« August 2004 | Main | October 2004 »
September 30, 2004
"Lincoln-Douglas" My Foot
Tonight is the first of three presidential debates. It is also the most important, for a couple of reasons. The first debate is traditionally the most-watched, and therefore most influential. I suspect that, given the string of 24-hour news available, this is no longer the case, or at least not as much as it used to be. The 'key' moments from the 2000 debates were Gore's heavy sighing and the AlGore AlphaMale approach, neither of which came in the first debate, if my memory is correct.
Speaking of which, while watching these debates, it is important to remember that the policy discussion that takes place (or lack thereof) is completely irrelevant: the winner of the debate is the politician that convinces the American public that he will have grace under fire. If you watch the event (because, really, that's what it is) knowing that John Kerry is trying to be likeable, not present a coherent Iraq plan, it makes the process much more tolerable. If you are policy wonk (such as myself) hoping for a good argument/discussion, you will be sorely disappointed. You can complain, but there's nothing that can be done; thanks to Nixon and focus groups, the 'debates' are actually 'likeability contests.'
What else should you watch for? If you are still trying to get a feel for the candidates - if you're one of the cherished "undecideds" - I would note how the candidates contrast themselves from each other. Four years ago, Bush and Gore spent most of the time agreeing with each other. I contend this is because the liberal position sounds so absurd when articulated that it is completely indefensible. There may also some political wisdom to this, especially in a close race with no incumbent - any difference between candidates could be seen as an advantage for one, so the other will try to minimize or eliminate the advantage. Bill Clinton was a master of this: much of the (significant) legislation that he passed and took/takes credit for (welfare reform, etc.) were Republican ideas that he co-opted. This year, I suspect the candidates will gladly contrast themselves, especially bringing to attention the opponent's negative characteristics. Bush will highlight Kerry's record as a flip-flopping liberal, and Kerry will claim the President has 'mislead' the country into a 'quagmire.'
What is perhaps most interesting about this debate is that Kerry agreed to make it over foreign policy, aka Iraq. His campaign chose to focus on this initially, presumably because it is where he is weakest. Recently, they have chosen to target the economy instead, which would have been a much timelier topic for the first (most important) debate, from a Kerry perspective. Absent a plan, expect Kerry to go into attack mode. I suspect that he'll accuse the president of planning to reinstate the draft. Watch how Bush responds and defends himself. I suspect that this exchange will be quite indicative of the character of each candidate.
Finally, when Kerry does 'articulate' his 'plan,' listen for two things: distinct plans/agendas (vs. abstract goals), and unique ideas (vs. what Bush is already doing/attempting to do). I suspect that you will find neither. For a country at war, this seems to leave a pretty clear choice. We'll know more tomorrow.
Posted by Pat at 04:16 PM | Comments (2)
September 23, 2004
Whirled Peas
Peace Train my foot. Come on over - if they'll let you in - Mr. Yusuf Cat Stephen Georgiou Islam Stevens Skyhook Jackhole, and I'll give you a little ride on what I like to call the "piece train." I'll put a piece of my foot square in your pie hole, and then we'll talk about peace, love, understanding, and supporting calls for assassination.
***
Money can't buy happiness, I've always said, but poverty sure as heck can't, either. Looks like the experts now agree with me. It's nice to see them slowly coming around.
***
17-year-old charged in one PG carjacking
It went something like this: "Get your freakin' butts out of the darn car, you sons-of-guns!"
Posted by Pat at 04:23 PM | Comments (9)
September 22, 2004
It's All Over
Any hope John Kerry had of becoming the next President of the United States of America were dashed today as the Abraham Lincoln Black Republican Caucus has decided to endorse Bush. That's right, the most important voting block has swung to the right: Black, gay Republicans. Kerry should just concede now.
While the vote to endorse Bush for relection was close (5-3), the voting block should tip the scales quite clearly.
Posted by Pat at 07:33 PM | Comments (0)
September 21, 2004
Pits and Bieces
According to USA Today, club owners across the country actually pay pretty people to party so as to make the club more hip and happenin'. I guess his explains why The Rock is so successful, although I'm glad that our "Party Motivators" are volunteers. It'd get expensive to keep that many good-looking people around on a regular basis.
