sweetheart-mine

and you did a good job of it. i've been trying to figure it out for months. i think you got it.

thanks for that, i needed it!

maybe it was. i don't think so. i think it goes along with mccain's beloved self-image as a "maverick" (no matter how delusional that may be). he sees himself as a fighter -- he likes to fight, that's how he feels he operates best, he frequently and proudly talks in fighting terms. in his view underdog = fighter, or reason to fight. that's what i hear from him. it's his most standout quality, that pride in fighting. i think it has huge inherent limits, represents tunnel vision, is dangerous and unhealthy and unproductive, and is the last thing we need.

say, don't read too much into it. i've taken issue with many, many things mccain has said and done, for a long time. this was just another strange little twist of outlook that doesn't appeal to me given the seriousness of today's national and world issues. and yes, i do think mccain is not particularly healthy in outlook. if you think he is, so be it. fine with me.

on cnn.com just now: Sen. John McCain said today he's "very happy" with the way his campaign is going, despite his status in the polls. "I love being the underdog," the Republican candidate said. "You know, every time that I've gotten ahead, somehow I've messed it up." i guess that was meant to be cute? at this point my advice to mccain would be to try serious therapy, and i'm not kidding.

wonderful. as a lifelong republican connected to the military and with heavy responsibilities in the administrations of both bushes, powell gave one of the most well-thought-out descriptions of the reasons for his choice that i've heard from any prominent public person -- republican, democrat, independent, or martian. i especially appreciated that his decision is based partly on the republican campaign tactics of the last couple of months, which have been despicable. he sees them for what they are, and he sees the difference in integrity & vision between the candidate using those tac

bachmann was unbelievable. at first i wondered why matthews looked so strange . . . i didn't realize he was being brilliant until bachmann couldn't hold back her big wish any longer. she's a palin in the congress. who knew?

good question. home plate ump, cousins, hit by a foul, and after the inning they have to talk about it for 15 minutes? they don't have a backup ready and waiting? now they have a 5-ump staff instead of 6. pretty strange, never saw it before.

same here. nice going, tbs. ??? edit: geez, you'd think they'd have a sign on the screen or something! it's 8:09 here, first pitch was scheduled for 8:07.

jeff's acoustic "new madrid." i play it over and over in the car, and sing along. over and over. and over.

do you own anything made in china? that oughta do it.

a very happy birthday to you, wendy!

good for you, a-man.

with that robo call i've concluded that the mccain/palin campaign has completely lost it. couldn't believe my ears, what is this, new-joe-mccarthy time? i was so disgusted by it last night that i couldn't read this board or anything else about the election. idiots do exist who will buy the repulsive crap in that call, but at this point there are probably very few of them who haven't already decided that obama is sub-human. so to gain a very few votes that probably won't help him, mccain has in my opinion reached down to a new low and sealed his legacy as the filthiest and stupidest pres

what a great trip! now, is it true that fans booed papi mid-game last night? (before the homer, of course). the nytimes says that this morning, and so did the tbs guys last night. i didn't hear it and hope it isn't true.

lieve!!!

i'm so glad you wrote this. jeff's voice is something that's been mostly unexplainable for me -- all i know is that it affects me like no other voice, and from the moment i first heard him his voice has been a permanent, chronic pull at me. all my emotions come alive at once, which can be very difficult, actually, as well as beautiful. before, i had favorite singers, i'd like them quite a lot, and they would change periodically over the years and i'd enjoy someone else. but jeff's voice is on some other plane for me, a sort of deeply human and deeply spiritual plane, both at once. s

oh, that's the best solution yet. and then if they'd just make their disappearance permanent. . . .

yah, that was pitifully clear last night. i'd thought, since the attacks of the last couple of weeks were not helping mccain/palin in the polls, that he might come out with a different approach for the last debate (or at least some new material on the attack front!). he just solidified for people who he has become.

but seriously, i was amazed (and gratified) that obama actually quoted the "kill him" palin rallyer (as well as the one who said "terrorist" or "traitor," i forget which) -- and called mccain on the fact that his running mate said absolutely nothing to or about those people.

i agree, schieffer was excellent, by far the best of the moderators of these debates, for exactly the reasons you mention. thanks q23, that still makes my skin crawl!

i'll probably get laughed off the board for this but am saying it anyway. i live in a neighborhood where, though we respect each other's privacy, we kind of look out for each other at the same time. there are a couple of people who don't give a damn about anyone except themselves and their family, but most of us are more than willing to help each other out -- whether it's by offering meals when a house floods, showing up at a town council meeting to support someone getting shafted by an outdated ordinance, or, my favorite this year, just forking over an unneeded strip of land so a neighbor

does this mean "don't try"? "it's off the table"? don't worry -- the hardworking lower-income people i know are not bottomless pits (unlike some luckier people i know), and i'd bet those in the video aren't either.

uh-oh.