Monday, August 24, 2015

Photo Analysis: Hit the Light Trumptastic


The above picture from Donald Trump's rally in Mobile, AL, has been endlessly Tweeted and amusingly Photoshopped. But I think a few observations can be quickly made--

1.) The blonde woman holding the baby is quite possibly more excited about meeting Donald Trump than I think I've been about anything in my whole life. I don't believe I'm the only person who can say they have never been that literally enthused.

2.) The baby's facial expression is perhaps, the most understandable.

3.) If shown the picture for the very first time, and asked my humble opinion, I'd have thought that the "Thank you Lord Jesus for President Trump" sign was itself an over-the-top Photoshop addition, but no, it is not.

4.) Trump's appeal is largely symbolic, where it is not totally nihilistic.

5.) This is how people respond to celebrities in our culture.

6.) But this response is nevertheless genuine.

That last part...is what worries people.

2 comments:

Formerly Amherst said...

Hi Vixen, I gather that Trump's appeal is the reason power brokers are thinking about running Biden and ditching Hillary.

Trump has been attracting a lot of white, middle class Democratic voters. Hillary can't get them back, but possibly Biden could.

I think this is one of the reasons James Webb tentatively stuck his toe in the water. The Democratic Party has moved so far to the left that ordinary white families no longer see themselves as being included or addressed. This is the problem when a party tries to achieve solidarity based on its extreme side. Eventually people with normal lives and average concerns start wondering why they are being excluded.

Hillary has so many unfavorables that it is hard to see over them. Maybe Biden could come in as a savior who rescues the mainstream of the Democratic Party.

Vixen Strangely said...

Yeah--the Democratic Party doesn't so much have power brokers as such; there's truth in the saying "I don't belong to an organized party--I'm a Democrat." The idea that Biden got a blessing from Obama makes me wonder.

Biden: "Capo, I have a favor to ask of you."

Obama: "What is troubling you, my trusted consigliere?"

Biden: "As your time at the head of the Democratic Family is coming to a close, I am asking, formally, if I should put in a bid for capo, myself."

Obama: "It is good that you are coming to me with this thing--are you prepared for the sacrifices ahead of you?"

Biden: "Well, insofar as I've run for president two times before and was a goddamn United States Senator when you were still making macaroni necklaces in summer camp, I'm going to give that a 'yes'."

Obama: "You are a grown-ass man, do what you want."

I dunno--I'm just spitballing that's how it went.

I'm pretty much part of the ordinary white mishpocha and never thought a lot about whether Democrats should be sucking up to some "regular white" ideal or whether liberal ideals as such just seemed more right to me. I'm middle class. My neighbors have their kids in public schools and want decent wages and a reliable retirement future. They don't want government shutdowns and war with Iran. Including people who aren't *just* like me isn't excluding me. Not sure I can co-sign that reasoning.

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