It’s come to this: vote for Obama, he’s cool
Obama’s big campaign talking point is that he’s the cool one. And the MSM seems to agree.
Ah, but you heard it first at neo-neocon. Back in early June of 2008, in a post entitled, “Wanting a cool and sexy prez,” I wrote:
Maybe it’s come down to this: choosing a President is now mostly about style rather than substance.
Obama is cool.
I guess he’s still cool, although I don’t quite see it. But maybe that’s because I’m not cool.
Here’s a little history I wrote in that previous post:
Coolness as a desirable Presidential characteristic may have begun with Kennedy and TV, but it intermittently went into hiding afterwards, or at least became less important. One of LBJ’s problems was that he was perceived as extremely uncool, but it didn’t stop him from trouncing the admittedly also uncool Goldwater. Nixon was popular and was elected to a second term by a wide margin, his polls only tanking because of Watergate. But he was so extraordinarily uncool he nearly made uncoolness into a style all his own:
I still hear this from relatives who are going to vote for Romney now but voted for Obama in 2008, “McCain lost because he got that stupid/uncool/etc. Palin as running mate”. Not that McCain was cool or that Slow Joe Biden was ever cool, but it is a convenient excuse to cover their mistake. I need to learn to live with this.
Coolness covered JFK’s sins, and apparently John Edwards as well for a while. But other than having a good tailor and wanting to be superior, Obama doesn’t have the presence chops to be really cool.
Bill Clinton had the personal magnetism to be a celebrity, his wife and daughter don’t. Obama’s was manufactured like a Disney starlet and will descend into Lindsey Lohan status if he’s not careful. Some people will try to use his “coolness” still as an excuse, but fewer and fewer
I’ve never seen the coolness, either. That first pitch he threw in the Mom jeans in 2009 may have been the least cool thing I’ve ever seen a president do. Maybe I shouldn’t criticize, since I, too, throw like a girl — but then again I actually AM a girl.
Saw a headline yesterday that Mrs. Romney thinks Mr Romney should go on SNL. I think we already have a joke for a president and we don’t need to hire another comedian. Obama has diminished the office and some respect and dignity should be restored to it.
Romney should try to appeal to young people by not bankrupting any more of their future. Not by trying to “be cool” like Obama.
If Obama’s cool then Urkel’s cool. Cool has lost its cool. There’s been no cool since Steve McQueen had a monopoly on cool.
The blending of entertainer and politician into one celebrity has been ongoing for twenty years now. Bill Clinton figured that out and did so with great success (saxophone, etc.). He figured out, IMO, that if you can get the masses to just like you, your policies go to the rear, don’t hardly matter.
W tried it (e.g. the carrier landing) but got bad reviews from the critics of political theater. Box office take plunged.
The evolution has continued. The important thing for any politician of the masses is simply to become ‘liked’ by enough, and that is done by becoming actors, first and foremost. Charlie Sheen, for example, is a wretched man in his personal life, but millions still like or love him AS AN ACTOR and would vote him into office in a heartbeat, embracing the disasters sure to follow.
Newt’s “wrong” for the role; he’s too pudgy. Santorum’s also miscast as a candidate; he wears those dorky sweater vests. Mitt “looks presidential” and that’s a great asset.
The flip side is that Hollywood actors…ACTORS…get a serious listen to their usually utterly stupid political ideas, rooted in abject ignorance.
Vote for Obama, he’s evil. And EngSoc says evil is cool.
I don’t want a cool dude as President. I want someone smart and honest who loves America. Why the HELL have we allowed idiots in the media to turn Presidential politics into a sixth-grade popularity contest?
Once again the Liberal Position Generating Algorithm comes to the rescue. Nromal, healthy, sane adult position: “Presidents should be chosen on the basis of competence, character, and sensible policy ideas.”
Bizarre, freakish inversion: “Presidents should be chosen on the basis of skin color, pandering to insane ideologies, and willingness to behave like idiots on television to win the approval of perpetual preadolescents.”
Yep, check!
