Dave's Fiction Warehouse

In which I bloviate about books, TV, movies, politics and other stuff.

  • Books
  • Movies
  • TV
  • politics
  • Other Stuff
  • thatfuckingtrump

Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Twitter

Powered by Genesis

The promises they make

February 22, 2012 by Dave Knadler

santorum, romney and gingrich debate in arizona

Mitt's big zinger for the night.

I started off watching the Republican debate last night, but quickly tired of it. So I switched over to the American Experience documentary on the Clintons.

That wasn’t exactly riveting either, but the comparison between the two shows was instructive: What people are willing to say while grasping for the presidency, and what they’re willing to abandon after they get it. All the tough, high-flown promises to “reclaim this country” sound even more hollow when juxtaposed with recent history. Clinton made the same claims, just as Obama did, and the country always seems to stumble along pretty much as before. One of these days I’m going to get cynical about this.

bill clinton american experience

Those were the days.

No, I don’t think Clinton was a terrible president. As the documentary makes clear, he was a brilliant politician who had quite a few impressive accomplishments. As the documentary also makes clear, he occasionally displayed the judgment of a drunken frat boy. So did his successor, now that I think of it — and at a far higher cost to the country.

But that’s the past. At the CNN debate last night, John King tried gamely to keep the Republicans focused on the future. According to the master debaters, the future looks something like this:

Immediate repeal of “Obamacare.” Immediate repeal of all entitlement spending, except that which various lobbyists demand. Immediate ban on earmarks, except those deemed important to particular congressmen. Immediate end to foreign aid, except to countries who do us favors. Immediate oil exploration and drilling to immediately bring the price of gasoline to precisely $2.50 a gallon (unless there’s a war or something). Finally, immediately getting government out of business oversight and more deeply involved in whether women should have babies.

Ah, those utopian dreams. Men seeking office always seem to chew more than they bite off. Rick Santorum, drunk on the strong cocktail of righteousness and short-term fame, is starting to sound a bit like the Islamists he purports to despise. Romney, watching his campaign sag like a day-old birthday balloon, spends all his allotted time talking about the Olympics. Gingrich, finally aware that he will never be president, is finally back to just being caustic. And Paul, increasingly querulous, seems to be going all-in on that perennial favorite of not spending a penny on anything.

Decisions, decisions.

More along these lines:

  • Heads will roll
  • Beauty isn’t everything. Right?Beauty isn’t everything. Right?
  • mitt romney iowa eight votesJust give him the nomination now
  • bangladesh koch capitalismA capitalist utopia in Bangladesh
  • homeland crew 2012 emmy awardsThe best shows I’ve never seen

Filed Under: politics, tv

About Dave Knadler

Obscure writer. Lazy photographer. Bashful guitarist. Perhaps too fond of wine. Tireless nemesis of New York Times crosswords.

Comments

  1. John H. says

    February 23, 2012 at 10:35 am

    In junior high school, candidates for class president used to promise things like “Coca-Cola in the drinking fountains!” Over the years, I’ve come to the sad realization that nearly all campaign promises are essentially the same as those first ones I remember.

    I did recently figure out something, though: The phrase, “is not a true Conservative” translates to, “doesn’t appear to hate women and minorities as much as we do”.

Recent posts

  • Not throwing away
    my shot
  • February fugue
  • None the wiser
  • The shit keeps coming
  • Unmasked annoyance

Recent comments

  • John H. on Not throwing away
    my shot
  • John H. on February fugue
  • John H. on None the wiser
  • Melanie on None the wiser
  • John H. on The shit keeps coming

FInd something

send dave cash

The obligatory PayPal donation button. Go ahead: Make my day.