On using YouTube format in Presidential Debates:

For a minute consider of the 300 million Americans, how many watch TV, of those how many watch CNN, of those how many watch debates, of those how many have cameras, of those how many have access to the INTERNET, of those how many are TECHNICALLY ADEPT or inclined AT uploading a video on YouTube.com. A VERY small but vocal fraction!

This SMALL fraction of our population is given a very disproportionate exposure via their questions. No wonder the Republicans were having second thoughts about participating in this YouTube.com format!

CNN did the same lousy job with the Republicans that they did with the Democrats. The questions and questioners CNN chose to show were cartoonish, silly and stereotyped.

A guy with the Confederate flag in his bedroom? Come on! A guy brandishing a rifle and making a mock threat asking about gun control? Give me a break! An arrogant question about the Bible? Oy!

If these people truly represent the base of the Republican Party then they are in even worse trouble than anyone thought.

Why not choose questioners who are normal, serious and thoughtful and who represent MOST of America, not the goofballs who populate YouTube and the internet.

Mark,

The Dems have not been highlighting national security policy in the primary campaign, beyond talking about leaving Iraq. I would like to hear a coherent strategy for the war on terror. The Republicans are mostly mouthing platitudes and (except for McCain) endorsing torture.

There are a number of retired generals and admirals who are allying themselves with the Dems, Wes Clark being the most prominent. Vice Admiral Joe Sestak (ret) won a Pennsylvania congressional seat on an anti-Iraq war platform. General Zinni, General Sanchez and a number of others have been extremely critical of the Bush administration.

Like you, I hope we can get back to a bi-partisan concensus on foreign/security policy. Dems allying themselves with retired generals/admirals and moderate Republicans would be a giant step in that direction.

"I have not yet found "1912" at Half-Price Books and may have to visit a retail chain bookstore."

If you don't need instant gratification, you might try half.com - the internet used book store.

p.s. enjoyed reading the chili recipe. May have to copy that down & give it a try this season.

Colin - Strike my generalization about about D partisans!

I have not yet found "1912" at Half-Price Books [4 large Austin stores] and may have to visit a retail chain bookstore. I had hoped to read it over TG.

Mark -- I'm certainly a D partisan, but I would be happy to see Lugar in a D administration. From what I've read, I gather that he and Obama get along very well -- so it wouldn't surprise me to see a President Obama offer a cabinet post of some sort. Lugar is a good man. I certainly wish there were more Rs like him around these days.

Missed Zinni so can't offer an intelligent view relative to him.

Thanks for the reply, JimD. I wondered whether my civilian perception of him as a general with good insight, and with both military and diplomatic sure footing, was naive, and I was looking for a more professional read.

He has been an R, and I think he could be a choice for an R candidate who wanted a strong but sane SecDef, too. He was a vocal critic of Rumsfield and an R who wants to continue that "legacy" will not want him. But he might be attractive to McCain.

As you say, he would be a political plus for a D Administration. Joe Biden choosing
Lugar at State and Zinni at Def would not be unthinkable, although it is perhaps the sort of thinking that makes JB attractive to you and me and bsimon and not so much to the D partisans.

Mark,

Zinni would be a good choice. If the Dems are smart, they will highlight the retired senior military officers who have been critical of Bush's policies. I see that Lt Gen Sanchez (ret) gave the Dems radio response recently. Giving retired generals and admirals prominent play in the 2008 campaign, coupled with Bush's failures, will help refurbish the Democratic image on national security.

'Tobe Berkovitz, interim dean of Boston University's College of Communication, sees "an agenda-setting battle" between the press and the losing candidates. "Howard Dean screams and he's gone. The media so overblow everything that unless you have the skills of a Bill Clinton and can say 'I'm the comeback kid' after failing to win a primary, the media manage to drive a stake through your heart."

Perhaps, he says, a creative candidate can use alternative outlets, such as blogs or a popular cable news show, "to reframe the story, to let air out of the tires of the boys on the bus. I'm not betting my farm on that."

I really like 'leting the air out of the tires of the boys on the bus,' -and somehow there's also frames and farms in the same sentence--and a stake through the heart. But that that the media coverage is shallow, overblown and childishly simplistic there is no question.

Where the jobs went...

NEW DELHI -- Eight thousand miles from Manhattan, barefoot, shirtless, whip-thin men rippled with muscle were forging prosaic pieces of the urban jigsaw puzzle: manhole covers.

The Shakti Industries foundry is in West Bengal State.
Seemingly impervious to the heat from the metal, the workers at one of West Bengal's many foundries relied on strength and bare hands rather than machinery. Safety precautions were barely in evidence; just a few pairs of eye goggles were seen in use on a recent visit. The foundry, Shakti Industries in Haora, produces manhole covers for Con Edison and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, as well as for departments in New Orleans and Syracuse.'

Also, did most of you know that almost all American flags are now made in China? That to me is the saddest of all.