>> if you’re 12, as Kris Kross was
Ah, in case anyone thinks my mildly ambiguous verb choice there meant I failed to grasp KK is TWO boys, you’d be mistaken. I grant that “KK were” is a more common construct, but “KK was” is, I think, still valid since both were and hence one CAN speak of KK as a unit as a result. But let’s not digress and argue that point…
;-P
>>> There’s been no cool since Steve McQueen had a monopoly on cool.
Well, let’s just be sure Obama doesn’t have nothing…
>>> “McCain lost because he got that stupid/uncool/etc. Palin as running mate”
LOL, the only reason he had a chance was because of Palin. The had the grassroots heart of America behind her.
The… “She”.
The public schools have been turning out idiots for decades. Is it any wonder it has come to this? Lots of people voted for Obama to prove they are not racists. Now they need to vote against him to show they are not idiots. Too many people will vote for Obama because they think they will get free ice cream.
Women voters seem particularly vulnerable to this cool thing, even bright women like Peggy Noonan and Anne Althouse.
“The public schools have been turning out idiots for decades.”
I hate to break it to you, but so have the private schools. And I know a few idiots who were homeschooled in the ’80s. 🙂
I blame parents who vote party. My father used to say that if either party ran a duck as its candidate, the duck would get 2/3 of the party votes. The Democrats didn’t have to run this quack of a president, but they did.
‘Cool’ is for musicians, actors, and other artists. I agree Steve McQueen was cool. Paul Newman was cool. Miles Davis was cool before there was cool. Buddy Holly was cool in a nerdy way. We have had and still have plenty of ‘cool’ people.
Presidents and generals should not be cool. They should be as steady as a rock when it comes to first principals and as adaptable as a bird soaring on the thermals of world geopolitics. Unless our nation is engaged in hostilities, the president and the rest of DC should be seldom heard and of little interest to the daily lives of we the people who are the bedrock of American Society. ‘Cool’ is for the fools who buy People magazine as they pass through the checkout line.
DJGuy..AGREED!! Any ‘CooL assigned to this dweeb is just snicker provoking. He’s an introvert, clumsy unless handled 24-7, unable to express himself well unless scripted and continuously revealing of his absence critical thinking and ANY reading–Ya know, like books.
Mr. Frank: I think Noonan has seen the light and the jury is out on Althouse.
Hey, Althouse is a tenured lawschool academic who lives in Madison WI. Whaddaya expect?
Obama IS super pretty! I guess that’s all that matters!
Obama for Middle School Girlfriend: 2012!!1!
George Pal: Urkel is cool. Don’t you watch Dancing With the Stars?
Oh, and speaking of Steve McQueen…
Our pop culture revolves around being attractive and cool; substance, not so much. When people don’t learn to study and learn in school, they don’t want to apply themselves when they get out in life. Learn enough to get by and HOPE everything works out. That’s why we get such abysmal candidates and elected representatives. We are running popularity contests, not real elections. Obama is the living proof.
RE: Steve McQueen, while in the marines he supposedly noted that the only way he would be promoted above private would be if all the corporals died at the same time.
As for Obama and cool: a few days ago I was on the campus of Colorado State in Ft. Collins, CO, a virtual backdrop to a picture postcard. As you can imagine the campus was packed with students apparently cut by the same cookie cutter and therefore must have gone deeply into debt to get a degree in a field they may never be able to use, and if they do may find out they are working in a field they detest, all because they followed the herd and that made them cool. In short a sizable portion are having their lives scripted before they set foot in the real world and have had no experience in living outside of the herd’s perceived wisdom. Multiply this by several generations in a country which has largely known prosperity without obligation and the result must inevitably be a hopelessly sheltered population incapable of making mature judgments; in short a nation of overgrown adolescents with no experience in evaluating danger (never encountered) or character (never needed).
One can see how easy they can identify with an Obama. He merely represents for them what they were told to be their entire lives, sexy, successful, popular, prosperous and leftist (not kowtowing to worn out conservative notions, like the heroes of MASH), the Hollywood definition of cool. Voting for him is a short cut to what they are supposed to be. The youth vote should be renamed the zombie vote.
