I caught the Iowa debate, but missed this one. I was originally going to thank you for posting. But after I watched it for 30 mins or so, I found that I was yelling and throwing things at the screen.
So I have made up my mind (while I still have one) to refrain from watching or listening to any more Republican debates. If I want to expose myself to stock phrases such as “We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem” or “corporations are shipping jobs overseas because of the high corporate tax rates here”, I can hear them on the Daily Show…..right before Jon Stewart ‘s crew shoots them full of holes.
However, I have to comment on one sorta creepy aspect. The candidates were all given a chance to introduce themselves and say a little somethin’-somethin’. First up: Rick Santorum.
“I’m Rick Santorum. I served 12 years representing Pennsylvania in the United States Senate, but I also have substantial executive experience making the tough decisions and balancing budgets and cutting spending. Karen and I are the parents of seven children.”
At that, he stopped, and got this big, smarmy, expectant smile on his face, like awaiting acknowledgement of this incredible accomplishment/ biological function. And so it went, down the line: one after the other had to engage in reproductive one-upmanship. “I’ve been married for 24 years and have 9 children”, “I’ve got 5 children AND 3 grandchildren”, “I’ve got a husband (who is also my stylist), 6 children, and 47 foster children, and am planning an even 100 grandchildren, hoping for at least one token biracial”. Okay, Michelle Bachmann didn’t really say that, but would anyone really be paying enough attention to know if she did?
What is with this pride in child production? I’m sorry to say that the crowd gave the applause and acknowledgement for which they appeared to be waiting. But maybe it was because they honestly knew that this was going to be the high point of the debate for most of them. Sorry, but it just really creeped me out.
Except for when they got to Newt Gingrich, who obviously believed that it was best to leave out mention of anything having to do with marriage or children, and just looked uncomfortable. That was funny.
