March 25, 2008 - Pensito

The New Republic’s Norm Scheiber sums up the current state of the election.

The problem is that each day Clinton and Obama spend consumed with the other is a day that moves John McCain closer to the White House. McCain’s biggest asset is his political brand, which evokes a straight-talking, party-bucking reformer. Among his biggest liabilities is the suspicion he inspires among conservatives thanks to these same attributes. McCain apparently plans to spend the next few months making nice with his base. But anything he accomplishes on this front clearly diminishes his swing-voter appeal and, therefore, his chances in November.

Ideally, the Democrats would be exploiting this tension like mad…

Instead, something close to the opposite is happening. McCain’s courtship of the lunatic right and his ties to K Street have largely been hidden from view, while the Democrats’ dirty laundry has been aired for swing voters.

Schreiber all but says it: Hillary Clinton needs to get out.

…On March 12, Ferraro and the racially polarized Mississippi primary were A-1 news in The Washington Post. It wasn’t until page A-6 that you stumbled across a story about McCain’s ties to the parent company of Airbus, the Boeing rival to whom the Pentagon recently handed a lucrative contract. The second story could have muddied McCain’s reformist credentials, but it barely caused a ripple on cable or the blogosphere.

Schreiber all but says it: Hillary Clinton needs to get out.

If McCain winds up facing Obama, he’ll enjoy yet another advantage: a nominee weakened by attacks from a fellow Democrat…

Hillary’s only path to the nomination, barring a meltdown by Obama, is to destroy his electability. But harsh attacks on Obama will inevitably discourage African Americans from voting in the fall, and Hillary can’t beat McCain without strong black turnout in places like Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Conversely, any attack on Hillary that alienated moderate Republican women could cripple Obama’s chances.

The chances of Hillary Clinton doing the right thing and stepping aside are about equal to the chance that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will someday put impeachment on the table. That they aren’t going to happen doesn’t change the fact that both decisions would be good for America.

Great PhotoShop on the birds, Jason!

If you haven’t clicked around the Pensito Review blog roll, you’re probably missing out on special blogs like the one my friend Joe contributes to, Jacksonville Confidential. And that means you’re missing stories like this one.

Two roosters, whose owners say are gay, are up for adoption on PetFinder.

Deciding that they were not going to adhere to normative chicken social conventions Julius and Big Daddy have chosen one another as companions. Thus, against the odds, we are seeking a rooster-savvy home where they can stay together for the rest of their days. Big Daddy is julius’ protector, and at night he roosts over Julius like a mama hen sitting on a brood of chicks! Obviously the idea of separating these guys is just too heartbreaking to even consider!

Yes, as Deepak Chopra points out, homosexuality has existed in every human society through the ages, and in most animal species as well. Kind of shoots that whole “God doesn’t want anyone to be gay” theory all to hell.

Day: March 25, 2008

The Consequences if Hillary Doesn’t Stuff a Sock in It

Gay Roosters Up for Adoption

Great PhotoShop on the birds, Jason!

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.