by Fe Bongolan
I don’t know about you, but after three months of witnessing world-altering events in Japan, the Middle East, and even observing the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf, writing about election politics finds me in a state of bemused detachment.
Yes, I know it’s too early to gauge anyone’s interest in presidential politics, but watching the lead-up to the 2012 horse race for the White House, I can’t help but feel that I’m looking at a stage play while doing a handstand. All the characters are there on stage and in their proper positions, doing the right gestures and saying the right lines, but the context in which they are performing is meaningless. It might as well be upside down for all the sense it’s making. If you’re a normal everyday American citizen, you probably are not tuning in, not interested, or don’t care. I don’t blame you, but as someone who blogs about politics here and elsewhere, my lack of interest in politics is a strange admission, especially given the fervor of the run-up to the 2008 Presidential primaries.
These days I find myself missing Molly Ivins. Molly was the one who first identified “the Elvis factor” in candidates, spawned first by Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential candidacy, which was unmatched in crowd intensity and political superstardom until 2008 and the Obama campaign. She was also the one who coined the name “Shrub” for George W. Bush, insinuating that George was never quite the intellect or man that his father was. When it comes to American Presidential politics 2012, which begins now and extends out over the next year and a half, we Americans need our entertainment value. And when it came to the entertainment called politics, Molly was one of our favorite critics.
Which brings me now to the candidacy of Donald Trump. First of all Republican Party, what are you thinking? Sarah Palin is a former state governor who never finished her term. Michelle Bachmann is the congresswoman who, when interviewed by Chris Matthews on “Hardball,” was asked after her responses whether she was on her meds. And now we have a billionaire: The Donald, whose TV show “The Apprentice” has spawned such a cult following that it might comprise a mandate for his candidacy. All three are material of such richness for Ivins’ irony you could not pour it over biscuits and eat it without having to go to church afterward.