoke the phrase, coined by a liberal writer for the Los Angeles Times but made notorious by Rush Limbaugh, “Magic Negro.” What the phrase originally suggested was a certain type of modern Hollywood casting, in which the Good Wise Black Man serves as a sort of moral symbol, an embodiment of virtue, the voice of authority.

If  there is anything “racist” about the Magic Negro, it is a liberal racism in the souls of the liberal screenwriters and directors who seem psychologically trapped with Jim Crow-era white guilt manifestations. A $250-an-hour therapist might be able to help them with those hangups, but instead these Hollywood people keep foisting their weird insecurities on us as  TV primetime crime dramas and Oscar-bait movies that feature this stock character, the Magic Negro, as an emblem of righteousness.

Whatever. I’m over it.

As soon as Obama emerged as a genuine contender in the Democrat primary field — after the October 2007 debate in which Hillary got tripped up over a question about driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants — I witnessed with increasing horror the GOP primary campaign in which John McCain, counted out in late summer, gradually worked his way back to front-runner status.

“No! It’s all wrong! It doesn’t work!”

Millons of Americans have been programmed by their voracious consumption of popular culture to react automatically to superficial perceptions — “image” — and the match-up between Obama and McCain was a disaster for Republicans in that sense.

Denzel Washington vs. Tim Conway? No, dear God, no.

Beyond the purely racial component, the problem was that Obama has a deep baritone voice and a calm demeanor (the Allstate Insurance Man) whereas John McCain’s voice is a raspy tenor, and his manner is nervous and edgy. This presented an insuperable political problem in the 24/7 Media Age, where the President of the United States is a celebrity — famous for being famous — and is judged by People Who Watch Too Much TV in the same superficial stereotypical way they judge everybody else.

Obama seems presidential, and vast numbers of Americans have lost the ability to distinguish between seeming and being.

The election of Obama was made easier by the media, which provided this superficially appealing celebrity with a personal narrative that didn’t quite match the reality of Obama’s life. Correcting that mythos is the purpose of a series entitled “The Obama You Don’t Know” in the Washington Examiner.

As Jeff Dunetz says, this report has blown a huge hole in the fake biography of our 44th president, and the question is whether the realization that they’ve been conned by media image-makers will cause the American people to re-think the difference between seeming presidential and being presidential.

 


Category: Barack Obama, Election 2012, Hollywood, Media Bias, Racism, Washington Examiner

LIVE AT FIVE: 09.20.12

Posted on | September 20, 2012 | 2 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Mitt Hits Ohio Next Week

Romney campaigns in Mansfield, Ohio


Three days, six cities on the bus in the battleground state
Related: GOP Senators Offer Unsolicited Advice To Mitt; Crazy Cousin John Disses Romney Critics


Oh, Wait, Maybe It Was A Terrorist Attack
Administration begins the slow walk back to the truth about Benghazi


SecDef Panetta Talks Hacking With PRC
Lots of nodding and smiling but no actual discussion of cybercrime issues results



POLITICS
House Committee To Hear From DOJ Inspector General On “Fast & Furious”

ATF Director Kenneth Melson

IG Horowitz to be sole witness at hearing; his report to be discussed

Chicago Alderman Relents, Chick-Fil-A To Open After All

What To Expect From The Brown-Warren Debate

CBO: Six Million Uninsured To Get Hit With Obamacare Tax

Jobs Bill For Vets Bogs Down In Senate

NJ Revenue Lags Projections

Activists Rally After Judge Says Ariz. Police Can Ask For Papers

Judge Says MTA Must Post “Defeat Jihad” Ads



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Profit-taking, Continuing Crappiness Of Economy Chop Oil Prices: NYMEX: 91.98, Brent $108.19
Disappointing PRC Data Dents Euro Stocks
Bank Of Japan: No Economic Recovery Until Spring
Dow Grinds Out A Gain, Though Most Stocks Sag
Ofcom Lets BSkyB Keep License, Rips James Murdoch
Bank Of America To Cut 16,000 Jobs By Year-End
Incomes Fell Or Stagnated In Most States Last Year
Groupon Debuts Credit-Card Payment Service For Merchants; Challenges Paypal
Roku Streaming Stick Coming In October For $99; Also, Vudu
Apple Maps Lose Way, Fall Victim To Feud With Google
HTC’s WinPhone 8 Devices: An Initial Pleasant Surprise
MLB Hopes iPhone Tickets Will Be A Hit
Vimeo Look: The Mac To The YouTube PC



