“C‘est le hystérie qui fait l’homme.” Perhaps.
All the swooning over the Crown Prince reveals to us a subliminal (and certainly not self aware) Dada-ism in the smug clique over at Huffington Post, etc. The words typed there and elsewhere made into analysis simply by assertion. It’s commentary and analysis because we say so. Such fevered adoration certainly demostrates embrace of irrationality. Moreover, finding suitability for global leadership in a laundry list of state bills can not be anything but diving for obscure meaning. Do we not have Dada in its most contemporary possibility?
Not to put to fine a point on it, but parallels between then and now are significant. if Dada could said to have its origins after the disaster of WWI, then our current political zeitgeist is mostly a rejection of the disasters of 2001-07. Leaders today are not artists and they do not completely embrace the provocative zany behavior of Dada. But why should they? It already is produced by our surrounding Kultur. They just need to flash a Jay Z. And even then like now, they are all actually closet aesthetes.
Back then, Dada stood for freedom: from war, from a lying press and government, etc. Today is simply one word, change.
Yes, we can. Indeed.
Comment says
We were right w/ 10 perecent – actually 9.48%
Aldershot says
I can see McCain getting lots of votes from younger boomers based on nostalgia. Remembering back to the bad old, good old days of Kennedy, NASA, flower children, love the one your with, war protests, Huntley, Brinkley, Konkrite, body counts, POWs. It’ll seem comforting to let Dad take care of things again.
DrLeoStrauss says
It is interesting that with all his money, with all his time, and with all his endorsements, the Crown Prince still can’t land a knock out punch. He likely will receive rapturous embrace in Denver, but if he is counting solely on Bush fatigue and his operatic speeches, he’s in for one rude shock.
How the Dems get out of this is hard to see, Rachel Maddows young enthusiasms aside.
Aldershot says
Is this thing on?
Aldershot says
Say amen, somebody.
Aldershot says
Bless her heart.
Dr Leo Strauss says
I’m feeling 8ish, but the more Tweety bloviates about his expertise on Philadelphia, that can only help HRC from a spiritual/living universe point of view.
Aldershot says
I’ll see your 10 and raise you 5. Doc, you in?
Comment says
We see that 58 percent of the vote is women. So we’ll stick with our prediction that HRC will win by 10 percent – Maybe 8.
DrLeoStrauss says
Tony Snow is one of those rare partisans with a genuine low key affability. One hopes CNN treats him with respect compared to the usual rabble.
He apparently just had a medical set back.
http://www.kxly.com/global/story.asp?s=8210007
Aldershot says
I was pleasantly surprised to see Tony Snow looking hale and hearty on Larry King tonight…seems he’s signed on at CNN.
Aldershot says
“Hey – we just went to HuffPo – They said Joe S. walked off the set. We missed that – Those TV confrontations make for good theater. Always. Rachel Maddow was bound to cause a stir. We thought with Tweety, but that’s only a matter of time. Maybe it was a ratings stunt – j/k – God knows they need it.”
The other day I mentioned it was the second time I’d seen her brush Scarborough back, but I didn’t mention that I’d noticed he’d disappeared at the end of the show…didn’t know if he had to run to make another engagement. But what an ass; she was only establishing boundaries, and he needs to grow up. He’s used to Mika accepting his boorish treatment of her.
jamie says
“demostrates”
– nice slip.
It seems to be one long demostration, by all concerned.I’m glad I’m the other side of the pond.
Comment says
Smug clique? LOL – Hard to argue with that – Here’s Nora Ephron’s smug assessment:
“This is an election about whether the people of Pennsylvania hate blacks more than they hate women. And when I say people, I don’t mean people, I mean white men. How ironic is this? …
… And McCain is a compelling candidate, particularly because of the Torture Thing.
…If Hillary pulls it out in Pennsylvania, and she could
… Hillary’s case is not an attractive one, because what she’ll essentially be saying (and has been saying, although very carefully) is that she can attract more racist white male voters than Obama can. Nonetheless, and as I said, she has a case.”
That’s pretty smug. Is that how you become a popular writer?
Comment says
Hey – we just went to HuffPo – They said Joe S. walked off the set. We missed that – Those TV confrontations make for good theater. Always. Rachel Maddow was bound to cause a stir. We thought with Tweety, but that’s only a matter of time. Maybe it was a ratings stunt – j/k – God knows they need it.
Comment says
Speaking of ww1, disaster, and culture – Did you happen to catch “My boy Jack” on Masterpiece Theater? We have not watched it in a while – but we tuned on tonight because it was about Kipling and his son. Great work.
Comment says
We’ve always associated Dada with the Bush administration – Indeed, we got in a bizarre argument about that with some friends at the 04 Convention in NY – We had pointed out some commonalities, so irrationalism. We even got a fiend in the art world to see what we saw – a bit.
One of Obama’s saving graces is that he would be open to admitting such things.