Enough Already

One reason TNB (along with Mrs. TNB) has already voted is so he won't feel "guilty" totally ignoring the glut of political ads, robocalls, flyers, Emails, etc. that make this last week of the campaign so unpleasant. In short, he has had ENOUGH ALREADY.

For that matter, who hasn't? How is it possible to have many voters change their minds at this late date simply because of the most recent negative commercial or sound bite? Most of the major talking points have been used so often that they mean nothing anymore. What new revelation would sway the "undecideds"? TNB knows people on both sides, but all have made up their minds--unless something startling were to occur, say John McCain, who stated at the second debate that he knew how to find Osama Bin Laden (and didn't tell Gen. Petraeus or anyone), actually capturing the Evil One (he has traveled to Waziristan) and depositing him at the Pentagon this weekend. Or Sarah Palin, who is now wearing Real American clothes from a consignment store in Anchorage, suddenly revealing that she is a closet PhD who has successfully hidden her intellect in order to impress Alaskan moose hunters. Or maybe Barack Obama finally revealing that, as suspected by many, he is the direct descendant of Mohammed and has made 22 pilgrimages to Mecca.

Short of these farfetched scenarios, what else does the electorate need to know? Instead of paying close attention to the candidates and their mind numbing surrogates ("there's Northern Virginia and there's the real Virginia") why not turn somewhere else for another ENOUGH ALREADY moment? That would be the financial world, with its wild gyrations and uncertainties. To get you up to speed and eliminate all your fears, why not watch a panel of 6 or 8 "experts" on CNBC pontificating in a manner worthy of the best political spinners? They're like weather forecasters (but less accurate) in that their predictions are never brought up later when they don't materialize (like the projected storm that didn't happen but ruined your plans).

TNB has had ENOUGH ALREADY and as soon as November 4 is over he is planning to a) watch the end of the World Series, assuming it stops snowing in Philly, b) watch (and report on) all the movies with early Oscar "buzz" as cooked up by their publicists and c) once again deliver his pithy commentaries on the Human Condition.

Questions and Answers

A number of questions have been asked of TNB recently--sometimes by readers and sometimes just by him. Following are a sampling of such questions along with answers in italics.

• Was there really an earthquake in the cemetery where Col. McCormick is buried when his Chicago Tribune endorsed Barack Obama, first Democrat ever? No, that rumbling occurred when jeans wearing Sam Zell took over his office.
• Is Sarah Palin really angling to be a TV star, especially with her new $150,000 wardrobe paid for by the Republican National Committee? Yes, look for her to show up sooner or later on FoxNews. She is far more charming and no more ignorant than most of their present commentators.
• Why do very few political ads (TV, print media, flyers, etc) indicate which party the candidate, whether for national or local office, belongs to? The obsession with attracting independent or "swing" voters has overwhelmed party identification. True believers know anyway; others may be shocked to see the name of the political party next to the candidate's name on the ballot.
• Was the last plane leaving for the Dominican Republic when Alfonso Soriano (to whom the Cubs still owe about $100 million) flailed helplessly at the last pitch of the pitiful Dodgers playoff series? Yes, he and some other overpriced players were concerned that Washington politicians would really "spread the wealth" by somehow voiding their contracts like the effort to rein in excessive CEO pay. Talk about excessive!
• Will John McCain, he of the "no earmarks/freeze on spending" platform, lend his support to GOP Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, who in his tough Kentucky reelection campaign, has openly boasted about how much "pork" he has brought to his State? No, although Kentucky is a reliable red state, McConnell and indeed many Republicans running for election have kept their distance from McCain, as if he were (gasp) the dreaded George W.
• When mercifully the long campaign finally ends on November 4, will The Normal Blog cease to publish? Of course not--TNB will go back to reviewing movies and commenting on a host of social issues like the rudeness of people, the selfishness of people and many more significant matters you've been waiting to read about.

