Gotta get rude
Writing by treason on Thursday, 24 of May , 2007 at 12:41 pm
“Ev’rywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet, boy
‘Cause summer’s here and the time is right for fighting in the street, boy
But what can a poor boy do
‘Cept to sing for a rock ‘n’ roll band
‘Cause in sleepy D.C. town
There’s just no place for a street fighting man…”
Eeez juz sooooo woooosy. I use the term “woosy,” not “wussy,” because there’s just this oozy, soggy, wet, limp, overcooked linguine type stickiness that permeates the culture these days. Where’s the backbone? Where’s the garbanzos? Where’s, as my feisty little Italian mother always called it, the gumption?
I’ve been reviewing the sorry list of 2008 candidates and I’m looking for some oomph, but I’ve been hard-pressed to find any. I have separated the contenders from the pretenders, but I’m still not ready to commit to anyone in particular. Romney is appealing on so many levels, but I can’t get past this peculiar uneasiness. I was reading a review of Four Novels of the 1960s by Philip K. Dick in the latest issue of National Review, and Kelly Jane Torrance ends her article with a character’s quote from one of the novels (The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch):
“Isn’t a miserable reality better than the most interesting illusion?”
And isn’t that what politics has been for many of us? A most interesting illusion? I like that Mitt Romney is so smooth, so polished. I like that he’s articulate, witty, quick on his feet. I like that he looks like someone I want to see getting on and off Air Force One and representing the nation. I like that whole retro vibe I get from him. But I have to ask: Is this the right time for Romney?
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
Another line from Philip K. Dick. Reality is harsh, and once you brush away the illusion of political promises and high hopes, and the illusion of the perfect candidate and how he or she is going to make the world a better place, you’re just left with hard, cold reality.
Dick, in How To Build A Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later (and how’s that for a title?), wrote:
“The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.”
And isn’t that what politics has been for many of us? Oops – I already said that. It’s all talk, all promises, all the manipulation of words. This is now political reality. And another one from Dick:
“Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane.”
No, I’m not talking about McCain here. Or maybe I am. I’m looking at the Democrat candidates and it’s the Clinton machine that can get into the gutter, roll around in the sludge, get dirty, but manage to make the other candidate even dirtier. McCain can get mean, he can get angry, but he just comes across as nuts.
I’m looking for thick skin, toughness, grit. I want the candidate that I’d feel safe with, the two of us walking down a dark alley together at three in the morning. Is that Romney? Could be, but he’s got to start getting a little more fierce.
Is it Hunter? Possibly. Gingrich? A tad too intellectual for a brawl. Thompson? Maybe. Tancredo? He does have those Italian genes. But it’s looking like Giuliani again. He can be tough, he can be feisty, he can fight back and not blink.
If the campaign of 2008 was a cartoon – and sometimes it feels like it is – it might boil down to South Park’s “Hildog” versus the Republican. And I can only think of one other cartoon dog – I see him every time I open my closet and see my old sweatshirts. It’s “Rude Dog.”
Rude Dog Giuliani. My only question: Is this dawg up for a good street fight?
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