1984: Sarah Palin Swimsuit Strutting

From the 1984 Miss Alaska Pageant.

Republicans Noonan and Murphy Agree that Palin Pick Sucks

Noted conservatives Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy were caught trashing Palin on a hot mic after a segment on NBC.

Noonan: "The most qualified? No. I think they went for this — excuse me — political bullshit about narratives. Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it."

Murphy: "The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical."

Watch for yourselves (it starts to get juicy at 42 sec):

The Republicans might appear to be putting up a unified front for the public, but it's now obvious that at least some of them are as shocked and confounded by this pick as we are.

Sarah Palin: Enemy of Polar Bears

So, like many of you I learned yesterday that John McCain is aiming to put a gun-totin', beauty pageant winnin', hockey mom one 72-year-old's heartbeat away from being the leader of the free world. After I stopped laughing, I decided to spend my time learning about Ms. Palin, both the good and the bad.

But I didn't have time to comb over some of the lesser-reported parts of her 18-month tenure as a state-elected official. That's why I have a twin brother. Tim emailed me a link that made my jaw drop. I am now sure that McCain will lose the support of all the fans of the Golden Compass, because Palin is a blatant enemy of nature's white-furred warrior, the polar bear.

And why, you may ask, does Ms. Palin want to end the threatened species listing for polar bears? According to the article:

She and other Alaska elected officials fear a listing will cripple oil and gas development in prime polar bear habitat off the state's northern and northwestern coasts.

Palin argued there is not enough evidence to support a listing. Polar bears are well-managed and their population has dramatically increased over 30 years as a result of conservation, she said.

Really? With all the ice melting in the arctic, I would think we would want to do all we can to help save animals that can be as cute and cuddly as this:

Paris Strikes Back

So, what do you all think of her energy plan?

RIP Tim Russert

Tim Russert has unexpectedly passed away today.

Words can't really convey the loss that this is for the media, politics, and our country as a whole, so I'll keep this very brief. I can guarantee I'm not alone in saying that he was my favorite political journalist on the national stage, and he'll truly be missed. Whoever fills his spot on Meet the Press will have large shoes to fill.

Obama is Finally the Presumptive Nominee.

With a surge of superdelegates and enough pledged delegates from South Dakota and Montana, Barack Obama has amassed the 2118 delegates needed to capture the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

It has been a long, hard-fought primary season, and we've been treated to voter participation, fund-raising, and media coverage at scales never before seen. Hillary has yet to concede, but it's clear that she will in the coming days. She still has an opportunity to get out of this race with grace, and I think she will. While she'll certainly be a valuable asset to Obama's general election campaign, I don't think she'd be the best choice for VP, even though she's open to the idea. But that's a conversation for another day.

Now it's time for Obama to set his sights on John McCain without distraction. With the full power of the Democratic Party behind him, I honestly believe that Obama will face little challenge painting McCain as an out-of-touch flip-flopper who can't separate himself from Bush no matter how hard he tries. And I'm sure that all of us in the Harvard Democrats will be happy to help spread that message around campus and beyond.

FYI: included in the giant flow of superdelegates to Obama today was a favorite of ours: Sam Novey's man-crush/employer, Congressman John Sarbanes of Maryland's 3rd district. Mr. Sarbanes, who was uncommitted when he spoke to us this past spring, made it official this evening.

A Younger Bill O'Reilly Does Not Equal a Nicer Bill O'Reilly

Well, our favorite conservative blowhard, oops I mean independent pundit has a notable mean streak. And it does not appear that it is something he had to grow into. There is now video proof that he had days with a less than sunny temperament even as an up and coming reporter for Inside Edition. And our friends from Barely Political and College Humor have managed to capture both sides of the argument. Enjoy.

See!!! Republicans are Pro-Choice After All.

Our venerable Republican members of Congress are at it again. Not satisfied that fluorescent light-bulbs last longer and use less energy, the scientific genius Ms. Michele Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican, has come up with a great idea. One might say a light bulb went off in her head. She believes that Americans should have the right to use hot, energy sucking, quick-to-burn-out incandescent light bulbs, which were outlawed as part of last year's energy bill. So passionate is Ms. Bachmann about this urgent issue that she has introduced a bill in the house that would stop the government from phasing-in the miracles that are fluorescent bulbs. What is it called? The Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act.

The article on treehugger.com even caught Bachmann sounding a little conspiratorial with this light bulb nonsense:

This is an issue of science over fads and fashions," she told an interviewer, and called any human connection to global warming "voodoo, nonsense, hokum, a hoax." She continued: "Fluorescent bulbs are more polluting because of their mercury content. We are working on a light bulb bill. If the Democrats can hose up a light bulb, don't trust them with the country."

Julia Bovey of the Natural Resources Defense Council pointed out that "There is 200 times more mercury in each filling in Congresswoman Bachmann's teeth than there is in a compact fluorescent light bulb.

I think this issue deserves some grassroots action.

Hillary is F*cking Obama???

It's clear that there has been a wave of infidelity in our society. Ex-governor Eliot Spitzer. Current governor David Paterson (and his wife). Even two of our favorite celebrity couples, Jimmy Kimmel/Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon/Ben Affleck have failed to be faithful to each other.

Well now it has become evident that the two contenders for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, are closer than we may have thought...

Obama Delivers Major Speech on Race in America

In response to growing criticism about his relationship with the controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright, Jr, Barack Obama made a bold move, directly addressing both Wright's comments and the state of racial relations in America as a whole. The full text of his speech can be found here.