Beauty is Imperfection

(Originally posted Thursday, April 17, 2008 )

Live Blogging the Democratic Primary, April 16

Live at Constitution Center in Philadelphia, the final debate between Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama before the Pennsylvania presidential primary.

8 p.m. Hillary and Obama come out of the gate swinging with talk of…

8:05 p.m. Oh wait, sorry. They’ve already stopped for a Taco Bell commercial.

8:10 p.m. But soon they’ve got the subject onto the substantative argument about subprime mortga….

8:11 But no! Obama is asked if he’s elistist. He says people cling to church and hunting when times are tough. This segues into a much longer discussion about whether people do or do not cling to church and hunting when times are tough. Senator Clinton says no. That’s a lot of ground we’ve covered.

8:12 It seems they’re going to talk about shipping jobs overseas when ..

8:13 Shit! They’re bickering about that whole sniper-Bosnia thing again. Hillary was not shot at by snipers, so she may have embellished a little. Right. “My bad,” says Hillary. “Little fib.” Not important, but let’s waste 10 mintues talking about it.

8:20 They seem to be just about to get off the Bosnia thing and talk about what’s going to happen with Iraq when …

8:21 Pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright comes up again. Yep. The minister made horrible remarks. There’s some confusion about whether Senator Obama “distanced himself from” or “disowned” the remarks. This was a semantic argument worthy of a whole hour of people’s out of work, homeless lives.

8:30 American Idol not on yet. Hillary seems just about ready to let the thing go about Jeremiah Wright, but then says … you know … it’s just like after 911, how could Jeremiah Wright say those things? Good. 9/11 has been covered.

8:31 There is some discussion about whether Hillary would have got up and left the church herself during Jeremiah Wright’s inflammatory 9/11 sermon or whether she would have demanded that all the congregants leave the church. An absolutely winning semantic arguement that took up a good five minutes of everybody’s non-American Idol television time.

8:32 Obama says that people’s inflation-adjusted income is going down while their expenses for things such as oil are going up. He is incensed that we are not talking about that but talking about faith.

8:33 A talk about faith.

8:34 Good idea. Since he can’t really solve the whole income-oil thing without a fuckload of unpopular taxes.

8:35 Sale at Penney’s. Too bad there’s no disposable income. Thanks, subprime loan borrowing white trash scumbags!

8:40 It seems the candidates are about to get back on the subject of health care, … but instead, no, they’re asked about being each other’s vice president? Please? America wants it. Housewives want it. Truck drivers want it. Farmers. Christians. Hold hands and be each other’s Veeps. Please. It’s just good television.

8:50 The candidates seem to want to discuss the Iraq situation, but instead are asked a completely pointless question about whether each thinks the other can beat John McCain. They both say yes. But maybe we should explore this more in depth. “Senator Clinton, do you REALLY think Barack Obama can beat John McCain. I wasn’t sure I got you that last time.”

8:55 Hillary promises no middle class tax increase and a withdrawal from Iraq. Barack says that he was the first to say there would be a tax cut. Charles Gibson asks them to cut the salami: Is the middle class tax cut going to be at those who make $250,000 or $200,000. Don’t talk to us in particulars any smaller than that. We couldn’t handle it.

8:58: Okay. All right … uh-huh….

8:59: Obama says you can’t save Social Security without hurting the middle class a little, but …

9:00 Too late. Idol. I hope that bitch Brooke gets kicked off.

9:30 Shit!