Daily Show Seems Biased At Times

Fox News, "fair and balanced." The fact that they feel it necessary to say that makes me question just how fair and balanced they are. I think their logic is, "People think we're unfair, unbalanced, so let's tell them they're wrong." The Daily Show usually seems totally unbiased, because they seem to make fun of all sides equally. Or do they?

Sometimes I find myself wondering why Jon Stewart went one way instead of another. Those times are rare, but when they happen, I worry that all the people who trust the Fake News will get swayed one direction not out of logical argument, but simply because of faith and belief in what Jon Stewart says.

I hope he can't be bought.

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Colbert For President?

I don't know......

I mean we all want change. Of course. Why else hold elections? But Colbert seems to present too great a change. If he were elected President, what might happen? Would other nations not take us as seriously? Would his ability to defend this country come into question? Would it embolden certain parties that should not be emboldened?

I think it might.

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No Candidate Is Good Enough?

A while back, the media was saying that this was going to be one important election, in which we the American people had the opportunity to turn things around once and for all with a great new President and a bright new future. I thought, "No matter who we vote for, it's all going to be great!" Hillary seemed awesome, Obama seemed awesome, Edwards seemed awesome, Huckabee showed potential, Giuliani seemed capable, Romney seemed moral, McCain seemed experienced... It all showed so much promise.

But recently I've been seeing a growing number of posts on the web about how each candidate is deeply flawed, and does their best to hide those flaws from the public. I really thought things might get better, but maybe I was deceived. Maybe I was wrong.

I heard one person say a long time ago that all the efforts Bush has undertaken to expand the power of the White House would not be proven futile should Hillary win, because she'd continue the trend and expand her power to the point where cameras end up everywhere (or something like that). Some people are pretty sure Obama's going to be the Democratic candidate now, so I wonder if he'd do that? What if Obama ends up being the idealistic speech-giving new guy who is so new that he can't stand up to the pressures of the preexisting government clique that says, "Do like we do or else?" He'd become powerless to live up to all his speeches. If we elect him, I hope he can walk the walk he's talked.

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Dems Turn Evil With "Little Bush" and McCain Troubles?

Channel surfing last night, I caught some of the Comedy Central political cartoon "Little Bush." I figure it's not a really old rerun because the ending emphasized how John McCain is supposed to be a puppet to George Bush. I've heard that point made before. That seems to be the main reason to dismiss McCain. But I'm not sure if I believe it. When I heard him speak, I got the distinct impression that he was not like Bush. Plus, he used to be a Democrat!

Anyway, I thought, "Gee, 'Little Bush' used to be a bit more appealing when it was uniting the anti-Bush citizens. But now it's trying to use that sentiment to dismiss a candidate who hasn't even done anything yet." It's not like McCain has lied to us and then taken us to war. "But he will!" someone says. Yeah, right. Maybe we do need to stay in the Middle East for decades.

Yahoo news seems to lately be highlighting allegations against McCain for various acts of wrongdoing. So is Yahoo at fault for focusing on the negative aspects for McCain and not for all candidates? Or are the Democrats purposely tearing their one Republican opponent down? I don't think Huckabee would do that, specifically because the vibe I get from the Republican party is that they're all in this together now. Obviously they'd have to be, given the unappealing impression of the party at this point.

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Satellite Shoot-Down Leads To Nuclear War?

What if the satellite is really just an excuse to test our missile defense capabilities? Even if the satellite is a legitimate concern, which it may very well be, shooting it down from far below will be of potentially major importance.

We do this right, and the world says, "Wow, America is tough. I need to work out more..."

And they begin an arms race, that culminates in nuclear war.

Or not. I hope not.

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President's Day Ad On TV Makes You Think

Well, it made me think anyway. They played "Hail to the Chief" in a sort of marching band style that gave me the impression they didn't really care about the President or the authority contained therein. Of course, if we all met the President in person, it would be quite an experience. An honor for many, even for many naysayers. Still, it made me wonder if the events of the past 7 years have given us the impression that our President isn't really "for us."

I thought, "Why doesn't the commercial seem truly Patriotic? It seems to be paying lip service to the ideas of national pride, and pride in our leader. Why don't we all feel inspired?"

Maybe we need to wait another year. I look forward to a time when everything makes sense and we can openly share legitimate positive feelings concerned with those in charge and the direction of our country.

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Romney Supports McCain

Ever since I heard Mitt Romney on the CNN YouTube debate answer the question of whether water-boarding was torture (i.e., "Let's not say...Might overinform the terrorists"), I knew he wasn't the right candidate for me. I liked McCain's answer better (i.e., "Yes, it is torture, we don't need it, and shouldn't use it") and McCain seemed to have some good ideas in other areas (i.e., "I'll make us energy independent in 5 years."). For these reasons, I decided McCain was a superior candidate to Romney. McCain may not be the best candidate, and indeed, many think he's just like Bush. But in my eyes, Romney was even less an ideal.

This is why it seemed odd that Romney kept going for so long. He seemed sure, sincere, and confident. Of course, every candidate must feel, appear, and behave that way, not only to convince themselves that they have a shot, but to convince their audience, the American public. Still, it just seemed wrong to me, because I was so set on McCain over Romney.

But now, finally, Romney's out, and he supports McCain. Just a few weeks and months ago, few within certain groups would have guessed, or even admitted to the possibility of this outcome. Indeed, many would call it impossible to predict. If I had asked certain people, "Do you think this will happen?" They'd have said, "Anything can happen. It's all up in the air. But as far as we're concerned, Romney will be the winner."

Yes, that's the problem. 100% sincerity at the moment, 100% inaccuracy in hindsight. And this doesn't just happen in election campaigns either. It keeps coming up in politics in general. "So and so said this, got us to believe, and was proven wrong..." It's too bad about how it has become so complex to hold someone accountable when they have been verifiably inconsistent.

