I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH BARACK OBAMA

I'm not.  It's that simple.  But I'll tell you what I do love.  I love the fact that I was motivated enough this year to get off my fat ass, invite my neighbors over and make calls for Obama.  I love the fact that more people voted in this election than ever before.  I love the fact that smear tactics and "swift boating" don't seem to work any more.  I love the fact that mainstream media was basically trumped by bloggers, and facebook, and emails.  And I love what it means both symbolically and physically to both our country and the way the world sees us that a black man has risen to the highest office less than a generation after the civil rights movement.

But all this doesn't mean I'm in love with Barack Obama.  

I've been having a somewhat public online argument with my brother Mike, a McCain supporter.  One of his main arguments against Obama is that it's just a "cult of personality".  I heard some Hillary supporters making the same argument during the primary.  It may be true for some.  But not for me.

I think Obama may be one of the smartest presidents that we've ever put in the Whitehouse. And what is also amazing about Obama the person, is that he was able to really cut through the bullshit of the mainstream media and get his message to the people directly.  He did this in many ways.  The internet, the debates, his speeches and indeed his personal charm and charisma.  I've always said that the presidency has been a charm contest since the 1960's and TV became a big part of it.  But now that there are other ways to get information other than just television, charm and personality are no longer the only criteria.  Now there's something called issues.  

Here are the reasons I think it's great that Obama's in the Whitehouse now:

1. I believe in a woman's right to choose.

2. I think the Iraq war was a horrible mistake.

3. I want healthcare to be fixed in this country.

5. I know global warming has to be stopped and we need a green economy.

6. Gay people deserve equal rights.

7. The banking and investment industries need to be better regulated.

8. And I think George Bush along with most of the republican party have just about ruined this country.

Theses are the main reasons I supported Obama as hard as I did.  And I'm glad the democrats finally had enough sense to put a smart, charming, magnetic, hard working, well focused person up for the job.  

But the hard work starts now.  We need to let him know that he's got to follow through and not succumb to the pressures we all know are now bearing down on him.  Some people on the "real" left are already disappointed by some of the people he's setting up in his cabinet.  If you or I feel the same way, we should let them know.  (He's set up a pretty cool site where you can send your thoughts to his administration.  change.gov ) And if that doesn't work, we'll all let him know at the polls 4 years from now.

But don't get me wrong.  I'm still quite optimistic.  I think Barack has the potential to be one of the best presidents ever.  My hopes are quite high in fact.  But I'm trying not to get to high about it.  It's another one of the things that Obama the person HAS inspired in me.  His even keel.  I read somewhere that he doesn't get too high or too low.  It's something that's already inspired me in my work, my personal life but more importantly, in the expectations of my political leaders.

I'm in love with the fact that all the fighting of the last decade hasn't been in vain.  Everything from making calls each two years, local organizing, blogging etc.,  As well as mainstream and popular culture starting to finally inform people in a substantive and sometimes entertaining way.  I'm not ashamed to say I'm a fan of Moveon.org, Michael Moore,  and Air America radio as well as the more entertaining and slightly cynical world of Stewart, Colbert, and Bill Maher.  ALL of this along with the internet has helped inform people.  Much more than any news channel.  

I also put everything from Bill O'Reilly to Democracy Now on my podcast list, because it's important to hear every side.  I find it easier to sift out the truth when even the most different voices get to weigh in.  My brother get's most of his information from one website.  (newsbusters.org).  This is the way everyone USE to get their information.  From one source.  The evening news.  We don't any more.  And we shouldn't.

So I'm NOT in love with Barack Obama.  I'm in love with what he represents.  An informed electorate.  Us.  Finally.

Voter Registration Emergency Blog!

This is serious.  Check out THIS blog.  And be afraid.  Voters are being purged.  Over 1.5 million in NY alone!

 Even if you voted in the primary, MAKE SURE YOU'RE STILL REGISTERED!!!  

Here's the Board of Elections number for my New York friends:

212 868-3692

Make sure you're registered, and make sure it's ACTIVE and WRITE DOWN your registration number AND bring ID to you polling place election day just in case.

