Six Days to Four Years

I must admit that I was skeptical about the Obama infomercial, hoping for substance over schmaltz, and his team delivered. One thing that cannot be disputed is that the Obama campaign has perhaps been one of the most surefooted in modern American political history. Very few mistakes, brilliant usage of mass-communication technology, message discipline, resource management, all of it. Hard to tell if that will translate into success in the Oval Office (assuming a win next week!), but leadership of a huge, complex organization for nearly two years has to count for something. That, and he's taken down the Clinton and Rove machines back-to-back, which is akin to Rockefeller somehow taking Nixon down in 1960 and then defeating the Kennedys. Stuff like this doesn't just happen, it's a result of excellence.

I like where we are. Hold the Kerry states, none of which appears to be in any real trouble (not even PA), score Iowa, Colorado and Virginia, and that's your ballgame. Every state after that is gravy, including some like Ohio where Obama has a clear lead, and many others where he has a slight lead or is polling even, such as Florida, Missouri, Nevada, etc.

The Ten Coolest Sci-Fi Characters

UPDATED
I kind of thought Burns would get on me about the absence of a Babylon 5 representative, and he knows I liked Londo, so we'll expand the list to 12. Why 12? I realized there was no Star Trek: Next Generation character here either. So #11 and #12, below.

12. Worf

I was never a Picard guy. Captain of the Love Boat maybe, but the Enterprise? I was a Kirk guy. This bias was so pronounced that my brother and I openly rooted for the Borg when they captured Picard, and held out hope that Riker's command decision to attack the Borg cube with Picard aboard would end the chrome-dome experiment. Anyway, no Picard. I liked Data, but he tread too much where Bishop (see #8 below) and Asimov had already been. Riker had promise, but kept turning down command assignments to the point where I worried about his guts. Anyway, there was always one character who stood out to me, who was the biggest badass, even with that weird bandolier. Worf. Hey, a Klingon on the bridge! Wow! Once the novelty wore off and we got to explore Klingon culture through the prism of Worf, some of the best Trek episodes of any generation were the result.

11. Londo Mollari

Yeah, I watched Babylon 5. As turned off as I was initially by the crude effects and less seamless vision of the future, I stuck with it at the urgings of a friend. As will happen, I got hooked on the story, which was slow to reveal secrets and quick to endear characters. My favorite of these was bombastic Londo Mollari, ambassador from the Centari. Dissipated relic of a once-great people, Mollari had a tightly circumscribed set of ethics that allowed most anything in the interests of his homeworld, and his personal morality was depraved and hedonistic. What's not to like, right? There was, however, an inner compass that at times enabled him to approach nobility, though in the end he was a conflicted and terribly flawed person.

********************************************************************************

So, a bit of a departure from the usual content here. Let's take a look at the ten characters from science fiction that are undeniably the coolest cats to walk whatever planet they're from. Some of you will complain the list is too Star Wars or Star Trek heavy. Yeah? It's my list, ain't it? Make your own.

10. The Terminator

What was more fun back in the day than watching the future Governor of California struggle through basic dialogue while sporting enormous shades? "I'll be back" was right, and T2 was one of the most anticipated films I remember from high school. Of course, since Ahhnold was a big star with a future in politics he couldn't be the villain anymore, but he still got to shoot a lot of people, and hey, isn't that really the point? As an aside, I have to admit that everyone in the theater wanted to kill Sarah Connor.


9. Dr. Who

We watched a lot of PBS as a kid, in part for the great BBC programming like Monty Python and Fawlty Towers. But the best were the bizarre Dr. Who episodes, with time-travelling phone booths and talking robot dogs and all manner of foolishness. The drawback here was that the scantily-clad babes were British, with all the attendant pitfalls there. Our hands-down favorite was the Tom Baker iteration of the Doctor, with his long scarf and man-fro. The guy with the question marks on his collar didn't quite measure up.

8. Diana

Ah, V. We used to rush home to watch it. V is what Independence Day would have been if Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith hadn't been up to implanting the virus. The aliens win, and take over Earth. They look like us, but wait! Lizards with skin-masks! The worst of these was Diana, the sultry, Dynasty-era brunette who put the itch in bitch when it was revealed she was one of the lizard-types. She was no-holds-barred, hell-on-wheels, and the little-known inspiration for the Sarah Palin character now running for Vice President. The $150,000 clothing allowance must be for the plastic skin masks!

7. Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan was on screen in Star Wars for about twenty minutes, and he owned all of them. He is the daddy-mac of Jedi, with mad skills. "These aren't the droids you're looking for". It sucks when he dies, but that's the space opera arc, old guy mentor has to go so young hero can spread his wings (see Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the). Of course, "strike me down now, and I shall become more powerful than you can ever imagine" are pretty awesome last words. Alec Guiness was awesome as old-dude Kenobi, but Ewan McGregor does an unbelievable job in channeling the young Jedi Master. His Revenge of the Sith performance is masterful, torn between duty and love and grief. A great tragic figure in American pop culture, Kenobi is the glue to the Star Wars story, and gets far too little credit.


