The Big (Deaney) Bopper: "Good bye, baaaby."
Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean will officially end his bid for the Democratic Presidential nomination today, sources say. Dean, who made a poor third place showing in last night's Wisconsin primary, is not set to endorse any of the remaining candidates. There has been some speculation, however, that Dean may put his weight behind Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), whom Dean has said has a better chance than front-runner Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) to defeat President Bush in the fall. Dean spoke with Edwards on the phone last night to congratulate him on his strong second place finish, but there was no discussion of an endorsement.

The race is now essentially a two man contest, with Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Rev. Al Sharpton continuing to fight for prime-time speaking slots at the Democratic Convention in Boston. With Dean out, John Edwards has a chance to challenge John Kerry, who won last night's primary by six percentage points, directly, and we could see Edwards increase his recent attacks on Kerry's support for NAFTA and other free-trade agreements.

Beyond the immediate reprecussions, what does the ultimate failure of the Dean campaign say about American politics? Dean's campaign, which essentially relied on young, wired political neophytes and placed an importance on the internet that has never before been seen in a presidential campaign, made great strides in gathering support and cash, but failed to deliver even one primary for the former physician.

Will we ever see another serious presidential contender adopt the Dean strategy, in even a modified form? You never know. Remeber, it's not as if the Dean campaign was a complete and utter failure. Dean was a nobody candidate with next to no chance of getting the nomination, who eventually became the front-runner until his loss to John Kerry in Iowa. The question is this: what went wrong, and can it be fixed? (I guess technically that's two questions.)

One of the factors leading to Dean's downfall is what is called "negative" campaigning, which once again proved successful. Once Dean gained front-runner status he was under attack from several candidates for several weeks, until his support was eroded enough to hand Kerry a victory in Iowa. Kerry, on the other hand, has not seen these kinds of attacks since he became the prohibitive favorite following his back-to-back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Kerry will wrap up the nomination by Super Tuesday if Edwards fails to learn the Dean lesson and step-up the attacks and the rhetoric. This is not to say Edwards should pursue the intern story, for example. He needs to attack Kerry on his record in the Senate and on the campaign trail. Kerry's political career is rife with contradiction and there is certainly some hay to be made from this. The challenge for Edwards will be to find a balance between laying out an optimistic vision for the future and hammering away at Kerry. This is no small task, but Edwards will continue to come in a close second if he fails to get tougher. And without at least a couple of wins on Super Tuesday, he's finished.

Tony

Do You Expect Me To Talk?
"No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"

Inspired by Sean's comment on my last LEGO post:

I'd like to be the first James Bond Villain with an evil island fortress made of Legos. I don't know if I can make an Interrogation Laser or Obvious Self Destruct Button out of plastic, though...

Marc

Revolt at the idiot box (with apologies to Mundo)
Lately I've been thinking a great deal about the presidential election being dominated by Kerry's and Bush's actions during the time of the Vietnam War. I was thinking about it today and I came up with something that I think helps illustrate the point. Like most political analogies, it's not perfect, but I think you'll understand what I'm saying:

It's 1968 and the country is involved in an increasingly unpopular foreign war. There's big issues on the horizons, including civil unrest, urban rioting and rural poverty. Now imagine that this contest was centered, not on the candidates' ideas about Vietnam and how to combat the loss of domestic tranquility, but around what Nixon and Humphrey were doing during World War II.

It's hard to make the case that 1968 is 2004, (believe me, Iraq is no Vietnam) but this election still has its fair share of big issues, including war and peace. Not to mention the fact that a couple of years ago people who really don't like us starting flying planes into our buildings. The domestic issues in 2004 may be less urgent than they were in 1968, but they are no less important. Our country is facing mounting budget defecits and an entitlement train wreck in the making. And yet, our president and Congress have shown an unwillingness to confront these issues head on. In fact, most of their efforts (expanding prescription drug coverage for the wealthiest demographic in America and tax cuts that accompany spending increases) are doing real and lasting damage, in spite of perceived short-term benefits. The candidates have different ideas about these issues, so why not talk about them?

There's been alot of hand-wringing over the past couple of decades about the vacuous nature of contemporary presidential campaigns. And most of the time it's the media doing the wringing. Well, we've got those big issues that you've been lamenting. And we've got a race with candidates who have some real differences on these issues. And yet, the press has thus far dropped the ball.

