A friend*, who happens to be among the most astute observers of the political scene I know, has this to say in the wake of last night’s Republican debate:
I think he’s [Romney] going to be an unbelievably good candidate in the general. He’s Obama — a tall, handsome technocrat who instituted universal coverage — with a different coalition behind him. I now have this dystopian fantasy about how the campaign will play out:
Romney: I’m Mitt Romney, and I’m not black.
Obama: I’m Barack Obama, and I’m not Mormon.
R: I’m not secretly a Muslim.
O: My religion doesn’t treat “Space Invaders” as a sacred text.
R: I don’t want to rape your daughters.
O: I won’t force them to become my sixth and seventh wives when they turn 13.
Good times. Oh, by the way, with the economy in tatters, Steve Jobs in the grave, and the nation mired in countless foreign wars, we’re considering coming back.
Time will tell.
* The Edge of the American West: new and improved and now with blind sourcing. Superpro!
15 comments
October 20, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Robyn
Please come back. Please. Please.
It would totally make my day, week, month, and possibly the rest of the year.
The internets have not been as good, intelligent, fun, or historical without you.
Please.
October 20, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Vance Maverick
Hey Ari, good to see you popping up here. More would be most welcome, especially if we can make it less depressing somehow. (Maybe I’ll even write that thing about Isamu Noguchi I was always meaning to get around to!)
I did clean up some spam comments here a few weeks ago — perhaps that unclogged the pipes, however briefly.
October 20, 2011 at 3:41 pm
Scott Madin
!
!!
!!!
If the price of Edge returning is the hastening of America’s decline into the world of Snow Crash, well…I guess I’d have to think about that. On the other hand, tomorrow’s the Rapture rain-date anyway, so hey, why not?
October 20, 2011 at 3:45 pm
Vance Maverick
It hadn’t struck me before, but evidently the world is now scheduled to end on my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary. Many happy returns!
October 20, 2011 at 4:37 pm
ari
Thanks, Robyn, Vance, and Scott, for the kind words. I can’t promise anything, but we’re considering returning from our hiatus. That said, if you want upbeat, Vance, you may be disappointed.
October 20, 2011 at 6:09 pm
saintneko
A present in the RSS feed!
October 20, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Yoder
Allow me to chime in to say: an end to the hiatus would make the coming election year perceptibly less intolerable.
October 20, 2011 at 7:37 pm
ari
would make the coming election year perceptibly less intolerable
No hope.
October 20, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Student
R: Who let the dogs out? Who, who?
O: I like pie.
PS Please come back.
October 20, 2011 at 8:50 pm
Sybil Vane
BACK!!!! Yes. Please.
October 20, 2011 at 8:51 pm
ari
For you, Sybil, anything. (Except optimism, I’m afraid. Can’t do it.)
October 20, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Justin VW
“we’re considering coming back.”
Squeeee!
“with the economy in tatters, Steve Jobs in the grave, and the nation mired in countless foreign wars, we’re considering coming back.”
Squeeee?
Squoooo.
October 20, 2011 at 10:44 pm
andrew
Huh, and just when I was considering commenting again too.
October 21, 2011 at 10:59 pm
xaaronx
Whatever. I know why you guys are coming back:
November 3, 2011 at 10:29 am
Russell Belding
There are many worthy blogs out there, but I’m so glad you’re back. Informed historian snark is so hard to come by anywhere else.