I wonder if their world will end with a bang or a barely noticeable whimper?
I hope Romney has the sense to be the Adult in the contest, and maintain some true sangfroid. The Beauzeau can have all the ersatz cool he wants; how puerile.
I think the appeal of having an actual grownup in charge is greater, even among the young, than people realize — witness the popularity of Mad Men.
I found out on jury duty some years ago that most of our fellow citizens (on our jury, 5/6) are far more moved by emotion than by rational appeals. Voters likewise: they rationalize the emotional choice after the fact. Could our forebears have been right in restricting the franchise to property owners of a certain age and gender? Hell, I would hate to concede the last, being a lady myself, but at least we could reinstate literacy tests, add current events quizzes, and this time administer them to everybody.
“but at least we could reinstate literacy tests, add current events quizzes, and this time administer them to everybody.”
A..MEN.
Neo-neocon,
I ask myself “is watching ‘Dancing With the Stars’ cool”? I answer “no” — I relented and watched the clip. I relent again — he was cool — as far as I managed to keep my eyes on him and not her.
As for your post on Steve McQueen, how is it I missed that — or had I read it and not remembered. Now that would not be cool — just old.
Favorite McQueen movie – The Sand Pebbles.
We know the world is turned upside down when over promising and under delivering by a malignant narcissist is decidedly cool. Maybe it’s just other malignant narcissist that decide it’s so.
I guess I’m incurably uncool. I enjoy watching “Dancing with the Stars”, but I do DVR it and skip its multitude of commercials.
George Pal? Watch it sometime and focus on the drop dead gorgeous classical singer from Wales. She is not only beautiful but is very talented as well. Plus has a lovely, feminine personality.
Another thought on Obama…I also never saw the coolness in him. To me, he acts like a junior high kid (but a mean one) and appeals to people who think like junior high kids or people whose votes he buys with our money.
I watched the clip. Have never seen DWTS, never intend to. My TV watching is limited to sports and DVDs.
The athleticism of the dancers is great, but the entire context strikes me as vulgar, especially the judges’ semiarticulate remarks in scoring.
As an entirely objective observation, it strikes me that pairing black and white together is an intentional and increasing element of current Progressivism, so PC.
Beverly, did you notice that you almost contradicted yourself. First you wanted Romney to play the adult, then you acknowledged the supremacy of emotional appeal, something exemplified in children.
I would recommend a different route for Romney. The adults will vote for him against Obama under any circumstances, so he should make himself appealing to grown children in some way. Maybe he can promote himself as a caring strong father as opposed to Obama’s no moral guidance demeanor. Children grave discipline, maybe Romney the caring but no nonsense father would get votes.
Don Carlos: I happen to love the schlocky fun of DWTS. Ballroom dance is not my favorite genre of dance, to say the least, and it has become increasingly vulgar in recent years. Plus, I agree that the judges definitely can (although not always) add to that impression. However, it depends on the dance. The Latin dances tend to be the raunchiest, then jive is usually a lot of fun, and the more traditional dances (fox trot, waltz, and especially the quick-step) tend to be old-fashioned and elegant.
Not that I’m trying to convert you to being a DWTS fan (some “change” is not only difficult, but impossible :-)). But here’s a fox trot by the same dancers, their very first offering on the show:
As for the interracial aspect, I barely notice it. All the professional dancers on the show are white, so whenever there are black contestants (women or men), they must of course be paired with a white partner. It’s neither intentional nor progressive or anything of the sort; it’s pretty much a non-event. The pairing decisions, by the way, are made for artistic reasons, mostly having to do with height and size and temperament.
Now, when they had transgender contestants such as Chaz Bono (who was a dreadful dancer), now that was very PC and intentional.
All those young voters who think Obama is cool should give some thought as to how cool it is to be unemployed and living with your parents. The private sector creates jobs and Obama is anti business and anti coal, gas and oil. Guess how that will work out.
I watch DWTS almost entirely for the dancing. The artificial “cutting up” and being “cutesy” in between the dances is something I just put up with to see the dancing. I think watching some of the practicing is interesting…seeing the interaction between the professional and the star.
