I suppose it was inevitable

The L.A. Times reported on the show this morning. Funny thing is, an entirely different Obama musical debuted -- and flopped -- in Seattle last year. Maybe the story just doesn't fit the form? That said, the clip of Hillary belting out "I'll be ready on Day One!" is pretty cool.

Zap! Pow! Blam!

Michael Crowley and Dan Goldman's 08: A Graphic Diary of the Campaign Trail is a masterful summary of what seemed like an endless election cycle and turned out to be both memorable and historic. Spiked with plenty of world-weary humor (often courtesy of its reporter protagonists, Harlan Jessop and Jason Newbury), 08 made me realize just how unlikely Obama's win really was -- but also how little potential any of the Republican candidates had. (Sound contradictory? One word: Hillary.) I recommend the book to anyone who followed the election, but also to those who didn't and want to be brought up to speed in the least boring way imaginable.

Yes we did!

Last night on Capitol Hill, at the intersection of Broadway and Pike, there was a rally the likes of which I'd never seen. People of all races and ages held Obama signs and American flags. Complete strangers hugged and high-fived each other. Some people sprayed the crowd with champagne, while others lit fireworks that shot high above us and exploded beautifully against the night sky. Chants of "Yes we can!" alternated with "Yes we did!" and, as several of my friends pointed out, hipsters shouted "U! S! A!" and sang the national anthem -- the national anthem! -- without a trace of irony. As Kim noted, eight years of pent-up frustration transformed last night into a wild, unstructured expression of pure joy. Whatever the Obama administration achieves or does not, there's no question that he has galvanized and energized a great many people who had little or no interest in politics before. I should know, because I'm one of them. An older man in the crowd said he hadn't seen anything like last night's rally since 1968, and one older woman, her large Obama pin attached crookedly to her coat, was on the verge of tears as she hugged us all. The kind of love people showed for their country and for each other last night was remarkable, and no development in the coming four years can take anything away from that.

I'm not a praying man...

...but tonight, I'm about as close as I get.

My new shopping article for NWsource.com

It's live!

Who knows how I missed this...

...but here it is now, better late than never:



Thanks to Jill for tipping me off. I'm really going to miss this year's election-themed comedy shenanigans.

"I don't know if you're going to use the word 'terrorist' there..."

Read it and weep. And pray, if you're that sort.

I've single-handedly derailed the future

Perhaps if I'd carved an Obama pumpkin, this wouldn't have happened.

Statesman, candidate, comedian

Can I call you Joe?

Say it ain't so, John. Crikey.

Future imperfect

Just in time for tonight's final presidential debate, some wild wag has imagined a Palin White House -- and it doesn't look good. (Hint: It's interactive and requires sound.)

Jon Stewart, on the other hand, took a trip into the not-too-distant past to uncover the truth about McCain's recent stump speech, whose purpose was to "reboot" his flagging campaign. Nice try, Johnny Mac.

A ringing "endorsement"

Technically, The New Yorker doesn't endorse candidates, but the Comment in this week's Politics Issue (which also includes George Packer's excellent article on white working-class voters in Ohio) is a thoughtful, persuasive, and ultimately moving essay on why Obama is the better choice. I love the magazine, and have been reading it since I was a teenager, but rarely has it given me chills and made my heart beat faster. That this eloquent piece gets a collective byline ("The Editors") only moved me more. Bravo.

If campaigns were won on gall alone...

...Palin-McCain would roll to victory. Good heavens.

"I pray to God that people have enough time to let this register with them and start again, connecting the dots, and understand the contrast between the tickets," she said.

Yeah? Well, here are some dots, you fantastic hypocrite. As for your old man:

At an event Friday in Lakeville, Minnesota, McCain referred to Obama as a "decent person" and praised him as a "family man" after two voters expressed fear over Obama being elected.

But the Arizona senator was met by a sea of boos when asking the crowd to be more respectful toward Obama.

When the crowd began to boo, McCain told them "No, no. I want everyone to be respectful."

Grrr.

The newest Obama sticker

I plunder yet again from The Evil Beet for this timely gem, a reference to the second debate that will likely become passé the moment the third debate begins. I'm watching it at Central Cinema, by the way, and so should you.

Just when you thought your VP debate-watching party couldn't get any funner...

...here's this. Well played, Steve and Brendan, whoever you are.

In other vaguely political news: The inevitable Katy Perry fallout hits Texas.

Need a quick rundown of the running mates?

Good magazine explains it all for you:

Nights like this are why I joined the Ravenna Kibbutz

Doesn't get much more idyllic than that.

In other news, the man who so selflessly served his country so many years ago has found another way to do so, while conveniently making his opponent seem -- to the uninformed, at least -- like he's fiddling while Rome burns. Well played, Johnny Mac.

And while we're on politics: Yesterday at six o'clock I listened to Dubya talk for 15 minutes about the financial crisis. And as an NPR commentator noted after the speech, for the first time in about eight years, the man seemed to know what he was talking about. "The first MBA president," the NPR guy said. Against all odds, I think I may actually have learned something from George W. Bush. I never thought I'd see the day.

It's getting ugly

Michael said today that in light of the mini-scandal surrounding Obama's "lipstick on a pig" comment, the wheels might be coming off the campaign. At the very least, based on this willfully deceptive McCain ad, the gloves are coming off on the GOP side:



The Huffington Post helpfully explains:

In essence, Obama supported "age appropriate" sex-education for children as a means of teaching them what was proper or inproper touching, as well as to protect them against pedophiles, his campaign has said. Used in the context of the McCain campaign ad, however, Obama's stance becomes another one of those cultural issues that seems designed to alienate the Illinois Democrat from more socially moderate voters.

While we're on the subject, Jonathan Freedland's commentary in the Guardian is great, and here's some Palin news that Jews can use (both items courtesy of Michael).

On an unrelated note: I discovered today that the Internet provider Clearwire has been flat-out stealing from me for more than a year after I told them, in no uncertain terms, that I wanted out. And by "no uncertain terms," I mean I threatened to go to the Better Business Bureau and the law over their already shady and unethical practices. I would advise anyone who is considering using their services to think twice, since at this point I consider the company capable of intentional fraud.

Paris is, like, TOTALLY ready to lead

Sometimes she's hard not to like.

And lest Cindy feel left out, The Huffington Post ordered a hit on her, too.

I text, therefore I am... a danger to society

Today's P-I story certainly hits close to home:

Two other pedestrians, Sarah Polachek, 21, and Emily Crawford, 22, both said their friends walked into poles and swerved their cars while texting, but wouldn't admit to having any accidents themselves. In fact, both condemned continuous texters.

"They think they can sense everything around them while texting, but they're oblivious," Crawford said. "For them, texting takes priority over safety."

Polachek took her disapproval a step further.

"I think texting is impersonal and stupid," she said. "It gets on my nerves."

In other news, the latest McCain attack ad is awful.