Who Would You Rather Drink With?
MichaelW on Apr 10 2008 at 10:28 pm | Filed under: Domestic Politics, Election 2008, Humor, MichaelW's Page
I have no idea who’s going to win the election this year, but as I attempt to handicap the race I’m drawn to the old saw that the person with whom most people would rather sit down at a local watering hole and knock back a few tall cold ones with will be the eventual winner.
Going back through the elections that I can remember, this bit of conventional wisdom rings true:
(1) Reagan vs. Carter — A movie star versus a moralistic, beta male. Not even a close call on this one.
(2) Reagan vs. Mondale — Ditto.
(3) Bush vs. Dukakis — Clearly, the guy who seemed like he’d look better in a tank was going to be the one you’d want to take Jaeger shots with. Dukakis made the mistake of proving who that was.
(4) Bush vs. Clinton — The guy who plays saxophone and has a reputation for womanizing is pretty much a lock here. And really, who wants to drink with their grandfather?
(5) Clinton vs. Dole — The grandfather rule applies again, even though Bob Dole’s wit would come close to making up for it.
(6) Gore vs. Bush — Even though Bush doesn’t drink anymore, I would rather hang out in a bar with him than Gore any day. Even so, Gore does have a good sense of humor, so he wouldn’t be all that bad. The American electorate seemed to agree that this was pretty much a push.
(7) Bush vs. Kerry — I can’t think of anything that would be fun to do with John Kerry. Enough said.
So, if the old saw is true, then who amongst the current class is the person who you’d most like to have a beer with? In my mind, that’s got to be Obama.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure that Clinton and McCain would be interesting to talk to over a few beers, but Obama just strikes me as the one who would be easiest to get along with in such a situation. He seems much more comfortable in his own skin than either of the others, he’s much younger, and he smokes. That’s bar material if you ask me.
John McCain would thrill you with stories, I’m sure. The guy really is a legend as far as I’m concerned, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that it would be a fascinating evening. But, the grandfather rule applies here as well. War stories can be riveting, but that’s not necessarily how I want to fill my evening out. Plus, McCain’s known to have a temper, and angry drunks are just no fun.
Hillary seems like she would be a total bore. The only way things would get interesting with her, is if she got tipsy enough to start dishing dirt. But she’s entirely too controlled and controlling to let that happen, so I’d expect it would be a pretty boring outing.
I’ll go out on a limb and say that, if the old saw really does work , and Obama can survive the primary season, then he will be our next president.
Agree? Disagree?
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Bush over Gore definitely. Spot on where Kerry is concerned. Obama v. McCain? My choice in companions is based on how entertaining they are and the quality of their character. Obama’s constant equivocations and my suspicion that he’s a racist would make for an uncomfortable evening. I think McCain would be a lot of fun, but then again he might have to go to bed early or if he gets a few to many in him, he might throw a punch. I’d still pick McCain over Obama.
Maybe it’s a gender thing but I wouldn’t want to spend an evening with Obama and I most definitely would not want to spend an evening with Bill Clinton.
I would have said Bush over Gore until I saw Gore doing regular voiceovers on Futurama… and then my friends and I were able to joke around with him about it at his book signing in Boulder. That actually made me really like the guy.
Otherwise, I would agree with you. I think all the hype over America still thinking black guys are scary is just that: hoopla. My take would be two-fold: no matter the other politics involved, and I do think Obama is much more to the Left of the mainstream than McCain is to the right (if he is; I don’t really understand what his principles are beyond “winning Iraq”), that McCain and Clinton represent the establishment while Obama represents change. Rightly or wrongly (it’s obviously up for debate amongst people who know better, but that’s not really the voters).
That Obama is articulate and comes off as friendly (I don’t get the racism thing; that makes as much sense as accusing Bush or McCain of racism because of the whole Bob Jones University thing), traits both other candidates don’t do as well, is a major bonus, and I would say the tipping point. We’re a sucker for a Kennedy figure, no matter his skin color.
And I don’t know if I’m way out on a limb on this one, but John McCain totally gives me a Colonel Tigh vibe.
http://tigerhawk.blogspot.com/2008/04/is-john-mccain-cylon.html
I don’t remember where I first saw the link.
You might be out on a limb, but it seems you aren’t alone. ;-)
Angry drunks are fun, as long as you’re not the one pissing them off.
Yeah I don’t get that. My woman seems to like Obama just fine.
Gore has shown his lighter side over the past few years. I’d have a beer with both Bush and Gore, but something tells me I’d have a better time with Gore. I mean, I spent many of my formative years drinking with rednecks in Texas and Oklahoma, and just as any other redneck, Bush would be proud to admit he was a redneck, and I can’t recall any memorable evenings of stimulating conversation.
I think Michael is right. I think Obama wins this contest hands down. I knew I would like the guy on a personal level when I saw the Ohio debate with Hillary. You’ll remember the fuss about “rejecting” or “denouncing” Farrakhan.
Here is the of that discussion… now, you might wanna skip over most of it, but make sure you watch it just a little before minute 4:20. And right after this exchange,
Right at minute 4:20, Obama shoots Russert a smile and look that suggested she’s crazy, right?
After that, I thought that I could very well get along with that guy. And my suspicions were confirmed when I saw this exchange between Obama and Chris Mathews.
Does that mean I think he’ll make for a good CIC, yeah… I still don’t know.
