Not too long ago, I was working in the other room while my darling husband was flipping back and forth between msnbc and fox news (as usual). Mdh says he gets a more balanced view by seeing what each side says about the same issues. I say it makes me feel as if my head is going to explode. I usually just try to tune out the scream machine at about this point in the four year cycle of bi-polar politics, as I prepare for the inevitable onslaught of the next election season; but something broke through. It was the voice of someone stating simple, obvious, and yet previously unheard things that just made sense. This person was not spouting the usual inflammatory, confrontational, or polarizing rhetoric; and he didn't come off as rude, hateful or arrogant. But the things he said resounded as true.
I heard myself asking, "Who IS that?".
Mdh told me his name was Herman Cain.
"I like him" I said, "He should run for office"
Mdh said, "I think he is".
"Good!What office?"
"President, I think"
"Whoa, nothing like starting at the top! He'd better watch it though; There'll be a target on his back. He'll be fresh meat to the press and the popular kids in D.C. They don't usually like outsiders honing in on their territory."
Today a friend forwarded an email to me listing this man's credentials (which are impressive). I haven't fact-checked it or run it through snopes or anything, so I don't know if it is completely accurate. Doesn"t matter. There's lots of folks out there with impressive resumes that I wouldn't trust with my spare change, let alone the fate of the country. This guy?...Maybe.
I think I'm going to find out more about him. Like, is he a good husband and father? Does he care about others? Is he a self-made man who takes responsibility for his own actions, or was he born to wealth and privilege? Does he blame others for his struggles? Does he think that the best way to get ahead is to put someone else down? Can he work together with those whose views are counter to his own? Does he have a deep respect for life and the institution of the family? Does he understand that the borders of US government extend beyond Washington; or does he look down on people from out west, or up north, or down south? Does he have any idea of the place of America within the global community? The responsibility the powerful have to help the powerless.....
Apparently he spoke in a debate recently. Now I don't usually put much stock in political debates. What they should be is an opportunity to see whose views most closely line up with your own so that you can vote for that person when the time comes. However, the media has convinced us to treat these debates like sporting events that are "won" or "lost" based on the number of jabs each opponent can get in (advantage, of course, going to the younger, cuter, taller guy, simply because he's...well... younger, cuter and taller). All that's missing, to complete the picture, is that microphone descending from the arena ceiling on a long cord at the beginning of the event and the announcer...er...excuse me...mediator grabbing it and opening with, "Let's Get Ready To RUMBLE!..." (and maybe a few Vegas-type girls in sequins and stilettos sashaying around with score cards). Of course the media also puts their own spin on everything using camera angles, strategic cut-aways and "thoughtful analysis" to tell us what we saw and what we heard. The color commentators lay it out for us clearly so that we understand who's in and who's out based on a very complicated PC pecking order that we wouldn't be able to figure out on our own, but which is designed to maintain the status quo at all costs. As an audience, we are unwittingly placed in the uncomfortable role of European judges, scoring the competitors according to a pre-determined ranking that favors the hometown hero (IE. the candidate chosen by the network broadcasting the event).
Still, I think I'll try to find this one online and watch it anyway;, just because I want to hear this guy speak again.
Maybe on C-SPAN, though.
A little less spin, a little more span.
Wait...darn it! It looks like they didn't cover it.
Hmmm, I guess he's not their hometown hero.
Okay, then, I'm stuck with the networks cutting and pasting what was said into a seamless symphony of soundbites that conveys their own version of reality.
Arghh! Why can't I find the entire unedited version online? Is it a space issue? Isn't the internet, well, world-wide? Anyways, if you're more successful than me at finding it, please send me the link.
Otherwise it looks like we're stuck with the usual suspects:
(deep sigh)
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44859731/ns/today-today_news/t/cain----plan-seize-spotlight-debate/
or
http://www.foxnews.com/topics/politics/herman-cain.htm
Best Cain quote so far:
"History isn't necessarily a predictor of the future."
