The Rutherford Lawson Blog

The folks at JibJab have done it again. What I love is that they are equal opportunity offenders. This clip hits everyone from Bush to Cheney to both Clintons, McCain and Obama.

Enjoy!

Respectfully,
Rutherford

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This appears to be an interesting week for coincidences. Two interesting ones come immediately to mind.

First, in the I’m Really Not Gay, Make Me Your Veep department, Florida Governor Charlie Crist has announced he is engaged … to a woman (remember, this is Florida, not California). A confirmed bachelor for the past 29 years, Crist has been the subject of at least some speculation as to his sexual preferences. Now, I’m not saying Charlie is really gay (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but isn’t the timing just a little too perfect? Certainly makes him a more “acceptable” choice for VP (particularly from a GOP point of view).

Second, in the I Just Happened To Be In The Neighborhood department, John McCain makes a trip to Colombia and many in the media scratch their heads. Why in the world would he go to Colombia when he’s got millions of American voters to win over in less than four months? Ahhh but while he is there a truckload of hostages are rescued from Colombian radicals and he is given the scoop on it before anyone else, thereby confirming his status as a world leader. Hollywood screen writer John Ridley remarked on Thursday’s “Morning Joe” that the timing seemed awfully odd. I have to agree with him. McCain’s got folks in his campaign with Colombian connections. It is not farfetched at all to surmise that John was given a wink-wink nudge-nudge that if he showed up in Colombia this week, there might be something in it for him. If there is any truth to it, it takes media manipulation to a whole new level.

Of course, the other thing that these coincidences highlight is that we have been lied to by our government so many times that we don’t take any news at face value anymore. Sometimes an engagement is just an engagement and a trip to Colombia is just a trip to Colombia.

Or is it?

Respectfully,
Rutherford

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I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Last Friday evening, in The McCain Update, an e-mail newsletter sent out to supporters, McCain provided a link sure to interest those young video game enthusiasts who, left to their own devices, might vote for Obama.

Right there on John’s campaign web site was Pork Invaders. I kid you not. Pork Invaders, in which you use your keyboard to move your “veto” gun back and forth and fire at a brigade of little pigs (no, I’m not making this up). If you manage to move from one level to the next, you are rewarded a snippet of anti-Obama propaganda concerning how much “pork” Obama has pushed through Senate legislation.

John’s game of course is patterned after Space Invaders. Space Invaders, folks, was invented in 1978. Wow, sure shows just how “hip” John is. Now I’m just waiting for John to show his youth appeal by writing campaign ditties to be sung to the melodies of Elvis Presley’s greatest hits. Does it get any cooler than this?

To those who feel they just don’t get enough excitement from my blog, I provide for you below a link to Pork Invaders. Fire away!

http://www.johnmccain.com/videogame/invaders/

Respectfully,
Rutherford

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There is only one thing that bothers me about the recent Obama flip flop on campaign finance. He started his statement to his supporters by saying that he would be foregoing more than $80 million in funding by opting out of public financing. Why on Earth did he say that and why did his handlers let him say that? The $80 mil he is “foregoing” is a drop in the bucket compared to what he has and what he will continue to raise. Why he felt he needed to frame this in the context of sacrifice is beyond me.

That said, the idea that this flip flop makes him a typical pol is ridiculous. A typical pol, works within the current system and plays it for all it’s worth. McCain will stick with public financing and let the 527’s do the dirty work for him in the traditional fashion. Rather than being a typical pol, Obama is going outside the established system and is really running a campaign “of the people”.  As other pundits have noted, Obama’s approach makes him beholden to no one. He has millions of small contributors, none of whom alone can unduly influence his policies. For that matter, his flip flop is not of the gargantuan proportions that McCain supporters would have you believe. Almost from the minute that Obama signed the “pledge” he started hedging, indicating that he would only accept public financing if he was assured that the playing field with McCain would be fair. He has obviously figured out that a fair fight this year means he needs all the money he can get. It’s a very sensible decision.

