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Okay, I usually avoid commenting on conservative blogs because it's just too easy. I'm liberal, they're not. Of course I'll find something I disagree with. Nevertheless, there's an obsession on some of the conservative sites that just may be the dumbest meme I've ever seen.
First, take a look at this picture :
Y'see that daisy attached to the zipper of his jacket? That's what the conservatives are freaking out about. Seriously.
This Instapundit post has seven updates with observations about how the daisy is "unlikely to strike fear into the hearts of our enemies", whether or not it's an obscure Wu Tang Clan reference, links to discussion threads, and even a link to a guy who posted two obviously different photos and claimed that the New York Times photoshopped the flower out of one of them.
Why the fixation on something so trivial? Because something as minor as a flower backs up a frequent criticism by conservatives : Democrats are too wimpy to be president. Here's a sampling of what I'm talking about from the sites Instapundit is linking :
"I think I shall be ill. My niece has a flower just like that one. She's seven."
"Is it some kind of secret sign? A gift from his wife? An anachronistically girlish symbol of support for homosexual unions? An apparel-based reference to his days among the flower children?"
"Further evidence that John F'ing Kerry is a feckless crapweasel."
"He still looks like a dork on that snowboard. Will the real John Kerry please GROW up?"
"The whole look, of course, is appalling: the vest, the gloves, the botox. It is Mrs. Rocket's opinion that the American people will not elect as President a man who wears a vest with a flower power zipper pull."
"Clearly this man is the true Alpha Weenie."
All this coming from the supporters of a president who was almost assassinated by a pretzel.
The most amusing aspect of all this is that John Kerry's ski trip actually could be used to boost another common complaint about liberals. With Kerry's multiple houses and posh lifestyle, they could easily paint the picture of him being an out-of-touch elitist who's vacationing while the country needs him. Of course, if they wanna do that, they'd probably need to explain why Bush spent all of August 2001 hanging out in his ranch and ignoring memos.
posted by greg at April 2, 2004 12:49 PM
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They can't be serious. These people are pathological.
When I pointed out the incredible lameness of this slam on Kerry over at Blogs for Bush, I was chastised for not having a sense of humor. It was simply laughing at the "ridiculousness" of it all.
Who knew bloggers for Bush could get so giggly over a guy's flower zipper pull?
I think they're feverishly trying to divert attention from the fact that one side of the contest has a guy who snowboards while the other side has a guy who can't stay on a Segway...
Yes, they are serious. Unfortunately, we liberals must understand the conservative mindset in order to deal with them in anything approaching a meaningful manner. In order to win, liberals must understand the conservative mindset and how to overcome it (and this may require a left brain response!).
Don't discount the possibility that Kerry is following up on his earlier MTV remarks about the power of hip-hop by making a visible show of support for circa-1989 De La Soul.
An anachronistically girlish symbol of support for homosexual unions?
oh my. im glad conservatives know so much about the latest trend in homosexual symbols. of course gays wouldnt want a girlish daisy - arbitrarily equating male homosexuality with femininty is so, like, 1975.