It could’ve been worse. Right? 2012 deserves a muted toast in fond farewell.
Collectively we held our breath waiting as 2012 began. Tout le monde was atwitter about the big issues of the day: would Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus’ blow? ‘John Carter’ destroy Disney? Who would win in a fight, Marvel’s ‘The Hulk’ or ‘Batman’? Was ‘Two and Half Men’ toast without Charlie Sheen? And we got our answers: yes, no, Hulk, meh.
One other less pressing matter clamored for some attention. Is live, unscripted television still a valid art form? Absolutely. Clinton’s galvanizing convention speech ignited apolitical viewers as surely as Obama’s soporific debates deflated them. Various Movement candidates immolated themselves on live TV opining on plumbing not their own. Finally, Karl Rove’s Fox meltdown should inspire comedy writers for years.
Oh yeah, and Romney lost, too.
Post-election it’s hard to see that we’ve moved the ball appreciably. Obama’s enablers expect a mere procedural outcome like an election ‘to settle matters’. Or even more heartbreakingly, the perky kids on MSNBC (other than the cranky old Catholic men) and at Daily Kos, etc., are anxious for ‘Obama unleashed’. They were kind of cute in election’s immediate aftermath. Their palpable shock that the Movement continues to embrace nihilism ultimately pathetic.
Remember in November Democrats and their talking heads declaimed the House would *have* to cave to Obama on the ‘fiscal cliff’? How the election ‘forced their hand’? Remember the feverish talk that the election would enable the ‘sane’ Republicans to retake their party? Exactly. Still, it’s fun to see the Rightist Wurlizter playing discordant fugues in counterpoint, even for a moment.
The Michigan Movement eviscerated unions after the elections, catching Dems by surprise. Apparently Movement leaders there said in public unions are not their top priority. And if Dems can’t rely on a Movement public statement, you know? Not like Dems had any earlier example, say Wisconsin. Or Ohio. A shame that unions aren’t important in winning local, state, federal and presidential elections. If unions were really vital to Democrats, they would be so there. Certainly, the tattered remains of the middle class can draw lessons from that episode.
2012 leaves as it came in, with at least some holding their breath. We’d advise just let it go and enjoy. Together we’ll remember the lessons of 2012.
Anyone want to bet if Iron Man III will be any good?
Aldershot says
Happy New Year, Doc, and the rest of the merry band. Should auld acqaintance be forgot? Nah.