Kat with a K

I love Rep. Weiner.

I know I'm a little late on this, but if you haven't watched Rep. Anthony Weiner's sarcastic rant about defunding NPR, you really should:

Bradley Whitford Rallies Workers in WI

God, I love this man.

The Dream Shall Never Die

I can't believe it's been a year already. I also can't believe it's only been a year.

"For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end.
For all those whose cares have been our concern,
the work goes on,
the cause endures,
the hope still lives,
and the dream shall never die."

Let NH vote?

Signs from the group Let NH Vote have been popping up around town. They use slogans like "Support Democracy" and "Let the Voters Vote" to promote the idea that same-sex marriage should be put on the ballot. (It was legalized by the legislature here last year.) If you read past the first page of their site, it's easy to see that what they actually want is for same-sex marriage to be outlawed, not just to have a vote on it and go either way. I disagree with this, obviously, and I think I disagree that this should be voted on at all, but that's not why I'm bringing it up.

What actually interested me here is the marketing. One of their signs features the slogan "Don't Be Intolerant." It's pretty clever of them to use an argument that those on the opposite side of the debate uses against them in order to get support. They know that they already have the support of those who are against same-sex marriage. Presumably they're hoping that those who support same-sex marriage will see these liberal-looking signs, just look at the (pretty neutral) front page of their Web site, and decide to support the call for a ballot question. Not a bad strategy.

Demon Sheep!

This may be the weirdest political ad I've ever seen:

Would any of my conservative Californian readers like to weigh in?

Colbert vs. Harold Ford

Classic.

Aside from all the obvious issues that have already been discussed with this candidacy...

1. If you're going to use NC-17 movies as part of your argument for parental notification for abortion, you might want to actually learn the term "NC-17" and not call them "NR-17."
2. Oh, this is where the hubbub about Ford referring to Gillibrand as a "young lady" came from. (Well, unless he did it somewhere else too.) That did just come across as ridiculous, and I checked and she is in fact older than he is.
3. He walked right into Colbert's bit about not liking the President. I guess that could go well or poorly for him, depending.
4. He hasn't voted in New York? Really? That just seems dumb. He had to know he'd get that question, probably many times. Find some election and vote in it! Is he registered in NYC? Didn't they just have a mayoral election? Does anyone know whether he took a public stand for or against Bloomberg?

Happy Primary Season!

Today is the day of the Illinois primaries, so the 2010 election season has officially begun. Wondering when your state's primary is? Check here.

State of the Union Reactions

First: I thought it was a good speech. Not mind-blowing, not earth-shaking, but really good. There were more laugh lines than I'd expected, I think. I like how the tone was a little sarcastic and cynical at times, because I think too much rosy optimism would have just seemed out of touch. I liked the emphasis on hard work. I was especially happy that getting rid of Don't Ask, Don't Tell made it in. Overall, the tone brought to mind the best-ever LOLObama:

Now: reactions some of my favorite bloggers and journalists!

The American Prospect: A Nod To Conservatism, A Case For Liberalism by Adam Serwer
The Daily Beast: Brilliant Speeches Only Get You So Far by Matt Yglesias
Ezra Klein: Just the Policy and A good speech that needs a good follow-through
FiveThirtyEight: Did the Speech Work? by Tom Schaller and Clintonian, in a Good Way by Nate Silver
The Fix's First Thoughts
Slate: Obama 2.0 by John Dickerson and How the Television Pundits Covered Obama's Big Speech by Troy Patterson
Ta-Nehisi Coates: I Just Remembered Chris Matthews Was White
Washington Independent: Defense Analysts Blast Military Exemption to Spending Freeze by Spencer Ackerman

Yes, I'm writing about John Edwards.

I wasn't going to post about Edwards, because I don't think I have anything particularly new and interesting to say about the matter. But Eric Alterman just can't hate John Edwards, and I think he makes some good points. I don't think Edwards is necessarily worse than a lot of other politicians. I mean - Mark Sanford. Have we forgotten about that already?

The Edwards story bothers me in a way the others don't, of course, because I was more invested in the campaign. I gave a little money but many, many hours of time. The timing of the whole thing didn't really register with me until last night, when I had dinner with another former Edwards volunteer. I told her about the rumored sex tape. "Wait," she said. "You mean, while we were spending our evenings sitting in that office making phone calls for him, then, he was making a sex tape?" Yes, more or less. That's why this one stings.

Edwards always seemed vaguely slimy, but I honestly preferred his policy positions in the primary. Of course, in retrospect, thank God he didn't get the nomination. If he had and this had come out during the campaign, McCain would be president now. And what if it hadn't come out during the campaign, and he had won, and then the news broke? I literally cannot imagine the chaos that would have occurred then. And I still think that the most baffling part of the whole thing is how these politicians - or any famous people, really - can do this sort of thing and think they won't get caught. Unbelievable.

State of the Union Coverage

Liveblogs:
Ana Marie Cox at GQ
PostBourgie
44 (Washington Post)
Daniel Drezner (Foreign Policy)
Jezebel

Twitter:
@thehyperfix (Chris Cillizza)
@dceiver (Jason Linkins)

Plus a drinking game! And bingo!

Goodbye, Air America . . .

Oh, no. Air America is no more. I will admit that I didn't listen as often as I should have - I know! I'm the problem! - but I was a faithful reader of the Web site. And - dudes, remember when now-Sen. Franken was a radio personality? And Rachel Maddow was this new person no one had ever heard of, other than us Berkshires types who listened to WRSI? They were part of what led us out of the wilderness, Franken and Maddow and the rest of Air America. And more recently, Air America was the home of two of my favorite journalists, Megan Carpentier and Ana Marie Cox. So. Anyone hiring? Hire them, please.

So. Scott Brown. Now what?

(Yes, this is my refrigerator. The bumper sticker sized magnet was a Christmas gift, and I find it both delightful and inexplicably hilarious, partially because the friend who gave it to me lives in Texas and found it there.)

Like many liberals, I'm extremely sad about Coakley's loss last night. It's not that I like Coakley, specifically. I don't. But I believe that universal health care is the most important issue of our time, and Scott Brown says he will do whatever he can to block it. So. In addition, I will admit that the idea of a Republican in Teddy Kennedy's seat just - I don't know, it somehow shifts my general worldview, and I think we all need to take a little time out to accept it.

What we don't need to do is panic. That will not help anything. Democrats still have a huge majority in both houses, and this one loss doesn't mean doom. As an almost-local (I live in NH, but in the Boston media market) I have to say that I honestly believe that practically any other candidate would have won this for the Democrats. Coakley made a series of almost unbelievably stupid mistakes, including misspelling "Massachusetts" in one of her ads. And even aside from the mistakes, she was just - blah. She barely campaigned. She said she didn't want to stand outside in the cold shaking hands. What??

So, as I said, no panicking. So, then, what? This is the best I came up with: as soon as the race was called for Brown, I signed up to volunteer for Paul Hodes' Senate campaign. Then I donated to the New Hampshire Democratic Party. That seemed like the only reasonable response. Then I tossed and turned and basically got no sleep all night (although I'm not sure that's related) and then got up and made cupcakes at 5am. Which, frankly, also seemed like a totally reasonable response.

(Not) on Bradley Whitford's mustache

The TCA press tour has been going on this week, and I have been endlessly amused that one of the big stories coming out of it was that Bradley Whitford (aka the most attractive man on the planet) has - gasp - grown a mustache for his new show, Code 58. Really, it's a much bigger story than I thought it would be. The Washington Post wrote about it. And NPR. And the Hartford Courant. Etc. I mean - real news sources, not just fangirls on LiveJournal.

But speaking of the fangirls - a lot of Whitford's fans are extremely upset by the mustache. And I just don't quite get it. I mean, sure, I probably wouldn't CHOOSE for him to have it if it were up to me. But I certainly don't think it makes him unattractive. (I saw some video of him speaking somewhere with the mustache AND glasses, and I have to say that that look was kind of hot.) I did, though, have a moment of contemplation about whether I would be able to call him the hottest man on TV when the new show starts in May, given the mustache and the rather large number of other hot men on TV right now: Nathan Fillion. David Boreanaz. Ed Westwick. Matthew Morrison. Simon Baker.

So I thought about it for a minute, and then I realized - wait, YES. Because, sure, there's the mustache, and he's a fair amount older than most of those other guys. But is that what really matters? No. So. A short list of reasons why Bradley Whitford will still be the hottest man on TV:

1. He wrote this, and this, and this.
2. He cofounded Clothes Off Our Back and is on the board of the Alliance for Justice, and is involved with Heifer International and Hopenhagen.
3. He campaigned for President Obama, and Rahm Emanuel, and John Kerry, among others.
4. He has kept the details of his divorce private and his children out of the spotlight.
5. On CNN, when asked whether he thought some recent controversial TV moment had been "obscene," he said "I'm sorry, but why is our definition of 'obscene' sexuality, as opposed to, I don't know, unnecessary violence, uninsured children, 18,000 people who die every year because they don't have health care?"
6. Because he is who he is, someone at TCA asked him about the health care reform bill out of the blue, and he thinks it should pass.

So - really, what was I thinking? OF COURSE he's the hottest man on TV, regardless of facial hair.

Edited to add: No offense intended to fangirls on LiveJournal. I am one myself. I just meant that I thought it would be more of a niche story.

Bloggers! On the TV!

Two of my favorite bloggers were on MSNBC last night. Here's Ezra Klein on various Congress-related things:

And Spencer Ackerman on how there really aren't all that many troops to send to Afghanistan:

The Dream Shall Never Die

"For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end.
For all those whose cares have been our concern,
the work goes on,
the cause endures,
the hope still lives,
and the dream shall never die."

