Fox News and Campaign Coverage

This cartoon by Mike Peters just nails the idiocy we're dealing with in this election cycle. It would even be better if he'd added "leaked to us by the Edwards campaign."

Candidates to Outnumber Voters in '08

Another one rides the bus -- Huckabee's in. And people continue to encourage Clark and Webb to run. Are we seeing such a flood of candidates because George Bush has made it seem like anyone can do this job and do it much better? Andy Borowitz, The Borowitz Report:

Candidates to Outnumber Voters in ’08

One in Two Americans Running for President, Experts Say

For the first time in American history, the number of Americans running for president in 2008 will actually be greater than the number of Americans voting for president, electoral experts said today.

With politicians throwing their hats in the ring at a torrid pace, by November of 2008 one out of every two Americans is expected to be running for the nation’s highest office – an extraordinary figure by any measure.

While the negative tone of recent election campaigns have turned off voters in record numbers, the appeal of being the world’s most powerful person has never been greater, causing the two trend lines to cross.

In the last week alone, Senators Hillary Clinton (D-New York), Barack Obama (D-Illinois), and Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) have established exploratory committees, but so have some 40,000 other Americans, according Carol Foyler, executive director of the Committee on Exploratory Committees.

Ms. Foyler said that the sharp increase in the number of Americans yearning to be president can be credited to President George W. Bush, “who makes the job look like fun.”

“In the past, Presidents have had to seek the approval of Congress and obey the Constitution,” Ms. Foyler said. “President Bush has shown that you don’t have to do that.”

The fact that over 140 million Americans are expected to run for president in 2008 does not deter most aspirants, Ms. Foyler said, explaining, “Most of them still have a better shot than Kucinich.”

Congratulations, Don Hertzfeldt!

Don's latest work, Everything Will Be Ok won Jury Prize for U.S. Short Film at the Sundance Festival.

An animated short winning top honors at Sundance is a rare and noteworthy event because at the festival, animated films compete alongside dramatic live-action shorts and documentary short subjects. It's refreshing to see Sundance recognize a piece of animation with a strong point of view, intelligent storytelling and legitimate artistic merit... Amid Amidi, Cartoon Brew

Apparently, this film also came close (made it to the final round) to a second Academy Award nomination for Hertzfeldt according to the animation industry website Cartoon Brew. I haven't seen Everything Will Be Ok yet but am definitely looking forward to the Animation Show's stop in Sacramento in February.

Quotable - there's good wine in every generation

"When Alberta Hunter was singing many years ago, at 82, I came to New York just to listen to her. When she said 'God bless you', you really felt that you had been blessed. It's wonderful to hear a 20-year-old speaking about love. As the Talmud says, there's good wine in every generation. But I love to hear an old singer lay it out. And I'd like to be one of them."

- Leonard Cohen

Ted Kennedy - "When does the greed stop?!"

Bravo, Senator!

"You can't ignore politics, no matter how much you'd like to."

Molly Ivins said that. I've just learned she's in the hospital because she's very ill due to complications from breast cancer. This is sad news. While we keep Molly in our thoughts and hearts, I invite you to share your favorite quote or column in the comments.

Losing a part of a breast or all of one or both has, obviously, serious psychological consequences. Your self-image, your sense of yourself as a woman, your sense of your sexual attractiveness are going to be rocked whether or not you have enough sense to realize that tits aren't that important. I am one of those people who are out of touch with their emotions. I tend to treat my emotions like unpleasant relatives--a long-distance call once or twice or year is more than enough. If I got in touch with them, they might come to stay. My friend Mercedes Pena made me get in touch with my emotions just before I had a breast cut off. Just as I suspected, they were awful. "How do you Latinas do this--all the time in touch with your emotions?" I asked her. "That's why we take siestas," she replied.

Who Needs Breasts, Anyway? by Molly Ivins (Time Magazine)

Rep. Lois Capps brings some Gaucho pride to Congress

On Monday, Congresswoman Lois Capps will bring to the floor H.Res. 70 - congratulating the University of California at Santa Barbara men's soccer team for becoming the 2006 NCAA National Champions. Go Gauchos!

Edwards to Congress: You have the power to block escalation - use it.

Full page ad in today's Roll Call listing the names of some of the more than 80 thousand people who signed Edwards' petition to stop the escalation in Iraq. I'm still scanning to see if my name appears in the ad.

A PDF version of the ad is here.

Edwards is also holding a live online video disccusion tonight 6:30 p.m. PST at his website: JohnEdwards.com.

