ATLmalcontent

worst debate host ever

I don't have strong feelings either way about Wolf Blitzer, but he did a shitty job moderating tonight's debate. When he wasn't lobbing chummy softballs, he threw inside (the Beltway) junk, like his concluding question about whether Obama or Hillary would pick the other as veep. Gee, I wonder what they'll say.

Blitzer seemed intent on punctuating -- nay, influencing -- a recurring theme: You like her, you really like him.

Hillbot works best with script in hand, though the structure didn't suit Obama. Fortunately, debates tend not to matter (see: George W. Bush).

judge him by his enemies

Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, who has written in support of the internment of Japanese-American citizens during WWII, said she won't vote for McCain over Hillary. McCain should thank her.

And now, your daily right-wing fatwa:

The Republican Party has been hijacked. Over the past month a new Axis of Evil has emerged -- not one based in Damascus, Tehran or Pyongyang -- but instead in Cedar Rapids, Charleston, South Carolina, Derry, New Hampshire and Boca Raton, Florida. It is the liberal and “independent” voters in these 4 states that have nearly completed a deed that makes Kim Jong Il envious -- the near crippling of the American Electoral System. These four states have combined their native liberal populism with an imported liberal electorate and have forced the GOP to accept a nominee so distasteful that in more than one poll -- the numbers of voters choosing not to vote and those choosing to vote third party actually exceed those who will hold their nose and vote for Maverick, War Hero, Amnesty Supporter, John McCain. ...

This is our party, not John McCain’s or Mel Martinez's, or Lindsay Graham’s. The Republican Party is THE conservative party dammit. Let’s admit it and take it back. RINOS and Liberals have taken the GOP plane hostage, and its time for us passengers to revolt…and do what has to be done -- Let’s Roll.

the clinton/obama smackdown: hour one

You haven't missed much:

Hillary reminded everyone, one banal platitude at a time, she's been bringing people together for 35 years to solve problems through vague solutions and unnamed projects. Oh yeah, and she's a woman. (Her husband, meanwhile, is a crook, continuing to raise money by any means necessary.)

As for Obama, well, he's not the best debater. But he's not Hillbilly.

BTW, Hillbot's "it takes a Clinton to clean up after a Bush" line is about as stale as her recent campaign skit. The audience loved it, but keep in mind these are the same people who greenlight Adam Sandler movies.

a bush conservative

Among the reasons "movement conservatives" list for rejecting McCain:

*McCain-Feingold, campaign finance legislation signed into law by ... George W. Bush.

*McCain-Kennedy, the controversial immigration compromise supported by ... George W. Bush.

Of course, McCain was never a figurehead CEO. And he's got this thing against torture.

Perhaps he could score points with the partisans by acting more scripted.

how low will they go?

Lower than you'd imagine. Romney supporter Paul Weyrich, an influential conservative activist, has suggested that McCain is a real-life "Manchurian candidate." Seriously.

He has now taken to suggesting that John McCain is a Communist spy working at the bidding of some geriatric cabal of Vietnamese Communists. "The Cambodian Khmer Rouge has claimed that 'McCain is a Vietnamese agent,' for what it's worth," writes Weyrich.

Weyrich quotes various conspiratorial websites (which I will not link to) and then says, there's got to be some reason so many people think McCain is a "traitor."

angry white conservatives

Lest anyone doubt their hatred of John McGovern, er, McCain, the conservative flock unleashed a torrent of attacks Wednesday on the newly anointed GOP frontrunner. Forget all he's done for his country -- McCain is but a traitor in their eyes deserving of neither respect nor allegiance.

Between volcanic bursts of unintelligible venom, one caller promoted a boycott of Florida to punish its citizens for the unpardonable sin of voting for McCain. Another declared that, if elected, McCain would be the most liberal president in American history. Worse than Hillary Clinton, said one.

Online, the sturm und drang (or hissy fit) continues:

"I cannot in good conscience vote for John McCain.. If the country is going to hell, I’d rather Hillary, Barack, or the Dems can take credit for the destruction of the country than the Republicans."

"If McCain becomes the republican nominee, Rush will be proven right. The “republican” persuasion will cease to exist. It might as well merge with the democrats to become its true self. Good riddance."

"Staunch conservatives for life, my wife and I will vote for the democrat nominee (Billary or Obama) since they are scarcely different from McCain except on Iraq. Better to have a democrat pres kill the country than a faux-conservative republican like McCain kill it."

"Hillary vs McCain? Gee, the Red Queen or The Manchurian Candidate - tough choice."

We'll see just how far "movement conservatives" are prepared to go to deny McCain the nomination (think South Carolina, 2000). Already reactionaries like Limbaugh and blogger Michelle "In Defense of Internment" Malkin have indicated they may not vote for McCain if he is the nominee.

These are the same people who insist that character counts, but their behavior, and their contempt for an honorable American, tells you otherwise. It's perfectly proper to debate policy, but this became bitterly personal long ago. Fortunately, Republican voters seem more inclined to support an adult with a long record of service to a collective of self-promoting carnival barkers.

the hugh hewitt of the left

She's every bit as loyal to Hillbot as Hugh is to The Anchorman and just as myopic:

But it was clear tonight that Hillary Clinton, after getting close to 800,000 votes in her column (so far), has sent a message to everyone. After her win in Florida, Clinton took the stage with elected Florida Democratic colleagues. Bill was nowhere in sight. He's a terrific surrogate, but Hillary Clinton can do this on her own. She's done it in debate after debate and she did it tonight after her win.

