Live from Goffstown

Rather, the television is live from Goffstown, NH but here in Quabbin Qountry we are just plain alive. Wolf Blitzer looks like he is in a screening room compared to the candidates behind, but I'll believe CNN. I hate to do the same ol'-same ol, but alas here we go with some live blogging.

"I am the Senator from New York. I have seen firsthand the terrible damage" - Clinton echoes Giuliani. Not surprised.

"I opposed this war from the start. I think you're about 4 and a half years too late." - Obama in response to Edwards' barbs. Meanwhile, Hillary is trying to stay as neutral as possible, likely because she knows she doesn't have any capital. She strives to tell people that the real differences are not between the Democratic candidates, but rather between the Dems and the GOP.

Oooohhhh, Wolf just zinged Hillary by asking her whether she regrets her vote having not read the intelligence report. How can you answer that? You can't. Hence, she failed to say "yes" or "no". He comes back and gives the same question to Edwards. Damn, how you gonna not read that? That said, Edwards admits his mistake. He got the first applause of the night of anyone for giving props to Obama for being right from the beginning, followed by a brief speech on the need of honesty after Bush.

I don't know if I mentioned it last time, but Obama really needs to improve upon his stage presence. Granted, he does have the least experience of any candidate, but he really shows it. He pauses too much in his speech, carries on words, stuff like that.

Hillary once again stops short of answering Wolf's question. She ends with a quotation from Barry Goldwater.

"Who's most likely to end the war in Iraq? Who's most likely to lead the way in health care?" - Edwards telling how the main role of President is not to be a legislator, but to be a leader.

As the night went on, I became distracted by other things around the house and my bloggings became less and less common. I hope to recap my efforts later on, but now its push-ups and dessert.

Ahoy,
BTB

Everybody's Rockin'

There has been some rough chatter on Iraq lately, what with the new authorization bill coming up. As John Kerry puts it, "I’m voting no on this bill. I’m tired of the false choices of Republicans and all the recycled spin of old battles and the political calculations that do nothing for our troops who bear the real costs of this war. Bottom line: we support the troops by getting the policy right, and this bill doesn’t do that." Giuliani, who doesn't vote, put it to another non-voter, saying that John Edwards (like many other Dems) is in denial. But certainly the most prescient attack came at the hands of Ron Paul, who held a press conference to educate Mr. Mayor himself on 9/11 policy. Paul suggested that Giuli read the following books:
“Blowback” by Chalmers Johnston, “Dying to Win” by Robert A. Pape, “Imperial Hubris” by Michael Sheuer (former head of the C.I.A.’s Osama bin Laden Unit), and of course The 9/11 Commission Report.
Best of all is that he called out Rudy for claiming not to have heard of Paul's assessments. As I mentioned earlier this week, that's a bunch of hooey. Witness the following youtube video from the Domenation series for some more background.



"I don't think he's qualified to be president," Paul said of Giuliani. "If he was to read the book and report back to me and say, 'I've changed my mind,' I would reconsider."

Back on the Trail

Welcome back to Quabbin Qountry. Before we begin, I would like to thank the Toshiba Corporation. They sent me an AC adapter, still under warranty, to replace my broken one in under 24 hours. Literally, I placed the call Wednesday at 3pm and had a box on my porch, even way the hell out at the qabin, when I arrived home from track practice on Thursday. My joy was immeasurable. I missed the internet, and I missed the blog. Without further ado, back to the show.

Paul Krugman made a good point in yesterday's Times that maybe Bush isn't so bad relative to the rest of his party-goers. The scene from last week's debate where almost all of the gang of ten would-be nominees were falling all over themselves to be the one to say that they would inflict the most torture on terrorist bad guys was chilling, indeed. It wasn't just what the candidates had to say that was disturbing, it was the audience's reaction. It was the kind of feeding frenzy where the more blood the speaker could invoke, the hungrier the audience grew as they loudly growled with lusty approval over lines like the following
Giuliani: "And I would -- well, I'd say every method they could think of"
Romney: "Some people have said, we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is, we ought to double Guantanamo."
Hunter: "One sentence: Get the information. Have it back within an hour, and let's act on it."
At least Duncan had the respect to close his statement by saying "and I will take full responsibility" for the backlash of any torturous activity. Does that mean he would do a retaliatory self-waterboarding? Probably not, but if we take him at his word he would at least admit to it and say that he believed in it, and let history judge him as such.

There was one bright spot to the whole torture exchange, when Brit Hume gave John McCain the last word, having been the only one to go against the hard party line. He responded with this: "Yes, and the interesting thing about that aspect is that during the debate, when we had the detainee treatment act, there was a sharp division between those who had served in the military and those who hadn't." Virtually every senior officer, retired or active- duty, starting with Colin Powell, General Vessey and everyone else, agreed with my position that we should not torture people. . .So yes, literally every retired military person and active duty military person who has actually been in battle and served for extended times in the military supported my position, and I'm glad of it." I am glad, too.

Here are a few thoughts on some of the candidates. The Fix gave it's grades, but here we go from the 3Q perspective.

Tommy Thompson: Let's start with the former Wisconsin governor by treating like a cube of sharp, yellow cheddar - Stick a fork in him. This man was frightening to watch, purely from a physical standpoint. He has no discernible neck. It didn't help that he sounded vague and desperate every time he opened his mouth.

Sam Brownback: The highlight of his day for me was watching him pretend to be compassionate when asked about a rape victim being forced to carry the child of the ruthless criminal who violated her. He gives a half grimace and a reassuring nod as he begins by saying, "hat would be a very difficult situation, and it is a very difficult situation," before proceeding to completely ignore the situation and saying "will that (abortion) make the woman in a better situation if that's what takes place? And I don't think so." Of course not. Of course this woman's life will be better if she gives birth to God's rape child. I'm sorry, Sam, but your so-called "pro-life, whole-life" motto is thoroughly de-bunked every time you say "I will do it. I'll move aggressively forward on it" in reference to "deliberately and methodically" attacking other countries. Aren't confused, poor Africans God's children just as much as the rapist's bastard child? What a crock.

Mike Huckabee: Huckabee scored the most points of any of the middle-tier candidates, if only because he appears articulate and can handle the conservative banner better than any of the front-runners. There have been numerous articles saying the same thing and wondering why he hasn't taken off, and why he has raised so little money. So it seems likely that he will be the candidate that could have been, but at least he got off the most memorable zinger of the night when he said, "We've had Congress that's spent money like Edwards at a beauty shop." Hey-o! Even better, he mentioned it in reference to incurring a "fair tax" that would potentially get a lot of the IRS BS out of the way. He also seemed very even-keeled when he stood up for his tax increases to build roads and protect schools. Let's hope for the Red-State-blooded Americans out there that he will pick up some momentum. Plus, he lost a hundred pounds and ran a marathon. Props to that.

Tom Tancredo, Jim Gilmore: Meh. Not really worth a recap.

