Thursday, June 7, 2007

Straight Talk

John McCain is in real trouble. His Ted Kennedy-cosponsored immigration bill is unpopular with Republicans and even the public in general, and he is falling in the GOP polls. He now comes in fourth, behind Rudy, the most flexible man in the world, and Arthur "Fred Thompson" Branch.

It's a shame, too, because the consensus seems to be that he really triumphed in the last GOP debate. He came across as not at all scary or fearmongering, and he was able to explain his support for his unpopular ideas in compelling, moving ways. He came out looking the most reasonable of all the Republicans (which, to be fair, ain't exactly that hard), and that's obviously a campaign-killer. Well, that, and immigration, and Thompson. And wasn't he involved in some sort of campaign finance scandal in the 1990s? Don't think it won't be coming back when he starts talking about campaign finance reform.

Ultimately, even though McCain might have assuaged a lot of scared voters' doubts on Tuesday, it's beginning to seem more like a swan song than a new beginning. I have to predict, sadly, that by the end of July, McCain is probably going to be down to single-digits nationally, and he'll probably only manage a third-place in the Iowa Caucuses, behind elastic-man and Freddie. Then again, the Democrats will trounce either of those bozos, so bring 'em on!

The Man, The Myth, The Bio

East Bay, California, United States
Problem: I have lots of opinions on politics and culture that I need to vent. If I do not do this I will wind up muttering to myself, and that's only like one or two steps away from being a hobo. Solution: I write two blogs. A political blog that has some evident sympathies (pro-Obama, mostly liberal though I dissent on some issues, like guns and trade) and a culture blog that does, well, cultural essays in a more long-form manner. My particular thing is taking overrated things (movies, mostly, but other things too) down a peg and putting underrated things up a peg. I'm sort of the court of last resort, and I tend to focus on more obscure cultural phenomena.