Here’s What I Think…

Why I’ve become so obsessed with politics in recent years is beyond me.  But nevertheless, I have been following the primary races with a keen interest.  Every day I pour over the Huffington Post, and for balance, the Drudge Report. Any regular reader of this blog can easily guess who I’m routing for (hint: It’s time for our first female President, in my humble opinion), but I find the whole bunch of candidates a wildly entertaining lot.  There’s the Baptist minister, the overrated New York mayor, the Law & Order co-star with a hangdog look and an obvious lack of enthusiasm, the Ken doll Mormon, the blow-dried Southern fried lawyer on the Democratic side, along with the tough-as-nails former First Lady and an African American professor who can easily stir a crowd with his impressive speaking skills.  You could spin a crackerjack novel with all these varied characters.  In less than a week, we’ll know which two will be the automatic front runners in their respective parties.  Each new poll tells a different story.  The Iowa caucus results will by no means be definitive.  Dick Gephardt, anyone?  But this is most certainly the most breath-taking political horse race in my lifetime.  With the horrifying assassination of Prime Minister Bhutto in Pakistan yesterday, the choice we make for our next President is all the more important.  It’s a scary, unpredictable world, and we’re going to need someone strong and resilient against all the challenges we’ll surely face, thanks in no small parat to our current administration.  But next year America will finally be on a new path.  See you at the polling booth!

I like Obama.  I like Hillary.  Though I have a personal favorite, at the end of the day, either one of them will make an outstanding candidate.  But do I care Oprah is stumping for Obama in such a grand way, there is very little doubt the polls will change in his favor?  Absolutely not.  I consider Oprah just another celebrity endorsement.  I’m not part of the Oprah cult, never have been.  Do I admire her journey to where she is now?  You bet.  Anyone who can rise from poverty to be the most powerful woman, no the most powerful person, in television is a stunning feat and I couldn’t be more impressed.  Do I think she should be telling us who to vote for?  No.  Maybe it’s because I favor Hillary, and maybe there’s a part of me that is secretly hoping to see the first woman president elected next  year.  There isn’t a big difference between Hillary and Obama when it comes to the issues.  He says he will institute change and she will be more of the same.  But if you look at their proposals, they’re almost identical.  So no, Obama, I don’t think your changes are any better than hers.  And the media loves accusing Hillary of the Queen of Negative Attacks, but fail to point out that she didn’t go after her Democratic rivals until they began hammering her two months ago.  Obama enthusiastically began slamming, and hard, but that’s a fact that’s conveniently ignored by all the media outlets.  So for my own personal reasons, I’m supporting Hillary.  And I don’t need Bill Clinton or Barbra Streisand telling me why I should.

The producers walked away from the bargaining table on Friday, refusing to meet again until the writers removed a host of issues from the negotiations.  The Guild has maintained that none of these issues, including the union having jurisdictoin over reality and animation writers, were nonnegotiable.  But the producers used it as an excuse to cut off talks.  This is no surprise to me.  This was clearly a thought out plan bu the producers to make them appear as if they’re seriously working towards a resolution.  But in truth, it was just a sleazy tactic to pull the rug out from under the writers yet again.  It sure looked like they wanted to end this strike, but when the time came, sadly and predictably, they’re just playing PR games hoping the tide will turn against the writers in the realm of public support.  But they never expected us to be so unified in our goal to get a fair deal.  And this is a small consolation.   So far, they’ve been unable to divide and conquer our membership.  It doesn’t mean with time dragging on they ultimately won’t succeed in doing just that.  But right now, we’re sticking together. 

After this week, the studios can call force majeure, and cancel the contracts of writers they want to get rid of by declaring an unforseen event such as an earthquake, a typhoon, or in this case, a strike.  I think they’ve been biding their time waiting for this moment.  Cut the deadweight, wait a couple more months, then try to give the writer a crumb so the guild can claim some sort of victory when we’re exhausted and weakend.  In my mind, this has always been the plan.  This was never going to get resolved quickly.  They’ve had their strike programming in place for months.  Well, I don’t think this time the writers are going to blink first.  And I’m sure in time public sentiment will turn against us when people grow tired of reality shows and constant reruns.  But there are a few moderates on the side of the producers, reasonable men who are embarrassed by these hardliners who think it’s sport to ruin the lives of not only writers but caterers and hairdressers and make up people and drivers who are really suffering from this work stoppage.  And I hope they can force their billionaire brethern to stop releasing false public statements placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of the writers and end this Mexican stand off.