[Warning political ramblings: feel free to tune out for a while and come back when I’m under hawk attack again]
Back in 2008 I watched a video with Peggy Joseph. In 2011 I revisited it with How’s That Working Out For Ya? I posted the video below for comparison. She seemed like an earnest young woman who was sincere in her belief that Obama could make everything better. She hadn’t drank the kool-aid, she was steeped in it. She was sure that, should Obama be elected, she wouldn’t have to worry about buying gas or paying her mortgage. Money quote: “If I help him, he’s gonna’ help me.” Check it out:
At the time I felt like we’d hit rock bottom. Here was a woman who thought the president was going to solve all her problems, tuck her in to bed at night, and possibly walk on water. Where do you go from there?
Now I know. For 2012 we go from free gas to free Obamaphones. The new money quote: “Keep Obama in president…” Watch it below:
Holy cow! I can’t help marvelling at the verbal train wreck. The visual takes away from the beauty of her words so I added a transcript:
[Obamaphone Lady] Obama!
[Reporter] You got an Obama phone?
[Obamaphone Lady] Yes! Everybody in Cleveland, low minorities, got Obama phone. Keep Obama in president, you know? He gave us a phone!
[Reporter] He gave you a phone?
[Obamaphone Lady] He gonna do more!
[Reporter] How did he give you a phone?
[Obamaphone Lady] You sign up. If you’re… If you on food stamps, you on Social Security, you got low income, you disability…
[Reporter] Okay, what’s wrong with Romney, again?
[Obamaphone Lady] Romney, he sucks! Bad!
One could be upset. One could look at this and think we’re screwed as a nation. I see it as fascinating. It describes a world so very far away from anything I can imagine. All I can think is; “here is someone who can’t create a sentence“. For the most part I thought everyone could form a sentence. A child can say “I see the dog running.” Compare this to “Keep Obama in president, you know?” and “If you on food stamps, you on Social Security, you got low income, you disability.”
There are people that say things like “you disability“? I tend to forget this.
Lets explore something else. The 2008 video of Peggy Joseph felt like rock bottom but it was a shining beacon compared to “Obamaphone lady”. Consider Peggy:
- She could speak in complete sentences!
- She had made a deliberate decision about her kid’s education. (She took her child out of school to attend a political rally.) I might not select a political rally as “educational” but it’s an idea with merit. Any mother who’ll provide her kid with educational events beyond the confines of a school is doing a good thing.
- She had a car. (How else could she look forward to Obama releasing her from the worry of buying gas?) I assume she can drive too. There’s even a likelihood that she has a job?
- She had a house. (How else could she look forward to Obama releasing her from the worry of paying a mortgage?) This is another hint that she has a job.
It just goes to show that whenever you think you’ve hit the lowest ebb, there’s farther to fall. Best to enjoy what you’ve got. For example, Peggy seems like a truly nice person and her 2012 analogue seems like a disaster. I miss Peggy.
A.C.
P.S. I realize that in any population there are the outliers. Presumably there’s a video somewhere of knuckle dragging morons who are Romney supporters. I just haven’t seen it.