Nutjobs Ranting About Politics.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by taxwonk
Fucking drunk.

Hey, that's the only way some people around here get laid.

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
The question is whether his constant movie references "work." I say they don't. The reason he's been a reasonably effective governor hasn't been because of his celebrity --- it's been because he entered Sacramento with no history, so the legislature has little to go on during the power battles. I think the "I'll terminate the deficit" stuff makes him look like a cheeseball, not a leader. If you think that, to the contrary, it makes him a great leader, we're all in trouble.

Well, it's not so much the "no history" part, as the "star power" part. Sacramento fawns over him, and even legislators want his fucking autograph. The Dem leadership doesn't know what to do with someone who possesses so much personal popularity, and who is unafraid to appeal directly to the electorate.

That said, the movie references can be useful as self-deprecation -- as they were last night. If he keeps with lines about having no acting talent, etc., and stays away from excessive use of "Hasta la vista", he'll be fine.

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by Say_hello_for_me
Are there any words of hyperbole too extreme to describe what is likely to happen if someone starts executing kids in Russia? Something tells me it ain't gonna make the Russians surrender. This is the kind of stuff they turned into folklore during WWII, and it led very much to a take-no-prisoners attitude in their people.

Start executing Russian kids, be prepared to see massive retaliation against Chechen civilians/musims.

Was thinking the same thing, but this is not you Daddy's Russia.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Gattigap
That said, the movie references can be useful as self-deprecation -- as they were last night.

Maybe I missed your context, but what may be a tired cliche for you Cal guys ('cuz you hear the references all the time) worked pretty well on a national audience that doesn't regularly hear Arnold's speeches. We're not yet tired of them.

[sgtclub]

I think Ty (or was it AG) made the "herd" point a few months back:

Why the change of heart? The obvious answer is that five major polls show Kerry slipping. But a larger dynamic is that journalists are a herd species. The media move in large packs, capable of suddenly switching directions due to the spooking of just a few critters up at the front. Individuals of the species may be susceptible to traits such as courage and integrity, but as a group they are power-worshippers. Nothing to them is more powerful than popularity - and nothing more popular than power. When you gain it, the press tends to go soft on you, regardless of the merits. When you lose it, they tend to pounce.

Now, of course, the press still by and large hates George Bush. But, as blogger Ann Althouse notes, "The media are looking ahead and imagining how the history of the 2004 presidential campaign will read, and how their performance will measure up." The answer: not well. They puffed up Howard Dean right up to the moment he popped. They allowed John Kerry to discard his 20-year voting record as a mere triviality and to make his Vietnam record his central qualification for the presidency. John Edwards - he's so pretty - was immediately accepted as a brilliant, bold and qualified choice by the same media that ridiculed Dan Quayle from the start for being too inexperienced, despite the fact that Quayle's political resume at the time makes Edwards' look like it was written in crayon.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by sgtclub

• John Edwards - he's so pretty - was immediately accepted as a brilliant, bold and qualified choice by the same media that ridiculed Dan Quayle from the start for being too inexperienced, despite the fact that Quayle's political resume at the time makes Edwards' look like it was written in crayon.

Point of order: I don't recall the press's criticism of Quayle being that he was inexperienced, but rather that he was an idiot.

I'd rather be inexperienced any day.

Point taken though: the press really hasn't been very hard on Edwards, but the reason is probably because every time the Republicans try to float an anti-Edwards balloon, he brings out some crying mamma who talks about visiting her dead son's grave. (NTTAWWT)

[SlaveNoMore]

Replaced_Texan
I thought it was weird that the media spent so much time harping on his extra time and spent no time at all on the content of his speech.

If they spent time discussing the content of his speech, then (1) it would get airplay, (2) Kerry would have to explain how is for or against the content, (3) Kerry loses even more of the middle.

Avoiding the discussion saves the NYT and WaPo candidate some embarrassment.

[Replaced_Texan]

I thought Jon was going to offer to blow Gillespie last week. Now he's put a quarter page ad in the op/ed section New York Times, begging the President to come on his show:

Via http://www.dailykos.com

[Atticus Grinch]

There are 140,000 American troops in Iraq. 6,916 of them have been injured in fighting (and 975 of them killed, for a total of 7,891 total casualties, but for now let's just concentrate on the walking/rolling wounded). For those of you keeping score at home, that's one out of twenty eligible for Purple Heart consideration.

