Last night's Presidential Debate was clearly a case of style vs. substance. While Obama articulated theory about the world, McCain spoke from experience. While Obama danced around his comments about negotiating with Ahmadinejad, McCain clearly stated principles do count. While Obama strutted he would follow Bin Laden into Pakistan, POW survivor McCain reminded Barack to measure his words. Last week, commentators were scrambling to find undecided voters to evaluate the debate. There are no undecided voters whose opinion could possibly count, perhaps undeclared, but not undecided; the experience and philosophies of the two candidates are night and day. In 2004, the voters re-elected, arguably, the worst public speaker in history. Americans seem to look beyond style when filling the desk in the Oval Office.
Interesting perspective. We shall see.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the significance of the photograph of President Harry Truman (?) or did you think this was Senator John McCain....
ReplyDeletetruman was considered a very plain talker, perhaps personifying the substance over style POV. what's the significance of your question, it appears to be a snark? the previous comment, which i deleted, was also a snark from an anon, a combination for which i have no patience. i welcome comments which sincerely differ with my opinion, and i will tolerate snarks signed with a person's real name, otherwise, i will delete with no explanation
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteI hear too many people say that they prefer Obama because he is an articulate speaker and an attractive candidate.
Heaven help us, these two superfical qualities alone are not the substance of positve "change".
Scott Armstrong
Its funny, because from my perspective in 2004 the public re-elected arguably the worst president in American history. And look how far that has gotten us....
ReplyDeleteAlthough I would not ever vote for a candidate just because he's a good public speaker (so is Rush Limbaugh), I do understand people who gravitate towards Obama because he inspires them.
my "2004" statement was written with some hesitation and irony, because i understand how unpopular bush is, but he certainly fits the bill as a poor public speaker. to a large extent the current wall street dilemma goes back to housing initiatives started by clinton in the late 90's. history has proved kinder to nixon than popular sentiment was then, and i suspect the same will hold true for bush. historians now recognize nixon's diplomatic skills, likewise, perhaps bush has kept potential enemies on the defensive.
ReplyDeleteMy view is that both candidates have plenty of style and substance. McCain, not noted for speeches top large groups, is mesmerizing in town halls. Obama light be the most inspiring speaker we've had since FDR.
ReplyDeleteSubstantively, both are very sharp, revealing clear differences.
Obama has touched many people. He has not touched me. In this debate, neither candidate struck a tone that resonated.
I like your "plain talking" Mike and pointing out how Obama "struts." Forget political correctness, your telling it like it is Mike!
ReplyDeletethe above comment has been submitted by bill villa(aka david duke) and deleted several times by me. bill, please boycott reading my blog, as you urge others to do. you know ideally, being an artist or musician involves more than knowing how to play an instrument or draw. Hitler could draw. you and angie have admirably created a show next week, you should respect the good intentions of your fellow artists and stop making a spectacle of yourself. i find obama somewhat arrogant and pompous, any racial insensitivity subscribe to your referral, not mine.
ReplyDeleteHi Mike, because of "The Troll Parade" ...
ReplyDelete> http://trollparade.blogspot.com/
a blog endorsed by you, and created by your pals Bernie O'Hare O'Mcall and attorney (for now) Dave Najarian, a.k.a. Northern Lehigh Valley Logic, for the specific purpose of making a fuck out of a grieving father seeking justice ...
all "rules" of blogging are out the window.
If your readers allow "The Troll Parade" to exist in their local blogosphere then they'll have to deal with how I choose to counter "The Troll Parade," which is by undermining its creators, and its endorsers.
Also, telling your readers that "Bill Villa posted the David Duke comment," and proving it, are two very different things. I have allies too and they'll be working with me as we go forward here to show readers exactly who the bad guys are in this "blog war."
Mr. Molovinsky (former Chen Arts member and supporter) YOU are making a spectacle of yourself by endorsing the Troll Parade, a hate blog which mocks the Allentown Chen Arts, artists and musicians, me personally, and my family including my sick and hospitalized in-laws. How dare you, or anyone else here who endorses a blog out to smear, taunt, and humiliate me and my family, tell Bill Villa that HE is making a spectacle of himself.
