tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077080.post7603496012773670707..comments2023-08-18T10:14:37.977-05:00Comments on WhenEvilProspers: John Washburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04182558340478176184noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077080.post-2309633992294498482007-08-22T11:25:00.000-05:002007-08-22T11:25:00.000-05:00As I was getting ready for work this morning, ther...As I was getting ready for work this morning, there was a piece on the Today Show to which, I confess, I did not pay complete attention. The gist of it was that Michelle Obama's remark was taken out of context and that one viewed a tape of her entire remark, it was apparent that she was not casting aspersions against any individual candidate.<BR/><BR/>The remark out of context, I think, is now making the rounds on U Tube.<BR/><BR/>During my drive to work, I heard a piece on NPR's Morning Edition about New Hampshire's town hall meetings which have become, in the words of the reporter "magnets for provocateurs everywhere" hoping that they can confront a candidate and instigate a "Macaca moment" such as the one that helped destroy Sen. George Allen's political career. The report is available on NPR.org.<BR/><BR/>For the last several national elections, I have been disturbed by what I call sound bite politics.<BR/>Complex issues are reduced to a sound bite which conditions short attention spans among the electorate and reduces the opportunity for any meaningful political discourse.<BR/><BR/>One of the points that I have heard over the past several months is that the 2008 election will be the U Tube election. Unfortunately, it is now possible not only to take remarks out of context and broadcast them but also to manipulate the actual text of the comment.<BR/><BR/>I suppose the caveat is that like any information one obtains from the internet, one needs to determine its provenance. My experience, howwver, is that most people do not take the time to do so butinstead press the forward key. This accounts for the vast body of information in cyberspace that is simply false.<BR/><BR/>This issue of family is an interesting one. Quite frankly, I think the issue of "family values" is one which should be relegated to the back burner in terms of importance but I recognize that unfortunately many Americans think it is of primary importance.<BR/><BR/>I think the issue needs to be divided into personal conduct and conduct of family members. It was OK for George Bush to tell the press to leave his daughters alone. They weren't running for president. Al Gore is not a candidate but if he were, should his candidacy be affected by his son's personal problems? I think not.<BR/><BR/>I agree, however, that personal conduct is an appropriate subject for inquiry. I look at Rudy Giuliani's personal life and OI think to myself: "There is a fair bit of chaos there" and it has a spillover effect w/ me.<BR/><BR/>The same is true w/ Hillary Clinton's personal decsions regarding her marriage but again, given the frenzy that results when candidates personal lives are made the subject of any type of inquiry, maybe we are better off not asking.<BR/><BR/>I confess I have already decided that Hillary Clinton's decisions regarding her marriage were entirely politically motivated w/ respect to both her husband's and her political career. It is her ambition that renders it impossible for me to support her in the primary.<BR/><BR/>Regards.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com