Ducks come home to roost

Obama nails McCain:

"If my opponent had his way, the millions of Floridians who rely on it would've had their Social Security tied up in the stock market this week. Millions would've watched as the market tumbled and their nest egg disappeared before their eyes," he said.

"I know Sen. McCain is talking about a 'casino culture' on Wall Street -- but the fact is, he's the one who wants to gamble with your life savings and that is not going to happen when I'm president. When I'm president, we're not going to gamble with Social Security."

Please, Barack, don't let him get up off the canvas.

Life imitates art

Actually, journalism ignores comedy, but that just doesn't have the same ring.

Jon Stewart lays it out for the cable news blatherers. To their credit, CNN gives a summary that had to sting, starting with:

Jon Stewart took after the "established" media for getting too cozy with candidates and regurgitating campaign spin when it comes to political coverage.

Then, McCNN proceeds to fill its Political Ticker with abject propaganda from two Republican political operatives who don't even try to find anything but a way to spin Democrats. And McCNN "balances" them with Bill Schneider, who is not only center right but who seldom misses the chance to push out some vacuous RNC mantra - "No one will mention Obama’s middle name here."

McCNN is still not Fox, but it's willing to be Fox if that will get it laid. Or MSNBC. Or even Media Whores Online, if it could just figure out which way is the right was to get on its knees.

Recount

I haven't watched the HBO docudrama about Florida in 2000. It would provoke too many painful memories. Maybe someday when I'm feeling too good and need a downer...

One thing I have to say for Hillary Clinton: If Al Gore had shown her tenacity in 2000, America would be a lot different today. Hillary is counting up the popular votes to achieve the desired outcome, but the vote itself is a total muddle. How do you count Michigan? How do you count caucuses? She is of course counting in the most advantageous way possible.

The problem with applying that lesson to 2008 is that Harold Ickes's threat of a floor fight is an extortionate threat to throw the election to McCain. It puts personal ambition ahead of party and country by risking four more years for the disastrous Bushist Republicans.

Don't get me wrong. All of these candidates compromise for their ambition. McCain kissed so much Bushist and fundie ass over eight years that he learned to like it. Obama cut ties to his church to try to stop the bleeding rather than help his congregation. Hill's just one of the bunch.

Still, the one outcome worse than a Pyrrhic victory is a Pyrrhic loss.