SPORTS
Adam Jones Two-Run Dinger Gives O’s Victory Over M’s

Adam Jones jacks one into the stands

Extra-inning homer by former Seattle prospect caps Mariners’ collapse; O’s now just half a game back from Yankees in AL East, move past A’s for wild card lead

NASCAR Reinstates Allmendinger

Jeter Gets 200th Hit During Yanks’ 2-1 Win

Stubbs Leads Reds Past Cubs, 6-5 In 11th

Howard Homers In 9th, Phillies Top Mets 3-2

Holland Solid As Rangers Drop Angels 6-2

Tigers 6, A’s 2; Detroit Now Just 2 Back Thanks To Royals

Nationals Win Opener Against Dodgers, But Furious Comeback In Nightcap Falls Short: Magic Number Is 1



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Lohan Arrested For Leaving Scene Of Accident

Lindsay Lohan

Allegedly hit pedestrian in front of hotel
…or did she?
Slash vouching for LiLo’s sobriety

Bill Gates Still Richest Dude In America

Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson Reunite

Amanda Bynes: “I’m Doing Amazing”


Lady Gaga Looking Meaty In Amsterdam

Melissa Joan Hart Welcomes Baby Tucker

Pink’s Singin’ In The Rain On “Today”, Approves Miley’s Lookalike Hairdo

Kristin Cavallari Welcomes Baby Camden



FOREIGNERS
South African Police Kill Two As Crackdown On Striking Miners Continues
French Diplomats On High Alert After Publication Of Naked Mohammed Cartoons
Opposition-Led Strike Hits Trains In India
PRC To Keep Surveillance Ships, Fishing Boats Near Senkaku Islands
Syrian Rebels Allegedly Defeat Loyalists At Border Crossing
Pak Retailer Faces Blasphemy Charges After Not Joining Film Protest
Former Chungking Top Cop Implicates Bo Xilai In Heywood Murder
Danish Magazine Runs Topless Kate Photos
Senior Israeli Official Tells Iran To Quit With The Threats At IAEA Meeting; Warns That Israel Will Defend Itself
Aussie Senate Rejects Gay Marriage Bill



BLOGS & STUFF
The Looking Spoon: With Misery And Obama For All
WyBlog: First Health Insurance, Now Administration Mandates Minimum Gasoline Purchase
NRO Corner: How Biased Are Polls?
Atlas Shrugs: AQ Ex-Gitmo Detainee Involved In Benghazi Attack, Ambassador’s Murder
Protein Wisdom: Obama Desperately Looking For New “Squirrel!” Issue
Valley Of The Shadow: Rules For a Post-Obama Media
The Lonely Conservative: Obama – Slumlord Millionaire
Michelle Malkin: Cult Of Obama Tries To Launch Creepy “For All” Campaign
Twitchy: #ForAll Cult FAIL – Jim Messina Creeps Everyone Out
Gateway Pundit: Conservative Group To Run Netanyahu Ads In Florida
Ed Driscoll: Booty Call
Not Yet Europe: Romney Tape Gap NOT Recording Error
Jihad Watch: OIC Calls On West To Enact Sharia Blasphemy Laws
Legal Insurrection: Maine Senate Race In Play?
Weasel Zippers: House Passes Buffett Rule On Voice Vote, Allows Rich Liberals To Put Money Where Their Mouth Is
GayPatriot: Executive Privilege Used To Shield Holder’s Shoddy Management Of DOJ?

Category: Live at Five

$105,000 Worth of Champagne

Posted on | September 19, 2012 | 16 Comments

What else would you expect to drink when you attend a fundraiser for the Man Who Stopped the Rise of the Oceans?

