Clint, The Morning After

Dinner with Barack

Not dinner with the President. Not dinner with Obama. Nope. Just Barack. Your buddy, up against a brick wall like so many promising young bands and hopeful comedians. Barack. You and Barack. Dinner. That will be special.

I have no doubt that the skillful and shrewd tacticians of the Obama campaign are totally in touch with their audience (See that Google + icon?) and they will most likely outwit the Romney camp this November, but I wish they could reign in the coolness just a touch. We're talking about the leader of the most powerful country on earth - not Justin Bieber.

What will you and Barack talk about at dinner? My guess is he will feign interest in whatever you want to talk about and probably laugh at your lame jokes. He will also be familiar with your favorite music. He's cool like that. 

Herman Cain's New Ad: Smokin'

Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan, which vaulted him to the lead of the pack of 87 Republican hopefuls, was a nice soundbite at first, but has since been quickly gutted by all the other candidates, not to mention the pundits as well as the poor people who can't afford 9% of nothing. But Cain has taken that early jump in popularity to produce the strangest, perhaps coolest ad a presidential hopeful has made in years. It's nearly avant garde, it's so different.



There are no gloriously billowing flags. Cain is not featured with his sleeves rolled up, engaging in tough talk with farmers and laborers or happily mingling with families and babies. The Statue of Liberty is absent, along with the stirring narrative of one man's rise from nothing to a powerful and rich man.

All we get is Cain's Chief of Staff, Mark Block, looking haggard and road-weary, talking to us head-on in a nearly too close close-up in front of a city building. And then! AND THEN he takes a drag from his smoke and exhales. It is the last thing you'd ever expect to see and yet it is perfection. It might even be a subtle dig at the rumors that Obama has never really kicked his nicotine habit.

And they finish the ad with, as expected, an image of Cain himself, and yet it is not at all what you'd expect in the end-of-spot image of the candidate. The background appears to be simple, vertical window blinds, and a slow, nearly eerie smile creeps across Cain's face.

I think Cain's people have just changed the game of political advertising. Shepherd Fairey was a game-changer with his "Hope" poster, but this thing is nearly an indie film. I expect to see some unexpected people taking a fresh look at Cain after this.

Every State Has a Springfield

Dominating the skyline like an Eastern European monument to thoughtless architecture, the Springfield, Illinois Hilton lends an eerie ugliness to a town whose chief qualities are eeriness and ugliness.

Scene of Obama's announcement to run for President (an impressive event) and the home of the Illinois State Capitol (an impressive structure) the town also hosts the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. This is no ordinary museum, and despite its overwhelming fascination with death and ghosts and creepiness (a wax figure of Mary Todd Lincoln sits dressed in black, the window reflecting a gloomy rain as she mourns the death of her son with a bible on her lap; a replica of the rotunda is dark and ominous, where Lincoln's body lies in state) the museum rivals anything Disney could do. Put together by BRC Imagination Arts (WARNING: exceptionally cheese-filled homepage video on their website) the exhibits leave you asking, "How did they do that?" which is a pretty decent takeaway for any museum.

We had a good visit, randomly deciding to stop in (at the compulsion of some roadside signs) as we drove through the very flat and uninspiring middle of Illinois. Springfield has an Arby's. We ate there. I had the French Dip, an inspired sandwich, the au jus of which was "CAUTION: EXTREMELY HOT" so I cannot sue them for a burnt tongue as they warned me ahead of time.

I took a moment to travel back in time to try to talk John Wilkes Boothe out of what he kept referring to as his "destiny," but alas, I was too late. His mind was made up.

Why Your Presidents Get So Old So Fast

It’s going to be sad for many Americans to watch Barack Obama age right before our eyes over the next few years. But it happens to all Presidents. Here’s George Bush, the dashing young Republican star, when he took office in 2000, and as he appears today, a hearing-impaired, sad and withered man.


Many speculate that it is the pressure of the job that wears these men down. No, it’s not. How hard is to it have everything done for you and once in a while make a speech? Oh, sure, you occasionally have to make a “tough” decision. But that’s after you’ve been told what to decide by countless advisers. You’re simply the Decider in Chief. All the thinking is done for you.

What really wears these guys down are the secrets of the job. Few people know what a new President is privy to. I will tell you. I don’t want to shake your faith in America, but it’s better to be an informed citizen than an ignorant one.

