Wednesday, February 27, 2008

A Cat's Eye View


Baxter here. I don't have a lot of time to Blog today but thought I would stop in and give you my two cents on last night's Debate between the Barack Obama Human and the Hillary Clinton Human.

Mind you, I didn't actually watch this so-called Debate. But I did read about it this morning when I was Perusing the Internet as is my wont. And I read some Live Blogging over at Watergate Summer, and my Impression is that the Hillary Human didn't do herself any Favors with her Performance. It seems as if she is Schizophrenic; one minute she is cordial and conciliatory and the next, she comes out Fighting.

Now, mind you, for Cats, this is a Good Thing. If a Cat acts pleasant, this Lulls his Opponent into a False Sense of Security, and then the Cat can strike unexpectedly and do more Damage. But for Politicians, this may not be so good. It seems as if the Audience applauds most when both of these Candidates are cordial to each other, such as the end of the last Debate. It remains to be seen whether the strikes the Hillary Human made will have any positive Effect or whether her shifting Tactics may work against her.

From what I understand, the Obama Human, although he did respond to the Attacks, did not lose his Cool. This should stand him in good stead.

One thing my own Female Human has noticed is how different this series of Debates is from other Presidential Campaign years. First of all, there are Too Many of them. How many times can people get up there and answer the same Stupid Questions?

The other Thing is, the style of these so-called Debates is more reminiscent of World Wrestling Friday Night Smackdown than a serious discussion of the Issues. In the Old Days the Debate style was highly Formal and Candidates got a set number of minutes that were strictly Enforced, and video clips of their Speeches were not interpsersed. CNN has made this into Entertainment - and biased Entertainment at that - and I think it does the Public a Disservice.

It was somehow Appropriate that the Clinton Human referred to a Saturday Night Live skit that showed Favoritism toward her Opponent in order to claim the Moderators favored the Obama Human.

The Big Test will be on March 4, and we will see whether the Clinton Human's tactics did anything to slow the Obama Human's Momentum.

I've heard Hints that my Humans are Going Away on Vacation soon; if so, I am going to be here Sulking in Solitude. Oh, yes, one of my Human Friends will be here to visit me, so I won't be completely Alone. But I will be Cranky. The only Good thing is That Dog won't be here to Annoy me.

On that note, I will close this Post. Have a good Week and have plenty of Catnip to get you through the next bout of Primaries.

18 comments:

John J. said...

Enjoy your canine freedom.

As far as the complaints about "always" getting the question first, I think it's silly. The very first question today was one she brought up on Saturday. She used it, as any good debater would (and the reason most debaters want to get the question first...), to guide the direction of the question to what she wanted to talk about (for, as the moderators noted, 1/6th of the debate).

Sadly, she came across to me as rude and abrasive in the debate - complaining about getting to respond first to questions, interrupting both the moderators and her opponent, barely letting anyone get a word in, and never letting go of a topic. You did well to avoid it.

Comrade Kevin said...

She will prove to her own undoing, because her true colors have shown.

We know her for what she is now, and I must admit, I don't see anything about her as particularly admirable.

Mauigirl said...

John,
I agree that she sounded as if she was abrasive from the clips I've seen. (Looking forward to Jon Stewart's summary tonight on the Daily Show). A lot of her speeches this week have had that harsh attitude as well, which I've never found appealing about her. The only times I've warmed up to her were the few times she acted cordial and warm as she did at the end of the last debate. Unfortunately apparently that was the act and she's really like this. I think this debate probably was very detrimental to her.

Comrade Kevin, I agree, and this is the impression I always had of her in the past. She had started to seem as if she had begun to show a softer and more likable side to her personality which would actually make me feel she'd be a better leader than her harsh persona. But if she can't keep that facade up then I don't think she'd be a good president; if she's meeting with heads of state, she can't keep switching personalities!

Satan said...

I want to see them debate like the clips of Chomsky vs. Buckley on CTK's blog.

-- Satan

Mauigirl said...

Satan, thanks for the recommendation, I enjoyed watching the clips there. What a difference in the whole intellectual level of that debate versus these.

enigma4ever said...

hey there friend....I survived the debate- that is all any of us can do at this point....Have a wonderul time away and soak up sun and warm breeezes..and do drink something with an umbrella....and many hugs to you and Baxter.....

Christopher said...

Baxter,

You didn't miss much.

If you already support Barack Obama, then his performance reinforced the belief that he is superbly qualified to become the next president.

He's informed, articulate, smart, classy and gracious. But then we already knew this about Obama.

Hillary Clinton, well, suffice to say she only solidified her image as a vile, nasty bitch who seems more suited to be a junkyard attack dog than the next president.

Hopefully, next Tuesday we will have a nominee and the nation can move on.

HopSkipJump said...

Baxter,

Your Canadian friends can't wait for you to elect the next President... as long as s/he's Democratic.

Candace said...

Gads, Mauigirl, I finally got some internets hooked up at my new place and can finally get back to blogging AND put you on my blogroll - many apologies for the delay!

Baxter, what a great post. Our feline, Shadow, is having such a good time exploring his new digs, even tho it was kinda freakin him out at first. When will your peeps get back from va-ca?

Mauigirl said...

Hey Candace, welcome back, and thanks for linking Baxter and me!

We'll be gone for two weeks but hopefully in touch with the blogosphere as I'm bringing my laptop. I am too big an addict to go without it!

Glad Shadow is getting used to his new environment!

pissed off patricia said...

I wasn't able to watch the debate but I have seen clips of it since. I'm ready to vote, bring on November.

Fred the Cat has cast his ballot for Obama. He said he likes his style.

Mauigirl said...

POP, I feel the same way - let's just do it already! I don't know if we can stand eight more months of campaigning to watch! Glad to hear Fred has joined Baxter in supporting Obama. Now if only I could convince my mother and Diva. They both like Hillary! ;-)

Mauigirl said...

Enigma and Christopher, sorry I just realized I didn't respond to your comments!

Enigma, we're en route to Hawaii as I type, sitting in between flights in Dallas. Thank goodness for wi fi! Thanks for your good wishes.

Christopher, I saw some of the clips and they confirm exactly what you said. She seemed shrill and cranky, he seemed cool and unruffled. He's really confident but not cocky - knows how to handle himself. I like what I see and think it bodes well for him in the general election as well.

Inarticulate Fumblings, as you know I visited over at your place but just wanted to add here, I am happy the Canadians are rooting for a Democratic administration. I'm sure they have been horrified by the last 8 years here!

TomCat said...

Baxter, I bet she forgot to leave the computer on so you could blog, didn't she? When she returns, be slightly aloof in a wounded way. It's easy to make humans feel guilty. ;-)

Mauigirl said...

Tomcat, sadly you are right. I turned off the computer before we left. So Baxter will be on vacation for two weeks and will come back with plent of wounded dignity to share with his fans.

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