I think Claire McCaskill, Missouri's Democratic Party candidate for Congress, has come up with a winning idea by having Michael J. Fox do her latest television spots, and it's a lesson that party bosses shouldn't overlook: hire a beloved, retired* sit-com actor to present your most divisive standpoints. I'm sure Andy Griffith, Suzannes Pleshette and Somers, Tim Allen, and the adorable robot girl (seen above, pimping for Steele and his running mate, a puppy) from Small Wonder's phones are ringing frantically right now. Can't you just imagine? Hello? Rick Santorum calling! Can you get me Rue McClanahan?
It'll get a lot of votes from more light-comedy-saturated households, but it won't please everybody. Rush Limbaugh, for one, isn't falling for it, and even suggests, ever so tentatively, that Michael J. Fox might be a little too on-the-nose with all that crazy shaking and twitching.
*This is required so that the ads may be aired on all networks.
Also, do you hate me for posting a youtube link? Tell me now or forever hold your peace!
UPDATE: I just couldn't stand having a youtube link. It's linked on Limbaugh's article, though.
UPDATE: Crooks and Liars has a seriouser post about the topic.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Funny that I chose to use Michael "Puppy Lover" Steele at the top of this post, because now Michael J. Fox has expanded his political reach from Missouri to Maryland by lending his voice to Steele's rival, Ben Cardin.
11 comments:
Princess,
Wow, what a loaded subject. My father has had Parkinson's for a long time, so I am familiar with its effects. There are stages of hyperkinesis and "freezing" that a Parkinsons sufferer goes through as the medication level in the brain rises and falls. The condition Mr. Fox is shown in is hyperkinesis, which occurs typically soon after the medication kicks in. It's quite normal for Parkinson's, and it's quite likely that Mr. Fox times his usual appearances so that it isn't happening when he's on stage. It is likely that he decided to let the commercial be filmed in the hyperkinetic phase to show folks what the disease is like for real.
Are we fishing Your Highness? You know how devoted to you we are.
No, I think it's a good ad. I'm mainly pointing out Limbaugh's reaction to it, and, of course, concentrating on the shallowest aspect of the story, the celebrity aspect, as is appropriate to this blog.
Dear Princess: Your total artistic integrity in taking off the youtube link only raises you higher in my estimation, though if you'd kept it up I wouldn't hate you. Still photography has its own magic, however, as you well know.
As for the Parkinson's kerfluffle, your take was perfectly brilliant, but thanks for the Limbaugh and Crooks and Liars links. Just when you think these scum [Limbaugh, etc.] can't sink any lower, they manage to somehow surpass expectations.
My dad has had Parkinson's for over a decade and hasn't been doing the medications (which over time are fatally toxic), but has been going for a number of years to some hippy-dippy acupressure foot massage guy who learned his skill from some good witch in Santa Cruz, California. To my utter amazement, he's not getting worse and lately has even started to appear a bit better. Go figure.
I love you with or without the tube.
youtube is where I watch all the fun things the kewl kidz watch.
BTW I'll never follow a link that has limpbaugh attatched to it.
You could get really tastless & do a spoof on that with a reagan look alike with alzhiemers trying to record a spot for eisenhower....
pwapvt
I dunno. YouTube is sort of irresistible. Every stupid kid blogger posts tons of YouTube crap, but there's so much useful info there. Aesthetically, there's something troubling about little YouTube windows in the middle of a page. I think the best compromise would be a link to a YouTube page. I just posted a stupid YouTube movie to see if I could post at all. Lots of tech problems with my page.
YouTube is like a condiment (ha ha!)---ketchup or dried freckles or fish sauce or pepper. And I don't LIKE having too many condiments (ha ha ha!) available. If I want one, I'll search for it. Rush Limbremoval taints the already available condiments with his greasy, drug addled essence.
It's McCaskill, actually. And I sure as shit hope she trounces Jim Talent this time around. (Yes, even the rubes from flyover country read PSP)
Silly Pony! We Republicans don't need the Small Wonder girl when we have the Condibot.
'Tis true, NBS. Condi is much more than a Small Wonder. She's a big ol' WTF!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiOo7S0DvM8
We all knew something was up with Rush.
Elaine
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