Last night’s Obama-McCain Presidential debate was devoid of surprises. Even Russia had a place. Given “Russia’s resurgence” as they like to say in the news, it becoming a brief focus of the debate isn’t even novel. Before getting to that here of some of my general impressions about last night’s performance.
I’ve struggled to come up with one word to describe this performance and the only one I could come up with was: Boring. I watched the CNN telecast, and the network must have known that boredom would be a factor. They tried to spice things up by plopping on screen their analysts scorecards and a meter at the bottom to register Democrat, Republican, and Independent “real-time” reactions (I’m struck how Independent has attained a discursive function similar the Soviet class category “Прочий” or “Other”).
In fact, it seems that “real time” was marketing tactic since the CNN pregame repeatedly reminded viewers that they could participate by giving their reactions in “real time” on the network’s website. That’s democracy in action, internet style. I suggest that a giant gong be hung for the next debate, where selected audience members can gong it when a candidate becomes boring or stupid. The person with the least amount of gongs wins. Where is Chuck Barris when you need him?
I tuned out after an hour. Jim Lehrer did his best to spice things up by urging the candidates to go tête-à-tête. From the bit I saw, Obama just couldn’t look McCain straight in the face. Perhaps this was out of civility or fear. McCain didn’t look at Obama at all. He seemed unable to turn his head. Maybe this was out of pure disrespect or something to do with his injuries. The old guy is pretty stiff.
One thing I noticed, or really my wife did, was how each candidate was dressed. Both McCain and Obama were colored in the American flag. Obama was in a dark blue suit, white shirt and red tie. McCain donned a blue suit, light blue (almost white) shirt, and a red and white striped tie. Red, White, and Blue. Ol’Glory. I can’t help wonder what the psycho-ideological affect this has. Everything is so managed in American democracy that, to invert Freud, sometimes a suit just isn’t a suit.
The democratic realism of it all, the careful effort by each candidate to stay within the bounds of acceptable political speech, while trying to portray his opponent as outside of it, stifled the range of each candidates’ opinions. Most of what each candidate said was predictable, making the debate merely performative. I think this is why Lehrer’s attempts to get them to engage each other fell flat. Each candidate didn’t want to talk to the other because the other was not the object of their words. Their interlocutor was the camera that mediated them and the “American people” or as McCain repeatedly said, “my friends.”
At some point, I think I figured that if I wanted to read restricted political speech, I’ll read a stenograph of a Stalinist Central Committee plenum. Like Stalin and the boys, McCain and Obama’s words were all surface. Whatever deeper meaning they had existed on a mystified genealogy of codes, slogans, gestures, and references. This was best exemplified by the fact that every time Obama said the meme “Bush” the Democrats in the audience pressed their little buttons in approval. Every time McCain said “cut spending” the Republicans responded in unison. The content that followed each of these memes was irrelevant.
Perhaps the whole scriptedness and smooth narratives of each candidate’s words is best revealed in what I did after I switched the plastic people off. I put on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas which has been sitting on my DVR for a few weeks. Now that I think of it, maybe my mind needed some kind of drug laden, non-narrative psychedelia to pull me out of the “real world.” Perhaps the stark “unreality” of the incoherent rambling of Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo (played excellently by Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro) was precisely what I needed to pull me out of the “reality” of the Presidential Debate. The irony of it all is quite striking . . .
Nevertheless, I seems that I tuned out to quickly. Russia did get special attention towards the debate’s end. Lehrer asked:
New lead question. Russia, goes to you, two minutes, Senator Obama. How do you see the relationship with Russia? Do you see them as a competitor? Do you see them as an enemy? Do you see them as a potential partner?
Obama was predictable as the sunrise. His words were peppered with the typical adjectives that tend to swirl around the word “Russia.” Words and phrases like “resurgent and very aggressive,” “unacceptable,” unwarranted,” “you cannot be a 21st-century superpower, or power, and act like a 20th-century dictatorship,” “fledgling democracies,” “[Georgia and Ukraine are] free to join NATO,” and “can’t return to a Cold War posture.”
My favorite was the constant reference to Russia and “the way they’ve been behaving.” Can there be a more explicit statement to how Americans see themselves as the Father and all other nations as children that need correction when they misbehave?
