As corny as they were, I enjoyed the presidential candidates' appearances on Raw last night. As a longtime wrestling fan, it was pretty cool to think the WWE has the kind of pull to get all three candidates to tape interviews specifically targeting wrestling fans, and invoking the the name of Randy Orton. WWE even got mentions in the top stories of network newscasts.
I understand Seth's point that, in many ways, the wrestling business does not deserve the endorsement of the candidates - what with its seedy culture of drugs, stereotypes, misogyny and early deaths. But I don't think this was the forum for any of the candidates to take a stand against wrestling's problems, any more so than they should blast steroid use in baseball every time they attend a game. Wrestling has a unique appeal to young people and the candidates' appearances weren't a stamp of approval on the wrestling product (well, maybe McCain's was) as much as they were an attempt to target a specific demographic. They were smart to use WWE's forum.
Yesterday, I predicted how each candidate would do, and I think I hit the nail right on the head. Hillary was especially hacky, unnatural and awkward; Obama was the coolest and most comfortable - but also gave the most political speech; and McCain had the most fun with it - almost embarrassingly so.
Here's a transcript of what each one said:
Clinton:
"Hi, I'm Hillary Clinton but tonight in honor of the WWE you can call me 'Hil-Rod.' This election is starting to feel a lot like King of the Ring. The only difference: The last man standing may just be a woman. The truth is the election is so important. The next president will face a task full of challenges right from the opening bell. To fix the economy, bring our troops home from Iraq, and make college more affordable, you need a president that will go to the mat for you, and that's exactly what I will do. I've been knocked down, but I've always gotten back up. And I know how to take a hit for the American people, because this country is worth fighting for. Now, I promise to stick to the political arena, so don't worry Randy Orton. You're safe - for now. When it comes to standing up for the American people, though, I'm ready to rumble."
Thoughts: It's clear that WWE gave the candidates a couple of talking points: Randy Orton is the champ and there's a big tournament tonight called the King of the Ring. Clinton's writers did the best job of incorporating the WWE theme into her speech in a natural way, although her delivery was a bit off-key. The Clintster spoke for 1:01.
Obama:
"Hey, WWE fans. I hope you're all enjoying the program tonight. You know, this is a historic time for people in America. It's not just that the reign of Randy Orton may soon be coming to an end. It's that at this moment in this election, we have the chance to finally end business as usual in Washington. For a long time now we've had a politics where our leaders go after each other like they're competing to become King of the Ring, instead of coming together to provide universal healthcare, fix our economy, solve our other problems. That's what I'm running for president to change. So to special interest that have been setting the agenda in Washington for too long and to all the forces of division and distraction that have stopped us from making progress for the American people, I've got one question for you: Do you smell what Barack is cooking?"
Thoughts: Not surprisingly, Obama seemed the most at ease while "cutting a promo." However, his speech was the one most filled with political rhetoric. He absolutely HAD to deliver that closing line, and did a respectable job doing so. He could have stretched out the "smell" part a little longer, as The Great One would. Obama spoke for just 47 seconds.
McCain:
"How are you, South Carolina? Finally, The Mac has come back to Greenville. Looks like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama want to settle their differences in the ring. Well, that's fine with me. But if you want to be the man, you have to beat the man. Come November, it will be game over, and whatcha gonna do when John McCain and his McCaniacs run wild on you? You want to pull out of Iraq, well I ay no surrender. America can win the war against terror. I'm going to introduce Osama Bin Ladin to the Undertaker. You want to raise taxes? Well, I want a smaller government and bigger individuals. You see, my friends, I believe that America is the greatest nation in the world and Americans don't watch wrestling because we're bitter. We watch WWE because wrestling is about celebrating our freedom. It's about fighting to be the very best. So can you smell what the Mac is cooking? Let me give you a little straight talk, WWE fans. You might need a ticket to the Fatal Four (sic) next weekend, but you don't need a ticket to the cage match in November. All you have to do is get out there and vote. You decide the champion. You make the difference. And that's the bottom line, because John McCain said so."