Ron Paul: Paul certainly did himself a disservice to goal of achieving the Republican nomination down at USC, but at least he went down guns blazin'. Even though he is a Libertarian, he didn't flout the notion that tax cuts alone will save our economy. He continually referred to fiscal discipline being a two-way street of reducing spending before we reduce our income. Certainly not cutting taxes while starting a war. He called out 9/11 a few times, initially saying, "we were spending $40 billion on security prior to 9/11, and they had all the information they needed there to deal with the threat." Damn. He proceeded to get himself into some trouble when he took the path of honesty and humility, admitting that American foreign policy necessarily impacts the views of hostile forces in the Middle East, a bad idea in the face of 9/11 bulldog/opportunist Rudy Giuliani, who then called him out by saying "I don't think I've heard that before." Really, Rudy? You've never heard that explanation before? What a sham. Don't bring that false exasperation to Quabbin Qountry any time soon. It belongs in one place and one place only - the Vlad Squad bench. Keep it real. I digress.

At any rate, Mr. Paul stood up to Rudy, but the damage was done. The crusty old Southerners in the audience were eating up Giuli's rabid terrorist-bating, and Ronnie was done. But not for me, as his best line was yet to come. After the debate's torture debacle (Paul was not questioned) he went out of his way to say, "but you know, I think it's interesting talking about torture here in that it's become enhanced interrogation technique. It sounds like Newspeak." Word. Second only to my horror at the crowd's reaction was my incredulous wonder at why the candidates were pussyfooting around the word torture in their defenses of it, calling it enhanced techniques and never readily admit to the direct question about waterboarding. Paul knew, though, and he dropped it like it was hot.

After that I couldn't really go on, and I ended up flipping more and more frequently to AMC where they were showing The Karate Kid. In other words, I got tired of watching the real Cobra Kai, and opted instead for the fictionalized version, where at the end even Johnny shows some mercy. Much the same today, I lack the strength to summarize the Big 3 other than to say that they were seemingly the strongest candidates. McCain kicked Romney's ass in the tete-a-tete and was honorable on torture, but was far from a sure winner. Giuli creeped me out with the red meat routine, and Romney is articulate but too easily damaged with the flip-flop attack. But hey, only EIGHT MORE MONTHS 'til New Hampshire!!! Time is a-wastin'!

. . .

The Sunshine Boy, unfazed by Huckabee's zinger, wrote a pre-emptive op-ed in the Huffington Post today, calling on Americans to take seriously their task on Memorial Day to remember the great sacrifices of American soldiers not by slapping a "Support Our Troops" magnet on their car, but by making a real effort to get the troops sent home from the current debacle in Iraq. I applaud him for the gesture. It is my belief that too often these days, in a world of instant leisure and long work days for so many, we have forgotten the purpose of national holidays. We see them as a free day to go to the beach or to be able to drink three nights in a row instead of actually pondering the meaning of the event. I think it is important for politicians to sincerely advocate their true celebration, and better yet to lead by example. Full disclosure: I will probably use it as an opportunity to drink three days in a row, but will accept any and all thoughts of good will to do the right thing. We're in this together, after all.


Sipping a Smuttynose from the banks of the Sawmill River,
BTB

Hiatus

Loyal Readers,

A brief note on the status of Quabbin Qountry: my computer's power cord is on the blink at the moment, and has been for a couple of days. I have a few posts nearly finished, and once I get everything fixed I will be back in business. Check back in a few days, and stay Qountry!


Ahoy,
BTB

McNeill's for Realz.

Brattleboro, VT -

I am sitting halfway down a long, German beer hall-styled table on a moderately warm spring night in the upper Connecticut River Valley pondering how my life was completely altered not but ten minutes ago. What could cause such a stir? Quite simply, it is the unlikely bedfellow of wireless internet and McNeill's Brewery. Coming home from Middlebury this evening I stopped in at my old watering hole, thinking I would turn on the laptop and try to churn out some words that I could later cut and paste into my blogspot interface, and was shocked to find a real-deal wireless connection. The potential of drastically altering 1) the face of McNeill's, 2) my social life and 3) the utter fabric of Western New England is real, very very real. Let me tell you, brothers and sisters, how the cask beer goes down easier than water after a ten mile run. Let me tell you how sweet it is, like the perfect match of coffee and a chocolate chip cookie on a brisk fall eve.

Although now that I have opened everything up I realize that I don't have much to say. The Clyburn fish fry and California Dem caucus mean little to me, as does the GOP bickering circuit. On the McCain trail, there have apparently been lots of railings against Harry Reid and his comments on a lost war. As McCain puts it, " if you declare this war lost, then who won? Who won? Al-Qaeda? Are we ready to acknowledge that Al Qaeda has won the war in Iraq? I don’t think so." You are missing the point! Of course Qaeda didn't win the war. Qaeda was never involved in Iraq! Hello, McFly! It is all one big moot point. So shame on both of those guys. Reid for being a bitch and trying to embarrass the administration with the "loss" thing and McCain for trying to exploit it without any real basis. I hate to beat a dead horse (unless it is a McNeill's Dead Horse IPA on cask) but I won't be undersold on this issue! As my boy Zak says, "No more lies!"

On the bright side the spring peepers are out, the rivers are flowing fast and furious and the running career is back in full swing. Plus I'm just really excited about McNeill's. Regrettably, I live an hour away.

Duck's Breath,
BTB

DE(bat)ES Nuts!!

All eight of our Democratic presidential hopefuls squared off last night in the first of who knows how many debates down at South Carolina State. Today the press corps came out with a number of "winners" and "losers", so I figured that we should do the same here at 3QHQ. Everyone from The Fix to Slate to Joe Scarboro had their say on the winners and losers. Not that we give a shit. Here is our take.

Obama received mix messages. Many found him reluctant and milquetoast, trying too hard to maintain his status quo as the up-and-comer and drastically afraid to say something stupid when his already-strong momentum is crucial in catching Hillary Rodham in the first two weeks of February 2008. Yet there were plenty of others, like Chris Matthews, who found him sophisticated and deep. Then there was John Edwards who found him "high falutin'" or some such. HRC seemed to get positive reviews across the board, and that comes as no surprise. If you are looking for a careful, intelligent, centrist candidate she is your person. As a result, she will do well in every debate. This one was no different. Edwards was also mixed. He is hard to dislike with his old southern charm and $400 good looks. He also took it to the rest of the big 3 more than any of his compatriots (Barack and HRC, that is), but that awkward pause in the moral leader question certainly didn't help him. While we are on it, I reallllly felt that Obama looked around before raising his hand on the "global war on terror" question. Bush league. That was certainly my biggest critique.

