If everyone read the NYTimes, the Republicans wouldn't stand a chance come November. Should they read it, they might discover that half of the most emailed articles today were about the failings of Sarah Palin, John McCain, or both. The most damning of these was some pretty in-depth reporting on the how just exactly how Sarah Palin likes to conduct politics - that would be in secret and with a great deal of vengeance (see #9 below soon to be the most-emailed article!). No wonder Karl Rove's in love with her.But they don't. No instead, many Americans are like the elderly over-weight group of white men and their families I sat across from in the Taco Bell in the hood yesterday while gathering a brief respite from Tropical Storm downpours that have pelted the Midwest for 3 days. Bubba, Bubba Jr., and Bubba brother-in-law were throwing around mocking phrases about "Barack Hussein" imitating Jesus and how, if elected, Barack, would surely have his Nigerian brother-in-law installed as Secretary of the Environment and gas prices would rise to $5 dollars a gallon. Forget the fact that that gas will reach $4.25 by the middle of next week, and that mocking Jesus, is well, kinda un-Christian for a bunch of conservative Christians. None of that matters when Sarah America will be on SNL field-dressing a caribou/moose/polar bear before the month's out.
Every day that the news is filled with hurricanes and soccer-moms is one less day that Americans have a chance to learn about the issues that face us in the very near future. All those windows blown from the Morgan Stanley building onto the sidewalks of Houston by Hurrican Ike might seem prescient in a 3 months when the economy is still woeful. All those opportunities to talk issues replaced by scary-ads about sex and kindergardeners mean we're losing the battle to educate our population. Every time the presidential election goes in the mud and comes up spitting bile the Republican win and the people lose.
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Most emailed articles from the NYTimes for Saturday, Sept. 13th.
1. Bob Herbert: She’s Not Ready
2. Editorial: Gov. Palin’s Worldview
3. Paul Krugman: Blizzard of Lies
4. McCain Barbs Stirring Outcry as Distortions
5. The Key to Wedded Bliss? Money Matters
6. In Tangle of Young Lips, a Sex Rebellion in Chile
7. 36 Hours in San Francisco
8. Gail Collins: The Year of the Cloned Candidates
9. In Office, Palin Hired Friends and Hit Critics
10. The Bipolar Puzzle