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Huckabee and God: A Losing Combination?

I heard on "The Daily Show" about how religious Huckabee is. He himself tries to play it down, saying he doesn't go out of his way to flaunt his faith. But there are campaign ads, made by his campaign, that do, in fact, go out of their way to bring up his religious beliefs. One of those beliefs is the belief that evolution did not occur.

I believe a moral President can do a nation good. And it's usually good to admit what you don't know, especially when you're in charge. Faith can be used as an argument for allowing possibilities that science can't plan for. However, when irrational ideas lead to crucial and sometimes deadly decisions, then I think that represents going too far.

I do believe some form of faith and morality is good, and has its place in government. But when you try to define particular aspects and lay down rules whose only proof of being correct is tradition, that's when you enter dangerous territory. Honestly, Huckabee seemed more appealing to me when his religious beliefs were hazy.

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George Bush: Evil or Stupid?

I was watching a Mike Birbiglia comic special (“What I Should Have Said Was Nothing”) and Mike said he didn't know whether George Bush was Evil or Stupid.

I wonder if that's how a lot of people feel.

I've heard the Bush has looked to past great Presidents for inspiration. Some theorize that Bush believes his actions will be justified in 50 years. With time, America will come to understand that at this moment in history, we made the right decisions as a nation. We took the correct course of action, and although we weren't too thrilled about it, things all worked out.

That theory presumes that Bush knows what he's doing, and isn't evil at all.

So there are three options. Either Bush doesn't have a clue, he does but he believes it's all for the best, or he does and he doesn't care that we're all screwed.

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McCain On Top, Romney Gone

Early on, I made up my mind that of all the Republican candidates, McCain was my favorite. I like his plan for making this country Oil Independent in 5 years. I liked how he was clear about how water boarding is torture. I didn't like how Romney's answer regarding water boarding included the idea that we should keep our interrogation tactics secret, and didn't mention whether or not water boarding was torture. That obviously meant that torture or not, waterboarding would be used in the future under Romney if deemed "necessary."

I liked McCain's "Straight Talk," where he would plainly state things as he knew them or saw them. That directly contrasted with the Bush policy of, "I know what I'm doing, don't worry about it."

For the past few months on the net, I've seen political ads with pictures of Hillary and Obama. Today I saw one with McCain. I guess they had to wait until he was popular, or until it finally became obvious that he already was.

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Frank Caliendo and George W. Bush

I've been wanting to watch some of that new "Frank TV" show, but it's rarely on. Thankfully it was on last night, but it seems like "Frank TV" got shafted somehow. I remember seeing all kinds of ads for it, and then it just fizzled when the Writers Strike came into being. But you can still see Frank here and there.

On a comedy special, he impersonated George Bush. He is very, very skilled at this. Yesterday I saw him do a commercial for, I believe it was Dish Network. There was Frank, and Frank as George Bush, side by side. Bush said with Dish Network, you can "Divver" (DVR), "Recordify," and "Recordificate." It was funny.

I was feeling bad for Frank, and all comic impersonators, because of all the new media frenzy regarding the "up-and-coming" politicians. I thought, "If Bush is on his way out, then all the comedians have to come up with new bits." But I keep forgetting, we've still got a whole year left for Frank to do his thing. Hopefully TBS will let us see it!

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Michelle Obama Inspires Me

I saw her on C-SPAN, and she is fantastic. I know she won't be directly leading the country if her husband wins, but I like her ideas. She said we need to fix public education, and get it back to the place it was at when she was a student who moved from public school to Princeton to Harvard Law.

She spoke a lot about the shifting bar in society. I believe the general idea is that the standards for doing well in life are increasing so rapidly that just when you think you've got a foothold, you lose it. You work hard, study hard, take all the extracurricular activities, but can't afford to go to the best college possible. Or you're a single parent, trying to make ends meet, and you work hard, but your job just doesn't pay enough to raise a family on. She was able to eloquently highlight a few of the nation's problems, especially regarding the economy. However, I didn't listen long enough to hear the solutions she proposed, if any. She seemed to be largely focused on what's wrong, and not on how to make it right. But acknowledging a problem is the first step toward solving it. However, we already know our economy is in the toilet.

Anyway, it was the first time I got to hear her speak, and I like her point of view. She seems hopeful for a brighter tomorrow.

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McCain + Giuliani = SuperTeam 911

I saw on the Daily Show last night that Giuliani is out of the race for President, and is now endorsing McCain. I actually got the vibe that they were teaming up, and Giuliani would become McCain’s running mate. After all, with Giuliani by his side, McCain was compelled to throw out a reference to 9/11, something Giuliani is considered by some as being notorious for. However, it seems McCain will simply absorb Giuliani’s power. Maybe he’ll channel the engines of “Tested. Proven. Ready.” into something else.

I also heard that Obama’s campaign looks at McCain and says he’d make an ideal opponent. McCain represents (I guess by his age and race) the “old style,” while Obama (through those same factors) is shiny and new. Just because something is traditional, though, doesn’t make it wrong. Sure, Bush is older and white, and he is no longer popular with everybody. But that doesn’t mean that another older, white gentleman couldn’t do a killer job. In fact, what’s wrong with the progress Bill Clinton stint as President made? He sure helped us out with the deficit problem. It seems like the campaigners want to stereotype older white guys as being bad. But doing that could shut us off to the possibilities of electing one of those guys who legitimately has the skills, plans, and desire to turn this country around.

It’s funny, http://www.joinrudy2008.com/ doesn’t mention (at least up front) that the quest has ended. I wonder if they still accept donations?

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