Of the second tier, Billy Rich was the clear loser. He couldn't keep his words under control and he was gesticulating like a Valley Girl. Plus he appeared to be sweating profusely. Dodd was uneventful. Biden did well, but that is no surprise. Biden is a tight dude. Everyone loved his "Yes" answer, and his silver-haired patrician looks, and he certainly has good things to say. He is a longshot to win the nomination, but I presume he will come out of this fray with goodwill from a large faction of Americans. Meanwhile, someone in the blogosphere finally picked up on our friend at BHC's mantra that Kucinich deserves respect on account of his wife. She certainly towered over him on the stage last night. But seriously, Kucinich was arguably the biggest winner of the night from our vantage. He really brought the Quabbin Qabin down with his story about living in the same $22.5K Cleveland house that he bought in the early 90s. Take that, Edwards and Clinton! Imagine if Kerry was in the house. He spoke forcefully about the war, and his pocket Constitution gimmick was endearing, if a little contrived. Lastly, Gravel is a kook and need not be included in any more debates. In other words, bring out the hook!

Speaking abruptly from the Haymarket before it closes, we look forward to more debate. Stay legit.

Pursuing Happiness - In English

Please recall the imbroglio over Newt Gingrich's English-first comments of a few weeks ago. In making a plea for English to be the only language spoken in classrooms and on ballots, he called it the "language of living in a ghetto" and was lambasted for his words from sources across all spectra. Recently he wrote a clarification, here posted in the Manch U-L where he talks of his own difficulties learning Espanol and the importance of multilingualism in culture and commerce, if not in government. It is worth a read, if only for what appears to be sincerity. Either that or its fool me twice, shame on me.

Plus, Bill Maher is on point in the Huff Post. Conservation may be a personal virtue, according to Dickey C., but it is a pretty important virtue. "So thanks guy in line at Starbucks, you just killed us."

The Substance and the Shadow

There has been a lot of talk about Fred Thompson looking Presidential. Yesterday he spoke on the Hill with little substance, and today I watched a month-old clip of a FOX News interview (part 1, part 2). I, too, found little substance. I am not condemning him by any stretch, given that he is merely a citizen right now and not a candidate, but nor am I impressed. He doesn't even look presidential. As Dana Milbank writes, "Actually, Thompson looked old and sallow as he faced the cameras for a few seconds before hopping into a waiting GMC Envoy." It's true! Thompson is jowlier than Alfred Hitchcock. Combine him with McCain and GOP suddenly stands for Geriatric Old Party. The article I linked in the previous post talks of Thompson as a Cuban-smoking, pickup-driving everyman, but based on the interviews I have seen he is far from receiving my vote as the GOP beer candidate. I would be afraid he would keel over or lecture me on being more pious. Plus, he's a shitty actor.

We will close on a lighter note. Everybody sing along with John McCain, "Bomb bomb bomb..."

HI-larious, right??

Never Surrender!

Earlier today I was on The Weekly Standard's website reading this article about Fred Thompson, and I scrolled over an ad, paid for by McCain 2008, with the blue-sheened stars of our great Flag framing the words "SURRENDER IS NOT AN OPTION" and with a plea to sign this petition to "tell Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid that withdrawal will endanger America." Take that, Madame Speaker! What I have never understood about the withdrawal of troops from Iraq is how it equates to surrender. To me, surrender only exists in a well-defined battle with two distinct sides. Are we surrendering to the state of Iraq? We are the state of Iraq! Are we surrendering to "the terrorists"? If that is the case it implies that we will let them have their way with us, whoever they are. Even the most Colbert-hating traitorous liberal wouldn't agree with that statement. The idea of leaving as surrendering also implies that we will otherwise stay until they surrender, whoever they are. Given that scenario 2 is impossible, I argue that scenario 1 is also illogical and false. Instead, we surrender our dignity by staying over there. We surrender the happiness and livelihood of the families of our fallen soldiers. We have surrendered $417 billion dollars. Isn't it about time we replaced our white flag with those beautifully evocative stars and stripes?

Gaffes

With the quarterly earnings posted, the campaign is back in the swing of things. Everybody got their day in the sun (or, if they earned less than $10M, their day under a rock) and now is the time to rock that hott suntan. Ah, who am I kidding? It was a week full of gaffes.

Leading the charge was Johnny Mac, who last weekend gave a press conference from a Baghdad market talking progress on the war effort. Wearing full body armor, flanked by dozens of soldiers and heavy artillery, McCain said "never have I been able to drive from the airport, never have I been able to go out into the city as I was today." He quickly reverted to damage control, telling 60 Minutes (among others) "Of course I'm going to misspeak and I've done it on numerous occasions and I probably will do in the future." Given the harsh response to his Baghdad visit, McCain needed to play politics to placate his numerous critics especially after the shellacking he took in fundraising the week before. He is a wounded man trying to stay on life support long enough to heal up for the summer. But, if you actually look at his comments, which the sound byte media does not allow us, McCain really didn't misspeak in Baghdad. What he said was that there "are reasons for cautious -- very cautious optimism" in Iraq, and based upon his reasons, that is a valid argument. His only true gaffe was insensitivity. It is incredibly disrespectful to the people in Iraq everyday without an armored posse to flash the cameras, smile, and talk about progress when people are dying by the handful every single day without body armor and tanks to back them up. He should have apologized about that, and not about misspeaking. He didn't misspeak, and therein lies the twofold problem. Number 1, why is he backing down from a statement that he could easily stand behind? And number 2, does he really feel the need to seek out optimism? Straight talk? More like fate talk. Like, I think he is fated to a slippery slope away from the wide respect he used to hold.

A few days later, Mitt Romney gaffed about much more benign guns. The kind of guns that kill critters, and not neighborhoods full of civilians. My watchdog homeys up in Keene badgered Mitt into saying "I've been a hunter pretty much all my life." Pretty much. Kind of like I pretty much get every girl I go after. By pretty much, they meant once when he was a teenager he shot a rabbit with a BB gun, and then last year he shot at some quails while at a posh resort with the Republican Governors Convention. Ultimately, the campaign decided to stop lying and just came out and said "Governor Romney never said he was Teddy Roosevelt. He’s more like Jed Clampett." By the way, I was up in Keene yesterday, however briefly. Just wanted to give a shout out to the Elm City. I anxiously await next time I get to kick it at Margarita's with all the Owls.

In other news, Newt came out on Fox to call for Gonzo to get, well, gone-zo. "This is the most mishandled, artificial, self-created mess that I can remember...the buck has to stop somewhere and I am assuming it is the Attorney General and his immediate team and I think it is amazing that there's any doubt about the fact that they have totally mishandled this." Damn.

What the gaffes really come down to is this: its a damn shame that these politicians can't just Ghost Ride their campaigns when they become too hard to handle.


Ghost Ride
Go Crazy
Who's That Drivin?
Quabbin Qountry.