McCain didn’t say anything out of the ordinary either. He made references to how “Russia committed serious aggression against Georgia,” was “a nation fueled by petro-dollars that is basically a KGB apparatchik-run government,” “I looked into Mr. Putin’s eyes, and I saw three letters, a “K,” a “G,” and a “B,” “their aggression in Georgia is not acceptable behavior,” “I don’t believe we’re going to go back to the Cold War,” “Russian threats to regain their status of the old Russian to regain their status of the old Russian empire, and “the norms of international behavior.”
Is there any difference between these two in regard to Russia? Nope. Nothing. Zilch. Even Obama doesn’t think so. He said, “No, actually, I think Senator McCain and I agree for the most part on these issues.” Wonderful.
However trite their statements about Russia were, there were still some comments worth noting.
Obama:
“[The Russians] have to remove themselves from South Ossetia and Abkhazia.”
Good luck on that one my good Senator. Someone might want to let him know that there is no possibility of that.
Then there was this one:
They have not only 15,000 nuclear warheads, but they’ve got enough to make another 40,000, and some of those loose nukes could fall into the hands of al Qaeda.
Huh?
I was also struck by McCain’s move to political economy when talking about Russia. He said,
And that wasn’t just about a problem between Georgia and Russia. It had everything to do with energy.There’s a pipeline that runs from the Caspian through Georgia through Turkey. And, of course, we know that the Russians control other sources of energy into Europe, which they have used from time to time.
McCain the Marxist. If only a smidgen of this analysis would be applied to America’s own foreign policy, those in Washington would include, as noble prize winning economist Joseph Stigliz does, that Iraq is part of America’s economic insolvency.
In all, my impression of the debate, and the cadidates in general, is best expressed in the sacrosanct words of Dr. Gonzo, “I hate to say this, but this place is getting to me. I think I’m getting the fear”
Public opinion is controlled by the media.
This always intrigued me. Does media control your personal opinion? If not, and if you can avoid it, what makes you think others can’t?
As for freedom , could it be just a function of choice? The more choices are available, the more freedom exists at this given moment. A derivative of sorts.
“I’m sure I missed most of the jokes and references his contemporaries would have gotten immediately, but it was still a great story with plenty of amusing action and situations.”
Have you ever read Ovid? The Art of Love is brilliant. The material about how to pick up Hebrew women is particularly hilarious.
Also, I’m a big fan of Herodotus.
Xenophon is actually rather easy to read in Greek. My Greek is pretty crappy, but I can get through it (unlike, say, Plato, who is a beast). (The New Testament is also very, very simple.)
““Maybe in order to understand mankind we have to look at that word itself. MANKIND. Basically, it’s made up of two separate words
“mank” and “ind.” What do these words mean? It’s a mystery and that’s why so is mankind.” — Jack Handey”
Ah, Jack Handy the Stoic! And I had thought all his writings burned in the Library of Alexandria.
few notes about democracy, independent press and capitalism as the best system ever.
1. Democracy.
Whatever its definition might be – today it’s developed into system with one main goal – to GET ELECTED. It’s no longer presenting neither demos nor even its majority.
Accountability? Give me a brake…
Serving the country? But this has nothing to do with democracy, sorry. A person either serves the country – whether “elected”, appointed, hired or just been born there. Or a person just serving himself. If this require to “be elected” – he/she would play this game.
And “political parties” are nothing more then corporations. With specific “product” – bullshit for public – but anyway just business.
2. Free press.
Well, well, well… free press. When you are huge like corporation, when you are managed like corporation and – most important – when you are financed like corporation – you can’t be more free than corporation. Have anyone seen “free” corporation? The one that doesn’t care about market demand but only to produce “pure product”? Except Microsoft nothing comes to mind…
Of course individuals are allowed to say whatever they think. So what? This is part of the corporate game – to give illusion of “free speech”.
Situation is not that hopeless – thanks to few guys at CERN – but as of now “independent press” is pure BS.
3. Capitalism.
I was told that this is most effective system of economic and political organization and is also the end of History itself. And failure of “communism” is the main proof of it.
My only explanation about such BS – lack of Marx study at Western universities
PS. At the moment I’m “enjoying” the result of “oldest democracy” and “best capitalists” performance… Highly depressive (out)look I have to say…
PS. Don’t forget my 13-years old mentality!
