Daniel Kells

I’m not 100% sure I care whether or not the nomination process for the Democrats is wrapped up soon.  Personally, I think that McCain is such a flawed candidate and the country ready for a change that regardless of if the nominee is Hillary or Barack, and regardless of if the process wraps up tomorrow or in August, I think whichever one is the nominee has a better than good shot at winning.

That said, I think a completely wrecked Chelsea is saying to her mom in this photo, “Maaa, I wanna go home, okay?  Now.  Please?  You’re embarrassing me.  C’mon, ma.  Please.  Let’s go.”

Photo:  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Here are some random thoughts/observations, from the past couple of days. 

At the end of Olbermann’s interview with Clinton he said that they offered to interview Obama or one of his surrogates as well, but the Obama campaign passed.  Huh?  I mean, talk about a missed opportunity to speak to the activists that Clinton dissed in her very own “Caught on Tape” moment.  And after Axelrod’s sterling performance on “Meet the Press” yesterday, it seems like it should have been a no-brainer.

+++++++++++++++++

Okay, don’t shoot me.  Seriously, don’t.  But I rewound the Obama speech the first time I saw it because it really did look like he gave the finger.  Now, I’m a rational human being, and I know Obama wouldn’t give the finger in a speech, but I did go back and look at it knowing full-well that Contessa Brewer and other vapid anchorwhores would at least question it.

+++++++++++++++++

And this applies to “Fingergate,” as well as any other damn thing.  Once a question is asked, the media seems to give equal weight to any stupid answer, regardless of whether or not the answer is even plausable.  In what world would Barack Obama give the finger during a speech?  IN NO FUCKING WORLD!!  But that answer must be given equal time to the correct answer, that he was scratching his face.  Lordy, the stupid has been brought recently.

+++++++++++++++++

Okay, I’ve only noticed this three times, but that might be a trend…  And John McCain did is Sunday on “This Week,” so I’m inclined to say that Karl Rove whispered this into his ear and he’s following along like a good little soldier.  Here’s what he did.  Instead of calling Barack “Ba-rock,” he called him “Berrrick.”  Maybe I’ve been reading too many blogs, but I’m certain Karl Rove is behind everything, and this type of thing seems so Rovian.

+++++++++++++++++

The footage of the marchers after Obama’s Friday night rally chanting “Yes We Can” was pretty freaking awesome.

+++++++++++++++++

That thing on John McCain’s face seems larger.  Seriously.  It’s like something from South Park.

+++++++++++++++++

I went to see “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”  My initial instinct was to not see the movie, because their ad campaign around Los Angeles really pissed me off.  (Did this campaign go on elsewhere?  Billboards that say things like “Even my mom could’t stand you Sarah Marshall.”  But they didn’t say anything about the movie?  Like, look at me, I’m clever.  Hehehe.  Whatever, I digress.)  Anyway, didn’t click for me.  But here’s my biggest problem with the film:  the two best lines from the commercial weren’t even in the movie.  Jonah Hill yelling over his shoulder about a party of one, nope, not in the movie.  And Jason Segel sitting naked on the sofa saying, “Do you want to pick out the outfit I should wear for you to break up with me?”  Also not in the movie.  As the kids say these days, WTF?

+++++++++++++++++

Mrs. Landingham is in a commercial for FiberOne Yogurt.  And not as “I’m the woman who played Mrs. Landingham and now I think you need to eat this crap.”  No, she’s just a shopper in a supermarket.  That made me kind of sad.

+++++++++++++++++

On that note, I oftentimes will wake up thinking that I need to check on-line to see what President Bartlet’s administration is up to.  You can imagine my surprise as my dream-state comes crashing down to earth…

+++++++++++++++++

I purchased three non-fiction books today, the first time evah I have not purchased fiction (aside from cookbooks).  Two of Glenn’s book and Cliff’s book.  Hurry, Amazon, bring me books!!

Thanks for reading!!

Never has the comparison between Tracy Flick and Hillary Clinton been so well-presented.

Thanks Crazymonk.

Michele Norris had a quick story on today’s “All Things Considered” on NPR that I thought was pretty great.

She asked a number of voters in South Carolina to say the first thing that came to mind when she said a presidential candidates name.

This link should open up the NPR player.  It’s only about 3 minutes long and worth taking a listen to.

Obama, Edwards and Clinton have been going on and on about who can make change, who can make the best change, the biggest change, the change-y-ist change.  Even Romney’s getting into the mix, and Huckabee is throwing the word around too.  Change change change.  All this talk of change makes me remember this classic SNL commercial.

I don’t know what to make of Ron Paul.  I also don’t know what to make of Sean Hannity.  Truthfully, I don’t care about either of them.  But Ron Paul’s supporters sure got their panties in a bunch when they ran into Sean Hannity on the streets of New Hampshire.  Here’s the video clip of the crowd chasing down Sean.  It seems kind of fun in a strange and demeaning sort of way.

I can’t help but say, their protestations reminded me of the angry mob from South Park.