ReplyDeleteBill is right, the rules are out the window now. So are any manners. You, Bernie, and your hateful buddies don't deserve any respect whatsoever.
And before you accuse someone of having NO SUBSTANCE you should do a little research and learn the facts about Obama's policies and his background. I stated some FACTS about Obama at my blog LV Somebody.
I don't read the Troll Parade, I have a busy life, but from what I have heard, it is despicable, and goes WAY beyond personal insults into the depths of pure evil.
Don't expect US to sit back.
dear angie, i'll let you highjack this post, although you have requested that i do not comment on your blog, which i haven't since your request in august. you may recall the trolls blogs were started by others, not by me, because bill was highjacking blogs, including mine. he also attacked me anonymously on other forums, including the morning call. bill apologized, but never stopped his hostile behavior. although he started bashing bloggers as 'aqivering" for being included in blogger tuesday, and threatening people, including myself, he wants to be a grieving father when people stand up to his bullying. good luck with your show, for you to say i mock artists because of something bernie said is absurd. bernie speaks for himself, as i do. i will say this, bill certainly has made a spectacle of himself, and your starting to make one of yourself also. just as you are entitled to write supportively of obama, i'm entitled to express my opinion. i wanted you to have an opportunity here to express yourself, but i will delete future comments from you and bill.
ReplyDeleteFor someone who does not read The Troll Parade, Mrs. Dottie has made a helluva' lot of comments there. She fits right in.
ReplyDeleteThese artistes, and I use that word very loosely, are quite upset with you, MM. You do not bow at Obama's poster image. Rather than responding to you like grown ups with facts, they snark you, anonymously, as a racist.
I find that tactic highly offensive, yet typical of the junior high school mentality exhibited by these faux liberals.
A little recent history is in order here. The Troll Parade was started as a reaction to all the smears, taunts and humiliations inflicted by Villa. They hijacked numerous blogs, as they are doing here, with some vicious personal attacks, always off topic. Villa's claim that rules have no application to him is eerily like Bush's claim that the Geneva conventions do not apply. Villa's enemies' list reminds me of Richard Nixon. These pretend liberal quote Obama's statement about disagreeing without being disagreeable, but they've told both you and me to stay away from their moderated blog.
Also, at no time have I condemned their 7 year old son. That's ridiculous. I have condemned their parenting skills. and for very good reason. Just yesterday, Villa was challenging me to a fist fight.
What a wonderful example for their 7 year old son.
That's what they don't like to hear, but it's the truth.
You've never condemned the Chen Arts Group. Nor have I. But I can and do condemn the hypocrisy of Mr. & Mrs. Dottie. While they prance about like foo-foos one minute, the very next they're telling someone like you to cross to the other side of the street. They are phonies who deserve to be called out for what they are.
CHARGE!
Congrats, by the way, on making BNN's top twenty. You did so beside their constant efforts to condemn you to oblivion. Unlike reral artists, they have no interest in diversity of viewpoints and will actively work at boycotting and banning anything they don't like to see. They's fit right in with Adolph.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteIt is far too late for “Lehigh Valley Somebody” to maintain any modicum of respect from many of us. Infantile behavior is what it is, simply written it is embarrassing to witness.
Scott Armstrong
scott, the comment above by "pat wallace" i've deleted at least 10 times today. villa comments by name, pseudonymous and anonymously was why the troll blog was begun in the first place.
ReplyDeleteRe: The Troll Parade ..
ReplyDeletehttp://trollparade.blogspot.com/
Mr. O'Hare's flip-flop on the Villa matter is a slap in the face to his readers, his profession, and the memory of a 25-year-old woman who just wanted to go home. After fancying himself a keeper of the torch of truth and integrity for so long, and to the extent that he eventually found himself championing the Villas' cause, this reversal in thinking and aggressive behavior is a profound obscenity. Not to mention that his apparent hop into bed with the DA-friendly Morning Call looks like a confederacy of weaklings. Anybody home, Allentown? Feel like moving even farther away.
