America's Got Talent-Republican Style....
what a country!
The Republican presidential field has really made me think about the fact that there are 330 million or so people in the United States and the best that this pool of potential presidential hopefuls can produce is this collection of freaks and lunatics. Even from a group of people I disagree with, I would still hope for intelligence and thoughtfulness in a person looking to lead our country. Then it occurred to me that being thoughtful and smart is not exactly a qualification that will make you popular in this country, especially among the Republican supporters.
In the late 19th Century, there was an act that was all the rage. A guy named Joseph Pujol, who billed himself as Le Petomene-The Fartiste’ would entertain audiences by (I’m not making this up) farting popular tunes on stage while the crowd sang along. Another fellow, Hadji Ali was known as “The Great Regurgitator”. He would drink gallons of water than vomit it back up in streams. He topped his act off by downing a pint of kerosene then burping it back up while lighting it on fire. He would then douse the flames with the remaining water that had lurked in his stomach beneath the layer of flammable liquid he had just sprayed out. Fascinating stuff.
What’s this have to do with the Republican presidential candidates? Well everything. We live in a country where we don’t respect intellect and substance, we respect entertainment. We save our highest regard for those who can perform tricks. From the plate spinners on the Ed Sullivan Show to warbling fools on American Idol, we can’t get enough of this stuff. The yokels have always been mesmerized by the carnival midway and preachers with Elmer Gantry like oratory abilities. A guy catching cannonballs with his stomach has always been more popular than some policy spouting nerd- and this group of Republican candidates knows it. What we get then is a bunch of sword swallowers, fire eaters, human cannonballs and an assortment of circus oddities competing to top the GOP ticket. Fox News no doubt salivated at the ratings bonanza the opportunity to televise this freak show presented.
So we have Mike Huckabee-the equivalent of a person who can fart the Star Spangled banner AND three books of the Old Testament in one big blast. If he shit himself while doing it he would probably gain 5% in the polls. Donald Trump? Well, he would no doubt make the Great Reguritator proud with the bile he can spew at will. The rest of the field? They’re all there. The carnival barkers, the tent revival preachers, the fat man, the dog faced boy, and the bearded lady-all competing for attention and each of them trying their best to be more hateful and outrageous than the next. 330 million people and this is the best we can do. Ugh.
The problem is that laugh as we might at this odd ball collection of vaudeville acts, this is the stuff that plays in Peoria. Forget that what they say makes no sense. Making sense is not the way into the hearts and minds of the low information voter. An entertaining talent beats intellect any day and these clowns have those talents to spare. As entertaining as this might be in the languid summer days 15 months before the next Presidential election, beware. One of these idiots just might end up as the next President unless we are very careful and VERY involved. Somebody who can shoot milk out of their eyelids or play Motzart with their armpits might be good for a few chuckles but I sure as hell don’t want any of them running our country.
= new reply since forum marked as read
they should probably fire cannonballs at all of them 