Oh, and send out my cute video, which also might help.

Socially Incorrect

It's quite funny that the McCain campaign seems to think that accusing Obama of wanting to "spread the wealth" is gonna' piss anyone off other than the millionaires and billionaires  who want to make sure the government keep spreading it to them.  They're also calling him a "socialist", which is news to all the real socialists of the world.  Just read what the real "socialist" left think of Obama.  Google around for recent quotes from people like Cornel West, Noam Chompsky and people like that.  The types of "lefties" that Obama seems to be attracting are people like Christopher Hitchens.  That is to say EX-lefties.  But I digress.

The interesting thing about the "socialist" tag is that it may have worked for John, Sarah and Co. If only they'd stop reminding us all that "socialism" also means "speading the wealth".  I can see Joe Sixpack, (or even Joe the "I'm Not Really A" Plumber) sitting there at home, paying more attention to politics than they ever have before, because 2 of their cousins are in Iraq, they can't get construction or well paying plumping work in this economy, gas is a zillion bucks a refill, and their small IRA or 401k is smaller than ever.  So they're flipping away from NASCAR and checking out some "fair and balanced" news for once.  What do they see?  They see everyone yelling about how Obama's team want to "spread the wealth"!!!!!

"Hmmmm" says fictitious Joe.  "Uh.......yeah........and that's bad because 'a why again?"

I really think this'll backfire for them.  But everything else has too, so why stop now!  McCain should have a new slogan:

"McCain/Palin:  Vote for us!  We'll stop spreading all that wealth!  We'll keep the wealth in one place, where it belongs!!"

Atheists for Obama!!!

Okay, it's been a while.  A month in fact.  I've a been a busy!  But here's the reason I'm bloggin' again.  Christopher Hitchens has endorsed Obama!!  

For those who don't know, in a nutshell, Hitchens is a former super-lefty who went semi-neo-con post 9/11, mostly because he's a big ol' atheist, (like me), and thinks that radical religion was the main reason for the attack.  I think he goes a bit too far with it, but he makes some good points if you read him on a regular basis.

Anyway, while I disagree with his suport for the Iraq war, he's what you call a real maverick. And more importantly, he's a wickedly awesome writer.  He rips Palin a new one so badly in this article that it makes Tina Fey's impression look like a damn tribute.  (Click here to read it.)

Aside from that, I was a bit worried last week that the whole "Ayers" thing was gonna' start working a bit for McPalin, but it turns out that all it did was scare his already stupid base.  Anyone with a brain can see that Ayers is just some old hippie.  So he blew up the Pentagon in the 60's.  Didn't everyone try that at least once back then?  

Seriously, overall I keep marveling at how Obama deals with this stuff.  He really just let's it slide off his shoulders.  I know some people think that that makes him a little "slick willie" like, but I disagree.  All the pundits and bloggers kept saying  "Hit them back harder!"  I say why? He doesn't have to!  He takes the high road while the McPalin team implodes all by themselves.  

But I want to be clear.  I think Obama takes the high road for two reasons.  1.  It's the smarter political move with the awful GOP ticket he's facing, and 2. He really thinks it's important that we change how we elect people in our country.  Everyone says that the debates are boring, but I freakin' love 'em! Really listen to Obama this Wednesday.  He's not afraid to explain semi-complicated ideas to the electorate.  And he does it without sounding condeseding. 

Also, if you listen to his stump speech about treating clean energy like we treated the moon shot, it's really inspiring.  Yeah, it's a bit of a bite from Kennedy, but so what?  The fact that he's willing to use the bully pulpit of the White House to actually CHANGE people's minds is simply a wonderful thing.  Cult of personality be damned.  There's a REASON he's as wildly popular as he is.  Yeah, he's young, good looking, charming and a great speaker, but he ALSO has tons of fucking substance.  And people who say he doesn't are simply not paying attention.

I may be drinking the Kool-Aid, but I just think he's the real deal.  I'm sure his first 100 days will tell us if we're right.  But for the next 3 weeks, I'm gonna' be a non-cynical, liberal, Atheist New Yorker and actually believe in a power greater than myself.  

Amen!  

