Revolutionary Moderation

In the headlines

Hurricane will keep Bush, Cheney from attending party convention. Yes, it's Gustav that'll keep them in Washington (or possibly Crawford). It's not at all the pleading from McCain to stay the hell away.

Green party announces its first member of Parliament. "With a Green MP sitting in the House of Commons, it will now be impossible to exclude the Green party from the televised leaders' debates in the next election," says Elizabeth May. And she's correct, if by "impossible" she means "overwhelmingly likely." I myself will be happy to include her in the Gaffe-O-Meter, just as soon as she manages to get an MP through election. A general election. Until then, trying to track the errors of candidates that the media won't be paying attention to seems like more work than it's worth.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin named to the Republican ticket. Hard-core social conservative? Political lightweight? Absolutely. And yet, she also seems sincere, friendly, without much in the way of political artiface. If anyone doubts that the presumptive Republican nominee is a different fellow than the Straight Talk Express guy of 2000, the friendly old guy who kept showing up on The Daily Show, think about how this cynical grab at a few of the disappointed Clinton voters (a very few, given the very different political views of the two women) will be ruining the life of a woman who was doing just fine in happy obscurity. Best line of the linked article: "McCain is such a cruel creep that he's making Sarah Palin debate Joe Biden."

(By the way, was Condi Rice even considered? If they were looking to check an affirmative action box or two on the application, she has the right reproductive organs, with the bonus of being black. She also has some serious experience and actual gravitas. But perhaps she's too associated to Bush, and not socially onservative enough to nail down the crazies for the ticket, something they're hoping for from Palin.)

Oh, and there's probably an election coming. I have Gaffe-O-Meter prep work to do. Hello, intertubes traffic! I've missed you.