Also: Obama's best strategy is praise the Palin choice. As in "Finally, John McCain has recognized that youth and vision are more important that the same-old, same-old Washington way of doing things."

What I wouldn't give for a news show with as much intelligence and wit as Olbermann, but with a fierce dedication to context and fairness for all. I mean, Olbermann is great on putting Obama's words and opinions in context, but every Republican gets the same Bizarro-Fox treatment.

"Me am blotchy and tipsy."

It's one of the reason's that I enjoy reading Andrew Sullivan's blog so much. He's a conservative, he's on the Obama bandwagon, and he encourages and highlights opposing points of view.

Okay, his Probama-status certainly helps his appeal for me. But how great would it be to get some smart, funny, insightful personalities of diverse points of view together on TV, committed to rigorous fact-checking, honest disagreement, and consensus-oriented debate.

Like an army of Fareed Zakharias, I guess, but less sleep-inducing.

Like Hannity & Colmes, but with smart, honest people.

Like Batman and Superman in news form.

(Or, um, something like that.)

FOR THE RECORD: Michelle Obama's speech was 8 for 10. Hillary's was 7 for 10. John Kerry upstaged both Bill Clinton and Joe Biden last night with an 8.5 for 10. Obama's speech was great, maybe a 9 for 10, but (surprise, surprise) isn't going to win over Republicans who vote on them issue-type things.

As evidence of my non-look-downed-ness on him, I will now offer a stirring defense of his early-in-the-campaign comment that Barack Obama is:

I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.

*Whew* Okay, here goes:

Honestly, I'm much happier with the choice of Biden, who is a politician I've respected (i.e. watched on Meet the Press) for many years now. And he's definitely "more qualified" than Hillary, at least in the sense that he has a greater number of qualifications to be Vice-President.

But the real question with Biden is, "Can he be (Vice-) Presidential?"

Q: A farmer and two cannibals wish to cross a river. The three possess a single rowboat. The rowboat seats three. If the farmer is left alone with the two cannibals, they will eat him. How does the farmer get across the river?

Presidents from Clinton to Kennedy to JFK to Thomas "I Treat My Slaves VERY Well" Jefferson cheated on their wives.

 

 

And now we find out that let's-keep-this-in-perspective not-going-to-be-President John Edwards also had an affair? Okay, he's a jackass, but a jackass in the mold of the aforementioned actually-became-Presidents. And the spin I see the news media taking on the story -- that this is hypocricy that somehow invalidates the moral authority of John Edwards' stand against poverty -- is absolutely ludicrous.

ORLANDO, Aug. 1 -- Sen. Barack Obama The majority of Americans suggested on Friday that [they] could accept an expansion of offshore oil drilling as long as it was part of a broader package of measures that would free the logjam of energy bills in Congress.

"[Our] interest is in making sure we've got the kind of comprehensive energy policy that can bring down gas prices," [69% of the American People] said in an interview with the Palm Beach Post. "If, in order to get that passed, we have to compromise in terms of a careful, well-thought-out drilling strategy that was carefully circumscribed to avoid significant environmental damage -- [69% of us] don't want to be so rigid that we can't get something done."

When reached for comment, Senator John McCain offered, "This flip-flop clearly demonstrates that 69% of the American People don't have the judgement necessary to outnumber 31% of the American People."

Among the latter, I must sadly now count Senator John McCain. Pathetic.

This, however, I can respect.

I'm not convinced that expanded off-shore drilling is a good idea, but I'm not 100% opposed to the idea (as part of a comprehensive energy reform bill).

I am however 100% opposed to liars and juvenile name-callers being given a voice in Presidential politics. John McCain has proven himself to be a moral coward who is willing to sacrifice his dignity in a desperate grab for power.

 

 

But mostly because it required you to submit your credit card information even if you only wanted to download something that was already free (like that prequel to that Wes Anderson movie where the girl from the Star Wars prequels was apparently naked but that's not why I wanted to see it, get your mind out of the gutter).

 

 

I think I've settled on "upset that Superman now has an unobstructed view into my apartment from the street."

Why did Liberace leave the party before he arrived?

                                              Because he was out of sequins.

 

 

From the Spring Street stop on the 6.

 

 

Please be on the look at for a shifty, fastidious youth with an oversized two-dimensional purple right arm.

I knew there was a reason I bought the same phone that Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf owns.

This must be what it feels like to be a tool twitter.

 
I kid...

The clip made the rounds on other news shows, to a lot of guffaws and "Well, this guy definitely ain't gonna be Veep now." jibes. And, okay...

Guffaw.

What I didn't hear is... well... How are McCain and Bush different?

Because obviously there are differences. McCain wants more restraint on spending. McCain is proposing lots of new policies that Bush has not. (The gas tax holiday, for instance.)

Last I checked, Wolf Blitzer owns a google. Why is he asking surrogates questions that he can easily look up and REPORT on himself?

And why are other NEWS shows running pieces focused on a surrogate gaffe without also REPORTING on the actual substance of the story.

I would call this new approach to news reporting NEWS REPORTING.

And I say this as an Obama supporter.