by Demophilus
Where to start? I recently moved and thus was without the Interwebs for a few harrowing days. So I have a number of not so random, but still disconnected, thoughts that will have to do instead of the comprehensive post I want to write.
(1) I mentioned I recently moved -- well, during said move I had the chance to listen to a few hours of right-wing talk radio (Limbaugh and Hannity) while driving to my new residence. Dear readers, have you done this recently? You owe it to yourself. You can't understand where the country is at if you haven't done so. It was a great reminder of how easy it is to extrapolate from what the Hill staffers you meet at a happy hour think to a general vision of where the masses are at. I know those motivated enough to call in to talk radio shows are not a representative sample, but I think they provide at least an inkling of the real discontent 'out there' right now. And let me add that I'm pretty sure the people I heard do give a sense of the direction, if not intensity, of the sentiments of the white working class. What was interesting is that these people did not seem to care that Obama was black, but that he was out of touch. Those McCain celebrity ads are doing the job. The tire inflation comment -- and yes its technically true that inflating your tires properly is a good thing -- has been a boon to talk radio. Limbaugh, over and over, declared "We cannot inflate our way out of this crisis." Not a bad line. You notice Obama has shifted on energy policy (among other things, natch) -- its no surprise. He was going to, and still could, get hurt on the issue. Assuming minimal competence from the McCain people, of course.
(2) Since when did Andrew Sullivan's blog become agitprop for Obama? Geez.
(3) And furthermore, how exactly is one supposed to criticize a candidate whose biggest asset, in Sullivan's words, is "his face"? That is, his soft power, his style, the appeal of his unique identity. Sullivan, in his Atlantic Monthly essay last Fall, didn't defend Obama in terms of policy. Not one bit -- except perhaps Obama's position on Iraq. So why is Sullivan so upset by the attacks on Obama, exemplified by the "celebrity" ads, that merely go after Obama along the same trajectory on which Sullivan praised him? Vacuous appeals beget vacuous criticisms.
(4) Have you bought the new Bob Dylan single on Itunes? The one that is a sneak peek at the latest installation of the Bootleg Series? Supposedly its outtakes and more from Oh Mercy, Time Out of Mind, and Modern Times.
UPDATE: You can get the song for free at Dylan's website.
UPDATE 2: Just to be clear, I'm not condoning right-wing talk radio or the arguments Limbaugh and Hannity use. All I meant to convey was how interesting the whole listening experience was -- and, allowing for some distortions, I think it conveys the way a slice of America thinking. A slice whose opinions I probably didn't encounter much in DC.
Where have you been? Sullivan has been gushing over Obama for months now. As the slayer of the evil Hillary, Obama's earned Sullivan's undying adoration.
I'm not sure that the fact that callers-in to Limbaugh and Hannity follow the Republican line on Obama really means very much. What evidence do you have that these people are "working class"? There are a lot of middle class Limbaugh-Hannity fans. Regardless, these were never gettable votes for Obama.
Posted by: William Burns | August 08, 2008 at 06:25 PM
Let's add his voice to the list of vacuous criticisms. My mom says she can't stand to listen to his ultra confident tone of voice for four years.
Posted by: Joules | August 09, 2008 at 01:51 AM
Limbaugh's callers, at least, are heavily screened.
One might argue that it is because of people like Rush that Americans are so out of touch.
Don't read Sullivan, so no comment there.
Posted by: Josh SN | August 09, 2008 at 02:42 PM