Rest in peace, Senator Kennedy.

Happy Independence Day!

Too Awesome for Words

Some words for Palm Sunday . . .

Bradley Whitford:

Declaring oneself a Christian is easy. Putting Christian values to work in a dangerous and violent world is not.

Perhaps the best response to the tragedy of 9/11 was a preemptive war against a country that had nothing to do with the attacks. Tens of thousands of deaths later, perhaps it is still the right decision.

But it is not Christian.

Perhaps it is good economics to give me, an actor on a television show, over a quarter of a million dollars in tax relief over the last five years as the poverty rate climbs, as we burden our children with structural budget deficits and cut services for our most vulnerable citizens.

But it is not Christian.

Perhaps the death penalty is an acceptable way to punish criminals.

But it is not Christian.

Jesus Christ was the Prince of Peace, not the Prince of Preemptive War. He was an advocate for the poor, not of supply-side economics. And let's not forget that Jesus himself died in a bogus death-penalty rap. His was the original "bleeding heart," yet I am afraid he would be described pejoratively by many today as a "do-gooder."

It's so awesome, I have no words...

New York Times endorses Obama

Yesterday, actually. I'm guessing it didn't make much of a splash because many people had the same reaction as I did: "Oh, really? They hadn't already? Huh." But remember - in the primaries they endorsed McCain and Clinton. Of course, now McCain's campaign is claiming that the Times is not in fact a news organization, so really, no surprise here.

Scott McClellan endorses Obama.

Wow. Story here. I know I shouldn't be surprised, but somehow I am.

Follow-Up to My Voter Fraud Question

Thanks for the input. Rachel and Carrie, I get what you're saying - I know that there is worry that Mickey Mouse or whomever will somehow vote. What I was trying to figure out was whether there had been studies or reporting done on whether this actually happens, and to what extent. And, by the way, Carrie, I'm with Eliz - don't need ID at the polls. I think it's a state law, at least here. New Hampshire does not require ID to vote (but does to register). We also can register at the polls on election day, which is something I think would solve a lot of problems if it were made universal. But I remember needing ID in CT.

Anyway, my point here was to show you this Politics of Voter Fraud report. (Warning: PDF.) I haven't read the whole thing yet, but it looks like it will address a lot of the things I was thinking about.

(Oh, and hey look! Here's what my ballot will look like. [PDF])

Poll Closing Times

Trying to plan out your election night? Here's when the polls close. Honestly, though, I'm unfamiliar with this site (about to do some more research) so I can't necessarily vouch for it. I'm linking to it because it had the best layout I could find. Also, it says parts of Florida are in central time? Seriously? I had no idea!

Question about ACORN/Fraudulent Registration

I understand that voter registration groups like ACORN end up registering some fake names (Mickey Mouse) or reregistering people who are already registered. As Yglesias says here, it would be pretty much impossible to have a large number of voter registrations without a few fake forms. But what I want to know is whether said fake registrations actually lead to voting fraud. Are people actually showing up and identifying themselves as Mickey Mouse and trying to vote? Does anyone have links/evidence in either direction? Thanks!

Obama-Biden Tax Calculator

Check how your taxes would change under Obama's tax plan.

New Obama Economy Plan

Just unveiled: Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Rescue Plan for the Middle Class.

I've always liked Huckabee.

From NPR/AP:

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a McCain supporter, said the Republican made a "huge mistake" by even discussing canceling the debate.

"You can't just say, 'World, stop for a moment. I'm going to cancel everything,'" Huckabee told reporters Thursday night in Alabama before attending a benefit for the University of Mobile. He said it's more important for voters to hear from the presidential candidates than for them to huddle with fellow senators in Washington.

The debate is on.

From Cillizza's chat:

washingtonpost.com: The debate is on! A statement just in from McCain's campaign: "Senator McCain has spent the morning talking to members of the Administration, members of the Senate, and members of the House. He is optimistic that there has been significant progress toward a bipartisan agreement now that there is a framework for all parties to be represented in negotiations, including Representative Blunt as a designated negotiator for House Republicans. The McCain campaign is resuming all activities and the Senator will travel to the debate this afternoon. Following the debate, he will return to Washington to ensure that all voices and interests are represented in the final agreement, especially those of taxpayers and homeowners."

At the moment, I am so freaking irritated by this whole stupid stunt that I cannot come up with anything coherent to say.

What does McCain mean by "suspending"?

Yglesias asks exactly what I've been wondering. Also, people keep saying McCain is "suspending his campaign," but doesn't that mean something completely different? Isn't that what Romney and Edwards, among others, did? Isn't he "suspending campaigning"?

The best thing I've read about the election in quite a while.

Obama gets advice from Jed Bartlet. No, really.

Wheee!

Got my ticket to see Biden tomorrow! Yay!!

Oh, and if you have a primary today, don't forget to vote!

McCain's Speech

Okay, that's what I meant. McCain's speech was moving, and certainly celebrated himself, his party, and his goals, but he also showed respect for the other side. And his tone was kinder and more... decent? honorable? .... than that of most of the other speakers I saw this week. I still disagree with him on the issues, of course, but I respect him as a person and a war hero. That's the distinction I was trying to draw in my previous post, between speeches like this and the sarcasm and nastiness of Giuliani, Palin, and others.

On Sarah Palin's Speech (and a few others from last night)

So, what did we think?

When she was talking about her family, I was thinking "Hm, she's not so bad. Don't think I'd want her in charge of the country, but she seems like she could be fun to hang out with, or watch on TV." That's pretty much how I feel about Mike Huckabee too, actually. I was feeling fairly positive about it all during that section.

But then she got to the second part of the speech, and all that warm fuzzy feeling went away. My overwhelming feeling was "Wow, she's so mean. And nasty. And disrespectful." Yes, the Democrats said some negative things about the Republicans last week, but I honestly don't think they were as nasty and petty and sarcastic and spiteful about it as the Republicans are being this week. They showed respect for McCain's service and for other accomplishments. The entire Republican strategy seems to be to hurl every random (true or untrue) insult they can think of. Don't they have any better ideas?

Random questions/thoughts: When did "community organizer" become a bad thing? And did she ever actually describe what she did as mayor, after the community organizer laugh line? How many hockey moms are there? It's lucky she was in Minnesota and not somewhere less ice-friendly. Why did they keep passing that poor baby around? The kids? Totally adorable. McCain on stage with the Palins really looked weird generationally - like the slightly dotty old great-uncle who sits in the corner. That effect was much more pronounced than when the Bidens and Obamas were together - maybe because the multitudinous Biden clan evened out the generational stuff. Wait, why don't we ever see McCain's grandkids? Will they be there tonight?

I thought Huckabee was fun to listen to, as always. He at least seems earnest and genuine, and therefore I respect him even when I disagree with him. And he was the only speaker who seemed to have any respect for Obama or his historic accomplishments. Romney and Giuliani both made me want to throw things. They were both whiny, and Giuliani really seems like a bully. Really, it's kind of hilarious that the former governor of Massachusetts hates all the "eastern elites" and the former mayor of New York is all anti-"cosmopolitan" places. Do people actually buy into this? I just don't get it. Oh, and I still don't get what the big deal is about Carly Fiorina - before this, wasn't she primarily known for running HP into the ground? Why is she a good example?

"I just don't get it" might be a good summary of my reaction to all of it, actually. Time after time, I found myself asking myself (and the poor friends receiving my many e-mails and IMs) whether people (not necessarily the speakers, but the intended audience) actually believed that these things they're saying are true. I just... can't conceive of it. A lot of it was like, oh, when I try to read French, even though I never studied it, but based on my knowledge of Latin and Spanish and Italian. I could get the gist, but it just didn't quite make sense. Statements being presented as causal seemed completely unrelated.

Okay, here's an example of something that just seemed absurd. Palin said that one of the things Obama seeks to accomplish is "to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world." If she had said that his other goals would have that effect, then okay, she could make an argument, and I probably wouldn't agree with it, but I could understand it as a point of view. But no. She said that that, in itself, was his goal. As in, he wakes up in the morning and thinks "Now, what can I do to make America weaker today?" Do people really believe this? That's not entirely rhetorical. If any of you do believe this, please say so. I want to understand. It's driving me crazy.

As I said, I just don't get it. I've never really bought into the whole red/blue America, two different countries, blah blah blah thing. I believe things are more mixed, more complicated, more nuanced. But after last night I'm wondering if that was just me being idealistic. Because my Republican friends (friends! people with whom I have a lot in common, in many cases!) found last week's speeches as incomprehensible as I found last night's, maybe the country really is more impossibly - and irreparably - divided than I ever wanted to believe.

Fact-checking Huckabee's Statement on Palin and Biden Vote Totals

Huckabee said: "Palin got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States." (Taken from NPR Politics Twitter feed.)

Palin got 651 votes when she became mayor of Wasilla in 1996. (Warning, that's a PDF.)

Yes, Biden dropped out after Iowa, but he was still on the ballot. He got 638 votes in New Hampshire and 2863 in Delaware. 693 in South Carolina. I stopped looking at that point, because it's clear that Huckabee was just wrong. (Unless, possibly, he's counting each time she ran for mayor. I'll do more checking about that.)

Update: The other time she ran for mayor, she got 909 votes. (PDF.) Still less than Biden in just those three states.

A quick who's who...

The Palin and McCain families thoughtfully lined up for a picture to help us figure out who's who.

