Aug 27th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Columns
On cable they seem really upset that Barack Obama’s stage at Invesco Field involves some classical columns to invoke the civic architecture of America:
Sort Comments By: Top Rated | Date
51 Responses to “Columns”
Leave a Reply
Register
RSSLogin
Advertisement
Visit Our Affiliated Sites
Books By Matthew Yglesias
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
2012
Bailout
Basketball
Biden
Budget
Bush
Cars
climate
Congress
Conservatism
Conservatives
Culture
Economics
Economy
education
Energy
Georgia
Health care
History
Honesty
Housing
Inequality
Iran
iraq
Israel
Mandate
mccain
Media
National Review
National Security
NBA
obama
Pakistan
Palin
planning
Public Opinion
Race
Regulation
Russia
Sports
Stimulus
taxes
transit
Transition
transportation
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Contact Matthew Yglesias
Use this form to contact blog author Matthew Yglesias.
ArchivesBlog RollAbout Matt YglesiasContact Me
Donate
August 27th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
It’s actually not as simple as the “Greek temple” theme that everyone is pushing…there are Greek columns, yes, but not behind Obama. And there may still be a lot of work left to do.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
You are really dense Matt. Let us know when McCain gives his acceptance speech in front of something resembling Mt. Olympus or the Parthenon.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
I meant this?
August 27th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
As someone who works in urban planning/architecture/developement, I’m sure glad these guys don’t do architecture criticism full time.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
I wonder how many churches have Greek columns in front? 6? 7?
August 27th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I wonder how many churches have Greek columns in front? 6? 7?
Some churches did go through a neoclassical phase. Just do a google image search for “neoclassical church.”
August 27th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Greek columns? He’s running for President of America, not Greek!
August 27th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Precisely. Cable networks exist to make money, they don’t exist to inform anyone of anything. They make money by ginning up drama on otherwise boring days, which is why “if it bleeds it leads” is the TV newscasters’ mantra.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I always evaluate a right-wing meme based on how common it is among the trolls. Some of the talking points are considered too stupid for even the regular right-wing trolls to run with. This seems to be the case with the neo-classical architecture theme: ed and Brad seem to be the very bottom-of-the-barrel right-wingers, while our more well-known right-wing guests seem to be avoiding the embarrassment of pushing this talking point, because it’s too undignified, even for them (which is saying something).
August 27th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Yes, the President of Greek has his own problems this election.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Tyro: good observation. But even a higher quality troll will occasionally throw out an offhand reference to a talking point that’s too embarrassing to expend a whole rant on. The ecology of right-wing trolls is remarkably fascinating.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I wonder how many churches have Greek columns in front? 6? 7?
Heck, Greek Revival columns plus raised porch equals ‘Southern frat house’. Of course, historically, you wouldn’t see any black guys there.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Desperation is best communicated though silence.
Is Mr. Yglesias paid per post? I sure hope so.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Point #1: The entire middle portion of the set is full of glass windows…ever seen a greek temple that originally had glass windows?
Point#2: This is not the first acceptance speech to use “greek” columns. Republican convention 2004 ring a bell?
Link: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0808/Bushs_2004_temple.html#comments
August 27th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Is Mr. Yglesias paid per post? I sure hope so.
Sadly, no. But I’m supposed to work 9-6 with a lunch break so there’s not much for me to do but keep blogging.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Really? Greek-ish architecture in American politics?
REALLY?
Anything to change the subject, I guess.
.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
But I’m supposed to work 9-6 with a lunch break so there’s not much for me to do but keep blogging.
Maybe MattY could renegotiate the contract to include the occasional thinking break.
If you go to 4:45 here there’s a pan. There are two pair of large round columns on either end, with smaller square columns in the center portion, complete with bases and fillagres. I’ll leave it up to architects to identify whether that’s Greek, Roman, Romulan, Mordorian, or what.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Nope, no recent news, international incidents, crime stories, political speeches/maneuverings, social phenomena, scientific discoveries, arts reviews, sporting contests, weather events, …, happening in this country (or world) worthy of discussion today. What else we got? Ooooh, columns!
