Please stand up. Please stand up. Every hero needs his sidekick, just like every President needs a VP. But Mitt Romney is his own sidekick, seemingly a different person every day, offering views and visions for America that are often at odds with words he spoke years, months or even days ago. Psychologists call this bi-polar; sociologists call this politics. In Massachusetts Romney governed as a liberal (even by New England standards). He was critical of the war, supportive of gay marriage and supportive of a woman’s right to abortion. But Romney became a new man somewhere along the ‘08 campaign trail, abandoning the leftist platform that got him elected Governor. And now he’s asking the public to forget his four years of service and name him the next President of the United States. But speaking of heroes, Romney’s persona most resembles Batman’s Two-Face. And while I am no comic book reader I can infer, based on the mug shot above, that Two-Face is the villain. If you cast your vote for Romney, ask yourselves which Mitt you’re voting for.
The ritual of mourning takes on new meaning in America whenever a hero has fallen. Heath Ledger may have merely played heroes on the big screen but when it comes to the sanctity of celebrity, how he lived his ‘real’ life doesn’t matter much. In America a pedestal is always preserved for celebrity, and our celebrities serve as role models, heroes — even gods. When news broke of his death, New York’s never-stop work world froze, as strangers weighed in on the tragedy as if he were a close cousin. Even I couldn’t resist a text or two. Camera crews swarmed his NYC residences, providing weeklong coverage of every nailbiting detail from authorities finding him nude, to phone calls made to Mary-Kate Olsen and Michelle Williams’ grim return home. Meanwhile deli workers, neighbors and passerbys cashed in on 15 seconds of fame, claiming to have ties to the famous family. Coverage didn’t quite compare to Princess Di or Kurt Cobain’s death but remained ubiquitous nonetheless. What it is it about these mythic celebrities that we simply cannot resist? Perhaps the excesses of celebrity culture make the ordinary feel more in control or could it be the romanticized notion of being unordinary that lures us into a life we viracariously aim to be a part of?
‘Faith’ and ‘Hope,’ ‘Hope and ‘Faith.’ The words are more than common stage names for strippers. They’re part of the religious political rhetoric permeating the 2008 presidential election. Pandering to the parishes is more than a strategic move to earn our country’s most crucial job. It’s absolutely necessary given the rising influence of the religious Right — but wrongly so. Why was JFK’s Catholicism so historical? Why is Romney’s Mormon beliefs held under such scrutiny? Why are we assuming Huckabee’s experience as a pastor makes him an ethical leader? And why are debates riddled with questions of The Bible? Any U.S. citizen can file a suit against an employer — including government — that questions their faith throughout the hiring/interview process. It’s time the application process for president follow that philosophy. Additionally, this discussion negates our Constitution’s First Amendment. While America prohibits government endorsement of a specific religion, we force our leaders to discuss a private preference within the public realm. If the separation of church and state garnered the respect it deserves, religious quizzing of presidential candidates would have ceased decades ago.
Two multiplied negative numbers create a positive number. But it is also learned that two wrongs don’t make a right. So when one media outlet calls out another on racist commentary, is it part of the solution or the problem? According to the powers that be at Golfweek magazine, they’re part of the problem. The magazine fired editor Dave Seanor after electing to run an image of a noose on the publication’s cover. The cover story responded to the Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman’s racially-charged commentary directed toward Tiger Woods — a commentary that included the word ‘lynch.’ The symbolic cover walks that tightrope of controversy but Seanor should be applauded for scrutinizing Tilghman’s words. While Seanor — who suspected advertising pressures played a role in his departure — lost his job, Tilghman merely faces a two-week suspension. In an interview with Michael Arkush, Seanor said: “When race and golf are in the same sentence, people want to change the subject as soon as they can.” Perhaps the wealthy white readership isn’t ready for this dialogue; perhaps Golfweek wasn’t the venue for a race discussion. But in 2008 it should be.
While New Yorkers know Rudy Giuliani isn’t the Sept. 11 hero he claims to be, his campaign has been fairly successful in convincing the rest of the country that he is. Joe Biden said it best when he characterized the GOP candidate as only speaking with ‘a noun, a verb and a 9/11.’ The exploitation of the tragedy permeates all he does on the campaign trail – from debates, speeches and political ads (see below). While admittedly neglecting to campaign in states he feels don’t matter, don’t count him out yet. He’ll return with his 9/11 rhetoric once the primaries hit the more populous states. His fear-mongering messages aren’t over yet but let’s take the lead of his children and start tuning him out. Don’t fret yet Rudy: you’ll always have a career hosting “Saturday Night Live.”
It must be nice to be financially self-sufficient enough to CHOOSE to be unemployed for months. As a non-unionized writer, my sympathy is scarce. The Writers Guild of America strike’s crippling effect goes far beyond the detriment of the Golden Globe Awards, it is further saturating network TV with reality shows, placing some of the saddest excuses for humanity in our living rooms, by swapping spouses, holding pretentious cook-offs, or partaking in game shows with asinine plots. I know, I know: network TV programming is subpar to begin with…flooded with quirky hospital shows, far-fetched crime dramas and formulaic sitcoms driven by the mother-knows best wife at odds with her child-like husband. But I’m tired of seeing Johnny redneck, the pushy black broad, the token gay & Co. co-exist on late-night TV. I’m on episode 15 of the Heroes: Season 1 DVDs; the networks have 9 episodes to get their act together. Until then, feel free to start making Monday night plans with me again.
The ABC debate stage was a little less crowded Saturday night as ‘08 presidential hopefuls skipped the event but not necessarily by choice. Democrats Joe Biden and Chris Dodd opted for an early exit after performing poorly in Iowa but gatekeepers at the network, owned by the Walt Disney Co., uninvited Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel based on poor polling numbers — a relatively commonplace practice. Though challenged by Kucinich, the plea will likely fall on deaf ears with the FCC. And this is what we call democracy in action: a system of overzealously regulated presidential debates which are completely a product of the candidates, who negotiate all terms with the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), enabling the two-party system to control content and stifle third-party momentum. Types of questions, time of questioning, rebuttal process, audience demographics — even the arrangement of tables and podiums are agreed upon by the participants. Open Debates, a nonprofit group, has challenged CPD format but the general public remains unaware of the fact that U.S. presidential debates are as rehearsed as Broadway’s Mamma Mia!
Veteran journalist and former “Dateline” reporter John Hockenberry ripped former employer NBC earlier this week, claiming the network dumbed down its 9/11 coverage. According to Hockenberry, who NBC laid off in 2005, GE (the network’s owner) discouraged him from interviewing Bin Laden’s relatives. He also charges that NBC programming chief Jeff Zucker steered him away from reporting on al Qaeda, insisting instead that he shadow firefighters in a “Cops” style segment. NBC denies all allegations but let’s be reminded of recent network examples of Fox-mimicking coverage and sensationalism: “To Catch a Predator,” airing reports on the arrests of Britney, Lindsay, Paris & co. on the nightly news (after vowing they would not) and the release of the video made by the Virginia Tech killer. People used to think NBC and Fox weren’t cut from the same cloth – now they’re not so sure.