Quick Sarah Palin Catch Up

I was completely out of the news loop over the long weekend, as I suspect many people were. Here's a list of Sarah Palin news that came out over the past few days, for those wanting to catch up.

The first and last thing I will post about Bristol Palin*: everyone should leave her alone, as she didn't choose to have her private life thrust onto the national stage. And I hope she wasn't unduly pressured to make the decisions that would be least harmful to her mother's campaign.

Oh, and I will point out that Mary Cheney is the daughter of the Republican vice president and an unwed mother. But her father's party's platform is actively opposed to letting her get married. So. Just saying.

Edited to add: As far as the various conspiracy theories: Sarah Palin looked pregnant before Trig was born.

* Okay, I lie. I love wedding pictures and baby pictures and will undoubtedly post links to those, if they eventually surface. And... oh, probably other stuff. But this is the only thing I'll say about this "news/issue."

First thoughts on Sarah Palin

It's official: McCain has selected Palin. I don't know a lot about her, but I'm trying to do some reading now. My first impression is that I disagree with her on a lot of issues, but kinda like her as a person. My main worry is that I have not yet found any previous statements from her on foreign policy, and at this point it will be difficult to tell what she actually thinks vs. what McCain is telling her to say. And that makes me nervous.

I'm very conflicted about one thing: I can't help but have a gut feeling that it's just WRONG to ask the mother of a special needs infant to take on such a demanding and time-consuming job. (Sure, she could have said no, but what would that do to her future career opportunities?) But at the same time, I would never ever want a woman disqualified from consideration for a job because she's a mother. So. I don't know.

Anyone have opinions on Palin, pro or con?

The text of Obama's speech...

Just in case anyone missed it or wanted to check anything, here it is.

McCain VP pick?

People I trust are saying it's Palin.

Update: CNN and other major news sources have it now too.

So...

What did you think of the speech last night? I liked it a lot, but don't really have all that much to say about it at the moment - mostly because I'm exhausted. Olympics + Conventions back to back = very little sleep for us news junkies.

Anyone else?

What I want to know most about the DNC...

WHO decided that "Addicted to Love" should be Bill Clinton's exit music? Seriously! A lot of the musical choices over the week have been bizarre, to say the least, but that was completely ridiculous.

An historic moment

Obama is nominated by acclamation. Clinton made the motion. I'm sort of in shock. I really didn't quite believe this would happen. Amazing.

Yay!!!!!!!!

I cannot even tell you how excited I am about the selection of Joe Biden. Wheeeeeee.

VP Vigil

Is anyone else going absolutely crazy waiting for their Obama text? At this point, I know it will probably be tomorrow (although there were rumors that it would be between 8 and 10 tonight), but still...

Hilarious Obama video

This is great:

I really didn't want this to be true.

Edwards admits it. Well, some of it.

Chaos on House Floor

The Democrats have adjourned and turned off the lights and microphones, but the Republicans are still talking, trying to force a vote on oil drilling. Follow on Twitter: Hoekstra and Culberson. And some video... from Culberson's phone, maybe? Wow.

What's on Obama's iPod?

Now we know. More Rolling Stone coverage.

Morning giggle

Rumors Barack Obama's campaign shouldn't try to correct. (Hat tip: John Dickerson.)

All good news, all the time

Need a pick-me-up? Read this alternate reality Google News page. (Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan.)

Yay Al Gore!

Not a surprise or anything, but still nice to see: Gore is finally endorsing.

Our long national nightmare is over...

I know it was widely reported last night that Clinton is finally bowing out, but I didn't let myself quite believe it until I got the actual e-mail from the Clinton campaign to supporters, stating that she will endorse Obama on Saturday. (It came in at about 3am.) Hooray!!!

Wheeee!

CNN projects Obama clinches nomination. Part of me can't believe it's actually happening!

AP calls it!

AP Tally: Obama effectively clinches nomination.

Wheeeee!

Politics Links (6/2)

A hilarious take on Obama's VP options

Attention Malkin: Nazis wore pants.

Yes, Virginia, there will be more female candidates in the near future.

"Elitist" Tag Knocks Education

Obama plays Taboo with traveling press corps.

Obama shoes? Interesting.

Yay!!!!!

Edwards endorses Obama!

Politics Links (5/9)

I mostly like this because it uses the phrase "mirabile dictu:" If Barack Obama is out of touch with America, is the media too? Actually, it's more interesting than it sounds. Generational stuff, mostly.

John and Elizabeth Edwards. Speaking out. Or something. In People, of all places.

CNN calls Hillary an alien. Well, sort of.

Pelosi has an interesting version of optimism.

Did Edwards slip and admit who he voted for?

Politics Links (5/7)

Here's a nice example of the difference between Obama and Clinton: "The bill for 15 slices . . . came to $26.95. . . . The Democratic presidential candidate handed out plates to patrons and several reporters after paying the bill with cash. He stuffed a $10 bill in the tip cup." He paid in cash, rather than having outstanding bills with small businesses for months! AND he tipped! Really well! Taking notes, Hillary?

My friend Jack tips us off to this nifty interactive electoral college map.

John Kerry wants an investigation of the Pentagon pundit problem.

How to Lose an Election 101

George McGovern switches his support to Obama and calls for Clinton to drop out. The start of a trend?

Huh. Apparently the pick-up basketball game Obama played at UNC broke all sorts of rules. But the NCAA is letting it go. Yay.

A wistful Joe Trippi on what he should have told Edwards back in January.

Did anyone hear about a potential Obama/Clinton debt deal?

One of the news stations I was watching last night - either CNN or MSNBC - was talking about rumors of a deal involving Obama paying off Clinton's debt in return for Clinton getting out of the race. Or something. Has anyone read about this? I'm having trouble figuring out how to search for it, because all the terms I'm coming up with are quite common and show up in tons of news stories.

Politics Links (5/6)

While we're waiting for results...

Tom Hanks endorses Obama

Clinton and the white racist vote

Sullivan contemplates an Obama-Clinton ticket.

Talk about a close margin...

Yesterday, Obama won Guam by SEVEN VOTES. Wow. I love how the Times still refers to them as "Mr. Obama, of Illinois" and "Mrs. Clinton, of New York" in pretty much every story. It's kind of cute.

Politics Links (5/2)

The Telegraph (UK) publishes a list of the 50 most influential US political pundits.

The Nation has an interesting point about the different sections of the race, both chronologically and the parallel electoral/superdelegate races.

Battling to Be the Next Secretary of State

Time has an interesting profile of Harold Ickes.

Politics Links (5/1)

This metaphor is really convoluted, but interesting: If a candidate's campaign plane symbolizes that candidate, and those planes are movies, and the movies are set in junior high cafeterias, who's in which clique?

Open letter to Michelle Obama: Can Barack please have a cigarette?

Joe Andrew (former DNC chairman) switches to Obama. And then his Wikipedia page is hijacked.

Can Obama resurrect real conservatism?

Apparently McCain circumvented campaign finance legislation he himself backed by using his wife's corporate jet.

South Dakota is trying to ban abortion. Again.

The campaign has made it to North Carolina, but Edwards probably still won't endorse.

Politics Links (4/29)

Obama denounces Wright. (I think the word "denounce" needs to go away for a while, don't you? I'm kind of sick of it.)

Everyone's favorite pretend president, Martin Sheen, endorses Obama.

Edwards supporters are switching to Obama. Will Edwards himself?

Andrew Sullivan on Clinton and her frenemies.

The "Billification" of Hillary's campaign. They say he's helping more than hurting, but given enough time, he'll surely say something completely self-destructive, right?

Politics Links (4/28)

Not that this is really a surprise, but Gail Collins reminds us that John McCain is not good for women. And Frank Rich reminds us that lots of Republicans really don't like McCain.

Elizabeth Edwards writes for the Times about how the media is messing up the race.

Politics Links (4/25)

Quote of the Day:
“How many debates did you have to have? None? That sounds good.”
Barack Obama discusses elections with a ten-year-old boy who had just become class president. NPR, April 19th, quoted in The Economist

Roger Simon: Don't stop believin', Hillary. Hysterical.

Huckabee has a new book coming out in November.

How will the candidates deal with Indiana's unusual blend of demographics?

Gail Collins on - well, I'm not sure how to summarize it, actually, but it was good.

High school class president and VP are suspended for cutting class to see Obama - even though Obama himself wrote them excuse notes. No, really.

We know Clinton won't quit. Should Obama drop out? I don't really think so, obviously, but it's an interesting theory.

An Obama-Clinton Decision Tree. Nifty.

Yet another reason to like him: Obama adds "gay and straight" to the groups he wants to bring together.

Obama's coming out with a major new voter registration initiative.

Politics Links (4/23)

Quote of the Day:
"I condemn remarks that are, in any way, viewed as anti-anything." - John McCain, on This Week

The Times, like the rest of us, is sick of the negative campaigning. I wonder if they're regretting their Clinton endorsement?

It seems Abercrombie and Fitch kids like Obama.

I just don't understand how people can believe things like this.

The Times has a profile of John King and his wonderful map.

Nixon's daughter (also a member of the Eisenhower family) supports Obama. I'm not sure if that helps or hurts, really...

The governor of Oklahoma backs Obama. So does Charlie Wilson.

Maureen Dowd: "Or is he simply scared of Hillary because she’s scary?" It's a good column.

Liveblogging the PA Results

10:02: Okay, nothing's really happening, so I'm headed for bed. I know the candidates will be speaking eventually, but I'm tired, and it's not like what they say won't be replayed a million times tomorrow.