Quick, hide the shiny objects before the entire news network industry collapses in on itself.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
On Saturday, Obama, Biden and their wives took some photos in front of some old columns. The looked like they had been through a war:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3082/2789830447_505b3d9d23.jpg?v=0
Oops, Springfield is where he started his bid, where he returned to announce his VP. Where was the outcry?
Need some more:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/-/Amanda/image001.jpg
August 27th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Clearly, the area in front of the columns will be where Obama cuts the head off the goat.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Lets hope Barack Obama doesn’t ever stand on the steps of the US capital to take any oaths …….
The wingnuts will go apeshit about all the columns there.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Also, it should be noted that he is speaking on the 45th anniversary of MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech, which I’m sure the media will notice had similar columns. Seems like a perfectly fine way to frame a speech.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
The News doesn’t exist to make money, at least not in the traditional sense. If it did, at least ONE of these stations would be packed full of Democrats and have only a few token Republicans to knock around. These cable stations actually exist to help control the debate around parameters that the corporations that own them desire. It’s the same for News papers, and the networks. They are little more than corporate propaganda outlets.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
1) Let’s put Rachel Maddox up to asking John McCain or a Republican pundit whether the order on Obama’s stage is Doric, Ionian, or Corinthian — so she can break out in a hearty laugh when the ignorant fool admits that he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. (Don’t ask Pat Buchanan — he’s smart enough to know the answer. But then he’s not really a Republican.)
August 27th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
..and the very “temple” like 2008 Virgina Republican Convention set.
http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/vagop.gif
August 27th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Well clearly they’re not Corinthian; they’re not made of leather.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
1) And the next time McCain appears in front of classical columns, point out that the Partheon was a massive welfare project and the heavy taxes needed for it brought on the Polyponnesian War which destroyed Athenian power and left Athens being the bitch of foreigners for the next 2000 years.
2) Then ask McCain if that is what he is advocating.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
This is exactly what bugs me about the whole “liberal bias” canard. People always frame that as an attempt to intimidate the media, to “work the refs”. It’s not about intimidation, it’s about providing these people with an alibi for following their own self-interest.
I wish for one day the networks and cable channels would put, in the bottom right corner of the screen, the amount of the Bush tax cut received by their anchors and assorted prima donna blowhards. I think it would be crystal clear what kind of bias we’re seeing:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/14/murdoch-zell-appointed-to_n_96566.html
http://news.yahoo.com/story/ap/20080823/ap_on_el_ge/veepstakes_analysis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/01/08/take-cbs-20-million-for_n_13451.html
http://bondibox.newsvine.com/_news/2008/07/23/1688599-cbs-edits-mccains-whopper-out-of-broadcast?category=sports
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/10/23/153258/67
August 27th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
When JFK accepted in 1960, he had the Peristyle of the LA Coliseum behind him. Obviously, the voters were so fed up at Kennedy’s presumptuousness that they voted for Nixon, right?
Here’s the footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVfXxSXRlos&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1Ko-n8Ubkw
August 27th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
In spite of my efforts, Matthew hasn’t yet learned the Intelligence way of looking at the world.
If he had,he would notice that Hurricane Gustaf is currently headed toward New Orleans — should hit around the time the Republican Convention starts. Heh heh heh
An attack ad slamming McCain for bad policy. $500,000.
The whole nation being reminded of the past 8 years of Republican incompetence –just as McCain steps up to the podium: Priceless
August 27th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Maybe Rachel Maddox or Olbermann could go around and interview Katrina refugees still stuck in HazMat FEMA trailer parks — ask them whether this Bush Economic Boom is ..er..lifting their boats.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
That’s the other thing the Greeks and Romans noted — that when a political cabal is doomed, the gods send omens, portents, and disasters.
Maybe McCain should drop his pollster and try looking at the intestines of goose or something.
August 27th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
How many of McCain’s houses have columns?
Inquiring minds want to know.
August 27th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
No, no, no…. god DAMN Greece…. that’s in the Bible!
