X. Benedict

No doubt a disaster. But what she didn't do was run for President, she joined the McCain campaign which was a mess by the end of last summer. McCain had to replace most of his campaign staff just weeks before the convention. Really he was a man looking for a manager going into the convention.......so Palin got whatever got thrown together. In fairness to her....her staff didn't know what advice to give her, because there was little management giving advice to McCain.

Campaigns are really a different animal though..... campaigning and raising funds is really about showing up and giving the same stump speech over and over and making personal contact, something she would be terrific at. You could script her answers for at least 100 questions, and a good campaign staff would have her prepped for the ones she was likely to encounter each day. Heck, George W. Bush did pretty well with audience plants with scripted questions. Unlikely, but depending on the national mood, she really could go far. As for Biden - he was too stupid to make a fortune in the Senate....which means he can't be trusted. Edit: "too stupid"

Feelings change and Sarah Palin does not have to run for president today. If she could emerge two years from now out of relative silence with someone the caliber of Lee Atwater guiding her, she could be out of the blocks early with a huge warchest. Remember the first part of an election - getting a Party nomination - has very little to do with how liberals perceive her. Getting the Republican Nomination is not inconceivable (unlikely yes, but not inconceivable). Once you have that.....well.....stranger things have happened. The optimistic part of your view is that you have an elevated opinion of the electorate.

I think there are a mix of things here that I'll share.... I am cynical enough about politics to believe that somebody with little ability to articulate beyond slogans can still be a formidable presidential candidate given the right handling of somebody like Karl Rove. She already has 1) Name Recognition 2) Drawing Power for Fund-raising 3) Experience (without talking about qualitative aspects) both as a Candidate, and as an Executive. 4) Ambition 5) Base support Those things make her a formidable candidate should she choose to run for President. Nobody can say that her becoming President of the United States is inconceivable.

Thanks for the insight. I didn't know the BBC launched Persian TV.

Do not steal the flamingos.

Carrying on the proud American tradition of the Bumbling Vice-Prezzer. I believe he just gave Israel the okay to attack Iran this week too.

Actually, there are many people, intelligent liberals and conservatives, that just can't figure out what the %^& she's talking about. But if you can figure out what she stands for, please let us know. So far all I have is that she stands for the media being against her. I seem to recall that she just announced her impending resignation -- let us know why she did that while your at it.

Usually this is when Peter Faulk turns around and says, "This seems pretty straight forward to me, just one more question, ma'am."

She loves her job so much that she has to resign because of how much she loves it with hard working americans and no more politics as usual just like a point guard with a full court press and less taxes, so there it is, her family probably won't let her. Not going away but doing more than ever. So you won't believe her anyway if you don't like her. She makes Bush sound eloquent in comparison.

Iranians probably hate the British more than Americans.

Last year's compensation table...not sure about this year's... $863,156 or less None $863,156 - $1,307,811 3rd round pick $1,307,811 - $2,615,623 2nd round pick $2,615,623 - $3,923,434 1st and 3rd round pick $3,923,434 - $5,231,246 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick $5,231,246 - $6,539,061 Two 1st's, one 2nd, one 3rd round pick $6,539,061 or more Four 1st round picks (which was the Vanek offer)

Depends on the value of the contract. What he is talking about is a middle to low offer - 2nd round pick.

Offer sheets have been pretty rare so far. There is a lot of comparable talent on the UFA market that teams can sign without giving up draft assets. You could sign Peter Sykora for similar money to what it would take to get Stafford and not lose a pick, or in the case of Sekara ...Martin Skoula... I'm not too worried.

Lappies can't hurt if it is going badly and sparsely attended, but yes, strippers.

Defenses I've attended usually are pretty routine......the candidate knows more than the panel and there is usually a probe about methodology so at least one guy can hear himself talk out loud, followed by your answer, followed by chin stroking and usually a satisfied look, but above all, what Tom said, 3.5. Good luck.

What the author seems to ignore is that fear-mongering among these dictators is all about creating internal cohesion. Obama turning down the volume has not really served the purposes of Ahmadinejad or Chavez or even N. Korea, where hatred of the US is an organizing element for nationalism. (Create and always have an external threat). Caving to the Mullahs? Hardly......it is just the right move to say little here. Remember the spy plane incident in China? Bush/US rightly said very little. It was all about Chinese internal politics. We got our plane back, business as usual. Ironically all the Iranians have had to work with recently have been John McCain's silly comments

Real win. Doesn't mean you should start to expect more from the national side...but very few mistakes in this one and the team defense looked organized unlike the loss to Coasta Rica a few weeks ago.

Most underrated film in recent memory as far as I'm concerned. Caine was terrific with a great script.

Did you see 2002's Quiet American with Michael Caine?

We drink and we sing and we drink and we sing, hey! We drink and we drive and we puke and we drink, hey! We drink and we fight and we bleed and we cry, hey! We puke and we smoke and we drink and we die, hey!

Not exactly. All Irish should drink and then quit. There's a need to belong.

A champagne wedding toast degrades the human experience?....or a big Zinfandel paired with a porterhouse?......or a beer with buddies after work?...... Granted there are people and personalities that should never drink.....but that sounds pretty categorical.

Wouldn't the legalization of prostitution precisely prevent and make redundant the solicitation you are talking about? Are they not on the streets today because brothels are verboten?

You speeled morrons wronglly.