9:25: Wolf is asking Casey why Obama couldn't win PA by outspending Clinton. Of course, he doesn't mention that Clinton started out way, way ahead. argh.

9:16: A little distraction: How will the candidates look in four years?

9:13: Can we please stop saying that Obama losing a given state/county/whatever to Clinton means that he would also lose it to McCain? That just does not make any sense.

9:04: Aaaaand now CNN has called it too. Bah!

8:59: I understand that everything related to the Democrats needs to be blue, but it seems like we could use some other color for situations like this instead of coloring everything light blue and dark blue. In other news, CNN seems to be less about people yelling at each other than MSNBC is, at least at the moment.

8:55: Have I mentioned how much I love John King and his bloopy map? CNN has it at 53-47 now, and is threatening to call it soon.

8:51: Switched to CNN. They haven't called it yet.

8:49: Bah! MSNBC just called it.

8:47: The MSNBC lady just said "Both Clinton and Obama have faced attacks on major qualities. For Clinton, it's that she's not honest or trustworthy. For Obama, it's that he's elitist." (That's not verbatim, but those were the "major qualities" she said.) I just don't understand how elitism could be seen as in any way as bad as dishonesty and untrustworthiness.

8:45: Why is it that all of the TV news people are so obnoxious?

8:34: Darn it! They just switched from "too close to call" to "too early to call," and Clinton has a 65-35 lead. Among the, you know, 2000 votes they have so far.

8:16: Considering how many states they've called right when the polls closed, and the margin Clinton was supposed to have, it has to be a good thing that they're saying it's too close to call, right?

Politics Links (4/21)

Thomas Frank gets at the real issues of "elitism".

Obama reminds Clinton that Gore won.

Andrew Sullivan on what Pennsylvania will say about tactics.

A profile of the 25 Dean appointees to the Credentials Committee.

Politics Links (4/18)

I have to admit that I didn't watch the debate the other night. I just couldn't take it. I opted for watching Miss Marple and knitting and drinking tea instead, and I think it was much more relaxing. But anyway, some good takes on the debate for those of us needed to catch up: Gail Collins, Andrew Sullivan, The Telegraph (UK). And here's Obama's own take.

Do latte drinkers and Prius drivers really prefer Obama?

Women in politics: getting more fashion options. (I don't like the line about librarians at the end, though.)

Another feature of long campaigns: More campaign romances.

A profile of Cindy McCain makes me like her a lot better than I like her husband.

It seems there's a Clinton aide devoted to managing and protecting Chelsea. I agree with the Jezebel people that it kind of sounds like he has a crush on her.

A small request

Can we stop calling everything that even vaguely resembles a political scandal "blahblah-gate" now, please?

Politics Links (4/16)

Rendell is a new sort of political host and promoter for Clinton in Pennsylvania.

Huckabee's big announcement? Not so exciting, IMHO.

Warren Harding: The real first black president?

How much does Clinton owe Penn?

Apparently McCain's site lifted their "family recipes" from the Food Network.

Roman Catholics for Obama. Just in time for the pope's visit.

Apparently pollsters have decided that what we eat correlates to our political choices. Hm.

Why isn't Obama "too pretty"?

I'm sure we all remember the ridiculous argument that John Edwards was "too pretty" to be President. Recently, I've been wondering why those same charges haven't been leveled against Obama. He's a strikingly handsome man, and younger than Edwards, to boot. (In some pictures from around his law school days, he practically looks like a model.) So why aren't we being told that Obama, like Edwards, is too pretty to be President? (What the heck that even means is another question.) A friend and I discussed this over dinner the other night (mmm, broccoli with spicy garlic sauce) and came up with a few possibilities:

1. Obama's detractors just haven't needed to mention his prettiness, since they're already accusing him of being a Muslim/racist/atheist/Marxist/socialist/whatever it is today. There are more easy (if false) targets with Obama than Edwards.
2. It's not just an issue of looks, but of seeming to care about said looks. So far as I know, there haven't been any big things about expensive haircuts with Obama as there were with Edwards.
3. I just have weird taste, and Obama isn't as good-looking as I think he is. (I'm sort of amused that this suggestion came from someone I used to date.)
4. The sorts of people who are likely to hold something like "too pretty" against a candidate in the first place just wouldn't think to use that term to describe a black man.

Are we on the right track? Any other ideas?

EDIT: Consensus (at least among people named C/Kate...) seems to be that I'm just nuts. Although - hmm. I think my thinking was not necessarily that he's ridiculously handsome or anything, but that I don't see how Edwards is more "conventionally good-looking" than Obama. Because I think (just off the top of my head) that Obama has more regular features, and Edwards is sort of squinty, and his hair is floppy. Hm.

Politics Links (4/14)

Mike Huckabee has... something... coming soon.

Does Obama's international popularity hurt him?

Nora Ephron on Hillary Clinton

The Clintons? Proud of themselves, and each other.

A Non-Executive Decision

Are people really backing Obama because their kids say so? Hm.

Politico has picked the 50 greatest political moments of the past 50 years.

McCain and faith. It seems like an interesting shift that the Republican candidate is talking about religion a lot less than either Democrat this year.

Politics Links (4/8)

Mark Penn resigns under pressure.

Clinton calls for a boycott of the Olympics Opening Ceremonies.

The evolution of torture in the Bush administration.

Is there anyone who actually could convince Clinton to drop out? Is there any chance she will?

Guide to Undecided Superdelegates

Politics Links (4/5)

The Clintons finally release their tax returns. Summary: They got really really rich.

The World According to John McCain Foreign policy, temper, emotion, and Joe Lieberman... an interesting mix. Plus, did you know Gary Hart was an usher at McCain's wedding?

Does Pennsylvania have a particular problem with electing women and minorities? If they did, would so many people be registering as new Democratic voters? Hmmmm.

A look at what Samantha Power is doing now. Hint: She's still really busy.

McCain: Really bad at giving speeches.

Politics Links (4/4)

Get your Whedon for President bumper sticker! And while we're at it, here's Adama for President.

Politico has a guide to the undecided superdelegates.

Caucusing elephants. No, really.

Elizabeth Edwards has taken a visiting fellowship at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Obama wants Gore to work in his administration.

Carter hints at supporting Obama.

Edwards rules out another VP run. Which we pretty much all figured. But at the end of that article, there's what some of us would like to read as a teeny tiny hint that he supports Obama. (Or that gender biases are very entrenched in political language. Whatever.)

Okay, this article about a supplier of arms for Afghanistan is just... bizarre. And, like all good political stories these days, involves prostitutes.

Interesting profile of McCain, set during the NH primary and Super Tuesday. Wow, he really hates Romney.

Politics Links (4/3)

All the fun is going on in the campaign, and no one likes Bush anyway, so White House reporters are bored.

Pennsylvania voters feel neglected.

So much for universal health care - Clinton didn't bother paying the bills for her employees' health insurance. No coverage was interrupted, but still...

Obama event at Penn? Nope, it's an April Fool's joke.

Some unconventional (and amusing!) ideas for wooing superdelegates.

NPR's Political Junkie has the first in a series on McCain's VP options.

Politics Links (4/2)

Richardson responds to Carville's attacks. A must-read.

There's a lot of talk recently about Catholics becoming "the new Evangelicals" in a political sense, whatever that's supposed to mean. Most of it is centered on the Democratic race, but here's one about McCain pandering to courting Catholic voters.

Bosnia's former president discusses Hillary Clinton's visit. He agrees with now-conventional wisdom on the basics - no sniper fire - but does support Clinton's assertion that there were worries of danger.

Dean is going to meet with Florida people tomorrow. Should be interesting... And here's a joint statement from Florida and the DNC.

Politics Links (4/1)

Articles like this one are really driving me crazy. Yes, I think Clinton should get out of the race! But no, it's not because she's a woman! It's because she's losing! And because she keeps lying! Gah.

Clinton adopts Rocky theme song. Didn't anyone tell her that Colbert totally claimed that as his theme song for PA?

An historical look at the U.S. and torture.

The Campaign Season of Taking Offense I think it's a good point that one of the reasons for all of the exaggerated offenses and apologies is the fact that Clinton and Obama are so close, as far as policy goes, that there's not a whole lot else to say. And I think this this month of nothing before Pennsylvania has something to do with it too. Everyone's on edge, and that can't help.

Politics Links (3/31)

Cash-strapped Clinton fails to pay bills.

Obama supports eliminating the penny.

I honestly don't remember whether I posted this before, but if not: it's a very interesting history/analysis of Obama's views on education.

Gore launches $300 million campaign for climate protection.

Politics Links (3/28)

Leahy says Clinton should withdraw!

Bob Casey endorses Obama

Obama's law school title is officially clarified (in Obama's favor).

Slate has launched the Hillary Deathwatch.

The Obama campaign hilariously annotates a Clinton campaign e-mail.

A teacher spreads the Obama-Muslim rumors.

Clinton donors threaten Pelosi about whether superdelegates should overturn the pledged delegate decision.

My dad points us to a must-read by Peggy Noonan on "getting" Hillary Clinton. (Thanks Dad!)

On the Bus with McCain.

McCain: The first postmodernist candidate?

Word counting on Clinton's schedules.

Politics Links (3/27)

I know we're probably all sick of the Bosnia lying discussion, but I'm just amused by the pilot saying "there wasn't a bumblebee" in the air when the plane was landing, nevermind a bullet.

Clinton again hints that she'll try to poach pledged delegates.

Gravel is running again - as a Libertarian.

Noam Scheiber says the Democrats are Slouching Toward Denver.

George Packer wants everyone to just calm down already. Kristof sort of does too.

