I feel like I’m really pushing my luck with all the political and/or inflammatory posts lately, but as election day nears, more and more items are catching my eye that seem to be worth risking a fight. I was steered to the latest such item by Andrew Sullivan; it’s a blog ostensibly written by an 82-year-old Texas woman. (I say ostensibly because some of her commenters have raised the possibility that the 82-year-old “Helen” is merely a persona adopted by someone who wants to express a particular point of view.) Regardless of Helen’s true age or identity, though, she is an eloquent and entertaining writer with a refreshingly crusty, no-nonsense, and unabashedly partisan attitude. I found today’s entry particularly good, notably this passage:

Continue Reading…

Damn, I already used my vote for this year… if only I’d seen this video a few days earlier!

You know what really scares me about this? The way it actually makes me kind of like Paris Hilton. Just goes to show what a catchy jingle can do for you, I suppose.

(Via Neatorama.)

I see this morning that Mark Evanier has posted the Opie/Richie clip as well, along with an interesting comment:

…before any of you start muttering about Hollywood Liberals…I’ve actually talked politics with two of the three men in this video and I would have bet on Cindy McCain endorsing Barack Obama before I’d have put money on these guys…

So which two of the three do you suppose he’s talking about? I think Andy’s probably an easy bet; his age and background would naturally lead to the more conservative side of the spectrum. But between Ron and Henry (about whom I admittedly don’t know much, aside from their public personae)? Hm. That’s a stumper…

Anyone with a shred of common sense can tell you that celebrity endorsements have about as much influence on elections as the rantings of your average nobody blogger (yours truly included), which is to say, very little effect at all. In fact, you could probably argue that celebrity endorsements are actually counterproductive, since conservatives tend to react to the opinions of Hollywood personalities like bulls react to red blankets flapping in the breeze, and as a result the endorsement sometimes backfires and ends up becoming a cudgel that’s used against the endorsed. That’s one reason why I tend, as I usually do, to avoid the whole subject of who endorses what and any possible confrontations that may arise from talking about it.

However, sentimental slob that I am, I can’t resist passing along this odd little clip, in which director Ron Howard reprises his most famous acting roles with his old buddies Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler in the name of getting out the word about their preferred candidate. The video is kind of lame and kind of embarrassing, but it’s obviously heartfelt, and, well, it’s just nice to see these beloved characters again, even if they’re in the service of a partisan statement. Given Andy’s advancing age, it may well be the last time we see them:

One little sidethought: Have you ever considered how truly extraordinary Ron Howard’s career has been? A child actor from the age of five or six, he breathed life into two iconic characters in two hugely successful television series — Opie Taylor in The Andy Griffith Show and Richie Cunningham in Happy Days — not to mention playing a significant role in George Lucas’ American Graffiti, then went on as an adult to direct a string of money-making films. Truly an amazing record. Ron’s directorial work has its detractors, but you can’t deny how exceptional it is for a former child actor to still be in the business at all, let alone making movies that the public likes…

For the record, I took advantage of my state’s early-voting program and registered my political choices yesterday. If you have that option where you are, I highly recommend taking it. It’s nice to have it out of the way.

That said, I wonder how many people really get how remarkable and important this election season is. A few people do, at least:

For me the most moving moment came when the family in front of me, comprising probably 4 generations of voters (including an 18 year old girl voting for her first time and a 90-something hunched-over grandmother), got their turn to vote. When the old woman left the voting booth she made it about halfway to the door before collapsing in a nearby chair, where she began weeping uncontrollably. When we rushed over to help we realized that she wasn’t in trouble at all but she had not truly believed, until she left the booth, that she would ever live long enough to cast a vote for an African-American for president.

It was only two generations ago — if we define a generation as 25 years, more or less — that black people weren’t allowed to use the same drinking fountains as whites. Viewed in this context, it doesn’t really matter who wins the presidency (although I certainly have my preference). We’ve still taken a big step forward. And for that, I am proud of my nation. At risk of pissing off my conservative readers, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt able to say that…

(Via.)

I don’t have much to say about last night’s presidential debate — I watched only a part of it and I choose to keep my admittedly partisan impressions to myself — but I’ve got to share this amusing photo that’s been floating around the politiblogs today:

Now, I’m perfectly willing to give McCain the benefit of the doubt and chalk this up to one of those unfortunate moments when the shutter just happens to open at exactly the worst possible instant — the blog I pulled this from suggests he was about to walk off the edge of the stage or something — but doesn’t he look like he’s doing that childish pretend-you’re-a-monster-behind-the-other-guy’s-back thing? You know, when you’re teasing someone by acting like Frankenstein or whatever?

