August 31, 2008
Links 31 - Gonna Be a LOOONG Two Months
1. For anyone who missed the speech in its entirety, here's Barack Obama at the 2008 DNC:
(Someone call Neil Young and let him know we've found the leader he's been looking for. It even turned out to a "black man after all".)
2. Most of the traits I once appreciated in John McCain have disappeared during this election. Read (or better, listen to) a recent interview. I wonder if it occurred on the Straight Talk Express. Heh. I know candidates often feel they must practically sell their souls to win a presidential election, but come on... (And, yes, I've previously noted some of Obama's recent shifts, so please relax your e-mail trigger-finger.)
3. On to Sen. McCain's VP choice. Wow. I know VPs are often chosen to help win an election without any regard to what might happen after winning the election, but this was an incredibly transparent and downright poor choice. My first thoughts echoed this Salon article: McCain's Palin pick is the epitome of tokenism. Or this quote from the less sanctimonious McCain's Baked Alaska: "This year, Hillary Clinton took things to a whole new level. She didn’t run for president as a symbol but as the best-prepared candidate in the Democratic pack. Whether you liked her or not, she convinced the nation that a women could be qualified to both run the country and be commander in chief. That was an enormous breakthrough, and Palin’s nomination feels, in comparison, like a step back." So if the McCain campaign calculated that they simply needed someone who was Sen. Clinton's 'gynecological twin,' as Samantha Bee hilariously put it, why not Condoleezza Rice or Kay Bailey Hutchison or Carly Fiorina or Elizabeth Dole or Olympia Snowe? Over at electoral-vote.com, The Veep: A Short Play in One Act sums up how the process might've led to Palin. Funny. And Sad. Anyway. For a slew of other links, see Ghost In The Machine.
4. There are so many things I'd like to discuss with regard to Palin, but I should use my limited time to explore other topics. So let's just take one of my pet issues, creationism in public schools. Over at Thoughts from Kansas, Josh looks at the candidates' views. Palin, like Bush and McCain and plenty of reasonable but woefully scientifically-illiterate people, spouts "teach both" nonsense. Ugh. (Let's just teach our children a variety of creation myths and label everything 'science', then.) Obama tends to discuss the issue in a very thoughtful, diplomatic way, with wise conclusions like "I think it's a mistake to try to cloud the teaching of science with theories that frankly don't hold up to scientific inquiry." Joe Biden comes through with the more acerbic remark (one that will certainly cost votes but tickles me nontheless): "This is reversible, man. This is reversible. We don't have to go down this road. I refuse to believe the majority of people believe this malarkey!"
Malarkey, indeed, Joe. But I'm afraid the majority of people do believe it. Not only are Americans scientifically illiterate, but they are historically and politically illiterate (and, increasingly, 'just plain' illiterate). Most do not research issues or examine candidates' records and statements through non-partisan resources (such as FactCheck.org or OnTheIssues.org). I constantly receive anti-Obama e-mails from conservative family & friends that are downright false. And not just the wacky "He's a muslim terrorist" ones. The other day I got one full of tax numbers that looked reasonable enough at first glance but were completely false. If the last two elections (particularly 2004) are any indication, there's no reason to believe the majority of Americans voters won't be easily influenced by propaganda, vote from the gut, and fall for gimmicks like the Palin choice. If they do, they deserve what they get. Too bad the rest of us will be stuck with it, too.
5. Finally (to lighten the mood a bit), here's something to spice up next week's GOP convention: McCain Bingo. I wish it had more "My Friends" spaces but I suppose that would make it too easy. Also, if you think the "Get Out of Gaffe Free" card is unfair, consider the McCain campaign's response to the criticism over McCain's inability to specify how many houses he owned: "'This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- in prison,' referring to the prisoner of war camp that McCain was in during the Vietnam War." Oh, OK.
31 Aug 12:54 | Link | Category: Link Dump '08, Politics, Science