The Maverick Tribe

Regular readers of this blog may be inclined to think that the New Yorker is composed entirely of cartoons - hard-edged on the front, open-ended at the rear, and all manner of intellectually droll and absurd on the pages in between.  In fact the New Yorker also prints words - paragraphs of them, in fact, often organized into cogent, straight-faced, exhaustively researched articles and opinion pieces.  Behind the current issue's right-wing phantasmagorical cover laden with turbans, fatigues, and automatic weaponry, one can find two such clear-eyed articles about Barack Obama:  in one, Ryan Lizza documentshow Barack Obama cut his teeth on the ruthlessness and cynicism of Chicago politics.  And in the other, Hendrick Hertzberg pens a characteristically sharp essayexamining the alleged "flip-flops" Obama has been accused of recently.  Hertzberg writes:

Obama has been providing plenty of plastic for the flip-flop factories with the adjustments he’s been making as he retools his campaign for the general election. Under headlines like “IN CAMPAIGN, ONE MAN’S PRAGMATISM IS ANOTHER’S FLIP-FLOPPING,” the big papers have been assembling quite a list of matters on which the candidate has “changed his position,” including Iraq, abortion rights, federal aid to faith-based social services, capital punishment, gun control, public financing of campaigns, and wiretapping. Most of them are mere shifts of emphasis, some are marginal tweaks, and a few are either substantive or nonexistent.

He then examines Obama's past statements on each of these issues and fairly concludes that campaign finance and wiretapping are the only two with any substanse and worth crying about.  Besides, goes the commentary, McCain has reversed himself on many more issues of consequence, ranging from tax cuts to offshore drilling.  The bottom line: Obama is a politician, who occasionally does politician-y things, so stop your whining.

Since I agree with all of Hertzburg's specific points, why am I still sad?  I am to be consoled by the observation that Obama is a conventional politician, but his demerits aren't all that serious?  It's fine to downplay all the offenses he's committed since the start of the general election campaign, but what courageous or inspiring thing has he done to offset these offenses?  I'm willing to endure a waffle here and a pander there as long as there's a good amount of nourishing stuff that moves the conversation forward.

This is not at all about me being a lefty blogger upset that Obama is "shifting to the center".  I've long believed that Obama had centrist and pragmatic impulses on many subjects - that was even part of his appeal for me.  As the de facto leader of the Democratic party, I'd love to see him stake out some modernizing positions on, for example, affirmative action (less of it) and education (standing up to teachers' unions), two subjects on which he has suggested in the past he'd be willing to depart from the party line.

Obama is supposed to be fresh-faced, a reformer, who tells you "not what you want to hear, but what you need to hear".  But his bluff has been called by McCain, an anti-establishmentarian with a record to back it up.  So this campaign was supposed to be a contest between two unconventional candidates who would eschew the trivial and the petty in favor of an intellectually honest contest.  Does Obama want to do weekly, unscripted town hall meetings with McCain?  No, he'd prefer to stick to the traditional debate format, with all it's pre-programmed sound bites and theatrics.  And so it goes...

I go back and forth on the New Yorker cover.  I can appreciate it as satire - this is the type of humor employed by Jon Stewart all the time.  And it's important to remember that satire doesn't necessarily have to be "funny" to be successful.  The New Yorker's style is more wry and clever than "ha-ha" funny. 

That said, the meaning - even understood as satire - is still rather crude.  If I were the Obamas - or anyone black for that matter - I imagine that I would find the cartoon - ironic or not - distasteful.  Many did.  Perhaps if they took out the afro'd Michelle and associated racial imagery it would be better.

What I do know is that I'm tired of both campaigns ritualistically taking offense at every off-color joke, insult, or otherwise crass commentary that comes down the pike.  Barack Obama could be privately offended by the cover but refrain from getting bogged down with it in his public communications.  I would have preferred his campaign to have put out a statement to the effect of "Senator Obama has a lot more pressing issues on his mind than an unflattering magazine cover."  I thought that in supporting Obama I was getting a candidate who was thoroughly annoyed and bored with the usual petty tactics - using umbrage as a political tool is one of these tactics.  Lately both the Obama and McCain campaigns (but more Obama's) seem to have been directed from that old mothballed playbook. 

