“One Little Hour”

The Obama campaign has taken off its gloves. Tired of being lambasted by shallow Republican attack ads comparing Barack to vapid celebrities and misconstruing his words about feminine comestic products, Obama representatives have started series of ads portraying McCain as hopelessly out of touch. (more…)

In my last post I noted that one of Sarah Palin’s weaknesses as a vice presidential candidate was her lack of experience. Sure enough, Democratic operatives and journalists have made Palin + inexperience = risky choice the dominant storyline. Republicans are also worried that McCain has handicapped his strongest line of attack against Obama. (more…)

Today John McCain surprised the pundit panoply by announcing Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Odds on favorite for the Vice Presidential nod was Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty along with a bevy of failed contenders from the Republican primary. McCain’s choice of Palin was such a surprise that the NPR correspondents covering the topic today were audibly astounded, sputtering their surprise that the former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska (population: 8,471) would even be considered; I think they hoped that John McCain was just joshin’ around and would let the country in on his little joke after a couple hours. Sorry, but McCain only jokes around about his age and bombing Iran. (more…)

The Grand Old Party should lose this year. The first Tuesday in November should be the greatest Republican rout in recent history. America is in a recession, in the middle of an unpopular war, and the incumbent Republican President, who has the highest disapproval ratings on record, is at the end of his second term.

Yet national polling shows Republican John McCain in a dead heat, and at times with a slight lead, over either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Incroiable! (more…)

Tonight Hillary finally realized that my vote was vital if she wanted to win, so she stopped at the Mayfair Diner a block and a half from my apartment. (more…)

Several decades ago, the incumbent governor of a Southern state was visited during his reelection campaign by a poor mother, three young children in tow. The woman asked the governor to please pardon her husband who was doing time in state prison. The governor saw a chance to win a vote and maybe some time on the evening news, so he asked the woman what her husband had been jailed for. “Stealing a pig,” she said. The governor then inquired, (more…)