Friday, October 29, 2004

My conversation with Andre (not his real name):

A: Hey, plastic or paper?
N: Um, I need the paper bag, so paper.

A: Yeah, that’s a button alright [referring to my button that has a Heinz ketchup bottle on it with Kerry printed across the label].
N: I got it at the rally. Did you go?

A: Nah, I was like here, like all day.
N: But you’re voting, right?

A: Not for any of those clowns. They’re not my thing.
N: You’re not voting?

A: I may vote for one of the other dudes, I don’t know.
N: So you don’t care that you’re facilitating a Bush win? You don’t care if Bush, rather than Kerry becomes president?

A: Nah. I hate them both. They are not about any of my things.
N: And what are your things?

A: Oh, you know, like more radical. Nothing that they care about.
N: Don’t you think one of them is closer to what you care about than the other? And if neither represents the real you, maybe it would be a good idea to consider which one represents the interest of 85% of the people of this country and has the backing of the vast majority of progressives in the state?

A: Uh, maybe I just wont vote..
N: Why don’t you do what the Isthmus suggests – trade votes with someone in another state (see votepair.org), so that you can have your voice and still allow the better of the two to carry Wisconsin?

A: Huh?
N: Thanks for the groceries. [Silently: I don’t hate you, really I don’t. I embrace our differences. I am glad you’re picking up benefits at Whole Foods so that your head can get fixed in case it breaks down, if it hasn’t done so already.]

Searching for warmth in all the left places

I heard this before and it is confirmed by a blogger in Europe (here): Europeans are not permitted access to the official GWB website. If you try, you get the following message: Access Denied. You don’t have permission to access “http://www.georgewbush.com/” on this server. Just squash those Europeans as if they were spiders, why don’t ya, George!

atbozzo.blogspot posted the magnificent photo of the sweep of enthusiasts on West Washington (here). If you did not go to the rally and you don’t break out in sweat at the sound of the L word, do, please do take a look at it. Tom's blog notes on the rally parallel mine and he mentioned subsequently that he also kept an eye out for the Boss factor and found only Kerry enthusiasts around him.

Thanks, also, for pointing me to the Reuters daily tracking poll, which posted the following six hours ago: Bush and Kerry were tied at 47 percent in the latest three-day national tracking poll as the Massachusetts senator gained two points on Bush!

You’re welcome. This to a friend who came over and borrowed my Kerry buttons for a Halloween party. She was going as a Texan for Kerry. Truly an original.

And guess where my last feel-good moment comes from? The Economist. The Economist? Yes. Read their editorial published today here. One line for those without the will to click: [O]ur confidence in [Bush] has been shattered. And the last paragraph: …as Mr Bush has often said, there is a need in life for accountability. He has refused to impose it himself, and so voters should, in our view, impose it on him, given a viable alternative. John Kerry, for all the doubts about him, would be in a better position to carry on with America's great tasks.

There. I’m sure of it. If affluent east-coast cocktail drinking CEOs have gone blue (see post below) and the Economist has abandoned the Republican candidate, surely no one still believes GWB is better suited for the presidency. What a relief!

Fifth street pre-election diary*


5th: in squalor but with hope Posted by Hello
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.
Sunday, Friday, Monday, Saturday, Tuesday.
Monday, Saturday, Friday, Sunday, Tuesday.

And so on. I play these games with the dates and the days. I think I am going insane.

Yesterday I thought long and hard about what question to submit to RW Apple at the Times (he’s taking Qs from readers until November 2nd , read them here). I have a great desire to makes sense of this election. I think that others who have submitted Qs are also struggling to comprehend what would lead a voter to stand with such confidence behind Bush. Here’s one query, along with Apple’s answer (emphases are my own):


Q. What makes the East Coast conservatives - cocktails at 5 p.m., tennis at the club, CEO, trustfund crowd - comfortable with the Evangelicals now running their party?
- xx, St. Helena, Calif.

A. I don't think they are particularly comfortable. Those who are supporting the administration are doing so while holding their noses. Others (watch the returns from Westchester, Greenwich and the Main Line) are voting Democratic. (PS -- They may drink cocktails at 5 p.m. in the Napa Valley, but they don't in and around N.Y. More like 6:30 or 7.)

Meanwhile, my neighbors are looking after me in the way that nurturing people look after someone at the brink of a mental breakdown. This morning, my steady emailers sent me this:

Q: What is the difference between Iraq and Vietnam?
A: Bush had an exit strategy for Vietnam.

Funny. I’m in need of more funny! This week’s Isthmus recalls Jon Stewart’s funniest election moment.
Here’s their summary:

[A] favorite “Daily Show” moment from this campaign season came when Stewart showed a clip of Dr. Phil interviewing George W. Bush about child-rearing. “Do you believe in spanking?” the doc asked.
“Does he believe in spanking?” Stewart interjected, incredulously. “He believes in executing the retarded! OF COURSE HE BELIEVES IN SPANKING!”


In the meantime, I’ve been avoiding writing about this week’s extensive analysis in the Financial Times of the Polish economy. I’ll just mention this: American outsourcing is exactly what Poland needs. The fact that western markets are again looking toward Poland is positively inspiring. For Poles. To quote the FT: “The latest wave includes companies out-sourcing business services, such as Philips, the Dutch electronics maker, and Citigroup, the US financial services company.” Could I just note here how depressing it is that one country’s economic pigsty is another’s L’Etoile?

(*see “forty-second street pre-election diary” post, September 22, for explanation of post title)