By the 7th sentence of CNN's report they were bringing up McCain's digs against Obama's lack of foreign policy by using Biden's own words:
<blockquote>In a debate during the Democratic primary contest, Biden raised questions about Obama's foreign policy experience. "Who among us is going to be able on day one to step in an end the war? Who among us understands what to do about Pakistan? Who among us is going to pick up the phone and immediately interface with Putin and tell him to lay off Georgia because Saakashvili is in real trouble. Who among us knows what they're doing? I have 35 years of experience," Biden said. During another debate, moderator George Stephanopoulos referred to some of Biden's comments on Obama. "You were asked, 'Is he ready?' You said, 'I think he can be ready, but right now, I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training,'" Stephanopoulos said. "I think I stand by that statement," Biden replied.</blockquote>

And we just couldn't have Hillary because they would use her words to hurt Obama. And because she voted for the war. And...

My hope is that McCain will pick Lieberman so we can have the Battle of the Two Joes, perhaps to a good bluegrass soundtrack and a truck demolition derby in the background.

Logan Pollard lashes Democrats for their lack of message control and for not even understanding what their message is about.

If you note, Larry King repeats McCain's attack for him - that Obama is a fat cat with a big house jet setting to Hawaii who's getting in a pissing match over who owns what. That's because McCain's attack is straight forward, repeatable. Worse, that means Jindal doesn't even have to repeat the point, he launches into the counter-spin: McCain on the other hand is worried about people's gas prices and mortgages.

And what does Richardson say to that? "Senator McCain should know how many homes he has". No, bozo, McCain may have more important things to do in running for president than tally his wife's real estate. And aside from so-called progressives who want to snigger, it won't resonate with most people, just like Arnie being a rich movie star didn't seem to get in the way of him being elected.

Let's look at what real messaging looks like:

"Do we really want a President who can't count to 8? This isn't misplacing your car keys, these are huge properties. Most people have trouble holding onto the one they have."

"People relate to McCain - he can't remember his homes, they can't remember how many foreclosure notes they've gotten".

"McCain doesn't have to worry about the high cost of gas for vacation - he'll just stay at home. All 8 or 12 of them."

And yet we put people on national TV who can't say anything memorable to cut through the noise. Shameful.

Lovely, some blogger at Huffington Post puts up an article on "Sex and the Olympic City" and uses a picture of a beach volleyball player's ass. Why stop there? Why not one of those perfectly angled camera shots from above straight into the gymnast's crotch as she holds her legs apart doing some convoluted backflip support thingie or somesuch on the beam? Sexy, no? I mean, we know why these girls are there, and it sure ain't that triple reverse with a double twist off the high platform. I mean, I have trouble relating to the fact that these girls are so horny they'll spend 6 years or so of their lives in 10-12 hour daily training sessions just so they can show their booties on TV, but as long as they're there, we can leer and speculate, can't we? Now, where are those focused bulging crotch shots of Phelps and Bolt, because I don't care whether they're the fastest on land or sea, just bring on the genitals. In fact, maybe we can skip all this sports activities and head straight to after hours at Olympics City for the athletic humping. A 5-ring circus for all I'm sure.

Obama strategists successfully set up MSM outlets to jump on rumors of Biden gaining the nomination, creating a "Dewey Wins Presidency" moment to up the excitement.

In the end, CNN blinked first, going with rumors coming from its stable of "Democratic sources", including Karl Rove, Matt Drudge, and Andrew Sullivan. Earlier Obama's team had contemplated sending its jet on a meandering tour through the US to ignite more speculation, but instead settled on Delaware, letting the press carry it from there.

Biden of course had no problem going along for the ride, since as he pointed out the day before, he wasn't doing anything anyway except a little bit of lawn work, and even Springfield's better than that.

Some Obama advisors did note that Biden earlier had been in serious contention, but was ultimately rejected for basic logistics reasons - convention planners were worried that reserving 3 nights for his acceptance speech would push other well-known Democrats off the stage and ultimately send the convention into late night low-viewing hours, Conan O'Brian for one lodging an official complaint.

Recent secret White House papers turned over to Congress shed light on why the Bush team has been so resistant to granting Al Qaeda detainees at Guantanamo formal prisoner of war status. Strategists have noted that granting them official POW status would likely place all of them amongst the ranks of front running Republican presidential contenders, a ballot confusion they are eager to avoid come November.

