Would That I Were Blinder

There are some things I would rather not see.

I would rather not watch Elizabeth Edwards turn her competent, intelligent, articulate image into that of a wronged soap heroine. Among all the candidates' spouses (and the candidates, for that matter), she was best able to articulate policy goals during the campaign. Now, all anybody asks her about is her set of proverbial horns.

I would rather not watch any more instances of the SNL Paterson parody. I do laugh at it now and then, but now I walk away less offended than saddened.

As an old friend of Judd Apatow once openly worried, I really do think that comedy of the bully is making a comeback. Woody Allen and others had once been the champions of the bullied, but those voices are getting diminished now, and we're left to make fun of the half-blind black man whose worst sin, as far as I can tell, was to bungle the publicity about a political appointment. Sure, Paterson has a terrible approval rating, but no one seems to have a good reason for it. He did make the mistake of chiding SNL for being a bully, though. So there you go: never call a bully a bully.

One last thing I would rather not see: Dick Cheney's face. Ever again. Do they make blind spots just for that?