There are very few things that send me into convulsions. Among them, being called "feisty", use of the word "tolerance", little puppies crossing a busy street, and people who say dumb and degrading things about prominent political leaders in public. Ill-politics are like finger nails on a chalkboard for me. It gives me the chills. And I'm not talking about the good kind either. There's nothing like sitting back, relaxing to get your hair cut and being forced to listen to your stylist rant on about how much she hates Bush. Am I the only one that thinks this is completely unprofessional?

So you can imagine my disdain when I heard of Whoopi Goldberg's recent comments about President Bush and Dick Cheney at a recent Kerry fundraiser. I've yet to locate her actual words, but even then, I wouldn't post them because knowing Whoopi, they were inapproriate. The New York Post reported,

"Waving a bottle of wine, she [Goldberg] fired off a stream of vulgar sexual wordplays on Bush's name in a riff about female genitalia."

Classy Whoopi. Very classy. Can't say I'd expect more since Goldberg is known for her uncouth behavior. It seems the heads at Slim-fast did since they made the brilliant decision to hire this loose-cannon as their national spokesperson. That's mistake number one. They did however, avoid mistake number two. When Republican and Conservative Slim Fast drinkers (there's some Google boolean) started complaining to the company, Whoopi got dropped like a bad habit. So much for contracts. Slim Fast's Kathi Eckler remarks,

"Slim-Fast selected Whoopi Goldberg as its spokesperson because of her commitment to losing weight, which we applaud.

"We are disappointed by the manner in which Ms. Goldberg chose to express herself and sincerely regret that her recent remarks offended you. Advertisements featuring Ms. Goldberg will no longer be on air."

There are two subjects that can incite riots among the masses: Religion and Politics. Smart people know how to play the game, but the fools, well, they mouth off dumb things in the workplace and on CNN. Am I the only one that thinks a measure of tact should be used when discussing certain matters in a public forum?

As expected, Republicans were not pleased about the set-up of Kerry's fundraiser, which lined up celebrities with the intent and sole purpose of "skewering" the President. So what's new? I must say, this is my LEAST favorite aspect about politics during the presidential election. Both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of resorting to tactics of name-calling and mud-slinging. Democrats have the upperhand in that they're fighting an incumbent and many people love to hate Bush. It seems this is the game you have to play to be heard these days. All parties are guilty. Shame.

I personally think it's downright tacky. Why can't anything be about the issues anymore? That must be the "sheltered youth" in me speaking. I admit, I'm guilty on many occasions of slinging mud myself, but even with Clinton, I tried to remain civil. On another note, does anyone find it ironic that Whoopi's tagline with Slim Fast was "I'm a Big Loser"?

Self-fulfilling prophecy.

Posted by Ambra at July 15, 2004 1:18 AM in Culture ,Politics