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Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Verbal Smackdown

I'm not usually one to pontificate on politics.

Unless someone asks me...then I'll go crazy and they'll wish they'd never brought it up. It's funny...I've never considered myself a political person.

I'm just extremely opinionated.

The thing I usually hate about politics is the politicians.
Mainly, their habit of speaking, or should I say not speaking. They're usually talking alright, but not saying much. They sound like Charlie Brown's teacher: WAH, WAH, WAH, WAH, WAH!

The words are in English, but that doesn't mean it's making any sense. And they can never answer a question. NEVER! They repeat the question, talk around the question, throw in some annoying buzz words and catch phrases, compliment the journalist, smile and kiss a baby, then change the subject.

My mom is great at this. Growing up, I could never win an argument. At least not with logic. You could ask her a simple yes or no question like, "Are we having chicken for dinner?" And somehow the conversation would turn and end up being about how you forgot to take off your shoes when you came into the house, and "you better not eat that Swiss cake roll now, because dinner is in an hour and you'll ruin your appetite, and why are you so hungry anyway? didn't you eat that lunch I packed for you, I bet you threw away those carrot sticks, you know there's children starving in Africa and I don't care if you had a long soccer practice, you can walk home or get a ride with a friend, you know I'm not your personal taxi service, and why don't you set the table, don't do that way, you know the forks go on the left hand side, oh for Pete's sake, were you born in a barn?"

I heard that a lot growing up. For Pete's sake. I never did learn who Pete was or why he was constantly being forsaken.

For dinner we would end up having pork chops.

If my mom had been the prosecutor instead of Ken Starr, Bill Clinton not only would have admitted his affair with Monica and lying under oath, he would be apologizing to her for eating Big Macs when he knows he's supposed to be watching his cholesterol.

So I understand how frustrating it can be when you're trying to get a straight answer out of a politician. It doesn't happen. But journalists don't usually point that out. Which is why I particular love this interview clip.

I now have a little girl crush on Campbell Brown.

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