McCain's Spiritual Guide

You Spin me 'Round 'Round

I've been in Toronto at a conference and heard James Pennebaker comment on the words that candidates use. This analysis is about spin. Check it out. http://www.cs.queensu.ca/home/skill/uselection/

Sittin' in my kitchen--got the blues

Let's have a bit of fun with the use that Clinton and Obama have made of the kitchen (not that I can picture HRC puttering about in an actual kitchen, and I’m sure neither McCain or Cindy know their way around one). First Clinton treated to us to that old taunt, “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.” After the two primaries yesterday, I don’t expect that to come up again. For those of you who may not know what Clinton meant, it was basically, you’re not “man” enough for this fight. Going back an election or two, it is pretty much the same as calling someone a wimp.

Then in February it was well known that Clinton was going to pursue a kitchen sink strategy to defeat Obama. The idea there was that she would throw everything she could get her hands on to attack him with. This is the first time I recall that particular usage. The saying I’m more familiar with is “Everything but the kitchen sink.” For you entymology fans the phrase is based on the idea that if you brought many things to someone, a kitchen sink is one of the last things you would bring because it is difficult to move. Hmmm—makes me wonder if Clinton plans to throw the sink too.

For the last two weeks, as both candidates courted the voters who are in financial distress, we began to hear about the “kitchen table” issues, e.g., gas prices, and Obama met with voters around a small kitchen table.

The image that the kitchen table is supposed to conjure up is a family going over their budgets and bills at a chrome and formica table in the kitchen—a Norman Rockwell scene. A lot of us don’t have a kitchen large enough (“eat-in” in real estate lingo) for a table and even if we did we’d be using it for eating not for sorting bills.

Now for some serious fun. if you google "McCain and kitchen" you will find nothing about John McCain and that particular domestic space but there is a singer named Edwin McCain who sings the Kitchen Song, one of the choruses is as follows:

Oh pretty baby, don't know what to say
I just want you to ... go away
Well I'd love to sit and reflect on this
But I haven't got the time
Just tell me why you chose
to be so cruel, mean, brutal
so unkind

I wonder of Obama knows that song.

And what is a good search without checking in with YouTube, where I found there are several genres of kitchen videos. One is music made from kitchen sounds, another is a singer or groups sitting in the kitchen singing, and the other uses the kitchen as the central metaphor. I posted one of the the best of those, I Got the Kitchen Blues. Enjoy!