WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Oil hits $100, markets tanking.

Dumb Reasons

Adding that it's perfectly sensible that we all incorporate "dumb reasons" into our criteria for picking a candidate. A lot is unknown and unknowable about a candidate and what they'll do, and so we incorporate basic personality-related information into our decision process. But while we use that information to make our choice, those personality characteristics just aren't important in and of themselves. "The kind of guy you'd like to eat a muffin with" is information which might help you determine whether you trust a candidate to do what they claim they'll do once they get in office, but quality muffin eating time isn't an important skill for a president to have.

So, yes, candidate skills matter, but we shouldn't confuse candidate skills with presidenting skills.

Our Absurd System

Just making the obvious point here that being able to ad lib small talk about muffins in an Iowa diner is not actually an especially important skill for a president to have. Sadly, however, our media have convinced many voters that this is, in fact, what they should be looking for in a candidate.


People - and I include myself in this - make their choices for all sorts of dumb reasons, but our media helps to make people think that the dumb reasons are actually the things that matter.

Who Would Jesus Kill?

Yep, Huckabee's the modern Republican party personified.

Be Thankful

Indeed we should be thankful for Rudy's poll decline. Of course, it seems like every campaign except Huckabee's has been imploding recently so I suppose anybody could still win.

Watching some clips on the teevee, of all the pre-Huckabee Republican frontrunners, only McCain seems to have his heart in all the campaigning though he doesn't come across all that well. Romney does a wonderful job faking it, but you know he'd rather be anywhere other than in a diner talking about muffins. Rudy clearly hates the whole thing.

Meanwhile

Over there.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A female suicide bomber killed 10 people in Iraq on Wednesday, the latest in a string of suicide bombings that has seen a major strike nearly every day of the past week despite an overall decline in violence.

The woman blew herself up with an explosive vest at a checkpoint of neighborhood patrol volunteers in Baquba, capital of the restive Diyala province. Twenty-eight people were wounded including some women, police said.

Morning Thread

So which has had more work done, the Huckabee gut or the Norris face?

Crazy John Edwards

Because those silly brown people need training!

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — John Edwards says that if elected president he would withdraw the American troops who are training the Iraqi army and police as part of a broader plan to remove virtually all American forces within 10 months.

Mr. Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina who is waging a populist campaign for the Democratic nomination, said that extending the American training effort in Iraq into the next presidency would require the deployment of tens of thousands of troops to provide logistical support and protect the advisers.

You know, I'll admit that despite the fact that I think "getting out" is the right approach I don't personally have some comprehensive foolproof plan to do so. On the other hand, I have no idea why almost 5 years later the most important mission in Iraq appears to involve remedial education.

Late Night

This one's for steve simels.

Evening Thread

Enjoy.

Deep Thought

Saddam Hussein and Sauron - pretty much the same.

Maybe

Indeed. And even the much talked about Democratic crackup, which either happened in 1968, 1972, 1980, 1984, or 1994 depending on which pundit is telling the story didn't exactly consign the party to the wilderness, even though many of the Villagers talk about it as if that's the case.

And it wasn't that long ago that pundits were seriously talking about the permanent Republican majority.

Things change.

Macaca!

Against the Democratic Party

In his own subtle way, running against the party - at least to the extent that it's part and parcel with the Village in general - has long been Obama's message. But he's also long been good at blurring just what that meant, wink wink nudge nudge suggesting he was running to its left even as he used rhetoric which suggested he was running as David Broder's love child.

From The Credit Where Credit Is Due File

Brooks leaves a lot unsaid, such as how we got to this point, but this is a pretty good column, even if it's part of the last-minute desperate effort to re-anoint St. McCain as the leader.

Romney was their empty suit until they realized he couldn't win. Then Frederick of Hollywood was their empty suit until they realized he was awful. So it's back to McCain.

Meanwhile

Over there.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 30 people and wounding 38 in one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in months, police said.

Participation

One thing I really hate are all the fake scandals about "outside money." Campaign finance laws are quite the tricky thing and whatever the intent behind them they do end up making it harder for some people to participate in the political process. And participation is a good thing. I don't mean this is a slam on Obama - all the candidates will play these games - but I thought this quote was dead on.

And top union officials who support Obama’s rivals are in turn accusing the Illinois Democrat, who once sought their endorsements, of trying to damage labor’s political role.

“I’m taken aback that somebody like Obama would think that Oprah Winfrey has a greater right to participate in the political process than the four million people I represent,” said Edward J. McElroy, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, which has spent $799,619 on Sen. Hillary Clinton’s behalf, referring to the television host’s high-profile support for Obama. “It’s sour grapes. It sounds just like the charges the Republicans make.”

Some people have ready access to big microphones and can participate in the political process and reach a lot of people effortlessly. Most people require money to be heard. Pulling money together and using it to participate in the political discourse is not an inherently bad thing.

Truthiness

I couldn't even get past the first sentence of this Cohen column.

John Edwards lied about the cost of his haircuts.

It's so awesome when the Villagers can't even keep their fake "scandals" straight. Lied about the cost of his haircuts? wuh?

Lessons Unlearned

Herbert:

Arthur Schlesinger, in his biography of Kennedy, quotes Richard Harwood of The Washington Post:

“We discovered in 1968 this deep, almost mystical bond that existed between Robert Kennedy and the Other America. It was a disquieting experience for reporters. ... We were forced to recognize in Watts and Gary and Chimney Rock that the real stake in the American political process involves not the fate of speechwriters and fund-raisers, but the lives of millions of people seeking hope out of despair.”

Morning Threat

Empty as usual.

First Overnight of the Year