I’ll bet when Obama turned around, McCain was standing upright and looking perfectly normal and dignified. Just like that kid in the fourth grade always did when I looked at him, even though I knew he was up to something back there…

There’s some NSFW language in this PSA, but it’s a pretty cool effort nonetheless. Just put your headphones on:

Hey, I’m pretty sure I have five friends who read this. I’m doin’ my part. You guys do yours…

Given that there’s no escaping politics at the moment (not even on vacation — I saw lots of evidence that Obama is going to own San Francisco), I thought I’d take the political quiz that’s been floating around to see if I am what I think I am. The results are entirely unsurprising:

You want government out of people’s personal lives, but you appear to desire some continued government control over people’s economic activities. There is no political party that represents your views. The Green Party does run many candidates with similar views, but the overall Green Party platform is much more socialistic than you are. You would need a mix of Democratic, Green, and Libertarian politicians in office to get the balance of freedom and social justice you desire. The ratio between these depends on how high up your dot is on the chart.

 

Approximately 12% of the takers of this quiz scored in this area, 18% for all liberals outside the centrist circle.

Even though I expected results along these lines, I do think Brian and Ilya are correct when they note that the questions are pretty broad and omit some important issues, not to mention that the available answers didn’t always completely mirror my actual opinions. Still, I’d say this is fairly close… take it and see how you fare!

I really shouldn’t press my luck by writing two political posts in the same day, but I’ve been hearing a lot of nonsense about the set that’s been constructed in Mile High Stadium for Barack’s acceptance speech this evening. Seems our friends on the conservative side of the spectrum think there’s something funny about Roman-Greco-style columns. They’re making jokes about “The Temple of Obama” and “The Barackopolis.” One of John McCain’s people has reportedly issued an illustrated style guide to instruct people on how to properly wrap a toga.

Puh-lease. Most every government building in this country — including the White House, which is, of course, the goal Barack is trying to achieve — has a Neo-Classical facade. Our very system of government derives from the Greeks, something everybody should’ve learned back in middle school. I’m willing to bet that most people, whether consciously or not, simply associate columns with government and politics. There’s nothing elitist or foolish about them.

But then, I’m a liberal and as such I’m not supposed to have any idea how common Americans think, right? This grandiose display is supposed to be an illustration of Barack’s arrogance and his “cult of celebrity,” right? And the Republicans would never, ever do this sort of thing, right?

Give me a frakkin’ break. This is grade-school-level taunting of the most foolish kind, and it’s tedious bullshit like this that drains all the meaning and intelligence from our political process.

My advice to you, kids, is to take a look around today as you go about whatever your business may be. Take note of the details: the weather, the quality of the light, the snatches of conversation you overhear on the streets and in the shops, the general mood of the people you encounter. Because sometime in the future, a child may ask you what it was like the day one of the major political parties first nominated a black man for the office of the President of the United States.

It doesn’t matter whether you like Barack Obama personally. It doesn’t matter if you think he’s the savior of a fading nation or all flash and no substance. It doesn’t matter how you feel about the Iraq War or whether you’re a Democrat or Republican. It doesn’t even matter, in this context, whether Barack wins the general election in November. Because the mere nomination of this man is a thing of wonder. It’s a sign that the America we were told about by those Schoolhouse Rock cartoons when we were children — the country where all people are created equal, and where anyone can go as far as their aspirations and grit will take them — is not entirely a pipe dream. It’s easy to become cynical about that vision of America as we grow up and begin to understand that there are a lot of decks stacked against us, and as life batters us around and we gradually realize just how many of our countrymen — maybe even ourselves — have feet of clay.

But today, 45 years to the day after a brave man told us about a dream that must surely have seemed impossible — or at least highly improbable — to many of those who heard his words, we’ve done something that would have made him very proud. We’ve nominated a black man to the highest office in the land. It’s something that should’ve happened long ago, but no matter. Because the breakthrough has finally been made.

You may think I’m being melodramatic or making too big a deal of this. And maybe I am, as I’m prone to do. But I’m just thrilled to be witness to this moment. So often the big events that occur during our lifetimes, the things that are destined to go into the school books, are bad: the fall of Saigon, Watergate, the assassination of John Lennon, the destruction of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11. Death and destruction, followed by insecurity, soul-searching, and pain. But here’s something that is good, a moving-forward moment.

I’m not one of those who think Obama is a superhero. There are aspects of his campaign and his persona that I find frustrating, and I know that a nomination is a long way from an election, and that whoever takes the Oval Office in January is going to have a hell of a job in front of them. Nevertheless, I feel great pride in and hope for my country today.