Blech...

[tencrush]

I've seen bits of the debate. I don't think I'm going to watch any more than those bits.

You know in Family Guy, when Lois is running for mayor of Quahog, and she does this debate which she eventually wins by saying "9....11!" over and over while the audience whoops and hollers and goes "Fuck yeah!", you know that bit? That's Sarah Palin, except she says "hockeymomregularsmalltownguyjoesixpack!!" I have resigned myself to the fact that McCain (despite the fact that his face looks like it's already been embalmed) and Palin will win this election, due to the fact that the current economic crisis has most Americans so worked up that they'll go for whoever looks the most reassuring and like they'd make them some cocoa and rub their back. Which is why Palin uses the word "mom" a lot, she's a very astute woman. Dumb as pigshit, but astute nonetheless. Also why she uses her newly coined phrase "Joe Sixpack" so much, because it not only reassures BillyJoeBob from Buttfuck Idaho that she understands regular guys like him, but also loosely implies in its wording that she thinks he's got lovely abs and no, that's not a beer belly at all, would you like some cocoa and a back rub? The fact that her voice makes me want to stick knitting needles in my ear and poke my brain until it stops doesn't seem to be a very big issue, I've noticed. Nor, apparently, that she hasn't got a single working brain cell and she's like that guy in that Monty Python film whose head has to be manipulated around until the ball falls in the little hole. She came off quite well! I kind of liked her! HAHAHAHLOLOLLOL you're all so fucked.

It doesn't matter, though, it doesn't really worry me so much, it just kind of makes me sad because it's only taken 8 years, and will only take another 4 on top for America to Truly Not Matter Anymore in the grand scheme of things and in the world. And that's a shame, because you could have been a contender.

The lesson to be learned from all this: We don't DO beauty pageants for a reason. We think they're really, really DUMB. Only Americans do beauty pageants. Let's keep it that way, peeps.

Comments

[gaycrow.livejournal.com]

Word.

I think the final straw for me was the wink.

[off_coloratura]

Oh, no, it can't be.

Of course, that's what I said in 2000 and 2004.

[louisema.livejournal.com]

That woman *terrifies* me.

The whole election makes me scared in the way you get scared when you know there's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING you can do about it...and when you strongly suspect that America (as a whole) is going to do something exceptionally stupid, again.

I actually want to go back to bed and hide under the duvet again now.

[bandgeek01.livejournal.com]

She scares the shit out of me. Seriously. Last week Katie Couric asked her what magazines she read and she answered all of them. Then Katie said specific examples please, I read all of them.

I never knew that there was a magazine called All of Them out there...

Nicole

[oneloveonelight.livejournal.com]

She wasn't as terrible as I thought she would be but she in NO WAY won that debate, nor were her answers eloquent/adequate. Heck, she didn't even answer the question at times and went off topic. But everyone praised her, said she "killed". She was a "strong debater".

WTF? WTF? Is there something wrong with people? Were they watching the same debate as me?

I have no idea what will happen come November. I'm not getting my hopes up. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that the cretins of our country will get their way. Sad.

[love-jackianto.livejournal.com]

'She wasn't as terrible as I thought she would be but she in NO WAY won that debate, nor were her answers eloquent/adequate.'
Some papers are saying she won the debate JUST because she didn't say something stupid; how could she, she didn't answer most of the questions. What the heck!!!

'I'm not getting my hopes up. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that the cretins of our country will get their way. Sad.'
You and me both.

[x-pixel-x.livejournal.com]

The whole (economic crisis + election thing) really makes me want to vomit. Hi it could BE more transparent, but not much. Also, hiding in a cave for the next 20 years sounds good about now.

[cionaudha.livejournal.com]

The Governor of Alaska gives me a painful rash.

My apologies to the whole goddamned world, YET AGAIN, for your having to bear all that nonsense.

She represents a portion of our population who think that what they want for themselves is best for all, and that their own (small) experience of the world is the (low) standard to which all others should be held.

And in general I'm so fucking sick of this rhetoric (on both sides) of fighting for the more or less comfy middle class. Why don't we fight for the poor for a goddamn change?

[tencrush]

Why don't we fight for the poor for a goddamn change?
I've always assumed that that's because the whole democratic process in America is designed to remove as many of the poor as is humanly possible from the electoral roll.

[ionlylurkhere.livejournal.com]

I keep thinking they can't possibly elect someone so monumentally clueless to be VP, and then I remember Dan Quayle.

[love-jackianto.livejournal.com]

'The lesson to be learned from all this: We don't DO beauty pageants for a reason. We think they're really, really DUMB. Only Americans do beauty pageants.'
As an American I should be offended by that, but I'm not. It's so very true and so very sad. Why are Americans (in general) so stupid.

