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Bull Elk In The Rut

A man on the scent of the White House is rarely rational. He is more like a beast in heat: a bull elk in the rut.

The bull elk is a very crafty animal for about fifty weeks of the year; his senses are so sharp that only an artful stalker can get within a thousand yards of him . . . but when the rut comes on, in the autumn, any geek with the sense to blow an elk-whistle can lure a bull elk right up to his car in ten minutes if he can drive within hearing range.

The dumb bastards lose all control of themselves when the rut comes on. Their eyes glaze over, their ears pack up with hot wax, and their loins get heavy with blood. Anything that sounds like a cow elk in rut will fuse the central nervous systems of every bull on the mountain. They will race through the timber like huge cannonballs, trampling small trees and scraping off bloody chunks of their own hair on the unyielding bark of the big ones. They behave like sharks in a feeding frenzy, attacking each other with all the demented violence of human drug dealers gone mad on their own wares.

A career politician finally smelling the White House is not much different from a bull elk in the rut. He will stop at nothing, trashing anything that gets in his way; and anything he can’t handle personally he will hire out–or, failing that, make a deal. It is a difficult syndrome for most people to understand, because few of us ever come close to the kind of Ultimate Power and Achievement that the White House represents to a career politician. [more]

The presidency is as far as he can go. There is no more. The currency of politics is power, and once you’ve been the Most Powerful Man in the World for four years, everything else is downhill–except four more years on the same trip.

Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72

This makes perfect sense when I read the lead article this morning in one of my favorite newspapers:

‘Boring,’ Hillary Clinton Shouts From Senate Seat

September 24, 2008

 

WASHINGTON— In a blatant show of disgust and indifference toward her senatorial duties, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) repeatedly yelled "boring" from her seat Wednesday, interrupting New Mexico senator Jeff Bingaman’s speech in support of S. 3125, a bill that would extend certain expiring provisions of the Internal Tax Revenue Code of 1986.

Clinton’s declaration of boredom and the various iterations that followed—including shouts of "Bored," "I’m bored," "This is stupid," "This is boring," and "Oh my God, I’m so bored"—were not reportedly targeted at one person in particular but at the entire assembly. According to those senators present, Clinton delivered her unprompted remarks while she slouched in her chair, rested her head atop the back of her seat, and fixed her eyes on the Senate Chamber’s ceiling.

"Shut up," a visibly exasperated Clinton said in a forceful monotone when Sen. Bingaman attempted to resume his speech. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up."

"Stop being boring," Clinton added. "Why can’t we do something fun for a change, like run for president?"

Despite suggestions from nearby legislators that she keep her voice down, Clinton once again interrupted Bingaman before the conclusion of his speech when she began a slow, exaggerated clap for her colleague in an apparent attempt to get him to leave the podium. When Bingaman tried to speak above the clapping, Clinton addressed him with pointed sarcasm, saying, "Great speech, Jeff. Just great. Really brought the house down."

Clinton then reportedly asked the senator seated next to her, "How long do these things go?" and spent the next 45 minutes slowly rubbing her temples. read the whole article here.

Until next time, your friend,

Anita Thompson

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