There are two reasons that I can surmise for why that is: the real issues are either too complex for the news media, as it is structured, to adequately explore or the media believes the average voter is too stupid to understand these issues. Whatever the reason, we are now wallowing in irrelevant trash.

The time has come for the press to pick that damn ball up, stop whining and be, for the love of Jesus Christ, news reporters.

Tony

Things that make you go hmmm...
Alright, so I got the suicide pages yesterday, you know just to keep up with this most foul world we live in...and after gettting through the front section I was left exhausted...just too much, just the headlins can wear a person out. Here is a sample...

Another 23 dead in Iraq...glad the war there is over

Maryland drivers keeping pace with nation's speeders

Philanthropies to lend the school system like 8 mill.

Soldier's letters reveal conditional US loyalty...good to know he's on our side, er, was...anyway

Hundreds of gays exchange vows in SF

Year after nightclub fire, a focus on Safety...I didn't even know Great White had that many fans

NY officials prepare for an 'unthinkable' attack...

Bullet hits SUV on highway in Ohio...this has been going on for months...someone just target shooting at the cars on highways around Columbus...does no one care about this 'cause it's in Ohio?

Texas less likely to hand out death sentence, study says...right.

300 on Carnival ship get a gastrointestinal illness...I'm not the only one that gets pleasure from knowing this am I?

Ky. man claimed to fight 'aliens'...schizophrenia is our friend

Scharzenegger's love of cigars sparks protest...when is that godamned state going to slide into the Pacific?

Thai boy, 13, 20th person known to die from bird flu

Haitain rebels bring in reinforcements...the entire north of the country is in the dark, isolated...lovely fucking place

THousands protest head scarf ban...

Water park roof collapses in Moscow, killing at least 15...there are waterparks in Moscow?

So, what's the point of this post? I don't know...just some kind of sadly, tragically, humorous feeling that you get from reading the paper...what a fucking place.

Draper

Why Senators Don't Get Elected President
From a Post editorial on Kerry:

He says he opposes gay marriage, yet voted against the federal Defense of Marriage act. He voted for the North American Free Trade agreement yet now talks in protectionist terms, promising he will provide American workers "a fair playing field" while accusing Mr. Bush of "selling them out." Would a President Kerry seek additional free trade agreements in Latin America and elsewhere? What's his position on whether his own state should adopt a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage? So far, the answers aren't clear.

The most important confusion surrounds Mr. Kerry's position on Iraq. In 1991 he voted against the first Persian Gulf War, saying more support was needed from Americans for a war that he believed would prove costly. In 1998, when President Clinton was considering military steps against Iraq, he strenuously argued for action, with or without allies. Four years later he voted for a resolution authorizing invasion but criticized Mr. Bush for not recruiting allies. Last fall he voted against funding for Iraqi reconstruction, but argued that the United States must support the establishment of a democratic government.

Marc

LEGO Porn
Inside the LEGO vault in Billund, Denmark:

Marc

The Politics Of Personal Destruction
Mark Steyn:

I don't want this election fought as the Adulterer vs the Deserter. The "politics of personal destruction" is insufficient to the times, and an insult to the entirely non-metaphorical personal destruction of thousands of Americans that took place on September 11.

Marc

Beg Like The Lowly Dog You Are
From the Maryland GOP:

Mayor Martin O'Malley...said he has no plans to ask the state for any emergency or stopgap aid to avert the layoff of up to 1,200 teachers and school employees. 'We need to get our own house in order,' O'Malley said.

Baltimore Sun, Thursday, January 15, 2004

Just 28 Days Later...

'I would hope the governor might step up. I'm somewhat exasperated...'

Mayor Martin O'Malley Baltimore Sun, February 13, 2004

I hope to see this headline in the Sun very soon:

Ehrlich To City: Drop Dead

Marc

The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few
According to today's Baltimore Sun, a secret anti-terrorism evacuation plan, codenamed The Genesis Project, that designates Frederick as an evacuation site in the case of an attack on Washington or Baltimore, will be discussed with Frederick's municpal leaders, but not the pubic at large. The plan would call for, among other things, the Frederick fairgrounds to be converted into a medical treatment and decontamination center.