August 27th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Also, it should be noted that he is speaking on the 45th anniversary of MLK’s “I Have A Dream” speech, which I’m sure the media will notice had similar columns. Seems like a perfectly fine way to frame a speech.
I second this. MLK was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial when he spoke.
August 27th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I don’t get why people are seizing on the “Roman columns” and not the full-scale replica of the fuselage of Air Force One that was photographed on the Invesco field. I thought it was bad enough that my donations were putting captain’s-chair-style leather seats in the campaign plane; now they’re going to build a replica of Air Force One for him to step into? Really?
August 27th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
My Friends–
For over five years, I did not have columns, Greek or otherwise. You see, My Friends, I am a POW and was in a POW prison. As a POW, columns were only found in the imaginations of POWs like me, a POW.
My wonderful Friend–and your President–George W. Bush, inspired all of us just four short years ago (not quite as long as I was a POW) by standing on a giant circular stage backed by beautiful columns. At the time, I kept thinking about my days as a POW and how blessed I am to have homes without columns.
I was a POW and I didn’t have columns and THAT is why I should be the next President.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Bush made his 2004 acceptance speech for the republican nomination in front of Greek columns
August 27th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Do we know they’re Greek rather than Roman columns? I have in mind Caligula’s installation of his horse, Incitatus, as a consul.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
The correct response to this unfathomable idiocy:
Maybe John McCain has never seen a bill as small as a five-spot, but we little people can pull one out of our wallets, take a look at the fine memorial dedicated to a great American president from Senator Obama’s home state that’s engraved on its reverse, and wonder why when McCain and his fellow Republicans see something resembling a building that they see and you’d think would feel inspired by every day of their working lives, the first thing that comes to mind is…
GREECE?
August 27th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I certainly hope Obama doesn’t stop for a bite at Taco Bell before tomorrow, as that’ll clearly indicate he’s tied to illegal immigrants who want to steal my job at McDonalds.
Thankfully, I’ll still have McCain to vote for, who always eats good old American corn, cornpone and cornflakes. And he refuses to speak in front of Greek columns, nosirreebob, insisting only on speaking before fifth columnists.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
40 year anniversary. Lincoln memorial anyone?
August 27th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
ed and Brad seem to be the very bottom-of-the-barrel right-wingers
That’s not me, but I believe ed is being sarcastic. Brad on the other hand probably needs to wear a helmet. His mom is probably very proud of him for figuring out how to write.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:07 am
The liberal fascism jokes do write themselves sometimes.
August 28th, 2008 at 1:15 am
Paris Hilton announced her candidacy several weeks and not a peep out of the cable nets since then. There is no doubt they aren’t really trying to keep us informed.
August 28th, 2008 at 7:58 am
Hey Brad…McCain hasn’t yet accepted, but McBush did in 2004 and guess what…columns…Parthenon…Presidential Seal…get over it!
August 28th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Pssst, Brad…
Mt. Olympus?
Is a mountain.
So, yeah, as long as he’s outside in Denver, he’ll pretty much be speaking “in front of something resembling Mt. Olympus.”
And as for “something resembling … the Parthenon,” uh — you have seen pictures of Washington DC at some point in your life, right?
August 28th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Seriously, Matt, the correct response to this thing is not to dig up pictures of McCain or Bush in front of columns. That gives way too much ground. The correct response is: “Really? Are you serious? Have you never seen Washington DC or are you just a fucking moron?”
August 28th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
DC isn’t the only place with columns you know. If you examine the photos carefully you’ll see that the kerning clearly indicates a replica of this building.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:16 am
A number of people have written that:
“Bush made his 2004 acceptance speech for the republican nomination in front of Greek columns”
Missing the entire point.
1) Bush was the president, and he was supposed to be standing in front of the capital.
2) It was made out of video. There weren’t actual columns there. Look at the photo again.
3) They didn’t build a neo-clasical set/stage for Bush to speak on. But if they HAD, it would have been appropriate, because Bush WAS president in 2004. No matter what the Dems thought he was.
-John
August 30th, 2008 at 1:07 am
Don’t worry, John and Retief, I have time-saving advice for you too. For future reference, you can just say, “Yes, I’m a fucking moron.”