Friday, June 13, 2008

The high-def tv theory of political privilege

Megan firmly believes herself to be smarter and better informed than the general public, which is why she didn't fall for the Iraq War or vote for George Bush in 2004. Part of her betterness comes from having gone to a (barely) Ivy League school, part comes from who she sits with at lunch, but mostly it's because Megan has a personal view of the inside of her ass, a place where all the truth in the world hides.
Also, she has a tv made this century.

Thanks to the high-definition TV revolution, we can all see the ravages time has wrought on McCain: the wrinkles, the facial scars from his battle with melanoma, and the arthritis that has crippled his arms and legs. Watched on a regular station, McCain still looks vital and smooth. On my high-definition channels, however, he looks like he has one foot in the grave.
On "Megan's" high-def channels, which only she and the other members of the insiders who are cool club are allowed to have. The poor plebs think McCain looks like Tom Cruise without the crazy eyes or shit eating grin or dwarfiness, and only Megan knows better.
Megan is so smart and informed she even unironically, and unconsciously, quotes George motherfucking Bush.
More to the point, no job really qualifies you to run the world's only remaining superpower; there's a vast amount that simply must be learned by doing.
Once again, I have to point out that Megan loves to rag on tv pundits for just this kind of empty "insight", and that such banalities are all she has to offer on most, if not all, political topics. The job of being President is hard. Don't eat lead paint.

Oh, and guess what? She's probably had the title all along and I never noticed, but....
Megan McArdle is an associate editor and blogger at the Atlantic.
Editor, like Producer, has become an entirely meaningless title.
Editors edit shit. Megan doesn't even proofread her posts.

(From yesterday's "dust-up" in the Calcutta LA Times.)

N as for Ezra's response to Megan...
I basically agree with you, Megan. Being president isn't like being the world's most powerful senator. It's a different job with its own learning curve.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Being a president is different than being a senator? Thank goodness we have geniuses like Ezra to point this out to us.

These people really think this sophomoric rubbish is thoughtful analysis and insight? And how does somebody with ZERO journalism training get a title of associate editor at a professional magazine?

Anonymous said...

or vote for George Bush in 2004

Or 2000.

M. Bouffant said...

I suspect that the title of contributing editor (which is just what our muse would have been called a few yrs. ago) is not enough status for today's young weasels, so they have "associate" substituted, to make up for the crummy pay.