Saturday, October 16, 2004

The Short Attention Span Generation

Ever more frequently, John Kerry falls victim to the melodious (yet droning) sound of his own voice, causing him to temporarily abandon whatever better judgment he might possess, in favor of making a pronouncement of some sort that inevitably gets him into trouble. As much as I am heartened every time this happens, I am unfortunately not convinced that the on-the-fence voter really gets worked up to the point of making a difference. The Kerry campaign has become the gaffe-of-the-day club, yet the diehards and the ignoramuses continue to wail about Fahrenheit 911 mythology and the looming Evil-Republican draft conspiracy.

Kerry's 'lesbian not by choice' quip was not impromptu. The Democrats are hoping to conflict and divide benighted right-wing Christians, who obviously believe homosexuality is strictly a choice, not an inherited trait. Kerry was waiting for an opening, and eagerly rammed his truck right through it when it presented itself.

While many of us are outraged, and rightfully so, the outrage won't be sustained. With news cycles being what they are, the story has already begun to fade, while Viacom, ABC, the Washington Post, New York Times (et al, et al, ad infinitum) keep doing CPR on the outrageous canards relating to the secret draft, widespread voter intimidation, and the rescue of Kerry's 'illustrious' military service.

Bush stressed education as a realistic solution to America's supposed job creation problem (another of Kerry's manufactured campaign issues). Education and the ability to use it - real-world thinking, in other words - would also be the best (perhaps the only) realistic solution to the electoral mess our nation's presidential campaigns have become. I hope the first-time voters will realize that beyond the botox, in Kerry they may be voting for more than just a false front. He's phony on the inside as well, and his dark vision, of a disintegrating America should he not be elected, may in fact turn out to be his legacy, if he tragically is.

UPDATE

Monday, Oct. 18

As John Kerry might say, there's always the possibility of changing one's opinion. It's been five days since Kerry's gaffe, and, despite the outcry for a public apology, we have (predictably) heard nothing. I'm beginning to think this may be the one-liner that torpedoes the Kerry swiftboat. Whether he apologizes or not, it will now remain an issue - and this close to November 2, it might be enough to keep the poll numbers up for George Bush. Still , a lot can happen, and I remain worried about the ill-informed and emotional voters among the electorate.

1 comment:

Bat Guano said...

Hi Allens, the short attention span generation exists everywhere except on the internet it seems. The MSM is dwindling in impact anymore. I canceled my subscription to the local MSM paper over a year ago, when they became more interested in reporting rumors than news. If the MSM, and the Michael Moores of the world had the impact they say they do this election would have been over last June. Most things anti-Kerry are simply not being published except for web sites like yours, mine, and everyone else's.