Grant Wood in Iowa

Grant Wood painted that wonderful iconic painting of the stoic American farm couple. It is a fabulous piece. I thought of that the other night as the various Presidential candidates stood on the dais and worked to position the outcome most favorably. A part of that positioning possessed an element of Grant Wood.

The candidates had important figures in their campaigns standing close by, lending stoic weight to the Presidential aspirations of their favorite. Huck-a-Buck had Chuck Norris. My gawd what beautiful teeth. And both his hair and beard are colored. Norris is now everywhere! I saw him in the Honda commercial and selling some gym equipment in an informercial. I bet there are more sales to the Iowa area code than ever before. Those poor souls can’t make their truck payments and now they are buying home gym equipment. If Huck-a-Buck can lose 100 pounds and Chuck Norris likes him, dad gum, I better buy me one of them home gyms. And Norris’s wife. Made me think of a young Tammie Fay.

Then Hilary. Grant Wood in the extreme. Poor Bill. He stood at her left and looked like he had just eaten a lemon. On Hilary’s right was Madeleine Albright. She looked about 100 years old. A wider pan of the camera brought Wesley Clark into view. Wow. Lots of old people. They must have helped Hilary grab that majority of the over 65 vote.

Obama was able to handle the stage with only his wife and two children. No props. Just Obama. No Grant Wood moment with props staring stoically.