Those Good Old Robo-Calling Days
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| Also listed in: Appalachian Populists | Interfaith Peace Coalition | Licking County Pro-Active Citizens (www.licopac.org) | Perry County Democratic Forum |
If the news has you confused, skip the editorial page and go directly to the funnies.
I depend, for example, on ZITS to explain the behavior of my teenage grandson. And when it comes to politics, Garry Trudeau at DOONESBURY can be more perceptive than most of the gray-page pundits.
This week, for example, DOONESBURY is exploring the post-election hangover which is leaving a lot of us feeling somewhat empty and unfocused. My wife, Hummingbird, is a case in point. Before dawn each morning, she emulates her namesake by darting about the fading web garden of political blogs, looking for last sips of partisan nourishment. While nearly everybody else has abandoned Alaska, for example, she keeps checking out Mudflats and Progressive Alaska, hoping to catch a last glimpse of Sarah.
I'm less web-bound but still, I miss the yard signs and the constant meetings and even the canvassing and bag-stuffing since it all bolstered my view that this was the most important election ever, and thus worthy of my obsession. It is kind of disappointing that the Licking County Democratic Club won't meet this month, or that my other political groups are also MIA going into the holidays. Everybody has moved on, it seems, except for the right-wing shock jocks who still are carrying on about creeping socialism and Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright as though Nov. 4 never happened.
The networks seem to recognize this vestigial hunger for the permanent campaign. Why else would both Sarah Palin and John McCain be popping up on early morning and late-night TV this week?
Don't be surprised if ABC, recognizing what draws people these days, comes up with Dancing with the Pols to extend the rating benefits of fast dancing and hot politics. Wouldn't you watch Hillary and Bill doing the foxtrot or Joe Biden the quickstep?
The alternative, of course, is dealing with the miserable reality which the campaigns were supposed to address: a busted stock market, rising unemployment and higher prices for just about everything. Not to mention another Ohio winter.
So when your phone rings at dinner time, just pause and think, "A robo-call -- just like the good old days. God, I miss them."
I depend, for example, on ZITS to explain the behavior of my teenage grandson. And when it comes to politics, Garry Trudeau at DOONESBURY can be more perceptive than most of the gray-page pundits.
This week, for example, DOONESBURY is exploring the post-election hangover which is leaving a lot of us feeling somewhat empty and unfocused. My wife, Hummingbird, is a case in point. Before dawn each morning, she emulates her namesake by darting about the fading web garden of political blogs, looking for last sips of partisan nourishment. While nearly everybody else has abandoned Alaska, for example, she keeps checking out Mudflats and Progressive Alaska, hoping to catch a last glimpse of Sarah.
I'm less web-bound but still, I miss the yard signs and the constant meetings and even the canvassing and bag-stuffing since it all bolstered my view that this was the most important election ever, and thus worthy of my obsession. It is kind of disappointing that the Licking County Democratic Club won't meet this month, or that my other political groups are also MIA going into the holidays. Everybody has moved on, it seems, except for the right-wing shock jocks who still are carrying on about creeping socialism and Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright as though Nov. 4 never happened.
The networks seem to recognize this vestigial hunger for the permanent campaign. Why else would both Sarah Palin and John McCain be popping up on early morning and late-night TV this week?
Don't be surprised if ABC, recognizing what draws people these days, comes up with Dancing with the Pols to extend the rating benefits of fast dancing and hot politics. Wouldn't you watch Hillary and Bill doing the foxtrot or Joe Biden the quickstep?
The alternative, of course, is dealing with the miserable reality which the campaigns were supposed to address: a busted stock market, rising unemployment and higher prices for just about everything. Not to mention another Ohio winter.
So when your phone rings at dinner time, just pause and think, "A robo-call -- just like the good old days. God, I miss them."