Hugo-Not

I have always admired the bold statements of Hugo Chavez from afar, but I will admire no longer. Once the speaker of such in-your-face shit talk as "the great loser today was George W. Bush. The man went away wounded. You could see defeat on his face," and '"The devil came here yesterday, and it smells of sulfur still today", Hugo Chavez now only makes his past stances seem even more egomaniacal and hollow. Apparently, the tyrant has temporarily turned the Bolivarian Republic into a prohibition state for the holy week to cut down on drunk driving accidents. Nor is it the first time he has done such a thing. What a freedom-hating sham! It shames me now that I once, however briefly, named my fantasy basketball team the Hugo Chavez Oilers. If only Bush had a boozy bully-pulpit from which to mock him with something along the lines of, "Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!" Alas, only 657 more days. Hopefully this will satiate my critics who say I am too focused on America. It is too late to get into more pithy subjects, instead I will retire to my chamber to dream about Ghost Ridin' the Whip or some such nonsense.

Ahoy,
BTB

48 Million Reasons to Be Afraid

Today's Fix posted HRC's modest first quarter earnings at $26,000,000. Yeah, that's in millions, and yeah, that is only since January 20, 2007. The official HRC website reminds us that "in March of 2003, the highest total reported by a Democratic campaign in its first-quarter fundraising report was $7.4 million and the top four candidates combined raised just over $23 million." In other words, we can and will whore like never before! On the same day, Clinton finance chairman Terry "the snake" McAulliffe sets the artificial standards of competition high saying, "I would expect Senator Obama is going to have a comparable amount of money to what we have." Let's hope not.
...
breaking news
...
Even as we speak here at 3Q, rumours have it that Obamamania may have contributed a nearly-identical $21-22M. All this is very disheartening, especially in light of the news that so many states are frontloading primaries on their own terms. Has year-and-a-half-in-advance pocketbook voting replaced the polls in primaries? Poor John Edwards ($14M), and poorer Chris Dodd ($4M)! I guess it shows something that tens of thousands of people are willing to part ways with his money so soon, I just don't know if it is more to do with candidate support or Thomas Tusser. Let's face it, I'd rather spend my money on supporting my local barkeep, or at least buying up conservation land. I am very fearful of this cycle of doom where campaign cash gets tossed around like $100 bills at a Pacman Jones stripper party. Let's make it rain with handshakes and not phone banks.

Instead I will have to stay refreshed with Chuck Klosterman's Final Four bloggings, where the topic of the day is a rant about the McLaughlin Group. More on refreshiness later.

Signing off with a Sam Smith Oatmeal Stout,
BTB

New Hampshire, New Polls, Same Attitude

In a poll conducted Friday by the American Research Group, former Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) jumped into the fray with 10% of the likely New Hampshire Republican primary vote, pulling support away from most every candidate in the field and making it a potential 5-man contest with McCain (23%), Giuliani (19%), Romney (17%) and Gingrich (11%). Thompson, of course, is the Freddy-come-lately of the GOP nominees, having said a couple weeks ago that he was considering a run. The motive for this being that there were no credible conservatives in the upper echelon of the Republican ranks, with Brownback and Huckabee gaining little more than 2% outside of their home states. Thompson, then, would be the standard-bearer of the right. Today's Caucus touched briefly on the issue, which we will discuss more later, but not until we watch The Hunt for Red October.

In other news, it looks like Hillary Rodham is erasing some of Vilsack's campaign debt in a possible QPQ. No surprise from QQQ. And I really hate to beat a dead source, but I gotta give props to Lamar Smith (R-TX) for at least sticking it the Clintons, regardless of Bubba's legitimacy. Smith asked Bill to speak to a congressional subcommittee on Presidential pardons about the Rich pardon, among others. Clinton declined, of course.

On a more earnest note, Rudy reminds us that we must stay vigilant against terrorists. Hey Rudy, better watch those "S"s, especially in the Red States! But who am I to talk? Rudy can point to his new perch atop the fix's Prez line and drop a fatty cry of "scoreboard!" while I sit at home and drink bourbon while the rain falls heavy outside my cabin windows.

Some more fun from the Hill, our boy Jim Webb suffered a minor foible when one of his aides was arrested for carrying a loaded pistol into the capitol building. It seems the guy was a former Marine, and just not ready to roll through the city without a piece. Point being, don't fuck with Webb.


Sorry for the delays. But things could be on the up-and-up, it's $3 drafts at M&D all week, and the forecast is for rain. Rain, and wind.

Bluebird,
BTB

I'm Your Venus, I'm Your Fire, Your Desire

Gazing out my study window moments ago I noticed a dark orange light aglow off in the distance. Its position was indeterminate, in part because of the darkness caused by the glare of inside lights, so for all I knew it could just as well have been a low-lying star as a flashlight up in the hills; a traveler on a snowy night looking for some final peace before the work week. But then my teapot whistled, and when I returned from the kitchen it was gone. I turned off all the lights, save the dim glow of my computer screen, and I was able to see it once again.

A little research revealed that my light is the planet Venus, which at first disappointed me because I prefer to keep strange lights just that - strange. I took an astronomy class in college, and the main thing I learned from it was that I would rather not know about the position and make-up of the solar system. I just want to look up in awe. Every now and then pretend to know a constellation or two, but mostly just lie on my back in the late spring and imagine who else saw these same stars before me. Shays? Twain? Emerson? Metacomet?

And now I, with my transparent eye, sit looking upon them. Or it, rather, since it is just the one star. Not even a star, a planet. Like I said, at first I was disappointed to learn what it was. To actively learn, no less, by shutting off all the lights and doing a google news search. My curiosity prevailed over my desire to remain ignorant, to remain blissful. Had I never looked anything up I could have imagined, and truly believed, that it was a lonely soul out in the woods seeking high ground at 11pm on a Sunday, some two days after a late-season Nor'Easter left Quabbin Qountry nestled yet again under a thick blanket of snow. That would have made me happy, knowing that someone out there was doing what I always want to do - just say fuck it and go for a walk no matter when, no matter why. But I have excuses aplenty, and I just want to know that there is someone out there who doesn't.

"The greatest delight which the fields and woods minister, is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me, and I to them. The waving of the boughs in the storm, is new to me and old. It takes me by surprise, and yet is not unknown. Its effect is like that of a higher thought or a better emotion coming over me, when I deemed I was thinking justly or doing right." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature

I remembered that quotation tonight, when I was wondering about the stars and the invisible eye. It made me think of the good old days running through Point Defiance on college breaks when I would high-five the ferns on the circle trail, and give a little elbow nudge to the salal bushes. Back when we knew each other. As for Venus, it hit me just when I started bummin' about the traveler that the planet was named after the Roman goddess of love of beauty. And if that's an omen for 3Q, then I'll take it even if it means having to give up on a few midnight walks through the woods.

Tea and oranges,
BTB

Cah-lee-four-nee-ya

You know what? Screw you, California. I never liked you, anyway.

Back in Quabbin Qountry, its March Madness. What a weak tournament so far, the only good game has been VCU (which I picked) and if Gonzaga loses then I will have 2 of my 3 missed games be Sweet 16 teams. This happens to me every year. I do pretty well in the 1st round, but every 1st round loser of mine is a Sweet 16-er. Bah humbug.

