Don't forget to check the
No Left Turns blog. It is still good. Put it on your "read daily" list.

That president match actually worked. They came up in the following order:
1. Bush
2. Lieberman
3. Kerry
4. Edwards
5. Clark
6. Dean
7. Sharpton
8. Kucinich

I probably would switch Clark and Dean or maybe even Kerry and Edwards, but pretty close.

Confused about voting? AOL Time Warner takes all the guesswork out of the process. Just consult the AOL Presidential Match.

SomaFM: Listener Supported, Commercial Free Internet Radio has added Cosigner to its playlist.

Have I mentioned lately that I am a big fan of the two party system?

The Howard Kurtz blog at the Washington Post has a nice summary of the Vanity Fair article on Joe Trippi. Trippy indeed.

The Jedi of England

Do not use too much of that unlimited internet service.

There is a big upside to the recent announcement of 4% growth instead of the anticipated, faster, growth rate. Perhaps the Fed will hold off on raising interest rates for a while. Another big quarter and the Fed would have to raise rates soon.

From the Big Tent mailbox (Cali edition). I've been waiting for this one:

Perlstein is wrong about triangulation being a Clinton metaphor. It was Nixon's.

[Ed. note: I thought it was Kissinger. Diplomacy experts? In any case, Cali is most definitely correct, it is not originally "Clintonian." Just another error in that godawful review.]

From the Big Tent mailbox (Cali edition):

Has anyone checked out this blogsite?

Also, any opinion on the cover article in the Atlantic this month?

Finally, now that baseball has been infiltrated, when is Piazza going to admit it?

From the Big Tent mailbox (Maple Leaf edition):

This isn’t a great editorial, and there’s certainly not much depth, but it was brought to us by the efforts of a former colleague [editor's note: I don't know what that means], so I thought it’d be good to send. CBC's fear of the T-word.

Sports Guy Thursday and Friday. By the way, he is insane, the weakest team to ever make the Super Bowl was by far his New England Patriots in 1985-86. I remember it vividly, everyone seemed confused about how they even got that far and was talking about how good they were at forcing turnovers. I can't even remember if Tony Eason or Steve Grogan was the quarterback that year, and more importantly, it doesn't matter. Damn, I don't think I could even name another player from that team. Was Irving Fryar playing then? The Chargers and the Falcons were outmatched, but they both had some talent. Especially the Falcons, who pulled a Dan Reeves special (I hate that guy, see 1986, 1987, 1989) and beat a much better team (Ren's Vikings) to get into the big game.

From the Big Tent mailbox (our favorite journalist edition):

Postmodern lit-crit is over.

Krauthammer on David Kay's final report.

That Perlstein review is terrible. There is no need to refute it point by point, just read it closely to see how Perlstein's arguments do not agree with the evidence he provides. And I'll let Hamby's grasp of the historiography stand for itself, just check the notes at the back of "For the Survival of Democracy." The big issue is that Perlstein misses the point entirely. Hamby admires FDR generally, but thinks he deserves some criticism, and not for being too conservative. Perlstein's kneejerk reaction is exactly what Hamby is hoping to move beyond. His review reminds me of a story I heard from a teacher friend who had a student who accused him of "showing his politics" [conservative] for saying the New Deal didn't end the Great Depression. Whose politics?

Sports Guy, day three. Priceless.

Rick Perlstein is out of his depth, but here is his review of Hamby's book. It almost isn't worth linking.

From the Big Tent mailbox (Copyman edition):

Some controversy in the Indians farm system.

This wasn't a big story in the U.S., but if you follow the British press, it has been huge. Looks like the BBC came out looking pretty bad.

Unattractive man wins nominations.

My friend died: Jeffrey Alan Klindt

Day 2 of the Sports Guy weblog.

I hope this guy isn't right, or at least that McInnis won't mess up the Cavs' mojo.