I guess the other thing that puzzles me is if public campaign funding is provided by tax payer dollars, why wouldn’t conservatives be overjoyed that their tax money is not going towards Obama’s campaign?

Respectfully,
Rutherford

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It seems as though in this election season we have hit the trifecta of “ism’s”. There have been accusations of racism where Obama is concerned, sexism where Clinton is concerned and most recently ageism where McCain is concerned. The mistake we make is lumping these three together. I see them as distinctly different.

In a class by itself is racism. The racist often has no acquaintances of the “opposite” race. His or her racist beliefs are grounded in stereotypes, what they’ve seen on TV or some extrapolation from the behavior of a select few to the larger group. Barack Obama’s candidacy shows how little racism relates to reality. He does not match negative stereotypes of African Americans. He is more like the so-called average white person than many of the white folks who discount him based on race. Racism, especially in the context of this presidential election comes up utterly absurd.

Sexism is a different animal entirely. This is not to say that sexism is defensible. It is not. However most males have had a woman in their lives. Men form their attitudes about women not only based on stereotype but very much based on behavior of role models. How did their mother behave towards them? How did their father treat their mother? How do they get along with their wife, daughter or sister? Mike Barnicle, columnist for the Boston Herald, has himself in hot water because he said several months ago that Hillary reminds every man of his first wife at probate court. Was this a nice thing to say? Certainly not. But it stems from Hillary’s then shrill manner reminding Barnicle of women he knows. The ways in which men and women relate cut deep into the male psyche. Hillary Clinton’s candidacy was an emotional trigger for many men. The women in our lives have behaved in ways that serve as context for Clinton’s behavior. This form of sexism is based on behavioral experience and cannot be accurately compared to racism based on total ignorance. (It should be added that there are other forms of sexism that do compare with racism. Assumptions about women’s mental and physical capacity, or what role they should play in life are equally offensive and irrational as racist assumptions. But much of the so called sexism suffered by Hillary related to behavior and how that behavior fit into the context of how men relate to the women in their lives.)

Now we come to ageism, a whole other bag of fish. To say, based on a number, that any random individual is incapable of being a good presidential candidate is absurd. The trick with applying the age issue to McCain is that it fits. It is not ageism, it is the accurate recognition of the role age plays in McCain’s candidacy. We can put aside the fact that he shuffles when he walks and that he doesn’t cut the most convincing presidential figure. Heck, FDR was in a wheelchair. Where McCain’s age seems to play a more relevant role is in his beliefs. The man is stuck back in the 60’s. How he can make occupation of Iraq equivalent to occupation of Japan or Germany shows that he does not understand the current situation. He is applying old models to new circumstances and he does not see the mismatch. He is rightfully “confused” between Sunni and Shia because he does not recognize that the Iraq instability is not the old Korea/Germany model of communism/socialism. It is not a social problem, it is a religious problem. McCain does not get it.

Does this mean that any candidate of McCain’s age would be similarly unable to move into the 21st century? Of course not. Being old does not mean you can’t stay current. However, in McCain’s case I think it does. For McCain, his age, where he has been and what he has seen have limited his ability to be effective.

So, while we acknowledge and examine ageism, racism and sexism in this presidential race, let us not oversimplify the matter. They are not the same phenomenon, neither in their root causes nor in their application to the various candidates.

Respectfully,
Rutherford

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Frank Rich wrote an excellent OP-ED in today’s New York Times regarding the incredible bias shown by the media when they incessantly loop Reverend Wright’s sound bites but give very little coverage to Reverend John Hagee.

To help counter this bias, I present Rev. Hagee in all his bigoted glory. As you watch this, please remember that John McCain actively pursued this man’s endorsement.

While we’re at it, let’s take another look at a former friend of the Republican party, who if he were not dead, would still be a friend of the Republican party. His sidekick, Pat Robertson was embraced by Rudy Giuliani without anyone batting an eye. This clip is recorded a mere two days after the 9/11 tragedy.

Black ministers have not cornered the market on nutjobs. Until the main stream media lives up to the standard of fair and balanced, they need to stop pointing the disdaining finger at Fox News.

Respectfully,
Rutherford

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