Eddie Dean and Emily Yoffe
Emily,
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StumbleUponI think what bothers you most about Bush is that you think at heart he is a coward, probably not an unfair assessment based on what he has displayed in the spotlight's glare so far. What grates on me about Bush isn't cowardice or even arrogance, but something else. It was expertly revealed in Tucker Carlson's sharp-eyed portrait. Like any good journalist, Carlson managed to catch a public figure in a rare unguarded moment, and what Bush showed with his Karla Faye impersonation was a meanness--a sort of cold and childish cruelty--that you can detect smoldering beneath the surface whenever he feels cornered. What others take for Bush's grit-his-teeth fighting quality seems to me the repressed road rage of a man who had no idea how tough the battle was going to be. Gore is too savvy to ever let us know what's really going on behind the wooden mask. That's why he will win not just the debates but the election.
In a bar brawl, though, I'd rather have Bush on my side. Coward he may be, but he's one mean SOB. Gore would first size up his chances and choose sides before ever throwing a punch. Even if Bush has a mean spirit, at least something's there; with Gore, "there's no there there" (at least, it doesn't survive the transmission through my TV) . I take it you're a Gore supporter, but he has not earned my respect or my vote. They are both pretty second-rate when it comes to my preference for the next chief exec. You misunderstood me when I officially nominated my man. You've got Bobo moderating the debates, but I want Bobo right in the thick of it, sitting on high in his remodeled dunk-tank (with its slightly sinister resemblance to the '40s-era electric-chair setup and draped with Bobo for Prez banners) right in between the podiums. A real third party candidate. For moderator, no one is as even-keeled and fair-minded as Charlie Rose.
Let's put politics aside for a moment, and talk about what really matters. A couple of well-wrought sentences, or something that shines and opens up the world for an instant. I believe in all that stuff the ancient Greeks said, that poetry soothes the savage beast. Not necessarily a poem, but anything that stops time and really moves you, like a stoic Gary Cooper staring off into the distance in some nameless Western or Miles Davis' compassion on "Blues for Pablo" or Johnny Cash asking for water to clear his throat between songs at Folsom and, after his offhand request gets no response, there's a flash of anger ("Can I get some water--The last time I was here I got some water") and he's in the prisoners' shoes and they feel it, too. Then he takes a swig and mutters, "They must have run this off Luther's boots" (as in Luther Perkins, a member of his band). And the prisoners respond with wild applause and whoops and acknowledge the bond. Yeah, Johnny Cash understands. Empathy is everything.
How 'bout a fragment by Keats found scrawled in an overdue British Library book found after his death: "This living hand, now warm and capable of earnest grasping ... would so haunt thy sleepless nights (or is that Patsy Cline or the Mekons?) ... and chill thy ... that would wish thine own blood ..."
Can't remember the rest (they gotta bring back rote-memory assignments in high school), but even a couple of words of it sends chills up my spine every time.
Sorry for the rambling. I've enjoyed our exchange. Now I gotta go find that damn Keats poem ...
Eddie
The Least Fun Thing About Video Games: Friendly Fire
Why Is It Such a Big Deal That We Found Water on the Moon?
My Czech Vacation Made Me Kinda Sad
Help! I Got My Co-Worker's Sister Pregnant!
The Obama Administration Is Giving This Gitmo Detainee a Raw Deal
Another Book From Philip Roth About How Much It Stinks To Get Old
Reader Response from The Fray--to be read after the final entry:
Not only should Bobo the Clown be drafted to moderate the Presidential debates [Thursday's entry], but he should chair every Congressional Committee, be given Joe Lockhart's job, and he should anchor the news on all networks.
--Will Allen
(To reply, click here.)
I know it's all the rage now to demonstrate your liberal bona fides by trashing the Confederate flag in South Carolina or Confederate History Month in Virginia, but Eddie's little diatribe against Governor Gilmore and Richmond, Virginia takes the cake [Tuesday]. I see that he has joined some of those he criticizes in hijacking history, ascribing his beliefs to be in the great tradition of Robert E. Lee.
The natural progression of not honoring Confederate History Month is to begin to impede or discourage tourists who want to visit Civil War sites or Confederate museums and cemeteries, as these people must be misguided at best or racist yahoos at worst. I'm sure that Virginians of all ethnicities who work in tourism-related businesses appreciate all the controversy and would rather not have Civil War tourists staying in hotels, eating at restaurants, or buying souvenirs. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Virginia elect the one and only black governor ever to serve in the 50 states?
If you could find 50 people in Virginia who knew about the Confederate History Month proclamation before this contretemps, I would be shocked.
--Will
(To reply, click here.)
(5/4)
Slate should call this "Whenever You Can Make It To The Table" instead of the "Breakfast Table".
--NT
[See timing of Monday's posts. Matters seemed to improve during the week.]
(To reply, click here.)
So there could be genetically-engineered giant animals [Monday's entry]--but what about when politicians start splicing their genes? Imagine the havoc a 50-foot George Bush would do to the environment--dangerous. Or the monotone bellow of a 100-foot-tall Gore. O the horror.
--Chris
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I have engineered four-legged chickens because my family likes fried chicken legs. We are as of this date unsure of the palatability of these fowl because now we can't catch them.
--eieio
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Today Pharm Animals--Tomorrow Your Mom!
--Seeking Justice
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[This was the title of the post. There was quite a lot more, but this seemed to hit the spot.]
Actually, if the knife that George Harrison was stabbed with had been about a half-inch to the left, he would have died instantly [Monday]. Only those with no knowledge or understanding of violence (which in this post-draft era means basically all of the chattering classes) think that knives are inherently less lethal than guns.
--Tench Coxe
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Re: the possible break-up of Microsoft:
Oh Emily,
Some of us relate:
Poor Bill's the guy everyone loves to hate.
But fear not for your beloved Slate
Just follow His lead,
simply innovate.
--Ann
(To reply, click here.)
(5/2)