Friday, October 01, 2004

"Follow the money."

The Movie: All the President’s Men, 1976 (William Goldman, screenwriter, from the book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward; Alan J. Pakula, dir.)
Who says it: Hal Holbrook as Deep Throat, the reporters’ secret source of information on the Watergate break-in
The context: This is the only hint Deep Throat can give Woodward and Bernstein about how to identify those ultimately responsible for the break-in.
How to use it: Sadly, it’s relevant to almost any political conversation.

An old boss of mine often began sentences, "As a pleasure-seeking, pain-avoiding individual..." and while I got tired of hearing it -- it was a stock phrase in briefings we gave at least once a week -- it's stuck with me. Advertisers understand this, and the people who package political candidates understand it too.

It's my friend Maeve's first Presidential election since she became a citizen, so she had everyone over last night to watch the first debate. It would have been a good opportunity to wear my newly-painted t-shirt -- Sheila and Lanette wore theirs, which say "Dissent is Patriotic," and Thomas wore his, which says, "Fight Truth Decay" -- but mine's in the laundry.

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