Keith Olbermann, Hillary and Barack
I usually don't go all politics on you because as the header says, it's all teaching all the time except... well the exception has just been made.
Much has been made about another stupid comment Hillary has offered us. This time, she is talking assassination. Now, people, I remember this one: Bobby Kennedy murdered in California. I was in the second grade and had already started reading the Washington Post on a regular basis. (God, I love my parents.) The day after he was shot, I remember reading the headline that he had died. I watched his funeral, the funeral procession and his burial that beautiful June Saturday afternoon. My parents took the TV out in the backyard and all our neighbors gathered all day long. (Technology being what it was in 1968, we had several extension cords plugged in and hanging out the kitchen window.)
My parents had taken me to President Kennedy's funeral - we stood on some street in Washington and watched as his casket was pulled by us. Now, I don't really remember it, but I have heard the story so many times and have seen so much footage, I believe I remember it, but there really isn't a way that I possibly could.
I grew up believing I was a lifelong Democrat. I married a lifelong Republican. A Milton Friedman economist, Ronald Reagan Republican. Feel my pain.
Early this morning, my beloved Cupcake wrote a scathing blog about how Hillary had finally disappointed her to the point of forcing her to choose Barack. Here at teachergirl, that hasn't been the case since, oh, Gary Hart. Yeah, I supported Bill Clinton, but probably for all the wrong reasons. I have been systematically disappointed by the Democratic Party for years and when I had to explain to a then 3rd grader (dancing with the words, mind you) why we were impeaching a sitting President, that is when I bolted.
Al Gore would have received my vote if he had stood up and said that what Bill Clinton had done was wrong. I had been a huge Al Gore fan in 1988 when he was first running against Bill Clinton. ( I thought he was the right good ole Southern boy.) Instead, he chose to ignore the stain Bill left on the Oval Office. I believe that if you can't take a stand against something so inherently wrong, you don't deserve to be president.
Hillary is a cold, calculating bitch. There. I said it. I wouldn't eat lunch with her, let alone give her my vote for President. Go to Arkansas with Bill Clinton when she knew he was a dog and wasn't even married to him yet? She was plotting way back then.
And Barack Obama: I don't get him and his popularity. If he wants to come by the house and my classroom for a chat, feel free. But, he and Michelle are like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I really don't think they get me. There is no possible way I will be able to watch the news or read the newspaper if he ever becomes President.
And Keith? He has been openly campaigning on MSNBC for Barack Obama since the primary season started. As a journalism student, I always believed that journalists were supposed to keep their own personal preferences personal. (My best friend's father was a journalist and managed to get himself on Nixon's enemies list. We were proud and afraid at the same time. Keith Olbermann's obvious political preferences probably have him spinning in his grave.)
Yesterday's rant, and yes, let's face it, Keith was in full rant mode, should have been paid for by the Obama campaign. (And please remember, I am no fan of Hillary.) And Keith's sign off---"Good night and good luck:" do NOT go invoking Edward R. Murrow. You are no Edward R. Murrow, Keith, and you never will be.
So, this Memorial Day weekend, let's all go take a think: think about those boys at Lexington and Concord, those boys at Gettysburg and Antietam, those boys at San Juan Hill, those boys at the Battle of the Somme, those boys at Normandy, those boys at Pusan, those boys at Khe Sanh, those boys and girls in the Gulf War and those boys and girls in Iraq and Afghanistan and you decide who you want defending this country and representing it around the world. And do you want Keith Olbermann making your mind up for you?
Labels: rant
posted by teachergirl at 8:48 AM
12 Comments:
Well said, o wise one.
Yes, Olbermann has been Obama's de facto campaign manager, but I always enjoy a good show. His twisted knickers really entertain me, especially when he has a point. Believe me, I won't base a vote on what he says. I just liked how he said it, I guess.
As for my vote - right now, I'm all about Obama, only because I can't take another four years of a Republican oil grab. I'd love to think that McCain can do the job, but I don't know. He's sold too much of his soul since 2000. I loved him then.
Yeah, but haven't we all sold a little part of our souls? I think I've loved Johnny Mac since he came back from Vietnam - you were a mere babe in the woods, but I was a full, fledged teenager. Hot over flyboys. And Episcopal High School was just a stone's throw away from my house, so ...well, a girl can dream, can't she? And seriously, who do you want answering the phone at 3AM? Because John would just kick some more ass. For waking him up.
If I could just think that Keith was a silly sideshow, I might enjoy him. But when I watch, my blood pressure climbs, and then, my twitch starts. Not pretty.
You were the only one I didn't want to offend. LawyerBoy is tired of hearing the rant.