In case anyone hasn't noticed, the Cavs have won four of their last five (the loss was in a close one against the Kings when LeBron didn't play and McGinnis wasn't there yet) and have already won 16 games, one short of their total for all of last year. Of course, there are only four guys left on the roster from last year (Z, Boozer, Wagner, and Diop), so some major changes were in order. I don't think this team is more talented, just more experienced, and we'll see if that trade-off was worth it in the future. Still, all I've begged for in the last year was any Cleveland pro team just to be average so the city could get out of its funk (not literally, the mayor removed public trash cans to save money...I'm not kidding) and the Cavs are getting there. Hopefully.

Peggy Noonan thinks Wes Clark is a little "strange-o."

The Oscar nominations are out. I'm disappointed Sean Astin isn't getting any love for Best Supporting Actor. He was amazing in all of the Ring movies, but Return of the King in particular.

Walter Russell Mead on the party of Truman looking like, well, the party of Truman.

Latest Larry Miller.

Michael Barone on the political landscape.

Sports Guy has begun a weblog from Houston. Brace yourselves for a week of Patriots-fan gloating. Oh well, I guess this Superbowl is an appropriate end to a sports year that brought us Nets vs. Spurs in the NBA championship and Yankees vs. Marlins in the World Series. Maybe Sports Guy can make it more interesting. In the meantime, Cleveland fans look forward to the day when former Browns don't play a promiment role in winning the Superbowl (the Ravens; Belichick; Roman Oben, Greg Spires, and Rickey Dudley; Belichick again). Uggh.

This is a great article about John Ashcroft from US News and World Report. Hurry and read it, it will only be up for another week.

Max Boot on going to Mars. I agree with every word of this part especially:

"I, too, would be against the space program if, by abolishing it, we could end poverty, hunger, illness and "American Idol." But, except for "American Idol," which is of more recent vintage, all these afflictions have been with us since time immemorial, and their existence in no way vitiates the case for exploration.

Various justifications have been advanced for moon and Mars missions: reaping technology spinoffs, tapping rich mineral deposits, creating a safeguard against having our own planet wiped out, even the possibility of discovering life elsewhere (microorganic life, not little green men).

They're all good reasons, but for me the overriding rationale is simpler: It would be a cool thing to do."

Hanson takes on his party.

Mark Steyn with an interesting piece on Dean's meltdown and prospects for the other Dems.

Sports Guy has a bone to pick with a few former pros.

Did we miss this? If so, sorry, but it is certainly worth a reading.

I just got it in an email, and snopes.com says it is true.

At halftime of the boring Cavs-Kings game last night Charles Barkley said he was for John Edwards. I'm not sure if he meant in the primary or overall, but Edwards has at least some support from the Round Mound of Rebound.

From the Big Tent mailbox (Cali edition):

Drudge and NRO call Dean a lunatic.

The Paul Silas-can't-get-anyone-to-reach-their-potential trend continues. The Cavs have traded Darius Miles to Portland for Jeff McInnis and Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje. I'd say LeBron is going to have to win on his own, but two 32 point, 18 plus rebound games in a row for Carlos Boozer are pretty impressive. And I still like what I have seen from Dajuan Wagner. Now the Cavs just need to trade the 7' 3" defensive liability that is Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and they will be the perfectly-average-with-potential-to-be good-if-LeBron-walks-on-water-team that they seem to be shooting for. The-most-hyphenated-post-in-history is now done.

Watched "Seabiscuit" last night. It was a good movie, but (it hurts to say this) I think the overemphasis on the history kept it from being a great movie. While David McCullough is an excellent narrator, his voice almost automatically puts you in documentary mode, which is not good for an emotional movie. In addition, the beginning theme of the movie--the anonymity and abandoning of nature in the industrial age--kind of disappeared and was replaced by the idea of Seabiscuit representing what the down and out of the depression could do if they got a second chance. I'm not sure why the movie had both themes (I much prefered the second), but it kind of diluted the power of either message. It probably came from the book, but I have not read it yet, so I do not know. Interestingly, in the bonus material the author of the book, Laura Hilllenbrand, says that in 1938 Seabiscuit was the most talked about figure in American newspapers, with FDR second and Hitler third. That little nugget alone is worth finding in the book to see if it is true. Anyway, I recommend seeing the movie. Not the best picture of the year--Return of the King has that locked up in my opinion--but better than most of the Hulk-esque garbage of 2003.