***
Headline of the day (2nd item from top):
Hello, Dali
Apparently Salvador Dali did some work for Disney in the mid-40's, and the paintings have just been unearthed. Not only is this a great find for art enthusiasts, but it also helps explain why Fantasia was so freakin' weird.
***
Quote of the day:
"Yankees fans wear their team's cap to the store, to work and even to church, because they are sure that God is on New York's side, even if Boston's center fielder bears a striking resemblance to His son."
Andew Marshall - Iowa State Daily
It pains me to give any credit to the Daily, but the man speaks the truth.
Posted by Pat at 04:34 PM | Comments (2)
September 13, 2004
A Little From Column A...
Rich bloggers won't be here any time soon
Dangit!
***
Neil Cavuto is, once again, my hero:
So go ahead and hug. Because, for the life of me, I've never heard anyone mourning the passing of a loved one, say, "If only we didn't hug so much."
Not once. Not ever.
***
Tom Shatel, a sportswriter for the Omaha World Herald, has decided that Nebraska, coming off of a rough season last year and a terrible start this year, has a solid chance to win the Big 12 North division.
Why? Missouri can't play defense and still hasn't figured out how to play quarterback Brad Smith (hint: not in the pocket). Kansas State has issues on both sides of the line of scrimmage, receiver and quarterback.
Colorado is 2-0 but hasn't scored an offensive touchdown in seven quarters. Kansas? We hear the Jayhawks had a great exhibition tour of Canada last week.
This is the almost the exact same point that I have been making since last Thursday when Missouri lost to Troy State. The only difference is that I've said that Iowa State is the team that will make the run. Shatel conveniently leaves them out of the equation.
ISU plays the weakest possible Big 12 schedule (FINALLY), drawing the bottom 3 teams from the South, and they play Nebraska and Missouri in Ames. The most difficult game on the conference schedule is away at K-State. The most difficult game - period - was Saturday at Iowa. ISU nearly upset the #12 ranked Hawks in the most hostile environment that they will face all year. We'll be able to know a lot more in a week - whether the Iowa offense is that bad or the ISU defense is that good - but things are looking up for Cy.
I don't think the Clones will win the North this year; I suspect K-State will manage to find their way as the season progresses (they started slow last year, too). But I DO think that Iowa State will sneak in under the radar and give a few teams a run for their money, and I think that they'll finish in the top half of their division. A bowl game is starting to seem reasonable, too. That's not too bad for a team coming off of a 2-10 season and picked to finish last in the division.
Mac's back... Go State
Posted by Pat at 04:39 PM | Comments (3)
September 09, 2004
Marketing to Lemmings
I get today's post fodder courtesy of my mother (which is only somewhat embarassing to admit), so +5 to her. It seems that the Cartoon Network has been able to market their Adult Swim cartoons by targeting college towns, and, more specifically, hosting beer parties (redundancy in the context of college towns?).
"College towns aren't the biggest markets, but if you get kids talking about something there, you eventually get everybody," Heanue said. "Take a town like Norman, Okla. Not a big market. But the whole state of Oklahoma goes through there. You seed the college towns, you get the whole state."
...
Last spring the network sent disposable cameras to all the college marketers and instructed them to take a list of 48 pictures: Take a picture of your freezer, your closet, the inside of your car's trunk, stuff like that.
What they got back was raw data they could use to take to advertisers interested in a young demographic with photographic evidence of what products those consumers buy, eat and use.
"It's been a great learning tool for us," Heanue said.
...
"I'm more and more shocked how many people know about 'Adult Swim,'" said Jack Nelson, a University of Georgia senior studying economics who is in his second year as a Cartoon Network marketer. "At first it was a cult thing. Now it's everyone on campus."
Who knew that young, rebelious, independent-type people were such a bunch of followers? Does this mean that I should start using Ramen to market rock and roll? Or maybe just kegs. I'll let you know how it works.
Posted by Pat at 05:00 PM | Comments (1)
September 01, 2004
Meaning of it All
Lately I have found myself praying for the proper perspective on things. This means, unfortunately, that I've spent too much time thinking about it and am not even sure what 'perspective' means anymore.
Who knows? Is it all relative? Is it even relevant? Is it possible to even get perspective on something if I don't know all of the details?
Yes, seeing the big picture is probably important. Maybe I should start working on that. Of course, what if I don't like what I see?
Ow!
Posted by Pat at 04:37 PM | Comments (8)