I celebrated Martin Luther King Day by hanging out around the house and watching television. Had I involved myself with some other activity, I might have missed a news report of utmost importance to Americans. The facts of the event reported are incomplete at the present time but, as the story unfolds, I am sure the media will keep America informed. No doubt, media experts have determined that the lives of millions will be impacted by the outcome of this situation.
I tuned in to MSNBC to see if there were any reports on the coming war with Iran or about the war with Somalia that began last week. I was also curious to see if there was any new information being reported about the domestic intel operations of the U.S. Army and the CIA. Of course, I'm always interested in reports about economic doom and gloom - the collapsing dollar, a hedge fund crash, or the $50 trillion in unfunded liabilities of the federal government.
Little did I know that a far more important event had taken place. A FOX affiliate in Seattle had first revealed the startling news last week when an interview with American Idol starlet Paula Abdul was aired. A video of the interview revealed the star giggling and slurring her words, fueling speculation that Abdul was intoxicated on booze or pills.
A spokesperson for Paula Abdul has claimed she was merely tired and had conducted a number of interviews prior to the Seattle interview, but cable news experts who provided analysis of the event seemed to discount this assertion. The conventional wisdom is that the starlet was out of control, engaging in behavior that was not normal, and most likely intoxicated. So far, the experts have not analyzed what the impact on the nation will be as a result of Abdul's abnormal behavior.
I am not an expert on matters of national importance involving the abnormal behavior of television celebrities. But, I am going to stick my neck out and analyze the Paula Abdul situation.
First, let me reveal a bias. I want to keep this analysis fair and balanced. I find Paula Abdul to be attractive and talented. Compared to Britney Spears, I think Paula is quite intelligent, entertaining, and downright wholesome. However, I'm not a regular American Idol watcher, I don't own any Paula Abdul CDs, and I am not a member of the Paula Abdul Fan Club.
All that being said, I don't give a rat's ass if Paula was stoned, drunk, high on pills, or tired. The interview revealed that she was jovial, pleasant, and actually answered the questions posed to her. I didn't find her behavior to be outside the limits of normal behavior. I actually enjoyed watching the interview. It was fun seeing Paula interact with the two plastic news readers.
I searched the internet for more information about Paula and discovered that this is not the first time she has been accused of acting goofy on TV. I also found no reports indicating that she has presided over torture gulags or has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in Iraq. I could find no reports indicating that Paula Abdul has increased the national debt by over $2 trillion. Apparently, Paula doesn't even have a high-tech briefcase from which she can launch a nuclear strike on another country.
I have come to the conclusion that the Seattle interview will have no impact on America and will be totally forgotten by 2008. At 44, I doubt Paula will have much influence over youngsters who might get drunk or take drugs in order to emulate her giddy behavior.
I am much more concerned about people who have the ability to attack Iran with tactical nuclear weapons who appear to be on drugs. Powerful political leaders who routinely act delusional and talk nonsense in public are much more problematic than entertainers that don't act serious.
For example, I find it much more disturbing when a politician that claimed he stopped drinking when he was 40, is caught on video acting like a drunk frat boy with a drink in his hand. I find it odd that when a President showed up at a campaign event in 2005 slurring his words, the media experts provided no analysis. I suppose the "liberal" mainstream media decided that it would make them look biased if they were to point out that a "conservative" President appeared in public while boozed up and/or high on drugs.
I can safely say that if a pollster calls wanting to know who I would prefer to have a drink with, I would choose Paula Abdul over George W. Bush anytime.
This article contributed by Tom Blanton of Richmond, Virginia.