Well, I guess things are returning to normal after last week’s earthquake in Haiti. Today, Robin Roberts was back to making inane comments about football on Good Morning America, and the main story on MSN is no longer the disaster. Images of the dead and dying have been replaced as of this morning by news of the Golden Globes. The stars were out last night, expressing their gratitude and their solidarity with the people of Haiti. Touching.
Over the weekend, I was a bit surprised that some humor – unintentional probably – crept into the news. I was almost ashamed of myself for having a good laugh at the brief remarks made in the Rose Garden by Obama and the two men he’s asked to lead the country’s efforts to help the people of Haiti, Bill Clinton and W. It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year since W. was our president because on Sunday morning I was caught completely off guard by his presence. I forgot what he’s like. He swaggered to the podium, very much like a cowboy, and made some comments that were either completely off the wall or truly clever. “Now, I know a lot of you want to send food, and, and other provisions,” he said. Listening to W. speak is like watching a toddler take his first, tentative steps: you know he is going to fall at some point. I cannot tell if he drawls, or twangs, or, as a result of talking out of the side of his mouth, both. Anyhow, he went on. “But what we need, what we really need here is your cash.” Then he smirked at everyone – I had forgotten how good he is at doing that – and said, “You can trust us with your cash.” Was that a slam on Obama not being able to manage the bankers? Was it a slam on Clinton’s reputation as a notorious compulsive liar? Was it self-deprecation? Or was it just W stammering his way through yet another occasion that should have been dignified and solemn? I have no idea, but I thought it was hilarious.
On Sunday, the president went to Massachusetts to rally the troops in support of the woman running for the senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy. My laughter over that is more along the lines of gallows humor, but man, if I don’t laugh I’m afraid of the options. The entire healthcare reform issue, we are told, is, in a way, riding on this one election for this one seat in the U. S. Senate, a fact that strikes me as a cartoon in the making considering there are more than 300 million people living in this country. According to the news, one of the factors making the race too close to call is the statement the Democratic candidate made about someone being a Yankees fan. The fact that we cannot manage to put together a healthcare system that works for everyone is, on some level, comical; the fact that an election that could determine if our half-assed attempt at doing so could feasibly be impacted by a comment about a sports team is hysterical, in my opinion. I suppose I should be grateful it wasn’t a comment about football.
But it was the president himself, I thought, who provided the most fodder. He parachuted in to “fire up” the crowd, speaking about speaking up not just for the privileged few, but for all of us, the people. The Democrat, he rumbled, has the crowd’s back. “But her opponent,” he said, “has Wall Street’s back.” I apologize in advance if this sounds like a racist remark, especially since it’s on the day we pretend to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, but Obama’s words, to me, were like the pot calling the kettle black.
Over the weekend, I was a bit surprised that some humor – unintentional probably – crept into the news. I was almost ashamed of myself for having a good laugh at the brief remarks made in the Rose Garden by Obama and the two men he’s asked to lead the country’s efforts to help the people of Haiti, Bill Clinton and W. It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a year since W. was our president because on Sunday morning I was caught completely off guard by his presence. I forgot what he’s like. He swaggered to the podium, very much like a cowboy, and made some comments that were either completely off the wall or truly clever. “Now, I know a lot of you want to send food, and, and other provisions,” he said. Listening to W. speak is like watching a toddler take his first, tentative steps: you know he is going to fall at some point. I cannot tell if he drawls, or twangs, or, as a result of talking out of the side of his mouth, both. Anyhow, he went on. “But what we need, what we really need here is your cash.” Then he smirked at everyone – I had forgotten how good he is at doing that – and said, “You can trust us with your cash.” Was that a slam on Obama not being able to manage the bankers? Was it a slam on Clinton’s reputation as a notorious compulsive liar? Was it self-deprecation? Or was it just W stammering his way through yet another occasion that should have been dignified and solemn? I have no idea, but I thought it was hilarious.
On Sunday, the president went to Massachusetts to rally the troops in support of the woman running for the senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy. My laughter over that is more along the lines of gallows humor, but man, if I don’t laugh I’m afraid of the options. The entire healthcare reform issue, we are told, is, in a way, riding on this one election for this one seat in the U. S. Senate, a fact that strikes me as a cartoon in the making considering there are more than 300 million people living in this country. According to the news, one of the factors making the race too close to call is the statement the Democratic candidate made about someone being a Yankees fan. The fact that we cannot manage to put together a healthcare system that works for everyone is, on some level, comical; the fact that an election that could determine if our half-assed attempt at doing so could feasibly be impacted by a comment about a sports team is hysterical, in my opinion. I suppose I should be grateful it wasn’t a comment about football.
But it was the president himself, I thought, who provided the most fodder. He parachuted in to “fire up” the crowd, speaking about speaking up not just for the privileged few, but for all of us, the people. The Democrat, he rumbled, has the crowd’s back. “But her opponent,” he said, “has Wall Street’s back.” I apologize in advance if this sounds like a racist remark, especially since it’s on the day we pretend to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, but Obama’s words, to me, were like the pot calling the kettle black.
