What is political Theater?

[PretzelWarrior]

If the leader of the free world was in the White House and Max Cleland wheeled himself over to deliver a letter of protest, would we be having this conversation?

George W. Bush is the one who invited the beltway hundreds of miles to the west when he refused to stick around for a huge percentage of his time in office. Really, the surprise is why more people haven't done this. If the Senators show up at his ranch asking for a meeting with him, and he continually rebuffs them...then he looks like a royal dick--like he's trying to obstruct another branch of government from giving advice and consent on matters of national security and other areas of governance that are important to "we, the people".

If it takes Max Cleland wheeling around in the hot Texas sun trying to deliver a letter to the president to wake everyone up, then this is great. Let's see about sending a stream of envoys to that little piece of hell that is Crawford. Call up CNN/ABC/NPR/NBC/CBS/FOX/CSPAN...and tell them about it ahead of time. Point out it is getting harder and harder to catch the president for a meeting because he spends such a significant portion of his time camped away from the halls of power.

I am angry that CNN and others dare call it political theater. You know what political theater is?
Being flown in to drop a plastic turkey in front of the troops. Being flown onto an aircraft carrier parked at San Diego so you can strut in a flight suit and helmet and say "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! YEEEHAWWWW".

I still feel one of the former members of their inner circle best described them when he said they are Mayberry Machiavellis. They play around with palace intrigue and stealth and cookiness and end up with the most asanine politically-based decisions you can imagine and then sell it with some cardboard boxes, paper backdrops, and clever camera angles.

Political theater is the careful way they show the president being "one of the guys" as he chokes on a pretzel, flies off a Segway, spills off a bike...and daily butchers the English language.

A guy who is a former senator and a member of nonpartisan commissions going to deliver a letter as he shows his disgust about vicious, lying attacks against a Presidential candidate is NOT political theater to the level which Bush plays it.

[PretzelWarrior]

1. what sinks like a stone? my post apparently

x

[KittyWampus]

2. Calling Something Political Theater Is Not An Insult

the plastic turkey was pathetic propaganda that backfired.

Max and Kerry did employ Theatrics today. That is a good and fine thing if done well. Which it was.

[KittyWampus]

3. And Theater Was Traditionally A Means Of CATHARSIS

back in Ancient Greece. And still today.

[PretzelWarrior]

4. yeah. it was theatrical. but spoke to larger point...Bush is a chicken

somehow...he's trying to be the Fonz. Fonzie could never say sorry or say he was wrong. All he could say was AYYYY!!!!! in his leather jacket.

Bush needs to be forced into a corner in the debates.

He needs to be asked again: "Mr. President? How badly do you think you've fucked up and which one was your worst?"