Perspective on Perception

If the grace of God miraculously operates, it probably operates through the subliminal door. William James (1842–1910), The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902).

Porcupine is fascinated by subtlety, if not a practitioner of it. One interesting example of this can be found in Barack Obama’s ‘infomercial’ broadcast on television last night.

First, Porcupine would like to take a moment in a brief sidebar to give credit where it is due. This was first commented on by David Kravits, proprietor of the wildly liberal Blue Mass Group, where Porcupine is a frequent critic and curmudgeon. The fact that a liberal, nay, a PROGRESSIVE, blog is the firs place this is noted is a tribute to BMG’s fair-mindedness. Deluded, but fair-minded.

Here is an image of Sen. Obama from an ‘establishing shot’ at the beginning of the half-hour:




Here is an image from Mike Huckabee’s infamous ‘floating cross’ television commercial:

As David notes, the similarities are striking. Indeed, it appears to be a subtle, subliminal retort to all the dopey ‘Obama is a Muslim’ emails floating about, refuting without acknowledging.

Obama’s media use has been remarkable, going all the way back to his ‘1984’ commercial, with an energetic Progressive tossing a sledgehammer into a giant screen of Hillary Clinton addressing a slack-jawed crowd of grey proles, who immediately rise to frolic in the sunshine and vote for Obama.

This past weekend, a local columnist ‘Digital Grind’ wrote an interesting piece about playing an Xbox game, driving along in a virtual red Corvette – and having an Obama billboard on the side of the ‘road’. The rest of his column (HERE) explored the web presence of the candidates (Obama is a notorious spammer) but the issue of subliminal advertising had been raised. Indeed, Porcupine had a similar experience playing a ‘match three’ game which he enjoys (but is too cheap to purchase) on-line – during one of the mandatory ‘commercials’ that pop up in return for free play, there was an ad for – Vote NO on Question One!

These digital billboards may be the future of political campaigning – omnipresent and unavoidable. But the subtle and subliminal character of these intrusions give rise to concern that logic and issues may be even further decrease in policial discourse in favor of the cult of personality, which has a great deal to do with campaigning but little to do with actual governing.

Obama is in many ways a perfect candidate for the beach head of subliminal campaigning – a tabula rasa, an enigma, a Rorschach, upon which ones hopes and convictions can be projected. It is to be hoped that there is more than mere cunning inside that empty suit.

I TOLD You I was Sick~

Earlier today, the Instapundit Glenn Reynolds had a poll up about Sen. McCain's determination to hold a meeting with his rival Sen. Obama and Congressional leadership to agree upon a financial package. The question was - McCain's Campaign Suspension is:

Brilliant and patriotic, OR A Dumb stunt, OR Both, OR I'm voting "present" on this one.

After laughing heartily, Porcupine voted - Both. It was totally high stakes, totally unexpected, and yet it was just about the only maneuver that would get that crowd (Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Boehner, Bush, etc.) into the same room on an informal basis. McCain had been saying darkly for days that there WAS no consensus, that there would BE no action, yet the financial markets would flounder without quick action. So he tried to force the situation by endangering what the Democrats wanted more than anything else - the Presidential debate in Mississippi where they presumed that Obama would wipe up the floor with him.

Going in a two o'clock, the Democrats engaged in a little histrionic eyerolling. Of COURSE there was an agreement in principle, of course legislation would pass - within hours! This was just McCain showboating, and while they would humor him, it really was poor form to try to make Congress look divided when everything was decided. Barney Frank went so far as to compare McCain to the late comedian Andy Kaufman, singing the Mighty Mouse song, "HERE I cooome to save the DAaaay..."

Early leaks sneered at McCain for sitting there like a lump and barely speaking, when HE was the one who instigated the meeting in the first place. But by four pm, the picture had changed.

The Senate Democrats, the President, Sec. Paulsen and Bernanke were all on the same page. The House members of Financial Services had apparently been well briefed by their Senate counterparts - the only thing to do was to add more 'constituent' protection in addition to properly punishing the Evil Korprorations. Free mortgage bailouts for all! In fact, Speaker Pelosi had begun to ruminate about getting rid of those credit card balances for the little people as well. And then the House Republicans spiked the entire deal, and it all fell apart.

