It's What Does Jimmy Carter and Two Dogs Got to Do with It Thing...(barf bag not included)

Dear America,

We are just so road weary of being taken for a ride.

right?

Did I take the words right out of your mouth?
...it's like... if we hear one more lie... taste one more nugget of truth out of a bucket of deep fried, over-processed rhetoric  ... witness one more 'but he hit me first'... we just might veer off the side of the road, spin into the ditch, if not, fly over edge of the cliff and plummet to our death all by our self.

something about last night's debate just plum exhausted me --

the only sign of life was the intermittent joke, washed over the crowd in fits and spurts, but hardly often enough to keep the eyes open and the interest piqued.


Beginning with Gingrich who dropped a few ha-ha moments [and accidentally slipping into a remake of Wednesday's blog:  It's Socialism Stupid -- Among Other Things].  Here's Newt, retelling a Reagan era campaign zinger:

"when your neighbor is unemployed, 

we call it a recession. 

when you are unemployed, 

we call it a depression.  

when Jimmy Carter is unemployed, 

we call it a recovery."

good stuff.

..and just as I was beginning to give up on the whole thing (seen it, heard it, tell me something I don't know already...)...we were introduced to another funny guy.

The biggest belly laugh of the night came from a candidate on the fringe, the outskirts, Gary Johnson.  With perfect pitch and inflection... simply letting the dry wit wind float over the crowd.... boom!

"my neighbor's two dogs 

have created more shovel ready jobs 

then this administration." 

badump buh.

good one. although, too bad it wasn't his own work...and you're gonna have to look it up yourself...as I digress...

But poor Gary [fighting the urge to picture SpongeBob's pet snail...], much of his ideas may be falling on deaf ears; but every chance he got, Johnson said the first thing he would do as president would involve immediately balancing the budget -- cutting 43% of everything, pretty much across the board.  [yes, it's bold AND too bad this kind of agenda doesn't stand a chance of survival].

spinning off into something totally unrelated [sort of] -- yesterday, I ventured down the road of contacting someone within the AARP.  Yes, I am approaching the big  Five-Oh, but that doesn't even come close to the real reason for making contact.

I called them to tell them their new ad is deplorable, misguided, disingenuous, and stupid.  yeah, good luck with that G, right?   

Yes, it is bad enough that the first voice you hear (when calling the toll-free number) is Betty White's; that all you hear is Betty's voice -- yes...all the way through it... over the river and through the woods... at each and every prompt that redirects you to the department needed. It's just Betty.  Over and over and over again.  There is that.


But now, with their new ad, AARP is using seniors to preach the living fear into old people, asking everyone to call Washington, to tell them to back off their Medicare and Social Security.  really?  seriously? where was the AARP when Obamacare -- now legally binding -- commits the crime of taking 500 Billion dollars from Medicare to help pay for it?

Where were you then, AAAAAAAAAA R Pathetic?

[rhetorical question...we know who profits greatly with that little stunt] 

But back to living in the now,  NOBODY in their right mind is going to cut benefits to current seniors. Nobody.

[and risking being off message again -- 

did you catch the nods to Fed Ex and Lowe's?

...oh what ever]

The AARP is just peddling yet another lie to serve themselves.

It's like all the pointing of fingers back and forth last night, of the flipping and the flopping on positions -- is this the new AARP not to be confused with the old AARP?   Are you really for Medicare after you were against it?  Will the real AARP please stand up?

I am just sick of it.

The campaign has only just begun and my head is spinning... my stomach is nauseated... I'm feeling dizzy...and I think I'm gonna.............

I am just sick of it; I am beside myself in disappointment, sensing an overwhelming feeling of deja vu, thinking we must be going in circles.

The only thing that is saving me right now -- looking at the field of contenders preparing to go up against The Chosen One --  is this:   The Chosen One sucks more.

and speaking of fits and spurts of nausea, another rumor is being circulated about The First Lady being pregnant (again).  Now this gossip's been dropped on the street before -- nearly on an annual basis -- but who knows, right.  It could be true this time around...whatever ya gotta do to win...whatever you gotta say...whatever you gotta imply...whatever.   It's all just a part of the game.

So where are we?  Is the law of diminishing returns ringing in the next president of the United States?  By all appearances thus far, instead of appreciating in value we seem to be depreciating.

Just where is the classic, made in America, untarnished man (or woman) of steel?
Guess I'm just searchin' for a some kind of real Iaccoca (I mean, miracle) right about now...

Have politics and society reached such a level of corruption, that the one who wins is the one showing the least amount of dings and scratches?  Is that how we decide our fate?

Before I leave today, I want to do a couple of shout-out's for some really good advertising (or is it the sentiment, or is it both??)  Cuz you know... what kind of an American girl would I be if I didn't counter-punch the AARPee BS:

First one:


good,  right.

and given that I mentioned Iacocca, I would be really missing the gotcha-moment if I didn't go to Ford for the next example:



and just in case you ever wondered if the ad is "real" -- watch this:




The thing is, we are -- as citizens -- in keeping of the greatest duty and responsibility in all the land: electing the President of the United States of America.  We have seen what overzealous appeals to the heart of a social justice agenda can do; we have seen what the reality of inexperience mixed with arrogance and narcissism can make; we have seen what the masterful work of false advertising meeting up with a dynamic, young, complicated, community organizer and free radical can create;

NOW, all we want is the truth.