Thoughts: Quite clearly, Vince McMahon is a republican. McCain not only got the most time of any of the candidates, but he was apparently also fed the most catchphrases. McCain referenced no less than six different WWE superstars, and even plugged the main event of Sunday's Backlash pay per view. He also was the most unabashedly dorky of all the candidates - kind of like your dad trying to be cool in front of your friends at a party. Unlike the other candidates, McCain did more than just reference WWE, he praised it. Heck, he practically made watching a first blood match sound as patriotic as serving your country. "The Mac" spoke for 1:27.
Unfortunately, whatever credit WWE officials earned for putting together the historic presidential triple-threat was squandered later in the night when they went ahead with the planned "Obama vs. Hillary" match in the ring. Similar to last year's Rosie vs. Trump debacle, which was considered one of the low points in Raw history, this was a brainless, hacky, and boring segment featuring the zany antics of two look-not-so-much-alikes. And it went much, much too long. Once WWE convinced the actual candidates to appear on the show, they should have dropped this idea like McCain dropped wrestlers' names.
Comments (7)
Unfortunately, whatever credit WWE officials earned for putting together the historic presidential triple-threat was squandered later in the night when they went ahead with the planned "Obama vs. Hillary" match in the ring.
Even better, they have both "wrestlers" beaten by one of the worst (albeit amusing) racial wrestling stereotypes in recent history. Quite honestly, I don't get Vince. I understand he enjoys to get into a fight with politicans ever since the hearings from the early nineties... but why would you take a "historic" moment of mainstream approval for your product and then just cock it up by ridiculing these very same people? I really hope that Jon Stewart and his team watched the programme and include it in the Daily Show. This is going to be the last time for a very long while that WWE got this sort of mainstream approval. A job well done, Vince...
Yeah, when I saw the ring setup for the Hil-Dog/Obama "match" the first thing I thought was "wait, they had the actual candidates on, why are they still doing this?"
Of course I already knew the answer, because Vince McMahon thinks it's hilarious. It wasn't hilarious with Rosie and Trump last year, and I'm assuming it wasn't funny this year. I just thank God I have tivo. That has to be the fastest I've ever found the fast forward button.
By the way, what was the point of McCain giving a statement in April? He's already his party's candidate, he essentially made a fool out of himself for no reason.
I like how these two were made out to fight to a draw just so WWE wasn't favoring one or the other when it came to Barack and Hillary. It had to mentioned a couple times that it was a draw.
i actually enjoyed the in-ring promos by the look-alikes...it was refreshing and unlike most shit wwe puts on...it was actually...dare i say it...FUNNY
When I watched the candidates on Raw, I was somewhat offended by how they all seemed to talk down to the wrestling audience. You know, this isn't the days of "wrasslin" anymore, and many fans are quite well educated (several of my doctors are wrestling fans). They were also apparently in some sort of competition to see who could throw in the most catch phrases from the 90's per second. I figured Obama would go down that path just because The Rock and Barack do sound alike - it actually makes sense (unlike the bottom half of the KOTR tourney). Honestly, shouldn't Umaga have been involved in something other than that?! If they want to turn him face, just have him attack Regal for mispronouncing his name wrong the past umpteen months! And if they are trying to market to kids with Hornswoggle, how is having him beat in 3 seconds with no attempted comedy angle accomplishing this exactly? The only thing worse is knowing that we will have to see this again with the candidates before the November election. Well, that and the fact that they didn't have fake Bill make any inappropriate advances towards any of the divas. Not even Mae Young! Come on!
Geez, I know most of the general public doesn't know this but there are still 4 canidates running for President. The 3 Stooges & the last hope for saving what's left of the United States. Dr. Ron Paul. Oh well, this was a damn fine country we used to have. Can't get any Pub from the "E" even though he is the only canidate officially endorsed by 2 WWE Superstars Glen Jacobs(Kane) & Sean Morley(Val Venis). Revolution: A Manifesto by Dr. Ron Paul in bookstores next week:)
If you can smell what Barack is cookin'...Tell him Change...his SHORTS!
Y'know...John McCain's Mom looks young for her age...I tell you, at 95 years old....she looks younger than John! I'll bet she can STILL take john over her knee and spank him. Why can't She run for president?!
Put Donkeys and elephants back into the ZOO!
vote Libertarian and feel better TOO!