It's interesting - Anyone who thinks that McCain has 'voted with' Bush by voting with the Republican leadership has been shown just how much control Bush has over Congress. McCain has served in Congress for decades, and knows people like Mike Pence and Boehnor who are adamantly opposed to the bailout. Both say they were never consulted about the bill, but were expected by the Senate and the President to just rubber stamp what was put in front of them. John McCain has actually performed a real service by making these people sit down together, sooner rather than later, and get Frank and Dodd to stop swanning around claiming the problem is solved just because THEY know what they want.

Once again, Obama has voted 'Present' by not knowing the temper of the Congress due to his lack of legislative experience and Congressional connections, and his insistence that trading rhetoric is more important than trading - and listening to - ideas and perspectives. Like the old joke about the tombstone that reads, "I TOLD You I was Sick!" , McCain sounded a necessary alarm and exposed a problem the cognoscenti though nonexistent.

Not that it was necessary or anything....

By The Company He Keeps...

Porcupine is writing this at 11:30 am on Friday, August 22, 2008. (Note: Due to the genuinely crappy Internet connection available on Cape Cod during the summer, Porcupine has been unable to access the Internet until just now - over 24 hours later. The good new is, Obama has chosen to drag out his selection for all this time - impossibly heightening expectations, but making Porcupine's blog on the matter still germane.)

At this moment, Barack Obama has not announced his choice for Vice President, a decision which will tell us a great deal more about Obama than the person he chooses.

Hillary Clinton? Sen. Clinton is in a unique position – she alone is able to unite BOTH parties. The PUMA Democrats and Democratic women will be better able to unite behind Obama (although there will be some residual resentment of such a Bright Young Thing being promoted over the head of a better qualified woman, doubtless a familiar scenario to many). On the Republican side, any lingering doubts over McCain’s conservative bona fides will vanish at the prospect of an unoccupied Bill Clinton being once again in Washington near the seat of power.

Gov. Sibelius? Choosing a different woman than Hillary will only further enrage the PUMA women, and Obama seems smarter than that.

Obama’s choice comes down to two – the Trusted Older Counselor or the Vigorous Cohort.

Joe Biden is the archetype of the former. Indeed, an inexperienced Governor chose the foreign policy expert and insider as Vice President in 2000, and the selection of Dick Cheney allayed many fears about George Bush’s foreign policy credentials. Porcupine wonders if Obama wants to choose the same path. Further, as one wag said, Joe Biden is the smartest guy in the room – just ask him, and he’ll tell you. Is Obama’s somewhat touchy ego up to partnering with a vice President who may at times appear smarter and more experienced than he?

Tim Kaine is the latter – a popular and vigorous Governor, who would be so grateful for his chance at the world stage that he would never risk outshining ‘The One’, and who would work hard to push Obama’s agenda and ideas with the public. Hardly an ego threat.

Porcupine is of the opinion that it is the Vigorous Cohort who will be chosen, out of deference to Obama's prickly ego, but we shall soon see who comes out that door – Not a Lady, but perhaps a Tiger…

Sunday Summer Sing Along - Early Edition?

The Democratic National Committee's Rules & Bylaws Committee will proceed on May 31 during a much-anticipated meeting to reconsider issues in the Florida and Michigan delegate flap at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel , in Washington, D.C. The decision may determine the outcome of Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign.

Usually, Porcupine begins the Sunday Summer Sing Along on the first Sunday in July, but thought this song, called Hillary's Plaint, was appropriate for the meeting tomorrow - sung to the tune of the Hank Williams classic, 'Cold, Cold Heart'.

I tried so hard, my friends, to show that I’m your every dream.
Yet you're afraid each thing I do is just some evil scheme
Some memories from my White House past keep us so far apart
Why can't I free your doubtful minds, and melt your cold, cold heart?

Another Clinton, years ago, made your hearts sad and blue
And my campaign is paying now for things I didn't do
Sure, I claim ‘experience’, but that’s just being smart
Why can't I free your doubtful minds, and melt your cold, cold heart?

You'll never know how much it hurts to see you fawn on him
You know Obama’s full of smoke, a mere Progressive whim
Why do you run and hide from facts, to try it just ain't smart
Why can't I free your doubtful minds and melt your cold, cold, heart?

There was a time when I believed that you belonged to me
But now I know your votes are shackled Bill’s memory
The more I try to bond with you, the more we drift apart
Why can't I free your doubtful minds and melt your cold, cold, heart?

Is Grandma Next Under The Bus?

