Whine & Cheese

American Idle

While quite amused with it the day of/day after, I was quite done with the American Idol audition of "Pants on the Ground" after the proverbial 15 minutes, but I still got a kick out of this political cartoon that The Arizona Republic published over this past weekend (though it was an earlier Mike Luckovich work from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

Many of my fellow Democrats are frustrated with the way things have been going (or perhaps, more accurately, not going) so far with the Obama administration. Though given what was the alternative, I think there is hardly room to quibble that much, though I feel the same way.  The campaign and inauguration were so inspiring and hopeful, that it does kind of feel like waking up on New Year's Day... or my oft quoted line that the anticipation of the event is often greater than the event itself.  Politics is politics, and it's the same old, same old in Washington.  too wish I was feeling the same way I was a year ago when Obama entered office. But I am frustrated as well that things haven't been getting done and confessed to perhaps my one remaining Republican friend (hi Joanna!) recently that one thing I admire about the GOP was their ability to get things done no matter the majorities (or lack thereof) they held or popular opinion. 

That's what amused me about this alleged earth-moving, political earthquake caused by the new hottie Junior Senator from Massachusetts, which apparently gave him and the Republicans the powerful Senate  majority of 41 members.  The amusing part is that I don't recall the Democrats being that excited, or the Republicans being too worried when the Dems held that "majority" number (or more!) during the George W Bush presidency.  Again, proof of the GOPs ability to get things done regardless.  I think there are a lot of reasons, good and bad, why this is the case with Democrats but I do get a laugh of a phrase that I heard said of them at one point that they have "an uncanny knack of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory." On a side-note, I think this "trend" is more anti-incumbency a pro-Republican or anti-Democrat/Obama movement, though anti-incumbency affects/will affect more Democrats these days.

I think Republicans should be thrilled, if there has to be a Democrat in the White House, that it is Obama. I recall the worry of Hillary Clinton not being a viable POTUS candidate since she was too divisive a figure!  Ha!  While I applaud Obama's attempts at unity and bi-partisanship, I think it's naive and long stopped being a possibility in Washington.  My cynical side doubts that anything substantial will ever get done again in Washington as both parties (and I blame the Dems too) are too obsessed in blocking the other, not allowing the other to be successful.  And, if something does get agreed upon, it'll be so watered down that I doubt its effectiveness... like health care reform.

Anyhow, that's my unfocused babbling on about that...

I had originally continued on here about a recent Facebook de-friending due to political differences... well differences that I think crossed the line, but I'll save that for another post!  Stay tuned.

This & That

You may (or not?!) have noticed there wasn't a blog entry yesterday.  I said awhile back that I wasn't going to push/force writing here, but I have to say it still feels a bit weird to let the day go by without writing at least a little something out.  That said, just a little this and that stream of consciousness today...

But alas, even if there is no entry here you can usually see a twitter or two (or three or four) in the upper left hand corner or elsewhere (like... ummm... Twitter perhaps?!).  I have to admit that status updates are cannibalizing my blog entries (as I suspect they have for many, many others).   I guess some things can (or should) be said in 140 characters or less... or else it's just blogging for the lazy... "I would have written more, but gosh darnit... out of characters!"   I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing.  A big part of me thinks it is just adding/increasing the attention-deficit of our nation, but it is still a nice little outlet.

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The Twilight craze is fully underway, with the movie primed for a midnight opening tonight.  Just in case, you have been living under a rock, the Twilight series (written by local - and Mormon! - author Stephenie Meyer) is the latest publishing phenomenon (quickly filling the Harry Potter vacuum) about a high school girl and her first love, who just happens to be a 180-year old vampire (though if the movie version is accurate, can pass for Zac Efron's cousin).  I will admit - out of curiosity and this odd attraction to the vampire genre - to reading the first novel,  even though if today's newspaper is to be be believed I am in a minority since this is only something for daughters and their moms. 

As you may recall, I wasn't terribly impressed with the book... and re-iterated to Todd this morning that I wish, given all the hysteria, that it was a better written book.  Alas, he reminded me to stop being a snob.. and again, I will say that whatever gets people, especially young folk, reading is a very good thing.  I pretty much had the same reaction to Harry Potter... reading the first book and pretty much wondering what all the fuss was about (and you can see how my opinion affected future sales in that series!).   That said, I may give the 2nd book in the series a try ... and once we finish watching True Blood, the first book in Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series as well... like I said, I'm a sucker (ha!) for vampires!

