Karen Hughes has inhabited a world of her own fantasy for most of her own adult life, as far as I can tell. I doubt this is a lie; I'm sure Karen truly and completely believes that George can do no wrong and has crafted whatever psychoses are necessary to make that belief possible.

You're getting this all wrong. Bush knows that someday there will be peace, so everything he does is a step towards that peace. In that light, scratching my butt just now was a step towards peace. You're just being blinded by your pessimism.

We were so busy patting outselves on the back in 2004 that we barely noticed we were losing the battle. We need to make sure we don't delude ourselves into thinking that 2006 will be an easy win for the Democrats. There are a lot of world events, politicking, and dirty tricks between now and November.

Ok, let's suppose we accept Ann's bigoted supposition that homosexuals are narcissistic (purely for argument's sake). Just because Bill Clinton is a narcissist and homosexuals are narcissists, that doesn't make Bill Clinton homosexual. It's been a while since my logic classes, but I believe that's called an implication error.

I sometimes feel conflicted about whether it's worse for someone to be stupid or a bigot. Luckily, Ann is both, so I don't have to think too hard about it.

Here's what I got out of that:

American foreign policy used to be about creating stability. Then, 9/11 happened, so on the one hand, we have to fight terrorists. Terrorists are bad, and they don't like freedom. My governning style is different from the terrorists. I scare terrorists, who are violent. They've always been violent, though, even thought they don't always do violent stuff. Terrorists like freedom, even if they don't know it, and we're going to give it to them. Except terrorists from Iran, who don't like it. Whatever the hell it is that I'm doing, I'm going to keep doing it.

To all our neighbors in Indiana, Ohio and Missouri, just come to Illinois to vote. We don't mind. We'll even let you vote twice here in Chicago ;)

Sometimes, political aides need to know when to shut up. The more Allen's people talk, the dumber they sound, and the less and less plausible it becomes that what he said wasn't meant to be completely, aggressively racist. The only time there are so many different explanations for something is when someone is avoiding the plain-and-simple truth.

Would have been if John Ashcroft had been singing "Soaring with the Senate" in the background. I searched my soul to find some tiny piece of it that could feel sorry for Katherine Harris, and came up with nothing.

I'd say these three sum up the Bush economic philosophy quite well. It goes something like this:

PAULSON: If you're not better off, you must be an uneducated hippie slacker.

LAZEAR: Racking up massive debt = prosperity.

PORTMAN: Numbers frighten us.

Not to wax conspiratorial, but if I was thinking about the possibility of making a push for a third term, this is exactly how I'd start. Talk down the whole idea as ridiculous (even when no one asked about it). Eventually, your loyal followers start thinking "What a great guy; he doesn't want a third term. Hey, wait a minute. We should convince him to run again". The other side would react very negatively, pointing to the legality of it all, leaving you open to making claims about "activist judges" and liberal lawyers who would rather squabble in court than do what's best for the country. Then, you start talking about changing commanders midstream and what a mistake that would be. George has already let us know publicly that the Iraq war may take six more years; funny how that six years is almost exactly how much time he has left in office plus one more term.

Bush's people don't say these things without an agenda. When the first George in the White House announced he wouldn't run again, it may have been one of the most magnanimous gestures in the history of American politics. If this George announces it, keep your eyes open for the black helicopters.

Christianity, in Katherine's book, is about being a delusional, self-aggrandizing liar. That may be true of some of our elected officials who boast about what great Christians they are, but I don't find Harris' behavior exactly in line with the Gospels.

Why don't they just change Shelley Sekula-Gibbs legal name to "Tom Delay". Then, they can claim it was her on the ballot all along.

You know, I actually felt the same way at first, like the Democrats were equally guilty of gaming the system with this lawsuit. As I thought about it, though, this isn't a situation where Delay has died or was forced to withdraw for personal reasons (a death in the family, personal illness, an unexpected relocation). In that case, ethically speaking, I think his name should be replaced.

In this case, though, Delay simply realized he wasn't going to win and decided to jump ship. He relocated himself on paper hoping to use a loophole and get off the ballot. That's a gross manipulation of the system and an attack on voter's rights, and the Democrats are absolutely right to fight it. Delay can no longer be allowed to change the rules every time the will of the people is an affront to him.

Wow, Bill Frist will get a $1,600 fine and may eventually have to work a day. That'll teach him to be a lying disgrace to his profession.