Politics

[BrAinPaiNt]

Saw this movie this weekend, first time since I seen it as a lad when it came out in the theaters.

Anyways I can just see most of the politicians, including the two presidential candidates, singing and dancing like this during a debate instead of actually answering the questions.

SideStep (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mNDHTfdn1A)

[arglebargle]

Durning did great in that! Nice to see the old Capitol interiors as well. I spent a decade working in that building...:)

Part of it is the rise of new communication methods. The advent of TV opened up a new, powerful avenue for political wrangling. We've ended up with soundbytes, and 15 second impressions. We've moved from the 'newspaper and meeting' era, to the power of radio, to the TV era, and now the internet. Though it's not lineal, as anyone can see given the resurgent power of talk radio.

I think of it as the Hollywood-ization of things. Presenting a smooth image, and downplaying any rough spots. Candidates packed just like they were commodities. I loved Perot and his campaign (though he was loon personally), because he talked straight, raised serious issues, and turned out to be frighteningly accurate. It's also one of the very cool things about Ron Paul. There's not the usual BS.

Unfortunately, far too many candidates are doing exactly what Durning was doing in the clip, it's just that since they can neither sing, nor dance, they do it in prose. And often, not even that good prose....