Large swaths of the intertrons are unabilable to me today, and I am wondering if there are problems in the intertrons in general, or if specifically my ComCrap is to blame.
Archives for 2008
Some Pig
Well, Ted Kennedy just gave one hell of a speech endorsing Obama, and if Obama does go on to win it all, I think you can trace a lot of the momentum back to what happened today. I had it playing in the background, and I had to stop grading and pay full attention.
Not to go all tweety on you, but you could really feel the importance of the occasion. Clinton needs to do something, have some sort of magic this week, or her comfortable control of the lead could begin to slip away. It felt that big, watching that event today.
Watch the Democrats Fold, Monday Edition
Glenn Greenwald has the details. Why did I become a Democrat again?
Cowards.
Watch the Democrats Fold, Monday EditionPost + Comments (62)
State of The Union
I honestly can not recall a State of the Union address which has received less hype, and to be honest, I can’t think of one I care less about. No amount of Bush bumbling through a speech written by other people will change my mind- Bush, through his actions and incompetence, have defined his Presidency already. This man and his group of crooks and frauds ruined the GOP, and have done what they can to screw up the country.
I guess I have a well-developed case of Bush Derangement Syndrome, and Bush himself gave it to me. I doubt I will even watch tonight.
Open Thread
More Ryan Leech. Warning: if you try anything like this fate will break your leg and laugh at you.
Obama’s Momentum
I am sitting here watching Morning Joe, and I can’t help but think from the coverage that the Obama campaign is gaining a great deal of momentum. As it is right now, I have a sort of feeling of inevitability regarding the Hillary campaign. She has the super-delegates, she leads in the big states, she leads nationally, she is the establishment candidate, she has the machine and the money and knows not only where the bodies are buried but why. Hell, when the news of the Rezko arrest this morning came across the wire, the first thing I thought was “How convenient for Hillary.”
But watching the coverage this morning, I can’t help but feel that maybe the Obama campaign is reaching a sort of critical mass. A crushing win in South Carolina. Not one, but two Kennedy endorsements. Toni Morrison. Kathleen Sebelius.
Obama is running a momentum campaign, which is why people like me say things like “pretty thin gruel” when we listen to him speak. This isn’t so much a political campaign as it is a movement (which, again, explains my natural revulsion- remember, I’m the guy who hates crowds), and it is hard to not feel like, at least for right now, the movement is gaining the momentum it needs. While the Clinton campaign is about organization, brute political force, and calculating every minute detail and working the system for every ounce of advantage, the Obama campaign is going to rely on a tidal wave of support to sweep them to victory. For the first time, I see a wave beginning to form.
In Soviet Russia, Irony Picks Up You
After years of hectoring from the west about its less-than-perfect devotion to American-style democracy, Russian President Vladimir Putin will respond in his own special way.
MOSCOW — A new Russian-backed think tank is being set up to publicly critique the state of U.S. and European democracy as Moscow goes on the offensive to counter what it views as unjustified Western criticism of its own political system.
A prominent lawyer says President Vladimir Putin endorsed his plan to open monitoring offices in New York and Paris to study the U.S. and French political systems and recommend improvements.
So what kind of advice can we expect from our new Russian watchdogs? Let’s see how they do it in Vodka country.
MOSCOW — The Russian government on Sunday denied an opposition leader’s application to appear on the March 2 presidential ballot, clearing a path for the Kremlin’s favorite candidate to run all but unchallenged.
Even if the opposition leader, Mikhail M. Kasyanov, stayed on the ballot he would face an uphill fight. The Russian state controls virtually all broadcast and print media and oversees the remainder by making an example of reporters who step out of line. Thus:
Mr. Kasyanov, a former Kremlin insider who has become a critic of the centralization of power and official corruption under President Vladimir V. Putin, had not been expected to campaign on an even footing against Dmitri A. Medvedev, the Kremlin’s candidate. Mr. Putin, who is nearing the end of his second term, is not permitted to run again under Russian law.)
Mr. Medvedev, a first deputy prime minister, has been receiving fawning coverage each day on the broadcasts of national television stations, which are state-controlled. With the backing of the Kremlin, the government and Russia’s largest political party — all led by Mr. Putin — Mr. Medvedev’s campaign has nearly bottomless resources.
Imagine the snappy report covers. Everything I Need To Know In Life I Learned At The KGB. Leadership Secrets Of Leonid Brezhnev. Reduce Your Press Freedoms In Fifteen Days. Better Living Through Oligarchy.
Then again, in recent years American democracy has become a target-rich environment. If the rooskis have an idea how we can prevent another one one of those no-precedent Supreme Court Decisions that grants equal protection to exactly one guy (work that out in your head), I’m all ears.
In Soviet Russia, Irony Picks Up <em>You</em>Post + Comments (17)