The word on the street is that Barack Obama will be receiving a lot of votes in the Texas primary from republicans. This I do not like. I more than welcome voters coming across the aisle on election day -- in November, not in primaries. The primary is for us true-blue party-members. We've worked for it; let us choose our candidate.
I should take advantage of the miserable predictions I make. This email comes from a reader...
I'm hoping that "one" of your political predictions will be correct and Hillary drops out next Wednesday.
Yes, if only "one" of my predictions come true. However, I think I am now prepared to make my boldest prediction yet, several months in advance: John McCain will be the nation's 44th president.
Although this is shaping up to be a democratic year, that line tends to be murky for presidential races. Even if the good guys pick up twenty seats in the House and five in the Senate, that doesn't mean it will be an easy win for Obama or Clinton.
Racialism will come into play if Obama is the candidate, and male chauvinism if the candidate ends up being Clinton. It will not be that easy to wipe away generations of division in this country, especially when the opponent can be considered a centrist. A white, male centrist, at that.
I sincerely hope I am wrong with this prediction, but the way that I see it, and the way that this election may play out -- imagine Tim Russert grilling Obama with Iraq hypotheticals in a debate -- I am going to predict a McCain presidency, just to be safe. That way, the result won't break my heart (again).
I will concede that the nation could do worse than McCain, for one, the sitting lame duck, but as we can see in the candidacies of Clinton and Obama, the country could do much, much better. That doesn't mean it's going to happen though. (Prepare for heartbreak, is all I'm suggesting.)
Overall I think this movie is a bit overrated. There is clearly good acting, and is worthy of praise, but I can see why it didn't win Best Picture. Also, this film is a tad on the slow side, so don't watch this too late at night.
(Returned 02/29/08.)
The year two thousand and eight (in the year of our lord, Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary and Joseph) is a leap year, which makes today -- February 29, 2008 -- a leap day. This is a pagan's Mardi Gras. The calendar has finally caught up with the Earth's revolution around the sun. If you are walking the streets this evening, please follow the rules of the buddy system. Chaos will commence; be safe out there.
On a personal note, when the doctor picked a day out of nowhere, probably by throwing a dart at a calendar on the wall, he told my mother that I would be born on February 29. It didn't work out that way, but if it had, I would have supposedly been named for my father, Roger. Assuming everything happened exactly the same from that day on (plus two weeks), this blog may have been called "er on the hill." Hmmm. Probably wold have needed to brainstorm a bit.
Speaking of my father, we did do a podcast on Valentine's Day, the evening before my parents left our house, and I will be posting that soon. That is the unfortunate part of podcasting, the post-production. I think I may need a second intern.
From Harper's Magazine's 'About' section... "In more recent years, the magazine published Woodrow Wilson and Winston Churchill long before either man became a political leader."
Yes, in more recent years. The magazine currently has three correspondents covering the looming savings and loan crisis.
7:43am
This just in, the president and his administration believes "in a strong dollar policy." This is, of course, counter to the historical long-held policy of the Unites States government advocating for a weak dollar.
7:45am
Ooh, a difficult question on the funding of his library at SMU.
7:48am
Here's a crazy idea: The U.S. should boycott the 2008 Olympic games. Where are these questions coming from? How much have I missed?
7:49am
Bush suggests 11 billion dollars of profit is not reason enough for the oil companies to explore for more oil.
7:50am
Bush: "We need less dependence on foreign oil." We also need a balanced budget.
This is my wish to god, if there were one, or if there ever will be one. Please have the White House press conferences be scheduled around west coast bloggers. This is ridiculous; it is almost halfway over.
Earlier in the election season, Barack Obama seemed flustered at debates. His answers were verbose, full of rhetoric, and that clashed with the eight or nine other candidates delivering more specifics and certainly less rhetoric. Obama didn't lose the debates, he simply did not win them.
Now the debates are one-on-one, him against Hillary Clinton, and it seems that this is much more in Obama's realm. His rhetorical answers don't get lost in the shuffle. With additional time alloted for his answers, Obama has delivered more specific and more detailed explanations of his potential policies, all the while maintaining the poetry of his answers, which has become his most-known characteristic.
I've blogged earlier that Obama seems to be ill-prepared for debating, however, that may have only been true for larger debates. Practice helps, of course, and Obama has honed his debating style.
When evaluating who has the better chance of beating John McCain in November, although I believe Clinton has a lower ceiling, I felt that Obama may be outplayed in debates with the Arizona republican. Now I am not so sure. Obama doesn't seem to get flustered under attack, and he speaks very well. Those are two great attributes to have in debates, and he seems to be only improving.
I spent this past weekend snowboarding at Squaw Valley, host city of the 1960 Winter Olympics. There were near-blizzard conditions, and I surely got my ass-kicked. I am still sore in my legs, but I had one helluva fun time.
Then I caught this story this evening: "Skier dies after hitting tree at Squaw Valley." Scary.
With the news of the evening being the possible last debate between Obama and Clinton (does Barack need a pillow?), I would like to make note of some very important news. The San Francisco Zoo has announced the birth of a baby giraffe.
I'm sure my wife and I would be lining up to see the newest member of the zoological family if it weren't for the unique possibility that the mother giraffe could leap the fence and attack us. (I should keep my pants up at zoos, I realize, but that's half the fun.)