Guessing that we will have some blogs focused on IA this week, I suggest Kurtz's WaPo column this morning as an intro.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/25/AR2007112501524.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2007112501586

Judge and Lyle, I am guessing that MO has the hill to climb against OU. But betting college football is a fool's errand.

JimD, if you see this, I really want to know your thoughts about Zinni as a potential SecDef.

Hi y'alll... hope everyone had nice holiday. And the good news is...

Another one down --- Trent Lott!! resigning by end of year.

Mark: unless Mizzou gathers themselves enough to beat OK it will be OSU v. WV for the National Championship. OSU had better watch out; this isn't your father's WV team (choke, choke). Pat White is bloody amazing.

As far as the cell phone vote is concerned, boko, you also have to consider those of us with call blocking or active use of caller ID. We can get 5 calls a day from someone listed as "Unknown Caller" or "Blocked;" we never answer those calls. Yes, we have registered with the National Do Not Call Not agency. Not sure which group - exclusive cell phone users or caller ID users - is larger but I know that no polling agency will ever learn what I am thinking via phone.

Truth Hunter, others I have read seem to think that the underrepresentation of cell phones in the polling means that Obama's support does not fully show - would you agree? or how do you see it?

Mark, The Iowa numbers..... I basically don't believe the polls. They don't fit the opinions of anyone I know or casually talk with. I think one fly in the ointment is that the polls don't reflect the opinions of cell phone users.

I don't know who will break out, maybe no one if the weather is terrible and only the diehard candidate supporters turn out. But, if there is a good turnout, expect the second-tier supporters to band together, not necessarily go to one of the top three.

If voters had wanted them, they would have gone there to begin with. There are some excellent second-tier candidates that will benefit from the "none of the above" mood.

BTW, I don't know what the "Undecided" percentage is now, but it has been considerable.

http://whathappenedtomycountry.blogspot.com

We had a good day for the seniors at Marshall winning their last home game, and WVU and Ohio State is looking like it just may happen Mark. These are the teams most of root for in my area.

Why would MTP have invited 4 paid "consultants" to spin for an hour? Makes no sense to me.

Schieffer's short visit with Zinni was more worthwhile, IMHO.

JimD, what would you think of Zinni as SecDef? In any Admin, R or D?

judge, do you see a looming BCS championship game between WV and OH St.?

truth, do you see anything different than the IA polls when you "look for a breakout from a non-anointed"?

Correction... Delaware's record is 9-3.

Iowa trumps New Hampshire.... on Saturday UNI 38 - UNH 35, the win coming in the last 7 seconds of the first round of the National Football division championships.

So, it was very close. Wonder who will pull out a last minute caucus win in Iowa on January 3? A fluid nominating field for both parties right now.

Leading candidates are suffering from coronation syndrome.... don't think Iowans like being told by the kingmakers who will reign.

On the GOP side, Romney's campaign manager said recently that "Iowa picks corn, but New Hampshire picks the next president,".... ouch!

Not a comment that will endear Romney to Iowans who take their first in the nation status quite seriously, are mostly cosmopolitan and tired of the "hick" connotation implied in the remark. And, it makes them more able to look past Huckabee's grand ol' opery moniker and aw-shucks persona that hides a very savvy politician.

On the Democratic side, second-tier candidates are receiving more favorable attention as the top three look to some like "none of the above." Look for a breakout from a non-anointed.

But, back to the important stuff.... next Saturday Northern Iowa (12-0) faces Delaware (10-2).

http://whathappenedtomycountry.blogspot.com

This just in: David Brooks impersonates someone with a lick of sense.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/23/opinion/23brooks.html?em&ex=1196053200&en=b2f49357005e5dbd&ei=5087%0A

Mark: watched West Virginia absolutely annihilate UConn today. No suspense there.

proud, if you are still there, i am sure that AggieMike watched A&M beat UT - I did, while waiting for the new tires to be mounted on my wife's car.

A slow day all around, if you ask me.

Ok people, time to snap out of your turkey induced coma. Time to pop up off the couch, put down that can of beer and start focusing on important things like ...the election, and politics, and Iowa caucuses, and poll numbers, and .....hey - wait a minute. How come I'm the only one posting today?

Hello out there? Fix-ters? Junkies? I guess they've all gone shopping. Slackers.

happy thanksgiving, the fix and all the readers who comment on this blog.
We may disagree and throw mud pies at each other and Chris but, today we are thankful for being able to do so.

Happy Turkey Day to all.

Representative Carol Shea-Porter is a trend setting politician... http://www.enewsreference.com

I meant the Democratic states in 1916 were Republican in 2004 and vice versa. I am too used to red for Republican and blue for Democrat.

incognito,

The red states in 1916 were almost all blue states in 2004 and vice versa.

on the topic of political trivia, some regular fix readers might be interested in this. go to uselectionatlas.org (not if you have anything to do for the next five hours). specifically, look at the election map from 1916. notice anything funny?

anticlimacus

The AAP as a nightly read? At least you admit the obvious there, Chris.

http://www.political-buzz.com/

If I knew those fact about Sarah Palin BEFORE reading the almanac, does that make me a bigger dork? I am finally off in pursuit of my T Day activities but very glad I checked back here first - thanks bsimon and proud. To all, have a safe and meaningful Thanksgiving.

