I certainly hope we don't see Josh making holocaust jokes. That would be in very poor taste. Of course, if Josh made a slavery joke, that would be in poor taste too.

But Josh didn't make a slavery joke. He made a snide and sarcastic comment about Jonah Goldberg diminishing the horrors of slavery in his column.

And FWIW, if Goldberg had written a column comparing some proposed Obama program to the Holocaust (Liberal Fascism, anyone?), and Josh had begun a post slamming the column by saying "I love a good Holocaust joke as much as the next guy," I (and I'm pretty sure my Jewish wife would agree) wouldn't think it was an offensive attempt at a joke.

Posted at July 9, 2008 9:39 PM in response to Josh Marshall: I Love a Good Slavery Joke

The only thing "inartful" about Josh's post was how over-the-top and unsubtle the sarcasm was.

Thank god he didn't try to be at least a tiny bit subtle. I cringe to think of the shit-storm we'd be having here.

Posted at July 9, 2008 9:35 PM in response to Josh Marshall: I Love a Good Slavery Joke

Wow. Just, wow.

Josh responded with exactly the maturity and grace that I expected him to -- by politely but firmly telling Jade that she is out of her frikkin over-literal mind.

The utter inability of some of you to catch the thunderingly obvious sarcasm here is astounding. And we say the right lacks the capacity to understand nuance???

You're at a major liberal blog. You all know Josh's writing. And so when he says "I love a good slavery joke" and then proceeds to tear apart the person whose slavery comment he referenced, Josh is telling you as clearly as if he hit you over the head with a hammer that he does NOT like slavery jokes.

This is NOT the same as "the one about the Chinaman who..." It is NOT a nasty comment disguised as "ha ha can't you take a joke." It just isn't. And it isn't even close.

This isn't about lacking a sense of humor about Josh's "joke." It's about being so obtuse as to refuse to recognize a bitterly sarcastic comment when you read one, and assuming that it is simply an insensitive "joke."

You're not being humorless, or over "sensitive," because Josh wasn't being funny. You're being thick-headed, because Josh was being sarcastic.

Posted at July 9, 2008 8:24 PM in response to Josh Marshall: I Love a Good Slavery Joke

Feh. I'm certainly still a supporter, but feh.

Posted at June 20, 2008 4:11 PM in response to Obama Backing FISA "Compromise"

I like Clark a lot. My only real hesitation is the degree to which he'd be considered to be compensating for some Obama shortcoming.

But that aside I think he'd be a great pick. In many ways he's complementary to Obama -- smart as hell, focused on using good judgment and careful negotiation in the foreign policy sphere rather than blunt force and threats.

It's true that he didn't run the most scintillating campaign in '04, but (a) he was a total noob at that time, and didn't do too bad for a rookie; besides which he wasn't blundering around, just unexciting, and Obama doesn't exactly need a huge lift in the charisma department, and (b) he's been active in the political scene for years now, as a surrogate and speaker. I think he's learned a lot and could be a real asset.

All in all, he's near the top of my short list.

Posted at June 14, 2008 7:20 PM in response to Wes Clark today

Thanks, it was the logo for the "Deadheads for Obama" show at the Warfield the day before Super Tuesday. Featured Phil, Bobby, Mickey, and a bunch of people who normally play with Phil & Friends.

Posted at June 9, 2008 11:13 PM in response to McCain Hits Obama -- Very Softly -- Over Reports About His Veep-Vetter's Loan

The story certainly didn't appear to slow down Johnson's Veep vetting. He met with Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and other members of Congress on the Hill today.

I'm a tad confused. Clearly he's not planning on tapping either of the leaders as Veep, so he wouldn't be "vetting" them. Does this mean he's soliciting feedback on some of his possible choices?

Posted at June 9, 2008 7:18 PM in response to McCain Hits Obama -- Very Softly -- Over Reports About His Veep-Vetter's Loan

OK credit where credit is due. That was pretty funny. Insignificant island territories of the US, unite!

Posted at May 28, 2008 2:30 PM in response to New Ad In Puerto Rico: "Soy Barack Obama"

OK credit where credit is due. That was pretty funny :)

Posted at May 28, 2008 2:29 PM in response to New Ad In Puerto Rico: "Soy Barack Obama"

I think Poblano's post is great. Thanks for recommending it here.

But, uh, on the Greg Sargent thing, what are you talking about? Are you referring to this TPM Election Central item:

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/hillary_supporter_lanny_davis_1.php

?

I'm having considerable difficulty finding where Greg included "praise" for Lanny's absurd proposal. Sure, he didn't eviscerate it as thoroughly as Poblano did or as enthusiastically as various other commenters, but he was pretty dismissive of it.

I sometimes agree that Greg and some of the other TPM staffers go too far out of their way to be "neutral" and sometimes even throw in biased asides, but I see nothing of the sort here.

If you can point out what I'm missing, or let me know which post it was if I'm looking at the wrong one, please do...

Posted at May 28, 2008 1:39 AM in response to Poblano Rips Lanny Davis (and Greg Sargent) Apart!