
Today on the Dish, Rapegate raged on as Andrew hailed the Dem's culture war advantage, analyzed GOP polarization on Akin, and excavated the Right's long-standing rhetorical redefining of rape. Akin's lead shriveled but he still hung on, and Romney led Obama among Missouri women (but that was before Akin's remarks). Meanwhile, Andrew clarified his friendship with Niall before going another round with him and dismantling his China arguments. Andrew also called out Paul Ryan for advocating private charity but giving so little himself, explained why healthcare is not a classic market and argued for breaking up banks. He then paused to admire wide receiver Elliott Mealer's chin-padding.
Elsewhere in politics, Obama distinguished his personal faith from his job, the Ryan selection put Wisconsin back in play, and the potential veep's budget plan would have Romney paying .82% in taxes. Canny readers joined in the Ferguson-fisking, Eric Cantor dressed down GOP skinny-dippers and Nate Cohn compared 2012 and 2004. And in the ad war, Romney's campaign lied again on Obama's welfare policy.
Shauna Prewitt went to law school to protect her rape-conceived child, and while Obama focused on welfare aid at the expense of job creation, Derek Thompson highlighted the relative importance of local jobs to the economy. Surowiecki advocated talent-focused immigration reform, Chait noted the GOP extinction from popular culture, and while Marc Tracy marveled at the right's anti-Semitism trigger-happiness, Goldblog shushed about a spate of Jewish terror attacks.
In other assorted coverage, Ackerman argued for closing down the NYPD's real, live Muslim-themed The Wire, Dan Colman recalled the hellish production of Apocalypse Now, and blow jobs transmitted HIV – but at a low incidence. Jesse Bering, meanwhile, considered vagina shape, paperbacks of old cost a lot and Scott Adams outwitted a used car salesman. Meanwhile, Pussy Riot comprised grrls, a cellular menage a trois prevented heritable diseases, and readers skewered the a Pareto Principle workout post. Airbus modeled the future, readers interpreted bus clues in the VFYW contest and Alain de Botton endorsed bibliotherapy. FOTD here and VFYW here. And today in funny, while the women of Qingdao dressed for a stick-em-up, er, day at the beach, the very amazing Leslie Knope did impressions.
- G.G.
(Photo: This picture taken on August 16 shows Chinese beachgoers wearing body suits and protective head masks, dubbed 'face-kinis' by Chinese netizens, on a crowded public beach in Qingdao. By AFP/Getty Images.)