Can we agree to start doing the work on figuring out which of them are fakers and malingerers, rather than wait 30 years to narrow it down to just the ones who run for some kind of office as Democrats? Because 7,000 is a manageable number, I think we should start building a record now, while memories are still fresh and no one has shamefully testified before Congress on an automatic "I'm a vet and a war hero" pass. Let's keep these malingering pricks from getting medals and making Jesus cry to begin with, so we can shame them now and not have to wait so long. Let us learn from the lessons of Vietnam.

Remember, the severity of the injury is not the determining factor (cough, Cleland, cough), so leave no stone unturned. The next generation's Karl Roves and Ann Coulters will thank us --- let's not let them down!

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
There are 140,000 American troops in Iraq. 6,916 of them have been injured in fighting (and 975 of them killed, for a total of 7,891 total casualties, but for now let's just concentrate on the walking/rolling wounded). For those of you keeping score at home, that's one out of twenty eligible for Purple Heart consideration.

Can we agree to start doing the work on figuring out which of them are fakers and malingerers, rather than wait 30 years to narrow it down to just the ones who run for some kind of office as Democrats? Because 7,000 is a manageable number, I think we should start building a record now, while memories are still fresh and no one has shamefully testified before Congress on an automatic "I'm a vet and a war hero" pass. Let's keep these malingering pricks from getting medals and making Jesus cry to begin with, so we can shame them now and not have to wait so long. Let us learn from the lessons of Vietnam.

Remember, the severity of the injury is not the determining factor (cough, Cleland, cough), so leave no stone unturned. The next generation's Karl Roves and Ann Coulters will thank us --- let's not let them down!

Maybe we can short circuit this even more. Would you agree that those of us who stayed home and did important home front stuff, like say posting photos of a fat Teddy kennedy are just as eligible for elected office as the "vets?"

[Say_hello_for_me]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
There are 140,000 American troops in Iraq. 6,916 of them have been injured in fighting (and 975 of them killed, for a total of 7,891 total casualties, but for now let's just concentrate on the walking/rolling wounded). For those of you keeping score at home, that's one out of twenty eligible for Purple Heart consideration.

Point of order. Can we agree that the 7000 casualties have been distributed among waaay more than the 140000 American troops who may or may not currently be in Iraq? For instance, units who went and came back? Say, for example, that 280000 have been in-country. For those of you keeping score at home, that's one out of forty eligible for Purple Heart consideration.

On the other hand, some units, like the Marines who got into all that shit in Fallujah a few montha ago, have suffered greatly disproportionate casualties.

Now what else were you saying?

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by baltassoc
Point of order: I don't recall the press's criticism of Quayle being that he was inexperienced, but rather that he was an idiot.

I'd rather be inexperienced any day.

It was both, and the idiot thing was based on his spelling capabilities, or lack thereof.

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Originally posted by sgtclub
It was both, and the idiot thing was based on his spelling capabilities, or lack thereof.

The idiot thing was also based on his verbal ramblings, which were unsurpassurated until W came along. See here, for example.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Say_hello_for_me
Point of order. Can we agree that the 7000 casualties have been distributed among waaay more than the 140000 American troops who may or may not currently be in Iraq? For instance, units who went and came back?

Of course, but I can't find any reliable information on the preferred figure you seek.

Besides, I'm sure some of the 7,000 injured were taken out of the theater and replaced, so it's not really expressable as a ratio of 7K:140K. But this wasn't necessary for the snide point I was really making, so I let the math slip. Math is hard.

[Say_hello_for_me]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Of course, but I can't find any reliable information on the preferred figure you seek.

Besides, I'm sure some of the 7,000 injured were taken out of the theater and replaced, so it's not really expressable as a ratio of 7K:140K. But this wasn't necessary for the snide point I was really making, so I let the math slip. Math is hard.

As of May, the (surely rounded) number was closer to yours than mine. That is, unless Bush lied:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0040510-3.html

I'll lower my guess to 230K-250K total.

Not to detract from the snide point or nuthin.