Exits & No Exits

Exits & No Exits

The media narrative this week has been “exits,” especially on exiting the race for ’08. But the one exit that matters most—from Iraq—has been yet again pushed to the narrative background along with the fraud surrounding the Afghanistan arms contract, which once again smacks of the Bush administration’s inept management of the wars they wage—you know, the ones that bomb, bomb McCainy supports.

Instead of the Iraq War, which just hit its 5 year mark, or Bush being the main character in the media exit novella, Hillary has been cast in that role and what a prima donna she’s become. The sad part about this opera is that it seems like it’s going to end like all operas end, in tragedy. I can almost hear the sounds of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly.

There’s no question at this point: Hillary should go, not just for the party’s sake but also for her political future. The math is not on her side; the momentum is not on her side; the media is certainly not on her side—the least said about the latest lecture from the Dolores Umbridge of the right wing, Smeggy Noonan, the better; and the primary electorate is not on her side.

More importantly, in a strange way, Hillary’s campaign has NOT been on her side: Fumble after fumble, mistake after mistake, misstatement after “misspoke,” even with the few but well-publicized fumbles in the Obama campaign that perhaps could’ve worked to their advantage, the Clinton campaign has been disastrous with media-emergency management. They sadly resemble “heckuva job” Brownie—sorry. It’s been a dismaying collage of a whole lot of money, a whole lot of bravado for a whole lot of incompetence.

It’s interesting that a subtext to the media exit narrative has been Hillary’s contingency plans, if and when she decides to exit the race. Governor of New York? Senate Majority leader? On Friday evening’s Countdown and in the blogosphere, this story took hold. And what’s even more interesting, as Johnathan Alter mentioned on Countdown, there’s even been chatter about Obama’s contingency plan, should he become the nominee and lose to bomb, bomb McCainy, a media lover-boy whose many misstatements and frightening fumbles, along with the Iraq war, lurk in the media background as Hillary and Barack are on center stage.

Geeze. If only the media shifted its attention from whether or not Hillary would exit, who is urging her to exit—granted, she should go, what she will and could do when she exits, what Barack might do should he lose the general and exit the senate...to an exit from Iraq—given that now over 4,000 American lives have been sacrificed, maybe we could seriously think about what needs to be done once George W. Bush thankfully exits from a job he should have never had in the first place.

Lindsay and the Astronauts

Lindsay and the Astronauts

No, this is not the name of a new Indie band. Lindsay and the Astronauts—it does remind one of Josie and the Pussycats, doesn’t it? No, this is the state of the mainstream media in America this week. For rather than emphasize the lies, lies, lies, and more lies of Attorney Liar, Alberto Gonzales, who can’t remember the bull he said the night before, the mainstream media went nuts for Lindsay Lohan and the drunk Astronauts this week. No wonder why so many Americans are space cadets. The horror, the horror of the Pat Tillman case? What’s that?

But have no fear because the only thing we have to fear is the mainstream media itself. Just when we thought we could seek refuge from our narrative addiction to Nation Gone Wild, with the dramatis personae of those multi-talented girls gone wild, Nicole Skinny & Britney Scissorhands resurrect from the media dead with a vengeance. Yeah, Nicole’s planning to bitch slap Paris with her own version of “I Need Attention in Jail House Rock,” and Britney’s bodyguard really bitch-slapped the paparazzi in Vegas. At least the media has something else to focus on other than Senator Clinton’s cleavage. Honestly.

So as our brave soldiers suffer terribly in Iraq, as Osama-Has-Not-Been-Found tailgates on the border of AfGONEistan and Pakistan, as our government—get a load of this one—prepares for an arms deal with Saudi Arabia, a country that just so happens to have a nice representation of insurgents in Iraq, our mainstream media just gets its "skyrocket in flight...afternoon delight" form Lindsay and the Astronauts.

NOTE: This entry was inspired by the great Randi Rhodes whose humorous opening to her show yesterday was about Lindsay and the Astronauts.

Meanwhile, in AfGONEistan

Meanwhile, in AfGONEistan*

Things are only getting worse. The Taliban has re-emerged big time. They are not only tailgating on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, pledging to the Osama Not Been Found terrorist fraternity club, they are also alive, killing, and kidnapping inside Afghanistan as well. So much for American-backed governments during Bush’s War on Terror. Do yourself a favor and check out David Reiff’s great piece “Policing Terrorism" in The New York Times Magazine to see why Bush has been wrong and John Kerry was right—well, you know--on dealing with terrorism.

Just this week, the Taliban kidnapped and killed a German. They also kidnapped a group of South Korean Missionaries, prompting South Korea to pull out the few soldiers that contributed to Chimpy’s better-known, King Kong fantasy, “The Coalition of the Willing.” And speaking of fantasies and delusions, the least said about the record-breaking Afghanistan poppy trade the better. Perhaps things will change after Chimpy had his colonoscopy and five deferment Dick was President for a day--NOT!


*For more about AfGONEistan and the world of Chimpy and some laughs, check out Reconstitution 2.0.