liz_marcs: Liberty and Justice in a lesbian kiss (liberty_justice_otp)
liz_marcs ([personal profile] liz_marcs) wrote2008-03-06 04:06 pm

The Strange Tale of the 2008 Presidential Election...

Making Light today has a fun post about 'the little guy' posting political videos on the Internet that in some cases equals, or even outshines, stuff churned out by the professionals.

Allow me to add my voice to Teresa Nielsen Hayden's: Comparing the 2008 Presidential Campaign to the ghosts of presidential campaigns I have known is a bit like comparing oranges to apples.

I'm not entirely sure what changed. I don't know if it's because technology has given private citizens the tools to create, communicate, and to network without regard to geography or timezone, or if it's because people are simply actually paying attention after sleeping outside the voting booth for nearly 30 years, or if it's because this is a legitimately historical presidential race on more than several grounds.

While I'm intellectually aware that in the past it was possibly for presidential campaigns to run right up until the party conventions picked the candidates, this is the first time where I've actually seen it. For as long as I can remember, both the Democratic and Republican tickets were resolved right after Super Tuesday in February.

Yet, here, in 2008, the Republican nomination has only just been settled, and the race is still on for the Democratic ticket.

We do indeed live in interesting times, although only time will tell if it's in the "Chinese curse" sense of the word or in the "dawn of a new age" sense of the word.

So, in honor of this strange election season, I've quickly thrown together 14 political songs that I just happened to have access to. Enjoy!




Note: The management would appreciate it if you commented when you downloaded.

[identity profile] invisionary.livejournal.com 2008-03-06 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
One of the political blogs (I can't remember which one) said today that this is the most epic Democratic presidential primary in the last hundred years.

I don't know if that's true or not, but it's certainly been a wild ride. Super Tuesday decides nothing! Obama sweeps February, but can't close the deal on March 4th! And now - Pennsylvania goes mad with power!

If you don't already read it, I recommend checking out Open Left, because one of the bloggers there not only lives in Pennsylvania, he's a precinct captain there. Should be interesting reading for the next few weeks.

And here's more grist for a political junkie's mill, though personally I don't think general election polls tell us very much this far out.

[identity profile] davegrs.livejournal.com 2008-03-06 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Liz,

It's interesting how perceptions change. You are surprised that as of March 6, the candidates haven't been selected. The first real "Super Tuesday" was March 8, 1988. I remember Mondale and Hart battling through June in 1984. I think that the California and New Jersey primaries were on June 6. There used to be weeks between primaries. I think it was better when the process started later and lasted longer.
ext_1356: (Default)

[identity profile] sobelle.livejournal.com 2008-03-06 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Cool... I dl'ed Lucy Kaplansky (love her) Randy Newman and Billy Bragg. I have the others in various other forms/performers.

Being a survivor of the Civil Rights and Anti War demonstration days (and hey, it's still going on 0.o) I remember carrying our guitars around ready to sing most of your shared songs... and others that I should try to remember...

damn the senility ;)



And on a more global scale... are you familiar with the David Wilcox & Nance Pettit's song, Out Beyond Ideas?

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase "each other" doesn't make any sense.

Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi - 13th century

http://www.outbeyondideas.org/

[identity profile] laura-iskra.livejournal.com 2008-03-06 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm downloading, thank you!

[identity profile] doingsoso.livejournal.com 2008-03-07 10:20 pm (UTC)(link)
I've downloaded:) Thank you:)

And you're right this year issssss verrrry different and strange.

[identity profile] mbumby.livejournal.com 2008-03-10 07:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you. Quite an interesting compilation. (My puter isn't sure what to do with the M4A's.)