6. James T. Kirk

Kirk is rather uniformly treated as a caricature, a halting-speech cardboard cutout of a starship lothario. This unfortunately misses the complexity and emotional depth of the character. Captain Kirk had the misfortune of having to carry a prime-time TV series in the late 1960's which meant he spent an inordinate amount of time kissing tin-foil draped hotties and punching a variety of ill-intentioned aliens. Roddenberry intended far more. Kirk was everyman, an Iowa farmboy who chased the stars and was always pushing the horizon. City on the Edge of Forever is the ultimate Kirk episode - he finds an enemy he cannot fight and falls in love with a woman he cannot have. To truly understand the depth of James T. Kirk, see the last ten minutes of that episode. "He knows, Doctor. He knows."

5. Bishop

The Aliens franchise has some very strong suits to recommend it (not including Paul Reiser). Sigourney Weaver's Ripley kicks ass, and the monsters themselves were very scary and ahead of their time from an effects standpoint. For me the coolest player is Lance Henriksen's eerie, discomfiting Bishop. An android, Bishop has one of the best scenes in the whole series when he places his hand atop a human crewmate's and moves a knife between their fingers with blinding speed, horrifying and delighting the crew. The point here is that androids are infallible, though Bishop has nicked one of his own fingers, and the viewer is left to wonder...of course, Bishop manages to save the day in the end despite having been torn in half by a pissed-off alien. Weyland Industries made their androids tough.

4. Han Solo

No one ever wanted to be Luke. Everyone wanted to be Han Solo. Heck, there's a Youtube video of a spoof of Counting Crows' "Mr. Jones" called "Dr. Jones" about everybody's favorite archaeologist, and one of the lyrics is "I want to be Han Solo". Everybody wanted to be Han. Cool, reckless, a crack laser shot and smuggler, everything about Han was awesome. He even speaks Wookiee. Even if Luke hadn't been Leia's brother, Han still would have beat out the whiny kid for her heart. Which, given the steel bikini in Return of the Jedi, is no booby prize. (You see what I did there?)

3. Yoda

Put simply, who doesn't like Yoda? The freakish little toad confused all of us when he poked his head out of the swamps of Dagobah to taunt Luke and R2D2 in Empire Strikes Back. What the hell is this little muppet? But the Jedi guru had us with his syntactically-challenged fortune-cookie snippets of wisdom, his gurgling, inebriated cackle, and his satellite-dish ears. Even now we all know that "there is no try, only do". Of course, his epic lightsaber performance against Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith is one of those MVP-for-a-losing-team moments. And yeah, back in the 80's I had a Yoda magic 8 ball, with answers like "cloudly, your future is". You can't beat that.

2. Spock

Conceived in a time when aliens were always evil, the representation of the cultural other that was to be rejected, when American jingoism and xenophobia was at a zenith it would not reach again until the current neoconservative movement, Spock was a bolt from the blue. Nevermind that he doesn't seem very alien with just some pointed ears and a bad brow job. Nimoy's understated depiction and Roddenberry's splendid vision met at precisely the right moment to create an indelibly cool and relevant character. His death scene with Kirk at the conclusion of Wrath of Khan remains one of the all-time heartrending scenes in the genre. Yeah, Trek was about Kirk and "wagon train to the stars" and all that, but Spock was (and is!) its beating heart.

1. Darth Vader

Without a doubt the pinnacle. For anyone around my age, born in the mid-70s, we can actually recall when Darth Vader was the baddest mo-fo to strut around the galaxy, crushing people's throats with his mind and generally being the boss you didn't want to spill your coffee on. It's hard to imagine now, but we actually were surprised when he turned out to be Luke's dad, and we sat stunned as his redemption came full circle in Return of the Jedi. Most people think the title refers to Luke's resumption of the mantle of Jedi, but I think it means Vader's return from the Sith to the Jedi, as evinced by his appearance at the celebratory fire on Endor's moon that night alongside Yoda and Obi Wan. Undeniably the most complex, epic character the genre has ever seen.

The Keystone

All right Pennsylvania - I guess it's all up to you. Maintain that double-digit lead for Obama and everybody goes home happy.

41-7

I've given up trying to understand it.

