Batman, Batshit, bullshit and Obama...and the Death of Innocence

Hello everyone,> > As you know I am not a very political person. I just
> wanted to pass > along > > that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for
> about an hour on his > visit > > to 'The War Zone'. I wanted to share with you
> what happened.> >> > He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof
> vehicle, got to the > area to > > meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the
> commander here at > Bagram. > > > > As the Soldiers where lined up to shake his hand he
> blew them off and > didn't > > say a word as he went into the conference room to meet
> the General. As > he > > finished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell
> (pretty much a big > top tent > > that military personnel can play basketball or work
> out in with > weights) so > > he could take his publicity pictures playing
> basketball. He again > shunned > > the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for
> their service. > > > > So really he was just here to make a showing for the
> American's back > home > > that he is their candidate for President. I think that
> if you are > going to > > make an effort to come all the way over here you would
> thank those > that are > > providing the freedom that they are providing for you.
> >> > I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball > Players or the
> Dallas > > Cowboy Cheer leaders than from one of the Senators,
> who wants to be > the > > President of the United States. I just don't
> understand how anyone > would > > want him to be > > our Commander-and-Chief. It was almost that he was > scared to be around > those > > that provide the freedom for him and our great
> country. > > > > If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I > wanted you all to
> know > > what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you > see in the news
> is all > > fake....( AXE mentoring comment, to coin an acronym in the best military tradition of Fubar and Snafu, young soldier, GYHOOYA or Get your head out of your ass...)

This is the meat of an email is from an Army Captain at Bargram who is obviously was disappointed that Barrack Obama may be a...politician, and that he isn't really all that wonderful, nice and splendid. I'm not sure how much credence to put in it -- for one thing, the email asks that it not be disseminated to any news organization because of the impact on the guy's career. Well, unless you're General Petraeus and respond with a smile to a reporter's question about why aren't there more Democrats in the Army by saying, "There are more than you think." or you're echoing the party line at the Pentagon, officers really are not supposed to be political.

However, the Army jumped  through hoops -- basketball hoops? -- to make it difficult for Obama to connect with soldiers. Seriously, this guy is pretty naive -- does he really think that VIPs get to make their own schedules? By the way, to use some Marshal McCluhan on you, Obama is not a "hot" candidate like a Bobby Kennedy; he's the epitome of "cool", like Jack Kennedy. He's intellectual, inspirational and somewhat distant from the whole thing. I'm not saying that he doesn't want to be president. But, he's not the type to connect with small groups in unscripted public settings.

Supposedly, that's McCain's forte. Yeah, well, Bob Hebert has a column about that today, and it's kind worth reading. The idea that strikes me is that the American people don't know Obama but they do know McCain.  Really? He's becoming, to steal a phrase from my Quaker friends --yes, the AXE has friends from the Friends. Hell, I thought about converting at one time. There's a lot of Zen in George Foxe's thought. The whole non-violence thing was a problem though..Anyway, McCain is becoming "brittle..." He's a lot like Bob Dole in this. If you recall the "where's the outrage, where's the outrage?" mantra from 1996, you can see the similarity. McCain's comments about "losing a war to win an election" nonsense is the sort of right wing nut paranoid drivel that says Roosevelt was in on the attack on Pearl Harbor so we could go into the war to help the Russians; in more recent years, the kind of amoral, ungrounded crap like Bill Fisk's "nuclear option" or his diagnosis of Terry Schivao as alive and functioning, albeit on a somewhat restricted frame by looking at videoes. McCain's whine and inappropriate grimaces that pass as smiles makes the AXE wonder if he's got some sort of Tourette's syndrome, where his unconscious mind takes over and short circuits the whole discussion with some nonsense.

There are a lot of similarities between Bush and McCain. They both appear avuncular, friendly, gladhanding types. They are admittedly not the brightest lights on the Christmas tree. They both got everything they have because of their family connections. McCain is physically brave and a courageous American...the Journal's nonsense about The Dark Knight  as a paen of praise to George Bush aside, I'm not so sure about what Twitshit ever did that was brave. Drinking the worm out of the bottle of Mezcal before watching a donkey show in Nuevo Laredo back in the day is probably about as brave as he gets. Back in the day, McCain did that sort of stuff for breakfast...in fact, there are indications that I could be literally correct on that one.  Also, Bush pouts and does petulant things where Batshit might just take a swing at you, or his wife. Or call you a cunt. ...or imply your wife is a lesbian and call your daughter ugly. Yeah, class guy all the way.

