A real punch in the gut

Margaret Cho writes in her blog how amazing it is that so many Bush supporters are treating the election like a sports victory. "They are acting like it is some kind of sporting event," she says, "like their team won, and they are going to celebrate by doing beer bongs and hanging each other outside hotel windows by their big, stupid, un- evolved webbed feet."

If the opposition treats an election like a sporting event, they do so with plenty of encouragement from the media. How thoroughly sick I became of hearing (male) talking heads go on and on about the candidates "stepping up to the plate," being "down on the mat," "going for a touchdown," "going for a knock-out," "nearing the finish," "hitting a home run."

When all of the metaphors are about sports, the idea does seep in that an election is about candidates besting each other in physical competition. Not only does this idea reinforce the American bias toward distrusting anything intellectual, it really "drives home" the belief that political candidates in important elections are men.

Wouldn't it be refreshing if Chris Matthews and his guests said that the candidates are "ready to put it in the oven," or they "need to add some hot sauce"?

(Wouldn't it be really refreshing if Chris Matthews--the big, Bush-lusting-wanna-be--just went away?)