• Yes, me worry

    Who woulda thunk it?

    Based on some of the polls released over the last week, I’m worried the McCain/Palin strategy of name calling and mudslinging (or is that a tactic?) is starting to gain a little traction with voters in swing states like Ohio. If you believe the robo-calls blanketing the country, Obama’s first action as president will be to firebomb a few red-state capitals around the country… replacing their charred ruins with Stalinesque, totalitarian regimes – in a joint strike with Hugo Chavez and the Castro brothers.

    So far, Obama hasn’t fired back with everything in the quiver. He’s hit McCain over the head with his cluelessness on the economy and healthcare, but he’s mostly stayed away from the shotgun (mass-media), guilt by association charges waiting at his disposal. Does this mean Obama is hoping to ride the relative high-road into office? Is he counting on the Powell endorsement to blunt some of the blows he’s taking? If so, I wonder if Powell’s brand is damaged… to the point his endorsement will have little impact. I thought his comments on Meet the Press were devastating, but you know where I stand. Will anyone else listen? Will white independents see it as “the black guy picking the brother?” Will Powell’s connection to the invasion of Iraq (and his starring role as “Mr U.N.”) blunt his credibility?

    If the “Obama is a socialist/terrorist” ads continue, and the small movement in the polls get bigger, will we start to hear about McCain palling around with convicted felons (Keating and Liddy)? Will we start to hear about how much the Palins hate America (re: the Alaska Independence Party)?

    I hope the Powell endorsement resonates with undecideds. A lot of liberals would like to see Obama emulate McCain’s political equivalent of Sherman’s march to the sea. Hell, I’ve done it (talking with a few of my left-leaning friends). But I don’t want to see him to do it. I think we lose something if he’s dragged into this kind of fight.

    But how do we fight back? Maybe we repeat the words of a distinguished General and former hero of the Republican Party… evoking his name… over and over again.

    via Andrew Sullivan and Richard:

  • Punch-line no more!

    Maybe that was true months ago, but tonight added the exclamation point.

    I wasn’t really confident going into tonight. No Rays fan should have been. I spent four hours of my life repeating to myself: “it’s just a game… it’s just a game,” but if you put a finger on my wrist you wouldn’t need a stopwatch to know I was having trouble convincing myself.

    Listening to Andrew Friedman speak, I’m going to say something that a lot of people are (and should be) saying: trading Delmon Young for Matt Garza looks really smart right now. The Rays gave up a phenom… a tremendously talented, number one overall pick in Young – who doubled as a cancer in the locker room. The picked up a pitcher with tremendous stuff, but one who often couldn’t keep his head on his shoulders. Not only did Garza keep his head in the second half, he took the ball twice in the ALCS, including game seven, and pitched lights out.

    Yeah, folks rightly point to the other guy in the trade (Jason Bartlett) as a key addition, and I don’t mean to take anything away from his contributions this season – which were considerable. But watching Garza tonight I saw a guy who could contend for Cy Young awards.

    Now I just hope the Rays aren’t on the verge of being fed into the chipper by the Phillies. I’ve never paid much attention to the National League, but they sound a little scary. The Rays’ bullpen is going to have to find their way really quick. They may not have allowed any runs tonight, but anyone who says they looked good was watching a different game.

    They’ve got until Wednesday. I’ll tell you what though, seeing a little more David Price might do the trick.

    In the mean time, AL Champs sounds pretty good.

  • Drawing a blank

    I had no reply for two things said yesterday:

    “I don’t know how to ride the bus.”

    “I didn’t have any money and I didn’t know what else to do so I put a little Crazy Glue on my cap and stuck it back in my mouth.”

    No, it wasn’t the same person.

    One person was trying so hard to rationalize his loutish behavior he was reduced to spouting absurdities, the other was financially and emotionally desperate to the point acting irrationally.

    I was really thankful to have a job and a good family.