In the end, THE math did not prove to be all that useful for Mr. Rove. Here we are, two years later, and the math is not looking much better for the President’s party. Democrats are poised to win anywhere between four and then Senate seats and between ten to 30 House seats. And Republicans will be very hard-pressed to win the White House.

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Posted at 21 June 08 at 16.06 in Politics, Obama 08

One of the first blogs on this Internet was about how miserable Bob Gates was going to be as Secretary of Defense. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It is a surprise that I think we ought to celebrate by keeping him on in 2009. Even if Barack Obama is the next President of the United States.

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Posted at 20 June 08 at 15.06 in Politics, Obama 08

This is the face of a revolution. This is the face of disaffected youth; of rebellion; of punk rock music. This is a face that was taken, stylized, and made famous at Urban Outfitters. Ultimately, this is the face of capitalism.

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Posted at 19 June 08 at 23.06 in Film

The point of Hunter S. Thompson was that he was full of shit. The point of Hunter S. Thompson is that everything he wrote about – the Hell’s Angels, the 1972 campaign, Ali vs. Foreman, Las Vegas – all of it was full of shit. The thing about the world is that it is full of shit. The thing about greatness is that it is always full of shit.

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Posted at 19 June 08 at 00.06 in Politics, Culture, Film

Toobin closes by saying that we will thus get the Court we deserve. It is impossible not to immediately think of the infamous Mencken quote: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it – good and hard.” But we can do better, and we must.

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Posted at 14 June 08 at 20.06 in Law, Books

Above all else, the book is an affirmation. It’s not what you expect. And it’s hilarious. Sort of like Juno. Perhaps Cody has only figured out one trick* so far. But it’s a hell of a trick.

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Posted at 08 June 08 at 12.06 in Books

Moneyball is one of the more famous books no one has actually read. Everyone knows the premise, of course: the Oakland Athletics build a team out of nothing and get to the playoffs year after year, nearly beating teams that cost twice or thrice as much. Fundamentally, though, the book is simply a well-researched example of irrational behavior of in a particular market.

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Posted at 07 June 08 at 00.06 in Books