1) Moose Burgers All Around! Hey McC, you sure did change the conversation, but then again, so will a bad connection. What was all that talk about needing to be "comfortable" with your pick? This is like bringing a stranger to a house party. Everybody wants to be nice to her but who the heck is she? Hey, is that Mitt over there?
2) Don't they have Cable? 38 million-plus sets are tuned to the OB acceptance speech but President Bush says he didn't watch it. I'm sorry, but that's like Heather Mills saying she didn't listen to the new McCartney album. Did you really have something else to do? Oh yeah, past your bedtime and all that. Will you stay up for McC?
3) "I hear hurricanes ablowing. I know the end is coming soon." Talk about a conversation changer. Gustav arrives as the GOP convention opens. You can't make this stuff up.
4) We are all Scrantonians! The question, "How's it playing in Scranton?" is suddenly in vogue again. In the old days it referred to stage plays that were maybe Broadway bound - Scranton was the last stop before the Big Apple. Now, it means something entirely different. Meet me at Coney Island Lunch!
5) Is that all there is? Michael Dukakis, 74 years old, at the Denver convention this week: "Losers are not delegates. They invite us, we wave, everybody cheers, we sit down....They do give us five extra tickets." [NYDN 8-26-08]
6) Two trains leave Denver traveling at 100 miles an hour..... President Clinton in Denver - two days before his speech - speaking to a group of visiting foreign dignitaries: "Suppose you're a voter, and you've got candidate X and candidate Y. Candidate X agrees with you on everything, but you don't think that candidate can deliver on anything at all. Candidate Y you agree with on about half the issues, but he can deliver. Which candidate are you going to vote for?" After realizing he was at the convention, he added, "This has nothing to do with what's going on now." Bill, please!
7) Most awkward scene since Richard Nixon hugged Sammy Davis Jr.: McC, at a Phoenix high school rally, accepts the endorsement of reggae singer "Daddy Yankee," and says, "I just want to say thank you, Daddy Yankee."
8) Is that a first-person shooter game? Historian Allan Lichtman and geophysicist Vladimir Keilis-Borok have developed their "Quake" model of predicting presidential elections. Says Lichtman, "We reconceptualized presidential politics in geophysical terms. We didn't look at it as Reagan versus Carter or Republicans versus Democrats or liberals versus conservatives. Rather, we looked at elections as stability versus upheavals." [WP 8-25-08] Well, where's the fun in that?
9) Best quote of the week: Tom Daschle: "In politics, only the paranoid survive."[NYT 8-26-08]
10) Best factoid unearthed by endless media references to 1968 Democratic Convention: MC5's Wayne Kramer is alive! And he debunks the legend that the band played for 12 hours straight during the '68 riots: "It was more like 50 minutes. We had to stop for some street theater, kids in Richard Nixon masks." [NYP 8-24-08]
Friday, August 29, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
As George Washington once said to John Adams, "It takes two, baby, that's me and you!"
1) Come again? Someone, please tell us why Chet Edwards' name was floated Friday before Ob's announcement. I hope it was worth whatever convoluted favor was asked, because, when coupled with the Drudge headline - "He Never Even Vetted Her" [8-22-08] - well, that's just a poke in the eye with a sharp stick for some folks.
2) Politics 102: "Examining the History of the 'Brother' in American Politics": This week we not only have George Hussein Onyango Obama found living in a hut in Kenya, we also have that more problematic brother, Tony Rodham, meeting with McC's people in Pennsylvania. Yikes! to both.
3) Mister "Annoying at Any Speed" calls in: Ralph Nader phones in to Politico to offer his prediction on Ob's v.p. pick (It's HRC, says Ralph, but adds that Sam Nunn would be better). So Ralph, what have you been up to these days? Got some time on your hands? Who will you be phoning next? [Politico.com 8-19-08]
4) Meddlers at the Gates: According to a story in the WSJ [8-18-08], a group of "liberal bloggers" is raising money to campaign against Democratic Rep. Chris Carney in Pennsylvania because he failed their ideological purity test. Salon columnist Glenn Greenwald, identified as an organizer of the effort, says, "I would rather see a smaller majority but fewer Blue Dogs than a big majority with the Blue Dogs in charge." Hey Glenn, there's a bridge up in Pike County in need of repair. I'm sure the good people of the 10th District can count on your help, I mean since you're so concerned about their welfare and all.