I like Len’s comments because I think he’s the most objective and expert judge.
Some of the dancing is a tad raunchy but for some reason, that doesn’t bother me…I guess I’m pretty open minded about that. As Neo points out, MANY of the dances are quite elegant…and many are just plain fun (jive, etc.)
FWIW, I’m a huge fan of dancing in almost all it’s forms….from ballet to ballroom to interpretive to the Ballet Folklorico in Mexico City to even boot scootin’ in a Texas honky tonk. I love going to the ballet when I’m in Paris and when I’m in Austin, I love going to the Broken Spoke. Some of the folk dancing in Venezuela is magnificent.
…oh, and I agree with Neo…interracial pairing on DTWS is a non-issue…period.
…oh yeah (sorry about the multiple comments, but something got me going on this)…anyone who can’t have fun marching down the street in Trinidad to steel drum music during Carnival is just an old fuddy duddy.
Some time ago I believed that more responsible politics can be restored by rising minimal voting age to 21. But rapid growth of the numbers of never maturing adults made this option unworkable unless it was risen to 50, which is hardly possible.
I like shows like DWTS. It’s just that netflix has made it virtually impossible for me to enjoy tv with mindless commercials every 11 minutes. Maybe i need to get one of those dvr thingys.
Sorry. My DWTS observation was clearly a sampling error since I only saw Neo’s clip and extrapolated therefrom. My impression that biracial is “cool” remains.
We need to start the meme associating *Cool* with Superficial. Obama’s all surface. Romney has depth: It’s hip to be Square.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/dog-351332-romney-obama.html
Mark Steyn is on a roll today (and on point for this subject).
I’m sure many of us neocon readers have interracial families. Blacks dancing with whites is a total non-issue.
I enjoy watching Dancing with the Stars to see the costumes. How are the women able to dance in those high heels and to keep their dresses on? What’s their secret? Duct tape?
Re the coolness of Presidential contenders: I personally like alpha men like Dick Cheney, Allen West, Donald Rumsfield, Dwight Eisenhower, etc. Clearly Obama is a guy who appeals to the many metrosexuals who work in universities and nonprofit organizations.
American politics needs to accommodate the fact that many many people work for the government in offices with flickering buzzing fluorescent lights. The only thing these people know about nature is that houseflies and mosquitoes are annoying.
I believe, based on nothing more than a glass of bourbon and some wishful thinking, that grown-up alpha males will continue to protect us. If the President is a phony wimp, like Obama, well then, he’ll be just a figurehead. The real Americans will continue to protect us.
Beverly says, “Could our forebears have been right in restricting the franchise to property owners of a certain age and gender? Hell, I would hate to concede the last, being a lady myself, but at least we could reinstate literacy tests, add current events quizzes, and this time administer them to everybody.”
I’m all for raising the voting age back to 21, and administering a test to prove competence to vote. The test can be rather simple and made up of rather obvious T or F questions. I’ve thought about this for many years and came up with this test about 20 years ago:
1. The sun revolves around the earth from east to west.
T or F
2. The first ten amendments to the Constitution, commonly known as the Bill of Rights, specifies the rights and privileges the federal government grants to private citizens.
T or F
3. The United States of America was originally founded as a democracy.
T or F
4. December 7, 1941 is remembered as the date Germany declared war on the United States of America which started World War 2.
T or F
All 4 questions must be answered correctly before the potential voter is allowed to register. Instantly, 60 -70% of all who are allowed to vote today are disqualified.
Simple and effective, Parker. I like.
Parker’s question #4 is why Senator Blutarsky’s GPA at Faber was “zero point zero”.
Parker, I think you need more civics questions from the turn of the last century.
Be that as it may, here’s one ‘ripped from the headlines’:
The three branches of Government are the President, the Senate and the House.
T or F
Or another:
The Supreme Court does not make law, rather only rules on the consitutionality of current laws.
T or F
The Constitution, in the Bill of Rights, plainly states there is a separation of Church and State.
T or F
I think you’re on the right tack with some sort of qualifying test, but I’d make it all on civics. They don’t teach that in schools anymore, which is why the populace, with all the technology available to it, is dumber about how our Government works than ever before.
Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt, Adam G. Riess, Dan Shechtman, Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi, Akira Suzuki, Bruce A. Beutler, Jules A. Hoffmann, Ralph M. Steinman, Robert G. Edwards, Tomas Transtré¶mer, Mario Vargas Llosa, Herta Mé¼ller, Thomas J. Sargent, Christopher A. Sims, Peter A. Diamond, Dale T. Mortensen, Christopher A. Pissarides
we dont know them as they are mostly white males, or white hispanics. not women, not minorities.
its telling that neo picked urkel on dancing wit the stars. why?
its condescending of the left (not neo) but they have us in a position where we dont THINK
what happened? when they could not get certain groups to outperform and prove tabula rasa and all that oppression bs… they changed the focus.
they went from people who worked hard pushing their genetic gifts and aptitudes… and were celebrated in the 40s, and 50s, and 60s bringing us into the modern age..
what to do?
well the whole of the PoMo world then decided lets focus on genetic celebrities, while pretending that there is no such thing as talent, ability, genetic inheritance, etc.
soooooo
the idea of women writing, winning, and doing things in the sciences went away, and the idea that every woman was a genetic celebrity and all she need be was pretty and willing to put out to be a liberated woman. (ie. thye could not get women to give up socializing and riding on their beauty, or wear mao clothing, and unisex hair, drag kings normalized, etc)
and what about american idol? and other shows? they too are all about being a genetic celebrity and the world recognizing how special you are.
how about kids movies and shows? ever notice that the main characters in MODERN kids stuff tends to murder their parents?
lion witch and wardrobe..
its the blitz and they have parents but have to be away from them and grow up moral and learn about god…
the Golden Compass
main character is an orphan.. and children are victimized and someone has to rescue them from the magesterium who wants to end “tolerance” and “free inquiry”… and in the end, they murder god “The film is set in a world where a person’s soul resides outside their body in an animal-like form called a Dé¦mon. A dictatorial organization called the Magisterium exercises power in the secular world. Lyra Belacqua, an orphan of Jordan College along with her dé¦mon Pantalaimon (nicknamed Pan), spins tales of the Gobblers, whom she and her friends believe are snatching children.
“Kill all the rich people. … Bring the revolution home. Kill your parents.” Ayers
why not take a look at the propaganda as a whole, rather than try to detect the theme running through EVERYTHING…
“Brave” (2013)
oh. its another make women into men feminist movie… where the women are all wise and the men are… (though her parents being kinds and queen are alive)
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
feminism again.. “women should not ahve to have babies as men” (paraphrased quote).
the idea here is that its ok to raise someone elses kid and not have your own. (in the future, slaves will raise the children of the elite who can have many… like china politburo members vs the commoners).
Wreck-It Ralp
a red headed white villain…
feminist message. women have to fix up the messes that evil white men make
the re-imagination of john carter was a complete flop…
Mars Needs Moms
workaholic dad is out of the picture, and its a single mother fake up… ie. she really isnt single, but thats not played up… whats played up is her and her son and how he kind of replaced the dad in protecting, rescuing, etc..
propaganda, adults are stupid, cant rely on them, have to do it yourself (matches Obamas message to kids). all the fun adventures happen while dad is away from work…
the re-imagined Tangle was not as successful as they hoped, as they keep changing the moral stories we love and rewriting them as socialist feminist pomo crapola.
Toy Story was a hit.. people loved it.. then what did they do to it? have to make it feminist ok, by adding a cow girl…
heck…
Mythbusters… doing great… but alas, they needed to add a girl… why? because you HAVE to add one regardless.
holmes on holmes… added one who thought losing her eye sight and such from accidents while the other men nod…
ANTz is soviet propaganda to make parents laugh, but the kids dont know the joke..
heck.. it the green propaganda and self hate of humans for kids goes back to “the incredible mr limpette”!!!
