Is That Chip on Your Shoulder a Political Agenda or a Race Card?

Some people just need to have something to complain about. I wish they would stop, because my head hurts from spinning around so much in utter awe at the pettiness of it all. The Washington Post had a story that proves my point.

Apparently, there is a minor stink on the internet, because of the fact that Saturday Night Live is using the white-Asian comedian, Fred Armisen, to play Barack Obama in its sketches. Hey, he does a great impersonation and he’s funny. No one complained when he played Prince. And, no one complained when Darrell Hammond played Rev. Jesse Jackson for years. The hypocrisy can only be attributed to the political agendas of the complainers. Politics just seems to bring out the best in people ;) If you saw the show earlier tonight, you certainly wouldn’t think they were Obama bashing. Hillary Clinton definitely got the less favorable role in the opening skit. My impression was that SNL put on an equal opportunity show when it came to mocking the two candidates.

I don’t recall anyone complaining when Eddie Murphy played the old Jewish guy in the Barber Shop scenes. He was just damn funny! So to all of the complainers, I say, “Find something important to complain about, like the service at the drive through or why commercials are 10 times louder that the shows on TV.

Tonight's Debate - Finally Some Foreign Policy?

I've been waiting for this to happen for weeks. So far it's been all social issues and political rhetoric. Clinton and Obama talk about heath care, education and the middle class. McCain and Huckabee talk about the war on terror, who is more conservative and occasionally border control. Ugggh. A fine collection of calculated, safe pandering to the voters. The reality, at this point in the process, is that the candidates all sound like the teacher in a Charlie Brown TV special, wa, wa, wah, wah. Most people already have there opinions fixed in their minds.

So what have I been waiting for? Do any of the candidates have any grasp of foreign policy? Musharraf's loss in Pakistan elections. Castro passing a token torch to his brother. Kosovo declared independence and now there is a riotous backlash in Serbia. In previous election years, the Russians or China would have used this as a prime opportunity to invade some small country, conduct questionable weapons test, or implement a new "crackdown". Especially if the U.S. was already up to its necks in another war. A lame duck president and a bunch of candidates afraid to take a stance in unfamiliar territory usually have many questionable foreign leaders licking their chops at the opportunities. Perhaps they are waiting until the race is down to two, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or North Korea's Kim Jong-il see how far they can push the envelope at some point.

Either way, I would really like to see the moderator put the "screws" to Clinton and Obama with some serious foreign policy quesitons. In any case, we may still get catch phrases like "create an open dialogue" and "consult with our allies." Solutions that are a bit late when it's already hit the fan.

The Ultimate Polical Ad

(30 second ad. candidate comes on the screen)

I'm (candidate says name) and I approve this message...

(for 23 seconds we see a Still Shot of the candidate accmopanied by total silence)

(candidate comes back on the screen)

I'm (candidate says name) and I stand by this message.