Obama '08.

Mad Men, Ad Men, Pit Bulls & Lipstick

I was gonna' title this entry "Read My Lipstick, No New Policies".  But I've waited too long and now the whole Lipstick thing has been eclipsed by Ike, Lehman and LA train crashes.  The world waits for no blog.

So I'm gonna' try an veer off the political for just a sec.  Every six months or so I get addicted to a TV show.  Six Feet was the start, (it was The Beatles to the Sopranos Stones in my opinion, proving that lasting longer doesn't mean better),  followed by lesser HBO fair like Tell Me You Love Me and In Treatment.  

Now I'm totally hooked by Mad Men. (AMC not HBO for a change.) For those who don't know, it's about the ad industry in the early 1960's.   I work in the ad industry now, and it's surprising how many people DON'T watch the show.  I find it facinating not just for it's accuracy of the times and the business, but because it's one of those period pieces that shows you how much we've changed as a society, how much we HAVEN'T changed, and most importantly, it exposes what it is about our recent past that has helped lead us to this moment.

I don't want to write the whole episode down, so go see the latest one on pay-per-view (or you can buy it for a buck 99 on itunes.)  This episode I found especially topical in light of the "Palin" vs "Barack" vs "Hillary" crap that's going on now.  (Okay, I'm gonna' get a little political.)

In short, there are some people I know who've watched Mad Men in the past and then said they couldn't stand it 'cause it was so sexist.  I beg these people to watch this week's episode.  It really shines a light on what women had to go through 40 years ago.  But it doesn't do it in that pat "wow!  they've come so far!" way.   Again, it shows the clear bias and humiliation that woman had to go through and are STILL going through.  In both small and large ways.  

I know it's skating on thin ice when men start to talk about feminism.  But being the father of two daughters, and trying to imagine what the world is going to look like for them as they grow up forces me to really think about this stuff.  

I'm by no means bias free, (no one is), but it really irkes me when people like Sarah Palin, who want to take away a woman's right to choose and want us all to return to "family" values, start screaming about sexism.  I always supported Obama before Hillary, (yes, I admit it, Edwards was my first choice, sorry!) but I think it's great that Hillary's finally out there exposing Sarah for what she is.  Palin is not someone who's going to move woman's rights forward one single inch.  Take it from me, a white male born in 1963.  The woman's movement has come a long way since then, but it's nowhere near where it should be.  And I'll only vote for someone who's gonna' help make it better for my daughters.  Not take it backwards.  McCain, Palin and the entire Republican party, wether they're cynically trying to get the bible belt vote or cynically trying to get the "female" vote, are clearly the worst choice for woman.

So in soundbite conclusion, you can put Lipstick (Palin) on a Pig (GOP) but it's still a Pig, (Sexist).

Palin is the worst VP pick EVER!!!!

Is everyone following the Palin stuff?  (If not, Google news.  NOW!)   I mean, can you believe this circus?  The whole thing is like a huge joke.  Jon Stewart & Colbert must be DROOLING!!!

It's over everyone.  Check the polls.  Obama's bounce is really coming in now.  (Up to 8 points) And I think that's before all this stuff.  Once the Palin trash is part of the polling forget it.  Mark my words, Obama's poll numbers are about to go through the roof.  No matter what happens at the Republican Convention.

Basically, conservative dems who may have been slightly on the fence will now be totally behind Obama.  They'll realize that McCain might actually be WORSE than Bush.  

1. He doesn't know the difference between Shia & Sunni

2. He doesn't know how many houses he owns

3. He doesn't know that his VP pick IS A WHITE TRASH NUT JOB FROM THE BOONIES!!!

McCain is making some of the most bonehead moves I've ever seen.  Mark my words.  It's over.

Obama and Biden Capture Osama Bin Laden!

Wouldn't that be a great headline?  I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a lot of nuts out there posting crap about Obama/Biden looking and sounding too much like Osama Bin Laden. Go ahead, Google it.  I got about 8 frigin' thousand hits!  

