Arianna Huffington and Mary Matalin blew into town for the start of the "Distinguished Speaker Series" 2010-2011 at the University of Buffalo. The daughter's wedding being over, my role as mum-in-law established for posterity, (see my banner for quick-reel) I was looking forward to this debate between giants (female pl. giantesses???) A political debate on the lines of last year’s Karl Rove vs Wesley Clark where the latter whipped the former’s ass with his very appearance, look and stance! Ha!
Well it was not. Let me get that out right at the start
Not a debate I mean. They both had to introduce one another. Arianna comes out and tells us all the various features that she shares with Mary like you know having the two X chromosomes and the two extensions with same two chromosomes and then the shared secrets of motherhood. Their sleeplessness which we all share because of the general disarray in our lives without jobs and what not. Then she went on about how Mary was born in Chicago to Eileen who ran beauty salons and how she had done so and so and had been associated with this and that and how she was so-o pleased that in the latest HBO series by the great Soderbergh she had breathed the same air as Clooney! (really?)
Mary declared Arianna to be so-o organized while coyly admitting she was not and then proceeded very organized-ly to introduce her. The fact that Arianna was accompanied by her mother out of Greece into Cambridge at 16 impressed her no end! Most of us who came out of high school did so at 16 and those who were lucky enough to be accompanied by parents to colleges in the UK and get admission to Cambridge, did so pretty naturally. THAT impresses you!? She kept on about how impressive Arianna’s degrees were. While she herself was from the beauty salon /waitressing background (very humble). Notwithstanding all those unshared degrees, the two stood on the same stage yesterday and we got the point about how Mary was "of the people" and Arianna the "elite". Mary dropped James Carvilles’ and her daughters’names at least five times throughout the evening to enhance the homely aura and legitimize her presence to the heavily democratic University at Buffalo audience.The rest of the “debate” consisted of questions being put to both of them and their personal take on them, sometimes missing the point completely and digressing into interesting side issues. The persona that Mary portrays in her TV appearances was completely missing. She was all praises for Arianna and said all the right things agreeing with almost everything and keeping very “human”. It made me wonder if the very thing they were criticizing about the media about “making up” news was not something she did on a daily basis. Arianna asserts that newspapers will remain. They both read 7 newspapers each and I hope they are not the same newspapers because these two could keep the entire newspaper industry alive all by themselves! Did they hear Saul Griffith (Sept. 15) talking to Colbert calculating the reduction in his carbon footprint just becaue he got his news from the iPAD instead of newspapers? The first thing to go in my home when I lost my job two year ago was the luxurious newspaper. Each chooses their own rat to drown in times of trouble I guess.
Let us take the one question where the moderator asked: what can and should be done everywhere in the country about those who want to come to the US and those who are already here and not legal. Mary emphasized that no country could be successful without securing their borders and making sure that only legal immigrants were allowed in and announced that both right and left could come together on this issue and solve it. She then let some digs in about the current administration (see video clip below). Arianna while agreeing with Mary and the whole issue of immgration laws being a problem, made a point about the disastrous war on drugs and how it needed attention before solving the immigration issue. (See video clip below) She touched upon our prisons being full of unwanted delinquents and drug addicts and users getting no treatment. The actual question remained unanswered, unsolved and unwanted dear readers!
Mary spoke out for New Orleans and St Bernard parish and Arianna about the California blow up and both emphasized the need for infrastructure repairs and build up as one of the ways to solve unemployment apart from forcing banks to lend and borrow and open up. Mary gave statistics on the students’ lack of enthusiasm for Democrats from 2008 and how this was linked to the abysmal performance of the party and took every opportunity to snipe at the other side as well as the President while keeping up a lively chatter of agreeing with everything. Arianna criticized the establishment where it was needed as I would want all caring and engaged citizenry to do. She expects more from the government and gave her usual points about the economic bail out disaster.
All in all, me being who I am, liked the thoughtful articulate independent views of Arianna better than Mary who used James and her children to bolster every liberal issue she agreed with including the belly button piercing foray with her daughter. She declared it to be an eye opening experience. Pierced or not Mary, you are certainly not one of the “people” as you declared so self-deprecatingly. The wholesome picture you painted of yourself begs the question are you goign for any elected office soon???
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Kevin Army
L in the Southeast
dianaani
bbd
Nabina
ronnierayjenkins
Salon.com
Comments
Had to re-learn the process. Fun fun fun! Specially with an extra slow computer and all the changes I had to make. Hope to read everyone's posts from now on......
I hate both their voices and ways of speaking, so I wouldn't have enjoyed sitting thru such an evening.
I miss newspapers. I used to have two delivered out here in the country, tho the one I really wanted doesn't deliver (Globe & Mail). I liked reading them, and they made great mulch and fire-starter afterwards. But these days I get my news on the computer.
Any chance of a post about your daughter's wedding? The pictures look great...
Actually I got a series published about my daughter's wedding which I can post. Just dont wish to bore ppl with descriptions of an Indian wedding. It was a whole month long of celebrations with family coming in from all over the world . May be I will post here just for the fun of it! Thanks for the visit.
Maybe the Carly Fiorina/Barbara Boxer debates are worth following?
Welcome back...
The thing I notice most is the lethargy of the Democrats. And that includes me! I think it is a combination of disappointment with the President regarding things like the health care public option, failure to put more of the original stimulus money in infrastructure and jobs creation, and escalation of the war in Afghanistan, etc., coupled with the ultra right tracking of the Republicans -- and I just can't get excited. Throw in the stupidity of the electorate, if the polls are right; and I get the impression that we are about to "deserve what we get" this election.
Monte
So good to see you guys back here. Am busy reading reading reading.... and how welcome is that!