We are finished with all the songs and games and billboards and pokes in the side -- of course, accompanying alongside the ever so annoying and persistent bickering back and forth.

We are done; nauseated and spent in every possible way -- a.k.a. umpteen ways from Sunday -- all we want to do is get there already.

And yet, we still have such a long, long road ahead.

SO happy friday, everyone; I don't know about you, but I'm headed out to stock up on Dramamine, more Advil, and just maybe a little Maker's Mark (G fineprint: the three never to be used at the same time or when venturing behind the wheel). 

Make it a Good Day, G

It's an Incredible Shrinking Presidency Thing

Dear America,

anticipations and expectations are at an all time high just in case you have been living under a rock.

of course, we have been here before.

so much was riding on the Team of Hope and Change...

and now, even close friends, loyalists, and fellow community organizers and associations can feel the pangs of fundamental transformation gone awry if not entirely wrong.

This is a stunning realization:

“He has sort of lost the sense of power and mystique of the presidency,” says longtime Obama ally Andy Stern, former president of the powerful Service Employees International Union. “There’s also a sense that people aren’t scared of him. That’s very dangerous.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/62773.html#ixzz1X26GvK2t

The article, The Incredible Shrinking Obama, opens with bar graphs dripping from the headline, almost like big giant tear drops, showing the stark and dismal perceptions of a presidency are slimming to all time lows.  But just listen to the language of Stern..."there's also a sense that people aren't scared of him.  that's very dangerous."

really?  the office of the presidency and the lucky one who sits in the Oval Office is supposed to hold such power over the little people that we should be afraid?  Sounds kind of marxist/communist/dictatorship/tyrannical/and insultingly oppressive if you ask me...and you?

And who said mystique is what we want or need in a president anyway?

I, for one, am more comfortable in a camp where mystique no longer lives; I. for two, wish to leave the ritualistic bowing to a leader to the indigenous villages of the great outback -- or giving a collegiate nod to being back at school --  seems more appropriate to the opening festivities of a typical rush week.  Power, mystique and scaring the living daylights out of the populace seems a wee bit old world if not beholden to the likes of a Greek tragedy.

For Andy Stern, he believes it is more dangerous when the people are no longer scared -- what the hell is that?

While another staunch supporter of Obama, Maureen Dowd -- quoted in the same POLITICO post -- adds to the toxic level in mystical proportions of the Left's Lament, saying:

“Obama is still suffering from the Speech Illusion,” New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote last weekend. “The idea that he can come down from the mountain, read from a Teleprompter, cast a magic spell with his words and climb back up the mountain, while we scurry around and do what he proclaimed.”

 And dare I say, Obama knows this.

The joint session address -- normally only associated with the most serious of occasions...like responding to an act of war, promoting brand new Trillion Dollar Entitlement reforms, and the like (otherwise, after awhile, the perception slides into some rendition of the boy who cried wolf...just sayin') -- is scheduled for 7 pm eastern time.  This would be four o'clock pacific time, and clearly, timed to air before anybody can get through rush hour to watch it.  What's the hurry Mr. President?

Oh right...

...you were afraid of your audience conflicting with the opener of the NFL.

The Saints and Packers game was simply just too much of a threat to the "incredible shrinking Obama."

I have said it before, and I'm sure to say it again -- this girl loves her football.  And today, I couldn't be more proud.  oh the power of sacking a president without even touching the guy.  and it has nothing to do with not liking the man -- he seems cool ...you know, without all the pesky details of his policies.  AND a whopping 74% of the people agree with me on that (see article) And looky there, now stacked up in the making of another salient point made by POLITICO and kinda lookin' like a pig pile formation... but I digress.

Anticipation and expectations are making this president squirm; leveraging his dwindling mystique into an uncharacteristic and insignificant media hour at four in the afternoon, power washing his economic policies across the board with generalities and chock full of promises to be outlined at a later date, and completely sandwiched in-between a GOP Debate (tonight...making the official Rick Perry unveiling...yippie skippy) and the NFL twenty four hours later. Who's ready for some tall-tale-gate now?

In reality, after all the hype, he really doesn't want a lot of attention for this presidential address at all.-- he has thought about it -- he has pondered the politics of it -- respective of the risks versus the rewards -- and now realizes that his incredible shrinking presidency is going to be all on the line.  Whether that line is dug in on the Offensive or Defensive side we will just have to wait and see.

...breeding even more anticipating
...more expecting
...ushering in an era of the highest shrinking confidence levels that this country has ever known, now settled into the deep-seated thoughts and minds of nearly eighty percent of us (POLITICO notes that only 19% of Americans believe we are headed in the right direction).

And now, given that I have officially got football on the brain, it begs the question, does Obama even know which goal post is ours? Who's team is he on anyway?  For he is apparently running in one direction while the rest of the team is going the other way.  Just which one is not like the others?  It's just a fair question paired with a live ball.

and let's bring in the cheerleaders for a moment before I go -- many thanks and raucous pom pom bursts go to Glenn Thrush and Carrie Budoff Brown for a great article breaking down the thrill of the current political game afoot. you two are number one (for today anyway).

Make it a Good Day, G