I'm just sayin'....

Obama reportedly called VP candidates on his short list to inform them that they indeed had not been selected. That Obama had decided not to select any of the short list, and in fact had decided not to choose a Vice-President at all, took many by surprise, not least some thousands of Washington pundits, who lined the entrance of The Palm all the way up to Dupont Circle, some crying, some aghast and outraged, some simply numb with shock. Presumably the SMS containing blank text hinted of the surprise to come, but most were caught dumbstruck anyway. Still, the move was in keeping with Obama's promise for true change, and with some obvious self-delight Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's pollster and campaign guru, noted that he had predicted this weeks ago. "Not even God polled well with Obama", he noted, while spilling the remains of a hamburger on his trademark white shirt. Speculation is still up in the air as to what use Obama will put the Naval Observatory, traditional home for the VP. Some speculate it will become a rehabilitation center, others a museum, and some guess that it will just be left empty as a reminder. Of something.

I really cant imagine what the point is.

A month of dragging out the impression that Obama really likes Bayh & Kaine & Hagel, and then even if it goes to Biden or Hillary, haven't we been chewing on leather soles for over a month? How do we get the taste out? Any thought that Hillary would be an ameliorating force has disappeared in 2 1/2 months of VP indecision and continual posturing and positioning to the right. Clark got sent to the doghouse for questioning McCain's POW=Presidential equation even while Obama continues to build up McCain by thinking he's tearing him down.  I get it already - Obama will make his own decision and his own mistakes. Caroline Kennedy can help him choose, the rest of us can't. But he'll send me an SMS when he decides, revealing the subliminal message behind whatever state he's announcing in. Perhaps I'll get a free Diet Coke as well, or if lucky and homeless in Denver, a haircut and a movie to boot. Once upon a time Democrats would have tried to give the homeless a voice. But now we have to be concerned about the optics. From railroad & cattle town to shining city on the hill, it requires serious message control., no room for '68 style anarchy. The whole world is watching.

And yeah, my previous post was better. Dem's the breaks.

Blissfully ignoring politics for a week, forgetting to speculate who might be Veep (Oprah? Mikheil Saakashvili?), not even checking on polls, only skipping to the sports section to see how many medals Phelps had (19? 106?). And settling into Animal Farm for light reading. Well, it was in a foreign language, so not so light, but still. A high school book.

Thoroughly detached from the machinations of popular elections, no analogies to transcend, no modern allegories to imbibe. Instead it's a relatively simple story, with Snowball as one of the party leaders who relatively early is forced to flee as a "traitor" and most of the party's problems afterwards blamed on him. There's Squealer who takes the party's maxims and alters them in rather disturbing ways to corrupt or undermine the original (For example, "No animal shall drink alcohol" becomes "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess"), while the blind sheep who follow override any dissension by bleating loudly the only simple platitude they can remember, "Four legs good, 2 legs bad". There's Napoleon, the noble leader who takes on more and more titles and an ever greater aura of infallibility even as his grand goal of a windmill is foiled and his followers are routed in battle - it is all celebrated as victory. And then there's the other side, the neighboring farm owners with whom Napoleon's continually conniving, taking on their ways to the confusion of his own followers. Then there are the party leaders symbolized both by the porkish imbibers of excess and their slovenly undisciplined adoption of behavior they've condemned, as well as the sharp-toothed canines that keep the meek and those protesting too much in line. And finally, there's the sad hero, Boxer, who stoically takes every obstruction and setback as a sign to work harder and organize for the good of the party but despite years of hard work is taken to the bone cleaners at first opportunity, and Benjamin the mule, who clearly sees what's going on but knows to keep his lip buttoned and simply endure the unchanging and burdened existence of farm life as usual despite all promises of change and greater freedom.

So my recommendation for what's left of summer is to take some time to unwind, find a bit of relaxing literature to free yourself from the petty preoccupations and the most recent headlines, to lose yourself in an unlikely and completely foreign scenario, a landscape that could only exist in fiction. Who knows, maybe I'll give up politics completely and revert to writing, to live a more carefree life. It worked for Solzhenitsyn.