Don't Vote For Obama

This was posted by a fellow with the screen name of kentuckyscott on DailyKos. I cut and paste it in full here because it so aptly sums up what the entire Obama candidacy represents:

I didn't vote for Obama.
I voted for my ancestors, who believed in the promise of this country and came with with nothing as immigrants.
I voted for my parents, who taught in the public schools for decades.
I voted for Steve, an acquaintance of mine from Kentucky. (Killed by an IED two years ago in Iraq).
I voted for Shawn, another who's been to Iraq twice, and Afghanistan once, and who'll be going back to Afghanistan again soon -- and whose family earned eleven bucks a month too much to qualify for food stamps when the war started.
I voted for April, the only African-American girl in my high school -- it was years before it occurred to me how different her experience of our school must have been.
I voted for my college friends who are Christian, Jewish, Mormon, and yes -- Muslim.
I voted for my grandfathers, who worked hard in factories and died too young.
I voted for the plumber who worked on my house, because I want him to get a REAL tax break.
I voted for four little angels from Birmingham.
I voted for a bunch of dead white men who, although personally flawed, were willing to pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, and used a time of great crisis to expand freedom rather than suspend it.
I voted for all those people and more, and I voted for all of you, too. But mostly, I voted selfishly. I vote for two little kids, one who has ballet in an hour, and once who has baseball practice at the same time. I voted for a world where they can be confident that their government will represent the best that is in this country, and that will in turn demand the best of them. I voted for a government that will be respected in the world. I voted for an economy that will reward work above guile. I voted for everything I believe in.
Sure, I filled in the circle next to the name Obama, but it wasn't him I was voting for -- it was every single one of us, and those I love most of all.
Who else is there to vote for?

Gone But Not Forgotten

The Red Sox finally bowed their bloodied heads last night, after going farther than anyone had a right to expect them to. Sure, there will be the pink-hat crowd who started following the team in 2003 who find anything short of a World Series win to be cause for Terry Francona's banishment, but I take a more reasoned view. This team was much like their 2005 counterparts; a transitional, banged-up crew that still refused to go quietly. And there's much to look forward to. The pitching staff is still young and strong, and if Beckett heals in the off-season, you've got a rotation of Beckett, Lester, Matsuzaka and Masterson, which I'd put up against anyone else's. There are questions on the offensive side: will Lowell be healthy? Will Drew? Will Ortiz? Is Lowrie for real at second? Does Ellsbury take the next step? Can Youkilis maintain his dominance? Is Bay the long-term left-fielder? Who catches?

The 2008 Red Sox overachieved. The only shame now is that we have a couple more weeks of the Cassel show before Celtics season starts.

Powell Endorsement

On Meet The Press this morning retired Gen. Colin Powell endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for President. It appears the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State feels Obama's got chops on foreign policy, and that the Republican Party he's faithfully (too faithfully, for many on the left) served for decades has moved to the extreme right too far and too fast. He thinks Palin is a joke that exposes McCain's calcified judgment.

Does this mean anything? Most endorsements have little impact, though the press salivates over cross-party love letters (if Lieberman was a Democrat, I'd cite that example here). What makes the Powell endorsement exciting is that here we have not just a key cog in the Bush vs. Iraq saga of 1990-2004, but a cog that:

1. Moderates, independents, and people who only pay a little bit of attention all like and respect.
2. Hated the machine, that tried to stop the machine (though admittedly not hard enough).
3. Has long been the poster boy for "black guys can be Republicans too".

This last point is where the corpo-conservative national media will likely focus to explain away the impact of this defection from the Republicans. "Oh, we're just seeing racial solidarity here". Wha? Did one pundit, even one, suggest that Joe Lieberman backs McCain because they're white? How about Geraldine Ferraro's antics during the primary? No one could say that was estrogen-based lockstep without being assailed for sexism (though interestingly not by the sudden feminists working for McCain).

Anyway, more leaks in the sinking ship of the McCain campaign.

New Hampshire Goes Blue

New England is Democratic country, and our own beloved New Hampshire is getting on board, better late than never. Click here for a report on Boston's WBUR radio that explores this change. Your favorite blogger's comments come near the end.

Heart of a Champion

So...wow.

Of course the extended 4-game comeback against the Yankees in 2004 is the crown jewel, especially with the tense, razor's-edge nature of the Game 4 and Game 5 wins. Overcoming the 3-1 deficit against the Indians last year en route to the World Series was fun too.

Last night just adds to the mystique. Down seven runs with seven outs to go? JD Drew, again, proves to be the most important universally-reviled acquisition in franchise history.

I saw a stat this morning...the Red Sox are 8-1 in elimination games under Terry Francona.

Don't stop believin'.

Obama Rolls On, McCain Rolls His Eyes

We have a guy in town that comes to all of the Selectmen's meetings. He sits in the front row, takes nots, and likes to pay attention, which is certainly more than can be said for almost everyone else. My favorite thing about this older gentleman is his visceral reactions to much of what is said during the meeting. It is a cacophony of eye rolls, snorts, indignant jaw-drops, and generally good theater.