Well, we've finally learned what upsets the usually unflappable Barack Obama - "But at a certain point, if what somebody says contradicts what you believe so fundamentally, and then he questions whether or not you believe it in front of the National Press Club, then that's enough. That's -- that's a show of disrespect to me."

The trigger for this was Rev. Jeremiah Wright's remarks at the National Press Club, where he offered his opinion that Obama's increasing attempts to distance himself from the Rev.' s loony ideas was 'just what politicians have to do', i.e., an insincere ploy to lure the white simpletons into supporting him. Porcupine cannot help but observe that the decades of repeated disrespect to the Government, Nation, Italians, Caucasians, President, Jews, Etc. were not enough to push Obama over the edge, but disrespect to him was enough to repudiate the Rev.

Porcupine has long thought that Wright's remarks are not that unusual in 'liberation theology' circles, and that Obama's career as a community organizer may well have deafened him to how offensive these remarks are outside that charmed circle. There are facts, and there is Truth (with an aggressive capial 'T'). It may not be a fact that the Government developed AIDS as a means of decimating the black community, but it is a Truth that they would do something that vile. Hyperbole is routine in Community Activist cirlces, and after a while such rhetoric ceases to shock or offend. Obama is probably telling a sort of Truth when he says that he didn't hear Rev. Wright say such things while he sat in the pew at church - it may be a fact that he said such things, but the Truth is that is faded to buzz, religious Muzak, after a decade or so.

As recently as March 18, Obama spoke of Rev. Wright in these terms (full text of his speech HERE) - "I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe". The politician in him managed a slam at Geraldine Ferraro as well.

If Barack Obama would be the President of the United States, he might have to disavow the segment of the black community which harbors attitudes just as racist as the attitudes he ascribes to his grandmother. The underside of Obama's bus could become a crowded place.

What Do The Simple Folk Do?

"It is true I am amused about this notion of elitist."
Barack Obama, CNN, April 16, 2008

Yes, blogging has changed everything. At a soignee fundraiser, closed to the press, a blogger for the Huffington Post recorded a speech given by a candidate she supports, Barack Obama. These are the words which have casused the great Bitterness Debate -

“You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Obama's analysis of the economics of the situation is accurate. Where he falls down, and opens himself to charges of elitism and snobbery, is his odd lack of empathy for working and blue-collar people. Poor people - people he grew up with, met as a community organizer in the Chicago ghetto - he can understand. Indeed, it's the explanation for his long term relationship with a hater like Rev. Wright. Liberation Theology both blames the capitalist government for all the ills of the descendents of slaves, while simultaneously exaulting their natural superiority, which makes it problematic how they continue to be so exploited. No, it's working class people he looks down on as Archie Bunkers.

His words sneer at their affirmative choices. People of all ages and stations have a fulfilling relationship with God. Rural people hunt and fish, and enjoy the forest and stream as a treasure, a balm available to all. They have good cause to be angry that their government will not enforce immigration laws, as they are outbid for painting and roofing jobs to support their family. Some may be bitter, some may be exasperated. But they do not cherish their First and Second Amendment Rights as a crutch; rather, they would go to church or the rod & gun club whether economic times are good or bad - because they like it. They aren't inferior to the people you organized in Chicago, or the hoi polloi you solicit donations from, Senator - they're different.

Simple people, Sen. Obama. It's a regular person thing - you wouldn't understand, Senator.

Now THIS Is Rich!

From Ben Smith's column on Politico:

Harry Smith asked if after the nominating contests end with the South Dakota and Montana primaries on June 3, "Do you want the superdelegates to have some sort of vote immediately so that you'll know months in advance of the convention what the outcome is?” Dean replied: “Well, I think the superdelegates have already been weighing in. I think that there's 800 of them and 450 of them have already said who they're for. I'd like the other 350 to say who they're at some point between now and the first of July so we don't have to take this into the convention.”

An aide explains that July 1 is not a drop-dead deadline: "The point is before the convention, ideally in June."

Dean has been criticized for not taking a heavier hand in ending the bruising contest.
The aide elaborates on the chairman's thinking: "Dean is personally engaged in this process, he's had numerous conversations with over 60 leaders inside and outside of the Democratic Party, to hear their thoughts, get their input and encourage them to help reinforce the importance of keeping the party united behind our nominee in November. ... He does not want to discuss those conversations publicly because in Washington, you can work behind the scenes and not worry about getting credit and actually get something done -- or you can talk about it in the press and not get anything done. But ... he wants to see this resolved before the convention and will encourage the superdelegates to make their choice known once the voters in the remaining states have had their say."