Now, I know the USUAL strategy with nonsense like this is to totally ignore it, but our good ol' country is so superstitious, and this election is gonna' be so close (unfortunately), that something this dumb MIGHT actually effect the polls in some swing state down the line.  And you KNOW the Karl Roves of the world are coming up with an angle to exploit the coincidence.  ("Swiftboat Veterens for Sound A-Like Names Conspiracy Theories" perhaps?)  

Of course, anytime someone brings this up in the mainstream press everyone might just quickly say exactly that.  "Chalk it up to conspiracy theories and nut jobs."  But that may not be the best approach.

So when some slime bucket from Fox News corners Barack or Joe or one of their peeps on the campaign trail and says some stupid shit like "What do you say to all this talk about your names together sounding like Osama Bin Laden.  Obviously there's no connection, right?"  I think they should do a jujitsu like move by saying "Of course there's a connection!  The Obama Biden administration is going to capture Osama Bin Laden and bring him to justice.  Something the Bush Cheney adminstration couldn't do for almost 8 years!"

Cute pivot, don't you think?  

Wilco for President

I meant to write this last week.  Better late than never.  First a little back story.

I'm 45 years old.  I have two kids.  I'm a film editor by trade, but I started out wanting to play music for a living.  (Like a million other kids.)  I run my own business, so needless to say, I don't go out to live shows as much as I use to.  But last week I went with my lovely wife Caitlin and some business friends to see Wilco playing out in Brooklyn's McCarren park pool.  What a god damn joy!  Honestly, the best gig I've been too in like forever.  I kept running into people I knew, (I haven't been around that many people from my demographic in quite a while) and we all discovered how much we love music and how much we missed it.  I really can't explain what a great night it was.  Truly wonderful.  

Oh, the actual show.  Well, I was honestly afraid that Jeff was gonna' be in an experimental phase and just jam.  I'm an OLD Wilco fan.  That is, AM, Being There, Summerteeth.  I LIKE the new stuff, and I think Jeff  Tweedy is the most consistently brilliant songwriter alive.  (With the possible exception of Elvis Costello along with Ryan Adams running a close third.)  But I really thought Wilco ceased to be a band after Yankee Foxtrot.  I saw them in around 2003 last and was less than impressed.  They just didn't seem to gel in the same way they did when I saw them TWICE on the Summerteeth tour back in '99/2000.  And since '03 I had heard rumors that they were sort of becoming the new Dead/Phish style jammy band.  Ewww!  (Sorry jammers.)  That's just NOT how I thought of Wilco.  To me they were more of a perfect rock band that had learned how to write perfect pop songs while bathing them in the warm glow of Brian Wilson meets Radiohead sonic experimentation that helped make Tweedy's wonderful melodies shine while never obscuring the sweet simplicity of the music.  And now they had become a jam band?  

Anyway, I'm glad to say that's not the case.  At least not on the night I saw them.  Even though the bass player is the only original member besides Tweedy, Wilco are now quite a tight unit. Yet loose enough to excite a jaded aging hipster crowd in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  They played new stuff, old stuff.  It was all wonderful.  A couple long arty guitar or keyboard solos here or there, and there was most certainly a wiff of mary jane in the air.  But I didn't see any tie-dyed people spinning their heads off.

My wife and I didn't make it to the end of the second encore, (babysitter), but we saw most of the show and it was inspiring.  Made me want to pick up my guitar again.  Who new?

I really miss those alt-country bands.  And finally, I fell in love with the (not-so new) drummer!!  

Okay, I Admit It......

Now I'm a bit scared. Seems like the fear mongering IS working a bit for McCain. Looks like the polls are tightening. Hey people. Get out there and send Obama some money. The only way we're gonna' win this thing is if we totally outspend them.

http://obamadonations.com/

Blood Vs. Country

Okay, this one is NOT about politics.  At least not directly. 

A friend recently told me "You've GOT to pick one.  'There Will Be Blood' or 'No Country For Old Men'.  It's that simple.  You're either in one camp or the other."  Like everything in America, it seems we have to reduce it to two choices.  Coke or Pepsi.  Democrat or Republican.  Top Chef or The Real Housewives of Orange County.   Well okay, I must admit that reality TV actually has a few more choices than that.  (The last place in these United States that really does anymore.)  But I digress.

