Throw in some Rolling Stones, and let's talk about the midnight rambler. You know, the one you've never seen before.
Some random thoughts to recap the week on this chilly Saturday night...
Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich is never going to be the Republican nominee. A few days ago I wrote a diary on why Mitt Romney would be the GOP standard-bearer, and I have seen nothing since then to make me change my mind. Newt Gingrich is a flash in the pan, more interested in selling books and boosting his speaking fees than in being president. Has he thought about it, daydreamed about it? Of course he has. He's a complete narcissist, how could he not? But it's not going to happen. Never. The party leaders hate him, the evangelicals hate him, Wall Street hates him, moderates hate him. And I think his poll numbers are misleading. I don't think snappy debate performances and pseudo-intellectual management-speak translate into votes on the ground, especially when you have no organization to speak of. And don't forget, Gingrich comes on strong, maybe even makes a good first impression, but The Newt Show gets old fast. Look how quickly he went from savior of the Republican party to most hated politician in history back when he was speaker. He's probably peaking too soon if he wants his popularity to translate into actual votes. After all, there's still a month to go before Iowa.
Herman Cain. I'd love to say I hate to say I told you so, but I don't. So I told you so. Remember back a few weeks ago, before all the stuff about Cain's serial philandering/harassing/being just generally creepy came out, and a lot of people in the media and here were taking him seriously, like there was ever a snowball's chance in Hell of him ever being the Republican nominee? Yeah. He never had a chance from day one. The rest was like watching a remake of a movie you've seen before: You don't know the exact details but you know how the story ends. It didn't take Nostradamus to see this coming.
Mitt Romney. This man is the single biggest threat to the reelection of Barack Obama. No, Republicans aren't enthusiastic about him. But that's okay. No one will ever be enthusiastic about Mitt Romney. I doubt Mitt Romney ever gets enthusiastic about Mitt Romney. It doesn't matter. In fact, in a perverse way Romney's very lack of persona might even help him with an electorate weary of Barack Obama's lofty and inspirational but, in their view, hollow rhetoric. A smart, handsome, if ultimately bland (read: white) technocrat might be just the balm they need. His moderate credentials may make it tougher for him to get the support of his party's right wing, but it could make him deadly in an election against an incumbent with approval ratings in the 40s and a tepid economy. Never mind that he's Wall Street's guy through and through. Never mind that he thinks he's fulfilling the White Horse Prophecy. Never mind that he is the living embodiment of the modern American political system, where ideas and beliefs are subsumed to image and expediency. He could still easily be president in 2013. Right now if I had to call odds, I'd give it at 50/50. We gots some work to do, kids.
Occupy Wall Street. I have serious doubts that anything substantive will come of the Occupy movement. Yes, they have gotten people talking about income disparity, and that's good. But will we still be talking about it when the economy picks up? This recession has been bad, but it won't last forever. Sooner or later there will be another boom cycle, and once the majority of Americans feel like there is a chicken in every pot again, they might just return to their placated quiescence. Give a man a 60" flatscreen and a new SUV and he's a lot less likely to make waves. I am coming around to the depressing belief that fundamental change will only occur when things have gotten so bad that there is widespread social and civil unrest. Bread lines and blood in the streets, in other words. And we're a long way from that. Maybe I'm wrong. Possibly I am too cynical in my lack of faith in the American people. God I hope so.
Egypt. This is where I am going to differ with a lot of people here, I think. But when it comes to geopolitics, democracy is not always the United States' friend. We'd like to think it is, because our fundamental belief in democracy is such a strong part of our self-identification as a people (even though what we have in our own country could arguably be said to be anything but a democracy). But the truth is that democratic governments often elect leaders whose goals and interests are antithetical to those of the United States. And that's fine -- countries have a right to look out for their own interests. But that's the thing. We have interests too. The only difference is that we have the political, economic, and military power to back ours up. It may be unfair, but when did the universe change its policy and decide that everything was going to be fair? If the situation were reversed, other countries would absolutely put their interests above ours, why shouldn't we be expected to do the same? Now we have an Islamist government likely to take control of the world's most populous Arab Muslim nation. Does anyone seriously think that's in our interests? From a strategic viewpoint, we would have been better off if the military remained in charge.
Unemployment. Once again the unemployment numbers were disappointing for the administration. And I don't see them getting any better soon. Companies have figured out they can get the same amount of work done with fewer employees, and employees will sit and take it because of fear of losing their job. Create jobs? Why the fuck would they do that? That costs money and eats into profits. No, much more lucrative to just work people to the bone and make them grateful for the privilege.
Climate Change. It's December, and for much of the last few weeks it's been in the 60s here in northern Massachusetts. 25 years ago there would have been a foot of snow on the ground. We used to go sledding on Thanksgiving; this year I was able to go jogging in a tank top and shorts (yeah, it looked as hot as it sounds). How anyone, especially over the age of 30, can seriously deny that the climate is changing is beyond me. The sheer mental gymnastics required are mind-boggling.
The 0.1%. Three wealth managers from Connecticut won the $250 million Powerball last weekend. I guess God IS a Republican.