[cirrocumulus.livejournal.com]

I don't think McCain's going to win, though. Obama's currently leading significantly in the polls, and while they're not the best indicator, they are indicative of the fact that Obama has significant support. I would personally be surprised if he loses.

And I realize this is going to come off as incredibly rude, I know, but I kind of wish you'd stop talking smack about America because it's really not all of us. I am just as ashamed of the Republican sector of the country as you are disdainful of it, so there's no need to say that America is hopeless. Of course if McCain does win I will be heartbroken and will actually lose my allegiance with this country, but I haven't gotten to that point yet.

[tencrush]

I so hope you're right. The vibes seem a bit weird looking at it from over here, but I pray to God that you're right.

And no, it's not rude, I understand your point and I'm probably going to just stop talking about it because it frustrates me too much. It's very hard to talk about American politics, coming from the outside, without just generalising about America as a whole. The problem is America isn't a whole and that's a thing we over here don't really see. I lived there long enough and I know and am friends with enough Americans to know that there's a huge divide. That divide is immensely frustrating to someone like me, and I can't even begin to fathom how frustrating it must be to someone on the inside.

To be fair, I wasn't particularly generalising about Americe, I was talking about the Joe Sixpacks to whom a vapid bimbo like Palin allegedly appeals. The only generalisation I was making was that America does beauty pageants. And that's true. (And that's not me being completely ignorant of the type of American that participates in beauty pageants, I'm well aware of what type of American does that sort of thing, but it's a thing American culture has thrown up that is in fact a part of a vague cultural tradition the country has. America's a very competitive country. I have a point to make about that, but it'd turn into a two page essay and, given your reaction, I'd say it's probably not my place to comment.)

[cirrocumulus.livejournal.com]

You shouldn't feel hesitant about making whatever point you were going to about American competition, because I am interested to hear. I didn't mean to get all pissy in my comment, but I did because, as you said, there is a huge divide in America and it's quite frustrating to live in as you can imagine. I get into arguments with my Republican acquaintances but I also get into even more frustrating debates with people who bizarrely don't care about the election, think that we're "fucked either way" and that nothing will change no matter who's elected. I think they're dead wrong, of course, but I digress.

I am a little worried that the divide doesn't appear as prominent from a European perspective because it's probably the ridiculous Republican antics that make their way across the ocean instead of the generally saner acts of the Democrats. I don't mind you generalizing about the 'Joe Six-Packs' beecause I agree that there are a lot of stubborn, conservative people in this country that I really am not proud of. I only got angry because I thought you were classifying the majority of America as those people. But as you are aware, the divide is really more important to remember than the specifics of either side, I think. And the divide worries me because no matter who wins the election, there is going to be a sizeable portion of the country that's going to be disappointed in a way that won't go away lightly.

However, I do think Obama has a significant chance. Regardless of how it looks in Europe, Obama's supporters definitely have no lack of confidence in him and I think there's a lot of optimism on the part of the Democrats. It's going to be unfortunately close, yes, but I don't think Obama much much less of a chance of winning than McCain does. It's pretty charged on both sides, as you know, but the Republican party is really starting to come across badly lately with McCain's campaign totally breaking down and a lot of good criticism of the Bush administration coming from the Democrats. It won't sway the die-hard Republicans, of course, but I don't see how any discerning undecided voters would go for the Republican party at this point.

In any case I'm sorry I snapped at you and I'm thankful that you clarified your point. In part I really want Obama to win for exactly this reason, so that the rest of the world can start to respect America again, just a little bit, perhaps. I would really hate to have to be ashamed of this country even more deeply than I already am.

[mygirlfine.livejournal.com]

Hee. I'm in Texas. A decidedly Republican state. And not just the suit-wearing corporate Republicans. The really dumb ones who are all PALINRULES! SHEHATESTHEGAYSANDMAKESBABIES! GOJESUS'COSOBAMASISTHEDEVIL/BLACK! And this? Is so spot on. I watched the entire debate, and the whole time I'm thinking this lady has absolutely NO idea WTF she's talking about, but she sure is hilarious and entertaining while doing it. Wouldn't it be great just to see what happened if she got the Vice-Presidency, McCain dies, and the whole country collapses? Then, all the Republicans can be all WTF, I was so sure that Palin thing was going to work out for everyone.

[meleth.livejournal.com]

And she knows perfectly well what she's doing when she says, "drill, baby, drill." Because hey, she wasn't picked for her brains or qualifications. She was picked because she's a rabidly conservative MILF.