Finally, the Badgers blew it against Ohio State, wrecking their chance at a Big Ten title.

Last time I checked, Columbus, Ohio is still a part of the Midwest. Besides, the Midwest had a few other victories: the White Sox stayed alive against the Rays, and the Bears absolutely walloped the pathetic Lions (also from the Midwest, but barely an NFL-caliber team). And the Colts staged a win-or-die comeback against the Texans with more than a little help from Sage Rosenfels.

BTW, although I'm pissed about the Cubs losing, I'm not at all sad about the whiny Brewers losing. So this wasn't a bad weekend for all Midwesterners--just for those who follow the same teams that you do.

What a hack. He likely views himself as the necessary corrective to Ifill's oh-so-biased moderation.

These Ohio voters are a lot crazier than the ones who were watching the VP debate. They really like a lot of the stuff that both candidates are saying; they just like Obama's stuff more often.

I'm wondering why someone with this name readily identifies with the Republicans. Doesn't he realize that many of his fellow conservatives would happily ship him to Guantanamo just on the basis of his name?

...thy name is neoconservatism.

I was thinking the exact same thing. I guess McCain isn't as familiar with the Palin family as he thinks. Autism and Down syndrome aren't even that close to being the same thing!

Betty is pregnant with Don's baby. Her extramarital dalliance in the barroom bathroom was her first, leveling the playing field between her and Don and allowing her to take him back, despite her ambivalence. This isn't No Country for Old Men--no major plot points occur offscreen--Betty never had sex with Arthur. Instead, Betty pushed Sarah Beth to have an affair with Arthur because it was both how she could live vicariously through SB and how she could loudly condemn Sarah Beth for doing to Tara (Arthur's fiancee) what all of Don's other women have done to her.

I disagree with whoever said that Betty has been acting "despicably"--Betty is seriously depressed, and people who are depressed don't always act concerned for other people's interests, even when those people are their children and supposed friends.

The scene between Pete and Peggy brought tears to my eyes. I don't think Vincent Kartheiser or Elisabeth Moss could have acted any better than they did in those moments. Both characters were absolutely honest with each other, one trying to begin a relationship and the other effectively snuffing out the possibility of one. Wow.

I think the most effective Obama ads are the ones in which John McCain's words are used to damn him, with little or no commentary at all. And Palin wink at the end of this ad is priceless--it encapsulates everything about her that people do not trust.

and I would not let this guy near a Port-O-Let, let alone my home bathroom. He's an embarrassment to all sane Ohioans.

Can you imagine being one of his children?

Oh, and Readerreader, why are McCain, Palin, etc. having all the fun? Either it's because they realize that their campaign is the joke, or because--more likely--only heartless, ruthless politicians find working-class misery a joke. I'm sorry that you lack the compassion to find the 30-minute commercial redeeming in any way. Even my McCain-supporting partner admitted that he was impressed by the commercial.

It's a great sign, at least for New Hampshire, if not for the nation. I'm voting in Nashua today and expecting to see some liveliness at my polling station. People in New Hampshire are absolutely pumped--better yet, many are very angry at McCain for abandoning the principles he ran on in 2000.

Because New Hampshire allows voters to register on Election Day, the lines for new voters were long. At 11AM, when I voted, lines for those already registered were really short at my polling spot. I stood in line about three minutes, in which time I discovered that the man behind me was from Ohio (like I am) and went to college in Indiana (like I did). Then I filled out a paper ballot. (If John Sununu had been at my polling location, I might have kicked him in the shins!)

My father went to his polling place in Franklin County, Ohio, early this morning and was greeted with very long lines. He opted to fill out a paper ballot and had to wait "only" an hour. I'm glad he didn't have to wait much longer; he's got rheumatoid arthritis, making it difficult for him to stand for long periods of time, but he's been so excited to vote this year, just like every other election year, that I know he would have stood in line for hours.

Obama wins it going away. Absolutely awe-inspiring.

The financial tally of the Prop 8 campaign is staggering. It's even sadder to think about where that money could have gone if people could have minded their own business when you think about how much money California stood to gain from the SC decision being upheld. According to Playboy, "same-sex nuptials are expected to pour $684 million into the state's economy over the next three years, generating $64 million in state taxes, $9 million in fees for counties and 2200 jobs" if the proposition were defeated. But I guess it's more important for these folks to regulate other people's private lives than to keep the state's economy going.

I do have hope, though--those old folks who voted overwhelmingly for Prop 8 will eventually be gone. And maybe someday these kinds of propositions will go the way of laws against interracial marriage.

"This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the center," Boehner said of Emmanuel.

So which is it? Liebermanesque devotion to Israel or the Republicans' worst nightmare?

At least he's loyal to Obama and the Democrats, which is certainly more than can be said about Lieberman.