So Batboy is an aloof, intellectual asshole who probably doesn't like people. Batshit is an arrogant bully who has very little class as a human being. What, by the way, is it about these Republican creeps? The McCain's and the Gingrich's divorce their wives in nasty circumstances; the family values crowd runs around with hookers of all persuasions and genders and attitudes or seduces children. Ok. Got it. If I have to chose, and I do, between Batshit and Batboy, Knarly Ole Nader and Bobby Barr, I'll go with the guy who appears brightest and most in tune with what I think. I'd buy McCain a drink to honor his heroism; I still think Corvairs are kinda cool, so I'm probably not going to hang out with Nader. Barr and Ron Paul and Mike Gravel all had important things to say about how we've gone wrong as a government and a country. But, I'll vote for Batboy. Then, I'll get to bitch in clean conscience about how he fucks us all over if he does, and gloat if he delivers on his "hope" thing. 

Comments

[AlanSmithee]

Clean conscious? Vote to continue the occupation and expand the phony-ass GWOT - that's what you call a "clean conscious." Fuck, just vote for McCain and get it over with. Don't even try to pretend a vote for Hillbama is anything but lesser-evil capitulation.

[Crusader AXE]

You know, that's why I find idealists annoying. There's no difference between Obama and McCain? Hardly true. Batshit's approach to doing business will be more of the same. Obama is not particularly rich and does not have the royalty supporting him that McCain has. I think Obama has probably taken mass transit in his life and I believe he went to public schools. I don't particularly care for him, but there's enough there to make voting for him something I can do with a clear conscience.

Also, I'd like to have the troops home last week. However, it's not a doable deal; not so much for the Iraqis who have rediscovered the sheer fun of suicide bombings, but for us. There are few things more potentially catastrophic than a precipitous withdrawal from the field. There are some serious logistical facts that get in the way of getting out much sooner than January 2010. Of course, My-lackey may have other ideas.

[AlanSmithee]

You know, this is why I find cowardly democrats annoying. Too gutless to take a stand, but, oh Obama took a bus once! That makes all the fucking difference to the guy that just got HIS FUCKING ARMS BLOWN OFF IN FUCKING KANDAHAR!

Fuck your willful ignorance, democwat. You want to keep the fucking Afghan bloodbath going? You want to keep the occupation going? You want to keep shooting up weddings and bombing children in their fucking beds? Fine. Stop bitching and just fucking vote for Obama.

After all, he took a bus once.

[Crusader AXE]

Unlike some of my brothers here at Defeatist Central and our allies, I've never been a big fan of the Old Testament, Covenanters, Anabaptists and Millenniumists, so to speak. I'm just not that big a fan of purity, outside of food and water and related things. Karl Jaspers wrote about the concept of facticity -- which, in the 35 years or so since I last read Reason and Existenz -- seems to revolve a bit around our disagreement. Alan has a desire for pure solutions, and in the absence of purity, wants nothing. I think we're grounded in facticity, the objective reality we rebel against. I try to emulate Sinnead O'Connor, wanting not what I cannot have. And, quite frankly, I don't like Nader or Barr enough to want them as an alternative. So, I'm stuck. And, as a political person in a political society, I chose to vote and accept that I may be voting for the lesser of two evils, which logically is the greater good.

[AlanSmithee]

Which logically is fucking bullshit. Just admit you're just another gutless coward who wants rain without thunder. Sure you've sold out whatever integrity you might have once possessed, and that makes you shriek "PURIST" at anyone with an ounce of sand or backbone, but don't think for a minute you can fool anyone with your tiny fisted tantrums. Just admit you're a spineless partisan turdball. You'll be glad you did.

[Crusader AXE]

No, I won't. Fuck you. That's the level of discourse you seem to be most comfortable with.

First of all, in case you hadn't noticed, I have policy disagreements with Obama, not existential ones. I really want him to go after McCain as viciously as McCain has gone after him. I also accept that in this best of all possible worlds, the absolutely right solution is probably not achievable. Does the Bush administration work for you philosophically? Either because you accept them as right, good, just and all that or because you're comfortable bitching about their ontological wrongness and don't want to bitch about policy stuff? Fine, vote for McCain. Or, don't vote. Or, vote for Barr or Nader or the Flying Spaghetti monster. You're the one making that call. If you're as opposed to them as you seem, than vote for some level of change. Not perfection, just movement back toward something less bad. Less bad equals better than where we are.

While there appear to be only three people reading this -- Alan, me and one of my brothers -- I think it's a fundamental argument among the disgruntled over the course of both history and philosophy. When the arguments stop happening, we're probably dead.

[mr.fun]

buahahahahahaaa.

dude, we're the Defeatists. on the internet. and you're yelling.

QED.

(we're all gutless cowards. gawlee, how do you think I got this far in life?)

[AlanSmithee]

What a wonderfully honest answer, Mr. Fun!

[Agi]

It's so funny when people shout on the internets.

Listen to meeeee! What I have to say is important!!!