Tag Archives: Barack Obama

Monday Meme: Top Ten Favorite Political Movies

Posted on by Ann
Senators' party membership by state, since Feb...

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It’s Midterms, people, and though I am not as frenzied as I was for the ’08 POTUS race, I have fears.

Not for me personally as I live in the Canadian Utopia, but for all of you, who should be planning your exit strategies if things go drastically to the right because 2012 is the year the Mayans decided to end their calendar with – just saying.

As I imagine the airways are polluted with negative ads and phones are bombarded with robo-calls, perhaps a good movie is in order. Fave political movies?

Let’s see. This is what Time Magazine thinks:

I’ve seen Bob Roberts, The Candidate, Citizen Kane And Primary Colors. The last is probably my favorite Travolta role ever and the saddest, most apt commentary on the enigma that is Bill Clinton ever.

But I loved Kevin Kline in Dave.

And Michael Douglas as The American President.

I like my politics with a bit of chick flick.

How about you?

Election Day 08

Posted on by Ann

My daughter is just six but she has taken a curious interest in the presidential election, insisting on watching the news clips that her dad scans on his computer via a pundit site called TheZoo. She knows the names of the candidates and is sure that Obama will be the better president because 1) her parents thinks so and 2) John McCain looks grumpy and mean.

While we were in Iowa, she discovered that not everyone shares her parents’ political opinions.

“Mom, Nephew2 says that Orock Obama is going to steal our health care. I told him no he wouldn’t but he says yes.”

“Barack Obama will not be stealing our health care, honey. We are Canadians. And he can’t steal health care from Americans because most of them don’t have any to steal.”

Happily BabyD skipped off to inform her seven year old cousin that he was mistaken. 

Days later as we were in the limo on our way to Dad’s interment, Nephew2 felt it necessary to comment on the Obama yard signs we passed by shouting,

“Boobama! Boobama!”

BIL, his father, was in the front seat ignoring him but when questioned about his son’s right wing leanings he made a point of passing the buck.

“I didn’t teach him that. He learned it from Sean Hannity.”

Is it form of child abuse to allow your child to listen to Hannity?

For the rest of the week, BabyD fervently defended “Orock Obama” and Nephew2 just as admantly insisted that the health care of all America is in serious jeopardy. I guess this proves the old adage about not talking politics during family gatherings though I don’t think I have ever seen such young combatants in my life.

Cracking the “Bitch” Glass Ceiling

Posted on by Ann

Very interesting commentary from Judith Timson of the Globe and Mail on Thursday, writing about the Pennsylvania primaries and Sen. Clinton’s victory there. The op-ed piece went on at length about Clinton’s “macho” campaign and Sen. Obama’s rather weak response to the full metal jacket approach of Team Clinton. 

My favorite quote in the article was a quote from Maureen O’Dowd:

In fact, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd mischievously wondered: “As the husband of Michelle, does he know better than to defy the will of a strong woman? Or is he simply scared of Hillary because she’s scary?”

I have to say that men mated to strong women certainly do know quite about more about that old saying of discretion being the better part of valor then most, but it makes a person wonder if Obama’s approach to politics isn’t a bit too Christ-like for his own good. How many cheeks does the man have? And more importantly, how much longer is he going to duck real issues with his “dazzling oratory skills”? As a woman, I can tell you that there is only one oral skill that counts and unless Obama is planning to use that to get himself enough votes to defeat McCain in November, he’d better start putting some facts and plans where his mouth is and stop trying to channel JFK via MLK or vice versa. This is no time to be charismatic wonder bread. The United States is in trouble with even more on its way in terms of the ecomony, health care and the looming Social Security obliterating Boomer bomb that is set to go off in a huge way about three years or so from now.

Timson’s piece voiced the opinion that Hillary Clinton’s campaign has been good for women because she has shown that a female doesn’t have to be “nice” when competing in politics just to avoid the “bitch” label. That term loses some of its punch when the woman being labeled so don’t retreat into apologetic nice girl form. When did “nice” become synonymous with being female in the workplace? Work/career is about the job and while good manners should apply, making friends is not the objective, getting the job done is what it is all about. Clinton has broken that “bitch” glass ceiling making it possible for other women to follow. Whether she wins the nomination (and I don’t think “they” are ready to let a woman run for president yet), she has done something important.