OPEN COMMENT TO JOYCE MARIN, ms. marin, i noticed your comment on lehighvalley somebody in regard to the villa sponsored show and city assisted(via grants) old allentown house tour. although i fully support the show and artists participating, certain personal behavior by the villa's should not be ignored by those of you responsible as agents of the city. as i type this comment, thus far eleven identical comments have highjacked this posting. mr. villa has challenged mr. o'hare to a fistfight, etc. i must assume some of us may be risk if we dare attend the art show at mr. lewnes residence, who also as the 7th st. manager, receives taxpayer funds.
ReplyDeleteWow!
ReplyDeleteAre you (LVS) in third grade here or what?
When will you recognize that you are making absolute fools of yourselves?
Scott Armstrong
I think it is wrong to keep peppering Mike's blog with the same off topic comment, but I also think it is wrong for Bernie O'hare to mock the Chen Arts group. I know that Mike supports the idea of Chen, and while there may be some disagreements taking place, it is unfortunate that so many tangential people are being painted with the broad brush of "enemy."
ReplyDeleteHaving got that off my chest, Style versus Substance is a big part of this years campaign.
I like "give'm hell Harry" he's one of my favorite historical figures, because he was one of our last leaders to lead by doing what was right, not what was politically palatable.
Interesting post, Mike. I am curious if you've ever read 'Truman' by David McCullough?
ReplyDeleteanon 11:19, i have not read the book about truman
ReplyDeletechris, i don't believe bernie wanted to taunt or mock the art show. the villa's have very aggressively taunted and highjacked blogs resulting in the troll blog, and now they're justifying continuing the same behavior because of it? the villa's can draw and play an instrument, but their really not artists, they don't apparently have enough character for that distinction. the blood between you and bernie is so bad, i doubt you can be anywhere near objective about this, however, your comments are welcome.
posted by request
ReplyDeleteQuestion,
Why should anyone take seriously an Arts group that included leaders that indulged in uncivil and brutish behavior?
Scott Armstrong
on my posting about obama and mccain, bill villa made psuedononymous comments implying my post was racist. he also, elsewhere, referred to my blog as "Mike's Nostalgia N' Recipe Korner!" although i'm barred from mrs. dotties blog(angie villa) i allowed both her and bill to comment about bernie, then i allowed bernie to reply. i then deleted further comments from the villa's, as i said i would. yesterday the blogs of their enemies have received hundreds of the same comment. this is an effort that involves both of them, and both of their computers, working full time to disrupt the blogosphere. being an artist is more than being able to draw or play an instrument, it is to contribute an ideal to your community. angie was inspired to start the chen art group from reading my postings about greg weaver, who created an art scene in allentown in the 70's and 80's. like the villa's, he suffered adversity, he went blind at the height of his career. he continued to produce art using more tactile mediums. i never heard a bitter word from his mouth. he always encouraged others in their expression. i wish the upcoming art show well, and hope the repression of yesterday was an isolated incident.
ReplyDeletei've just seen a charming little comment on mrs. dotties blog where i'm described as evil, and she as a victim of the troll blog. the villa's justify their behavior because of "horrible things" said about them on the troll blog. bernie, admittedly, has have been rather blunt, but those new to this commotion must realize the villa's engaged in the same behavior before the troll blog. for weeks before the troll blog villa would submit endless comments under his own name,also pseudonymously and anonymously. this inappropriate highjacking of blogs by him was the reason the troll blog was created in the first place. i never was a team member of the troll blog, as villa's well know, but said i understand why it was created, and that was enough to have them post over 100 copies of the same comment on this blog yesterday. although he is a grieving father, he also is a bully. although he is a musician, he also is a bully. frankly, he's quite mean spirited; he will paint those who resisted his orders as racist, plagiarist, or whatever hammer he can contrive. there are those of us who wish to have a blogosphere, not a billosphere, and these distractions from real issues. unfortunately, angie is a partner in their hostile actions. i cannot but help resent her writing i'm evil, while, yesterday from 6:30 in the morning to 5:30 in the afternoon, her and hubby sent out 700 comments trying to disrupt four different blogs. they portray themselves as talented sensitive artists who are victims, while in reality they are the aggressors. they bully those who don't support their boycotts.
ReplyDelete