Sunday, November 4, 2007

America's Real Pastime: Politics & Paranoia

It's a potent combination and Tuesday's roll call of electioneering is no exception. It is what makes watching politics fascinating in considering the wonderful gap between the true believers of fill-in-the-blank cause and the rest of us.

I won't name names but we've been on the receiving end of some great e-mails and phone calls from candidates, family of candidates, party conspiracy theorists and the spin doctors as we edge closer to November 6th.

Some of my favorites include warnings of dire consequences should X beat Y in the race to show who's political chromosome actually protects the American way; how Y accuses X of running "...the dirtiest race ever." Yeah -- like accusing President Grover Cleveland of fathering an illegitimate child, or the whispering campaign that candidate Warren G. Harding was of mixed-race heritage, hence "The Shadow of Blooming Grove" tag for the Great Bloviator, was polite campaigning.

It always amuses me to see just how thin-skinned those who speak the loudest can be. She threw mud, he's playing dirty, this party's just filling patronage, that party's just paying off supporters...you know the drill because you hear it every election cycle. Always have, always will, because political rhetoric is easier to generate than substance because it's what we political junkies enjoy so much about the process and it's usually the best way to cut through the clutter of everyday life and convince voters our candidate is less evil than the other.

Keep those calls and emails coming -- along with getting your MoveOn.org frequent whiner card punched for number of letters posted or earning extra points for your Fat Cats account you are keeping the traditions, values and entertainment of American politics alive and well.

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