{"id":4339,"date":"2016-05-03T06:28:52","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T13:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cynthiasamuels.com\/blog\/?p=4339"},"modified":"2016-05-02T22:35:40","modified_gmt":"2016-05-03T05:35:40","slug":"big-birthday-memory-8-in-honor-of-indiana-and-donald-trump-pigs-lipstick-dick-cheney-sarah-palin-and-the-movies-bob-roberts-a-face-in-the-crowd-and-willie-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cynthiasamuels.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/03\/big-birthday-memory-8-in-honor-of-indiana-and-donald-trump-pigs-lipstick-dick-cheney-sarah-palin-and-the-movies-bob-roberts-a-face-in-the-crowd-and-willie-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Birthday Memory #8: In Honor of Indiana and Donald Trump (Pigs, Lipstick, Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin And The Movies: \u201cBob Roberts\u201d, \u201cA Face In The Crowd\u201d And Willie Stark)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
\n

NOTE: As I approach my 70th birthday, I\u2019ll reprise a milestone post here each day until the end of May. Today \u2013 from\u00a0September 10, 2008. \u00a0This post appears now\u00a0because it’s about demagogues and politics and the Indiana primary is today.<\/em><\/p>\n

Of course by now we\u2019ve all seen this.<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

I wrote much of what appears below without knowing just how to begin it \u2013 and those wacky Republicans<\/a> solved my problem.\u00a0 The response to this boilerplate Obama statement was to issue a vicious attack accusing him of sexism because of Palin\u2019s convention speech “lipstick\/hockey mom\/pitbull” quote.\u00a0 This despite the fact that the metaphor has often been used by Republicans including Dick Cheney \u2013 to say nothing of John McCain \u2013 look here:<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

The McCain campaign, not only in its choice of Sarah Palin but in how they use her, is leaning on very scary\u00a0 tactics that are similar to the successful exploitation of voters illustrated by some of the most\u00a0<\/del>memorable characters in American political films.\u00a0 Watch this trailer for Tim Robbin<\/a>s\u2019 Bob Roberts<\/a>; see if it isn\u2019t more familiar than you wish:<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Creepy, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 A demagogue making his way to the top by lying about his opponent and manipulating the alienation of the American people for his own ends.\u00a0 That<\/em> could never happen in real life, right?<\/p>\n

Much, much earlier in film history, the beloved Andy Griffith<\/a>played one of the scariest public personalities ever in A Face in the Crowd<\/a> \u2014 written by Budd Schulberg<\/a> and directed by On the Waterfront<\/a>\u2018s Elia Kazan<\/a>.\u00a0 He\u2019s not a politician but watch the trailer and see if it doesn\u2019t seem familiar.\u00a0 You have to watch until the end to get the full impact.<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

It\u2019s so depressing \u2014 and enraging \u2014 to watch this campaign peddling pseudo-folksiness to win over its public.\u00a0 It\u2019s time for that to stop working in our country.\u00a0 Stakes are too high to permit us (or the press) to fall for the most\u00a0 approachable (and least honest) over the most excellent.<\/p>\n

Finally, remember Robert Penn Warren\u2019<\/a>s remarkable novel, clearly based on Louisiana\u2019s Huey Long<\/a> \u2013 All the King\u2019s Men<\/a>?\u00a0 It portrays a politician on his path to becoming a dangerous demagogue.\u00a0 Yeah, I know it\u2019s melodramatic but does it feel at all familiar?<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Clearly we should consider these archetypal characters as cautionary tales; instructive representations of our future if we allow this kind of campaigning to prevail.\u00a0 Movies are our largest export (unless video games have taken over while I wasn\u2019t looking)\u00a0 and often reflect, if not our truths, at least our ghosts, shadows and neuroses.\u00a0 It gave us The Body Snatchers<\/a> in the 50\u2019s, Easy Rider <\/a>in the 60\u2019s and Working Girl<\/a> and Wall Street<\/a> in the 80\u2019s.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to be seductive, to manipulate language and truth; easy to pretend to be one of the people in order to win them. The vicious, craven strategies of this campaign \u2013 and Sarah Palin herself \u2013 are\u00a0 perfect examples; John McCain, whom I used to admire, has allowed, no encouraged, this shameful campaigning in his name and surrendered all the positions of principal that he once held.\u00a0 If we don\u2019t want (another) Bob Roberts (He does remind me of GWBush) or a cynical populist pretender or a MS Wilie Stark as our government, it\u2019s up to use to exercise vigilance and fierce commitment to fight off these transparent manipulations and to ensure that it does not happen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n