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It's been interesting watching all this post-election/cabinet post stuff with Obama.  In particular, I have been amused by all the criticism about stuff like Joe Lieberman keeping his chairmanships in the Senate or the consideration of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.  Given what we already know about Obama and now having finished reading The Audacity of Hope, these kind of things are soooooo Obama.  As you may recall, I didn't get on the Obama train to fairly late... all that hope, change, "red state - blue state, no the United States" stuff didn't penetrate into my cynical bones.  But once I let that go... drank the kool-aid (I'll give you that)... you either have to be stratospherically cynical that Obama has been planning all this each and every day for the last decade or more... or else come around to thinking this guy is incredibly sincere and really believes/intends to govern in a post-partisan environment. 

I have found the whole Clinton/Secretary of State thing pretty interesting.  I expected there would be some kind of offer... again, this is typical Obama (though this "team of rivals" knee-jerks are getting out of hand), but I didn't expect interest on Clinton's part... and apparently she does, otherwise I don't think it would be buzzing for these many days.  Now, if she would have been the very first female SoS, I think she would have jumped at it... but it's pretty amazing to think - and just in the past two administrations - that she would be the third woman (and continue the decade+ trend of a non-white man) to fill the post.  But given how long this has dragged on, I suspect she will head the State Department.

And likely by the time this entry gets posted, we will have lost our Democratic Governor here in Arizona as it appears that Janet Napolitano will be the Secretary-Elect of Homeland Security.  Napolitano was also rumored to be under consideration for Attorney General, but that fell through earlier this week. 

While I have no real basis/logic for this thought, I kinda sorta would have been okay letting Janet go for the AG slot... but Homeland Security, well... just seems like a disaster waiting to happen... literally!   But the more troubling aspect is that her departure would leave AZ totally Republican run... with the current Secretary of State Jan Brewer moving to the top spot (the third woman to do so in AZ's recent/20-ish year history - though this time at least with the governor not leaving in disgrace)... so while I am happy for Napolitano, it still leaves me a little sad that our little (but important!) bit of "blue" is leaving our red state.

Express Lane: Issue 53

McCain, Obama put politics aside to mark Sept. 11 - Because nothing says "unpolitical" like showing up at Ground Zero when one is running for President (and my cynicism here is totally bi-partisan). (9/11/08)

Josh Groban Tackles TV Theme Songs - Not that I needed an excuse to watch the Emmys, but if I did a Groban medley including the themes from Friends, The Simpsons, and Brady Bunch would be it. (9/10/08)

Could Clinton have Palin-proofed Dems? - At the risk of sounding sour-grape-ish, I wondered this aloud myself just last night... and always thought HRC would get the blame if Obama (bite my tongue) loses, but this prevent the scapegoating. (9/10/08)

NBC shows return to iTunes after yearlong feud - Hurray!  Seems like a win-win situation for all. (9/9/08)

Fans line up to see "Rent" last time on Broadway - After one extension, the show ends its 12 year run on Sunday.  Looking forward to seeing original cast members Rapp & Pascal when the touring production hits town in March '09. (9/5/08)

Heart tells GOP When They Can Use 'Barracuda' as Sarah Palin's "theme song"... Never! - To quote "The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission." (9/5/08)

'Flight of the Conchords' May Ground Itself - Struggling to come up with songs and narratives, it appears Jermaine and Bret's 2nd season on HBO will likely be their last. (9/3/08)

Ace Young to Join Broadway's Grease - With Danny & Sandy already cast (and re-cast!) from its own 'Grease' reality competition - the show now adds the flowing locks of the former 'Idol' contestant in the role of Kenickie. (8/25/08)

'American Idol' adds fourth judge - Paula gets a female comrade as producer / songwriter, Kara DioGuardi, is set to join the judging panel for the show's 8th season. (8/25/08)

Wearing The Pants(uit)

I've been sitting on this picture from the Democratic National Convention for awhile now... during ABC's convention coverage, they aired this test/run-through of which color pantsuit would be best for Hillary Clinton's convention speech... so I was glad there was a picture that I could "borrow" and post here.

While I understood why they did it, it still cracked me up... even more here, with the expression on the guy's face on the left.  I wonder how many other colors there are in Hillary's closet?  Anyhow, I think the right choice was made to go with the orange - the blue and aqua seemed to fade into the background, while the red would have been probably too strong. 

