I found this comment sort of idiotic, in the sense that if you actually thought about the words you're saying, it's actually a compliment."This White House has never met a special interest it didn't like," said Stephanie Cutter, Kerry campaign press secretary.
The thing is, if that were the case, wouldn't that be good? Isn't she saying that the White House is all-inclusive? If the White House is catering to every special interest, doesn't that just about cover everybody? Everyone has a special interest, after all. That's why there are lobbyists. I really don't like the way that the term "special interests" is twisted to be synonymous with Lucifer or something. Lobbyists and special interests groups are not inherently negative groups. They help things get done. If you want a policitian to support a cause you believe in, how do you think it gets presented to him or her? Christ. The environmental lobby is as much a special interest as people who want to drill for oil in Alaska.
Anyway, I think I can safely say that this is officially the stupidest presidential election of my lifetime. Even worse, it's the least funny. No real great SNL-worthy moments so far. The only big gaffe so far was Kerry asking for Swiss cheese on his Philly cheesesteak. And I don't really know why the President's military record is now so relevant. This is the sort of thing that could sink a Presidential candidate, but once someone is President, I don't understand how people can care so much about it. If you hate him and need something else to be angry about, fine. But I don't think, after being President for three years, that his fitness for the job should be judged on his so-called military service thirty years ago. Judge him on the last three years. That's the easy part of running against an incumbent president. The record's right there, fresh in everyone's mind. The dredging up of this is really pointless in my view.
My gut feeling right now is that Bush is going to lose the election. I just can't see him getting more support than he has now, and I think it'll continue to slip. I'm wondering how much his zealous opposition to gay marrige will affect him. At first I thought that this might sink him, but now I'm wondering if it might actually help him. You've gotta believe that most Republicans will vote for him. I mean, if they've stuck with him this long, this isn't likely to change anything. But then there are the Democrats. There's certain to be a large group of Democrats who secretly support a Consititutional Amendment banning gay marriages. Sure, their liberal conscious makes them vote Democratic, and they say all the right things, but I'm sure there are those who just hate the idea of two men snuggling and kissing and tweezine each other's mustaches, and the thought of them filling out a joint tax return- naked, for sure- just makes them feel all icky inside. So I'm guessing that this might actually gain Bush some supporters. And if this is the case, then the Amendment plan is a masterful stroke. It certainly won't cost him much of his devoted base, and it probably won't cost him any votes from Democrats who would rather see him dead. So at worst, status quo is maintained, and at best, he actually gains votes by floating this idea that is so absurd and unnecessary that it turns my stomach. My god, a Constitutional Amendment. The thing I hate about Constitutional Amendments is that, if you decide, years down the road, that you don't like a particular Amendment very much, you have to create a whole new Amendment to repeal it. That's two wasted Amendments then! Talk about bureaucratic red tape. Lousy living documents. Did we learn nothing from Prohibition? Not only was it eventually repealed, but it basically started organized crime on a large scale. You know what the Amendment banning gay marriage would do, of course? That's right: Organized gay crime. No, wait... back-alley gay marriages at performed at exorbitant prices. Either that, or just another huge step backwards in the march toward peace on earth and good will toward men.
Men... huh huh huh.
Anyway, I've pretty much decided not to vote this year. At least, not for a Presidential candidate. Maybe I'll still vote on the local level. But I can't vote for Bush, and I don't think I could bring myself to vote for Kerry. He voted for the Patriot Act. He voted to go to war. And now he's backpeddling. And this is just one of the numerous examples that suggest that he just may be a huge hypocrite. Which I disdain about all else. At least Bush, love him or lump him, is fairly consistent. you know what you're going to get for the most part. Though it's really, really
Hoo, anyway... I did some socializing on a weekday night for the first time in ages yesterday. The combination of cold and apathy has ground my social life to a halt, particularly on weekdays. Usually I just want to go home, huddle for warmth, eat, and watch TV or engage in some other diversion. But last night I mustered the will power to go back into Manhattan around 10:30, for a little going-away gathering for this fellow I work with at my night job. He's actually writing partner with Dylan, and they are both leaving for sunny Los Angeles to work on a show that they wrote for Comedy Central. The trip was a short ride on the C train, to the Liquor Store Bar on White Street in (I think) Tribecca. A lot more people attended than I thought, but I was still groping for conversation for a while, as I'd feared might happen. There are actually only a few people at my night job whose company I actually enjoy, so even though I've worked there for two and a half years, I haven't made many friends at the company. But those that I like I genuinely enjoy talking to, and wouldn't mind seeing them at non-work-related events and/or gatherings. Dylan and his girlfriend arrived around midnight, and I spoke mostly with them for the remainder of the evening. Before leaving last night, I was sitting around with Miss Charming Melodee, giving her a jokey "preview" of the behavior she could expect later in the evening, upon my return home from a night of carousing. It was actually pretty accurate, though the 2AM verions was not nearly as funny.
And tonight, we'll be having a joint celebratory gathering, to both bid Dylan adieu for the foreseeable future, and to celebrate the 28th anniversary of the birth of Jed. The plans call for mighty rounds of drinking, followed by drunken karaoke. I was quite pleased the last time we went, when I discovered that the bar we were at had all sorts of tv-show theme songs. I was singing the Growing Pains theme in my head for weeks. which actually wasn't a bad thing. Anyway, it's been a long while since the gang all went running around the East Village and Lower East Side, so I'm looking forward to it. There are several bars around the neighborhood that I really like, and have missed going to. Though with the smoking ban, my favorite dive bars have obviously become less dive-y, which was their only appeal. Whereas before, the Holiday Cocktail Lounge was a dingy, dark, and smoky little bar with a lot of character, I think now it's just a small bar that closes early. It's kind of idiotic, I know, but sometimes something as unpleasant as secondhand smoke really adds that certain je ne sais quoi. I mean, if I'm in a bar, I wanna know i'm in a bar.
Anyway, the bar tonight is Blue and Gold. Kind of an NYU hangout, if memory serves, but nice enough.
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