Nope, but nice try, and thanks for clicking.
Some people will find any excuse to hate someone, to bring rationality to their dislike of something that is popular. Sometimes, you just feel an inexplicable burning hatred: deal with it, but do so peacefully. It reminds me of a review I read of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" when it came out on DVD. A lot of people loved that movie, including TV Critic Richard Roeper and Online Ebert Editor/Sick leave substitute Jim Emerson. And me, and all my friends, and everyone I know. But this reviewer was tasked with writing a blurb for this film littered with backhanded acknowledgements of its popularity. I didn't keep it on-hand, but it was loaded with "If you like that sort of things" and "for this audience"-type remarks. Basically to say, "I hated it, but everyone else loved it, so I don't know what to tell you." I mean, don't be afraid to speak your mind, when called upon... but it sucks being left out of public opinion. That's why I feel bad for American conservatives these days.
This particular review was in Metro, home to TV critic Rick McGinnis, who is, like most critics, kind of a douche, but a douche with good taste, except he occaisonally reminds his viewers that he's a righty. Why this should matter to his opinions of Mad Men and Life on Mars, I don't know, but he occasionally drops a stray barb at Barack Obama. In his TV column, "Intellevision." He does occasionally write a political/lifestyle column called "OmniVision" and in those cases I don't care what he has to say. But his heart is filled with so much hatred for Barack Obama that he can't resist complaining that Barack's ascent was prophesied by the last stretch of the West Wing. As if a show only being watched by then by Chris Brown was going to affect the American public. People love Obama. Except for Rick McGinnis (whom I'm pretty sure is Canadian anyway - like me, which makes me wonder why I'm writing this. Touche.)
That leads me to the anti-Christ thing. For whatever perverse, voyeuristic reason, I like reading LJSecret. Thinking about other peoples' problems helps put perspective on my life ("I can't believe I was freaking out about that test when such-and-such is starving" or "So-and-so is clearly too obsessed with finding a boyfriend... I have a test and such-and-such is starving!") as well as get guidance in my writing. You so rarely get to hear what people REALLY think as filtered through anonymous statements that can't be tracked. I love it. Except when I came across an image posting a likeness of Obama with a Bible quote saying that Jesus warned people many would come, claiming to be him, but not to follow them.
Now, this raises the interesting question of: How will we KNOW when the real Jesus comes back? More pressingly: the Bible quote + Obama photo had the tagline something along the lines of "This man is the anti-Christ."
Well, that's retarded.
For starters, I don't recall Obama ever saying he was Jesus. I'm pretty sure that at least would've been replayed on an hourly basis by Fox News and probably also at some point on the Daily Show. John Lennon once said the Beatles were more popular in Britain than Jesus (statistically likely) and they burned his records in the states, including probably a lot of the states that voted for Obama (looking at you, North Carolina.) Yes, people follow him, because he has powerful rhetoric and magnetic charisma. Whether you like his ideas or not, you have to give him that - he's just a lot more likeable than his opponent was.
Never mind the fact that there is an ACTUAL MAN from Puerto Rico walking around claiming to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, performing supposed miracles and gaining a legitimate following. There is also a young boy in Nepal claiming to be the reincarnation of Buddha, which is perplexing because according to the Buddhist Sutras, Buddha cannot be reincarnated, having awakened to a higher level of being. But whatever. Why focus religious outrage on actual pretenders when we have a lefty in the White House.
Religious fanatics like that are just looking to give rationality to their otherwise difficult-to-express hatred of a man everyone else likes. It's a little like saying Obama is a socialist - he's not (Adam) and actual socialists are incredibly critical of his economic platform, but hey, why let facts get in the way of a good hate?
I'm not saying there's no reason to dislike Obama. I like him, but am perturbed by his lack of a record. I want him to do something awesome and prove he deserves what he has been given, rather than just getting by on charisma (which, don't kid yourselves, is what every U.S. President besides Nixon has done since forever.)
In closing... it's fun to hate. Comedy shows like SNL and the Daily Show have been pampered by the Bush Administration. I think Colbert will do just fine, and with the state the world's in, none of these shows is on the endangered species list (even if SNL has been ridiculously inconsistent since Will Farrell left.) But we all got too used to seeing hilarious Bush quotes that probably won't turn up in the Obama Presidency. It's usually considered condescending to call a black man "well spoken" (Chris Rock does a whole routine about it) but here, it's just an apt comparative statement.
Oh, and politics is for assholes. I hope I never feel the desire to talk about it again.
Keep on rockin'
-Scott
politics