Barack Obama won the Iowa Caucus this evening, by an 8 point margin.  His victory speech was pretty stunning, I thought.  Congrats to him.  Here it is:

One thought on all of the politics of the night:  Obama won by 8 points and it was a three-way race, but Huckabee wins by 9 points and it’s a landslide.  I’m confused.

Chris Dodd staged a bit of a filibuster yesterday in Washington, D.C., in an effort to keep telecom immunity out of a FISA bill.  It’s rare that you feel exuberant about something a politician does, but this was one of those times.

Truthfully, I’m not sure who will get my vote in the Democratic primary, but I think Dodd deserves consideration.

To celebrate, a favorite moment from “West Wing.”

Mike Huckabee ponders, in the New York Times, what Mormons do and don’t believe.  The exact quote:  “Don’t Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?”

I have no clue what Mormons believe.  For that matter, I have no clue what Baptists believe.  And I don’t really care.  Let them pray and worship however they want, and I’ll pray and worship however I want.

But Mitt Romney’s response has to be one of the stupidest things I’ve read from him in some time, and it really makes me pity the poor panderer.  Here’s his response, from Yahoo! News:

Asked if he believed Huckabee was speaking in a coded language to evangelicals, Romney praised his rival as a “good man trying to do the best he can,” but he added, “I don’t believe that the people of this country are going to choose a person based on their faith and what church they go to.”

As Seth and Amy would say (if there weren’t a writers strike on), really?  Really, Mitt?  You don’t believe that people of this country are going to choose a person based on their faith?  Really?  Where were you in 2000?  And 2004?  If that’s what he believes, I say good luck to him (he’s going to need it).

And for shits and giggles, here’s are Seth and Amy on Larry Craig.  Priceless.

P.S.  End the strike!!

The Republican candidates for President debated last night on CNN.  I watched the whole thing (torturous), and have now read plenty of coverage on the web since the debate, and for the most part what’s been covered is CNN’s behaviour as hosts.

I’m not going to weigh in one way or the other regarding CNN.  Rather, I want to point out something that Mitt Romney asked of Rudy Giuliani.  This was during the immigration debate that anchored the first 20 minutes.

First, Romney said this (all quotes are taken from the official CNN transcript):

ROMNEY:  It [New York] called itself a sanctuary city. And as a matter of fact, when the welfare reform act that President Clinton brought forward said that they were going to end the sanctuary policy of New York City, the mayor actually brought a suit to maintain its sanctuary city status.

Giuliani doesn’t actually refute Romney’s claim that he supported New York being a sanctuary city, mostly because Romney is right (here’s a YouTube clip from 1996 of Guiliani stating his support).  Instead, Giuliani says, essentially, “I know you are but what am I?”

GIULIANI:  …in [Romney's] case, there were six sanctuary cities. He did nothing about them.  There was even a sanctuary mansion. At his own home, illegal immigrants were being employed not being turned into anybody or by anyone.

Here’s the Boston Globe story that ran on the illegal immigrants that “were being employed” at Romney’s mansion.  (Note, they weren’t being employed by Romney, because that would be noteworthy.  It’s what I like to call guilt by near-ssociation.  In a nutshell, Romney hired a company that employed illegal immigrants.  In theory, end of story.  (I honestly doubt there is a single person who has not in some way employed an illegal immigrant, be it by staying at a hotel, eating a piece of fruit grown in the United States, etc.).

But Giuliani says something very scary.  He says that these illegal immigrants were “not being turned into anybody or by anyone.”  That’s some batshit crazy talk.  And, wonder of wonders, Mitt realizes it.

ROMNEY:  Are you suggesting, Mr. Mayor… if you are a homeowner and you hire a company to come provide a service at your home — paint the home, put on the roof.  If you hear someone that is working out there, not that you have employed, but that the company has.  If you hear someone with a funny accent, you, as a homeowner, are supposed to go out there and say, “I want to see your papers.”

From there, the two of them cross-bicker without Giuliani ever answering the question, until a moment later DILF Anderson Cooper says, “We got to move on.”  And on they move.

Best as I can tell, what Romney lays out is what Giuliani believes, that we should ask for papers if confronted with a brown person (or “someone with a funny accent”).  (A Wikipedia search for “Papers Please” links directly to the page on ”Civilian checkpoints.”)  And I suspect that most of the Republican candidates on that stage last night believe the same, that if you encounter somebody who has the outward appearance of a stereotypical illegal immigrant, you have the right to question their citizenship, essentially to ask, “papers please.”  (Here’s the Wikipedia page on “Identity documents in the United States.”)

But I believe it is because Mitt Romney essentially agrees with what Rudy Guiliani was suggesting (and contrary to what Romney portrayed to be true as he pearl-clutchingly admonished Giuliani for his racially insensitive faux pas) that has prevented the Romney campaign for addressing this loose end.

Romney believes that a national ID card should be issued to any non-citizen.  The question is, how do we know who is or isn’t supposed to be carrying said card?  I guess we can just start with the brown people and see how far that takes us.

Should you desire a laugh or a cry, here’s a link to a YouTube clip of this part of last night’s debate.  (Pregnant women should not watch this as it may cause birth defects.)