A Gore-led ticket? I doubt it, unless somehow both candidates are obviously irreparably smeared.

Maureen Dowd: Hillary or nobody?

The political costs of primping.

I'm not sure why this sort of thing always seems so shocking to people: Yes, lots of people are related to lots of other people, and odds are some of them are famous..

The history of the "smoke-filled room". And of controversial religious figures who have affected American politics.

Politics Links (3/24)

The Feminist Case for Obama

Is Pelosi really neutral? How about Edwards?

Idaho politician changes his name to Pro-Life. Literally.

After the Richardson endorsement, Carville equates Richardson with Judas. Really. And then he proudly stands by his words when given the chance to be, you know, civil.

The Times looks at McCain's supposed flirtations with the Democrats.

Clinton admits that she "misspoke" about what happened in Bosnia.

Yglesias on the case for partisanship.

Politics Links (3/21)

State Dept. employees fired for snooping in Obama's passport files.

Hee: Onward to Guam!

Finally released: First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's Daily Schedules

Interesting alliance: Huckabee defends Obama/Wright.

The ultimate smear e-mail: Obama as Antichrist. Sigh.

The Times has a profile of Obama's mother.

What Obama's bracket might (but probably doesn't) mean.

What's going on with the Clinton myth?

Richardson Endorses Obama

Former candidate Gov. Richardson endorses Obama. I'm not sure how much difference it will make at this point, but hey, can't hurt. If nothing else, that's one more superdelegate...

I guess I like rules.

My feelings on two of the big political stories from the past few weeks keep coming back to one thing: I seem to feel that people should follow rules, or at least be willing to accept the consequences if they knowingly break rules. This seems very clear-cut to me, so I sort of don't understand some of the big controversies going on.

Eliot Spitzer: Regardless of anyone's personal feelings about whether prostitution should be legal, it is completely incontrovertible that hiring a prostitute is, in fact, illegal, and that Spitzer knew this, and did it anyway. Some are arguing that it's a "victimless crime;" some say the victims are Spitzer's family, the people of New York, etc. - but I don't see why that matters. Spitzer knowingly broke laws and should be held accountable. On the other hand, I also don't think he should be punished more than others might be, just because he has made a career of battling crime and corruption. It makes it a better story, sure, but it doesn't actually matter.

Michigan and Florida: Why all the angst? There were rules. The Democratic state parties Michigan and Florida agreed to these rules. Then they broke them. Now they don't want the consequences. So? Sure, they thought the DNC wouldn't actually impose the punishments they said they would impose. But isn't that their problem?

Politics Links (3/18)

Florida out of options on revote.

DMX can't believe anybody would have a name as ridiculous as 'Barack.' (Thanks Liz!)

Obama goes Irish for St. Patrick's Day.

Obama's speech

Here's the text of Obama's race speech. Impressive.

Politics Links (3/17)

Seriously, Rendell? "But, Tim, you run against uncommitted, that's the toughest election to win. I'd rather run against an opponent anytime than against uncommitted, and Hillary Clinton got 55 percent of the vote against uncommitted."

Would the GOP rather face Clinton or Obama?

A fascinating Times profile of one of Washington's blog houses.

Mutual Contempt: The history of the McCain/Obama feud.

Obama and education.

A sad sign...

Several months ago, when he was still a viable candidate, I put a John Edwards bumper sticker on my car. I hadn't bothered to take it off, but a few days ago it started peeling pretty badly. Now, here's the problem - it was covering another sticker, one that I really don't want on my car anymore but that just won't come off. (No, nothing political - it just identified me as part of an online group to which I no longer belong.) So I've been waiting to take the Edwards sticker completely off until I found something else to put over the yucky sticker. Except I still didn't have anything, and I was going to be driving all over this weekend and shuttling around lots of friends and such, so it was driving me crazy. So I did the only other thing I could think of - yes, the Edwards sticker is now held to my car by Scotch tape. A sad commentary on the current state of affairs. (And yes, I know it's out of date and silly to have it on there, but since I still like Edwards, I'd rather have that than have the yucky sticker exposed.)

Politics Links (3/8)

Obama Takes Wyoming!

Campaign Strategy Madlibs

Obama and the Creative Class

The Dean Legacy

Politics Links (3/6)

What's next for the candidates.

Historical evidence that it's too early to talk about Hillary's withdrawal.

A long New Yorker profile of Michelle Obama.

Rolling Stone endorses Obama

Politics Links (3/4)

Looks like it'll be a nailbiter tonight. Here are a few things to read in the meantime...

Judy Blume's endorsement: "I haven't been as excited about a candidate as I am about Barack Obama since I was voting in my first presidential election for John Kennedy. . . . There are some women who think if you're a feminist you should only be supporting Hillary. I think being a feminist means we've evolved to the point where we get to choose who we think will be the best candidate and make the best president, regardless of gender, race, or anything else." Well said.

Clinton tries to claim the endorsement of Ann Richards. (Who died in 2006.)

The story behind the TImes's Clinton endorsement.

Achenbach fears the permanent campaign.

LOLcats for Obama

Politics Links (3/1)

Oh, so now Texas doesn't count either. Are we surprised? Sigh.

Pushing back against the smears: Jews for Obama

Bill Clinton sounds like he's talking about himself, sometimes.

Ann Friedman: Identity politics are nothing new.

Interesting analysis of Obama as a brand.

Obama's Ohio Grassroots Advantage

American Adam: Obama and the Cult of the New

What the assassination "fad" in the 1960s means for today.

Why don't campaign reporters care about foreign policy?

Politics Links (2/28)

An interesting map of the Democrats Abroad vote.

Is it a problem that McCain was born overseas?

Lewis is officially switching his support to Obama. (At least we think it's official this time.)

Bloomberg: I'm not running for president, but...

Politics Links (2/27)

Some good takes on last night's debate:
Salon: ". . . even when she's right she sounds wrong."
Andrew Sullivan's live-blogging
John Dickerson: "Watching her fight through 90 minutes trying to make some kind of dent against the vastly improved Obama made you want to offer her a pillow."

Dodd endorses Obama.

A non-paranoid's guide to superdelegates

Ralph Nader, the tugboat candidate

A hilarious faux-Mark Penn memo

Katha Pollitt on why we shouldn't underestimate McCain.

What McCain Should Have Said

What does Hillary Clinton eat?

The Evolution of Chelsea Clinton

The complexities of "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

And here's a set from a few days ago that I apparently never actually posted:
Conservationists Give McCain a Big Fat Zero
Oh, Nader, not again. . .
Hillary Clinton = Tasha Yar?
Obama: Popular in Obama, Japan
Is Huckabee running for 2012?
Will McCain give up his Senate seat to focus on his campaign?
Officer Traveling with Clinton Killed in Crash
Castro comments on what the candidates said about his resignation.

Politics Links (2/21)

How Obama won Wisconsin

Why Demographics Aren't Always Destiny in the Clinton-Obama Race (Thanks for the link, Liz!)

Obama the cowboy

Maybe Obama and Clinton should just duel.

Politics Links (2/19)

The English language, Obamafied.

Dahlia Lithwick breaks up with Obama.

The "competence" argument works better if there is actual competence involved.

The Onion has a nice election term glossary.

How Hillary can still win

Politics Links (2/18)

I've been collecting these for a week now, so sorry if a few of them are out of date...

The Clintons' Terror Pardons

Huckabee's press van runs out of gas. No, literally. Haven't there been several Huckabee-related press transportation issues? Huh.

Memo to Obama Fans: Clinton's presidency was not a failure.

Hertzberg on the campaign and drugs

Debunking the "Obama cult"

Should journalists vote?

50 Politicos to Watch

Presidential love letters

Politics Links (2/11)

Clinton Replaces Campaign Manager

A slide-show of Hillary's worst outfits ever.

American Apparel endorses Obama with a rather dreamy picture.

Requiem for a right-wing dream.

Obama wins a Grammy

He's got Obamaphilia.

Politics Links (2/7)

Salon on Who Won Super Tuesday?

Clinton Senior Staff Goes Without Pay. That along with her loaning herself $5 million... hmm....

Clinton the Anti-Feminist

Did Catholics Save McCain?

Just a reminder: Barack Obama is Not Jesus

Huckabee's Press Plane Makes Emergency Landing

And then there were two.

Romney's dropping out.

Politics Links (2/6)

Well, that was an exciting night. Whew. I'm very proud of my home state, Connecticut. Here's a nice summary of last night's events.

Oprah and Obama chocolates

How Republicans misremember Reagan.

Karl Rove to Fox News

Obama v. Clinton: Who's Greener?

Road Ahead Tough for Clinton

Voters show up a week early in Virginia.

How Clinton & McCain May Have Won California

What Does the Muddle Mean?

Dems Head for Messy Nomination Process

Our Time Has Come

Happy Super Tuesday!

If you live in one of the many Super Tuesday states, don't forget to vote!

Yes We Can

Politics Links (2/1)

Oops. Apparently I didn't manage to post this on Friday...

Obama endorsements:
MoveOn.org
Craig of Craigslist
Wil Wheaton

Arlo Guthrie endorses Ron Paul

What do candidates' chosen fonts say about them?

Politics Links (1/31)

Sisters in Congress are split between Obama and Clinton

Oh please, not again.

If birds could vote...

Liz Cheney endorses Romney

The New York Post backs Obama

Schwarzenegger to endorse McCain

The Washington Post discovers that Chelsea Clinton can talk.

What will Edwards do now?

Hulk Hogan backs Obama. Yeah, really.

Um, huh? Obama's the most liberal senator?

