C'est plus change...

Just reading around here and there during my too frequent idle moments:
 
"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it." --MT
I think about this often, especially during an election cycle.

"[He] was endowed with a stupidity which by the least little stretch would go around the globe four times and tie." --MT
 Does this bring anyone in particular to mind?  Well, no one with whom I am personally acquainted.

Democracy

I despair of the belief that we are capable of selecting our leaders by the electoral process.

Now, what brought that on?

I can't tell you how many times I have heard "He's not in touch with the people," or "He doesn't know how the average Joe lives," or "He lives in another world."  So let me get this straight.  What you want is an "average Joe" as your leader.

Average Joe has an IQ of 100 (by definition).  He has never earned more than $50 grand a year.  AJ, again on average, is a high school graduate, with perhaps a thirteenth year, either in a tech school or a freshman year in a community college.  He has never managed a Kool-Aid stand, much less a business with more than one other employee.  Yet this is what you want for the leadership of the free world?

So we rule out all the rich people, all the smart people, all the people who have actually run something other than the tires off their Chevrolet.

So we should have Joe, or Jolene.

Fair

An "economic fairness" agenda has emerged as the single, most unifying Democratic idea of the election season. --WaPo 5-15-12

It is not fair for someone to have whatever someone else doesn't have?  I am aftaid I am about to get started.  I can feel my blood simmering, coming to a boil.

Fair, and I repeat myself, is where 4-H kids go to show their pigs and goats.

Oh, you can be so relieved that I restrained myself.

"If you're not on President Obama's enemies list, I don't know what you are doing wrong."

 --Chris Plante

Oil, Algae or Solar

WaPo news bulletin: The president called Thursday for new and faster construction of the nation's petroleum pipelines, delivering a message of reassurance in deep-red Oklahoma that the oil industry has a key role in his energy plan.

...and they call Mitt a Flip-flopper. Be not deceived BHO hasn't changed his stance, just his words. Tailored to the audience, they are. Wait! That's what politicians do!

Hang on!

Newscaster: "A new study shows that the middle class is the new poor."

Why is anyone surprised? They can only be surprised because they had their heads in the sand during the entire calendar year 2008 and had zero concept of the meaning of the term "fundamental change."

A Presidency

August 2004 Keynote address to DNC

November 2004 Elected US Senator from Illinois

January 2005 Assumes Senate seat; immediately begins campaign for Presidency.

January 2005 – November 2008 Senate seat essentially vacant due to “extracurricular activities” of the Senator.

January 2009 Inaugurated President of the United States.

January 2009 – June 2009 Dabbles feet in pool of administration.

June 2009 – present Campaigns for reelection POTUS.

Actual time served on the job during the seven years of the past two jobs he has held: You figure it out.

Career of the Campaigner in Chief

Sue Somebody

News clip: "Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign announced Tuesday it will file a lawsuit in an attempt to get on the ballot for Virginia’s Republican presidential primary."

Yet another frivolous suit clogging up the courts.

Shotgun

Gingrich: “I think those for whom the only issue that really matters is the definition of marriage, I won’t get their support. I accept that as reality. On the other hand, for those to whom it’s not the central issue in their life, if they care about job creation, if they care about national security, if they care about a better future for the country at large, then I think I’ll get their support.”

Q: So what if it is the biggest issue?

Gingrich: Then I won’t get their support.

Q: How do we engage if you’re elected. Then what, what does that mean?

Gingrich: Well then you engage in every topic except that.

Q: Except it’s most important (some crosstalk).

Gingrich: Well, if that’s most important to you then you should be for Obama.

Q: I am, thank you (The two men shake hands).

Gingrich: It’s perfectly legitimate. I think it’s perfectly legitimate.

The Pot and the Kettle

Mitt Romney lashes out at Gingrich; charges he is a “professional politician.”

Let me get this straight. Romney ran for US Senate in 1994; was President Winter Olympics, 2002; ran for governor of Massachusetts, 2002; served as governor 2003-2007; ran for President of US, 2008; currently campaigning for President of US.

What exactly, Mitt, does it take to earn the designation “professional politician”?

Prescient?

[Obama] is Jimmy Carter on steroids. -O. North 11/22/11

--see vanilla's post, three years ago today. Remember, after the election, before the inauguration.

Mea Culpa, or Not

“final decisions on Solyndra were mine, and I made them with the best interest of the taxpayer in mind.” -Energy Secretary Steven Chu

"Solyndra makes Watergate look like child's play." -Rep. Michele Bachmann

...and what Bob said last month.

Rudy Giuliani Nails It

To the "Occupy Wall Steet" crowd:

"Occupy a job!"

Things Worth Preserving

Libya: What Next?

I: Did you hear that Khaddafi was killed?

Spouse: Oh, good.

I: Why would you say that? We are supposed to mourn when people die.

Spouse: He was evil; he killed hundreds of people. An eye for an eye. He didn't have enough eyes, so they killed his whole body.

Politics in the Home

She said, Why doesn't that Ging Newtrich just give it up?

I am "bwahahahaha" busting a gut.

Well, she said, my tongue got all tangled up.

Sounded to me like her tang was tonguelled.

Then ensued a serious discussion as to why GN should never be anyone's nominee.
Nor should Rott Mimney.

Playing With a Full Deck

I: The presidential primary field is set, so they say. And I was hoping a Knight in Shining Armor would emerge from the herd and rescue us from ourselves. Guess it's not going to happen.

Spouse: Or a Princess.

Rain and Frost Will Cool Them

What started out as shenanigans by dopey college students and superannuated hippies is being coopted by the labor unions and the far-left progressive politicians who see gains to be made by support of a "populist movement."

So long as it is not a tea party.

...and the Next President Is...

The campaign is officially underway. As though it hadn't been underway since the tally was taken at the last election.

To be a candidate, one must

1. have chutzpah, and




2. more chutzpah; and




3. be good looking, and




4. have lots of OPM; and




5. have even more of OPM, and




6. be totally unctious; and




7. be completely self-absorbed and yet



8. be able to convince voters that s/he cares about them.

Not Kidding

A President needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it.
--Harry S. Truman