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Monday, September 01, 2008

Life Imitates Art: Nostradamus Edition

Posted by Adam Roberts on 09/01/08 at 05:15 AM

It’s in times like this that it really strikes home how American the internet, basically, is. Every second post I read nowadays seems to be about Obama, Biden, McCain, Palin and or some permutation thereof. Thus we map the limits of the internet’s ability rhizomatically to deconstruct US-centric hegemony. Not that I’m not interested, kind of, in who wins that election; and of course I can understand why Americans from South Carolina to Singapore are going to find it fascinating. But, well. You know. Anyway, since this blog is not a political blog, but is rather a blog devoted to literature, culture and art, I shall not expatiate upon O,B, M and P. Rather I shall address the question of life imitating art.

So, according to Art, the election (as the sitting two-term President comes to the end of his allowed time) is between a young, thrusting, inspirational, brown-skinned Democrat and a much older, socially moderate but fiscally conservative white-haired Republican with a good TV manner. There are various other particularities (the Democrat has the same name as a prominent Islamic terrorist; he takes as his running mate one of his party’s elder statesmen, partly in order to counter accusations that he lacks experience; he has an attractive wife and two adorable children) but of course we’re not interested in the way things are, but in the way things will turn out.

So, ‘Life Imitates Art Old Moore’s Almanac Edition’:

1. There will be a potentially enormous scandal associated with somebody’s brother that will be hushed up during the course of the election.
2. One candidate’s campaign will be bolstered by his former military career.
3. McCain’s popularity will be damaged by being in some way associated with a nuclear accident.
4. Obama will break a bed having sex with his wife.
5. Biden will have a fatal heart attack shortly before the final vote, which is bad news for him.
6. Obama will narrowly win the election.
7. He will subsequently appoint McCain Foreign Secretary, or whatever the US equivalent is.
8. It’ll all end with a sunrise.

You heard it here first.

Comments

Is it the internet that is ‘US-centric’? As usual, this election is occupying huge amounts of space in British newspapers and radio and TV news programmes. (This might to some extent be explained by the fact that July/August is always a relatively ‘quiet’ period for British political news, as politicians take long holidays, although things are reasonably lively at the moment with Gordon Brown clinging to his job by the fingertips).
I would think the scale of the coverage reflects a widespread feeling that Obama’s election might bring about profound changes both in US and global politics. It seems unlikely to me, but that, I think, explains the interest.

By on 09/01/08 at 01:13 PM | Permanent link to this comment

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Monday, September 01, 2008

Life Imitates Art: Nostradamus Edition

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