Archive for June 24th, 2008
June 24th, 2008
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When Newsweek came out the other day with a poll showing Barack Obama 15 percentage points ahead of John McCain, I said nothing about it here — for several reasons.
One, the poll seemed to be an outlier (at odds with other concurrent surveys and thus perhaps in error), and, two, polls in June don’t necessarily offer any good indication of who will win in November.
That latter point still pertains, of course, but I’m less inclined to disbelieve the Newsweek poll now that a SURVEY commissioned by Bloomberg News and the Los Angeles Times shows Obama up by 12 percentage points (15 points, if you add Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr to the mix).
The most fascinating numbers in the Bloomberg/Times poll are those showing a huge gulf in enthusiasm among supporters of the respective candidates. Check ‘em out.
June 24th, 2008
 
There was a lot of fuss in the blogosphere yesterday over news that Karl Rove, the most overrated political operative of his time, had publicly offered a strangely incongruous characterization of Barack Obama as “coolly arrogant.”
Said Rove: “Even if you never met him, you know this guy. He’s the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by.”
Never mind that Obama is hardly the type one associates with country clubs, martinis and snide comments. (I think poor Karl was resorting to what psychologists call “transference,” probably stemming from an episode in which some cool stud at a country made him envious.)
Anyway, this mischaracterization of Obama was so silly on its face that it only barely warrants comment. A worse offense, in my view, is the ungrammatical way in which Rove expressed himself.
His use of the pronoun “that” immediately after the noun “cigarette” made it sound as if it was the cigarette, not the cool guy, that was standing against the wall.
The rule in matters like these calls for the pronoun “who” (or “whom”) when referring to people and the pronoun “that” when referring to inanimate objects. Hence, the right way is to refer to a “plumber who was working in the kitchen,” not a “plumber that was working in the kitchen.”
We see this rule violated all the time, in writing as well as in speech. About a year ago, I left a comment on one of my favorite liberal blogs, complaining about the guy’s regular misuse of the pronoun “that.” All I got for my bother, however, was a snarky dismissal.
I suppose Karl Rove won’t heed my advice, either. He never does.
POSTSCRIPT: Upon further reflection, I think we should give Rove credit for using the correct pronoun in the phrase about “everyone who passes by.” That makes him a half-wit rather than a nitwit.
June 24th, 2008
 
Over the past 56 years, the respective fortunes of the Democratic and Republican parties have tended to follow cycles lasting 12 to 15 years.
According to THIS PIECE, the Democrats would seem to be in ascendance this year — but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Barack Obama will win the presidency.
June 24th, 2008
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Ooh! This’d be tailor-made for Fox News, wouldn’t it?
If we get could only get a picture of Barack Obama enjoying the “humor” of smutty-mouthed comic George Carlin, who died over the weekend after leading a dissolute life of drugs, alcohol and disdain for all that is good and decent in America.
And let’s find the video of Carlin saying this in 2001:
“I don’t have any beliefs or allegiances. I don’t believe in this country, I don’t believe in religion, or a god, and I don’t believe in all these man-made institutional ideas…The world is a big theatre-in-the round as far as I’m concerned, and I’d love to watch it spin itself into oblivion. Tune in and watch the human adventure.”
With luck, we could put Obama on the spot for months for laughing at a man who would say such awful things.
Send a memo to Hannity, Limbaugh and the rest of the gang. Tell them that Operation Carlin starts today. This is going to be much bigger than Operation Wright. We’ll send this Obama guy back to Hawaii or whatever foreign country he’s from.
