If
I just learned that Blagojevich quoted Kipling’s If at his recent press conference.
You can think what you want about Kipling (see The White Man’s Burden) , this particular poem (likely Kipling’s Stairway to Heaven) or even Blagojevich (I think many things about him, all of them not good based on the data that I have), but this poem certainly speaks to me personally.
Below is a taste (best rendition on youtube):
Great poem, but it was effing surreal watching Blago recite — and he didn’t recite just a couple of lines.
It was an uninspired performance — as if he didn’t actually grasp what he was saying, a sort of sing-song and mindless cadence with no real feeling. As if he was trying to lull the reporters to sleep.
I *totally* expected him to launch into Dr. Seuss afterward. I wouldn’t be surprised if he reads “Horton Hatches an Egg” or “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” at the next press conference.
Joshua Allen
22 Dec 08 at 16:51