And Giuliani, too.

At least it looks good for McCain.

Edwards to drop out

He'll make the announcement today, it seems. It had to happen, but it still makes me sad.

Politics Links (1/29)

Awww. Obama helped Richardson in a debate.

The fascinating marriage of Mike and Janet Huckabee.

Edwards and the five stages of grief

A little girl asks Bill Clinton about marriage.

Reporters locked out of an Obama rally

Politics Links (1/28)

Ted and Patrick Kennedy endorse Obama

A dance-off? Sigh.

The boys are off the bus, and Matt Bai thinks that's a good thing.

Toni Morrison endorses Obama

The Economist on the Republican crack-up.

Interesting profile of Obama's speechwriter.

And from the Onion: Bill Clinton: 'Screw it, I'm running.'

Politics Links (1/27)

Yay, Obama!
The Take-Away from South Carolina

Some of these are a bit old, but still interesting/amusing/relevant, I think:
Judith Warner on Clinton, Obama, and identity. I particularly liked this paragraph:

I liked Hillary the mistress of minutiae, the private person with a mysterious emotional life, the media foe who met questions she didn’t like with a go-to-hell glare. If I were looking for some kind of existential nurturing in a female candidate — as, I think, most people are, when they talk about a Hillary’s not seeming “human” — I’d find it more in someone who could explain to me in detail how she’d take on the insurance companies that hold families like mine hostage, than one who’d seek to “bond” with me over a shared fantasy of the feminine condition.

Hilarious: Questions for the Candidates

Caroline Kennedy endorses Obama

Martin Luther King III endorses Edwards

Still alive, really.

Sorry for vanishing this week. Work has been insane and I'm exhausted. I should be back to my usual self by next week.

In the meantime, here are the GOP candidates as Buffy villains!

Politics Links (1/15)

A long but interesting analysis of Clinton's and Obama's foreign policy advisors.

Caucusing (or not) on the Sabbath.

Susan Faludi on the correct Hillary Clinton stereotype.

Candidate Implicit Association Test

Politics Links (1/14)

The Candidates on Chairs Sort of like a light bulb joke.

The Electoral Compass It's basically another "Which candidate matches your views?" quiz, but the graphical layout of the results is interesting.

Emotion without Thought in New Hampshire

Politics Links (1/11)

Interactive map of where the candidates focused in NH

Voters Face Confusion in Michigan Dem Race

Directory of Congressional Endorsements

Once Again, It's the Economy

Politics Links (1/10)

Why Obama and Clinton got the same number of NH delegates

NY Times on Getting It Wrong

Slate thinks CNN's slogan is stupid

How black America can revive Obama's campaign.

What if we banned polling?

Bomb Scare Derails Giuliani Event

The Supreme Court looks at Indiana's voter ID law.

Gail Collins on Hillary's Free Pass

Kerry's Endorsement of Obama: Assessing the Impact

Politics Links (1/9)

Maureen Dowd on Hillary's tears

McGovern wants to impeach Bush

And apparently I never managed to post those yesterday. Oops. All the excitement seems to have caught up with me - I'm exhausted and I woke up this morning with an awful sore throat. Hopefully I'll be able to recover this weekend...

And another.

This article on Edwards includes a quote from me. They got my job title a bit wrong, but it's still exciting!

Update: The same reporter writes for McClatchy, so it's going to be in a bunch of places, I think.
Charlotte Observer
AZ Central

The morning after

Well, that was a somewhat depressing evening. Oh well. At least it was close between the top two. CNN didn't call me back, but they did post a bunch of my pictures with quotes from me. Go here, and then click on New Hampshirites Cast Their Votes (down under the picture). I'm pictures 16 through 20.

Geesh.

AP has called it for Clinton. CNN is refusing to call it yet.

And me, well, I'm waiting for CNN.com to call me. Yeah. I sent them a picture I took today, and they called me several hours ago and asked various questions, and then around ten they called and asked if I would talk to an anchor. I said sure. So now I'm waiting...

Primary Night Reading

This is really stressful, at least on the Democratic side. I'll keep updating with interesting reads to keep us occupied while we're biting our nails...

What the claims that a black man is unelectable say about us.

How to recover from a big loss in the early primaries.

C-SPAN's surreal and wonderful campaign coverage.

Exit Poll Primer

Very interesting.

First votes in!

Dixville Notch has traditionally been the first New Hampshire town to vote - their 17 or so registered voters gather at midnight and the results are in within about five minutes. This year, Obama and McCain were the big winners there; notably, Clinton got zero votes. Here's the rundown:

Obama: 7
Edwards: 2
Richardson: 1

McCain: 4
Romney: 2
Giuliani: 1

It's also worth noting that 10 votes went for Democrats and 7 for Republicans. Most voters there are registered Undeclared, which means they can choose which primary to vote in. Traditionally, the town is extremely conservative. So it's very interesting to see that Obama got as many votes as all of the Republicans combined.

Oh, and here are the results for Hart's Landing, another small town that votes shortly after midnight:

Obama: 9
Clinton: 3
Edwards: 1

McCain: 6
Huckabee: 5
Paul: 4
Romney: 1

Happy Primary Day! I'm going to vote and then volunteer for a few hours, but I should be home by late afternoon and I'll keep you updated if anything exciting happens.

Primary Eve Links

Search the public record of donations to candidates. Search for your zip code, employer, family members... endless fun.

Sullivan on Obama as a liberal Reagan

Clinton: A Candidate Spurned

"Two candidates, one room, two days and two worlds apart." Indeed. I was at both events, and the difference was shocking. I'll post more about it later when I upload my pictures from the Clinton event. And here's a great video about it.

In this race, is it better to be black?

Can one 5-month-old be photographed with every candidate?

On TV with Obama!

I'm in this video from Reuters. Toward the end (around the one minute mark), when it's showing Obama in the crowd, I'm one of the people he shakes hands with. I have brown hair and am wearing a dark pink jacket... it might be hard to pick out for those of you who haven't met me in person, but I'm there!

Happy Primary Eve!

Wheee, it's Primary Eve! I've seen six candidates since Friday, with another planned this afternoon. (I'll post about them later in the day, when I can upload photos.) I've felt like it was 3am since about 8:30 last night, which is a really, really weird feeling. I think I'm going to take tomorrow off to go hold signs at my polling place, catch up on some sleep, and watch the news.

It's so exciting around here. I've been trying to convince my coworkers to vote. The polls are looking interesting. I'll post anything interesting I see/read during the day.

Another on the O'Reilly incident

I can't believe I missed all this. Wow.

And, incidentally, that confirms that Dickerson was there... my friend and I considered going to the edge of the press area and yelling "John Dickerson!" just to see if we could meet him, but we weren't brave enough. Ah well.

Politics Links (1/5)

Be wary of late New Hampshire polls

O'Reilly in shoving match at Obama event (The one I was at, in fact, although I didn't notice this going on.)

NH GOP backs out of tomorrow's Fox debate

And in CNN's picture here of the Obama event, you can practically see me... see the sign right in front of Obama's legs? And then the one to the left of that? I think that might be me. Whee!!

First thoughts on tonight's debates

Republicans:
1. For me, the defining moment was when Romney, Huckabee, Paul, and Giuliani were having their "You started it" bickering, McCain was looking amused and above all this, and Thompson seemed to be asleep.
2. McCain really does seem like the grown-up here.
3. The Obama question was sort of odd.

Overall winners: McCain and Huckabee

Democrats:
1. Clinton totally has an "Oh, look at the little boys misbehaving" look on her face. Sigh.
2. Have they forgotten Richardson is in the room? Poor guy. I really like him.
3. Obama and Edwards are both pretty impressive. Edwards is remarkably calm.
4. I really miss Joe Biden.
5. Wow, Obama is smart.
6. Hillary seems to be on the verge of a meltdown. "People like me!" Yeah. Okay.
7. Obama and Edwards are being remarkably chummy.

Overall winners: Obama and Edwards

Obama Rally in Nashua

The new camera and I went to a huge Obama rally this morning. You can see my pictures here. It was... amazing. The line to get in was ridiculous, to start with:

If you can't tell, that line goes all the way across the frame. And that was only a very little bit of the line, the part I could see from where I was farther back. We thought we weren't going to get in, but we ended up standing only about seven feet or so from the podium. We were in the second row. If you were watching the event on C-SPAN, you saw us. Crazy.

Here's the very excited crowd as Obama entered:

It was like a rock concert or something. People were mostly fairly attentive as he was speaking, but a few times, the screams were so loud that we couldn't hear Obama. He was extremely charismatic and engaging; I felt as though I made eye contact with him two or three times, and in a crowd that size, that's impressive.

His music was very good - lots of Motown. As he ended his speech, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" blared, and you could feel it - the crowd was his.

Again, more pictures here. The camera will be going to see other candidates in the next few days... stay tuned.

In the wake of Iowa...

Wow. What a night. Some interesting reads today:

Vanity Fair's profile of Michelle Obama

Eleanor Clift on Obama's universal appeal

Andrea Mitchell's strange attack against Clinton I noticed it too - it was weird. But I'm not sure it was as bad as Salon is making it sound.

And on the lighter side, a bet is a bet.

Edwards as Seabiscuit?

Clinton and Obama as Teacher and Apprentice

Happy Caucus Day!

Yay, it's Caucus Day! I'll update this as I find fun caucus-related links throughout the day.

8 Questions Iowa Could Answer

Caucus! The Musical

The Primary OFfice Pool

The Political Geography of Iowa

Politics Links (12/19)

An interesting take on Meghan McCain and her blog.