Just as a new CEO of Disney is taken to the basement of Cinderella’s Castle to pay homage to the cryogenically frozen head of Walt Disney, a new President, immediately after being sworn-in, is whisked to the basement of the US Capitol to hear The Truth from the Secret Shadow Government. They let him in on the following facts:

• All decisions are subject to the approval of The Masons, who have a tunnel that leads directly to the Oval Office from their National Headquarters.
• Everything you've heard about Area 51 is true, but it is nothing compared to Area 52, where the Lizard Aliens control the weather and concoct the chemtrail mixtures.
• JFK ordered his own assassination.
  
• The Spice Girls were CIA counter-intelligence operatives. Well, all of them except Posh.
• Air Force One, the Presidential plane, is remote-controlled from the moon, where a large Air Force base was built in the 60s during the Apollo missions. Space Shuttle missions are nothing more than food and medicine deliveries.
• The Russians are our eternal friends and allies. We keep up the illusion of tension in order to keep other nations fearful and subjugated.
• The NFL is rigged. Referees are actually robots, pre-programmed to throw games as dictated by the Vegas gambling bosses.
• It's not just Elmer's Glue, but Cheetos, Doritos and most other snack foods are made from retired race horses.
  

There are so many more secrets, but it would take me days to write them all. And after they tell him these things, the Overlords place a permanent monitoring device in the new President's head that reads his thoughts. If he so much as thinks of spilling the American secrets he knows, even to his wife late at night in bed, the Overlords deliver an electric shock to his private parts.

Who wouldn't age quickly under those circumstances?

Good luck, Obama. We'll try to remember you as the innocent, young guy you are now.

Admit It: You Were Moved

Regardless of how you voted, (or if you're a foreigner watching from afar) tonight is special.

God Bless America. And I don't use that term loosely.

Ashley Todd - Letter From Jail

Where's My Jetpack? has obtained an exclusive copy of a letter Ashley Todd wrote her fellow College Republicans.

Click for the Bigness

Joe The Plumber - The Real Story

Thank God for YouTube. Here's the full "confrontation" between Joe The Plumber and Barack Obama. Sean Hannity will never let you see this.



There goes your "socialist" argument, Right Wing Propagandists. For almost six minutes, Obama explains to Joe The Plumber the intricacies of his tax plan. It's long and boring, but it shows how insane this campaign has become, where the phrase "spread the wealth around" is lifted to prove that Obama is a Commie.

Gimme a fuckin' break.

Straight Talk, my ass, Johnny. You're a sad, little shadow of the imaginary character you used to pretend to be.

We Will be United by Grilled Chicken

I voted early. And while I like the fact that a vote is a private matter, I'll let you in on what I did.

I guess you can say I am a Communist, Socialist, Terrorist-loving America-hater now. (UPDATE: Who wants to kill babies. Thanks, Jim.)

I called my parents tonight as I was grilling. My mom already voted also. She is now a Fascist, Racist War-mongerer. Dad hasn't voted yet. He's on the fence. Both Mom and I tried to dissuade him from going over to the Dark Side, whichever side that may be.

My parents taught me to love America and to take our gifts here seriously, as my grandparents taught them. We can have fun, irreverent and jabbing debates, reiterating the talking points of our favorite partisan news networks. And we're still going to be family on November 5th. And we will all respect the President, whomever he may be. At least that's how it works in theory.

You get the point. The vitriol, hyperbole and rhetoric is temporary. In the end, win or lose, we're still in a representative democracy where everyone has a voice. We're not turning Fascist, and we're not turning Socialist. Lighten the fuck up, everybody.

And my Dad was intrigued by what I was grilling. (He taught me to love a grill.) It was an experiment, but it turned out OK.

• Start with three boneless, skinless breast of chicken
• Soak chicken in one bottle teriyaki marinade and one can of crushed pineapple for about an hour
• Throw on the grill
• Flip after a while
  
• Throw some more of that marinade on them
• If it gets dark, cut them open and see if they're done
• Flip if not, close the grill, pour another glass of wine
• Take off grill

Serve with horseradish rice* and salad.


* That was another experiment.

Hey, Joe

Click for the bigness

Live Blogging The Debate

9:01 Bob tries to tell them not to stick to talking points. Good luck with that, Schieffmaster.
9:02 What could McCain be writing already? Furious note-writing out of the gate. Major Botox treatment this week also.
9:03 Oh! Beat Obama to the Nancy Reagan "thoughts and prayers" thing.
9:06 Blah blah blah already. Did I just commit to live blogging?
9:06 Obama agrees with McCain. Take a shot.
9:07 McCain has the balls to look "that one" in the eye and then brings up the plumber dude, Joe, recent hero of the right. Addressing Joe now, McCain will give Joe the moon and put the Communists out to pasture - if you will help me now.
9:09 Obama not getting it done for the Joes of the world. Responding in wonk-speak.
9:11 Mac says "spread the wealth" five times. Class warfare. Poor Joe.
9:12 Mac has a boner for Joe the Plumber.
9:12 Obama stumbling. On the ropes. Not addressing "spread the wealth." Sounding like a rookie in an earlier debate with Hillary.
9:13 McCain sees an opening, pouncing. Kicking Obama's ass on the Joe issue. Says "spread the wealth" one more time. He knows the base.
9:16 Obama is like some Constitutional Law professor from Chicago. What? Oh.
9:17 Drill Baby Drill. Wind Tide Solar zzzzzzz
9:17 I think McCain drank three Red Bulls backstage. Looking for a fight. He knows how to do a lot of things. I think he's going to have a heart attack by night's end. Obama smirking at the Arizona senator.
9:19 Here comes the Sleepy Senator from Illinois. Ehhh - I - Uhh....uhhh - errrr. Get to the point!
9:20 History lesson from the Professor. Obama is off his game.
9:21 McCain unveils a canned joke. "I'm not President Bush. Should've run four years ago." Mild chuckling from partisan hacks in audience.
9:22 No matter how this ends, I make this safe prediction: 95% of Fox News viewers say McCain won.
9:23 McCain makes goofy Botox face at Obama slamming Fox News. Obama again lifting up His Holiness, Saint John of Arizona.
9:24 McCain brings up his scars. Take a shot.
9:25 Schieffer wants to hear the dirt behind the dirt, but McCain blames the Commie for not doing the Town Hall Let's Fly Together in a Plane thing. McCain bringing up the John Lewis condemnation. McCain is "hurt."
9:27 Obama smiling in that "fuck you, old man" way. Obama says, "If you can't stand the heat, quit throwing gasoline on the fire." Slams the Town Hall lie. Brings it back to the issue of the economy.
9:30 McCain watched football on Sunday. Saw his Cardinals hand it to the bastard Cowboys. Pissed off that there were so many Obama ads. Brings up his new Crush, Joe the Plumber again. Demands an apology for the John Lewis condemnation.
9:31 Obama takes McCain to the matt and tells him to suck it hard on the Lewis thing.
9:32 McCain breathing hard into the mic, trying to interrupt. Getting outwitted.
9:33 John getting his word in. Obama in the split screen practicing his "fuck you" glare. McCain brings up the "Sarah is a Cunt" t-shirts. Hey, John! It's what you called your wife! Where do you think they got the idea for the shirts?
9:35 Palling around with terrorists. Finally bringing up the ACORN talking point, McCain is hitting his stride.
9:36 "When I was eight years old" is Obama's standard defense. Here comes the Annenberg storyline. Watch, out Johnny! It's a trick. Obama takes out Ayers with a flip of his wrist. Now to ACORN. "Motor voter. DMV. Facts out. Associations." I'm getting tired of this shit.
9:39 McCain not letting go of Ayers and ACORN. Brings up his Hannity line, "Launched your campaign in his living room." He is bent on the Rove-Hannity line, now bringing it absurdly back to "helping you" as he wraps up his attack.
9:41 If Obama says that Biden rode the train home every day, finish the bottle. Energy indpendence? How did you get there from here?
9:42 McCain selling Palin. Arrg. He knows it's not his campaign anymore. It's hers. Calls her "A Bresh of Freath Air." She's his "partner." Careful, Johnny. Cindy is a wildcat. Oh crap. He did it. The "special needs" card is played! And Todd is a tough guy too. Dontcha know.
9:45 McCain says Biden has "cockimamey ideas." I don't know how to spell "cockimamey." If you use that word, you should find a synonym.
9:46 McCain getting exasperated with the Commie Moderator Schieffer. Cutting him off, breathing very heavily into his mic again. MSM plant!
9:48 Wind Tide Solar Natural Gas. McCain's got this talking point down cold.
9:48 Obama doing his Kennedy thing. "Ten Years" we can get off foreign oil. Do a shot if he brings up Kennedy and the Space Race.
9:49 Solar Wind BioDiesel. (That was Obama.)
9:50 Can I refill my wineglass? C'mon, Bob! Commercial break yet?
9:51 Oh! McCain says "Nice speech, slickboy, but we see through your hustle."
9:52 McCain is holding his own. Has likely pulled his poll-numbers up by 5 tonight. The race will go on.
9:53 As usual, Obama is measured, smart and informed, while McCain again breathes heavily into the mic. Sadly, this will register as a loss for Obama. He's not hotheaded. McCain is on fire in a desperate way, and that's what red-state America likes.
9:55 McCain just linked Obama to Chavez. This is red-meat mayhem.
9:57 Obama selling his health care plan. Gonna cut my premiums by $2500 a year, he says. If not, I get a Senate health care plan, like he and John enjoy.
9:58 Schieffer! I need a refill! Commercial?
9:59 McCain giving his health care plan. Kids are fat, gotta get fit. Oh, crap! Joe the Fucking Plumber again! Fox News struck gold with the Joe the Fucking Plumber. Joe should sue for misuse of his name and image.
10:00 Obama now addressing Joe the Plumber. This dude is the talk of the nation, sitting in his modest home in Ohio, wondering how the hell his life became a national issue. Calling his brother-in-law now, who knows a guy who represents some jugglers, models and commercial actors.
10:03 McCain just said "Hey, Joe!" This has become Joe's debate. I think I hear Obama laughing under his breath into his mic.
10:04 McCain tries again with the failed hair-plug joke from the last debate.
10:05 Joe the Plumber, you should be the President.
10:06 Split screen. It's obvious from this view. Obama kicks ass. Cool. McCain just a sad old asshole. But we don't vote on such superficial matters in this country. Back to the debate.
10:07 Supreme Court Nominees. McCain will find people who adhere to the Constitution when selecting judges. Won't overlook abortion lovers.
10:08 Obama will also consider abortion haters when looking for judges.
10:09 Obama taking it a step further, appealing now directly to his liberal base in secret intellectual code. Lost most of America on that one, including McCain, everyone regarding it as "silly egghead talk."
10:12 McCain is about to take it deep. Gonna call Obama a child killer.
10:13 Trying to nuance his way around his Illinois Senate vote regarding "life-saving treatment" for babies who survive abortion. It's such a long explanation, that right or wrong, it sounds wrong. McCain breathing hard again.
10:14 Obama says, "Sexuality is sacred." Points from the faithful. Muslims and Jews included.
10:15 McCain tires to repeat the lie that his illegitimate black child is actually adopted. JK! (HAHA! Funny Bush joke... Sorry.)
10:16 Schieffer! Need a wine refill!
10:17 "Army of New Teachers," says Obama. COMMIE! MARXIST!
10:19 Obama doing the Bill Cosby thing. "Turn off the TV, put away the video games. It's up to the parents."
10:20 McCain says, "We find bad teachers another line of work." Huh?
10:21 All in all, Schieffer kicking Ifill's and Broakaw's asses. For all of his softball wimpiness on Sunday mornings, he's pretty strong tonight. At least he's strong by his own soft standards.
10:22 Obama AGAIN agrees with McCain. Shot. But he does this as part of his "measured" thing. "I'm not a hothead. I'm cool." It costs him in the short run, like tomorrow's polls, but in the end, it sinks in with the voters. Obama will pay a price of 5 to 6 points by week's end, buoyed by pundits and spinners tonight and tomorrow.
10:24 Autism is now McCain's pet project, because he loves Sarah. And Sarah's boy. And Todd. First dude, doncha know.
10:26 Closing statements.
10:27 McCain: New Direction. Reform. He has a Record. Looking uncommonly "connected" with the camera. Digs on "trust." "A long line of McCains" almost sounds defeated. Sorry Dad. Sorry, Grandpa.
10:29 Obama: "Failed Failed Failed. McCain = Bush. Eight Years." Investing = Taxcuts? Dude, I'm no economist, but that makes no sense. Still stumbling in his closing remarks.
10:30 Verdict: McCain lives to fight another day.

Warm Your Cold Heart for a Minute

I ride around the neighborhood and count the woefully outnumbered Obama signs to McCain signs. (34 to 5 on a seven mile ride) I open the paper to economic doom and gloom. I turn on my TV to shouting, blood-thirsty fascists at rallies. And then, standing behind a man at 7-11 who is buying a McCain coffee cup, I find myself secretly despising him and questioning HIS patriotism.

When it's all over, we will still have much in common. Our football teams will unite us, our hobbies, our music, our jobs and the daily tasks within those jobs.

And of course, our pets.

This is a member of the US Air Force returning from Iraq after 14 months and being welcomed home by his two Australian shepherds. Watch this and try not to smile.



Seen at the Atlantic.

The Obligatory Debate Analysis

(I know I'm not the only one who remembers how to spell "analysis" because of its first four letters.)

Forget the spinners. They had their stories written before the debate was over. David Brooks this morning leads with, "There she was, resplendent in black," thereby cementing which of his readers will continue and which readers will promptly take his column out to the yard to pick up dog shit.

Michelle Malkin, who is nothing less than a modern-day Goebbels, is ridiculous in her praise, including the title the fan girl gives her piece, "Sarah Rocks!" (Exclamation Michelle's, not mine.)

In the end, if you loved her before, you love her even more now. If you didn't like her before, you're only sorry she didn't freak out and run offstage. If you were neutral and "undecided," you likely still are.

After the liars are done lying, the sober will see this for what it was: a wind-up doll reading notes that had little to do with the questions being asked. I suppose after a month of intense cramming and debate-prep, any one of us could've pulled it off. But in today's politics, that's a "victory." We're living in a Reality TV show.

You can like her spunk and her "charm" and her plucky go-get-'em-ness, but if you can see this person sitting in the White House making decisions that will affect you and me, you live in a different world than I do.

Coffee with the Candidates

If I am jacked up today on caffeine, I blame 7-11 for providing their Obama and McCain cups only in the large size.

7-Eleven is again conducting their presidential poll via coffee cups. They call it "7-Election." Choose McCain or Obama cups and the UPC scan records your choice. Says 7-Eleven President and CEO Joe DePinto, “7-Election provides an interesting daily snapshot of the election.”

Clever idea, except they do not provide a daily snapshot of the election. The cups are in the stores and I'm drinking from one now, but nowhere on 7-Eleven's site is this mentioned, and the website "7-Election" is "coming soon." I blame IT, as they are usually prima donna punks acting all swamped and put-upon and "no one appreciates us."

A long and silly press release is here, including where DePinto calls us "citizen-customers."

McCain-Hillary '08

Following her Miss South Carolina performance with Katie Couric, it's hard to find a single pundit outside of Limbaugh or Hannity who still thinks Sarah Palin was a good choice for McCain, with some people suggesting she drop off the ticket to "spend more time with her family."

Here's what it looks like over at Johnny Mac HQ.

Click for big! Print it! Collect them all and trade with your friends!

Jammakane Says "Psyche! I'll Debate Ya!"

Much has been written, spoken and shouted with insane partisan vitriol about the thinness of Obama's resume, and to reply with "He was a community organizer!" is a pretty weak retort. Obama's resume is extremely thin, but one thing Obama isn't is a knee-jerk, stunt-prone, crap-shootin' drama queen, like The War Hero Straight Talking Maverick Man of Action, John Sydney McCain III.

We've just been through eight years of a cock-sure bastard of a spoiled frat-boy President, and fully one half of this country is ready to replace him with another. Obama displays grace under pressure, whereas McCain acts on impulse, often looking petulant and borderline insane. Call it politics, but picking Sarah Palin showed a giant lapse in judgment, as did his recent "I've got to go to Washington and put my country first" bullshit ploy.

Turns out Ole Man will be at Ole Miss tonight for the big debate, now that he got his photo-op where he was pretending to be involved in the Wall Street bailout while pretending to suspend his campaign. I probably agree more with McCain on the issues than I do with Obama, but the man's severe lack of integrity, while loudly proclaiming what a man of integrity he is, makes me unable to take him seriously. With apologies to anyone who likes him, I think this guy is an absolute piece of shit, and I'm pretty sure I still have the right to think that in America.

I propose a new drinking game for tonight's debate:

• Every time McCain says "My friends," do a shot.
• Every time he says, "Here's some straight talk," do two shots.
• Every time he refers to Vietnam or brings up being a POW, do three shots.

You will be wasted in five minutes.

Speaking of Ole Miss, how do they get away, in this day and age, of calling their team "The Rebels"? That old Southern Pride dies hard. Not that I am in favor of revisionist history, but Rebels? Really? Why not the Slave Holders? Or Racists? How about Lynch Mob?

And lest anyone doubt that this election is tinged with overt racism, there is an underground element at work that will never in a million years consider voting for a black man. I received a mass email last night, forwarded who-knows-how-many times to countless individuals. The text of the email said, "This is tooooo funny!!!!!" Below that was a Photoshopped image of Obama shining Palin's shoes. The original photograph can be seen here, and the photographer from Australia is not amused.

Push Poll Paul

I've modified "Cold Call Carl" as we come into the final stretch of this marathon of an election season. The din of the spin is deafening and dumbing.

If I were a teacher and America sat in my classroom, I would mark on her paper, "F. See me."

click for bigness

Crossposted to Radio Free Babylon.

Idiocracy & Caribou Barbie

The term "Caribou Barbie" (in quotes) searched on Google nets 15,300 results. That sure didn't take long.

Nevermind that she took little Wasilla, Alaska from a debt-free city to $19 million in debt in her short term, the Rove Machine is selling her as a "fiscal conservative."

Say what you will about the manufacture of Obama, how he is a creation of the Axelrod marketing machine. I have said so much myself. But what we see happening right now is surreal. A total unknown (about whom much more is becoming known) is being sold to the American voting public as a "revolution." Energize that base, "Base" being an excellent synonym for "totally base."

While Mrs. Palin is hiding from the media and learning foreign policy from Joe Lieberman, Obama's star is fading in the afterglow of America's initial introduction to Caribou Barbie and her one speech, written by Bush's speech writers and delivered artfully by the former sportscaster. A quick study, Mrs. Palin will emerge from hiding and dupe millions into thinking that she is a thoughtful, experienced and poised leader, ready to assume the office of President of the United States tomorrow.

If this country elects McCain, (who has sadly been eclipsed by his running mate) we are much closer to Idiocracy than I thought. But I have every expectation that my brain-dead countrymen will do just that.

Now might be a good time to watch that movie.

Wake Up, All You So-Called Patriots

I can overlook the fact that she wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade. I can understand trying to oust her brother-in-law from his job in defense of her sister in the midst of a nasty custody battle. I can forgive her pretending to be a reformer when she really was in fact a strong advocate of that "bridge to nowhere," among other pork projects. I even understand the Evangelical desire to teach "intelligent design" alongside evolution. I'm even willing to turn a deaf ear to her crazy claim that the War in Iraq was a "task from God."

But when you start putting pressure on the local librarian of your small town to ban books, you've crossed a line in my America. You're not "Putting Country First," lady, unless your country is Nazi Germany.

I expect that the answer to all these charges from the fawning "base" of the Republican party will be, "Reverend Wright! William Ayers!"

Wave your flags, patriots, as you rush to fall in line behind another Cheney.

Sarah Smells Blood

A large group of white people showed up in St. Paul, Minnesota last night to cheer on America’s Homecoming Queen and Junior Class President, and then dance awkwardly to some crazy song called “Raisin’ McCain” sung by some country music guy only country music fans are familiar with. I’m not sure if they understood the irony of the title of the song. While the happy family played Hot Potato with Snow White's Down syndrome baby, the cameras panned desperately for a face of color, occasionally finding one and then lingering on it for an awkwardly long moment. And poor Levi Johnston made his debut as the groom in America’s next reality TV show, Shotgun Wedding.

All Governor Palin had to do last night was not screw up, and she had plenty of time to practice her speech, sequestered in a hotel for five days lest she actually have to face questions about her questionable past from a curious press, now the enemy of the McCain camp for doing the job McCain failed to do.

The speech was textbook Sean Hannity (minus Sean's daily, coded allusions to the Antichrist), although delivered in the voice of the school secretary from Ferris Buehler’s Day Off. Ms. Palin proved herself worthy of a fight, and I hope Senators Biden and Obama come at her swinging wildly, caring not for her gender nor playing nice in deference to her neophyte status. She’s a pit bull in lipstick by her own account, and the only way I know to fight a rabid pit bull is to whack it in the head with a baseball bat.

Let the battle begin.