That was John McCain last night. Whenever he put out something Obama disagreed with, Obama merely smiled, watched McCain speak, and formulated his riposte. When Obama's words didn't jive with McCain's FOX-based alternative reality, McCain became an animatronic Chuck-E-Cheese robot programmed to shudder, breathe heavily, alternatively squint or bug-eye, and make a series of faces apparently designed to scare small children. Now I know why the debates are on so late.

Obama wins again (sigh), though at least McCain was a little feistier. Of course, feisty ain't what the people want. I remain convinced that cool, calm and collected is what people will opt for during a crisis, and Obama personifies that trifecta. Finally, the Democrats have nominated the right guy at the right moment.

Best Player Ever from each MLB Franchise

These do seem to get addictive after a while. Let's take a look at the best player from the history of each team in Major League Baseball. Because I am indecisive, there's a backup for each team too.


Arizona Diamondbacks: Randy Johnson (Luis Gonzalez)
Atlanta Braves: Hank Aaron (Warren Spahn)
Baltimore Orioles: Cal Ripken (Jim Palmer)
Boston Red Sox: Ted Williams (Carl Yastrzemski)
Chicago Cubs: Ernie Banks (Sammy Sosa)
Chicago White Sox: Frank Thomas (Joe Jackson)
Cincinnati Reds: Pete Rose (Frank Robinson)
Cleveland Indians: Jim Thome (Lou Boudreau)
Colorado Rockies: Todd Helton (Larry Walker)
Detroit Tigers: Ty Cobb (Al Kaline)
Florida Marlins: Miguel Cabrera (Mike Lowell)
Houston Astros: Jeff Bagwell (Craig Biggio)
Kansas City Royals: George Brett (Kevin Appier)
Los Angeles Angels: Garret Anderson (Nolan Ryan)
Los Angeles Dodgers: Sandy Koufax (Duke Snider)
Milwaukee Brewers: Robin Yount (Paul Molitor)
Minnesota Twins: Walter Johnson (Harmon Killebrew)
New York Mets: Doc Gooden (Darryl Strawberry)
New York Yankees: Babe Ruth (Joe DiMaggio)
Oakland Athletics: Reggie Jackson (Dennis Eckersley)
Philadelphia Phillies: Mike Schmidt (Robin Roberts)
Pittsburgh Pirates: Roberto Clemente (Willie Stargell)
San Diego Padres: Tony Gwynn (Trevor Hoffman)
San Francisco Giants: Willie Mays (Barry Bonds)
Seattle Mariners: Ken Griffey, Jr. (Edgar Martinez)
St. Louis Cardinals: Stan Musial (Bob Gibson)
Tampa Bay Rays: Carl Crawford (Aubrey Huff)
Texas Rangers: Ivan Rodriguez (Juan Gonzalez)
Toronto Blue Jays: Carlos Delgado (Dave Stieb)
Washington Nationals: Tim Wallach (Vladimir Guerrero)

More Fun with Debatable Rankings

For more giggles, let's take a look at the best of each decade over the last fifty years or so in the NFL. Second place in ( ). As always, I am sure you will tell me where you disagree!

Decade QB/RB/Coach

2000's
Tom Brady (Peyton Manning)
LaDanian Tomlinson (Larry Johnson)
Bill Belichek (Tony Dungy)

1990's
Brett Favre (John Elway)
Barry Sanders (Emitt Smith)
Jimmy Johnson (Marv Levy)

1980's
Joe Montana (Dan Marino)
Walter Payton (Eric Dickerson)
Bill Walsh (Joe Gibbs)

1970's
Terry Bradshaw (Roger Staubach)
Earl Campbell (O.J. Simpson)
Chuck Noll (Don Shula)

1960's
Johnny Unitas (Bart Starr)
Jim Brown (Paul Hornung)
Vince Lombardi (Hank Stram)

1950's
Otto Graham (Bobby Layne)
Frank Gifford (Hugh McElhenny)
Paul Brown (George Halas)

McCain attends ACORN Rally in 2006

ACORN is a domestic terrorist group! They're frauds! They're socialists! They...they've hosted forums with John McCain as a headliner?

Ah, well. Time for another strategy, I guess. These Republicans change tactics like most people change underwear. And for the same general reason...

As a friend noted, this is McCain pre-2007, so it might have been before Karl Rove started shopping for the groceries. And cooking the dinner. And throwing up after.

