The Bubble Genius Bob & Chez Show 5/3/12

“Politics is weird. And creepy. And, now I know, lacks even the loosest attachment to anything like reality.” That quote will live on forever, and for good reason.

“Politics as sport.” True. There is an expectation in politics (as in sport) that losers will say nice things about winners and winners will be gracious toward losers. In the real world, things are almost never so neat and tidy, but in the real world (or, for that matter, in sport), favors don’t get exchanged nearly as often as in electoral politics.

The Left—and possibly brighter precincts of the Center—will understand the disconnect that Shepard Smith highlighted, but the Right won’t. No matter how subversive Smith may be, the core FNC audience simply won’t see it: they’ll automatically assume he’s talking about them damn’ librul hippie traitors, like all the rest of the Fox hosts.

I can’t remember who pointed this out today (?), but Michele Bachmann got fewer votes, and by a significant margin, than did Mike Gravel in 2008. No one cared then who Gravel thought should become president; even fewer people now should care who Michele Bachmann thinks should be president for the next four years.

“Is there a bigger scumbag on the planet than John Edwards?” Maybe yes, maybe no, but he’s certainly the best known. The tawdriness of the story (and the breathlessness of the coverage) is such that for me it’s like the OJ Simpson trial: when the story comes on, I tune out.

The Republican claim to the mantle of Strong on National Defense has taken a hit, so of course they’re going to lash out. Polls show Rs still score higher in public opinion polls on national defense, alas, but the numbers aren’t quite as strong as they’ve been in the past. Hence the spectacle of Republicans feigning outrage—outrage, dammit, outrage!—at Barack Obama taking even a small amount of credit for the death of Osama bin Laden: it threatens the Republican brand as the Daddy Party.

“Silly season has only just started.” The sound you just heard was me curling up into the fetal position.

–alopecia

ETA: Found it.

Votes won in all 2008 Democratic caucuses and primaries by former Sen. Mike Gravel: 40,263

Votes won in all 2012 Republican caucuses and primaries by Rep. Michele Bachmann: 29,072

Today’s lesson: Bachmann understands the media much better than Gravel does.