I would like to take you seriously, but to do so would affront your intelligence.

Mike:
You wanna know how big the Red Sox are?

 

---

Mike:
Well, they are such a big deal that even Dick Cheney crawls out of his top secret underground lair in ordah to glimpse the champs in red stockings.

 

---

Al:
Oh, come on, Mike, Cheney was only there to make sure that David Ortiz's immigration papahs were all in ordah.

 

---

Doug:
OK you two moveon moonbats, as much as you hate Bush, you've got to give my guy props for his jokes. I mean that "I guess Manny's grandmother died again" line was comic gold.

 

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Mike:
You mean his speechwritah's line.

 

---

Doug:
Look, it takes more than having the line, it's in the delivery. You can't pull that stuff off unless you're actually a baseball fan. I mean, c'mon, do I need to remind you of John Kerry and "Manny Ortez"?

 

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Mike:
OK, OK touché. When George W. Bush isn't busy destroying the world, he does probably follow the game like a true fan. There, satisfied?

 

---

Doug:
OMG aren't we magnanimously bipartisan today. Must be the Obamassiah?

 

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Al:
Hey, I'll confess that I'm feeling pretty cocky right now about next Novembah.

 

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Doug:
Well, while you tax and spendahs are feeling so upbeat, can I get a kind word in memory of the fathah of the modern conservative movement, William F. Buckley?

 

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Al:
You're pushing it, guy, but, OK -- while I rarely agreed with Buckley, I'll admit the dude had some serious wit and style.

 

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Mike:
Well, what do you expect — He was Irish.

 

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Mike:
Think about it, some of the greatest political thinkahs of the past 50 yeahs have been Irish — Kennedy, O'Neil, Moynihan …

 

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Al:
O'bama!

 

---

Author's Notes:

Today's title is a quote from WFB.  And the "O'bama" in the final frame comes courtesy of John Derbyshire, a writer at the Buckley founded National Review. (Yes when I'm not reading sports blogs or Hollywood gossip blogs, I do try to keep up with the political blogs on both sides of the aisle.)

Comments

[cal]

i think religious beliefs have their place in politics, but sometimes it's taken too far. opposing abortion because you believe all life is sacred is rational. wanting to place the ten commandments in public schools is merely forcing your beliefs on others.

and the fact that the republican party so shamelessly exploits the divide between those who are deeply religious and those who are not makes many people suspicious of religion in politics all together.

[h.b]

The GOP is actually not as monolithic as that with regard to religion.

For instance, John Derbyshire, the guy I mentioned in the notes who is a writer as NRO is an agnostic in every sense of the word. And Heather Mac Donald, another NRO writer, is an avowed atheist and is every bit as critical and suspicious of "the religious right" as anyone on the left.

Then there is Christopher Hitchens, who isn't technically part of the GOP (and isn't a US citizen for that matter) but who is sympathetic to the right with regard to Iraq and the Bush admin's foreign policy, is downright hostile to all forms of religion. (You may have heard of his book, "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything")

And the splits in the party between the evangelicals and the fiscal conservatives are well documented.

[h.b]

BTW sorry for all the politics today. I guess it's the whole death of WFB thing.

You just don't see people like him anymore on the left or right. He was never about screaming and shouting and hatred.

He was about wittiness and humor and respect for his opposition no matter how much he disagreed.

I'm just tired of living in a political world where Ann Coulter and Bill Maher pass for political discourse.

[yazbread]

I have no problem with individuals professing their faith and mixing it with politics. Provided they can bring the heat at 95+ and keep their ERA under 3.50.

[soxdownunder]

Bring back Arnie Vinnick!

[cal]

obviously there are members of the GOP who don't wear their religion on their sleeve, but GOP national political campaigns are often directed at the religious base...

for example, getting constitutional amendments to same-sex marriage on the ballot in swing states in the 2004 election (including ohio)

terri schavio is another good example

and christopher hitchens is not a republican...he's just a cranky (but funny) war hawk...he used to be a liberal when he wrote for the Nation

[Kaz]

I'll give George W. Bush one credit for following through on a campaign promise.

He said he was a uniter, not a divider. The past few years, for the most part I've actually agreed with WFBJr on the topic of President Bush.

[h.b.]

I'm closing this one up.