Zen And The Art Of Olbermann

I also haven't been paying much attention to the details of this Geraldine Ferraro thing. The promise I've made myself in order to try and preserve what's left of my sanity between now and the Pennsylvania primary is to avoid as much primary coverage as I can, so as to ensure that the only stories which really broach my consciousness are the major ones.

That said, Ms. Ferraro's comments really are pretty detestable. Of course it's true that Senator Obama wouldn't be where he is if he weren't a black man. As my people say: "as di bubbe volt gehat baytzim volt zi gevain mayn zaidah."

Come on, you have Google. Google speaks Yiddish. Oh, alright, translated: "if my grandmother had balls, she'd be my grandfather."

The point is, if Senator Obama weren't a black man, then he wouldn't have had all the various and sundry experiences that led him to become the person he is today, with the core beliefs that make him who he is. And so, your point is?

Needless to say, if Senator Clinton were not a woman, specifically if she were not the wife of a particular ex-President, I think it's safe to say that she would not be where she is, either. But that doesn't have anything to do with her specific qualifications to the job for which she is applying.

At the base of it, though, all of these lines of argument are both ridiculous and hateful, and examples of the very, very worst forms of identity politics. I'm not going to dignify it with a coherent response, firstly because that would, well, dignify it, and secondly because it's late and I'm tired.

Oh, and thirdly, because Keith Olbermann said it much better than I ever could. Hit the 'Play' button - it's 10 minutes of your life that you won't regret having spent sitting in front of the computer.