5) Saddle sores: Now that it's mandatory to mix religion and politics again, Rick Warren needs to fix his "cone of silence" before the 2012 race. Perhaps next time he can hold both candidates in a sensory deprivation tank for 24 hours before he starts the questioning. "Tell us, what did you see while you were in the tank?"
6) Malcolm, next time let Tom Hagen do the talking: According NYP's "Inside Albany" column by Fredric U. Dicker [8-18-08], New York State Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith told a group of lobbyists at a fundraiser that they should think of the event "as being like an IPO, an initial public offering." According to one attendee, "He said we should get in early because then it doesn't cost as much" and that it would be "painful after November" and the assumed new Senate Democratic majority, for those who don't contribute now.
7) Hey! I have an idea. What about Amy Carter? Proving that the concept of an "open letter" on the Internet is a clumsy and completely ineffective tool in politics, Michael Moore [MichaelMoore.com 8-19-08] implores vetter-in-chief Caroline Kennedy to choose herself for Ob's veep. Hey Mike, nice how you slipped in "I knew your brother John." We're impressed.
8) Since you beltway types wouldn't be caught dead holding it: The September '08 issue of Mad magazine, that neverending creation of the late William M. Gaines, not only features a morphed "Alfred E. Obama" on the cover (with a bumper sticker reading "Yes We Can't"), but also sends up MC in an ad for the film, "No Country For Old Man," with the tag line: "Running The Nation? This Guy Shouldn't Even Be Driving!"
9) Please, oh please, oh please, some excitement at last, oh please: The American Conservative Union's David Keene on McC picking Joe L. as his veep: "Lieberman would blow things up. That would be like Obama picking some right-winger that agrees with him on one thing." [Politico.com 8-19-08]
10) Cindy, incidentally, it looks like you got a sis: Mrs. McC, it looks like you can stop calling yourself an "only child" now that your half-sister is all riled up. Proving once again that politics is the all-seeing eye, the great leveler and the birthplace of entertainment.
2) Politics 102: "Examining the History of the 'Brother' in American Politics": This week we not only have George Hussein Onyango Obama found living in a hut in Kenya, we also have that more problematic brother, Tony Rodham, meeting with McC's people in Pennsylvania. Yikes! to both.
3) Mister "Annoying at Any Speed" calls in: Ralph Nader phones in to Politico to offer his prediction on Ob's v.p. pick (It's HRC, says Ralph, but adds that Sam Nunn would be better). So Ralph, what have you been up to these days? Got some time on your hands? Who will you be phoning next? [Politico.com 8-19-08]
4) Meddlers at the Gates: According to a story in the WSJ [8-18-08], a group of "liberal bloggers" is raising money to campaign against Democratic Rep. Chris Carney in Pennsylvania because he failed their ideological purity test. Salon columnist Glenn Greenwald, identified as an organizer of the effort, says, "I would rather see a smaller majority but fewer Blue Dogs than a big majority with the Blue Dogs in charge." Hey Glenn, there's a bridge up in Pike County in need of repair. I'm sure the good people of the 10th District can count on your help, I mean since you're so concerned about their welfare and all.
5) Saddle sores: Now that it's mandatory to mix religion and politics again, Rick Warren needs to fix his "cone of silence" before the 2012 race. Perhaps next time he can hold both candidates in a sensory deprivation tank for 24 hours before he starts the questioning. "Tell us, what did you see while you were in the tank?"
6) Malcolm, next time let Tom Hagen do the talking: According NYP's "Inside Albany" column by Fredric U. Dicker [8-18-08], New York State Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith told a group of lobbyists at a fundraiser that they should think of the event "as being like an IPO, an initial public offering." According to one attendee, "He said we should get in early because then it doesn't cost as much" and that it would be "painful after November" and the assumed new Senate Democratic majority, for those who don't contribute now.
7) Hey! I have an idea. What about Amy Carter? Proving that the concept of an "open letter" on the Internet is a clumsy and completely ineffective tool in politics, Michael Moore [MichaelMoore.com 8-19-08] implores vetter-in-chief Caroline Kennedy to choose herself for Ob's veep. Hey Mike, nice how you slipped in "I knew your brother John." We're impressed.
8) Since you beltway types wouldn't be caught dead holding it: The September '08 issue of Mad magazine, that neverending creation of the late William M. Gaines, not only features a morphed "Alfred E. Obama" on the cover (with a bumper sticker reading "Yes We Can't"), but also sends up MC in an ad for the film, "No Country For Old Man," with the tag line: "Running The Nation? This Guy Shouldn't Even Be Driving!"
