Don't Let It Go

Nihilistic in what sense, you ask?

I saw Michelle Obama’s appearance at The Oscars yesterday (reportedly courtesy of Harvey Weinstein) as yet another example of nihilism with respect to the office of the President itself, which I’ve discussed before on my podcast. (E.g., in this episode from last year.) But it can also be seen as an example of nihilism in the sense of acting to destroy whatever vestiges of value remain in Hollywood establishment. Once we see Hollywood establishment as merely an appendage of Washington, D.C., eager to earn our Dear President’s approval, we lose all respect for it.

And do you know why they had to make Obama’s presentation of the Best Picture Oscar a surprise? Because they knew if we had time to think about it — especially the implications of it — we would tune out on principle.

For some fun visuals created in reaction to Obama’s appearance, check out this post on Bosch Fawstin’s blog.

UPDATE: Courtesy of Drudge, another story illustrative of nihilism with respect to the office of the President: Obama offers quarterly meetings to donors who give him $500k or more.