Pride and Prejudice

Certainly most members of minorities would take great pride in having one of their own nominated for high office. So, no great surprise that it is expected that perhaps 95% or more of African Americans will be voting for Barack Obama. Maybe TNB shouldn't be as surprised as he is (actually dismayed) that in 2008 there is still so much prejudice existing in the electorate that no apparent lead in the polls seems adequate. There's the so called Bradley effect named after former LA Mayor Tom Bradley whose 1980 lead in the polls for California governor totally disappeared on Election Day as numerous people who had given the pollsters the "politically correct" response went and voted their prejudices in the voting booth. This was not an isolated case (see Douglas Wilder in Virginia, Harold Ford in Tennessee, etc.).

What is really appalling to TNB is how much of this prejudice is coming from some members of the Jewish community. Jews have long taken a sometimes unjustifiable pride in accomplishments of fellow Jews whether they be in entertainment, science, sports or whatever (while also being overly embarrassed about misdeeds committed by Jews). Even moderate criticisms of Jewish accomplishments are often countered with charges of anti-semitic prejudice, even where none exists. If (OMG) Joe Lieberman was running for President and received the usual political negative comments, imagine how wounded Jewish pride would be--oh, how could such prejudice exist??

How then to rationally explain the overt antipathy that some Jews apparently have to voting for a "schvartze" (a black man)? There are, of course, the bogus claims that Obama's a Muslim, is anti-Israel, etc. But honestly (like the Bradley effect) a lot of this is simply the color of the man's skin. TNB personally knows or knows of Jews (primarily but not solely of TNB's older generation) who admit that this is the sole reason for their anti-Obama feeling. Few of these people extol the virtues of John McCain or Sarah Palin and would be the first to recoil if the same thinking were applied to Jews running for office.

The so called "Great Schlep" campaign being pushed by Sarah Silverman and others (visit your Jewish grandparents in Florida to persuade them to vote for Obama) has been good for a few laughs and as a cultural commentary but when some of the real life interviews are played, it doesn't take long to sense that this is the only issue for far too many Jews.

OY

Just Wonderin'

TNB is resuming his blog a few days earlier than announced (hey, campaigns are sometimes resumed before financial crises are solved) partially to add a few more sins for which to atone.

Probably you haven't been so perplexed, but lately TNB has been just wonderin' (not a typo--wondering is no longer an acceptable spellin' or pronounciation) about the followin':

• Maybe the Cubs tanked to allow TNB to devote his energies to seein' that Josephine Sixpack is promptly returned to the Arctic--permanently.
• Maybe the slogan "Wait Til Next Year" could be banned. Repeat ten times--"Next Year Will Never Come". You'll feel better.
• Maybe Lou Piniella was right when he allegedly told two of his overpriced "stars" (Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez) that they lacked "cojones".
• Maybe the best pair of cojones currently on display belongs to Ms. Trailer Park Trash who recently riled up a redneck Florida crowd against Obama to the extent that one man in the crowd yelled out "kill him" and others hassled an African-American TV crew member (whose sin was obviously his color). These are Wasilla middle class values? She's fit to be Vice President??
• Maybe the World's Greatest Hockey Mom needs to visit an eye doctor to check on that annoyin' winkin'. BTW --just wonderin' about all the other Moms (soccer, ballet, orchestra), some of whom might be actually doin' this work daily. Sister Sarah's oldest hasn't needed a driver for several years, her #2 is likely not playin' hockey these days while registerin' for her weddin' and so on. Just who is she drivin' to hockey practice (if anyone is behind the wheel, it's her dude or maybe now the Secret Service)? It's time to retire the slogan which is just so much BS, like everything else about her.
• Maybe at the next debate, John McCain will mention her instead of (about 4 times) his house Jew, Joe Lieberman. While Joe's in Temple (he needs some serious atonement) what will the Last Angry Man do for advice? Certainly he won't ask The Least Angry Man whom he condescendingly referred to as "that one" during last night's "debate". Poor John--having to share the limelight with someone "not like us" (not difficult to excite certain elements of the electorate, is it?). And if he says "my friends" one more time? OMG.
• Maybe George W. after hearin' the GOP ticket bash him relentlessly, will endorse "That One". That would probably be the Kiss of Death (see above) and just the type of October surprise that the Democrats fear.

Obviously, our ancestors were wise in their knowledge that sins would always be available for atonement.