Bullfight

"Elite" has always been a GOP code word for "intelligent," and intelligence makes you unqualified to lead the US. The fact that two intelligent people, Carter and Clinton, were elected, had more to do with the predictable failures of the previous GOP administrations than with the American voter getting a clue.

Sam Harris has two terrific columns on Palin/McCain in the LA Times and Newsweek. He summed up the issue of intelligence nicely:

Americans have an unhealthy desire to see average people promoted to positions of great authority. No one wants an average neurosurgeon or even an average carpenter, but when it comes time to vest a man or woman with more power and responsibility than any person has held in human history, Americans say they want a regular guy, someone just like themselves. President Bush kept his edge on the "Who would you like to have a beer with?" poll question in 2004, and won reelection.

This is one of the many points at which narcissism becomes indistinguishable from masochism. Let me put it plainly: If you want someone just like you to be president of the United States, or even vice president, you deserve whatever dysfunctional society you get. You deserve to be poor, to see the environment despoiled, to watch your children receive a fourth-rate education and to suffer as this country wages -- and loses -- both necessary and unnecessary wars.

Indeed.

Ummm guys, this video is from The Onion. You know? That parody newspaper?

Neither Dan nor Chuckles said anything about this being from a parody source. Perhaps they both missed it?

Look at the Onion logo on the video. But what do I know? I'm just an "average American".

Here is the link to other parody videos from the Onion:

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/yankees_building_new_vacation??utm_source=tv.theonion.com

Here is something else to peruse, but it's not parody:

http://www.butterepublicans.com

I note ChicoDemocrats.com is still showing a February 4th election date...time to get with the program folks!

correction, thats www.chicodemocrats.org

Anthony:

What? The Onion video is a parody...who knew?

Yes, Anthony, I know The Onion is satirical comedy. That's why I posted it.

Sometimes good political comedy like John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, The Onion, and some segments of SNL speak truth about issues better than other mediums because they push the envelope and exaggerate certain biases and tendencies.

In the case of the Snob video, it's clear the McCain campaign has tried to paint Obama as an elitist, Harvard-educated person who doesn't understand working class Americans, especially working class "white" Americans in rural or semi-rural communities.

And given the historical portrayal and racial biases towards African-Americans in some parts of America, the video is darn funny.

And I figured the "average American" reader of this blog could discern the outrageous comedy in the video without me having to introduce the video as a parody.

By the way, the Butte Republicans website is very good. Congratulations. But it's not very funny. Maybe you could post more parodies of Obama and Biden.

Anthony -

Ummm guys, this video is from The Onion. You know? That parody newspaper?

Sigh. Duh!

Personally, I like this one from The Onion: McCain’s Economic Plan For Nation: 'Everyone Marry A Beer Heiress'

I can't believe AW felt the need to explain that this was a parody video.

When you post parody, and its not identified as such, it's always good policy to identify it, since more than some people on the web today can't distinguish the difference, especially when its well done like this one.

Keep piling on Dan, you are doing a good job so far. Your parody/comedy blog quotient is high.

Here's one that not parody nor funny at all. The "Barack Obama Truth Squads". Just imagine the uproar if the McCain campaign had co-opted local DA Mike Ramsey or Perry Reniff to prevent any "negatives" from showing up on KZFR or KCHO like they did with a local sheriff in this report.

http://butterepublicans.com/2008/09/28/obama-truth-squads/

Shortly after posting the above I went to lunch and thought a bit about the issue and it occurred to me why some people might post negative reactions to my pointing out this needed to be labeled as parody.

You've never worked in a TV, radio, or newspaper newsroom and thus maybe would not understand where I'm coming from.

TV news is constantly under assault by economic interests (including station owners) to commercialize the news more. Weather gets it too. And we sometimes have TV commercials that pose as newscasts with the same production values.

For those that are charged with delivering news every day, such as Matt Ray at KPAY, Debbie Cobb at TV12, etc, these sorts of things where electronic news is parodied, or commercialized, then presented with no disclaimer or label as such gets us pretty irritated. It demeans what we do. We all try to do the best job possible, and when there is something questionable, objectionable, or misleading we are required either to edit it out or present it with some sort of caveat. Integrity requires it.

Sometime in the 90's, during one election, we had an election ad that looked like a newscast that one of the salesman sold. When we saw it for the first time, appearing in the middle of our own newscast, our entire newsroom went ballistic. A big fight ensued with sales and management, and the newsroom finally won.

Even so, we still got calls from some people that thought the political ad was part of our newscast. And even on routine regular daily stories, people get the wrong impression, or equate what they saw on one channel, with what you presented.

Until you guys spend a week in a newsroom, you probably wouldn't understand how the "average American" can get what they see on video so twisted up when things aren't clearly labeled.

So, I'm sorry if some folks think I'm off base with my issue with this video, but I don't think it's too much to ask to have a blog label a report which looks like a TV news interview as "parody".

Anthony: I respect the intelligence of my blog readers to discern the difference between a parody and news, especially from The Onion.

We can respectfully disagree on this point whether it's more appropriate for a blog like mine to clearly identify the source as a parody.

The Onion, however, does a brilliant job keeping a straight face with their parodies. My favorite is still:

http://www.norcalblogs.com/bullfight/archives/2008/08/no_values.html

Anthony -

Sometime in the 90's, during one election, we had an election ad that looked like a newscast that one of the salesman sold. When we saw it for the first time, appearing in the middle of our own newscast, our entire newsroom went ballistic. A big fight ensued with sales and management, and the newsroom finally won.

You're correct that it's absolutely wrong to blur the line between news and propaganda, in this case for an election ad disguised as news.

I take it you're equally as appalled over the use of secret, paid government propaganda disguised as news stories, columnists and trustworthy news guests to promote the war, marriage, No Child Left Behind, and many other programs.