Upset with being perceived by a vast majority of Americans as obstructionists and anti-people, the Republican party has apparently decided that in order to recapture the hearts and minds of the voters they need to do something bold and audacious. The tired old nay-saying braying of the comedy act of Boehner and Canter has gotten them nowhere. And Boehner has been on TV so many times, the damn makeup won't come off anymore. He looks like a political version of George Hamilton but with less acting ability.
And while it may seem at times that they are totally removed from the day to day lives of ordinary folk, they have in fact been paying close attention to the success of reality television programs. From "Survivor" to "The Real New Jersey Housewives", the electronic equivalent of mental bubblegum has been both a winner and a money-maker. They have figured out why people in cars slow down when they see an accident. The human brain has been hard-wired for millenia to be simultaneously attracted and repulsed by disaster and suffering. At least other people's disasters and suffering.
So the Repugs have started there own political reality show which every week this summer offers the latest political train wreck for the pleasure and delectation of the masses. They kicked off the series with Nevada Senator John Ensign's tearful admission that he had a mistress. Now that in and of itself is pretty much par for the course for most politicians but Ensign kicked it up a notch. Not only was his mistress on his staff payroll but he also managed to find gainful employment for the cuckolded hubby. Throw in the hint of blackmail and voila!... must-see TV.
The second episode was even better... "The Case of the Missing Governor". For a number of days, Mark Sanford, the governor of the great state of South Carolina, was MIA. When the media caught the story of how even his wife didn't know where he was, the plot lines flew fast and furious. Then a mysterious transmission arrived from (supposedly) the governor himself in which he said not to worry. He just needed some time to clear his head. So he was enjoying the peace and serenity of the Appalachian Trail. But as fate (and ratings) would have it, the governor was caught deplaning in Atlanta from flight from Buenos Aires. He was getting a little "piece" alright. And in a bravura performance, Sanford tearfully confessed to his months long affair with an Argentine beauty. Not content to humiliate his wife with that little bit of news, he went on record a few days later and called his inamorata his "soul mate". This chapter ended as a cliff-hangar. So we all breathlessly await the next episode in the Sanford Saga.
Now if I were in charge of production, I would have saved the third episode for the end of season finale. That's because this one rolled out the star of the Republican party, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. Also I would have scheduled it in a better time slot since 5PM on the Friday before the Fourth of July is not really a high-viewing period even with the presence of Wolf (metalkprettyoneday) Blitzer.
There she was, Our Lady of Wasilla, the Siren of Skagway, surrounded by all sorts of wildlife and local fauna and that was just her family. Standing on the front lawn of her house with the engine of her Piper Cub airplane idling in the background for a quick getaway, Super Sarah announced to all and sundry that she had decided not only not to run for reelection as governor but that, in fact, she was resigning as such on the 25th of July. She then spent the next ten minutes doing what I thought was readings from disjointed pieces of Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake". It seems that in PalinWorld the key to success is quitting. It certainly whetted my appetite for what will surely be a spin-off of the current series. What would be a good title? Any ideas?
Stay tuned.