Debunking the "Blame CRA!!" Myth

Conservatives are desperate for the current economic crisis to be someone's fault, anyone's fault, other than the unbridles excesses of the marketplace. Ideally, if big government could somehow be blamed...if poor people, if minorities could somehoe be blamed...maybe even the biggest bogeyman of them all, Bill Clinton, could be blamed?
Got it! Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)!! We can even blame this one on Jimmy Carter, that liberal pantywaist!
Jimmy Carter signed CRA into law in 1977 to help promote homeownership for broader swaths of society, and to dismantle the prejudicial redlining practices of banks that made borrowing almost impossible for the wrong color or class of borrower. Conservatives would like you to swallow whole the fallacy that this law, and the engines of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, are to blame for the collapse of the housing market and the resultant woes on Wall Street.
Don't buy it.
Read this article on McClatchy. Federal Reserve Board stats illuminate the complicity of private lending as opposed to quasi-publics. For instance, more than 80% of subprime loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers in 2006 were made by private firms. Community Reinvestment is not the bugaboo.
This conservative myth, aside from satisfying the right wing desire for people of color and limited means to be the villain in any story, serves a deeper purpose. It is a bald attempt to demonize federal regulation. The claim is that if heavily regulated entities like Freddie and Fannie went under, there should be less regulation! Government interference is the problem!And oh, yeah, let's take a look at who's been failing and who has survived in this disaster. Commercial banks that are regulated under CRA have endured, while non-bank lenders and investment banks who make the same loans but are not regulated, have been failing left and right. Go look where Ameriquest ended up.
What is the answer? Obviously, vigorous federal oversight. Punishment of those who gamed the system. And investment in the vast majority of Americans working hard every day at the bottom half of our economic divide. The theoretical conservative creed is that money is better off in the hands of people than government. Then why push $700 billion into the hands of the few at the cost to the many? I've long believed that income redistribution is fine with the right wing as long as it only goes in one direction.

Philly Fans Right For Once

Sarah Palin gets lustily booed in Philadelphia last night dropping a ceremonial first puck. Of course, Philly fans once booed Santa at an Eagles game, so maybe they're just not particular.

McCain Reaping what he Sowed

For weeks now, as his poll numbers rapidly erode and he begins to understand that he is not going to be President of the United States, John McCain has increasingly relied upon wholly negative advertising against Barack Obama. Campaign commercial after campaign commercial have hammered away at the insistent theme that Obama is "dangerous", "risky", and wrong for America. His associations have been questioned, his heritage, his faith, his patriotism.

The fruit of this hatemongering is clearly visible now at McCain and Palin rallies, where audience members regularly shout "terrorist" or "Muslim" or "Kill him!". I have said for some days now that McCain could earn some serious points by confronting this element amongst his support, instructing security to remove the offenders from his events, and pushing back against the tide of racial hatred. He has given it a shot, somewhat tepidly, as this YouTube clip testifies.

My gripe is with the befuddled response McCain exhibits when confronted with supporters who claim Obama is an Arab, that he scares them, that he is dangerous. You know why they think that? Because you told them! It's in your ads!

The McCain campaign is going to lose, and if the polling is to be believed, somewhat handily. I think he knows that now, and is working to rehabilitate some of his image of honor. I'm not sure he can succeed.

All-Time Best QBs for each NFL Team

Who is the best signal-caller for each NFL team in their various histories? Let's give it a shot. This is off the top of my head, so let me know who I've forgotten. Backups are in ( )

Arizona Cardinals: Neil Lomax (Jim Hart)
Atlanta Falcons: Steve Bartkowski (Chris Chandler)
Baltimore Ravens: Steve McNair (Vinny Testaverde)
Buffalo Bills: Jim Kelly (Jack Kemp)
Carolina Panthers: Jake Delhomme (Kerry Collins)
Chicago Bears: Sid Luckman (Jim McMahon)
Cincinnati Bengals: Boomer Esiason (Ken Anderson)
Cleveland Browns: Otto Graham (Bernie Kosar)
Dallas Cowboys: Roger Staubach (Troy Aikman)
Denver Broncos: John Elway (Craig Morton)
Detroit Lions: Bobby Layne (Milt Plum)
Green Bay Packers: Brett Favre (Bart Starr)
Houston Texans: Matt Schaub (David Carr)
Indianapolis Colts: Johnny Unitas (Peyton Manning)
Jacksonville Jaguars: Mark Brunell (David Garrard)
Kansas City Chiefs: Len Dawson (Joe Montana)
Miami Dolphins: Dan Marino (Bob Griese)
Minnesota Vikings: Fran Tarkenton (Wade Wilson)
New England Patriots: Tom Brady (Drew Bledsoe)
New Orleans Saints: Archie Manning (Bobby Hebert)
New York Giants: Phil Simms (Y.A. Tittle)
New York Jets: Joe Namath (Kenny O'Brien)
Oakland Raiders: Ken Stabler (George Blanda)
Pittsburgh Steelers: Terry Bradshaw (Neil O'Donnell)
Philadelphia Eagles: Ron Jaworski (Donovan McNabb)
San Diego Chargers: Dan Fouts (Stan Humphries)
San Francisco 49ers: Joe Montana (Steve Young)
Seattle Seahawks: Dave Krieg (Jim Zorn)
St. Louis Rams: Norm Van Brocklin (Bob Waterfield)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Vinny Testaverde (Steve Young)
Tennessee Titans: Warren Moon (Steve McNair)
Washington Redskins: Sammy Baugh (Sonny Jurgensen)

A couple of edits: credit to Jelly Roll, who reminded me Jurgensen is best known for his Redskins years rather than Eagles. And I can't believe I forgot Jaws for Philly QBs! And staying in Pennsylvania, I switched out Big Ben for Neil O'Donnell, just to cheese off Steeler fans.

