Sunday, August 12, 2007

Turkey in the straw

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!

Who would think that the guy who spends the most money on clothing consultants, hair consultants, makeup consultants; the guy with no stuffing of his own but hollow and meaningless "positions" and tired clichés, would win the Iowa Straw poll? But perhaps that's what a straw poll is about: a suit of clothes on crossed poles in a cornfield, stuffed with straw.

Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass

In part, I believe the Iowa Straw Poll has little meaning and in part that's because I want to believe that the pig farmers and corn bread eaters of Iowa don't reflect the best thinking of Americans. In part I believe this beauty contest represents the kind of thinking that chooses, and with disgusting regularity, the shiny, feathered lure; hooks and all. Of all the candidates on the Republican platter, Romney offers the least. If you're a rabid xenophobe, you might like Tancredo; if you're hot and bothered about other people getting abortions, you might like Brownback. If you're mad as hell and don't want to take it any more, you might well prefer Ron Paul, but Iowa goes for and Iowa went for the department store window display; dummies dressed up and made up like Ken dolls waiting for Barbie and the whole fake, wholesome, vapid and hermetic world that goes along with the fantasy.

Perhaps if the Mitt doll had been so presidential as to take care in choosing who works for him, he wouldn't have taken on Alan Fabian. Fabian, one of 35 co-chairmen on Mr. Romney’s national finance committee, is under indictment for running up $32 million in fake purchases with his consulting company, Maximus Inc. That would have paid for a lot of hair spray and sincerity consultants.

Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

Iowa, with it's creationists; Iowa, that great faith filled corn muffin of states has spoken. Iowa wants the scarecrow patched together by pollsters and consultants to scare away all that unpleasant reality. Just like last time. Fool me again and again and I'm from Iowa.

2 comments:

d.K. said...

Sadly, if you're willing to pay $500 per vote, you can rack up a tally (a few thousand voters) and win -- anywhere, not just Iowa. This "straw poll" is less than meaningless, except that his five sons can now lay claim to having served their country, through their tireless efforts to get their dad his victory in the Iowa Republican caucuses.

Capt. Fogg said...

The entire Republican line-up is such a pathetic parade of losers (although I still like Paul) it can't mean much to come out on top - but just what this shallow smiling spineless twit has to offer the world I don't know.