I don't know much about Cuba, but my impression has always been that if Washington just told the Miami Cubans (I picture that hideous Ileana Ros-Lehtan (sp?) and Elian's screeching drama queen cousin) to go pound sand and pursued a Glastnost like policy--tourism and trade-- that would be best for Cuba and for Cuban-American relations in the long run. If the Limbaugh's and Krauthammer's had to accept the fact that Fidel was in charge of a healthier, freer Cuba, and if they choked on that, so much the better.

I thought it was just me. I'd heard how insanely popular Cook was, and I was really excited to see him for the first time. He struck me as being about as funny as one of the guys you see on those Comedy Central standup showcase shows, only with lots of energy. By which I mean he was hyper and jittery while delivering decidedly average comedy club material. I thought maybe my expectations were too high, but now I think I got it about right. At least I never blew fifteen bucks on the CD. I thought he seemed like an inoffensive future sitcom star, but "leaving my name in the history books"... "the one gift that God has given me"....?

I'd say eleven minutes, twenty-two seconds and counting. Invest that money well, Young Dane. You don't want to wind up on Surreal World--or worse, Celebrity Fatties--five years from now.

Like everyone, I'm very curious to know what Bush (thought he) meant by "kinetic", but isn't he also saying that intelligence is more effective than military force in fighting terr'ism?

I looked into this race not too long ago. To say that Case is prowar is an understatement, to say that he is "moderate" is nothing less than absurd. He has parroted the administration line on everything from Abu Grahib to Gitmo. He talks about taxes and the economy as if he learned everything from watching Larry Kudlow twice a week. And in his comments about Akaka, he seems arrogant, personally hostile and downright mean-spirited. I don't live in Hawai'i, and it may well be true that Akaka won't make anyone forget Henry Clay, but I really hope this small and small-minded man loses.

I can see why Lieberman would like to have him in the party though. With Case around, there's somebody standing between St Joe and Zell Miller.

I'm only sad that you gave away the plot of one of the Halloween episodes. Ever heard of a spoiler alert? I kid, I kid. Kind of.

Anyway, I've always thought it was funny that the spluttering tighter-than-uptight self-righteousness of Brit Hume and the cloying, self-congratulatory, pseudo-intellectual and self-delusional 'moral clarity' of Bill Kristol were subsidized by the likes of Simpsons, Married With Children, and American Idol.

in December of 2001, Russert had a fair and balanced round table of Rudy Giuliani, the Cardinal-Archbishop of Washington (McCarrick?) and Laura Bush.

Russert asked if they believed that G-d had called George W Bush to be president at this difficult time. The question itself was pretty hard to stomach, implying as it did that Jeebus knew 9/11 was coming, so He invented the Butterfly Ballot and Katherine Harris. To her credit, Mrs Bush was the only member of the panel who disagreed with the premise. Rudi couldn't jump on the Jesus-For-Bush Wagon fast enough.

Russert is a repulsive self-parody.

Nope

I've watched the total footage of Kerry speaking on YouTube, not just read the carefully selected dry words on the page/screen. No, it's clear from the full context that Kerry was telling the students to work hard in college so that they don't wind up in the military.

Also, Kerry's response is highy ironic considering that we now know that Bush had a higher GPA at Yale than Kerry and higher SAT scores.

Sorry, John, but you lied about us after Vietnam, and you've now slandered us. The Dems will pay once again for your arrogance.

-- Jarhead

Why on earth is this bit of RNC astroturf an editor's choice? A Hallowe'en prank, perhaps?The second paragraph especially reveals this drivel to be some Dittohead's jackassery. Don't tell me the refs have been worked to the point that even Salon feels the need to meet some Bill O'Reilly standard of fairity and balancedness at the expense of common sense.

I suspect this man is living through his own private hell, knowing deep down that his failures as a father made George W Bush the man possible, and his failures as a politician--always pandering to the fundamentalist, nativist right he held in contempt--made George W Bush the president possible.

Still, when I see him whip out the "cut and run" nonsense, and babble about how "this thing in Iraq is going to work", I think he deserves every moment of that hell.

Kudos to that woman in the audience for having more guts than the so-called pit bulls of our national media.

Really the only thing missing from this story is the fee our oh-so-respectable elder statesman got for this junket to Abu Dhabi. And I hope the equally odious Barbara was in the audience to hear that woman's and the cheers in repsonse.

"Finally, as a practical matter, he cannot break with his son in public over matters of policy. "

True, but he's certainly under no obligation to make any public statements in support, either. Personally, I think after the damage he has (however indirectly) done to this country, a dignified silence from now until the grave would be Poppy's best choice.

Leaving aside the whole conspicuous consumption thing:

Chicken fried beef tenderloin? Granny Clampett wouldn't do that to beef tenderloin. God these people are just so relentlessly tacky in their efforts to appear like "just folks." I wonder how much time Karl Rove spent editing the menu to appeal to Nascar dads who go bass fishing and make more than two hundred thousand a year.