The Corner vs. the Messiahmercial

The Web Goddess and I watched the Obamavision special via DVR while snuggling together on the couch. We’re a red-and-blue couple, but in the spirit of bipartisanship, I wore a purple shirt.

I started checking out of the campaign emotionally after the final debate (see “Stick a Fork in Mac, He’s Toast“). So tonight (ok, last night) I took a couple of minor jabs at The One, but afterwards I muted the Obamatron and said to Nina, “he’s good.” I’m in the mode of trying to make the best of the coming Obama presidency, and I was impressed by the performance. His communication skills rival Reagan’s and Clinton’s. I then navigated the DVR to the new Law & Order: SVU that I missed Tuesday night. Up now with a touch of insomnia, I learn that apparently the Phillies won the World Series.

The Corner’s still on the case, however. Some of the Cornerites are trying too hard — “If any undecided voters are moved by this nearly unwatchable garbage, then we will get what we deserve.” But there’s a link to a useful AP deconstruction of the ways in which “Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial.” Then there was this:

I was struck by the guy at the Ford plant; it noted that his father and grandfather had worked at Ford and retired with full benefits. And now he’s only paid to work every other week. Is he suffering currently because of the state of the economy and George Bush’s economic policies, or because his dad and grandad’s union extracted exorbitant benefits and retirement packages that mean Ford is now saddled with crushing financial obligations?

… which eloquently captures the half-formed thoughts that were swirling through my mind at the time.

Nina and I both joked about the “amber waves of grain” that opened the show. Later on we saw the “purple mountain’s majesties” in the backdrop of the Albuquerque (Hi Mom!) vignette. K-Lo came through with the best dig:

“He had me at the waving wheat.” [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
That’s how Rachel Maddow began her show tonight. Must turn off MSNBC.

4 thoughts on “The Corner vs. the Messiahmercial

  1. Obama was careful to include endorsers from the battleground states and to feature couples from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Colorado, etc.

    Note that AP hammered Obama on one thing that he DID NOT say (e. g., healthcare)

  2. ollie, you’re right about the battleground states, and I would add the live event in Florida at the end. It says something about the enthusiasm that Obama generates that he can fill a huge venue with people eager to help celebrate a half-hour commercial.

  3. Ah yes, the purple shirt. Nina’s favorite color. She was found of buying me purple shirts for a while. I was wearing one of them during one visit, and was hit on by a complete stranger while taking the subway to midtown. Unfortunately, this complete stranger wasn’t an attractive woman, but a gay man. When I got back from visiting Nina, one of my friends who is gay told me that purple is “a big gay color”.

    Thanks, Sis. Let’s stick with Mets shirts from now, okay?

    Say, do you think Obama will share his campaign wealth with McCain to give him a better chance, make things “fair”? Not a handout, but a hand up, as Obama is fond of saying? Perhaps McCain, or even Palin, would like a half-hour infomercial as well? Especially since they don’t have most of the networks and newspapers working for them?

    Personally, I didn’t see the informercial. You’ve heard one “chicken in every pot” Ponzi-scheme sales pitch, you’ve heard them all. What Obama and those of his political mindset will never wrap their minds around is that most Americans (84%, in fact) don’t want scraps of someone else’s wealth; we want to make our own – and keep it.

  4. Well, Chris, I think there’s a big difference between making sure that all Americans have the basics (yeah, that tired “chicken in every pot” idea) and becoming Marxists who give away the rich folks’ furniture. You are right that most folks would rather have their own wealth than crumbs from the tables of the elite. However, for many people, wealth is the ability to pay the mortgage, put food on the table, and send the kids to college.

    Conservatives like to accuse liberals of living in la la land. I can think of nothing more unreal, however, than telling everybody they can become wealthy. Talk about a ponzi-scheme. The greatest economy of all time was built in post-war America — you could become rich. But even if you didn’t, you could buy a home and send your kids to college. If that’s what Mr. Obama is selling, I’m buying. If that’s marxism, then I’m a socialist. But I think that capitalism thrives in a system designed to ensure there are working people (that would be the vast majority of the population) who can afford to buy the goods aspiring millionaires are selling. Making sure the workers can buy chickens is what made Mr. Purdue his money.

    And yes, your sister should lay off the purple shirts . . . maybe you should just humor her and move towards blue . . . 🙂

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