BTW, who won the free VP debates?
When you are huge like corporation, when you are managed like corporation and – most important – when you are financed like corporation – you can’t be more free than corporation. Have anyone seen “free” corporation? The one that doesn’t care about market demand but only to produce “pure product”?
You are confused. Free press does not mean press independent of everything. It is not possible, since personal bias is just as much a dependence. Free press means independent from government dictate or coercion. And taking your appropriate analogy with corporations, as long as there is no corporate monopoly in press, it will continue to present various sides, just like corporations fighting for market niches produce different sneakers.
My only explanation about such BS – lack of Marx study at Western universities
Marx did not even understand that what he was analyzing was not capitalism yet. He came up with a brilliant method and then misapplied it because of an adolescent ideological bent.
BTW, who won the free VP debates?
Biden performed up to expectations. Palin slightly exceeded expectations. It’s either a draw or a small advantage to Palin.
So, Cyrill, you agree that democracy is about to get elected, don’t you?
PS.
So, Cyrill, you agree that democracy is about to get elected, don’t you?
No
An a happy Monday to all! (It’s 12:47 am local time.)
Ivanov, I read that the situation in Iceland is somewhat dire. I certainly hope it does not get much worse. It will interesting to see what how the markets behave in the US this week.
And in the Washinton Post, the eternally cheerful Murray Feshbach has a perky article on Russia titled:
“Behind the Bluster, Russia Is Collapsing — Dying Inside”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/03/AR2008100301976.html
And, sadly, the health of Russia’s newborns is quite poor, with about 70 percent of them experiencing complications at birth.
That caught my eye as an unbelievably high number. Until I thought is staphylococcus infection picked up in a maternity ward a complication at birth? My daughter was born в четвертом управлении – for those that know what it was – and she still got a severe infection that took about 9 months to get rid of. Nothing I have seen there recently suggest to me that things have changed drastically.
Some numbers in the article are dire to the point of looking improbable. On the other hand, after having witnessed health care in St. Petersburg, I am inclined to think that if they are exaggerated, then not by a whole lot.
Kolya.
Do you know how WP is called in Russia?
Washingtonskaya PRAVDA
So if you want to discuss what gazeta Pravda is writing – feel free. But I’m sick of even look at it.
PS. It’s funny to read “Palin slightly exceeded expectations.” about the person-to-be No.2 in the great states…indeed.
PS. Situation in Iceland is same as everywhere. Afloat on the deep pile of shit. How deep – we’ll find out soon…
I certainly hope that Murray Feshbach (the author of the Washington Post piece) is being too much of an alarmist. There is no denying, though, that he’s a serious scholar who’s been talking about the coming demographic difficulties in Russia years before anyone paid any attention to them and some of his past projections have come to pass.
As just about all major newspapers in countries with freedom of speech, the Washington Post has its problems. To dismiss it as another Pravda is to put your head under the sand.
The WaPo is worse than Pravda. “Freedom of speech” does not equal “quality of speech.”
PS. It’s funny to read “Palin slightly exceeded expectations.” about the person-to-be No.2 in the great states…indeed.
Is it helium that makes you giggle so much? For a Russian you are awfully giddy.
As for Palin, I wonder if any of her armchair critics have had experience in talking to even a minor audiences of, say a couple of thousands or any knowledge how to use TV camera in a live debate?
The WaPo is worse than Pravda.
Are we talking contemporary Pravda or that Communist mouthpiece of USSR?
NB: Not only did Colin Powell point out the lunacy of McCain-Palin, he also questioned the pro-Georgians. “The fact of the matter is that you have to be very careful in a situation like this not just to leap to one side or the other until you take a good analysis of the whole situation,” Powell said, tamping down the rush to herald the rise of a new Soviet threat.
“The Russian Federation is not going to become the Soviet Union again. That movie failed at the box office. But they do have interests. And we have to think carefully about their interests.”
After Powell’s fiasco at UN his words don’t have much value. For the former general he should have known what intelligence meant. So he lied then (as he doesn’t look like a stupid person to believe in that crap).
I also don’t remember him thinking carefully… enough. Of course he is much better then Condy but…