Economists Overwhelmingly Support Obama's Plan

I got another one of those doofy emails from a right wing acquaintance. This is the same cat that for the last 20 months or so has sent along every rumor or smear out there. You know the ones: Obama's a closet Muslim, he hates America, he eats small children, etc etc. One of those 20%ers who approve of Bush's job performance, think Sarah Palin could place all 50 states on a blank US map, and care about the William Ayers story.

Anyway, this email proclaimed that economists think Obama's economic plan is "risky". (By the way, I love the word choices: risky, angry, etc...that one! None of it is by accident.) Their source? A McCain campaign press release. This is balder than usual, as the most common sources are independent, non-partisan joints like Heritage, Family Research, or the Limbaugh Basement. As I read this release, it jogged my memory about something I'd read somewhere that disagreed. Had it been an Obama-Biden press release? Something in the (gasp) New York Times? On MSNBC? No...in that flamethrowing left-wing rag The Economist:

"As the financial crisis pushes the economy back to the top of voters’ concerns, Barack Obama is starting to open up a clear lead over John McCain in the opinion polls. But among those who study economics for a living, Mr Obama’s lead is much more commanding. A survey of academic economists by The Economist finds the majority—at times by overwhelming margins—believe Mr Obama has the superior economic plan, a firmer grasp of economics and will appoint better economic advisers."

Sigh. Here's the link to the full story for those of you in the reality-based community, or who may have stumbled across FOX News by mistake looking for a ballgame and now need some facts to cleanse your mental palate.

What the Devil?

So...the Sox are getting ready to roll against the Devil Rays in the ALCS. Yes, I call them the Devil Rays, because I think it's stupid they had to change their name to placate the evangelical community in Tampa-St. Pete. Somehow it hasn't bothered the Duke Blue Devils, the DePaul Blue Demons, the New Jersey Devils, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons or the Arizona State Sun Devils. Maybe it was just to avoid being called Devil Dogs by Jerry Remy, but I find it an amusing comparison in relative power when in a year or two of complaining the religious right can force a team to change its name while decades of lobbying have had no effect on the Braves, the Seminoles, or worst of all, the Redskins. Who is at the cutting edge of political correctness after all? Normally I'm not a big one for team names bugging me, but Redskins is pretty bad. It's a perjorative, like the Boston Honkeys or the New York Kikes or the Atlanta...well, you get the idea.

Debatzzzzzzzzzz

Well, there's 90 minutes of my life I'll never get back. Holy hell. I'll give Sarah Palin this much grudging credit - at least she brings suspense to these dull affairs. With her around it's like sitting on the porch watching a child tease a dog...anything could happen! These other three, Biden and McCain and Obama, are pros. They know to leave the dog alone, so there's really not much fun in watching.

That being said, Obama wasn't brilliant last night. But when you put just OK next to dreadful, the comparison is enough. It reminds me of the Celtics of the mid-80s or the Patriots of the last few years. You knew going in they'd win, the question was by how much, and you were a little disappointed when they didn't win by a bigger margin. "What, Bird only went for 29 points? They only beat Philly by 8? What the hell?"

Obama didn't stumble, which is just about all the GOP is left hoping for. I am torn watching him protect this lead...is it too early? Of course, there are times to run the ball when you're up late, and avoid mistakes and turnovers (see the Colts-Jags game this past Sunday as Exhibit A). The polling all shows Obama winning this debate handily, so it certainly seems the right tactic. I suspect the American people are looking for calm leadership rather than unpredictable maverickyness.

One last thing: the physical differences were striking. As a short, stocky guy myself, I'm familiar with the challenges McCain has going against a taller, leaner foe. The cameras love tall and lean, and TV is an unforgiving medium. Obviously McCain's body also bears the scars of his war wounds, which should get him some slack, but I'm reminded of another Presidential candidate who was injured in wartime and managed to get around a stage OK.

Maybe if McCain and the Republicans didn't disdain Hollywood so much, they could have done what JFK did and solicit some help from professionals on how to move and interact with the broadcast technology despite physical limitations from war injuries.