For the record:  in the race for U.S. Senator from Minnesota - Al Franken vs. Norm Coleman - the Mavericktribe endorses Franken.  And why wouldn't we?  He's a fair-minded, smart, and perceptive man, who is genuinely passionate about public policy and progressive causes.  He also happens to be a comedian.  Or, more precisely, a political satirist.  And he's been tossing out sometimes raunchy humor for around thirty years, yielding a treasure trove of material his opposition can use against him.  As usual, Michael Kinsley, the best opinion writer alive today, best frames Franken's dilemma:

Franken (a slight but friendly acquaintance of mine) is in a quandary. He can't stop his campaign to defend every joke he's ever written that someone now finds offensive, or pretends to. Trying to explain a joke is notoriously pointless anyway. But Franken also can't let his opponent create the impression that he is some kind of sexist monster, rather than the long-married, deeply uxorious family man that he is, with the progressive views on abortion choice and related issues that you would expect from a Democratic liberal. If the voters of Minnesota would rather be represented by a hack like Norm Coleman than laugh off a few jokes that didn't work, then they should stop complaining about being stuck with professional politicians. And the real joke will be on them.

I'm beginning to understand that voting is one of the many practices in American life that remains unleavened by self-awareness.  Americans say they want honest politicians, and then vote for the scheming liar.  They want their politicians to be straight with them, and then rally around the sugarcoaters, the window dressers, and the pussyfooters.  In 2000 and 2004 they elected a recovering alcoholic - it was he they'd rather have a beer with, after all.  That's right, they want a regular guy, an average Joe, but wait a minute... Al Franken?   Please, no coarse and/or sexist humor.  (Which begs the question:  what do regular guys talk about over their beers if not tit-and-ass jokes?)

Americans claim to want leaders who are courageous, unpolished, and authentic.  Don't believe them - it's a trap. 

In our last episode, the Democratic primary season had wreaked havoc, self-righteousness, and indignation upon the land:  Geraldine Ferraro hurling insults!  Bill Clinton exploding at the press!!  Leaflets critical of Hillary's health care plan raining down on Cleveland!!!  But when it was over, the good citizens of America thought they were safe.  Little did they know their peace-loving nation would once again be plunged into...

The Umbrage Wars!

General Election Edition!

Starring...

Barack "Ironman" Obama!

John "The Hulk" McCain!

With......

Wesley "Hancock" Clark!

And...

Bill "The Dark Knight" Clinton!

Soon after Obama clinches the nomination, the skirmishes begin...

McCain not like this slick, fast-talking newcomer Ironman Obama.  Ironman Obama misrepresent McCain plan for Iraq!  Ironman Obama promise to accept public financing and then change mind!  Upset McCain delicate sense of pride and honor!  How dare he!  Plus Obama too much of a pussy to do town hall meetings with McCain.

How dare you call me a pussy, McCain!  Look, I honor your military service, getting tortured and all that geezer hero stuff.  I was like six at the time - what do you want from me, a medal?  Anyway, tell your Republican pals to lay off my wife!  That's out of bounds!  She's my one and only woman...this week.  By the way, Scarlett Johannson?  Listen, sweetheart, it's over.  We had a few laughs, but you're as yesterday as Obama Girl!  Try Johnny Edwards - I hear he's lonely these days.  And don't let the door hit you on the way out!

But Ironman Obama!  I made a music video for you and everything!...(Sob!)

Lay off Obama wife?  How dare you!  Democrat allies hassle McCain rich wife to release tax returns!  And Ironman Obama know nothing about military!  McCain lead squadron!  McCain get shot down in Navy fighter jet!

Aw shove it, McCain!  And stop that pimpin' out your big military service.  Wooooo wooooo!  Last I checked, gettin' shot down over some jungle in 'Nam wasn't a qualification to be President.  Some of the rest of us can stop a speeding train without trippin' and gettin' all green and shit!

Hancock Clark!  How dare you!  McCain...getting...angry...McCain...very...angry....McCain SMASH Hancock Clark!  McCain demand Obama cut Clark loose!

Whoa, whoa, settle down, big guy!  He can't "cut me loose", McCain.  I'm freelance, baby!  By the way, I thought Ang Lee's McCain was way more fly, yo!

Ang Lee McCain independent and tragic and appealing to effete intellectuals!  New McCain HATE old McCain!  New pandering McCain DESTROY old maverick McCain!

Now, now, McCain, settle down.  I feel your pain.  Hey, look what Ironman Obama did to me during the primary.  He implied I was a mediocre president!  How dare he!  And I've been brooding about it ever since Hillary lost.  If he wants me to help him win the general, he can kiss my ass first!  Alfred, release a perfunctory one-sentence statement of support to the press.  That'll show him!

Next episode:  Ironman Obama enlists the help of his old nemesis, Hillary "Catwoman" Clinton!

During the primary I said Ironman Obama was less prepared to be commander-in-chief than McCain.  Now I'm behind Obama 100 purrr-cent!  Does he dare trust me?  MEOW!

I'm working on a passenger rail project for the urban planning think tank SPUR, and I came across this promotional video for the California high speed rail proposal, funding for which is on this November's ballot: