Thanks for the remembrance of the guy.

I too was shocked at the charges against him, and wanted to know more about the circumstances of his arrest. I wish there had been more reporting about that, and I hope someone does a more comprehensive profile of him.

A sad ending to someone that we should properly recall for the challenge he put to us all, the decency of his indecency.

Thank you, naked guy.

Traister’s line of questioning conflates race and gender as two groups equivalent in their needs and demands for sensitivity. It’s exactly this type of oversimplification that feminists may celebrate as “provocative” but everyone else finds discrediting.

Even though we know that men and women don’t “need” each other, all of our lives we are pressured to come together and be in relationship to each other in new and old social roles that we ourselves didn't create. Our attempts at being together, personally and professionally, are often frustrated, subverted by bad information, and sexual and emotional undercurrents. This is true even of people graced with ample social ease.

Men and women have more need to blow off steam about each other—to release pressure—and I can see where Maddox’s humor meets that need for a lot of people. Emotionally, psychologically, and sexually, men and women will always be close to each other whereas there will always be a lot more distance between racial groups into which we can insert “sensitivity.”

The anti-Semitism thing is a red herring and let’s not get distracted by it. This is fear and anxiety about identity politics projected as political instincts. If you want to think like that, let’s put a positive spin on it and note that a Jewish candidate for president might help pull rightward-drifting Jews back to the Democratic party for the 2008 election cycle. Within the party, it might attract rightward-drifting Jews back from the DLC.

Feingold is flat-out the Dems most powerful, effective candidate.

“Can you not read an electoral map or what? How many states are even in play (And no Howard Dean isn't going to make them in play by hiring expensive people to walk around Nebraska or Wyoming that won't set foot in an evangelical church or go to a gun rally)”

The electorate is pretty badly shaken so a lot is possible, as foreshadowed by Hackett’s race in Ohio, Busby’s race in CA, Leiberman’s flailing against Lamont, et al. Let’s not waste time fighting the last war. Republicans have been winning elections with the politics of conviction—and the ruthlessness of their tactics—not this politics of triangulation crap. And they will beat us if we advance yet another moderated, modulated simp.

I don’t know about Nebraska and Wyoming, but Dean is right to be competing widely for both short-term and long-term gain. Short-term, because people are deeply disturbed by the (so-called) conservative project right now and real upheaval is possible. Long term, because if we don’t build in places where we aren’t, then we’ve ceded them forever.

The Democrats need a candidate with depth of conviction and credibility. Feingold is the real deal—a straight-edge public servant with morality of a Progressive bent. I agree with others posting here that you are inaccurately representing Progressive ideas out to the “far left” margins—ideas that can and do appeal to the mainstream—fidelity to the Constitution, environmental protection, fairness, sticking up for the little people. broad prosperity, taking responsibility, diplomacy, truth in journalism, science-based policy, dismantling kleptocracy, temperance in government spending, etc.

And as far as Warner carrying Virginia in his back pocket, didn’t we make that assumption about Gore and Tennessee? Warner comes off sounding like-warmed over Gore circa 2000. What Arianna Huffington said of Hillary now and of Gore in 2000 seems to also be true of Warner—you can smell the fear on him.

And let's not forget the awful lovefest that Time Magazine ran off it's cover recently about Coulter, thereby helping to mainstream this fascist who advocates violence against anyone on the left or who supports Progressives.

Please cancel, or at least do not renew, your subscription to Time magazine.

"You know what, I am not the enemy," Vilsack said, after inviting the Democratic bloggers to hold their next convention in Des Moines. "I am a pretty decent guy."

An illustrative quote. I'm sure most of the guys (and gals) running could convince me of each being a "pretty decent guy." What a non sequitor.

Oddly enough, the Democrats seem to be well-practiced at old-fashioned gladhanding, but how about old-fashioned political campaigning--the nasty, no-holds-barred type that the Republicans have been using to make themselves the primary agents of change in America since 1994.

I'd like to see a little fighting prowess mixed in with the also good old-fashioned politics of conviction.