Down the Garden Path

Clinton Blames MoveOn for Caucus Losses - The Trail @ Washington Post

The article and the ensuing comment board fight is another in a series of fine ways the Washington Post cannot seem to control the vitrol of the anti-Obama crowd. First off, either make an item like Sen. Clinton's accusation that MoveOn has intimidated voters a real article or find something else to write about. Second, these boards need moderators; serious moderators who actively read the posts and are swift about removing offending post or reprimanding those who continue to essentially shout at people. If those of the anti-Obama crowd want to continue with their lies, insinuations and general lack of logic then they can do it elsewhere. I would like to go to the Post's site and not feel like I'm in some backwater message board flame war. Being a regular reader of comic blog Newsarama's message boards I've seen some good flame wars. But the board is moderated and done so in a highly fair way, removing posts that are either "have you stopped beating your wife" style post or ones that continue to revive points or 'facts' that have long been dismissed. It's not hard but if the Post is too lazy or cheap to hire a moderator then they shouldn't open the boards to the masses. It become a graffiti site and nothing more. This is the reason why I rarely read The Trail series since it's poor journalism mixed with even worse comment threads. I think after this one I'll just pass on anything else posted to The Trail.

Seizing the Radio Station

You Got To Get (Get) That (That) Dirt Off Your Shoulder - Spencer Ackerman @ Attackerman

Of course Ackerman was on it with the Jay-Z reference. It's moments like that one which will end up on a montage reel of President Obama's tenure. By the way, the rest of the speech was good to, particularly the jabs at Sen. Clinton; subtle and not overplayed or egregious.

ABC Debate

So I'm not going to round up all the links to the various posts I've read over the last hour on tonight's debate. It's all too ridiculous honestly. I've watched several of the debates over the last few months and this debate was by far the worst. Not only is that the consensus among the bloggers but among ABC viewers as well. For ABC News to focus on such trivial issues nearly the entire time was wasteful and just plain stupid. My brain is just drivel at this point. A waste of two hours of my time that I will never get back. I hope ABC burns during the night.

The Horse Only Looks High When You're On Your Knees

Candidate on a High Horse - George Will @ Washington Post

Now there are several problems with Will's op-ed in this mornings Post that irked me (not surprising). First and foremost was his attitude that Sen. Obama's comments on the bitterness of Pennsylvanian voters might have some merit to them. As Sen. Obama himself has said, that bitterness has come from a quarter century of broken promises on bringing new jobs to the region. So after being essentially lied to by the last three administrations, it's only natural to think that the electorate of a particular state might hold some animosity against politicians making the same promises once again. I don't consider such comments as condecending so much as telling a truth that hurts.
The second, and perhaps more serious problem with Will's article is the terminology he uses. All of the Marxist talk on 'false consciousness' and that, due to Pennsylvanian fasle consciousness, they fail to understand the important programs a President Obama would bring, that must mean Sen. Obama is a closested Marxist. Now if one wants to attack a candidate for being elitist then perhaps it's not the best idea to use some of the most elitist thinking as a method of attack. I know Will is an intelligent man, but rather than rely on academic-speak to bolster his argument her should take a more sanguine attitude by viewing things both from the perspective of Sen. Obama and the average Pennsylvanian voter. I don't believe that Sen. Obama was being condescending to these voters. On the contrary, I think Sen. Obama was seeking to explain why such voters hold the attitudes they do, which is far more than either Sens. McCain or Clinton have attempted.
Finally, Will completely ignores the facts of Sen. Obama's career, along with those of Sens. McCain and Clinton, in leveling his charge of elitism. Sen. Obama hasn't been a multimillonaire for much longer than a decade, if even that, and he had to work hard to get there. Sens. Clinton and McCain have spent more time in Washington and more money than Sen. Obama has ever made on their campaigns. I find these niggling facts, and Will's willfull omission of them, more damaging to his argument than his use of academic-speak and inablity to understand that Pennsylvanian voters might hold some bitterness towards politicians based on a series of broken promises.
It's strange that Will would write an article like this when I would expect a more tempered and centerist essay. That Will would resort to taking talking point from someone like William Kristol either shows that Will wasn't thinking much when he wrote the article or simply phoned it in. I expected better from Will honestly, and he's disappointed me with a disappointing essay. Really, Will is better than this.

Perfectly Flawed Watch Concepts

Bracelet Watches That Hide The Time: i/o Concept Cuff Bracelet - Trend Hunter

While I do love the concept of a digital watch designed to look like an accessory cuff, I immediately noticed a serious design flaw from the photos. Where does the battery go? More importantly, how do you change it?