Enemy at the Gates

Rainer Hachfeld, Neues Deutschland

Everybody's talkin' 'bout
Revolution, Evolution, Masturbation, Flagellation, Regulation,
Integrations, mediations, United Nations, congratulations
All we are saying is give peace a chance
--Give Peace a Chance, John Lennon

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
--Paint it Black, Rolling Stones

They did not take me in the Army.
I was, um, interestingly enough, I was, I was 4-P.
Yes. In the, in the event of war, I'm a hostage
--Annie Hall (1977)
_____________

I am including this political cartoon only because it is so peculiar, and the whole German aesthetic escapes me. Here we have the Siegessaule-as-phallus, Obama poised as Playgirl spread, sporting Michael Jackson shoes, bidding the reader, "Yes!" Is this pro- or con?

In Ranger's recent travels through the Ohio Valley, he spotted a number of Obama campaign messages featuring the slogan, "Give Peace a Chance." What can this possibly mean in the face of reports that Obama intends to ramp up troop presence in Afghanistan should he be elected in November?

This message doesn't vary much from John McCain's ads which say Islamic terrorists want to kill us and destroy our way of life. Victory is our only option, but his ads never define what that liberty would look like. Presumably the current corrupt form, with our Constitution flapping in the breeze.

The recent RAND Corporation report which said the chance of terrorists taking over any state is about ZERO would seem to allay any such fears, and remove justification for continued military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but facts rarely have come into play in the world of politics where emotions run the game.

But to proclaim, as Obama's associate the rapper Ludacris does in his recent homage "Politics," "the world is ready for change 'cause Obama is here" is disingenuous as the messianic message doesn't bear itself out. Obama is ready for more war. Nothing new there.

For all the shocked allegations of race-baiting from the Obama side, the change Ludacris talks of is a simple one: "painting the White House black." Surely there is no other movement beyond the status quo either he or Mr. Obama can cite. A color change is not a sea change.

What I find ludicrous is the pantywaist coverage of things which might cause offense -- preemptive censorship from your illiberal news media. Of Ludacris's rap, a New York Times blog (The Caucus) says Sen. Clinton is called a "nasty name." BBC News calls it a "misogynistic" term.

What it is, is the ubiquitous rapper term for women: bitch. I guess they could have gone third grade rather than milquetoast and said Ludacris had used the "b" word (as opposed to the "h" word. That would be "ho," the other term for women in the rapper lexicon.)

It is not delicate, not nuanced, not clever or subtle, but it is stock in trade for rappers referring to members of the female gender. If we can't even say the word "bitch" for fear of making the rappers seem base, then how do we expect any honest dialog on any topic?

Doing requisite damage control, Obama's staff responded, "While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics" (Obama rejects Ludacris Rap Lyrics.) That is Ludicrous.

Aside from the typically crude messages any listener of Hannity would be proud of (should they be employed in the service of their candidate), Ludacris directs black people to get off their duffs and vote Obama. A brilliant PSA for Obama should it animate Ludacris's listening audience.

Like Rev. Wright said, Obama has to say that now -- he's a politician (Obama camp condemns song: Ludacris 'should be ashamed.)

In another recent move into the Republican camp, Obama disingenuously says let's drill off the coasts to give taxpayers some economic relief (Obama Signals Support for Wider Offshore Drilling.) Two weeks earlier Obama had said opening up offshore drilling "would merely prolong the failed energy policies we have seen from Washington for 30 years" (Exploring Realities of Offshore Drilling.)

But oh, what a difference two weeks and political expediency can make. Of course, these reserves would only come onto the market in 2017, and would have little if any effect upon the price of gas at the pump. As a politician, if you see a drowning man you throw him a life raft, even if it's leaky and you've launched it in the opposite direction.

Mr. Obama's "War is Peace" is a slogan written 70 years ago by George Orwell in his Nineteen Eighty-Four. There is nothing new here in such dissembling. Islamic terrorists are to 2008 what the Yellow Peril was to 1903 or 1921. There is still a lot of steam left in that train, and neither side will relinquish what may well be a perpetual motion machine.

What it means is, Obama is not messiah; Obama is politician.

--Jim and Lisa