Tony

Bush Deserter Evidence Goes AWOL
The Boston Globe is reporting that a key witness has discredited the story of Bush's chief accuser:

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Bill Burkett, who has been pressing his charges in the national news media this week, says he even heard one high-ranking officer issue a 1997 order to sanitize the Bush file, and later saw another officer poring over the records and discovered that some had been discarded.

But a key witness to some of the events described by Burkett has told the Globe that the central elements of his story are false.

George O. Conn, a former chief warrant officer with the Guard and a friend of Burkett's, is the person whom Burkett says led him to the room where the Bush records were being vetted. But Conn says he never saw anyone combing through the Bush file or discarding records.

"I have no recall of that," Conn said. "I have no recall of that whatsoever. None. Zip. Nada."

Conn's recollection also undercuts another of Burkett's central allegations: that he overheard Bush's onetime chief of staff, Joe M. Allbaugh, telling a Texas Guard general to make sure there were no embarrassments in the Bush record.

Burkett says he told Conn, over dinner that same night, what he had overheard. But Conn says that, although Burkett told him he worried that the Bush record would be sanitized, he never mentioned overhearing the conversation between Allbaugh and General Daniel James III.

Marc

Finally!
Something interesting in this campaign:

Democratic presidential frontrunner John Kerry is planning a response to a DRUDGE REPORT exclusive which first revealed the frantic behind-the-scenes drama surrounding a woman who recently fled the country, reportedly at the prodding of Kerry!

The nature and details of a claimed two-year relationship, beginning in the Spring of 2001, between a young woman and Kerry is at the center of serious investigations at several media outlets.

Here's the weird part:

Kerry is scheduled to appear on IMUS IN THE MORNING on Friday. Later he is scheduled to join General Wesley Clark, who, in an off-the-record conversation with a dozen reporters earlier this week, plainly stated: "Kerry will implode over an intern issue."

Reporters who witnessed Clark making the stunning comments marvel at the General's reluctance to later confirm they were spoken -- only to later endorse Kerry for the nomination!

As Drudge would say, "Developing..."

Marc

Williams to return to Tampa
Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams has agreed to terms that will bring him to the front office of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Williams, who won the Super Bowl with the Redskins during the 1987 season, joined the Skins in 1986 after a five year stint with Tampa Bay during which he led the Bucs to three playoff berths, including a loss to the Rams in the 1979 NFC championship. Following the 1982 season Williams left Tampa as a result of a contract dispute. The Bucs didn't return to the playoffs until 1997. After leaving Tampa, Williams played with the Oklahoma Outlaws of the USFL for a couple of years, before joining the Skins in 1986.

Williams will resign as the head football coach at Grambling, where he was only the second football coach in school history. He will leave his alma mater with a 52-18 record in six seasons. Williams will work as a personnel executive in the Bucs scouting department. The team will hold a press conference to introduce the former quarterback tommorrow.

Tony

Lazy Brothers-In-Law Need Jobs, Too
The Sun is reporting that many city high school athletic events have been cancelled due to a lack of buses. Some bus companies have refused to take jobs from the city because payment is late or never comes at all. So what is the city's excuse for this mess?

School system spokeswoman Vanessa C. Pyatt said the delay in payments to bus companies, officials and some coaches results from a "staffing shortage."

Marc

Addendum: International Brotherhood of Lazy Brothers-In-Law
The unions are voting today on whether to accept the temporary pay cuts proposed by Mayor O'Malley. But don't expect them to vote on their own time:

The Baltimore Teachers Union vote will be held from noon to 4 p.m. today at the Baltimore Convention Center.Teachers and teachers' aides may enter through the entrance at Pratt and Howard streets. Free parking will be available in a lot at 200 W. Lombard St., and in a garage at Pratt and Howard. City schools will close at 12:30 today to allow for the voting.

In Honor Of Draper...
From James Lileks' Gallery Of Regrettable Food:

Check out the coffee Jello.

Marc

Addendum: It's a Draper bonanza! - The Story Of Bread

Harm City
Here's a map of crime within a quarter-mile of my house in the last two weeks of January:

Two robberies, three stolen cars - it could certainly be worse in this town. Check out your neighborhood!

Marc