More to talk about this weekend, with firefighters, gays, buses and all the rest.

Winterhook,
BTB

Darkness

It smelled like Bozeman when I rounded the mailbox at the end of my driveway and headed South on Gulf Road. The straggling spirits of the ancient New England orchard fields were once again pretending to have some spray in them, although their once-fruited buds now produce a scent more reminiscent of meadows and sweet country air. I could almost hear the black-billed magpies in the distance, could almost see the chocolate milky stream swollen alongside the trail. Instead I saw nothing, only the darkness overhead as I estimated each step up toward Knight's Corner, happy that I was once again running without gloves.

Republicans are also in the dark, according to the latest NYT/CBS poll of GOPers, prospects are bleak within the party, with only a 6% difference in party faithful who believe one of their men will take the White House next year over a Democrat. Furthermore, the favorability ratings of the Big 3 were stuck at 50, 32 and 14% respectively for Rudy, Mac, and Mitt. The again, with a stud like Dubya preceding you, failure is imminent by comparison. And so enter Fred Thompson.

. . .

I was in the middle of posting this latest, and relatively meaningless, entry on Monday night before I was interrupted. Now here we are on Wednesday, and any semblance of a theme has been flushed away like sediment caught up in the roaring Scarboro Brook that flows thick with snowmelt out of my backyard. Honestly, as the premature political season wanes and the Quabbin snow waxes, it is easy for my thoughts to veer away from Barack in favor of my nightly barracks; easy to opt for McCheese over McCain; the Jukebox over Giuliani. Now I know how the general electorate feels, especially if they are drunk.

I guess there comes a time in every man's life when politics takes the back seat. And when I say every man's life its more like in every man's Month....or week. But there is always elementary school. There I know they don't care about politics so I can't even pretend. There I know they hate me so I can't even pretend. There I know I am getting paid, so it is that much harder to dream.

See you in the gutter,
BTB

Idiocracy

Spurred on by an op-ed article in today's Times, I came home and On-Demanded the film Idiocracy. The article mentioned Idiocracy in reference to Ann Coulter's lastest piece of worthwhile rhetorical brilliance because of it's...brilliance, as well as the context of the word. Then again, she doesn't "think there's anything offensive about any variation of faggy, faggotry, faggot, fag." So It really wasn't an issue. "Well, the thing is -- one is, yes, it can be used that way, I gather that's the way Isaiah Washington used it, That, I think, is an incorrect of the word -- use of the word." Heaven forbid anyone mistake her intentions! She seems so clear about them! Really, she should have nutted up, gone all British on us and called him a "poof." Alas, to paraphrase the old Bill Clinton line that Ms. Coulter loves so much, it depends on what the meaning of the word "faggot" is.

I digress. In Idiocracy, writer/director Mike Judge tells the story of America in 2505 where a half-millennium of lust, catch-phrases, corporatization and mass-reproduction by the illiterati has led to a world of absolute buffoons on the brink of destruction. Luke Wilson is cryogenically frozen and accidentally awoken in 2505 only to be disgusted and astounded by what he sees. Coincidentally, his ability to use such words as "disgusted" and "astounded" has him ridiculed by the locals for talking "all faggy." The point being, Judge's picture is a spot-on representation of a dystopian America. It is the kind of place driven by sex, money, explosions, bar code tattoos and corporate sponsorship. The kind of place with "adult" Starbucks, "adult" tax returns, masturbation networks and Costco Law School; where the President is a former WWE star and justice is served with Monster Trucks and brought to you by Carl's Jr. But don't feel left out, boys, it ain't all its cracked up to be.

In such a world, you might find a POTUS who says stuff like "I'm the decider" and "Well, you know, I think a lot of people are in this fight. I mean, they sacrifice peace of mind when they see the terrible images of violence on T...TV every night." A world where suburban housewives take lessons in pole dancing, and where the things people drink are called Xtremo and ESPN the Flavor. Here, kids get called a "fag" for knowin' shit about dividing fractions, and kids who are perceived to be fags get beaten into concussive states, or worse. It is too bad Ms. Coulter wasn't around to explain that the defendant didn't mean anything by it. He was only beating the shit out of a guy for being a faggy swimmer, not for liking guys sexually or anything like that. No biggie! Sean Hannity would understand. Not to be Slander-ous, of course, because I'm sure neither would condone the act.

Hey, wait, all that last paragraph is happening now! Holy Shit! To be sure, I play a vital role in society's downfall. Lord knows I have seen the Juggernaut video three or four dozen times, and anyone who was subjected to more than 20 minutes at the Da Brat Stable House last summer knows what sort of incessant Marc M. catch phrase buffoonery, with all of it's vulgarity and generally unconscionable vocabulary, went on ad nauseum between my housemates and me. Irony knows some bounds, after all. But of course, I don't mean to call today's cultural state ruinous or anything. On the contrary, come on out to Quabbin Qountry any time if you want to see just how flavorful things can be. But I try my hardest not to forget the simplicity, the labels, the laziness and the selfishness that I see every day, and that is just in my elementary classroom. I won't get started on Washington. Maybe all we need is a little straight talk, or maybe that's the problem. I just hope we aren't seven years too late.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go upstairs and masturbate.

Ahoy with an India'n,
BTB

Madness, Woman Madness

Yo, Word:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/gingrich-calls-current-debates-lunacy/

Ahoy,
BTB

"This incident...smacked me in the eyes one peaceful Sunday morning a few weeks ago"

I'm back on the sauce. The strong sauce, that is. Ever since that one magical week in December, 2004 that I spent holed up in Mocha Joe's basement cafe in Brattleboro, VT reading the magnificent journal of Nixon's re-election, Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72, I have not been the same person. Prior to that week I had seen life through a different set of eyes. It was a set of eyes that was far more naive, foolish and willing to settle. A set of eyes that had not read the words vile, swine, freak, or maniac nearly enough. Upon closing the back cover of the book, I ruminated for a few hours and then immediately got on the horn to spread the gospel. Within days I was in my car driving south to Guilford, CT where I left my bargain copy of the text with a crew of intellectually and soulfully untouchable gentlemen hoping it would spread like gonorrhea at Mardi Gras, and hoping I would never see it again. I can't promise results on the first, but I will vouch for the fact that I never saw that short, fat, red tome ever again. I held it in my memories, but I never held it close to my breast to keep me warm on some of those hairy Allston nights later on; nor to keep me sane on those riotous stable nights in the summer of 2006. Perhaps that whole freaky period (December, 2004 -Present) was too far removed from a real election to make it worthwhile. Perhaps I was afraid. Then again, maybe I just never got around to replacing it.

