Today on the Dish, Andrew addressed Romney's casual and repeated lies as the core reality of the campaign and considered the revealing case of Monsignor Lynn. Romney's numbers are solid even as he struggles to level the "ethnic playing field," but he should probably think outside the economy. The food stamp program expanded below the poverty line, the Cheneys shied from the cause of marriage equality, David Blankenhorn came around, and gay adoption grew pools of committed parents.
We checked in on political developments in Egypt, questioned the US foreign policy consensus, and traced Soviet meddling in the Middle East. Postwar Berlin is still cheap, Greece and Germany blew off steam, and civilians became the primary targets of war.
We studied slinkies, looked at HIV transmission laws, anticipated the end of checks, and reimagined jury duty. We wondered about eye contact, remembered closet monsters, and re-read "A Good Man is Hard to Find." We fetishized small businesses for the wrong reasons, made the case for leisure, broached disease and guilt, were leery of teenage anti-depressants and bullish on animal biology, and examined causes of death over time. Happy marriages take different shapes, laughing happens deep in our brains, and bars are increasingly pricey. Tattoos were once for aristocrats, there is nothing on Earth "untouched by man," autonomy is a victim of anorexia, and according to Michael Chabon, you should keep your dreams to yourself. We parsed Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, geared up for the big decision on Thursday, and Romney inevitably obfuscated.
Moore award nominee here, quote for the day here, ask Scott Horton anything here, URL of the day here, MHB here, FOTD here, and VFYW here. Ad war update here.
—M.A.
(Photo of Tahrir Square by Khaled Desouki /AFP/Getty Images.)
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