You didn't offend me in the least. I completely see your point of view, and I get where you're coming from regarding Johnny Mac. You're right - we have all sold a little bit of our souls. I'm just so over politicians saying and doing anything for my vote, and then saying and doing everything I hoped they wouldn't.
I was raised a proud Independent, and I, too, married a card-carrying, "Let's canonize Ronald Reagan" Republican. The Pro STILL mourns the death of Ronnie R. When he starts to wax nostalgic, I just smile one of those "bless your heart" smiles and go about my day.
I've been a Johnny Mac fan since I worked on Capitol Hill in the '80s, but my Heart Belongs to Barack now. No, not because I'm in love with him or his rhetoric--because I'm a Native Texan, and Johnny's looking like four more years of Shrub to me (get it? Little Bush??). The Good Senator from Arizona, who is so much fun to watch at committee hearings because he's so unpredictable and doesn't always support The Man, has a little bit of 'splainin' to do, as Ricky Ricardo would say. What about Charlie Black and Tom Loeffler, and 4 or 5 other high-powered lobbyists on his campaign payroll? I thought Johnny was the anti-Lobbyist guy! And what about ditching his first wife, who waited for him while he was bunking at the Hanoi Hilton, for Cindy, the beer & liquor distributor heiress? Something smells, is all I'm saying. And I don't buy the argument the Barack is inexperienced, etc. Look at Dubya--a Draft-Dodging, Daddy Bought Me the Governor's Office, Yea, I Used to be a Drunk, but the Texas DPS Took All Those DWIs Off My Record, Mama's Boy. Shrub's done run this country into the ground. And yes, Hillary is a bee with an itch. I say give the New Guy a chance. PS: Loved reading the ongoing chat between you and Cupcake! :)
I feel slightly ashamed that I don't have such strong views as you women. I am going to attribute it to the fact that I have only been able to vote for 13 years, so I haven't had all that much experience in the political world. That or I don't care enough. That might just be it. I just feel that they are all lying. All of them. I can't get excited about anyone because no one seems genuine enough to care about.
Angie, I think you might be the one who is right on target. Or that blackberry wine is starting to work. (In a mug?) Remember, I'm the one who cried at the end of the John Adams miniseries. The one who spent last summer at a Constitution seminar. And don't rub it in that you've only been voting for 13 years - I've got clothes that are 13 years old. Go on over to Mamacita and read about Ted Kennedy. I remember writing a letter to him when I was about 9 or 10 after Chappaquidick with an older cousin who was in law school. Probably one of my better letter writing experiences, I guarantee. And one I am sure Teddy didn't keep for his scrapbook.
Melissa b - glad to hear from ya. Cupcake and I, well, we are like twins who were separated at birth. You should have seen the banter during the playoff season when those pesky Redskins were winning and then losing. Maybe we could live blog the conventions and the election. What fun!!
Let's live blog! Better yet - let's get our own show on XM satellite radio.
Well, Cupcake, contact Oprah or Howard Stern and get it lined up. I think our show would be amazing.
I'm only half way through this Titanic thing. (And I still get teary-eyed when they end up on the staircase at the very end.) But I don't think I'm going to make it to the end; this end of the year stuff has exhausted me.
Beloved Redskins, huh? I lost interest in them when Jack Kent Cooke died. He was much more interesting than the team, sometimes, but I also liked the fact that I could walk (12-year Capitol Hill resident) to the stadium for home games. What was the name of his Bolivian- (I think) born wife? Remember her ride on the hood of a man's Jag in Georgetown? I've gone over to the Other Side and have adopted Hubby's homestate team, The Packers. Well, Brett Favre and his cuteness had a lot to do with it, too! Go, Pack!
Marlene. That's the name of the Bolivian ex-wife.
Yes, long live Jack. It certainly has been a disaster since Crazy Danny Snyder took over, but my blood continues to bleed burgundy and gold.
My husband's from Wisconsin, too, and we're also Packers fans. But my Redskins determine my mood during football season.
As for XM, I'm calling today. They have plenty of channels - why not put us on?? We would be WILDLY entertaining!
Marlene? Hardly the exotic Bolivian name I was trying to remember.
Call XM. I was thinking of gathering up all the amusing blogs from the teachers I like and trying to put them together in book form - kind of the way "Sleep Is For the Weak" was done; maybe we could make some money.
LawyerBoy lets me pick the football teams in the house. He grew up in Iowa, so what are you going to like besides corn? So hail to the Redskins.
I think it's pronounced Mar-LAY-Nah, or something like that. We went to a Nats game today (they lost to--who else?--the Milwaukee Brewers!) & were speculating on how neat it would be if the 'Skins came back to DC. And I'm all up for a live blog thing, if there's room.
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