Anyhow, this is pretty much old news since the RNC is well underway.  Despite left/liberal leanings, I think it is still important to see what both side are saying, even if the result is the taste of vomit in one's mouth.  Now, I know conventions are just alleged adult versions of the high school pep rallies and preaching to the proverbial choir ... that's one reason I'm watching only the 1 hour of coverage on ABC (my personal preference, even with Diane Sawyer's cooing)... I can only stand so much... from either party!

I snarked that the second (but really first) night of the RNC seemed like 'Grumpy Old Men 2' with speeches from Fred Thompson and, still a bit staggeringly disturbing, Joe Lieberman... plus the video appearance from the current president. 

But that was merely a pretty unsatisfying appetizer to last night's appearance of Rudy Guiliani and VP nominee Sarah Palin.  Holy crap, the claws came out... and I fear (yet again!), that the Dems don't have the cahones to go after their opponents like these folk... and that's not meant to be an insult.   

Not that there weren't plenty of things I found disturbing - from the still eerily empty NYC skyline serving as the backdrop from Guiliani's speech - and that he had the gall to say the Dems had not uttered the fear-inducing date of "9/11" while nearly 7 years later nothing has yet to rise from the ashes of the WTC site...

... and while Palin's speech has been reported as "using wit, sarcasm, charm and ridicule"... admittedly through my politically filtered glasses (well, contact lenses) I found there to be more sarcasm and ridicule than wit and charm.  Personally, I found the tone of the night to be mocking and mean-spirited and particularly tired of Cindy McCain's smug smiling and head bobbing... and apparently life in a small town is admirable, but "community organizing" is fodder for condescension. 

But again, even from the other side of the political spectrum, I can certainly see why the GOP is pretty thrilled this morning.  Again, it's the paradox where folks seem to dislike "going negative," but more times than not it has proven to be an effective strategy.

We're certainly in for an interesting 2 months until Election Day.

Endgame

Today appears to be the day when a lot of Democrats breath a sigh of relief.  Though I don't really get it.  If June is too late or too long, don't have the primary season set up to last until June.  If voters wanted it to be over, they could have decided that at the polls (or by not going to the polls) and letting the inevitable happen.  If the superdelegates wanted it over, they could have ended it sooner than today.  None of this happened... so why there were cries to end the game prior to the 9th inning, or the clock running out, or.. ummm... the nomination not being won... well, I am still a bit befuddled.

For months now we've been reading why Hillary Clinton should drop out of the presidential race, but seeing this photo on Yahoo News yesterday reminded me of just one of the reasons I am glad she did not...

Again, for the simple fact that Obama still had not reached the number of delegates to earn the nomination should be reason enough to not question Clinton remaining in the race (let alone that she was still winning contests).  It was... well, darn democratic... to see each and every state (and U.S. territory) have their vote count... and actually mean something.  Likewise, I think it is an encouraging sign for the Democrats that people, even in today's final primaries, still appear eager to come out and vote for either of these historic candidates... no matter what the proverbial writing on the wall might be.

While I have been a Clinton supporter for the start, I'll admit to scratching my head or wincing a time or two over some of the things that have happened over the past year or so.  It has been a slippery slope with both of these candidates -- being pioneers they have had to face some things no other presidential candidates have had to face, but also they've had some "free passes" in the politically-correct climate not to appear racist or sexist. 

I think Clinton faced the greater burden, and if not her, I wonder what type of woman it will take to be elected to the highest office in the land... and while there were plenty of campaign missteps along the way... I think her last name (and ergo her political past) was a larger liability than her gender, though I still think that was a considerable factor.

So let the healing and uniting begin along withe the Clinton "destroying the party" animosity begin to fade.  I am kinda sorta hoping she gets and accepts the VP... otherwise, if the unthinkable happens (I echo the "Democrats have an uncanny ability of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" quote), I have little doubt the blame will be put on her doorstep. 

Electorally Speaking

We interrupt these American Idol posts for some brief political/election chat...

As you well know, I am a Hillary supporter, so I was pretty pleased with last night's results... and thus you should not be surprised to trip over some pro-Hillary bias below and beyond.   A week or so ago, I was figuring last night would probably be the end... but this election's motto certainly echoes that beloved Big Brother mantra of "expect the unexpected." 

No surprise, I think Clinton should continue on in the race.  I will have to respectfully disagree with anyone who says otherwise...  my wallet is currently empty at any attempts to buy the "for the good of the party" argument. 