President Barack Obama attended a fundraiser at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club in Manhattan that featured a champagne tower of 350 bottles worth $105,000 — more than twice the median household income of an American family.
The tower of $300-a-bottle Armand de Brignac Brut Gold . . . is a permanent fixture at the club. ‘It’s floor-to-ceiling gold bottles in the entire space,’ a 40/40 representative told the New York Post. ‘It’s beautiful—breathtaking. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in.’ The median income for an American family was $51,413 in 2011.

Obama campaign slogan 2008: “Change We Can Believe In.”

Obama campaign slogan 2012: “Living Well Is the Best Revenge.”

BTW, don’t confuse this with the “excellent armagnac” served at Chez McCain to members of the Elite Cabal of Bloggers to which The Lonely Conservative was not invited.

Category: Barack Obama

Please, Get Your Vagina Off My TV!

Posted on | September 19, 2012 | 24 Comments

You know the ads I’m talking about: Lawyers seeking clients for a class-action lawsuit involving . . . um, gynecological problems:

Don’t get me wrong, ladies: I am pro-vagina and pro-health. If you’ve had some kind of problem with a “mesh implant,” I support your right to sue whoever you want to sue. But I don’t ever want to hear about this problem from a TV ad while I’m trying to watch the news.

Category: Health Care

My Ill-Gotten Gains

Posted on | September 19, 2012 | 30 Comments

“How he affords his Italian suits and his diamond-studded walking stick, his Ferraris, the enormous gems that glitter on his fingers, or the caviar, I will never know. Neither is it any of my business. I will never forget motoring up the cedar-lined drive to his manse overlooking the Shenandoah, and wondering how he could have purchased that stately domain on a blogger’s salary — and with all those children. The missus greeted me politely in the foyer before whisking me to the gallery, where were gathered notables from government and media corporate bigwigs, all enjoying his excellent armagnac whilst McCain regaled them with tales of high hobnobbery. The dinner was sumptuous, and I omit detailing it only for brevity’s sake. Later, he bested me deftly at his regulation snooker table in the billiard room, and offered me a fine Cubano from a box given him by Leon Panetta, and showed me his library, populated top to bottom with leather-bound first editions of classics in various languages, not only of Europe. We sat on the veranda and conversed on lofty themes, before I retired to my room, put up by the sweetly attired maidservants, whose decolletage I shall never forget. . . .”

Category: Dan Collins

Why Liberals Hate You

Posted on | September 19, 2012 | 113 Comments

Rare is the day when I have cause to express gratitude to Matt Yglesias, but his expression of the statist view could not be clearer:

 

 

Could we write a 10,000-word essay on the crypto-totalitarian assumptions of this statement? Sure we could. But why bother, when Iowahawk does it in 140-characters or less?

 

 

The temptation to teach a political philosophy class here is strong, but must be resisted. Let us merely assume, therefore, that our readers are familiar with those conservative thinkers who scoff at the “state of nature” in which too many philosphers have based their deluded egalitarian theories. There was never any such “state of nature.”

Government began with the family, and its authority was developed in other such organic institutions which the state did nothing to create, but which the state is obligated to defend. The state should be the servant of its citizens and not the master, and there is no “democratic” right that permits the state to defraud citizens of their property for the benefit of any special interest or political constituency. But as I say, I’m resisting the temptation to teach a class. Let’s keep it to Tweets.

 

 

At this very moment, the state’s wife is trying to get the state’s children out of the state’s beds, but they’re not going to the state’s schools to get the state’s education. The state may tax us to provide such schools, but the state cannot compel our children to attend them — at least, not yet. Matt Yglesias would probably say that my wife and I are stealing these children from the state.

UPDATE: William J. Hoge wonders, “What are they teaching kids these days?” Ah, but Yglesias was magna cum laude at Harvard.

The absolute disconnect between the statist idolatry of Yglesias and any real sense of history is not, I think, accidental.