Andrew Sullivan endorses Ron Paul for the Republican nomination. (On the other side, he made clear his preference for Obama a while ago.)

Iowa entrance polls and why they might or might not be helpful. (But would certainly be interesting, I'd think.)

The candidates' favorite electronic gadgets

Politics Links (12/4)

This is from a few days ago... I was having posting issues yesterday.

Tracy gets Obama to hold a sock. I am in awe.

Giuliani made cops walk his mistress's dog. Why is this guy still the "frontrunner," again?

A look at what some of the Republican candidates are reading.

Romney, Mormons, and the Bible

And Romney will talk about his religion (a la Kennedy?) on Thursday, at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library, no less.

The Union-Leader endorses McCain. (That's one of the main newspapers here in NH, and it's known to be conservative.)

Chris Dodd just needs to stop it with the fake e-mail already. Yes, I got this one as well.

Politics Links (11/30)

Slate criticizes CNNPolitics.com's description of Politico. (Got that? Heh.)

Hillary supporters try to pay for positive blog comments...

Politics Links (11/29)

Salon's War Room has an interesting summary of the debate last night, and some thoughts on how debates should be run.

The CBS 12/10 debate is officially canceled.

Virginia tries to force Republican primary voters to vote Republican in the general election.

Slate digs deeper on candidates' TV preferences.

Slate's Trailhead blog thinks maybe Duncan Hunter should just go home.

Historians for Obama

Politics Links (11/28)

A nice bit about life on the road with the Romneys, with an extremely cute passage about grandson Parker.

And more Romney news: he doesn't think there needs to be a Muslim in his cabinet. Which was, um, not the question at all that was asked. What he was asked was whether he would consider a qualified Muslim candidate for an already-existing position. And he didn't really answer that.

The writers' strike(s) may effectively cancel the next Democratic debate.

The Massachusetts primary joins practically everyone else on February 5.

Barbra Streisand endorses Clinton. (Does anyone care what Barbra Streisand thinks about politics, really? Huh.)

Giuliani, Romney, and the Know-Nothings.

New Edwards site: America Belongs to Us

Politics Links (11/20)

Some interesting background on the dumb diamonds and pearls question

What effect does the writers' strike have on the campaign?

A possible Clinton/Clark ticket?

Interesting when "Clinton answers a non-planted question!" becomes a headline...

Politics Links (11/16)

Hee! Plants for Hillary. Done by the Edwards campaign.

Why don't I get memos like this?

Republicans buy Hastert a boat as a retirement gift.

Update: Plants for Hillary is already gone. Very sad, especially since parts of it were actually quite funny.

Politics Links (11/15)

How much to buy an NYU student's vote?

Huckabee's wife and the grenade launcher

Glassbooth.org: a new issues quiz that tells you which candidate matches your views. Blah blah. I know, there are a ton of these, but they're fun, and this one is a bit more nuanced than most - and gives very detailed results.

Newsweek hires Karl Rove - to balance Markos of the Daily Kos.

Politics Links (11/14)

The legal truth behind the whole Obama hand-on-heart issue

How Edwards's trial experience prepared him to know how far to go criticizing Clinton

Presidents and personality tests

Politics Links (11/13)

Caucus: The Musical! Really.

Edwards has a new ad out threatening Congress if they don't fix health care.

A hilarious and fascinating look at the candidates' partners: America's next top spouse

Politics Links (11/12)

Arianna Huffington sums up the current administration with a haiku.

What kind of ice cream would John Edwards be?

Who's really delaying Clinton papers from being released from the archives? Conspiracy theorists! No, really.

The Times has some relatively in-depth comments from Huckabee.

None of the senators running for president bothered to vote on Mukasey's confirmation. Disappointing, but not overly surprising.

Which candidate would you trust to babysit your child?

Politics Links (11/9)

Giuliani tries to praise Bono, but can't actually remember his name.

Some thoughts at Daily Kos about Robertson's endorsement of Giuliani.

The Times's campaign blog has been posting some interesting Q&A about the process of covering the campaign.

Richardson falsely claims that his state is the only one "following" Kyoto. When he already has a good environmental record, why exaggerate like this? Sigh.

Politics Links (11/7)

First, an addition to the Edwards video I posted a few days ago. Edwards also has a new version of his "heroes" ad for us here in New Hampshire.

New ads are aimed at getting single women to vote. Come on, people! Why aren't we voting? It's not that hard!

Obama supporters lobby against Colbert

Pat Robertson Endorses Giuliani

Yesterday marked the very first veto override of Bush's presidency.

An interesting look at White House protocol and security and Bush's isolation

Politics Links (11/6)

One year until the election! Wheeeee!

An interesting article about Washington high society: When Washington Was Fun

Will our NH primary be on Orthodox Christmas? (Scroll down a bit to get to that part of the article.)

Politico on politics in Second Life.

Has Fred Thompson spent enough time in New Hampshire? I'm unsure about this whole line of complaint. Sure, I suppose lots of exciting appearances are a sign of a candidate's passion. (Passion for winning, at least. Is that what we want candidates to be passionate about, really?) But I'm not crazy about the whole "must understand New Hampshire and talk about our issues" thing. I want my governor to be thinking about New Hampshire's specific issues. I want my president to be thinking about the whole country.

An interesting feature on Jenna Bush. She seems to be remarkably positive and down-to-earth, given how tough I'm sure the last several years have been for her in some ways.

Politics Links (11/5)

I've been spending a lot of time reading and thinking and talking about politics recently, so I keep coming across things that I want to share. But I know that a substantial number of my readers disagree with me about most things political, and others just aren't really interested. So I'm going to start posting a few political links together, probably most evenings. I hope that keeps things in a reasonable balance. Feel free to respond to any of the links, but please be nice to each other, and keep your political comments on the politics posts. Thanks!

So true (and funny!): Stop Lying to Yourself. You Love Dennis Kucinich.

A fun candidate match game. I like how you can see the little heads bobbing up and down as you answer the questions.

Andrew Sullivan wrote an interesting article about Obama and the Baby Boomers.

The Politics of Parsing

(This is the first time I've tried embedded video. Let's see how it works.)

Yes, I'm leaning toward Edwards, but I thought this video was very well done regardless. It also gave me hope for Edwards's campaign strategies, given that I've been less than impressed by some of the mechanics of his campaigning so far.

Go New Hampshire!

I can't find any actual news stories yet, but according to the MSNBC home page, Gov. Lynch has signed a bill authorizing same-sex civil unions. Yet another reason to be proud of my state!

EDIT:
News stories: MSNBC; New York Times.

Bush press conference bleep?

A friend and I just went out to her car to listen to the Bush press conference on NPR, and I swear they bleeped something he said. Anyone know what?

(Montana! Whee! Rumsfeld gone!! Is it Christmas?)

UPDATE (7:30pm): Wonkette's take on the bleep

Another nailbiter, and an actual finish.

Once again, I stayed up way too late watching election coverage, only to have things undecided when I went to bed. And when I woke up. But I'm certainly not complaining. I am in fact very happy. And still refreshing Google News every 30 seconds, of course. (CNN.com is blocked at work. This makes me very sad.)

I'm very proud of my state. We replaced both our Republican incumbents in the House with Democrats - one of whom is the first female who New Hampshire has sent to Congress. Our Democrat governor was reelected, and the Dems took both state houses and, I think, the executive council. It's nice to feel like my vote actually did help change something.

I was basically in a news blackout from 5-10pm last night, which was rather stressful. Luckily, a wonderful friend called a little after nine to let me know about the first wave of good news: Santorum and DeWine and Bass out, Lynch still in (but we expected that). I listened to NPR from 10-10:25 while driving home and then was glued to CNN until one. Seeing Wolf Blitzer call the House was a nice moment, as were seeing the Virginia (I hope I hope) and Missouri races start to turn.

But, of course, it's not over. It probably won't be over until almost Christmas. Sigh. Something that is done:

My new scarf! Finally! I finished it during D&D last night and wove in the ends while getting my CNN fix this morning. I adore it (except for the weird puckering thing it does in a few spots). And, of course, now that it's done, it's warmer here than it's been in weeks. Figures.

Best conversation of the day

K: Espresso shouldn't be served to people who ask for "expresso."
L: Like how people who can't pronounce "nuclear bombs" shouldn't get the power to drop them?

I... can't even... gah.

It is way too early in the morning to wrap my brain around this, but I had to share. A new anti-abortion movement has a bold new plan: get pro-life men to marry single pregnant women so they don't have abortions. Um. Right. Do you see why I'm having trouble even finding the words?

Two favorite lines from the article:

"The motif of a man proposing marriage to a woman pregnant with another man�s child is a common one on soap operas that are a fairly good gauge of female fantasy. These stories represent the truth that many pregnant women don�t really want to abort, and would not, if marriage and commitment were offered to them."

and

"Most women are quite rational people."

Yes, the first quote clearly shows how rational the author thinks women are. (Women? People? What? Dorothy Sayers review coming soon.) I'm not sure I want soap operas to be taken as an accurate gauge of "women's fantasies." Maybe some women, sure, but, um, no thanks. If you must have an accurate gauge of my fantasies, please use Jane Austen.

It seems like this would be setting up a really bad dynamic for a marriage: "I saved your baby's life. Without me, you'd be going to hell." Umm, Godlike husband much? Of course, that's probably the point.

(Thanks to Feministing for the link.)

I spy with my little eye...