It's like being at the 19 mile mark in of a marathon and thinking... hmmm, Runner A is about 3/4 mile ahead of Runner B... we like Runner A and it looks like Runner A is going to win anyhow, so why don't we just call the race here... the people at milepost 22 and beyond won't mind...  that way we can rest up for the next race against the 71-year old. (BTW, those numbers are "real" ballparks of where we are in the Dem delegate race and the gap... have I mentioned I kinda like to crunch numbers?!)

That said, I am not being that Pollyanna about Clinton's status either... and was pretty surprised to see articles this morning of Clinton hinting about Obama as VP... what a difference a day makes... but again, whoa nelly!

The other night I wondered aloud... delegates schmelegates super-califragilisticexpialidocious-elegates (go ahead say it aloud, it's really quite fun... tho' a friendly warning, it's also something quite atrocious)...

What would the numbers look like between Clinton and Obama based on the presidential "winner takes all" electoral college?  Too much free time Curiosity got the best of me this morning... so here it is:

Obama: 193
(Wins in AL, AK, CO, CT, DE, DC, GA, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MN, MO, NE, ND, SC, UT, VT, VA, WA, WI)

Clinton: 219
(Wins in: AZ, AR, CA, MA, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, RI, TN, TX)

I know TX is still being hashed out... but let's pretend it's only a primary as the general election is (thankfully) caucus-free... and alas what of the 44 electorates from FL (17) and MI (27)? 

Again, it's just all numbers... and even with the Clinton's "big state" wins, going in I still expected Obama to have a slight lead... and needless to say, some states are going to go "blue" or "red" (regardless of the nominee)... but still an interesting little exercise.

UPDATE:  Just want to clarify/address Scott's comment what I meant when I said "regardless the nominee" is that I am certain Clinton would win states Obama won (or vice versa)... and likewise am confident that many states that would go "red"... my home state of Arizona being a prime example.  I am quite sure our Senator will not face too much much of a challenge securing AZ's electoral votes.

Various & Sundry

As often is the case, the weekend left quite a bit of things floating around my mind...

On Friday night, we saw 12 Angry Men as part of our touring Broadway season tickets.  It's rare that a play is part of the package, so it's always a nice change up.  The "star" of the show was Richard Thomas.  While I am certainly aware of "John Boy" from a pop-culture stance, believe it or not I never watched The Waltons growing up.  So, it's a good thing that, even though he didn't get star billing, that Kevin Dobson, Mac from Knots Landing, was also a jury member as well.

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On Saturday, we visited Todd's parents in Tucson.  At lunch, we had something happen to us for the very first time... the waitress looked at Todd and myself and asked "Are you brothers?"  Very funny, but very strange too.

And it's probably a good thing that I wasn't leaving the tip, as the waitress told me later of my ordered dish "I've never seen anyone eat that much of it!"  Ummm... thanks (not).

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If that didn't get me crabby, Facebook also ticked me off.  Recently I added a Virtual Book Case to my profile, and I get an email this weekend titled "You've been reading 'Pride and Prejudice' for more than a week. Still true?" and the body of the email continued to nag me "We wanted to give you a reminder so that you can keep your profile fresh if things have changed".... Y

Yes, I'm still friggin' reading the book and doing my best to get through it... and I don't need anybody or anything giving me crap about it... especially when I am very much well aware that it's killing all the surplus/progress I had made in my reading challenge up to this point!  Geez, Louise!

Speaking of Facebook, I am finally playing Scrabulous... and now really hoping that it doesn't go away as the makers of Scrabble ain't too happy about it (and I can certainly understand why).  My very best friend from college (as I often say... the Grace to my Will) and I were big time Scrabble players in college and beyond... so when she recently joined Facebook I knew we had to play... though I am not too happy that she got a "bingo" and used the word "feu" in our very first game!   If anyone wants to play (and I know there are a couple of you out there!), I am open ... though I don't know how good/bad I am right now as I don't have a "rating" yet.

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A couple of Hillary notes.   I was surprised how pro-Hillary the first Saturday Night Live was... in the opening sketch, the mocked the googly-eyes the media has for Obama (or perhaps, just the disdain for Hillary) and "Obama Girl" even made an appearance.

But that was nothing to guest host Tina Fey and her most excellent return to the Weekend Update desk. I would post the video, but SNL ones tend to go away very quickly... if you haven't seen it already -- it seems to be the big rage this morning -- if not,  this YouTube search page that might get you to it).  Anyhow, she ended the segment turning the oft-thought "she's a bitch" criticism on its heels... some entrepreneurial folks have already (wisely) jumped on it... gigglechick offers products with the follow Fey-isms:

And on McLaughlin Group, even I can get get a kick out of what some of the conservative panelists say... when asked "What Hillary Clinton needs to do to defeat Obama?" ... new regular on the "right wing" side, Monica Crowley noted that basically "Hillary has to club the baby seal" ... and that certainly (and humorously) sums up what I've been thinking about the Dem Race of late... I just wish I'd come up with that line! 

