Tuesday, October 5, 2004

Rodney

Gotta admit: I was never a huge fan of Rodney Dangerfield. Well, I kinda liked that you had a guy who flopped as a comedian and didn't let that stop him. He got out of show business for a while, then gave it another go and clicked. (That was why he got stuck with the joke name. When he went back to performing, he didn't want friends from his "other" job to know, so Jacob "Jack Roy" Cohen became Rodney Dangerfield, just for a while. Then the second career took off before he got a chance to change it to something else.) He worked hard and managed to develop a truly funny comic persona...though one that seemed to me to be paper-thin and sometimes very nasty. He was a performer who often made me nervous, and not in a good way.

He was always so "programmed." When Carson had him on, he didn't dare ask a real question. He just let Rodney sit there and do the jokes he'd picked in the order he'd planned. I remember one Tonight Show appearance in the Leno era when a guest on the couch interrupted Rodney with a comment, and you've never seen a professional comedian get so lost in the middle of his act. Dangerfield suddenly had no idea where he was, what he'd just said, what he was going to say next.

Audiences generally loved him, though the word along the comedy circuit was that he often disappointed them with high ticket prices, short sets and too-familiar material. People who worked with him were wildly divided, and I suspect that now that he's gone, there will be a suitable period of deference and then we'll start hearing anecdotes to the contrary. First, though, we have to get through an awful lot of obits that will say, "He finally got some respect."

• Posted at 9:06 PM · LINK

The Veep Debate

Well, it's over. I don't know how the public will react to it. I don't think any knockout punches were landed. My suspicion in these things is always that the folks who were already going to vote for the Democrat will say the Democrat kicked butt and the folks who were already going to vote for the Republican will say the Republican took no prisoners...and those who have no great emotional commitment will say, "We don't really want either of these guys." But then, I was surprised that so many Bush supporters were willing to concede that he did poorly last week.

I thought Edwards did make a few strong points on issues like Health Care (and especially the Administration siding with drug companies over people) that are probably not going to budge a lot of voters. I also thought Cheney did a good job of throwing a lot of semi-personal accusations at Edwards — too many for him to address.

I guess I was disappointed in both men. It was a pretty bland debate, especially after they hit the speed bump of Domestic Affairs. Maybe it is true that no one votes for Vice-President and that we all just wasted 90 minutes of our lives.

• Posted at 7:50 PM · LINK

Watching the Veep Debate...

They're discussing malpractice insurance and frivolous lawsuits. This is an important topic but no one's going to shift their vote over it.

I'm getting really sick of Edwards saying, "We have a plan..." and Cheney snarling and looking down.

• Posted at 7:09 PM · LINK

Rodney Dangerfield, R.I.P.

Just heard.

• Posted at 7:00 PM · LINK

Watching the Veep Debate...

Cheney has said a couple of times that he doesn't have enough time to respond to things Edwards is saying. Wonder what would happen if Edwards turned to him and said, "Well then, how about if we schedule another debate next week with no silly time limits?"

• Posted at 6:56 PM · LINK

Watching the Veep Debate...

The moderator's doing a good, by-the-books job. But what I'd love to see are a couple of questions that the debaters' prep crews couldn't have anticipated.

We're halfway through and my sense is that nothing that's been said has changed anyone's mind about anything.

About fifteen minutes ago, I thought I saw Edwards give Cheney one of those looks that Chevy Chase used to deliver behind the back of someone who was delivering a serious editorial on Weekend Update.

Oops. There's another one.

• Posted at 6:45 PM · LINK

Watching the Veep Debate...

Well, so much for the rule where they're not supposed to address each other directly.

I wish Edwards sounded a little less like Kerry's agent.

• Posted at 6:21 PM · LINK

Watching the Veep Debate...

Too many planned talking points. Both of them.

Being limited to 90-120 seconds per answer may have helped Kerry. It may even have helped Bush. But at the moment, Cheney and Edwards are tackling too many areas in each question and the topics cry out for longer discussion.

• Posted at 6:17 PM · LINK

This Evening...

I just thought of something I'd say tonight if I were John Edwards. At some point, Dick Cheney is bound to make some sort of outrageous, over-the-top attack on Edwards or his running mate or both. If I were Edwards, I'd smile and begin my reply with...

Well, Mr. Vice-President, that brings to mind a suggestion that you recently gave Patrick Leahy on the Senate floor...

...and then, I'd throw in a "however" and give a proper, dignified response.

• Posted at 4:17 PM · LINK

Live! Cartoonists!

For those of you in or around Orange County: A gaggle of top cartoonists — including Sergio Aragonés, Scott Shaw! and Stan Sakai will be appearing this Saturday at the Orange County High School of the Arts. Details here.

• Posted at 1:43 PM · LINK