Politics and other nightmares

This, put out of the MoveOn.org people,  is one of the stupidest campaign commercials ever. Lady sitting with a baby: "This is Alex, my first . . . John McCain, when you said you would stay in Iraq 100 years, were you counting on Alex? Because . . . you can't have him."

Oh, no, please, God, no:

TIM Russert's body wasn't even cold in the ground before MSNBC anchors Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann started jockeying for his job, sources claim.

My editorial yesterday was on Indiana's status as one of the "nightmare states" for third-party candidates because of its unreasonable ballot-access rules designed to keep the two major parties dominant. Mitch Harper at Fort Wayne Observed linked to it and also to an earlier essay he'd written on "Low voter turnout and the legitimacy of government":

What do you think? Is Indiana really going to be in play?

Shannon Gilson, a spokeswoman for Obama's campaign, said the campaign feels so strongly about its chances in Indiana that it has assigned Emily Parcell, who was political director for Obama in the crucial first-caucus state of Iowa, to be state director in Indiana.

"She's one of our most valued (staff members)," Gilson said. "We wouldn't put Emily in a state we weren't taking very seriously."

Former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith at National Review Online:

When we failed to find WMD stockpiles [in Iraq], there was a stunning shift in the President's rhetoric from discussing the threats the Saddam regime had posed to discussing only the promotion of democracy.  I think there were some terrible consequences that flowed from that shift in rhetoric.

Omigod, does this mean that, no matter how careful we are, how many precautions we take, how many risks we try to sue away, we are all, in the end, going to die anyway? Say it ain't so:

Get sick, get doctor. How hard is that?

GLADSTONE, Ore. - Authorities say a teenager from a faith-healing family died from an illness that could have been easily treated, just a few months after a toddler cousin of his died in a case that has led to criminal charges.

Look, I don't CARE, OK?

It is hardly a secret that when it comes to offshore drilling, Sen. John McCain was against the idea before he was for it.

So it's a flip-flop -- or maybe he's rethinking his position based on new evidence, like, oh, $4+-a-gallon gas. Who cares what he thought last year if he's right now? Drill, drill, drill.

And I don't care about THIS, either:

Don't let 'em get your goat. Oops, too late:

Fortville » The Town Council has given a local couple 15 days to get rid of two goats they keep as pets in their backyard.

[. . .]

"I just believe liberty and freedom are no longer part of life in Fortville if the police can come and take away pets not prohibited by law," Sarah Brown said. "If there's no law, where do they get the authority?"

Nothing like a little reality to make people start facing reality:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Gov. Charlie Crist has dropped his long-standing support for the federal government's moratorium on offshore oil drilling and endorsed Sen. John McCain's proposal to let states decide.