Watch behind you; remember you are just a man!

"When in Rome, do what feels comfortable. Women generally try to look good, while men try to look stupid," says Ron Turner of How to Make a Toga, whose photographs and sketches were used in a McCain Team memo on "Proper Attire for the Temple of Obama."

”Watch behind you; remember you’re just a man!” Victor Davis Hanson — Pajamas XPress blogger and scholar of ancient warfare — tries to warn Barack Obama, asking rhetorically "Isn’t there one sane person on his staff who can stop this divine madness?"

Hubris is a sort of fit, a haughtiness steeped in delusions of grandeur and divinity that takes over a weak individual, and soon encourages recklessness and overreaching (atê), all culminating in ruin and divine retribution (nemesis).

It's O Day, 28th of August, 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech, and the Democrats' presidential nominee is waiting in the wings, poised to wow 'em as he steps center stage to deliver an "I Am the Dream" acceptance speech to 75,000+ assembled guests at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver and to the immediate world via TV and the internet. Meanwhile, a snickering New York Post reports that the "Temple of Obama" where the much-anticipated event will take place was "built by the same cheesy set team that put together Britney Spears' last tour":

John McCain's campaign mocked the massive neoclassical set created for Obama's speech at 75,000-seat Invesco Field. Some Republicans have dubbed it the "Barackopolis," while others suggested the delegates should wear togas to fit in among the same Doric columns the ancient Greeks believed would stroke the egos of Zeus and Athena …

But the set is designed to evoke the White House and the Lincoln Memorial, not the Acropolis, said staging supervisor Bobby Allen [of RDA Entertainment, which doesn't appear to have a web site], a Spears set vet.

Citing Obama advisor David Axelrod, the Post continues:

Standing on this temple podium, Obama will recall Rev. Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech [Didn't we just say only yesterday?] while mourning the victims of Hurricane Katrina when he accepts his party's nomination tonight — fusing two events central to the African-American experience into his call for national unity and change.

When in doubt, the boys of National Lampoon's Animal House always knew what to do: Throw caution to the winds and throw a toga party. Above, John Belushi's Bluto, whose "Toga, toga!" has become a rallying cry for Republicans.

Too clever by half? Even as Obama audaciously hopes to appropriate some of MLKs gravitas tonight, a mocking McCain campaign memo offers "Suggested Toga Styles" for ticket holders, and "toga" chants are in the air. "Watch behind you; remember you are just a man."

This just in: McCain upstages Obama hours before the house lights go up with a new ad congratulating his rival on this momentous occasion on this momentous date:

Senator Obama, this is truly a good day for America. You know, too often the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed, so I wanted to stop and say "Congratulations!" How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day. Tomorrow we'll be back at it, but tonight, Senator, job well done.

Go, Johnny, go! 

Update: Screenshot of the "Temple of Obama," pretty in blue. In the run-up to Obama's appearance, the listening is easy as Stevie Wonder warms up the paying audience and a swooning CNN commentariat with body-swaying custom compositions. Then came an inconvenient former vice president, and we were out of there.

Comments

[Gayle Miller]

How very CLASSY of John McCain!

[Gayle Miller]

Old adages are still around after many, many years because they are so true. Here's one for Senator Obama: "Pride goeth before a fall!"