Hanson on the state of the union.

Jonah Goldberg on President Bush's conservatism. A lot of intersting stuff, especially if you just skip the ridiculous bit on single mothers. As if making things easier for single moms makes single motherhood more attractive. I think we do culturally glorify single mothers, and that is wrong, but Goldberg is just being silly on this point.

The New Republic Online: Homepage has a picture of John Kerry in a Barn Jacket. I know this may be silly to think, but, I really like that Barn Jacket. I used to have one years ago and I loved it. I lost it when I went on tour once. Never replaced it. I need to get another one.

FrontPage magazine.com has an interview with Andrew Sullivan.

One last thing, then I am going to bed. Howard Dean just said he was fighting for Harry Truman's 1948 campaign platform. Ok, now I am going to sleep. Long day.

I am watching the Dean rally on C-Span. He is a lunatic. He really is screaming. A purple-faced, arm-swinging, arched-eyebrow, performance.

I, for one, would like to say, "Way to go Iowa Democrats." This election may have just become less of a joke. And like I said a long time ago, I think Edwards is the guy, and I think he can win.

As a Republican, I am saddened by the results from Iowa. As an American, I am happy. I feel bad for Gephardt though. I feel bad for labor. Can the old blue collar unions pull any support? The white collar unions couldn't get people to the polls for Dean either.

I remember a conversation I had in a coffee shop in Gallup, NM. The men, all Democrats, said they liked Kerry.

I am also reminded of George H.W. Bush's great contribution to American politics: He came up with the expression "The Big Mo" to describe momentum coming out of a win. I have been hearing it quite a bit tonight.

Dole is praising Lieberman and Gephardt, calling the "two Johns" the big winners.

Gephardt is pulling out. He is not going to New Hampshire.

Bob Woodward is commenting on the Dole-Clark exchange. Man, that was priceless. I can't believe how quickly Clark came completely unhinged. Dole wasn't even trying to make him angry and he flew off the handle and started talking about Kosovo.

Other news:
Lieberman just got the endorsement of biggest newspaper in New Hampshire.
Iowa results so far:
Kerry 38%
Edwards 32%

Bob Dole just told Wes Clark: "There has to be a loser tonight and I think it is you."
"I think you just became a colonel instead of a general."
Man, Clark is getting angry now. Dole hitting the buttons.
Clark is losing his mind!!!! Wow. Did anybody just see that exchange on CNN?

Kerry wins. Clark is looking less creepy and improving on the stump.

Columbus OH takes another step in law enforcement innovation.

Gephardt is going to pull out.

Washington Post has Edwards behind Kerry by less than 100 delegates.

The veterans seem to have come out for Kerry. Now if Dean doesn't win New Hampshire he is finished.
I am scared of John Edwards. God, that guy can work a rope line. He is very good on the stump. From the South.
He is a trial lawyer and that could come back to haunt him.
Possible VP?
Kerry-Edwards ticket? Good balance. Some good stories. Kerry would make sure the Dems don't lose the coasts. Edwards could try to steal something in the south or midwest. I don't see Kerry pulling Ohio or Pennsylvania though. Missouri would be tight.

On another note, Kucinich made it to the 1% mark. I am kind of shocked he got 1%.

Dean is telling Larry King he expects to finish third in Iowa.

Dems going for Kerry? Seems like they might want to win. Was all this noise about Dean just a giant non-story?

Antiwar Dems are going for Kerry. Dean is coming in third.

Deanisms on National Review Online

Man in Cookie Monster outfit shocked that he isn't taken seriously

Iowa looks like a big mess.

The time stamps are not correct.

This new blog is easier to pronounce, easier to spell, and "Big Tent" Republicanism is a concept most people can understand.

baby steps