Category: The Dish

That was my recent take. Chuck Todd maps McCain’s path to victory and his challenges:

Currently polls show McCain either narrowly ahead or even with both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It is impressive considering how poorly the GOP, and specifically the president, are viewed by the public.

But it is a faux lead. If the de facto Democratic nominee is clear within the next 4-6 weeks, that person will see a poll bounce. And according to GOP pollster Steve Lombardo, it could be one heck of a bounce, like post-convention. He anticipates the Democratic candidate will move up 10 points once the primary race is over.

James Joyner, reacting to Todd’s analysis, underscores how tough Obama will be to beat:

Obama is going to be the nominee, barring some major development. His charisma, youth, and energy is going to be hard to run against, especially with a public tired of eight years of a Republican president, tired of a war with no end in sight, and worried about their ability to make ends meet. McCain’s only real advantage will also be his greatest liability: His decades of experience/he’s older than the hills.

Foreign Policy lists the worst, hate-mongering fundamentalist leaders from around the world. Nasrallah comes in first.

A list of the 50 greatest comedy sketches of all time. The Dead Parrot wins. The fish-slapping dance remains my favorite.

Record levels of discontent in the latest Harris survey. This is a change election.

John Dickerson catalogues the risks and goals of McCain’s outreach tour:

…the McCain tour is not aimed at winning a host of black votes. Nor is it primarily about the next obvious play: showing independents that he cares about minorities and the underprivileged, a traditional bank shot candidates take in order to make themselves appealing to moderate voters. The tour, which will include lots of freewheeling town halls, is more like performance art, an attempt to show off authenticity and the unfiltered McCain. "People can come in and do what they want," says McCain’s top adviser, Mark Salter. "They can praise, chastise, and argue with him. This isn’t just his style. It’s a part of his message."

Some distancing.

"After 30 seconds you are yelling at it "Get to the F—–g Point!" It never does. It’s Barney the purple dinosaur’s speech at the next Bloomberg Nonpartisanship Symposium. Repeat playing would be an excellent enhanced interrogation technique," – Mickey, elaborating further on McCain’s ad, which I liked.

The merchandizing of thongs.

"I suspect the central question in Iraq now is not whether things will get better but whether the drive for a long-term, neocolonialist presence will make the situation irretrievably worse," – Joe Klein, in a very canny column on the Petraeus hearings.

Obama, Joe noticed, asked the sharpest questions, the kind I’d want a commander-in-chief to ask his generals and ambassadors.

She did speak:

There is more to this story, believe me. Amnesty does not equal absolution. Stay tuned–and do not just rely on the conflict-of-interest-addled Associated Press for the news.

Nothing since.