In an interview with AP's Nedra Pickler, Dean also made it clear he wants to get the show on the road. "There'll be some nasty fights if it goes to convention, and people will walk out," he told Nedra. "But I've also been talking to a fairly significant number of, by and large, nonaligned people about how we might resolve this." Nedra adds: "Dean wouldn't talk in detail about what the plan is, but it likely involves encouraging superdelegates to pick a candidate shortly after the voting ends."

So Chairman Dean wants all the unseemely muss done with, eh? "Ideally in June", he says. Chairman Howard Dean is the rocket scientist who created this problem in the first place!

You see, the party which does NOT hold the White House gets to choose the time of its convention, and the party which DOES hold the White House must hold its convention afterwards. When looking at the twenty-odd announced candidates, Howard Dean saw a great deal of potential for animosity and bad blood on the Republican side, while Hillary Clinton was assumed to be the inevitable nominee of the Democrats. So Chairman Dean himself chose the end of August for the Democrats to hold their convention, forcing the Republicans to hold theirs on Labor Day weekend. It seemed like a good idea at the time - a GOP bloodbath that would rankle all summer.

Be careful what you wish for, Mr. Chairman - the GOP has chosen a candidate, and the stresses on the Democrats caused by your timeline will not be easily mended. For Howard Dean, the architect of disaster to piously intone that the campaigns must cease in June and the Super Delegates must choose at the time invites an obvious question - gee, Howard, why didn't you schedule the convention for then?

Religion and Politics

At the end of the day, the similarities were eerie. Both men made the speech because they felt compelled to explain the issues raised by the brand of theology they espoused, against the advice of some campaign staff. Both men wrote the speeches themselves, with little outside help or editing. Both delivered their speeches in sober suits, in front of a bank of American flags, to emphasize their personal patriotism and dedication to country. Both speeches were widely anticipated and widely autopsied, with the Punditocracy of every persuasion weighing in. Both were hailed as having given the speech of their political careers.

Neither one changed a single mind.

Mitt Romney delivered his speech (text HERE) on last Dec. 7th, at the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas. After reminding his listeners that the Constitution precluded any religious test for office, Romney went on to say, "There are some for whom these commitments are not enough. They would prefer it if I would simply distance myself from my religion, say that it is more a tradition than my personal conviction, or disavow one or another of its precepts. That I will not do. I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers - I will be true to them and to my beliefs."

Barack Obama delivered his speech today (text HERE) and chose the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia as a venue. After carefully explaining that he absolutely disagreed with some of the "wrong and divisive" remarks by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama went on to say, "I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe. These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love."

Their speeches are a credit to both of them. They are both thoughtful men, with fine principles. The American mainstream knows little of liberation theology or Mormonism, and doesn't really care to - which is why Porcupine is sceptical of the effect of Obama's speech.

Romney's speech on faith was to reassure evangelical voters that he was not a zany cultist, but a sincere and religious man who shares their values. Obama's speech was to reassure the public that he was not an ultra-leftist race warrior, but a sincere and religious man who shares their values. Yet the shades of Joseph Smith and the fire-breathing Jeremaids of Rev. Wright continue to hover over them both.

Religion and politics are a volatile mix in America, with direct and collateral damage. Let us hope that the careers of these good men are not part of the casualty count.

Two Minds With But A Single Thought...

...or is it two minds with almost a single thought between them? According to former Congressional candidate and Democratic Party Chair Philip Johnston: "We all said that we could have closed our eyes when Obama spoke [and] it could have been Deval."

Should Sen. Obama become the nominee, the People of the Commonwealth will bear a great responsibility - better acquainting the nation with how talk can be cheap, and how sometimes, when change is what you proclaim when you are unable to accomplish anything, the only change you see is the chump kind.

Sunday Summer Sing Along - 2007 - Number Three!

ESPECIALLY for Porcupine's good friends at Blue Mass Group -

Obama Magic Has Us In Its Spell,

Obama Magic That We Love So Well!

His Speechifyin' Tingles Down Our Spine,

His Lack of Record Strikes Us All Just Fine!

He Is The Savior We've Been Prayin' For

Since It Looks Like We Can't Get Al Gore

Round and Round We Go,'

Down and Down We Go,

Deep In The Spin,

Lovin' His Spin That We're In,

'Cause Obama Magic's 'bout Love!