Less than four weeks out now, and I expect to see Obama's poll numbers continue to rise. The only people who care about William Ayers are wingnuts already voting for Palin-McCain.

Job Interview Skills

Imagine you're interviewing people to fill an important executive post at your company. One guy comes in with a strong educational background, some limited experience in the field, and has a very calm and smooth interview. You discuss his ideas for how to improve the company. He looks you in the eye and treats you with respect.

The second interview is with a much more experienced candidate, though his educational achievements are a concern. He comes in, declares you'll never know what he might do in any situation, and proceeds to spend the better part of an hour talking about what an asshole the other guy is.

Who do you hire?

Bay State

Oh yeah....and I love Jason Bay. Manny never scores on that shallow single. Bring on the Rays!

Inciting Violence

This article in the Washington Post reports on a campaign speech given by Sarah Palin in Clearwater, FL today. She was tossing out the red meat about Obama's "pal" William Ayers, and - I kid you not - this exchange was reported:

"Boooo!" the crowd repeated.
"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.

Kill him? With no response from the candidate? Is this ticket so desperate now that they're holding Klan rallies? Of course, since Palin doesn't know her Supreme Court history, she probably figures Obama is still only worth three-fifths of John McCain.

538

No, not a projected electoral vote total for Barack Obama (he'll be at least 200 votes shy of that mark). No, Fivethirtyeight.com is an electoral projection site by Nate Silver, a veteran of of the Baseball Prospectus. He brings statistical analysis honed by years of projecting hardball numbers to the political realm, and he is very good at it. If you're a numbers junkie, this site holds lots of goodies for you. Check it out.

All They Can Do is Foul

John McCain's promises in the spring of a clean, honorable campaign of ideas seems very long ago and quaint. At the time, he probably figured he'd coast to victory on the wings of his compelling personal story and buddy-buddy relationship with a sycophantic national press. He didn't count on two things: the depth of enthusiasm for Barack Obama amongst Democrats, and the very real disgust Americans have for the mismanagement and deceptive politics of the last eight years.

Wrong on the economy, wrong on Iraq, wrong on health care, wrong on most of the issues voters care about, McCain pulled a rabbit out of the hat with his Sarah Palin VP choice - a rabbit that has proven rabid and more likely to damage him than his opponent. Now, with the polls showing the AZ Senator slipping still further behind both nationally and in key battleground state polling, we see the true Rovian nature of his campaign. Time to bring out the swift boats! Ayers! Wright! Voldemort!

I have to ask - does he really want to begin a war of association guilt? This from a guy with ties to Jack Abramoff, Charles Keating, George Bush? A woman (Palin) with ties to a secessionist group in Alaska really wants to play patriot games with Obama? Sigh. This is like the end of a basketball game, when one team is behind and out of timeouts, and all they can do is foul. As long as Barack and Joe hit their free throws, this will be a Democratic win. The risk McCain/Palin runs is the same as those desperate hoop squads - often all this strategy does is run up the score for your opponent.

Trains

This was too funny...courtesy of an anonymous poster on DailyKos:

SNL at it Again

Tina Fey reprises her role as Sarah Palin, this time spoofing the VP debate. The feedback loop between Palin and Fey reminds me of the Dana Carvey-George HW Bush dynamic. After a while in the early 90's Bush stopped being Bush and became Bush doing Carvey doing Bush. It's beginning to feel that way with Gov. Palin.

My favorite line from this sketch? "I believe marriage should be a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers."

Joe Biden doesn't escape here either, as they skewer his over-the-top "McCain is my buddy" tendencies, as well as his "let me repeat that" tic. Other than that, the ground simply isn't as fertile for mockery. I am sure SNL wishes Obama had picked Hillary for purely comedic reasons.

By the way, does anyone else find it interesting that McCain can pull out of Michigan but not Iraq? It reminds me of the joke:

The war in Iraq is no Vietnam. George Bush knew how to get out of Vietnam.

Eating their Wheaties

I can honestly say I never expected the Sox to take the first two games in Anaheim. The pitching has been very good (Lester) or average (Daisuke), but the offense is what has impressed me. Jason Bay has shown clutch ability, and once again the much-bemoaned JD Drew acquisition (I was against it too) is showing postseason dividends. With Beckett on the hill at home in Game 3, there's a very real chance Boston will sweep the Halos again, despite their top regular season record. And then we'd get to see if this Tampa squad is for real in a seven-gamer.

Of course, the real treat is still out there, with the Dodgers leading their first-round series 2-0 as well. I want to see Manny show up in Dodger blue for Game 1 of the World Series at Fenway. I think the faithful would give him a rousing ovation in the first at-bat, and then boo him relentlessly after that. Nomar might just get boos. Derek Lowe I think would be treated politely.

