There they sat, the youth vote with their Hillary signs. Holding up their "Experience Counts" placards, and looking bored. Their eyes wandered. They whispered quietly among themselves. Frankly, they looked like they were just killing time until the real headliner showed up. What was Hillary doing while the young ones were restless behind her? She was doing what she does best: she was being the smartest girl in the class. She was explaining (in depth) how she would end the war, and the young voters behind her couldn’t have cared less.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not trashing the youth vote. Do they want the war to end? Duh yeah. But they just don’t want to be bored by hearing how Hill (or anybody else) is going to do it. That’s like your job, isn’t it? Not mine.
I’m scared for Hill because she doesn’t get it. She’s gotten as far as she has by doing things the only way smart girls know how to do it: by working hard, doing the reading (extra credit included), writing the longest papers, and skipping the social life. Face it, that’s why Hill gets trashed all the time. She was never the one going to the keggers, doing the jello shots, or winning at beer pong; she was the geek holed up in the library on a kick-ass Saturday night. I mean seriously, this is almost like un-American. Frankly, I think this is why she lost Iowa . And if she doesn’t wake up, she’ll lose NH too. No social life=Not a clue. So Hill, I hope you’re reading this because there’s some things you’ve got to know.
This is 2008. There’s some serious shit that has to be fixed. But don’t give us the details. Don’t fucking bore us. We want the pep rally, not the dissertation. Make us feel good. Like make us forget that there’s major shit that has to be fixed. That’s how you win the youth vote, and how you win over the independents who just want it fixed, changed, the channel turned, and everything good again-but-don’t-tell-me-how.
We want to be inspired, Hill. We want to hope again. Don’t tell us how you’re going to do it; no specifics please. It’ll only confuse us, give us headaches, and remind us how fucked up this country has become. And that’s definitely NOT what we want to hear, or what motivates us, or makes us want to listen, and be moved, and believe again. Hell, it worked for W when he said:
"Responsible leadership sets a tone of civility and bipartisanship that gets things done. I am a uniter, not a divider."
Yep, W understood what I’m talking about; he made Americans believe again.
And Obama, he gets it too:
"The first-term senator from Illinois promised "a nation less divided and more united."
We need this kind of inspiration. We need to believe again, Hill. We are desperate to believe again. We’re America , the land of the free, and the best hope for mankind. We just want to feel good about ourselves again. We don’t like that we’re not the most popular kid on the planet anymore. That was so cool after WW II when America was a hero, and the rest of the world looked up to us. We liked that, so if someone comes along who gives us that feeling again, well that’s who we’re getting behind. That’s who we’ll follow, lock-stepping in place, heads held high with hope, marching towards change, united and strong, etc. etc. etc. Because as Americans, we really deserve a leader who inspires and doesn’t bog us down with details, or specifics, or even a track record. A leader who inspires us to hope, to dream, to win again. Hey, we’re totally down for that.
It’s all about winning, Hill. That's what W understood, and O, well, he's the man, and he gets it too. Use the words that make Americans feel like winners, Hill, and that's when we'll start listening. Americans don’t like losing---they want a love affair with someone who makes them feel like a winner.
Right now, that's not you.
Comments are closed on this story.