Bill Clinton vs. Every other Democrat

I didn't see the Democratic National Convention, but I was not surprised to learn Clinton didn't fan the coals of negative campaigning.  In doing so, Clinton unequivocally went against the grain of the Democratic Party.

It's a smart move on the former President's part.

This country is becoming increasingly polarized by groups that promote and perpetuate hatred.  It seems that anyone that's politically active runs by the worlds "an enemy of my enemy is my friend."  As if to say, "hello stranger, you hate Bush! Great!  You're my new best friend."  Never mind the notion that the ignorant do-gooder may have just befriended a devout al-Qaeda member.

So here's the problem: a huge chunk of the American population is fed up this trend.  Don't believe me?  Then why is it that Kerry is having a heck of a time getting an edge in the polls even though Bush's approval ratings are so low?  The swing voters and independents are not going to be lured over the Democratic party if all they can do is bash Bush.

Clinton knows this and is acting accordingly.  Really, if anyone knows how to beat President Bush in the wake of an Iraqi war, it's him.  So why is it that so few Democrats want to take their queue from Clinton?
 Come on Democrats.  It was an effective way to make one's self look better by cutting others down.  The keyword here is WAS.  That was back in junior high.  True, cutting people down in campaigns in part of the game.  But if that's your core strategy, you've got some big problems.

Double Standard

I always get a kick out of the double standard that's imposed on the United States.  We have this unshakable stereotype of being overly insensitive to the international community.  Then along comes Jacques Chirac who says Ariel Sharon is not welcome in France.  Chirac made the comment in retaliation for Sharon urging French Jews to leave the country because Sharon thought there was increasing anti-Semitism in the country (herein known as the "spread of the wildest anti-Semitism").

link

Now, there's no doubt that such a comment by Sharon would ruffle some feathers in the French government, but the President of France flat out says "you aren't welcome here"!  unbelievable!  The last time I was met with that level of maturity I was in grade school.  I believe the exact quote was, "shutup, or I'll take my ball and go home."

Does Chirac actually mirror the voice of France?  Are people "down" with this kind of behavior?  Far be it from me claim I have my finger on the pulse of the French community, but here's what I think.  With this calculated statement, the applause and support Chirac gets will offset the number of French citizens it disenfranchises.  Hopefully I'm wrong.

Back to the American double standard.  It's absolutely unthinkable that a President of the United States would say something like this to another president with which he had friendly diplomatic relations.  The backlash from the international community would be overwhelming.  And even more importantly, the American public -and MAYBE even the Reform party- would not stand for it either.  Every country is prone to a certain level of international insensitivity,  but the nonexistent backlash against Chirac (that I've seen so far) puts France on an entirely different level.   And for whatever reason, France is a country that's preceived as being the country that is sensitive to the worlds needs.
 
Maybe it's the halo effect that comes with United States bashing.  Just ask Schröder, that's how he got elected.

Propagandocumentaries and such

It would appear that I was right about Moore popularizing a new genre. MoveOn.org has embraced Moore's new "propagandocumentary" genre. Is there a soul on earth that is willing to say that they have the unbiased high ground in attacking the Fox News channel? That's what the comment box is for, I'd love to hear someone defend MoveOn by saying they're a credible source when it comes to uncovering another organization's bias. Any takers? Bring it on.

On a similar vote, it's good to see Michael Wilson getting some international coverage. (It feels good to recognize a newsworthy person before the media picks up on it.) If Wilson can play the media half as well as Moore can, Wilson should eventually become a household name. Fair or not, he's got more credibility on his side. Now, he's the underdog going after the "evil" establishments (as Moore WAS in Roger and Me and other his earlier and less flamingly left wing documentaries).

I used to think Wilson went overboard in his title, but no longer. Think about it:

America's economy is driven by capitalism, which Moore loathes.
America's leaders are held accountable by a democracy in which he has no faith.
America was founded on a libertarian implementation of Judeo Christian principles.
and while Moore obviously hates Bush, he also had zero positive things to say about Clinton in 'Bowling'. In fact, just about every time he mentioned Clinton, he took a cheap shot at him.

I mean really, if you can't respect Bush OR Clinton, what can you say? Oh ya! "Michael Moore Hates America!" that’s what. Right on Mike Wilson! Careful Democrats, by embracing Moore, you aren't actually embracing someone who loves your party. Moore just has less distain for you than he does Republicans. If you haven't already figured it out, Moore doesn't like Republicans OR Democrats.