9) Please, oh please, oh please, some excitement at last, oh please: The American Conservative Union's David Keene on McC picking Joe L. as his veep: "Lieberman would blow things up. That would be like Obama picking some right-winger that agrees with him on one thing." [Politico.com 8-19-08]
10) Cindy, incidentally, it looks like you got a sis: Mrs. McC, it looks like you can stop calling yourself an "only child" now that your half-sister is all riled up. Proving once again that politics is the all-seeing eye, the great leveler and the birthplace of entertainment.
Friday, August 15, 2008
No time for Paris or Lindsay Lohan, I ain't got time for that now...
1) Back in the USSR, indeed: Political Player of the Week award to Vlad "Pootie" Putin. Nothin' like a dose of realpolitik administered by a couple of tank divisions to put things in perspective. Hey Condi, play that piano all night long.
2) One still the loneliest number: U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken holds a roundtable on veterans issues and only one person shows up. The first rule of campaign advance work, people. Always make sure the venue is smaller than the anticipated crowd so you get an overflowing crowd. In this case, should have lined up a phone booth. (If they still exist.)
3) Don't you wish you lived there? Cindy Sheehan qualifies to run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Note to local reporters, please, please ask Cindy the following questions: a) name the largest employer in the district, b) what's the district's median income?, c) how much do folks there pay for a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread? (soy and whole wheat, respectively, of course).
4) Why Hank Sheinkopf rules: Hank to the NYDN [8-9-08] on John Edwards: "He's so dead that they're going to be building statues of him for pigeons to crap on. He's out of business. He will forever be known as a cad and a liar. You cannot mislead the press and tempt them to prove you wrong in the Internet era, when there are no secrets and everyone knows everything in the 24-hour news cycle." C'mon Hank, don't hold back.
5) Move all my 3 A.M. calls to 2 P.M.: McC to reporters: "If I put in three or four 18-hour, 20-hour days in a row, then I'm not sharp. It's just a fact." [NYT 8-11-08] Why not make your sleep schedule public so we know what we're dealing with on any given day?
6) People with too much time on their hands: Focus on the Family posts a video on their website calling on Christians to pray for rain during Obama's acceptance speech on Denver. After the flurry of criticism they take the video down and say it was all just a joke. So many jokes out there. Is this turning into the funnniest campaign ever, or what?
7) This is how that whole Jimmy C. thing went sour: Reports are that the Ob camp has shunned Rep. Charlie Rangel during Convention week and denied him a speaking spot. Come January, will the new president be planning any work in the area of tax reform? Just curious.....
8) Political wisdom = chance+luck: The Atlantic reprints Mark Penn's e-mails from the Clinton debacle. Let me get this straight. He thought Ob being born in Hawaii was an opening? And thought that was a good idea? And people still pay him lots of money for his ideas? Get me Chauncey Gardiner!
9) Why? Do you have a Timeshare there, or something? Cokie Roberts on Ob's Hawaii vacation: "I know his grandmother lives in Hawaii, and I know Hawaii is a state, but it has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place. He should be in Myrtle Beach if he's going to take a vacation at this time." [NYT 8-15-08]
10) Will he, won't he, should he, could he, maybe, maybe not..... Colin Powell hasn't been this indecisive since that whole Iraq thing came up. Quick, somebody ask his wife!
2) One still the loneliest number: U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken holds a roundtable on veterans issues and only one person shows up. The first rule of campaign advance work, people. Always make sure the venue is smaller than the anticipated crowd so you get an overflowing crowd. In this case, should have lined up a phone booth. (If they still exist.)
3) Don't you wish you lived there? Cindy Sheehan qualifies to run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Note to local reporters, please, please ask Cindy the following questions: a) name the largest employer in the district, b) what's the district's median income?, c) how much do folks there pay for a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread? (soy and whole wheat, respectively, of course).
4) Why Hank Sheinkopf rules: Hank to the NYDN [8-9-08] on John Edwards: "He's so dead that they're going to be building statues of him for pigeons to crap on. He's out of business. He will forever be known as a cad and a liar. You cannot mislead the press and tempt them to prove you wrong in the Internet era, when there are no secrets and everyone knows everything in the 24-hour news cycle." C'mon Hank, don't hold back.
