More Eww

Apparently Gennifer Flowers is going to auction off recordings she made of her and Bill Clinton having phone sex in 1992.

This is why we can’t have nice things America.

Eww

You don’t have to be too cynical to think that allegations regarding John McCain having an affair might actually be a plus for him, or even something his campaign might try to keep simmering through November.  On the one hand, if his age becomes an issue for voters in the national election (especially against someone as relatively young as Obama), the notion of him having extra-marital dalliances works to his advantage, albeit in an icky way.  Beyond that, given that all the “true” conservatives will eventually come around to voting for him in spite of their cherished principles, a little tawdriness like this seems to be a drop in the bucket compared to his supposedly liberal biases on taxes and immigration.

Politics. On the Internet.

Just a somewhat random thought after yet another impressive evening for Obama:

No doubt Hillary is going to have to go negative to win back some votes in the remaining contests, but will she dare unleash the man who probably could have tipped things to Gore way back in 2000?

My guess is yes.  To her great detriment.   And my great amusement.

Update: Well, I’m not patting my back too hard.  It was kind of an easy call (via).

Mid-Atlantic Madness

Two states and a city I’ve all lived in vote in primaries today — Maryland, Virginia, and DC. I’ll be the first to admit that I was skeptical about Obama getting anywhere, if only because of his inexperience with the shark-pool that is the Clinton program, but maybe this is for real. I honestly hope it is.

Oliver Willis did his part. Good on him.

And if Hillary is “downplaying” these races, it can only mean she’s getting a lot more of a fight than she or her handlers ever expected.

Spaztastic

According to Pitchfork, The Mae Shi have a new album out.  And here I’d thought they’d only existed for one bizarre night back in Charlottesville putting on one of the craziest shows I’d ever seen.  They’ve been through some line-up changes and have apparently become interested in writing “songs,” which may or may not be a good thing.  You can check out their obligatory myspace page.

Neck and Neck

Still no clear winner between Barack and Hillary, which means there’s still hope for an Obama candidacy.  Here’s hoping he can pull it out.

That said, it’s nice to see so much turnout, interest, and energy all around.  A pox on “coronation” primaries in the future.

Epic Lulz

The FAIL Blog.

Year of the Rat

Happy Lunar New Year to all.

(But New York City doesn’t appreciate this noble creature, apparently.)

True Believers

As scads of “true” Republicans gather once again for CPAC, it amuses me greatly to hear all the talk about how John McCain isn’t conservative enough.  I guess zombie-Joseph Goebbels must be too busy clubbing gay baby seals to throw his hat into the ring.

The whole thing is tired, even by the incredibly low standards of American politics.  Whine and moan all they want, they’ll be pulling the lever for McCain come November and justify their actions with tough-guy talk about the need to put aside principle in order to staunch the hellish, forsaken tide of a possible Hillary presidency.  See, Republicans ain’t afraid of a little hypocrisy now and then, no sir.  If they were, the terrorists would surely win.

So today McCain groveled before them.  What a maverick.

Super Tuesday

I’m intentionally limiting my political coverage intake for various reasons.  I do think it bodes well that a record number of people on both sides are getting involved with their party machinery, and that this year’s nominees weren’t decided as early as New Hampshire or South Carolina.

So, having said nice things about the current American political process, let’s cut to the chase.  It’s fairly clear that both parties are lining up their establishment prospects (Hillary and McCain) despite all the talk about “change” over the past few months.  This is nothing new for the Republicans (sorry Bob Dole), but it’s hard not to be discouraged by a Democratic party that seems to be on the verge of sacrificing a lot of genuine excitement and energy (in the form of Obama’s run) for the lukewarm and ostensible safety of Hillary.  (Which is kind of staggering.  Since when is a candidate with negatives as high as Hillary’s thought of as the “safe” choice, anyways?)