It's obvious that media people who directly interface with McCain on at least a semi-regular basis like the guy. He yaps with them frequently, takes their questions, and responds "on the record."

How many presidential candidates or senators, for that matter, conduct themselves that way with the press? So I can understand how, on a personal level, media people can be seduced by McCain's relative openness and apparent candor.

Of course, this does not mean that the press should therefore stipulate to the veracity or wisdom of whatever spews out of the guy's mouth, which I don't think they do. They do treat him nicer than they treat most interviewees, but that's because he treats them nicer than do most big-shot pols.

The McCain Terrorism "gaffes" become a more sensitive issue for the press to tackle because of McCain's age. His remarks indicate confusion on a subject that he has indeed been deeply involved in--for better or worse--for a long time. And the cause behind the mistakes he repeatedly made last week can only be one of three:

1. He's lying;

2. He's ignorant; or,

3. He's confused.

My best guess is that the answer is number 3, and that's why he needs handlers like Lieberman and the other guy within whisper shot at all times.

Mooses, they just rut. Its sort of sad, really. Anyway, at this point, I'm so famisht romance is out of the question! I hardly even know who I am, or who my wife is anymore.

And of course, buckyl, who annihilated my existence with a few keystrokes continues blithely, without so much as a by-your-leave. Let alone an apology. Oh hell, they'll probably stop the War On Iraq before that happens.

Keith Olbermann tonight said that Fox's Brit Hume in excusing McSame's al-Qaeda training in Iran mistake said that Hume left viewers with three choices: MCSame is a dope, a liar, or a potential president who has senior moments.

I really believe it will be like shooting ducks when we get to the GE for either Hillary or Barack. But Barack would kill a lot quicker and more often during any debates.

In 2004, the Catholic Bishops issued statements saying that a real Catholic could not vote for someone who had voted in favor of abortion rights, meaning John Kerry, because they must consider their faith in all acts in their lives.

John McCain is divorced and re-married. Don't the same Bishops now have to denounce voting for him by the same logic? How hard would it be to mount an email and phone campaign to remind them to make the statement?

Christopher Hitchens was interviewed on Australian TV last night and he said McCain is a serious man and should be president of any where. Here’s the quote from http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2007/s2197841.htm:

"TONY JONES: Have you reach add point yet where you're even considering a vote for John McCain?

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS: Um, I would consider it, yes. I mean, he's a serious man, and a man with a lot of character and actually a lot of charm. The sort of person that I would prefer to say this there should be more of in the senate. I'm not sure that a guy like that is volatile shall we say and should be president of any where."

I believe you may have read Hitchens statement incorrectly, although he certainly could have phrased it better.

I believe he meant to say - I'm not sure that a guy, like (in the California Valley Girl sense), that volatile (shall we say) should be president of anywhere.

IOW, he thinks that McCain, although likeable, etc., is too volatile to be president.

Personally, I think that's one of the reasons Lieberman and Graham have been shadowing McCain around for the last month or so (longer in Graham's case). They're there to quell the first inkling of McCain "going off" message.

Lieberman because he likes to tweek Democrat noses, and Graham, because he's a fucking jerk who likes to be seen with powerful people.

Regards,

LWM Mooser

Tell that to General Petraeus. He seems to have gotten excellent instruction from somewhere, if not from FM 22-5.

Hmm.. Well there's laziness and then there's laziness.

The truly lazy man puts a lot of effort into figuring out the easiest way of doing things. Think of Tom Sawyer getting other kids to pay to whitewash the fence. Tom was a truly lazy man..

So laziness doesn't always lead to ignorance, sometimes it can lead to understanding.

But what was that thing in her ear? Was she already spoken for, d'ya think?

As for alternate universes, I prefer the one in Blade Runner. For one, thing, I love LA, and for another, I can see myself as a dealer in artificial hamsters. (You like? Come also in brown-and-white, albino in one week, you wait? Du, Arschloch, Hände weg! Wenn du gelt hast, dann darfst du wieder 'rein!)

L.W.M. could be happy there, too, until Bucky called the cops.

In the spring, a young man's fancy turns to love..

As far as I know, the Army Field Manual has never had a chapter on how to deal with irony on the battlefield.

Uhura..

She wasn't going to take the part until her mother urged her to do it. Her mother pointed out that she would be almost unique on TV at the time. A black woman playing a non cliche role.

As for LOTR, I read it when there were graffito scrawled around that said "Frodo lives", color never entered my mind.

Ever see the ST episode where there are two aliens who hate each other? Both are half black and half white, just mirror images of each other. But they both hate the other in a mindless show of bigotry.

The threshold has been passed, now the talk gets just plain silly. The theme, as I recall, was about how some ingenious folks are using the big lie, and seem to be getting the response to what they are doing. Let's get back on track and stop this silly p!ssing contest.

Sheesh, enough already -- Only two things you gotta know in life;

1) Politicians lie (there are no exceptions to this). Some more than others, others are more grandiose in their lies. But in the end, politicians lie.

2) People are lazy. Laziness breeds ignorance, ignorance begets stupidity, stupidity leads to laziness.

BTW: "it may be time to cross the border if repugs have their way with this election." I doubt the Canadians want you. And remember, it's very very easy to leave America. It sure is difficult to get back in.