5) Move all my 3 A.M. calls to 2 P.M.: McC to reporters: "If I put in three or four 18-hour, 20-hour days in a row, then I'm not sharp. It's just a fact." [NYT 8-11-08] Why not make your sleep schedule public so we know what we're dealing with on any given day?
6) People with too much time on their hands: Focus on the Family posts a video on their website calling on Christians to pray for rain during Obama's acceptance speech on Denver. After the flurry of criticism they take the video down and say it was all just a joke. So many jokes out there. Is this turning into the funnniest campaign ever, or what?
7) This is how that whole Jimmy C. thing went sour: Reports are that the Ob camp has shunned Rep. Charlie Rangel during Convention week and denied him a speaking spot. Come January, will the new president be planning any work in the area of tax reform? Just curious.....
8) Political wisdom = chance+luck: The Atlantic reprints Mark Penn's e-mails from the Clinton debacle. Let me get this straight. He thought Ob being born in Hawaii was an opening? And thought that was a good idea? And people still pay him lots of money for his ideas? Get me Chauncey Gardiner!
9) Why? Do you have a Timeshare there, or something? Cokie Roberts on Ob's Hawaii vacation: "I know his grandmother lives in Hawaii, and I know Hawaii is a state, but it has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place. He should be in Myrtle Beach if he's going to take a vacation at this time." [NYT 8-15-08]
10) Will he, won't he, should he, could he, maybe, maybe not..... Colin Powell hasn't been this indecisive since that whole Iraq thing came up. Quick, somebody ask his wife!
Friday, August 8, 2008
The week American Politics nuked the fridge
1) Is Paris Burning? Totally. McC! You forgot one fundamental point - more people know who she is than know who you are. (Also, [shudder], Paris eclipses three months of Ob campaigning with the simple phrase, "I'm not from the olden days.") Quick McC! Kiss Madonna.
2) Johnny McC and the Shiny Gizmos: From the NYT [8-3-08], Lt. Cmdr. McC refers to wife Cindy as a technological "wizard." "She even does my boarding passes...people can do that now. When we go to the movies, she gets the tickets ahead of time. It's incredible." Next time you're up at Kennebunkport, ask 41 how those bar code scanners work.
3) Counselorrrrr. Come out, come out wherever you are....Somebody tell John Edwards not to drag this one out. You had the affair, the kid is someone else's and maybe some of your friends are paying her way in life. Huh? BTW, you've just been scheduled to speak on the fifth night of the Democratic convention.
4) Psst! Never let them see behind the curtain. Rep. John Shimkus (R., Ill.) introduced a resolution on June 30 recognizing that day as National Corvette Day. According to Parade Magazine [8-3-08], Shimkus said, "It's probably not the best use of our time, but we have to do something. These resolutions make it look like we're working."
5) Bill Clinton to speak in Denver on Night Three: Wanna bet he just gets up there and stares at Jim Clyburn for about ten minutes?
6) Cheney to spreak at the GOP Convention after all: Can you imagine if you're the staffer tasked with writing this one? Probably the toughest speech of the week. What could he possibly have to say that would fit in with the McCain message? Better off reading the stats from the Haliburton annual report.
7) Things we should have known earlier: Cindy Adams [NYP 8-8-08] goes down a long list of Dubya's nicknames for people. According to her, his name for John McCain was "Hogan." You know, because of "Hogan's Heroes." Which in itself explains way too much about the last eight years of our lives.
8) Needed more Tinkering: Freshman Rep. Steve Cohen's Democratic primary victory in Tennessee 9 shows us once again that there are certain images that folks just don't like to see on TV. Case in point, the campaign ad by challenger Nikki Tinker, an attorney (and an Afro-American candidates in this majority-black district), that showed Cohen alongside a man dressed in Klan robes. Despite the Tinker camp's feeble insistence that they were not insinuating anything about Cohen in the spot, they lost. 79% to 19%. Ouch.
9) Most disturbing sentence in a political news story in 2008: Buried in the 15th graph of a Wall Street Journal story by Belkin, Simon and Sataline: "Suggestions that Sen. Obama is the antichrist have been circulating for months in Bible-study meetings in towns like Chillicothe, Ohio, where congregants compare his remarks and his biography with verses from the Bible."
10) Hats off to Bob Novak: Love him or hate him, you must admit that he and Roland Evans created a genre that slowly evolved into today's chattering class. And they spent decades trying to explain Washington to the rest of the country. It'll be a shame if he must go quietly into that good night.