That all changed this past Monday. Wandering around Northampton after an offseason high school track practice looking for a copy of the New York Times to bring into a coffee shop so that I might climb upon it's pretensions to gain the proper footing to flirt with an older, liberal local female sipping a pot of organic green tea at 5 in the afternoon I came upon a bookstore with seven copies of '72 stocked among it's verbal weaponry. It was a true omen, seeing as I hadn't been able to causally locate a copy in some years, in spite of noticing title upon title of Gonzo Papers, Las Vegas and Hey Rube but never the Golden Goose. I picked one up and haven't looked back.

"It was just before midnight when I left Cambridge and headed north in U.S. 93 toward Manchester--driving one of those big green rented Auto/stick Cougars that gets rubber for about twenty-nine seconds in Drive, and spits hot black divots all over the road in First or Second ... a terrible screeching and fishtailing through the outskirts of Boston heading north to New Hampshire, back on the Campaign Trail ...running late, as usual: left hand on the wheel and the other on the radio dial, seeking music, and a glass of iced Wild Turkey spilling into my crotch on every turn (43)."

That is where it begins, both for Hunter and myself: a commitment to the '72 Campaign Trail and a deep-rooted love of Austin Nichols, bred on cold nights after closing up Harriman's Pub in West Dover, Vermont and warm nights dreaming of the gulf stream in Cotuit, Massachusetts with Manchester, Nashua, Keene, Berlin and all the rest on the docket.

The Lord knows that I am a small fraction of Hunter S. Thompson, but the Lord also knows a thing or two about inspiration. With that said, it is likely only a matter of time before we see some sort of bootleg publication of Thugs and Cowardice: On the Campaign Trail '08. Then again, given that the New Hampshire primary was in March of 1972, perhaps a more fitting title would be On the Campaign Trail '07-'08. Frontloading, shame be thy name.

In the meantime I have briefly traded digs, tonight choosing The Spoke over the M & D, in part because of prior engagements and in part because this is the kind of place where you can see fat, drunken townies mingling some 10 feet away from a table full of pre-gaming sorority sisters on their way, ultimately, to The Pub. Over yonder sits a woman on a barstool with a Weezer tattoo on her neck. The whole fuckin' pie, by the way, with wings and everything. She is obnoxiously loud, and probably prefers Beverly Hills to Why Bother?. To Hell with that. In the words of Rivers, "I know I should get next to you/You got a look that makes me think you're cool/But it's just sexual attraction/Not something real so I'd rather keep wackin'/Why bother? it's gonna hurt me/It's gonna kill when you desert me/This happened to me twice before/It won't happen to me anymore." Then again, who am I to judge?

Lastly, let me give a shout out to the Indian Hill Cemetery (aka the Sem-ET-ery, copyright James S., 2004). I randomly thought about this place tonight because of the facebook and it's infernally lovable newsfeed. I have seen so many sunsets at that place, it's not even funny. Yet how is it that I hadn't thought about the place in 3 years?? O hallowed Indian Hill. Hail, hail, Mattabeseck.

Meanwhile, it's Ballard Bitter all the way. Ya Sure? Ya Betcha!
BTB

Tek-mology

There is something to be said for the typewriter when you lose an hour and a half of passionate, past-your-bedtime writing because of a browser error and a failure to repeatedly save. FUCK!!!!

Beerfest

Every trip back to the Puget Sound is like an easter egg hunt, only with beer. 2007 revealed the following hoppy gems behind salal bushes and driftwood (in taste rank):

Manny's Pale Ale
Full Sail LTD #1
Bridgeport IPA
Maritime Pacific IPA
Deschutes Black Butte Porter
Big Sky Crystal Ale
Toby's Parrot Red Ale
New Belgium Fat Tire
Pyramid Snow Cap Ale
Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale
Maritime Pacific Jolly Roger
Cutter's Amber Ale
Mac and Jack's African Amber
Alaskan Amber
Mac and Jack's IPA
Skagit River Scullers IPA
Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball

Back in Quabbin Qountry,
BTB

3Q WORLD TOUR: The Mitt-igator

Is Mitt Romney the Teflon candidate of 2008? For his sake, he had better be. Romney has been all under the news lately. Last week his official announcement on Tuesday (prepared remarks here) was overshadowed by the Valentine's Day snowstorm that shut down the East Coast. He was cut short on an early Bush endorsement. Worst of all have been the growing number of recent disclosures that Mitt has been changing a lot of his opinions with the convenient timing of the 2008 election cycle's beginning. The more I read about him, the more I become completely baffled by his candidacy. On the one hand, I will freely admit that he has a certain je ne aise quoi about him, and I don't think I am the only one who believes that. Plus he likes to use charts, and who doesn't love charts?!! Even though the news hasn't been the greatest, and not a lot of people had heard of the guy six months ago, it seems like the more people hear, the more they want to know.

But will they like what they hear? Mitt, it seems, is more than willing to try his darnedest to make that answer "yes". But is his darnedest too darned much? First it was his abortion flop, based on his 1994 statement an abortion, "I believe society should allow individuals to do whatever they choose," that he is currently running away from as quickly as possible. Then came his statement to the Log Cabin Republicans on gay rights: "We must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern." Uh oh. That may have worked well in Provincetown, but it ain't working in Allentown. Queue up 2006, and he is pushing a ballot to ban gay marriage in Mass. Last of all his been his NRA flap. The Boston Globe revealed yesterday that Romney joined the NRA in August of 2006. I imagine he said something a long the lines of: "You know, I have always been a strong supporter of gun rights, but my planned neighborhood in Belmont, a dry town you know, didn't allow gun owners until very recently." Actually, I think his official response was through a spokesman and basically said, "we care about the future of gun freedom and not the past." The Republicans would show themselves, and not for the first time, to be extremely hypocritical if they elected a flip-flop artist from Massachusetts to represent them. At this point, we know Sam Brownback won't allow it. Then again, as Mitt himself said, "I was not always a Ronald Reagan conservative. Neither was Ronald Reagan, by the way. But like him, I learned with experience."

In other news, Republican candidate Ron Paul is sponsoring a hemp bill along with 9 Democratic co-sponsors including Dem candidate Dennis Kucinich. Oh, and don't get me started about how more and more columnists are talking about the potential demise of face-to-face campaigning. I think one of these days I am going to write a 15,000 word rant about it. Long Live the Granite State!

Still in the Tac,
BTB

3Q WORLD TOUR

Greetings from the first stop on the Quabbin Qountry Queries World Tour '07: the Mandolin Cafe in Tacoma, Washington. It is cloudy and 50 degrees outside with intermittent periods of rain, enough to keep the windows on display with a constant splattering of drops, but not enough to really discourage any outdoor activity. It is the kind of weather in which I walk to the grocery store to gaze in wonder at the soul-pleasing display of inimitable NW micros while my shopping basket overflows with Tim's Cascade Jalapeno chips, Tillamook Cheddar and, were it June, a pound or two of Copper River Salmon. It is the kind of weather that I know, that eases the sting of a 12-mile run and soothes a pitcher-induced hangover.