and they remade it too…
the original had henry as pretty asexual. a Limp IT… and its a self loathing film as the new lady he is with under the sea, forgives him for being a horrible human monster…
from beetlejuice (young couple die and become the parents of a girl, while her po mo liberal socialist in crowd parents do their modern thing), to Antz, to all kinds of stuff
and like feminist womens magazines, the parents dont pay attention.. the adults are all bizarre behaving, and goofy. the kids are sexualized as much as they can get away with it and so on
and so… here we are..
with everyons head played with since before i was born..
reverse THAT in a year or in one election?
no way…
Disney XD is amazing in its content and sexualization and so forth. its also one of the biggest hits…
Disney XD marked its second anniversary with nine consecutive growth quarters and Disney Channel continues to rank No. 1 among Tweens in Total Day for the second consecutive year. Disney Junior led Disney Channel’s best quarter ever among Kids 2-5. Disney Junior will also become its own 24-hour channel in 2012.
Its kid-driven, family-inclusive approach appeals to not only kids and tweens, but also moms: Disney Channel is No. 1 with mothers in Primetime among all cable networks.
and Dads? who gives a F**k… right?
well, there are very few dads any more.. most dont have any… and on top of that… moms are the ones who would dress up 6 year olds and show them off like slave traders ad a bordello auction!!!!!!!!!!
disney also claims that this show is for boys…
by the way.
the girls in these shows really could care less about science, education, poetry and so on.
they basically want to be sexy enough that the boys pay attention, but only when they want it, when they dont the boys are gone. and there is all the narcisist drama you can handle.. and more.
after all, do you think katy perry and her show my boobs thing on sesame street was an accident? only if you realize it was an accident in moral asymetry with those that lack it wanting things on and presenting to those who have it to break it.
If you cant make the girls perform like men, and you cant make races perform the same…
then you devalue what the target scape goat does, and you value what the others do
then voila… all that is important is getting your groove on, as that is what those groups are real good at.
as i said… the left is really insulting, but worse is watching the people roll in the pig sty of insult calling it fun and goodness.
the point is that we cant innovate out of our mess, as the ones they are putting up are not innovating, they are cruising for mates… and even when they innove, they dont do it in large numbers, as their social kick is not put aside the way geek men with no social life do to focus on solutions.
so the less intelligent and capable are social focused, not ability focused… and so, they dont work on physics, that has tests and tests can prove were we really are… they perform.. as thats SAFE…
so we have the same old racist left putting people in their pockets and locking them into it.
after all.. if you focus on dancing with the stars, american idol, and coolness.
then your just a idiot with a social accumen masturbating through life wondering why things dont work out and why the state keeps interferring.
personally, putting blacks into the laborer, mucisian dancer, and such is as old as democrat jim crow
Artfldgr: sometimes you focus on the hidden to the exclusion of the more obvious.
I chose Urkel for one reason only—take a look at the comments thread and you’ll see. In my very first mention of Urkel, here, I was responding to this comment by George Pal, whom I address by name in my comment. George Pal had written:
So, George Pal had specifically mentioned Urkel as an example of non-cool, and McQueen as an example of cool. I responded by showing Jaleel White—whom you may or may not know as the actor who played Urkel, the character on TV—in his current manifestation as a cool dancer on DTWS. I also, in my very next comment, offered a link to a post I’d written previously about Steve McQueen and how cool he is.
And then, in the second video with Urkel (Jaleel White), here, I was responding to this comment by Don Carlos, whom I address by name. He had written that he’d watched that first clip and found it vulgar. I was responding to that and offering a clip of the same dancers doing a dance that was more elegant.
And that’s about as much significance as the whole thing had. Urkel, by the way, was a very geeky character.
Nothing is cooler than statism. Thinking your life and property belongs to yourself and not the State is Nowheresville, daddio. You pro-freedom squares need to get hep.
RickZ,
I stick by question 1 which has absolutely nothing to do with civics. If someone in 2012 thinks that the sun revolves around the planet they should automatically be prohibited from voting for dog catcher, perhaps banned from operating a motor vehicle, forbidden to come within 10 feet of a sharp object, and definitely kept out of the gene pool.
“You pro-freedom squares need to get hep.”
:^)
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