2) Johnny McC and the Shiny Gizmos: From the NYT [8-3-08], Lt. Cmdr. McC refers to wife Cindy as a technological "wizard." "She even does my boarding passes...people can do that now. When we go to the movies, she gets the tickets ahead of time. It's incredible." Next time you're up at Kennebunkport, ask 41 how those bar code scanners work.
3) Counselorrrrr. Come out, come out wherever you are....Somebody tell John Edwards not to drag this one out. You had the affair, the kid is someone else's and maybe some of your friends are paying her way in life. Huh? BTW, you've just been scheduled to speak on the fifth night of the Democratic convention.
4) Psst! Never let them see behind the curtain. Rep. John Shimkus (R., Ill.) introduced a resolution on June 30 recognizing that day as National Corvette Day. According to Parade Magazine [8-3-08], Shimkus said, "It's probably not the best use of our time, but we have to do something. These resolutions make it look like we're working."
5) Bill Clinton to speak in Denver on Night Three: Wanna bet he just gets up there and stares at Jim Clyburn for about ten minutes?
6) Cheney to spreak at the GOP Convention after all: Can you imagine if you're the staffer tasked with writing this one? Probably the toughest speech of the week. What could he possibly have to say that would fit in with the McCain message? Better off reading the stats from the Haliburton annual report.
7) Things we should have known earlier: Cindy Adams [NYP 8-8-08] goes down a long list of Dubya's nicknames for people. According to her, his name for John McCain was "Hogan." You know, because of "Hogan's Heroes." Which in itself explains way too much about the last eight years of our lives.
8) Needed more Tinkering: Freshman Rep. Steve Cohen's Democratic primary victory in Tennessee 9 shows us once again that there are certain images that folks just don't like to see on TV. Case in point, the campaign ad by challenger Nikki Tinker, an attorney (and an Afro-American candidates in this majority-black district), that showed Cohen alongside a man dressed in Klan robes. Despite the Tinker camp's feeble insistence that they were not insinuating anything about Cohen in the spot, they lost. 79% to 19%. Ouch.
9) Most disturbing sentence in a political news story in 2008: Buried in the 15th graph of a Wall Street Journal story by Belkin, Simon and Sataline: "Suggestions that Sen. Obama is the antichrist have been circulating for months in Bible-study meetings in towns like Chillicothe, Ohio, where congregants compare his remarks and his biography with verses from the Bible."
10) Hats off to Bob Novak: Love him or hate him, you must admit that he and Roland Evans created a genre that slowly evolved into today's chattering class. And they spent decades trying to explain Washington to the rest of the country. It'll be a shame if he must go quietly into that good night.
Friday, August 1, 2008
When Willie S. said "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" he was really dishing out some great political advice
1) Britney and Paris and Barack, Oh My! Dear McC: Since when did defining your opponent turn into a drunken round of "Hey, let's throw spaghetti at the wall and see how much sticks!" Two weeks back you were in danger of becoming the Maytag Repairman of Politics 2008. Now you're morphing into what, exactly?
2) What passes for political wisdom these days: A really bad idea making the rounds in Washington - using the 1980 presidential race as a "template" to understand this year's dynamic. Why? Because one candidate talks real good? Rather, imagine what YouTube would have done with candidate Reagan and then just drop the whole discussion.
3) Groovy new political catchphrase of the week (use it twice and impress your friends): Marty Kaplan, (yes, for those of you who lived through the '80s) quoted in the NYT [8-1-08]: "Both sides believe there is something called the master narrative. Yes, there is an abundance of voices and sources trying to influence that master narrative. But it does finally get set, and once it's set, it's virtually impossible to change. So everyone is doing their best to stop the master narrative from setting in a way that disadvantages their side....It's all in play right now." Dude! You're sitting on my master narrative!
4) Don't call it a comeback! Dan Quayle on "Dancing with the Stars?" Since when did a network have to float the concept of a contestant performing on a game show? Is he that controversial? Do we remember who he is?
5) Call us when your ship lands: Newt Gingrich on Hannity & Colmes [7-31-08] suggesting that Obama take a couple of weeks off from campaigning. Because he's on TV too much and people are seeing too much of him. And in Newt's head this is a bad thing. And he wasn't smiling when he said this. Because he was serious.
