Is Democracy D. O. A.?

Does the Republican Presidential nomination = the Black Bird?

 

Has the Democratic process in the USA become a zombie sham that will remind mystery fans of the plot for the classic film "D. O. A."?   Thanks to the magnificent voting machines that leave no paper trail, Democracy seems to be alive and well just as Frank Bigelow (Edmond O'Brien) did at the beginning of the classic noir movie.   A closer look reveals that he has been poisoned and his days among the living are numbered.   Is voting in the USA also an example of "dead man walking"?

 

The lofty goal of gaining the Republican Party's Presidential nomination seems to be scaring some away from the selection process.   Should the Republican attempt a cure of this curious example of political Vertigo by hiring someone who will remind them of the glory days of the past and the achievements of the Bush Dynasty?   Would JEB Bush fit the bill?

 

Perhaps the Republicans should, as Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) did in the Maltese Falcon (1941 version directed by John Houston), and seek the help of Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) and hire him to solve the case of the missing acceptable frontrunner?  

 

All of these potential column themes presented themselves in disguise as the art exhibition at the Bancroft Library on the University of California Berkeley campus, which marks the beginning of that library's centennial anniversary.   We went to see the exhibition, which will continue into February, as a way of doing some fact finding in preparation for the Noir City Film Festival which will begin with showings (separate admission required) of "Dark Passage" and "The House on Telegraph Hill" on the evening of Friday January 20, 2011 at the Castro Theater.

 

Part of the Bancroft exhibition is a DVD presentation of a cinematic fugue of highlights of noir films shot across the bay in San Francisco.  

 

How many times can a columnist get away with being the only pundit predicting that JEB will be the guy who not only gets the nomination but will see the win check mark by his name on Election night later this year?   In all the excitement about the turmoil of the primary season, we've lost track of all our attempts to do with political commentary what Hans Brinker did with loud shouts.   Have we posted five warning columns, or was it six?

 

How many times can a mystery fan/car buff be thrilled by the spectacle of a Mustang going airborne in the streets of San Francisco?   Especially if the green machine is being driven by Steve McQueen?   Particularly if the columnist lived in the Pacific Heights area of that city at approximately the same time that movie (reportedly the first Hollywood feature to be filmed entirely on location [San Francisco]) was being shot.   Furthermore, what if the writer had been a passenger riding around that city, in his high school and college buddy's car which was an identical twin to the one seen in Bullitt?

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