Mark -- I meant that Barone, being staunchly neocon, is perhaps not entirely objective. However, Loudon endorses the book, so I reserve judgment until I've read it.

certop-- I have read Richard Cohen. I find his reasoning tortured and incomprehensible.

'Rudy Gulinani has 2 speeds,walk and 9/11' lovin it.

bsimon and proud -- thanks for the entertaining day. you're both natural writers.

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving -- try not to kill your brother-in-law, engage in fightfights, gunplay or kumbaya--unless you enjoy that sort of thing.

barone may be a neocon, but the other author listed, richard cohen, isn't. check out his column in the post.

Heck, Mark, I've yet to read Team of Rivals. I seem to be too busy writing bloody books to read them.

"Reading the new Almanac last night in bed (yes, I know I am a dork)..."

Why, yes, reading the Almanac would be a fascinating thing to do now that I'm tucked into a nice, warm bed after finally getting my three kids to sleep. My, what a pretty cover it has and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

A 100% natural alternative to diphenhydramine HCl (Sominex for the non-Proud-crowd).

Happy Turkey-Day, everyone! Turkey meat, BTW, is a rich source of the amino acid tryptophan, another sleep-inducing agent BUT only if you eat it without anything else on an empty stomach. In case you didn't notice, CC may be a dork but I'm a true nerd although I conceal it remarkably well most of the time.

"Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber." Plato

Breaking news.... NH primaries set for January 8.

One time, at band camp, Chris Cillizza killed a percussionist with his zip drive.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful that our lawyers (or most, anyway) aren't incarcerated for standing up for the law.

For Chris Cillizza, the Thanksgiving turkey stuffs itself.

Happy

szeller writes "I am writhing a profile on Fred Thompson to 'makor rishon', an Israeli newspaper"

Chris Cillizza only writhes in bed at nighttime with his newest copy of The Alamanc.

Chris Cillizza is in his own line at the airport.

Aside from turkey, what am I supposed to take with a grain of salt?

A text by Barone? What text? What context?

proud and bsimon, do more wordplay, please.

"-oh boy you and proud might have started something"

proudtobeGOP deserves 100% of the credit and/or blame.

hi chris
I am writhing a profile on Fred Thompson to 'makor rishon', an Israeli newspaper and i would like to talk to about him and about the elections. how can i call you? you can send my your no' to the mail szeller@walla.com
thnks
shay zeller

CC-interesting book, ill see if i can pick it up over the weekend, gotta have something to read while im on jury duty this coming tuesday(oh joy)

bsimon-oh boy you and proud might have started something

Hillary Clinton's tears have been known to cure cancer, unfortunately hillary never cries.

Rudy Gulinani has 2 speeds,walk and 9/11

Here's some not so great news for the Mittster. He's the clown who appointed this judge:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1046152

Funny how so many of these Willie Hortons trace back to GOP decisions.

I bought the 1982 edition when I was a senior poli sci major. Still have it.

Great reading for a cross-country trip.

Lots of great news for the Romney campaign today: (1) The Michigan primary is back on January 15th, and this time it is final. Read why this tremendously helps Romney: http://www.campaigndiaries.com/2007/11/great-news-for-romney-michigan-stays-on.html

(2) Romney is now in a tie for first (the second time we've seen this in any poll) in a new survey of the South Carolina primary; he also leads the new Iowa poll, though Huckabee is rising fast. Both polls: http://www.campaigndiaries.com/2007/11/primary-polls-romney-moves-into-south.html

more for biden junkies. good interview link -- rinteresting talk about foreign policy...

"What exactly would it take for the president to conclude Musharraf has crossed the line? Suspend the constitution? Impose emergency law? Beat and jail his political opponents and human rights activists?" asked Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.). "He's already done all that."

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/11/21/biden/

Chris Cillizza doesn't read the AoAP - the AoAP read's Chris Cillizza!

I would take it wiht a grain of salt, Mark. Michael Barone is a screaming neocon demagogue, who wrote this:

'Why do they hate us? No, I'm not talking about Islamofascist terrorists. We know why they hate us: because we have freedom of speech and freedom of religion, because we refuse to treat women as second-class citizens, because we do not kill homosexuals, because we are a free society.

No, the "they" I'm referring to are the editors of The New York Times.'

So the text might be a tad -- unbalanced.

Chris, right after "1912", recommended by Colin, and "1984", recommended by several,
my next scheduled read will be the "2008 AoAP".

Thanx and Happy TG.

A blog is jetting somehwere on the coast? How nice for it. I hope it gets some sun.