“To live for the moment is the prevailing passion— to live for yourself, not for your predecessors or posterity. We are fast losing the sense of historical continuity, the sense of belonging to a succession of generations originating in the past and stretching into the future.”
—Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism (1979)

This is what the the statism of Yglesias neglects, “the sense of belonging” to something more permanent than a peer group, a social clique or a self-chosen political category. Yglesias is profoundly alienated from America, unable to relate to or empathize with the Founders or their vision, and thinks it “false consciousness” (or ignorant adherence to a “myth”) if others do.

Patriotism the decadent likes of Yglesias cannot comprehend, except insofar as they can redefine America to fit their philosophy, and then command your allegiance to their creation.

Nor is it an accident that such shallow self-regarding elitists contemptuously dismiss religion as another ignorant myth, because God and God’s laws must be overthrown if their own authority to dictate to others — performing the role of Platonic archons — is to be recognized without challenge. Their possession of elite credentials would otherwise be devalued, and they would be unjustly deprived of that which they most crave, an unquestioned status of superiority over others.

Their egalitarian theory is thus exposed as dishonest hypocrisy: While they are willing to redistribute the property of others, they cling with jealous ferocity to that which they most fanatically crave, namely their own prestige and privileges.

Our humility in thinking ourselves no better than our ancestors — my great-grandfather was entirely illiterate, as perhaps were your own forebears — is incomprehensible to intellectuals, who confuse their skill at articulation with wisdom and virtue. Hayek examined this confusion in “The Intellectuals and Socialism,” as did Thomas Sowell in The Vision of the Anointed. Once you understand that a man might be fluent and persuasive while yet being foolish and vicious, then you are less likely to be dazzled or deceived by the elite credentials and wordy pretensions of such impudent intellectual bullies as Matthew Yglesias.

They hate you most thoroughly, except you are so microscopically insignificant as to be beneath their notice, so that these would-be philosopher-kings regard you with complete contempt.

 





 

 


Category: Intellectuals

LIVE AT FIVE (CDT): 09.19.12

Posted on | September 19, 2012 | 2 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Romney Slams Obama’s Redistributionist Approach To Government

Mitt Romney at a Salt Lake City campaign event

Not backing down from remarks – counterattacking instead
Gallup says he actually has significant support from the 47%


Federal Judge Rejects Injunction Against Doc Check Provision Of Arizona Law
Other three sections of SB1070 remain blocked due to federal pre-emption


Chicago Students Return To Class Today As Strike Ends
Union delegates vote to suspend walkout after city backs down on several points



POLITICS
Middle East In Flames, Economy Sputtering, Obama Drops By Letterman Before Beyonce Bash

Obama yuks it up on Letterman

The Administration, as played by Chip Diller

Appeals Court Rules SuperPAC Donors Can Remain Secret

Ryan: Safety Net Shouldn’t Encourage Dependency

Poll Finds CT Senate Race Too Close To Call

Bill O’Reilly, Jon Stewart To Face Off In Washington Debate

Pennsylvania High Court Punts On Voter ID Bill

Farm-State Politicians Go Home Empty-Handed

Rhode Island School Bans Father-Daughter Dances As Violation Of State Law



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Oil Continues Slide As Traders Await Inventory News; NYMEX $95.86, Brent $112.53
Euro Stocks Climb As Bank Of Japan Opts For Stimulus
More Job Cuts On Tap For American Airlines
NStar Proposes Lowering Gas Rates To 2002 Levels
Stocks Mixed As Investors Focus On Economic Woes
Deposit Flight From PIGS Banks Erodes Euro
Japan Gets Cold Feet On Nuke Abolition
US Current-Account Deficit Narrows
Intel Sets Windows 8 Tablet Event With HP, Samsung, Others
Sony Unveils Smaller, More Expensive PS3
Miracast Certification Begins As AirPlay Gets Some Serious Competition
Microsoft, RIM Ink Licensing Agreement
Windows 8 Price For System Builders To Be Roughly Equivalent To Windows 7
JetBlue To Roll Out Free In-flight WiFi Next Year



SPORTS
Steve Sabol, President Of NFL Films, Dies

Steve Sabol, 1942-2012

Son of NFL Films founder helped start NFL Network; dead of brain cancer two weeks before 70th birthday

