Poems I Wrote While Watching the Obama/McCain Debates in 2008
This is an old post from my previous blog, "Bridget Eileen's Commonplace Book," in which I wrote occasional poems inspired by the Obama vs McCain third 2008 presidential debate.This time, instead of being at home for the debate I was doing laundry in Weymouth, all by myself. So instead of playing the sippy sippy game, I made a bunch of debate poems, just playing with their words and the stuff that's going on.
Here's the result. I might do something with it but probably not. It was mostly just playing:
I'm just going to take words from the debate and make up a poem about each segment:
#1
Joe Plumber in Ohio buys a business if McCain wins an election
American dreaming about plumbing into the camera some words some words some numbers
joe the plumber
joe the plumber
joe the
tax
tax policy
tax cuts
tax breaks to exxon mobile
income tax
capitol gain tax
working families tax cut
tax relief
tax increase
firefighter nurse plumber teacher what i want to be when i grow up day
librarian don't forget
spread the wealth around
he will spread the wealth around
you will spread the wealth around
lets spread the wealth around
families afford food
college education
a break
pay for the core
investment
pay a little more
even though you don't like it
Ireland
America
#2 Deficit
means
net
emphasis
proposed
subsidize
whole hosts
of lines
invest in
care
cover
prevent
profligate
values
freeze
tariffs
sweetheart
barrels
planets
disagree
they need to be eliminated
focus
surplus
hatchets
I am not President Bush
The Men Seem to Agree
look at
goodies
scars
prove
conduct
#3 Leaders
lie losing eradicate
disrespectful dishonorable lied
pal with terrorists
say it to the face
face the slander
tough
request this
reject and sit down no
so I knock out your knee caps
he looks at him he looks at him
the context is twirling around and spewing
distortion and its been getting uncomfortable
money money money
no words kept
I'm skirmish
Truth not told
slow slow slow to say what you want
so cool and not angry
I want to yell for you
I want to scream
deserve
a focus
on me
words words words
what they cost and what they do
what they say and what they enable
not sure
black girls in a church get bombed because the people are lead to think that that is what is wanted so now it is going again kill him they say and when someone else thinks that's not good and says you don't say that and
i'm still unemployed
idontcareidontcareidontcare
more Things That Don't Matter
more me
not caring
facts out
association
list list
records
are not facts
sling mud and look the other way
sling mud and say something else in the same breath
#4 vices
credentials
scranton
spiral
consequence
leg-up
crime
women
values
corporations
individuals
independence
kids
issues
role model
reformers
corruption
money
breast!!!
crony
autism
politician
base
research
security
agreement
spending
heartache
#5 climes
unilaterally renegotiate treatise
extreme environmentalists
nuclear wind tide solar spent fuel clean coal
identified
domestic
have three to five use twenty five
song
Hi Bread
Build It Here
no car company left behind
trade
corn for land
fur for guns
socks for smiling people
look at eloquence
displace community
free college
smile of indignation smile of grumpiness
condescending
then proposals that sounds so good
make my imagination tingle
and now we do this dance
dance dance dance-y dance
to things that sound phony
#5 i don't feel good
don't go breaking my heart
don't go busting my heart
don't go making me go uncovered
don't let me get sick
buy some pools
of quality
discriminate drugs
manage the chronic
prevent this only way of making me
saved
caustic costs of conviction
record me on line
walk in to the alarming fitness
reward wellness
take it and get what you wish
the fine for being sick
exemption song
exemption large
exemption small
uncompensate my
infection
here's joe again
hi joe
joe do you feel special?
i think this joe stuff is silly
five
thou
sand
no
healthy
old
people
afford
you
stunned beetle eyes
strip away cherries
exclude mistakes
fundamental
gold plated Cadillacs
across availabilities
fun
dam
mental
pockets of too much everything
chambers lead to unraveling
lower your
stop
#6 ten fingers and ten toes
litmus - pink, purple, blue
state
federalist paper
nominees for litmus tests of blown up
unprecedented qualified justice
ideological standards
found history
adhere roving
wade impositions
fair sequences of one point
the balance hangs
the scales
good people
women
religion
constitute
referendum
popular
importance
lily
do the job
pay the money
treat me right
she works hard for the money
courage compassion culture
extreme alignment contradiction
surprise
reconcile
commonground
unintended cavalier education
helping adopt sacred Bridgets across the world
#7 skewl
hear my ears perk perk perk
this is my passion
what will they spew?
system debate reformed
achieve invested drop-outs
account for the letters
I swim in this debt
I'll serve the public to serve the public
golden ashes golden words sing
you make him, you make him do homework
choice competition proven chart good
bad go elsewhere
throw money
throw vets in there without learning
throw out idea that might sound good
nickel bee left bee hinds
special promises strapped to higher
charts, reserves
bad swiftly moved along
vouch for them
(fall in line? over work? lazy?)
we're the kids of America
we're the kids of America
we're not just an interest group
transparent crying
request comments
creepy weirdo
#7 so long
can't get no satisfaction
clean up everyone
stewards of this point and that point and this point
whistling teeth
lines of us
serve you
#8 farewell
decades untackled
fundamental
fundamental
fundamental
change change change
happy daze
shiny daze
college daze
busy ness daze
come together right now
tirelessly for everyone here and to be here