Matt Damon’s crusade of vaguely miffed disenchantment with President Obama continued in an interview with the British newspaper the Independent this week. In last week’s column, we saw Damon interviewed on CNN about his views on Obama’s handling of Wall Street, education policy, and the war in Afghanistan. Though he said there’s no way he would run for office, that apparently hasn’t stopped him from continuing this series of rambling fireside chats.
“I think he’s rolled over to Wall Street completely,” Damon said of President Obama. “The economy has huge problems. We still have all these banks that are too big to fail. They’re bigger and making more money than ever. Unemployment at 10%? It’s terrible.”
It’s true that 10% unemployment is terrible as a concept, though America’s actual unemployment rate is currently 8.9%. So cheer up, Matt! Meanwhile, Damon is apparently such a hard-core free-market guy that he believes letting banks fail en masse would have had a beneficial effect on the employment rate. Or something.
Democrats have nothing to fear in 2012, however. When asked if he would vote Republican, the actor exclaimed “Good God, no!” then veered directly into a tangentially related rant about the Bush tax cuts, concluding that “I think a stronger middle class makes for a stronger country.”
Isn’t it refreshing to hear this brave actor say what so many are afraid to: A strong middle class is good, not bad. Maybe he has a future in politics after all.
FIGHTIN’ WORDS
Good news! Sarah Palin has gotten involved in a feud with comedian Kathy Griffin, which is something presidential candidates since Adlai Stevenson have been doing to display their statesmanship, strength and dignity. Griffin has picked on several of the Palin daughters in her standup routines, prompting Palin to call Griffin a “50-year adult bully,” as opposed to a 50-year-old child bully. And is it just me, or did Palin also invite Griffin to fight her? “Come up to Alaska and pick on me,” she said on Fox News, “But leave my kids alone.” Everyone has a lot to be proud of here. Anyway, at least this sort of makes up for the disappointment of learning that Christine O’Donnell has turned down the chance to be on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Meanwhile, actress Julianne Moore has signed on to play Sarah Palin in HBO’s film version of John Heilemann and Mark Halperin’s best-selling book about the 2008 election, “Game Change,” which I’m sure Palin won’t have anything to say about.
TWEET AGAINST THE MACHINE
On Twitter this week, Rage Against the Machine frontman Tom Morello proved that tweeting is the sincerest form of raging. After telling Wisconsin protestors that Gov. Scott Walker is “the Mubarak of the Midwest,” he tweeted the news that the Wisconsin state Senate successfully voted to end bargaining rights for government workers: “gov sneaks thru anti-union bill. Really? let’s make the state UNGOVERNABLE. Gen strike?Recall? Bring them all down NOW.”
Gee, I hope Morello himself doesn’t go on strike. Please, Br’er Rabbit, don’t stop making music!
PRETTY FACE GETS RESULTS
Matt Damon’s BFF Ben Affleck took time out of his schedule to testify on behalf of the people of Congo at a congressional hearing. Affleck called for the U.S. to take an active role in the country’s November elections, and lobbied for President Obama to appoint a special envoy to the region. Well, it’s hard to joke about this good and serious cause. But why does it take the star of “He’s Just Not That Into You” to make this happen? And is Affleck, despite his charity work on this issue, the best expert that Congress could find? Oh, well, when George Clooney pressed for a special envoy to Sudan, he got his wish. Resistance is futile. Let us welcome our new celebrity overlords and pray they are benevolent.
DON’T BOGART THE ENDORSEMENT
Last, but not … wait, actually, last AND least: In Canada, comedian and marijuana legalization advocate Tommy Chong has endorsed the founder of the Marijuana Party, Dana Larsen, to be the country’s next premier. Chong told Canada’s Globe and Mail that, unlike Matt Damon, he would have eager participated in politics in his younger days. “Personally, I would have loved to have gotten into politics but I would have had to have gotten some kind of education first.” Yes, that is definitely the one thing standing between Tommy Chong and political domination.
Never fear, however, because Chong believes better – higher? — times are on the way. When asked if he expects to see legalization within his lifetime, he answered: “Eventually. I mean, you can only be stupid for so long. There is a cutoff date on stupidity. It usually is death.”
Words that should bring comfort to many.