"That's Not Me" "I'm Not a ______"

Mel Gibson.

Michael Richards.

Michael Vick (flipped the bird to the booing home crowd after Atlanta's 4th loss in a row Sunday, Fined $10,000 by the NFL)
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Sorry guys. That IS the real you.

The other you is the facade. The you you'd like the world to see and to believe in.

But a little booze, a little provocation, and the real you is there for everyone to see.

Listen to Billy Joel's "The Stranger" sometime.

Plausible deniability is no longer an option. Admit that you have issues. Deal with them. Get over them. Get real.

Saddam to Hang

I'd have been very surprised if the verdict had been anything else.

I hate that I'm even thinking this, but do you suppose there was any political consideration in the many delays that led to this announcement the weekend before elections?

Certainly won't affect me - I voted early. But would this be enough to convince anyone that that the war in Iraq was worthwhile, and that there is an end in sight?

Kerry's Faux Pas

Kerry said:
"You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Kerry was supposed to say:
"I can't overstress the importance of a great education. Do you know where you end up if you don't study, if you aren't smart, if you're intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq."
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My thoughts:
There is a culture war going on in the US.

One of the unforeseen effects of the all-volunteer Army was the creation of a group of people who due to ivory tower acedemic isolation, privilege due to wealth or political connections, or simple distaste/disdain for all things military would never really know anyone in the Service.

The whole East Coast liberal arts schools trying to force ROTC off campus kind of thing.

While there are many reasons for the military's failure to embrace Kerry in 2004, it it probably the perception that he is one of "them" that was the biggest reason.

You get the impression that Kerry might pose for a photo op with some troops, but while still in sight of the troops, use Purell on his hands to wipe off any trace of cooties from associating with them.

Kerry, IMO, was the worst possible person to make such a comment, because it is all too likely that it was not a simply muff, but more a Freudian slip revealing his true feelings towards the troops. Or so it will be perceived.