Hah! If McCain were anything like Colonel Tigh, I would definitely sit down to have a drink with him. Drinking with a character like that would present a delightful challenge. And it’s been a long time since I drank with a character like that.
Just as a side dish,
In the new Battlestar Galactica series, Col. Tigh was in favor of using suicide bombers. I know that wasn’t what Joshua was getting at. I full well get what Joshua is getting at. I just thought I’d throw that in there just for, … you know…, academic purposes. ;)
Cheers.
While your concerns about McCain as a drinking buddy have some merit I have one question. Have you ever done any serious drinking with a Navy man? Specifically a career aviator? Most people who say yes know that even with his age, McCain wins this comparison easily.
As for Obama, ever see the movie “Good Will Hunting?” Remember the Harvard bar scene where Will meets the girl? Obama strikes me as the pompous Harvard dude spouting whatever philosophy he has read most recently in order to impress people.
“Right at minute 4:20, Obama shoots Russert a smile and look that suggested she’s crazy, right?
After that, I thought that I could very well get along with that guy.”
I don’t think Hillary came through that exchange well but *that look* is one reason why I don’t think I’d get along with Obama at all. In fact, I’ve seen several pictures with Obama with his hands pressed together at the side of his face and his head tipped slightly to the side… just… I imagine him looking at *me* that way and I think I’d slap him.
“I imagine him looking at *me* that way and I think I’d slap him.”
Exactly, and that is what appeals to Pogue. I suspect he has been slapped quite a few times. Probably part of what I like about Pogue as well, but yeah, I get your meaning.
That seems to be an odd way to judge whether or not you might enjoy or even tolerate Obama’s company. Stills!? Well then, in that case… Tell me you would have a drink with this guy? Or dare to sip potent potables with this guy? Don’t you want at least video for some context?
Well I have had a drink thrown in my face before, but never slapped.
It wasn’t even a nice spirit. It was stale keg beer.
Just awful.
And please, don’t pretend that you haven’t looked at another person, a friend or colleague perhaps, and laughed and/or rolled your eyes when someone else said something stupid or crazy. As if only elitist snobs do that.
The thing is that I’d most likely disagree with him, right? And “that look” (the one he gave Clinton, which *was* video, right?) is awful close to the “isn’t that cute” look that is used instead of answering an argument. And that’s how he used it. And I really don’t think that laughter or a friendly eye roll and “Oh, please!” is the same and I don’t think that men give the “isn’t that cute” look to other men.
But there’s more reason to think he’s an elitist snob isn’t there. And less reason all the time to think that the condensation people think they see is misreading body language cues.
“And please, don’t pretend that you haven’t looked at another person, a friend or colleague perhaps, and laughed and/or rolled your eyes when someone else said something stupid or crazy. As if only elitist snobs do that.”
No need to say please, I am with you. Personally I like a little character and sass, hence my fondness for you. However, Obama comes off as a bit more smug, rather than entertaining. I think Synova has a point on the difference, but your mileage may vary. In general I can go with any of them with a good pint, though I suspect I would find McCain a good bit more fun. Either way, you misread the intent of my comment.
The thing is, it wasn’t a “isn’t she cute” look, it was a “isn’t she ridiculous” look. And you know what? … She was. Hillary Clinton WAS being ridiculous and you know it. You said yourself,
Right. Clinton was being ridiculous. And you, me, Lance, Michael, Joshua, and just about anyone else I can think of would just have to laugh at that. He laughed and gave a look instead of “answering an argument” because the “argument” was incredibly stupid. And it deserved to be laughed at. And remember, this is Hillary Clinton we’re talking about. This isn’t some random schmo off the street, this is a seasoned political shark here. Clinton thought she could get Obama in their ‘gotcha’ game and but she overplayed it and ended up on her ass. I liked it.
Body language cues? I see what’s going on here. This is not unlike BDS, except of course that it’s ODS. You simply just don’t like the guy. And that’s fair enough, but I think it is true. You simply don’t like Obama. And you will start to see fault in EVERYTHING Obama does. The way he walks, talks, stands, speaks, shifts his head, turns around… the way he gets in and out of the vehicle, the way he walks down the aircraft boarding stairs, the way he scratches his head, … every little pause, every little tick … EVERYTHING about Obama will annoy you to death. There will be no getting around it. And like MichaelW said in an earlier post, people will see what they see. Obama laughs at something ridiculous Hillary said… you then think he’s being an elitist snob, I think he is being a regular guy. Little point in either of us trying to convince the other.
If you say so. But you know what is really entertaining Lance? It is seeing what terms and phrases your amazon.com robot will pick out and try to sell us something. And the notion that my keyboard scratchings is being used to sell a “Beer Keg Plus Size Costume” is just funnier than anything I could ever write.
That looks terrible. Where is my spacing? My paragraph breaks? Oh well, hope it makes some sense.
Pogue, I think the problem is you did it manually. We now have WYSIWYG enabled. So no need to do that. If you need to do something manually you can use the HTML button above the box.
Fixed Pogue. Hopefully that is something along the lines of what you were trying to do.
I thought so too ;^)
I’d rather go shooting with Cheney.
And really… a question of who anyone would like to have a drink with is going to involve gut reactions and true, those aren’t always rational.
I’ve always gotten a superiority vibe from Obama. Am I going to interpret anything he does now in a negative way? Probably. He gives off slick lawyer vibes. He just does. But some people like slick lawyers. Some people even marry them. Some people want to be them.