babbling blue

I don’t really watch Keith Olbermann because I don’t generally care to listen to pundits talk about politics, even when we’re generally on the same side. I like my political news with a dash of balance (and no, not “fair and balanced” a la Fox News). But I came across this video and thought he really nailed it.

Dear American Media,

Wow, it was quite an election cycle, wasn’t it? I can tell you had a lot of fun with it. You got to try out your new toys (hello, holograms). You got to examine each candidate under a microscope, and find all their weaknesses and flaws. You got to play and replay clips of the many zingers and verbal foibles (and there were some doozies). Good times, good times.

And hey, we appreciate your work on this. Really, we do. I felt very informed throughout the whole process. Thanks!

But the election is over. There there. . . it’s OK, the next one will be coming up before you know it! In the mean time, you have some pretty big things to cover. Like the whole global economic crisis, the crumbling automotive industry in the U.S., and the various appointments coming down the line from our president-elect. (By the way, why do all your tickers refer to him as “President-Elect Obama”? I think everyone knows who he is, so you can be a bit more concise if you want to.) It’s a time to look ahead, not behind.

Not behind, to Sarah Palin. You know what? She said some pretty mean things about you guys during the last couple months. At least, I think she did; I confess I only understood about 30% of what came out of her mouth. But I’m pretty sure there was some bashin’ of the mainstream media goin’ on there.

Yet you guys still seem to be fascinated by her. You’re doing interviews left and right (or right and right), taking favorability opinion polls, and generally covering the little spat between her and McCain’s staff as it’s significant. Why? Why continue the pain? For yourselves, and for us.

The best thing for the American people is for Sarah Palin to fade back into the obscurity that she should never have left in the first place. Don’t give her interviews, don’t take polls, don’t talk to people about her. Forget her, and move on. Let Palin just be a brief blot on the timeline of American history. It’s all she deserves. And think of it this way, since she was so doggone mean to you: Sarah Palin is an attention whore, and there is no better way to get back at an attention whore than to ignore her.

So please, American media, just leave Sarah Palin alone. For the good of America. . . heck, for the good of humanity. Let her raise her family and live out her days in the backwaters of America’s least fourth least populous (and coldest) state. And that’s it.

Thank you for your time!

Sincerely,
Josh aka “blueaura”

The Top 5 Reasons To Vote In Illinois*
Or: Why It Still Means A Thing Even If It Ain’t Got That Swing
*Or any non swing-state

1. Big margin = big mandate. The popular vote doesn’t put anyone in the White House, but it effects what presidents can do when they get there. Want Obama to be able to actually do the stuff he’s been talking about? Pass universal health care? End the war? Then we need a landslide.
2. The other things on the ballot matter! For example: Congress. Without more support in the House and Senate, Obama will have a hard time getting progressive laws passed. Plus, there are other important local races and ballot questions in some places.
3. If you don’t vote, everyone can find out. Voting records are public. (Not who you voted for, just whether you voted.) Pretty soon, finding out whether you voted could be as easy as Googling you.
4. Help make history. You could cast one of the votes that elect the first African-American president. If we win, we’ll tell our grandchildren about this election, and they’ll tell their grandchildren. Do you really want to have to explain to your great-great-grandchildren that you were just too busy to vote in the most important election in your lifetime?
5. People died so you’d have the right to vote. Self-government—voting to choose our own leaders—is the original American dream. We are heir to a centuries-long struggle for freedom: the American revolution, and the battles to extend the franchise to those without property, to women, to people of color, and to young people. This year, many will still be denied their right to vote. For those of us who have that right, it’s precious. If we waste it, we dishonor those who fought for it and those who fight still.

For information on how, where and when to vote: www.voteforchange.com

(Blatantly ripped off from MoveOn.org.)

If you didn’t vote early (and I did not), get your butt out there tomorrow and cast your ballot! Or else I’ll kick it.