Teagarden’s 18th Inning Single Lifts O’s Over M’s, 4-2

AEG Sale Means Hazy Future For LA Sports

Lincecum, Giants Beat Rockies 6-3; Giants’ Magic Number Now 7


Astros Lose 100th Game, Fall 4-1 To Cardinals

Doubront, BoSox Play Spoiler, Top Rays 7-5

Cabrera Gets 6 RBI As Tigers Rout A’s 12-2

Weaver Gets 100th Win As Angels Smack Rangers 11-3

Brewers Blank Free-Falling Pirates

Braves Waste Rally, Fall To Fish In 10th; Nationals Magic Number Now 10

Rainouts In NY, DC Set Up Doubleheaders With Playoff Implications



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Tori Spelling Hospitalized For Emergency Surgery

Tori Spelling

Surgery for complications from fourth C-section

Alexis Bellino Leaving “Real Housewives Of Orange County” After Three Seasons

Selena Gomez Flies Back Into The Arms Of Justin Bieber

Jennifer Aniston Reveals Pregnant Belly In Funny SmartWater Ad


“Fifty Shades Of Grey” Author E.L. James Talks Movie Casting

French Court Shuts Down Publication Of Duchess Kate’s Topless Pics

Adele To Design For Burberry?

Amanda Bynes Doesn’t Think She Needs Rehab Or Conservatorship



FOREIGNERS
Syrian Rebels Seize Control Of Crossing On Turkish Border
NATO Says Halt In Joint Afghan Ops Won’t Affect Strategy
PRC Marks “National Humiliation Day” With Anti-Japanese Protests
Xi Jinping Looks Healthy After Two-Week Disappearance
Singh’s Biggest Ally To Quit Coalition Over Foreign Retail, Diesel Prices
Crowd Attacks US Ambassador In Beijing
Pemex Gas Plant Explosion In Reynosa Kills 26
Kremlin Demands Halt To USAID Work In Russia



BLOGS & STUFF
The Looking Spoon: One Of These Offends Democrats
WyBlog: And if Muslims Kill A Few More Ambassadors, Obama Will Give Back The Blind Sheik
Valley Of The Shadow: The Three-Act Tragedy Of Obama’s Foreign Policy
Power Line: Mitt Romney, Closet Conservative
NRO Corner: The “47 Percent” Flap
Riehl World News: Some GOP Strategists All Wee-Wee’d Up Over Romney Remarks
Moe Lane: Mother Jones Caught Tampering With “Untampered” Romney Video
James Taranto: 47 Skidoo
Gateway Pundit: Obama’s Convention Bounce Hits Bottom – Carter Had Better Lead In 1980
Da Tech Guy: The WaPo, NBC, And The New Poll Math
Pat Dollard: Obama’s Approval Rating On Foreign Policy Drops 12 Points After Embassy Attacks
Breitbart: Newspaper Revenues Collapse To 1950s Levels
Weasel Zippers: Obama Says “There’s Plenty Of Blame To Spread Around” For Fiscal Mess
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner: The EPA’s Four-Gallon Minimum Mandate
Lonely Conservative: Media Doesn’t Care About Secretary Sebelius Violating Federal Law
American Thinker: Professor Put On Leave After Requiring Students To Sign Democrat Vote Pledge

Category: Live at Five

E-Mail From Bert, the Samoan Lawyer

Posted on | September 18, 2012 | 18 Comments

Commenting on some recent events, and quite interesting:

How many of the purported Republicans and/or conservatives that have been pronouncing Romney a sure loser in the last three weeks are among those that, during the primaries, said the GOP had to nominate him because he was the only one who could win?
Of those, how many have close ties to Jeb Bush?
If Jeb ever wants to be President, Romney needs to lose this election.
As Stacy sometimes says, “I’m just askin’ . . .”
But I do think it would make a hell of an interesting blog post for someone that had time to trace it down.
-Bert

This would imply a Bushian conspiracy for dynastic revival.

Crazy? Yeah. But never trust those Bushies . . .

Category: Uncategorized
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