Pomp & Circumstances
The Democratic Convention's over, so now we've got to wade through the Republican version followed by a continuous wave of negative political ads from both sides.
I caught the tail end of the Dem's convention and despite my generally favorable opinion of Obama, I was just shaking my head at the pageantry. The fact that it was going on as the same time that Gustav was cranking towards the US just emphasized that the political process is just so, well, political.
Everything was so carefully orchestrated and planned at the convention. The well rehearsed speeches were pretty, the media response was predictable and everything pretty much ran like clockwork.
Contrast that with the chaos and frenzy of an approaching storm of potentially biblical proportions. Thousands of people scrambling to pack up their belongings, not knowing whether they'll have anything to return to. Top that with the fact that most of these people have had to live through this before and are still feeling shell-shocked. I've been through that once. I can't imagine the post traumatic stress of having to go through it again.
Still, like on the Titanic, the bands play on at the Conventions and the seemingly unflappable candidates delivered their speeches amid the high & dry Denver mountains. If I was scrambling for my life, anything anyone said would have struck me as somewhat hollow, no matter how eloquent.
Yes, I realize it obviously has to be this way. Politics like anything else these days, needs to be packaged and sold or it will be ignored. That doesn't necessarily means there's no substance beneath the pretty packaging. It's just that, regardless of the message, it'll never fly without a touch of P.T Barnum.
So whether it's the spectacle of the conventions or McCain's calculated VP choice, these things are painstakingly planned.
Real life, on the other hand, is more like a hurricane ; messy, unpredictable and chaotic. You can't debate it or put it before a focus group. With political candidates or approaching storms, you make the best choice you can and hope for the best.
I caught the tail end of the Dem's convention and despite my generally favorable opinion of Obama, I was just shaking my head at the pageantry. The fact that it was going on as the same time that Gustav was cranking towards the US just emphasized that the political process is just so, well, political.
Everything was so carefully orchestrated and planned at the convention. The well rehearsed speeches were pretty, the media response was predictable and everything pretty much ran like clockwork.
Contrast that with the chaos and frenzy of an approaching storm of potentially biblical proportions. Thousands of people scrambling to pack up their belongings, not knowing whether they'll have anything to return to. Top that with the fact that most of these people have had to live through this before and are still feeling shell-shocked. I've been through that once. I can't imagine the post traumatic stress of having to go through it again.
Still, like on the Titanic, the bands play on at the Conventions and the seemingly unflappable candidates delivered their speeches amid the high & dry Denver mountains. If I was scrambling for my life, anything anyone said would have struck me as somewhat hollow, no matter how eloquent.
Yes, I realize it obviously has to be this way. Politics like anything else these days, needs to be packaged and sold or it will be ignored. That doesn't necessarily means there's no substance beneath the pretty packaging. It's just that, regardless of the message, it'll never fly without a touch of P.T Barnum.
So whether it's the spectacle of the conventions or McCain's calculated VP choice, these things are painstakingly planned.
Real life, on the other hand, is more like a hurricane ; messy, unpredictable and chaotic. You can't debate it or put it before a focus group. With political candidates or approaching storms, you make the best choice you can and hope for the best.