Special Valentine's Edition - The Power of Love (not by Huey Lewis)

We are having a Valentine's snow day up here in Quabbin Qountry, and with it plenty of time to do the lazy sit-around-the-house things that work days don't allow, and weekends discourage with their travels and hangovers. All morning I have delighted in watching the birds compete for the freshly-tossed seed on my front porch with a diagonally blowing sleet falling behind them. Yet the warm, woodstoven confines of my apartment have allowed me to anxiously await the days I can go outside in running shorts again.

I was also able to bask in the pleasures of multimedia with half of the second season of Kids in the Hall and a few movies on the premium channels. All this media overload was taxing on a simple man like myself, and only worked to reiterate the allure of power and money to both women and men, as evidenced in the great number of Presidential aspirants this time around. The idea of White House sex being the best possible sex is intriguing, and quite possibly truthful. Why else would it run in the Adams, Roosevelt and Bush families? Why else would Hillary be running, and both Doles gave it a shot? Why was Al Gore so horny? They heard the whispers, the rumours, the creaking and the thuds like nothing they had ever heard before. It leaves the rest of us schmucks sitting at home, wondering what might be, wondering if women will ever figure it out that if a guy is into money then he is almost certainly into M.O.B.

But here in Quabbin Qountry, we have acres of virgin snow in the woods, ripe for the taking. I'm putting on tights, a sweatshirt, my new Holyoke Athletic Staff pullover, a hat and gloves and getting it on. Three cheers for February, and that unmistakable squishy sound that only comes when shoes and snow meet in the crevasse of a footprint.

While I'm at it - a Valentine's Day Playlist.

Ask - The Smiths
So. Central Rain - R.E.M. (video)
Jackie Wilson Said - Van Morrison
I Married Her Just Because She Looks Like You - Lyle Lovett
Night Moves - Bob Seger
Beautiful Girls - Van Halen
Patience - Guns N Roses
Hard Candy - Counting Crows
The Heat of the Moment - Asia
Knockin' Da Boots - H-Town
This Must Be the Place - Talking Heads
Song for the Dumped - Ben Folds Five

In the words of Cabbagehead: "A guy has an English accent and you're all wet. You're a lake. But a guy's got a little green on his shoulders and you puke. That's sexual discrimination!"

Festivale,
BTB

Minced Words

Not sure if you caught it two weeks ago, but Prez. Bush was interviewed by NPR's Juan Williams, his first after the State of the Union address. At one point during the talk, Williams brought up the issue of Bush and the "Democrat" congress, and not strongly enough according to some. As The New Yorker's Hendrik Hertzberg noted last summer, Bush's frequent misuse of the noun "Democrat" in place of the adjective "Democratic" as an intentional slur to refuse the association of donkeys and democracy is obnoxious, overly partisan, and even McCarthy-esque. Here is the exchange:

MR. WILLIAMS: By the way, in the speech, you spoke about the Democrats. You said, you congratulated the Democrat majority. And I notice your prepared text said Democratic majority. I surely think that you know that for the Democrats, they think when you say Democrat, it's like fingernails on the blackboard. They don't like it. They like you to say Democratic.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yeah. Well, that was an oversight then. I mean, I'm not trying to needle. Look, I went into the hall saying we can work together and I was very sincere about it. I didn't even know I did it.

You didn't know you did it, huh? See Hertzberg's article for a notation of other misuses, and further see that the White House issued an edited transcript of the speech where "Democrat" is embedded in place of the original "Democratic." If Bush's flub was unintentional, why go to the trouble of changing the history books? I guess because Bush's words are Bush's words, and I don't think he has written a speech since Andover, and even then he probably winged it. To add insult to injury, Bush feigned dumb again 4 days later at the Dems' Colonial Williamsburg retreat when he opened with this line:

"Now, look, my diction isn't all that good," the president said. "I have been accused of occasionally mangling the English language. And so I appreciate you inviting the head of the Republic Party."

Laugh it up, diction boy. I wouldn't mind hearing intentional slights from the likes of political hacks of Tom DeLay's stature, but I expect more knowledge, respect and gravitas from my President. On a lighter note, Bush called Juan Williams by name, "Juan", a full nine times during the sixteen-question interview. If you are keeping score, that is a .563 average. Big time score for the Spanglo-Texan!

The other big news on the campaign trail was Obama's official campaign kickoff at the Olde Statehouse in Springfield, Illinois, the Land of Lincoln. He spoke of a range of topics from his Christian faith and the death penalty to the presumptuousness of a Presidential announcement and Abe Lincoln's glorious leadership, all under the umbrella of Springfield the crossroads. The Springfield of farmers and friends, the Springfield of bold statements, but most importantly the Springfield that is far, far away from Washington. His speech was to demonstrate Obama the Hopeful, Obama the Outsider, Obama the Future. Also, he has taken to say "I love you" a lot. That might not be such a bad thing, if it catches on, and it certainly won't hurt him with the ladies.

Speaking of the ladies, Giuliani's third wife went off recently about how hunky her man is. Judy G. went to bat for Rudy (Judy & Rudy??) in the NY Post:

"I've always liked strong, macho men, and Rudy — I'm not saying this because he's my husband — is one of the smartest people on the planet. What people don't know is that Rudy's a very, very romantic guy. We love watching 'Sleepless in Seattle.' Can you imagine my big testosterone-factor husband doing that?" Describing Rudy, a former federal prosecutor, as "the Energizer Bunny with no rechargeable batteries," Judi said, "One of the most remarkable things about my husband, who sleeps three or four hours a night, is his energy level and stamina."

As Borat might say, "Wa-Wa-Wee-Wa! He has a-stamina, it is nice!!!!"

Mitt the Mormon's better half, meanwhile, got into the wife game with a little pushback of her own. "The biggest difference between Mitt Romney and the other [GOP] candidates," she said, is that Mitt has "only had one wife." Ouch!! Take that, conservative voters, and props to Mitt the man. Romney, of course, will be announcing his candidacy tomorrow in his dad's old state of Michigan, at the Henry Ford Museum much to the ire of Jewish groups everywhere. More to come!

Getting away from politics, I have been lamenting my recent departure from Quabbinish run postings. I can directly attribute this to a rise in training with the Purple Knights and two weekends in a row dominated by late nights and lazy Sundays. Will I regret my failure to go for a moonlit walk in the snow, or stomping an uncharted path through my back woods? Perhaps. But motivation is the wiliest of devils. Wilier even than spirits.

Achel Blond,

BTB

Mixed Bag

We are going to do a little McLaughlin Group tonight here at 3Q HQ.