Cross posted at Edwards in 08.

Sorry, Bayh and Clark -- it's Hillary & Bigfoot in 08

Looks like we won't have to suffer through 'veepstakes' for weeks if Hillary Clinton receives the nomination. Weekly World News, known for its 'shocking discoveries!' and 'mind-blowing facts!,' has announced that Hillary will team up with Bigfoot in her run for the White House.

Speaker Pelosi Shows She's Boss

New House Speaker Shows She's Boss

From Erica Werner's AP report:

"We did what we promised the American people we would," Pelosi declared on Friday, pledging it was "just the beginning."

Pelosi's initial agenda, completed Thursday, included measures with wide popular support: increasing the minimum wage, broadening stem cell research, allowing government bargaining on Medicare drug prices, cutting student loan costs, putting in place terrorism-fighting recommendations from the Sept. 11 commission and rolling back energy company tax breaks.

Each bill passed with bipartisan majorities and Pelosi triumphantly gaveled down the votes, at one point banging the gavel so enthusiastically that it left a small dent in the podium.

[...]

"Speaker Pelosi worked a long time to earn this opportunity to be elected speaker, and she is totally enjoying her first month on the job," said Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y.

"It's not that she's the first woman, it's her style," he added. "She's a risk taker."

Hightower's Debut Video: Bush's Backfire

It's just a click away....

hightowerdownload.com

Schwarzenegger wants to be a 'player' in the 08 presidential election

Sac Bee:

The governor remained coy about his presidential preferences in his annual Sacramento Press Club appearance while insisting California should play a greater role in shaping national politics by moving up the state's primary next year from June to February.

Schwarzenegger, a celebrity governor in the nation's most populous state, could affect the presidential race by campaigning on behalf of a candidate.

Quotable

"...challenging as they are, it's not the magnitude of our problems that concerns me the most. It's the smallness of our politics. America's faced big problems before. But today, our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common sense way. Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions."

~ Senator Barack Obama

"There comes a time when silence is betrayal..."

"Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam"

Listen to Dr. King

Quotable

"The good news is last night President Bush finally admitted he's made mistakes in Iraq. The bad news is he's planning to make the same mistakes again."

~ Jay Leno

One more rookie California AD delegate

After working/volunteering on five campaigns in the past 3 1/2 years, I had my first candidate experience today. Thanks to friends and fellow progressive democratic travelers I've met along the campaign trail in the last 18 months, I was elected today as a delegate for the 4th Assembly District. It wouldn't have happened without the support of Rob Haswell, recent candidate for the state assembly seat, and the other leaders who made sure my name was on two slates. I'm very grateful and excited to be a part of this grassroots/netroots effort to improve our state party and the democratic process in California.

Quotable

"In presidential news, somebody leaked Rudy Giuliani's entire 140-page campaign plan to the press. Giuliani is calling it a dirty trick. He said it was stolen while he was in Florida. Which is not the first time a presidential race has been stolen in Florida."

~ Jay Leno

Frank Luntz and his Brilliant Career

"Luntz has made a brilliant career spraying perfume on dog turds."
~ Samantha Bee, The Daily Show

Frank Luntz was the guest on yesterday's Fresh Air. Luntz has a new book out and as part of his own personal reframing, he is marketing himself as a nonpartisan. If he can pull this off, either he is indeed an evil genius or our culture is deeply stupid. When asked by Terry Gross about his recent cruel remark about Pelosi, he replied that it was just a joke. We all need to develop a sense of humor -- especially us bloggers.

Here's a link to the show where you can listen to the interview.

Howard Dean on the new politics in America

The dragon-slayer casts historic first vote & Harriet Miers says "you can take this job..."

Today was a great day for watching CSPAN. Didn't see, but heard Congressman McNerney enthusiastically cast his first vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. On this same historic day for American women, Harriet Miers' resignation from her position as White House counsel was announced. Suspect there may be a message in the timing.

Her [Miers] sharpest critics were not liberal Democrats but conservatives eager to see the Supreme Court shift to the right. Conservatives were delighted when Mr. Bush chose Judge John G. Roberts Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to succeed William H. Rehnquist as chief justice of the United States, and they wanted another conservative judge to succeed Justice O’Connor.

The conservatives got their wish when Ms. Miers withdrew her nomination after three weeks, giving Mr. Bush the opening to nominate Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to succeed Justice O’Connor.

Source: Harriet Miers Plans to Leave the White House (D. Stout - NYT)

[Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]