If a wise man has an argument with a foolish man, the fool only rages or laughs, and there is no rest.
A self-confident fool utters all his anger, but a wise man holds it back and stills it.
— Proverbs 29:9,11
I started to watch the Vice Presidential debate this evening, and within a few minutes found myself asking my wife if she wanted to watch a Sherlock episode (the clean BBS version). Why, for a political junkie like me? Well, I honestly couldn’t stand the constant glare from those white teeth (my wife calls them dentures, but I digress). I really was trying to watch and listen, and when it came time for Congressman Ryan speak, all I could see was the glare– not from the bald head of an older opponent, but from the shiny gloss of those pearly whites! Honestly– I killed the C-Span webpage and loaded up Netflix. Ugh.
I thought that perhaps I was just agitated at the Bide for being so utterly disrespectful to Ryan or perhaps I wasn’t being as objective as I thought I should. But alas, after finishing The Hounds of Baskerville, I jumped back over to C-Span, and there were the closing remarks. The Smiling Man was just finishing his closing remarks and the Quiet Bookkeeper was about to start. Then, as luck would have it, the streaming feed hung. What to do? Peruse the news sites! So that’s what I did. I perused the news sites and realized that it wasn’t just my impression– it was everybody’s impression! Wallace and Krauthammer had hit it spot on! The Vice President was not acting very Presidential (nor Vice Presidential for that matter)– he really was being a jerk.
Now that it’s over, I don’t know if I can watch the whole thing– certainly not at this time. But the one thing I could and did do– I watched the closing comments. To me– the choice is clear. We need to put wise economic and social policies in the White House and Naval Observatory. Not the foolish trappings and railings of the ambiguous “Forward” that does nothing but take us backward– or worse, down a path that those that have escaped Eastern Europe has already proven is mortifying.