Item! Governor Rick Perry declares HPV vaccine for all! In a surprise move last week, the Texas Republican mandated that 11- and 12-year-old schoolgirls statewide receive the newly finalized vaccine against human papilloma virus, brought to you by the nice folks at Merck Pharmaceuticals. Obviously, a lot of people were screaming mad about this because of the intrusive nature, the fact that Merck gave Perry money during the campaign (a measly 6$k), the cost (some $360 for three shots) and most notably the moral implications. It is fairly easy to raise hell over a virus that can be readily labeled as a benign consequence of promiscuous sex, but to any opponents out there who think that I say "Bah Humbug!" Any time we have a chance to eradicate a virus I say let's do it. Would the religious right think twice about mandatory AIDS vaccines under the premise that if everyone only had one partner their entire life AIDS would go away? Doubtful. Why give HPV such an unfair shake. In the words of Gov. Perry, "If I err, I will err on the side of protecting life." Now there is some pro-life sentiment that I can agree with!

Item! PAC donations now directed toward the jukebox! At this year's Democratic winter meetings, many of the Presidential aspirants debuted possible stump speech theme songs (and part 2). Hilarity ensued. Here is the lineup in case you are too lazy to peep the links:

Wesley Clark: "Waiting On The World To Change" - John Mayer
Hillary Clinton: "Right Here, Right Now" - Jesus Jones
Chris Dodd: "Get Ready" - The Temptations
John Edwards: "This Is Our Country" - John Mellencamp
Dennis Kucinich: "America the Beautiful" - standard
Joe Biden: "Centerfield" - John Fogerty
Bill Richardson: "Lean on Me" - Club Nouveau
Tom Vilsack: "Reach Out I'll Be There" - The Four Tops

Well, I am glad to report that these are merely first drafts. Can you imagine being motivated by John Mayer? The Temptations? Jesus Jones? Jesus Jones! I mean, if you are going to do John Fogerty, give me something like Run through the Jungle or Midnight Special.
Well, you wake up in the mornin, you hear the work bell ring,
And they march you to the table to see the same old thing.
Ain't no food upon the table, and no pork up in the pan.
But you better not complain, boy, you get in trouble with the man
At any rate, they are bound to be better than whatever the GOP trots out. Unless it ends up being Jesus Jones. Then it will be worse.

Item! Biden Redux. Just wanted to drop a link to my birthday-mate Pat Boo-kan-on's take on BidenGate. Pattycake essentially shares my views on the incident:

• "Joe is saying that if Hillary, at 100 percent name recognition and with all the support she and Bill have been able to corral, can't break 30 percent or 40 percent in Democratic polls today, she is a likely sure loser in 2008. Is there a political analyst in America who has not wondered about the same thing? And what of Hillary's new stand on Iraq?"
  
• "If Joe Biden, whose views of his colleagues' acumen on foreign policy are now and forever on record, will undertake that assignment, he could make his presidential run not only interesting, but a service to his party and his country."

• Finally, it seems that John Edwards might be getting into some trouble over his hired bloggers. Obviously, he didn't look far enough away from North Carolina. Let me throw it out there right now, I'm Quabbin for Hire. I can even put up with too much Mellencamp, but first a caveat: I would incessantly stump for the use of I Need a Lover or Cherry Bomb. In the meantime, 17 has turned 25 here in Quabbin Qountry and I'm surprised that I'm still blogging. Time to sign off once again from the Moan.

YSB,
BTB

Next up: Bush called out, money talks, and more!

Rumblin', Bumblin', Stumblin

Democrats, please direct your attention to the starting gate. It is there that you will find the latest controversy to hit the race - Cleangate. Senator Joe Biden officially declared himself a candidate yesterday, and quickly overshadowed even himself by putting one foot forward, and the other directly in his mouf. In a now famous article in the New York Observer, Biden took issue with some of his primary competitors, most notably on their Iraq policies.

Referring to Clinton, Obama and Edwards Biden said the following: "Let me put it this way, you didn’t hear any one of them get in this debate at all until they announced for President." Bold. To be honest, though, it is not entirely without truth. Clinton's rhetoric underwent a recent and dramatic ramp-up with timing that only a friend would call coincidental. Edwards has been speaking out against the war for the past year or two, but again it has seemed to be in tune with his own candidacy post-2005. Obama, however, has his 2002 speech to his credit as well as his perhaps critical timing for not being around for the authorization vote.

Fitting, it was with Obama that Biden really did his damage. The Delaware senator referred to Barack the candidate as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." A squall erupted shortly thereafter, mostly from the blogoshpere - which is now tumultuously known to bring the ionic fury on a regular basis. There was a cacaphonic shout of the old Eminem line, "ah, wait, no way, youre kidding, he didnt just say what I think he did, did he?" Obama came out nice at first noting that he "didn’t take it personally and I don’t think he intended to offend. But the way he constructed the statement was probably a little unfortunate.” But a few hours later the handlers got to him and he came back with a much harsher retort when he said, “I didn’t take Senator Biden’s comments personally, but obviously they were historically inaccurate. African-American presidential candidates like Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm, Carol Mosely-Braun and Al Sharpton gave a voice to many important issues through their campaigns, and no one would call them inarticulate.”

Al Sharpton was predictably pissed, and Jesse Jackson even mocked the fact that he outdrew Biden in '88 by extreme margins. And Biden retaliated with a full-scale apology assault, as any Senator worth his weight in votes would do. But the real issue was whether this was merely a linguistic lapse or, more distressingly, another macaca moment. Biden is well-known as long-winded, and on first appearance it seems that he just said a few too many words at a time when he was a little too hopped up to make a politically clear statement, given his singeing of his other colleagues. But who can really say? In spite of the reaction from Jackson and Sharpton, Obama really is the first African-American candidate with a chance. I don't care how PC you are, to quote Ron Burgundy, "It's a fact" that no one has had a chance until Barack. Did his use of the combination of "clean", "bright", and "articulate" to emphasize the difference between Obama and his candidatorial predecessors fall flat on it's face? Yes. Was it totally inaccurate? Probably. But was it malicious or just a mistake? Only Joe's conscience knows. I have a feeling it was the former, rather than the latter.

The thing is, Biden never had a shot to have Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton in his corner. In some respects he really shouldn't give a shit about what they have to say. They were going to turn on him at one point or another until/unless he got the nomination. But then again, it is not the first flub he has made. There was the 7-11 comment last year, and he also once said that he could run well in the South because "Delaware was one of our slave states." The first one was clearly insensitive; the second one, hilarious. Insensitive because it is reinforcing a negative cultural stereotype. Hilarious because it was a slight against the Republican South, and nothing else. What it ultimately comes down to is that Biden can't keep hold of his tongue, and rightly so. Will he be elected President come 2008? No. Did anyone ever think that he would? Besides himself and his biggest suck-up friends, No. I just hope that this latest comment won't detract from the positive impact he can have on the debate this upcoming year, because I think Biden will have good things to say, and may even force a response from his rivals. A response that will nevertheless eventually be attributed to the political boneyard, most recently represented in Delaware lore by Pete DuPont. Soon enough Wilmington will be singing Pierre, roll over, I just hope it won't be until late February at the very least.

Racer 5 big bottle,
BTB