Sunday now becomes a fun day, with the Pats seeking some redemption against San Francisco at 4:15 and the Sox hosting the Angels for the possible sweep at 7:05. Get yer shoppin' done early, darn tootin'!

Don't Touch That Dial!! (Please?)

It's never been far from my mind that the American media is neither liberal nor conservative, but rather corporate. And like any other corporate entity, they exist solely to make money. For television stations in particular, this translates to the eyeballs motive. The more viewers, the more can be charged for advertising, the more money the shareholders and directors make. This explains quite simply why no matter what happens leading up to an election, the instructions to on-air personalities is to prop up the losing side and pretend like hell that a blowout is not in progress.

Think about it. If you're watching a football game and one team jumps out to a 28-3 lead by halftime, the announcers stress how the trailing squad can get back into it. They likely don't objectively believe it, but their job is not to convey their honest opinion or the truth as they perceive it, bu tot beg viewers not to switch over to repeats of Everybody Loves Raymond, or, heaven forbid, turn off the tube altogether.

This is the same role Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, etc etc play in mainstream media political coverage. That's why in the Democratic primary season, despite a nearly insurmountable delegate lead by Barack Obama, the talking heads always pushed the horse race with Hillary Clinton. The more prolonged the drama, the more "Election Night Specials" and the more viewers. This is happening again this fall. Obama has opened up a significant 5-7 point national lead, as well as an emerging potential landslide in the Electoral College. The punditocracy, therefore, must continually find ways to fend off the electorate's boredom with a perceived foregone conclusion.

(Note - I expect Obama to win. Naturally, anything can happen, and I won't be surprised if somehow this all goes to hell. But report the reality now!)

This is never more clear than in the aftermath of debate performances that starkly illustrate one participant's pummeling of the other. Joe Biden outclassed Sarah Palin in their only debate, an outcome confirmed by virtually every poll conducted. As this threatened to accelerate the end of the electoral gravy train for the media, it had to be played down. So we get a ream of print stories about Palin's folksy (read: unpolished) manner and down-home appeal. Nevermind that she appeared determined to overcome her vast policy ignorance with winks and kittenish behavior. She survived! McCain survives! Four more weeks of ratings! Yay!!!

Eisenhower warned against the military-industrial complex, and with merit. Who will expose the infotainment-political complex? Is there any way to liberate the fourth estate from the Ailes/Murdoch virus that infects it?

Joe Biden Gets it Done

I can't realistically comment on Sarah Palin's performance in the debate tonight. The woman is so clearly artificial and over her head, and I cannot even stomach any more of the lies and crap so blithely delivered.

Joe Biden clearly demonstrated that he is far better prepared to serve in the office of Vice President. And I will say this. His personal history is so heartbreaking that few people could endure what he went through in 1971/72. After his precocious election to the Senate from Delaware his young wife and infant daughter were killed in a car crash and both his young sons were nearly lost as well. That is what he referred to when he choked up, and was the most powerful moment of the debate for me. This man is real, he is sincere, he is authentic, and I respect him more now than I did at 8:59pm.

One more thing: that same moment was Palin's "Dukakis" moment. In his 1988 debate against George Bush, Michael Dukakis was asked how his anti-death penalty position would hold up if his wife were raped and murdered. His soulless, bloodless response shocked and dismayed many people who wanted to see that he had some passion and humanity. Palin's complete inability to register any sympathy following Biden's emotional struggle showed one or both of two things: she wasn't listening, or she didn't care. And either one exposes just how callous and shallow this upjumped double-AA politician really is.

October

Ah, October! What's to love about October?

The Red Sox chase a third World Series in five years. Not sure if they have the weapons on offense to get it done, though there are lots of prospective interesting matchups. How about that elusive Cubs-Sox WS? Or seeing the Dodgers come to Fenway with Manny and Nomar in tow?

The Pats implosion behind Matt Cassel. It's almost like watching a buddy you really like, who is awesome at golf and always kics your ass but you kind of enjoy it because he's so good, but then suddenly he sucks for this one round, wither because he's hung over or his ACL blew out. It's almost fun to watch just because it's so different. That being said, having suffered through the Hugh Millen-Marc Wilson-Tommy Hodson wilderness 15 years ago, this is painfully familiar.

Speaking of defending titles, on the 28th the Celtics begin their defense against King James and the Cavaliers. Will they be as hungry for #18?

The 27th will be Teddy Roosevelt's 150th birthday. He's awesome.

The next book in George RR Martin's Song of Fire and Ice series, A Dance With Dragons, is released October 22. Oh, wait...that's why they call it fantasy. That fat bastard hasn't written a word in months. Write, dammit!

All that and we get to watch Obama's numbers keep climbing like Mike Timlin's ERA.

And of course, Halloween.

Other reasons to love October?