From JenLa:

1. A blog which you think people have not discovered: The Magpi
2. A blog whose author lives close to you physically. Just get as close as you can, it�s all relative: The Stitch Witch
3. An unusual or weird animal picture: Many of Chaos
4. An entry that made you laugh and got you strange looks from family or co-workers: Oh, so many. Recently: Peukalo is thumb. by Steph
5. An idea you wish you�d thought of: Buy More Yarn. I mean, really. 'nough said.
6. Something you�d like to knit: Rogue
7. A picture of something you consider beautiful: Juno's Highland Triangle
8. A blog whose author you�d like to one day meet in person: FemiKnit Mafia
9. A blog of someone you have already met in person: mamacate

P.S. 10 Reasons Why Liberal Men are Better in Bed

Happy birthday, Roe v. Wade

Today is the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Honestly, this is an issue I've struggled with, but I have come to realize that the goal is the creation of a world in which abortion is not necessary. Since we do not live in that world, however, abortion needs to be safe, legal, and available. So I am joining hundreds of other bloggers in "Blog for Choice" day. Click on the icon for more information and to see the list.

Unsuitable

If I hadn't already pretty much decided that I can no longer in good conscience consider myself a member of the Catholic Church, this would be the final straw. I'll give you a few highlights, in case you don't have time to read it.

First of all, the main point: "Even if they have never had a gay sexual experience and are fully committed to celibacy, homosexual men are not suitable candidates for the priesthood."

And in case anyone was unclear, here are some "warning signs" of potential homosexuality:

students who had trouble relating to their fathers; are uncomfortable with their own identity; tend to isolate themselves; have difficulty in discussing sexual questions; view pornography on the Internet; demonstrate a deep sense of guilt; or often see themselves as victims.

Here are some of the reasons given for why even celibate gay men make bad priests:

He said they tend to have few friends, to close themselves off from others in "a clan of persons of the same type," to resent the claims on their time made by parishioners, to encourage other gay men to enter the priesthood and to deal with authority predominantly as a matter of "seduction and rejection."

Umm, pardon? Who has he been talking to?

The article goes on to explain that candidates for priesthood must be mature in their masculine sexual identity and theoretically capable of being good spouses and fathers. It seems to be accepted without question that any man with "homosexual tendencies" could not possibly fill any of those criteria.

Really, who are the ones making statements with no social or moral value now?

EDITED to add: I just found the actual text of the Vatican document here, in case you were wondering about the thing itself.

Random Wednesday

(Yes, we had Random Kat Facts just last night, but that's a different kind of randomness. This is the "Here are twenty things I've been meaning to tell you but didn't have the time/energy/inspiration to write a whole post on" sort of randomness.)

1. If you would like a link to get a coupon for "Friends and Family Weekend" at Borders - 20% off now through Monday, I believe - let me know.

2. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about the election results. Yay New Jersey and Virginia and Maine. Boo Texas.

3. Whoever decided to play "Saturday in the Park" (you know, the "every day's the fourth of July" one) right when the majority of listeners would be headed to work on one of the coldest days yet this autumn really should not be a DJ. (Or computers shouldn't be picking out music. Whatever.) That said, it did make me smile and it's a good one to sing along with. Can you dig it? Yes I can! (Of course, listening to "My Immortal" next didn't exactly do wonders for my mood, but who can resist the line "Your voice, it chased away all the sanity in me"? Yeah, I'll be listening to that the rest of the day...)

4. I finally finished the school assignment that had been hanging over my head being impossible for two weeks. Turns out I was making it far harder than it actually should have been. (What, you, Kat? Making something hard for yourself? Really? Shut up.) I'm ridiculously excited about it being done.

5. I'm also ridiculously excited about the fact that I'm wearing my "skinny jeans" that haven't fit in about a year. Whee!

6. Novel? What novel? No, really, it's... coming. I'm a bit behind but not irreparably so. As I said to my roommate this morning, I have nothing planned this weekend other than working all day Saturday (yes, he laughed), so I'm hoping to get a few good sessions in and get ahead.

7. Meg Cabot blogs! I somehow just learned this last night. Happiness ensued. (I know what I'll be doing during my down time at work today...)

8. I took a vacation day yesterday and Erica and I headed out for a day of excitement involving Harrisville, the Woolery, and crazy fundamentalist pizza. I'll let her tell you her big news herself, but let's just say that she picked me up at nine and by noon we'd managed to spend about $500 between us. And that was before the Woolery.

9. At Harrisville, I found a copy of Knitting Fair Isle Mittens & Gloves: 40 Great-Looking Designs by Carole Rasmussen Noble. A friend, with whom I had never before discussed porn of any sort (I don't think), recently told me that this was one of his "favorite books of knitting porn." It's out of print, and I didn't want to order an expensive used copy sight unseen, but there it was in the bookcase at Harrisville! And - yes. My friend was absolutely right. (And yes, I have started a glove.)

10. I may have also started the Irish Diamond Shawl from Folk Shawls: 25 Knitting Patterns and Tales from Around the World¹ in Harrisville Shetland in Evergreen². I bought the "weaving" version of the yarn, on the cone, because it was a fraction of the price (and it's what the pattern called for, technically). I'll let you know how it goes.

12. I finally went to an orchard and got local apples, unpasteurized cider, and cider doughnuts yesterday. Yum.

13. Okay, my computer here at work is freaking out, so I think it's time for some quality time with AdAware.

14. But I don't want to jinx my bad mood by leaving off on number 13, so let me just mention how annoyed I am that my online registration for next semester is at 5 pm on Saturday. Because that is clearly the best time for everyone to be at their computers. (I get out of work at five, so I'll be at least a half hour late and probably not get my first choice of classes. Bah.)

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¹ Am I going crazy, or does my copy have a different cover than the one Amazon shows? Hmm. Check your copy. What's on the cover?
² They have three million about ten shades of green, so I'm not sure if the picture of Wendy's I linked above is in the same color, but it's close.

Can we call it "opting otherwise" instead?

So everyone has been up in arms about Maureen Dowd this week, and who am I to let a perfectly good bandwagon roll on by? A lot has already been said, better than I could say it, so I'll give you some links on Dowd's elitism and the truth behind Dowd's examples of "backlash" and how Dowd's "data" is questionable at best. And, before I get into my main point here, I'd like to say that my first reaction upon reading the article was that dear Maureen needs to get over herself. Maybe she'd have more romantic success if she, you know, tried being nice to people, or didn't make it quite so abundantly clear that she feels she is superior to everyone around her. I was also a bit unclear as to how Dowd would actually like women (or, for that matter, anyone) to behave, as she seems to disapprove of, well, everything.

But anyway. The part that most bothered me was her take on the whole concept of "opting out." To her credit, Dowd does admit that "to the extent that young women are rejecting the old idea of copying men and reshaping the world around their desires, it's exhilarating progress. But..." And, of course, there's a "but." It's exhilarating progess, but she doesn't like it. She sees it as spoiled, pampered women turning their backs on long-sought education and opportunities in favor of dependence on rich husbands. This strikes me as a narrow view, to say the least.

A little background, although you probably all know all this: I am currently single and self-supporting¹. I work for a reasonably large corporation as well as a very large retail chain. I'm in grad school, ostensibly to become qualified to be a professional in a particular field. And, given the chance, I would (I think) "opt out" in a second. But I don't think but reasons are horrible and unfeminist.

1. First of all, corporate life really isn't that great. Theoretically, some people like it, but I haven't met many of those people, either male or female. Other than for reasons of job security, I really couldn't care less whether the company I work for makes money. This isn't the greatest motivation for trying to climb the corporate ladder. I'd rather be doing something I thought actually mattered, somehow.
2. If I ever have children, I feel pretty strongly about staying home with them (and quite possibly homeschooling, but we'll leave that for another discussion) if circumstances allow. I don't think this is because I want to be a Stepford wife, though. It's more that I want to be with my children through their early development. I think that's reasonable (and really rather responsible) of me².
3. I will admit that I have literary aspirations, and "opting out" of a nine to five schedule would give me more time to write. (Although not if/when there were small children around. I do realize that, don't worry.)
4. I also realize that there is certainly some amount of "the grass is always greener..." in this. Someone³ once posted about a sort of alternate universe fantasy they had: that somewhere there was another version of themselves, a single, childless version with a job and apartment and free time and freedom/money to travel. And I had to laugh, because it sounded like a romanticized version of my life, and I have a parallel alternate universe fantasy that was basically a romanticized version of that person's life.

So there are some of my reasons. Please note that "I want to be pampered and spoiled" was not among them.⁴ More importantly, though, I refuse to believe that corporate/business/career "success" is any more intrinsically valuable than raising children or knitting a sweater or baking fabulous cupcakes or, for that matter, fixing a car or playing a musical instrument. It's all a question of what you want to do and what makes you, not some ideal, happy and fulfilled. Dowd pays lip service to the idea that feminism is about having choices, but she clearly doesn't actually believe that any choice other than "the old idea of copying men" is a choice worth making.

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¹ Well, mostly self-supporting: my parents pay most of my tuition, and I don't want to leave that out or seem ungrateful.
² Not to imply that working mothers are doing something wrong; I just think, for me, I'd rather be home.
³ I thought it was Cate or maybe Jody, but I can't find it in either of their archives. If anyone remembers, please speak up!
EDIT: It was Rachel! Sorry about that.
⁴ Not that I'd object to a little pampering occasionally. Everyone deserves that.

Libby and samurai and bears, oh my!

Hey, who knew? Everyone's favorite chief of staff is also a novelist! (That article is worth a read¹ just for the phrase "the long and distinguished annals of the right-wing dirty novel." Really.)

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¹ But it's not exactly G-rated material. Just to warn you.