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A Truly Maverick Candidate
4/9/08 07:59So this morning the Spouse and I were sitting around reading The New York Times while listening to the homey sounds of Avocado preparing to head off to school. There is, of course, oodles of coverage of the Republican National Convention, which appears to be taking place as far from reality as one can get without actually stepping over into the Borderlands and having elves give keynote addresses. I can't read too much of the coverage (and have refused to watch the damned thing on TV) because I get too upset, which is not good for the rational thinking processes, let alone my stomach lining. But I do scan the op-ed pages, which sometimes leads me back into the straight news sections, in order to find out what the hell David Brooks or Maureen Dowd are going on about.
In one of today's columns, Gail Collins mentioned that as part of her speech last night Sarah Palin addressed the media: "Here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to win their good opinion." Collins then noted:
This led the Spouse and me into a discussion of manners, particularly among the more right-ward commentators. It's disingenuous, I suppose, to say that Dems and liberals never ever display the lip-smacking nastiness of a Michael Savage, but overall, the discourse on the right seems ruder to me.
And that's when I had an idea. An older white male, meticulous, well-spoken, and impeccably polite. Almost certainly politically and socially conservative. Yes, he's got a temper (well, so does John McCain), but think of how he'd raise the level of discourse. It's not about the policies, it's about personalities, and this guy has a reputation as a compelling, magnetic speaker; twenty years of fascinating the American public.
Here's to a return of civility in conservative discourse: Hannibal Lecter for President! At least you know he'll be polite while he's ripping your throat out.
In one of today's columns, Gail Collins mentioned that as part of her speech last night Sarah Palin addressed the media: "Here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to win their good opinion." Collins then noted:
This was shortly after two very prominent Republican commentators got caught trashing Palin's candidacy when they thought an MSNBC microphone had been turned off. There has been a lot of that going around this year, people. We can do better. In the years to come, let us teach our children that if you can't say anything nice about someone, step away from the voice enhancement equipment.
This led the Spouse and me into a discussion of manners, particularly among the more right-ward commentators. It's disingenuous, I suppose, to say that Dems and liberals never ever display the lip-smacking nastiness of a Michael Savage, but overall, the discourse on the right seems ruder to me.
And that's when I had an idea. An older white male, meticulous, well-spoken, and impeccably polite. Almost certainly politically and socially conservative. Yes, he's got a temper (well, so does John McCain), but think of how he'd raise the level of discourse. It's not about the policies, it's about personalities, and this guy has a reputation as a compelling, magnetic speaker; twenty years of fascinating the American public.
Here's to a return of civility in conservative discourse: Hannibal Lecter for President! At least you know he'll be polite while he's ripping your throat out.