Watch the video. Classy. Focused. On message.

I guess automatons attract like-wired circuit boards.

Earlier today Marsh trumpeted the endorsement of Clinton by bomb-throwing California congresswoman Maxine Waters, best known for her un-statesmanlike defense of L.A. rioters following the Rodney King verdict. Waters was reportedly swayed by Hillary's shrill divisiveness.

Maybe someone can get Taylor and Hugh together. They may not be ideological soul mates, but no one will ever question their blind loyalty.

rush, call your sponsor

Despite an onslaught of attacks (often misleading and unambiguously personal) from the right's chattering class, John McCain has triumphed in Florida. Confounding his many critics, McCain won convincingly in a closed primary -- only Republican votes counted, and he received almost 100,000 more than Romneytron. His nomination seems certain.

McCain already leads by 13 points in California and tops Romney in most other Super Tuesday states. The Bible Belt could be problematic, though McCain has a significant ally: Mike Huckabee.

While Rudy's endorsement is irrelevant at this point (as irrelevant as Florida's Democratic primary results), Huckabee retains some influence. Romney has no chance unless he attracts the voters currently aligned with Huckabee, and the Arkansas governor has made it clear he'll do whatever he can to deny The Anchorman.

McCain still must withstand a ruthless assault forthcoming from Romneytron and his allies in the conservative media -- betcha we haven't heard the last of this -- but for once, the odds are in his favor.

is romney playing the crazy vet card?

Not overtly -- he claims to know nothing of this memo detailing McCain's Top 10 outbursts (though it was released by Romney staffers). Mr. CEO, out of the loop? Not likely. While McCain has struggled with the truth in recent days, lies have been a staple of The Anchorman's campaign. And this may be his cheapest shot yet, exploiting a debased stereotype to discredit his opponent.

The memo claims, for instance, that McCain had a scuffle with then-92-year-old S.C. Sen. Strom Thurmond. Read closely and you'll see that there were no fisticuffs, just a verbal disagreement. The memo is as flimsy as Romney's convictions (evidenced by his No. 1 choice for worst example of McCain acting like a human being):

Defending His Amnesty Bill, Sen. McCain Lost His Temper And “Screamed, ‘F*ck You!’ At Texas Sen. John Cornyn” (R-TX). “Presidential hopeful John McCain - who has been dogged for years by questions about his volcanic temper - erupted in an angry, profanity-laced tirade at a fellow Republican senator, sources told The Post yesterday. In a heated dispute over immigration-law overhaul, McCain screamed, ‘F— you!’ at Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who had been raising concerns about the legislation. ‘This is chickens—stuff,’ McCain snapped at Cornyn, according to several people in the room off the Senate floor Thursday. ‘You’ve always been against this bill, and you’re just trying to derail it.’”

Now that's beyond the pale. Bad enough that he cursed a fellow senator, but using the F-word is just unpardonable. Rest assured that if you elect Mitt Romney, he'll never use such salty language, by golly!

(Maybe Mitt should reprimand Dick Cheney while he's at it.)

NOW's insufferable insult

As we watched coverage of the Kennedys endorsing Obama, a colleague, black and female, turned to me and shook her head. "If my grandfather was alive to see a black man this close to becoming president ..."

This FEMALE voter didn't seem too bummed that a WOMAN might well be denied the presidency by a BLACK MAN. She shouldn't have to choose sides, but if anyone can weigh the obstacles faced by African-Americans and women, it's a black female. Her reaction to Obama -- and indifference to Hillary -- spoke volumes.

I'm guessing most blacks, regardless of gender, are similarly unmoved by the plight of a privileged white woman.

But if you listen to the privileged Caucasian president of one of the better-known indignation councils, no one has more to overcome than women, regardless of their background.

NOW accused Ted Kennedy of "abandoning" an entire gender by supporting "the new guy over us." No mention of the bigotry faced by blacks. (No mention of following your conscience, either, but that's another story.)

It brings to mind the regrettable sentiments of suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, reflecting the patronizing attitudes of her time:

The representative women of the nation have done their uttermost for the last thirty years to secure freedom for the negro, and so long as he was lowest in the scale of being we were allowed to press his claims; but now, as the celestial gate to civil rights is slowly moving on its hinges, it becomes a serious question whether we had better stand aside and see “Sambo” walk into the kingdom first.

I'm not going to call NOW racist, but they're certainly not much for inclusiveness, let alone history.

I belong to a minority group, but comparing the gay struggle to that faced by the civil rights generation is at best irresponsible. Plenty of people hate me because I like dick, but I've managed to navigate the system without much resistance.

I'm lucky. That fight has been waged, at least the bare knuckles part. Women of my generation are likewise fortunate. The glass ceiling may not be broken, but it's riddled with cracks. Groups like NOW don't like to acknowledge that progress because it mitigates their very existence (even though they could rightly claim a bit of credit).

Obama intrigues because he doesn't view the presidency as an entitlement. America has been burdened by its past for too long, and Obama may well be the candidate who moves us forward, not by ignoring -- or patronizing -- the truly victimized, but by empowering them. His ascension alone brings hope.

It sure as hell beats the droning pessimism of the professionally aggrieved, led by you-know-who.