The Incredibles

Late summer is supposed to be a slow season for news, and what usually happens as a result is that the major media make a habit of trotting out all the shopworn "human interest stories" that have been on the back burner for months, just waiting for a break in the stream of serious events. This August has been a bit kinder to the media, what with the Edwards meltdown, the Olympics, Russia vs. Georgia (not an Olympic event -- at least not yet), and the "whack-a-mole" contest between "presumptive candidates" Obama and McCain, each of whose campaigns seem to have more ups and downs than the stock market. I think this election demonstrates what happens when the electorate, or their representatives, go overboard in striving for "parity". It's kind of like the NFL, which -- using the draft system and salary ceilings -- has succeeded in making the outcome of any particular season not significantly different from random. But that's the American way, isn't it -- "fairness" at all costs. Plus, it more than implies that it won't really make a whole lot of difference who wins in November -- nothing significant is likely to change. Either candidate, upon taking office, will find himself co-opted, thwarted, threatened, blackmailed, and thoroughly subdued -- rendered a figurehead in short order, and expected to sport a pasted-on smile for the balance of his pathetic term. The powers that be are entrenched. They know what's going to happen for the next four years -- i.e. what they will _allow_ to happen. It's like the auto makers who already know what each model car is going to look like for the next ten years. It might surprise the consumer (or voter), but it certainly won't surprise anyone who's in the know. But in a sense this is reassuring, in that it exposes primaries, and elections, as the empty exercises they are, and thus lets the voters (or the non-voters) totally off the hook. I mean, how guilty would you feel about government policies if you lived in the Roman Empire, for example? You wouldn't feel guilty at all, because you'd realize that it was completely beyond your control, or even your ken. We need to adopt an attitude more like that in this country, then we can relax and start enjoying life rather than being obsessed with politics.

But !! Having said all that, I do have to point out two instances of utter lunacy -- or potential lunacy -- that have gone virtually unnoticed by the MSM, which shows you how far they have gone in the direction of capitulating to the absurd. The first is the belief -- rumor -- urban myth -- what have you, that Hillary Clinton, along with her pet pit bull, might actually try to "steal" the nomination from Obama at the convention in Denver. Now, the fact that this is being seriously discussed tells you a lot of things. Number one, that people -- especially the Democrats -- believe that the Clintons are actually capable of doing such a thing. As far as that goes, they are right -- the Clintons are indeed capable of that sort of thing, and much more as well. And yes, they would rather be the co-captains of the Titanic than crew members on any other ship. But say, regardless of what the Clintons are or are not personally capable of, could this "palace coup" actually succeed? I mean, is it within the rules of the convention, and of the primaries? Because if it is, what on earth meaning did the primaries have? And what sort of voice do the primary voters have? If the "superdelegates" can march into Denver and steal the nomination from "the people", what sort of party is the Democrats anyway? Well, we already know the answer to that one.

The second bit of overlooked lunacy is that there is actually serious, calm, cool-headed discussion going on in Washington, and in the McCain camp, as to the advisability of us undertaking a direct, face-to-face military confrontation with Russia over Georgia. Yes, that's right -- we're going to start World War III (or IV, or V, depending on your count) over a place the size of Maryland that most Americans couldn't find on a map. (Of course, they couldn't find the State of Georgia on a map either, but let that go for now.) A war that we managed -- for 60 years! -- to avoid over equally- or more-important places or issues is now going to be waged over some little mountain hideaway on the Black Sea? In a country where sanity was still held to be a desirable trait for politicians to possess, anyone who proposed such a thing would be locked up immediately. But no, we have to put up with the spectacle of his running for president on the ticket of a major party. And of course, the Bush administration is kicking themselves for not fast-tracking Georgia into NATO, so we could already be landing troops on the beaches, mounting attacks by air, and talking about "troop surges" and "staying the course" and "not cutting and running". Putin is, of course, acutely aware of all of this and is playing us like a violin, making the efforts of Israel and Iran, e.g., look like amateur hour. He knows that Russia has all the cards in that part of the world, and we have none, and he's not the least bit shy about showing us that fact, up close and personal and in our faces. And rightfully so, I might add, in view of our continuing folly in Afghanistan and Iran. He might have been willing to grant us the upper hand in the Western Hemisphere, notwithstanding places like Venezuela and Bolivia -- but the "former" Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact are his turf, and he knows it, and we know it too, frankly... but no one wants to admit it. The "New World Order" is starting to look a whole lot like the old one... and guess who is having a hard time adjusting to the fact.