From the Economist this week:
There is a genuine chance that, even after almost eight years of George Bush’s calamitous presidency, the voters may actually opt for another stint of Republican administration. In part this reflects the weaknesses that lie alongside the charismatic skills paraded by Mr Obama in Denver this week: his inexperience, especially in foreign affairs, at a time when the world looks more and more complex and troubling, and a certain cerebral aloofness that seems to make it hard for him to connect with Middle America.
Obama has a 'cerebral aloofness'? That's clearly Economese for 'intelligence'. When did America become a country where being smarter than you is a disqualification for office? This Obama knucklehead better be smarter than me, dammit, and I sure hope he's smarter than the McRibs in the square states.
I've been trying to shush the Snob Devil on my shoulder this campaign, but it's disheartening to see two grown men pander to the spectres and scapegoats of idiots for so long.
One of the major missed opportunities of the post-primary months, from my stink-cheese-munching vantage point, has been the refusal of both candidates to elevate their base, rather than pander to it.
It would have been great if John McCain had said 'Look, you have to pick one of us. We both believe in evolution. We both believe that waging a War on Terrorism is like waging a war on sports, or cursive handwriting. Gas prices are not going to go down. Europe is our friend. Muslims are not scary, only their wedding parties are. People in cities have problems too. Mexicans didn't take your job, GM took your job. Oh, and someone saying 'happy holidays' on the Macy's intercom does not mean that there's a 'war on Christmas'. Fuck.
'The previous facts are the retardation-baseline for this particular election. We invite you to join the rest of the educated world and debate how we are going to solve our actual problems. Or, you could just write in Romney.'
