Thursday, October 13, 2005

Madam President?

Ok. I am officially worried about the Apocalypse.

Why? Well, besides the fact that a Chicago baseball team is in the playoffs, you add the fact that Fox canceled The Simple Life (though I think that shows there may yet be hope for humanity after all), that Mayor Bloomberg has expanded his lead for re-election, and the fact that Rick Moranis (yes, that Rick Moranis from SCTV, Little Shop of Horrors, etc) has released a country music album. [shudder]

d those together with this article my brother Al found in the Chicago Sun-Times the other day and you know that the Apocalypse is a comin’. (The link to the whole article is here:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/television/cst-nws-comm12.html)

It seems that there are some individuals in the Conservative media who believe that the new Geena Davis drama “Commander in Chief” is a ‘sinister scheme….to hype Hillary Clinton for the White House.’

I’ll pause a moment for some of you to regain your composure.

Some of you may be asking what the show is about. Well, it’s a TV show where the president dies, and then the vice president (played by Geena Davis) succeeds him in the Oval Office. Geena Davis is, as is her character, a woman. (Oh…my…God…)

J.B. Williams, a writer for the National Ledger website (which is a conservative site) states in this article that the show, in “'Keeping with the modern liberal tradition of subliminal socialist indoctrination [through U.S. television], ‘Commander in Chief’ seeks to accomplish more than prime-time entertainment.” (Personally, I think the phrase ‘subliminal socialist indoctrination’ is what makes this article art)

A blogger by the name of Colossus pronounced the show as “'a nefarious plot to advance the notion of a Hillary Clinton presidency.'"

And a Condi Rice presidency would be what? Not nefarious? I find that very hard to believe. (I personally don’t think a Hillary Clinton run for the White House is going to happen – but I could be wrong, and even if she did, I honestly don’t know how I would feel and how I would vote. I know I would need more information before I could make an educated choice – wow, is that a strange concept or what?)

Are you actually telling me that there are (supposedly) intelligent, knowledgeable people out there who believe that this show ‘is a sinister scheme by Hollywood lefties to hype’ a Hillary run for the White House?

I’m amazed that there is this much stupidity in this world. Not surprised mind you, but amazed.

But, being an intelligent and knowledgeable person, I will practice tolerance for those that disagree with me and shall delve into this quagmire of whether ''Commander in Chief'' (which is one of the most-watched new shows of the season) could really be a weekly infomercial for Hillary Clinton (I know the answer – hell, anyone with a fourth grade education would know the answer –but let’s look into it anyway…)

Let’s first look at the similarities.

They’re both women.



I think that’s it.

Now, the article by J.B. Williams points out some other things that he considers parallels. I think they’re a bit of a stretch, but here they are:

*(Geena Davis’ character) ''Mac'' is a U.S. congresswoman-turned-university official. On the other hand, Hillary is a former first lady who is a U.S. senator. (Ok, I'm still waiting for a similarity. I mean, by using that type of logic, any woman who has ever been a senator or congresswoman would be similar to Geena Davis' character...even , a Republican, and they would then, in turn, be like Hillary.)

*Mac's road to the White House began as a vice presidential candidate chosen to boost the women's vote for her Republican running mate, who then, after just two years in office, obligingly expired. (Yeah, I can’t see that happening in real life, but that’s just me…)

*Mac is idealized and perfect – Boston Herald columnist Virginia Buckingham wrote: ''If I were Hillary Clinton, I'd be running scared. Perfect is not the bar she ought to want set for her.'' (Not perfect, but, at the least, better and smarter than the current administration, which shouldn’t be THAT hard)

The parallels are scary aren’t they?

What's the the best parallel? This one from James Dobson, sent in a “CitizenLink” email from his Focus on the Family [snicker] organization. '”The name of the lead character, 'Mackenzie Allen,' sounds remarkably, poetically like 'Hillary Clinton.’”

Sure it does Mr. Dobson, and your name sounds remarkably, poetically, like 'Dumb-ass.'

If this is an infomercial for Hillary, then the election is already over and the next empty shirt (or empty head - is there another Bush in the wings?) the GOP finds will be the next President. Hillary’s campaign will be nothing like this fictionalized Washington that is so far from the truth, it even makes the current season of the West Wing seem like a documentary.

I think best-selling feminist author Naomi Wolf described it best when she applauded it in the Guardian. She hailed ''Commander in Chief'' as not only ‘well-timed’ for Clinton's widely anticipated 2008 run, but also as ‘truly addictive, political pornography.’

Well, no wonder it has a Clinton’s name attached to it.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, here is my original post. I think the AP took it at face value. It was meant to be somewhat tongue in cheek, as is about 90% of what I write.

http://www.colossusblog.com/mt/archives/000873.html

My reaction to the AP mention is here.

http://www.colossusblog.com/mt/archives/001156.html

Enjoy . . .

Anonymous said...

I agree. The idea of that show serving as a springboard to elect a female president is absurd. That's like saying Jack Frost was an agenda piece to cause nationwide self-animating snowmen. Hardly.

Frosty the snowman is as realistic as a female president. Neither exist or will ever exist. Ever. Women would make horrible presidents. They can't even handle their own lives let alone those of an entire nation.

-Dick

enigma4ever said...

I am indeed sorry that the previous commentor- Dick- wrote such a thing- I hope his Mother reads it- I am SURE she would have a few comments to enlighten his sorry ass ...Now about the Women as President Issue - which will happen whether the Repug Thugs can stomach it or not.... Condasleeza was on with Russert this weekend and He asked her the Golden Question, and she played coy- "I am so flattered" ...and she said had no plans or ass-pirations of such a thing...oh-my- the eye-batting and blushing of a young corrupt schoolgirl in stilleto heals......You can click your heels three times Condi- "There's No Place like the Whitehouse", but it won't take you "home".....great post...thanks

Anonymous said...

Mine isn't as articulate as other, but here goes. I enjoy the show, HATE the Clinton's, and LOVE Geena Davis...(she is a hell of a fingers Bow shooter, too)and think there will be a wonam President in my lifetime. But, the show has nothing to do with Hilary Clinton running for the Presidential nomination. It is just a great show that should be making a person laugh and forget about real life for an hourly episode. You really need a dose of reality if you think anything other than it is a great show to watch.