What I'm saying is that maybe it's time to think in more than just two dimensions when it comes to choosing things.  Like the Iraq debate.  It's either "pull the troops out" or "we stay for 100 years".  There's got to be an expert somewhere who can give us more ideas than that, right?  Seriously, aren't there more options?  I'm NOT an expert so I'm not gonna' suggest anything specific.  (Although Obama's idea of talking to other nations in the region wether or not they're our "friends" is a good start.)

This year we finally had THREE choices for president.  Of course now it's down to two.  But let's not reduce all the issues to such a limited debate.  Everything that's at stake here is COMPLICATED.  And I champion any politician who has the guts to admit that.

-Barney

PS - Sorry.  Guess it was about politics after all.

PPS - I know it's more popular to pick No Country, but I'm a Blood man myself.  (Although they're actually both excellent films.  For totally different reasons.)

Why Doesn't The Press Mention That Obama's Winning?

All the stuff I see about the race now seems to be "Obama still having trouble with White working class voters."  Like, Duh!    Yet if you just look at polls like pollster.com it looks to me like he's:

A: winning the popular vote 

B: winning the electoral vote (if the election was today) and 

C: he's just basically kickin' butt BEFORE there's even been a debate scheduled!  

And does anyone seriously think that McCan't (cute, huh?) has any chance of beating him in a debate?  

Stylewise: Obama wins. 

Oratorywise: Obama wins.  

Withstanding attacks:  Let's see, Bush kicked McCain's but in 2000 with negative attacks, while Obama, our first legit "African-American" canidate took CONSTANT playing of his wacky pastor's rantings and is STILL winning in states like Iowa.  So.....Obama wins, again.  

And I'm not even gonna' put a "substance" category, 'cause that's just piling on.  Basically, I think people are gonna' be SHOCKED at how big Obama's landslide victory is gonna' be.  Don't get me wrong though.  I know we still have a lot of work to do.  I'm just saying people who are moaning with stuff like "the middle of the country is racist!  We don't stand a chance against the Republican smear machine" are just wrong I think.  They're like left-wing versions of people who over-estimate how serious the Islamic jihad movement is.  (Don't get me wrong again.  I think Al-Quida IS a serious threat.  And I think Obama and the NEW dems are gonna' fight them harder and more effectively than the Bush administration ever has.)

But my overall point is that no, of  COURSE the KKK and red-neck neo-nazis aren't gonna' vote for Obama.  But they're not voting for McCain either.  In fact, I bet they're just staying home, so fuck 'em.  But Obama is bringing in SOOOO many new people and electrifying SOOO many SMART people to actually come out and vote.  I really think this is gonna' be amazing.

Come back in November and tell me how wrong I was.  I can take it.  

PS - I'm sad about Tim Russert too, but enough coverage already.  Wouldn't he want us to get back to covering shit that matters?  I would. 

Obama - Totally Rad!! Part Deux

I'm in Chicago for work.  Everyone seems to think Obama is the real deal.  Makes me think that the everyone will feel that way eventually.  Who knows.

I think someone should do a TV spot for Obama where he's like an action figure.  It's like:  One kid on the block gets an Obama doll and.....

Second Kid:  What's that?  I've never see THAT before.

First Kid:  It's an Obama.  He's totally Rad!

Second Kid:  Yeah, sure he is.  What's he do?

First Kid:  Well, he's able to brake down the usual partizan politics that have been controlling the electorate for so long and help get something done in Washington.

Second Kid:  No he can't!!

First Kid: YES WE CAN!!!

Fade. 

Title: Barack Obama:  He's totally Rad!

Obama - Totally Rad!!

The right wing is trying to swift-boat Obama by calling him "radical".  I say we pull a jujitsu move and embrace it:

Obama - He's TOTALLY RAD!

My prediction, Obama wins in a landslide.  You heard it here first!

Why Mcain Won't Win

Because I don't want him to.  Okay?

Why Obama Will Win

Because he is simply the most magnetic, charming, intelligent person running for the highest office in a long, long time.  

That's my first blog.  How'd I do?