throwing down and ignorant semantics...

obama and hillary took off the gloves for real last night...and edwards took the high ground for the most part (which disappointed me...I love the man's ability to rant...as I was telling a friend last night, they should teach it - it really is an art form). of course none of them said much of substance - as has become par for the course in presidential politics - never say anything that might be used against you. (which also disappoints me from obama, because back in the day he did not have the same amount of fear of doing the politically unpopular if it was right). a few thoughts on some aspects of the debate...

initially, one of the sections I caught was obama being asked about bill clinton being the first black president. while his answer was cordial, entertaining and intelligent - I don't think he should have answered the question, and if he did, he should have gone on an edwards-esque rant about rich white southern men selling out all but the richest being called a "black president." but hey america...if it makes you feel less bigoted to claim you've had a black president, feel free to shout it from the rooftops.

another bit I managed to actually pay attention to was a colluquy between the two front runners concerning high incarceration rates of blacks - which obama correctly pointed out, are arrested more often, prosecuted more often and sentenced to longer sentences more often than whites for the same crimes. I kept waiting for obama to point out the obvious (which he missed a golden opportunity) and remind the world that this problem was exacerbated by bill's administration (and I know, I know, hillary is not bill...problem is, when you get the same family in the white house, the same interests tend to come around and become even more entrenched - as we are currently witnessing). it left the door open for hillary to spout off the same crap without having to acknowledge the roots of the problem.

a rather amusing moment came when hillary tried to talk about how great things were for blacks during the 90's by using some slanted statistic that said the income of blacks went up about $7000 during the 90's. if you were paying attention you noticed there was no applause at that moment...she was expecting it, but none came. because for the vast majority of people - the 90's weren't an economic boom...they were a massive drain of resources up the ladder. I could imagine folks in the audience turning to each other and asking "where the fuck was my increase in pay?"

and they all went on to say pretty much that they would be able to beat mccain (and I'm still saying the establishment will force romney through). hillary went about it by saying the next election would be another national security election (because she would make it that way if she gets the nod - welcome to the third round of how not to win a presidency) and how she could stand on her record next to mccain. of course she could - she is mccain with a vagina. she voted for the war - and then used her own idiocy as an excuse with the "I didn't think they would use a green light for war to go to war" - and she continues to throw money at it - and then wants us to focus on the downturn in the economy without taking any responsibility for her role in it.

but the most important thing I took from the debate...hillary is not the "tough one" as she tries to set herself out to be. forget about being able to handle the campaign the republicans will wage (which she reminds us all the time how she is able to do it) and her almost breakdown during a rather civil primary (which I only bring up because she claims to be super-human in toughness)...obama showed he also is a tough bitch. saw what you will about the man...but he did spend time working in the inner-city...up close and personal with the people that the rest of us like to talk about how much we care as long as we don't have to really feel their pain (as much as bill wanted you to believe he felt your pain...he didn't feel shit - unless it was the inside of a woman with severe self-respect issues). he showed he can throw punches when necessary...and when romney is on the other side, he'll get a hell of a chance to do it.

this morning I caught some bad morning show...hoping to hear that a lot of snow was coming my way. I was treated to a reminder that fools will continue to tell us that "illegal immigration is a problem" in this country. its a tricky ploy really...and kudos to the right-wing schmucks that have distracted you with it, because now you can be pissed at an "other" when you are out of work that isn't actually the people responsible - which lets them continue on with destroying your life while you applaud their efforts to do so. we do not have a "problem" with illegal immigration. we have large numbers of illegal immigrants. our country could not run without them. they are not draining our resources. they are assimilating. they are no more likely to commit actual crime than the fuckheads born at your local hospital. the "problem" we have is that we consider people coming to america a "problem" to be fixed. I've said it before - don't be fearful that so many people will go to such lengths to come to this country and work shit jobs for pathetic pay...be scared when they stop wanting to come. and that day may be much closer than you think...

I'm feeling good about the bad...