Magic Shows and Miracles
This journal was originally intended as a performance. That's why my profile isn't really my profile: I'm not 93 years old, don't speak French, am not a doctor, have never been to North Africa, don't remember reading Kierkegaard, and probably wouldn't care for him. It might be interesting to rewrite Camus's The Plague as a weblog, and if well executed could be interesting to read, but I don't know how to do it, which is why I haven't.
I want to create, but I have nothing really to create about. I'm not willing to write much about my own life, since that would be boring. I tried writing about food, but it was boring. I tried writing about politics, but it was boring.
How about music? I'm the opposite of the stereotypical bad poet: I lack not creativity, not skill, but inspiration. Insofar as having no motivation is a valid theme, I'd be set, except I'm not interested in that kind of music. Also probably it would be boring.
Now a bit about politics before the final debate tonight: Despite the conventional wisdom, Bush will do better in a debate on domestic policy than foreign. His "muscular" foreign policy is supposed to be his strong suit, but it remains that he never gave a thought to it for the first eight months of his presidency. Bush was a governor, and misguided as his policies may be, he at least understands something about domestic issues, which means he can stray somewhat from his prepped message without sounding totally bewildered. He couldn't do this in the foreign policy debate, because when it comes to the War on Terror, Bush is faking it.
This was particularly evident when, in the first debate, he told Kerry "I know how these people work." Bush assumes that Kerry is as diplomatically naive now as Bush was on Inauguration Day. The thing is, John Kerry is the kind of guy who wants to understand things; Bush simply isn't. Kerry has the experience and record to prove that he knows what's up.
Prediction: Bush will win the third debate. Look, Bush wins a debate if he doesn't break into tears when Kerry looks at him funny. Only through lies can Bush stand up to Kerry's withering criticism, but lies work just as well as the truth. That's Bush's strategy, and he knows most journalists won't call him on it. Fox and CNN will report a Bush win, but it won't matter when...
Prediction: Kerry wins Florida, Ohio, New Mexico, West Virgina, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Iowa, and possibly North Carolina. Yeah, I'm predicting a Kerry blowout. Why? 1) The five-to-ten percent of voters who haven't decided by now aren't going to break for Bush this late in the game or they would have already. 2) Thanks to ACT and other serious Dem GOTV action, traditional predictors for who is likely to vote are undersampling Kerry voters. 3) Optimisim.
Four more years of Bush would be an unmitigated disaster. The good guys must win if our nation to survive.