6) Candidate Alert! Check out House candidate Allen West, retired Army Lt. Col., running against freshman Dem. Rep. Ron Klein in Florida 22. West thinks that when a booker from Al Jazeera's English-language channel called to schedule him for an interview it was really a terror plot to kidnap him [NY Daily News 7-28-08]. Way to get some press attention Allen, takin' a page out of the Ross Perot playbook. ["The VC were trying to disrupt my daughter's birthday party. Dressed in black pajamas coming across my front lawn, I tell ya."]
7) Chuck Hagel as the new Joe Lieberman: "I think John is treading on some very thin ground here when he impugns motives and when we start to get into 'You're less patriotic than me. I'm more patriotic.'" [CBS's "Face the Nation" 8-27-08] Now can he speak at the Democratic convention?
8) Hey, even Strom knew when to turn the lights out: Just-turned-89-years-old Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau says he intends to run for a 10th four-year term. "If I broke both my legs I might not run, but if I broke one, I would run," said Morgy [Daily News 8-31-08].
9) My seat! My seat! A deck and a new grill for my seat! Did anyone notice that even before the indictment Ted Stevens was trailing Mark Begich 50-45. And now it's what, 50-35? Yikes! I'm sure it was all worth it.
10) When there were "Wise Men" Writing in his column this week [7-27-08] David Broder recalled Democratic insider James H. Rowe Jr. and his opinion of why U.S. Senators should not be eligible for the office of president: "The reason is that senators don't know how to run anything. Their staffs have to tell them what to do. They walk around with little slips of paper in their pocket saying, 'Call so-and-so,' or 'Remember to talk to so-and-so."
2) What passes for political wisdom these days: A really bad idea making the rounds in Washington - using the 1980 presidential race as a "template" to understand this year's dynamic. Why? Because one candidate talks real good? Rather, imagine what YouTube would have done with candidate Reagan and then just drop the whole discussion.
3) Groovy new political catchphrase of the week (use it twice and impress your friends): Marty Kaplan, (yes, for those of you who lived through the '80s) quoted in the NYT [8-1-08]: "Both sides believe there is something called the master narrative. Yes, there is an abundance of voices and sources trying to influence that master narrative. But it does finally get set, and once it's set, it's virtually impossible to change. So everyone is doing their best to stop the master narrative from setting in a way that disadvantages their side....It's all in play right now." Dude! You're sitting on my master narrative!
4) Don't call it a comeback! Dan Quayle on "Dancing with the Stars?" Since when did a network have to float the concept of a contestant performing on a game show? Is he that controversial? Do we remember who he is?
5) Call us when your ship lands: Newt Gingrich on Hannity & Colmes [7-31-08] suggesting that Obama take a couple of weeks off from campaigning. Because he's on TV too much and people are seeing too much of him. And in Newt's head this is a bad thing. And he wasn't smiling when he said this. Because he was serious.
6) Candidate Alert! Check out House candidate Allen West, retired Army Lt. Col., running against freshman Dem. Rep. Ron Klein in Florida 22. West thinks that when a booker from Al Jazeera's English-language channel called to schedule him for an interview it was really a terror plot to kidnap him [NY Daily News 7-28-08]. Way to get some press attention Allen, takin' a page out of the Ross Perot playbook. ["The VC were trying to disrupt my daughter's birthday party. Dressed in black pajamas coming across my front lawn, I tell ya."]
7) Chuck Hagel as the new Joe Lieberman: "I think John is treading on some very thin ground here when he impugns motives and when we start to get into 'You're less patriotic than me. I'm more patriotic.'" [CBS's "Face the Nation" 8-27-08] Now can he speak at the Democratic convention?
8) Hey, even Strom knew when to turn the lights out: Just-turned-89-years-old Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau says he intends to run for a 10th four-year term. "If I broke both my legs I might not run, but if I broke one, I would run," said Morgy [Daily News 8-31-08].
9) My seat! My seat! A deck and a new grill for my seat! Did anyone notice that even before the indictment Ted Stevens was trailing Mark Begich 50-45. And now it's what, 50-35? Yikes! I'm sure it was all worth it.
10) When there were "Wise Men" Writing in his column this week [7-27-08] David Broder recalled Democratic insider James H. Rowe Jr. and his opinion of why U.S. Senators should not be eligible for the office of president: "The reason is that senators don't know how to run anything. Their staffs have to tell them what to do. They walk around with little slips of paper in their pocket saying, 'Call so-and-so,' or 'Remember to talk to so-and-so."
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