Presidents Day, Beer & Pretzels, DWTS

Some randomness to start off the week:

Don't really have President's Day "off" here.  Todd is "officially" at work and I am putting some time in despite many of my clients taking the holiday.  Things have been a bit "dribs and drabs" for the start of this year, so I work when there's work to be done... but nothing terribly urgent today, so I am sure there will be time later today to sit down and contemplate Washington and Lincoln and others.

Speaking of presidents, it's hard to avoid whoever is going to be the next president.  On the democratic side, I am still trying to figure out why Obama appeals to those with a higher education and income, while Clinton's base seems to be the other end of the socio-economic spectrum.  I wondered aloud to Todd if its because blue collar folk are more racist than sexist?!   I know quite politically incorrect, but I just don't get it... maybe its just this group is more cynical and not buying the "hope" and "change" stuff... that would certainly explain part of my appeal for Clinton.

In boxing up these groups, I have head that Obama gets the "wine" crowd, while Clinton gets the "beer" vote.  This weekend, one pundit went a step further and called Obama's base "wine and cheese" ... which of course sent up my copyright, copyright!!! radar... and referred to Clinton's bloc as "beer and pretzels."  So I contemplated temporarily changing the name of my blog to "beer and pretzels" or at least coming up with a snazzy Hillary-centric banner... but felt a bit too lazy today or lest I admit that reality has set in regarding my candidate's chances.

Finally, even if you have not watched Dance War... you might want to check in with it tonight... or at least TiVo it and skip through it... the couples for the next edition of Dancing With The Stars are going to be announced.  While I have heard rumors, there hasn't been as many leaks as previous seasons.   Though one bit of not unexpected news on the pro dancer front... Maks won't be on this coming season.  I'm sure I'll have something to say on all this tomorrow. 

There's one more bit of big news from the weekend, but I'll obnoxiously give it its own post... come back in a bit.

Super Duper Tuesday

Happy Super Duper Tuesday, particularly to those of you voting today.   

A couple of hours ago, we cast our votes in the Democratic primary.  While I know it's just a primary, I still expected it to have a buzz.  It was a crazy scene at our polling place for the last presidential election... the street jammed and a line of people well out the door.

Not quite the same feel this morning.  I wondered if we had turned down the correct street.  Alas, we did and had our choice of spaces in the parking lot... arriving just as the first voter in our precinct was heading out the door (to the cheers of strangely cheerful and/or highly over-caffeinated poll workers) and we were voters #6 and #7.  So not quite a "super" (let alone, "super duper") atmosphere, but I realize we were very early birds.

It was nice to have to only make one decision.  Though given that I was in bed less than an hour before and without those morning mugs of java, it took a bit more concentration than I expected to find Hillary's name on the ballot. 

It's probably a good thing I looked at the sample ballot when it arrived in the mail, otherwise I would have been mightily confused.  Here in Arizona, we had 24 names on the ballot (apparently it takes just some simple paper work and a notarization to get your name on the ballot) ... and in random order!  No alphabetization, no realistic candidate at the top... Hillary was the 16th name list on the ballot (just above former front-runner, Edward Dobson)... so it took me moment to focus and make my little mark on the ballot.

Now it's the very small respite before the declaration of winners, speculation, and spinning (and those political commercials!).  It's going to be a long night of television... and for the Democrats, I am pretty darn certain that things are not going to be pretty darn certain by the end of the night.  I have a feeling I'll be "calling" the end of the night much earlier than the pundits. 

Cyber-Stumping For Hillary

I know things have been very (and unusually) political here on W&C this week... but just bear with me, perhaps once we get through Super Duper Tuesday things will revert back to the normal fluff and fold.

That said, I will direct you over to Scott-O-Rama which is turning into a bit of a Hillary Clinton cyber-rally in the past day and thru the biggest voting primary day this country has seen  Scott asked some of us HRC supporters to do a little cyber-stumping for her.... here's a link to my contribution...  warning, in the spirit of being "green," some of the content of that post has been recycled from stuff you may have read right here at W&C.

I guess you can just say ... I've Got A Crush On Hillary!!  (note: video below for you feed readers)