Bob Dylan interview in Times Online

Bob Dylan speaks about his latest art book, art show, and the Obama campaign.

MST3K redux

Joel and MST3K team returns with a new venture: Cinematic Titanic!

Tom Waits press conference

Tom meets the press....

PA post mortem

In a previous post, I said that Ohio is a dying state with disaffected white voters, and that Pennsylvania was, or could be different. I was wrong. We're just like Ohio: pathetically behind the times. Pennsylvania handed Clinton another solid 10 point victory, and the long march towards a tarnished nomination will drag on.

It's not my town's fault. I'm pleased to report West Chester voted overwhelmingly for Obama. Most precincts were at 70% for Obama or higher. A shame so much of the rest of the state didn't come close to that. It was a primary campaign worthy of Thomas Hobbes: nasty and brutish, albeit not short enough. The morning after, we sat in traffic collectively wondering, what the f*ck did we do last night? Did we just prolong the agony for everyone else? We don't remember. There was this old lady shooting boilermakers, and next thing, it's 3 A.M. and our underpants are flung across the room, clinging to the lampshade, and the hotel room was spinning, spinning. Make it stop! So I think we charged the tab to Citibank and Nash McCabe who was wearing a jacket covered in American flag lapel pins said let Indiana and North Carolina sort it out.

Obama should be credited for mitigating the damage of a month-long barrage of shatteringly negative press: Rev. Wright, bad bowling, bittergate, flag lapel pins -- you know all the essential issues that commonwealth voters truly care about. Obama survived the smears with his campaign intact (no small feat), but he's been tarred, and the feathers will surely stick to him from this point on. The mainstream media has collaborated in the takedown of the best Democratic presidential hopeful since JFK. Charlie "bespectacled" Gibson and George "wonder boy" Stephenopolous should be receiving their gift baskets from Camp Clinton right about now, one supposes. In a land where the media has no ethics, where the press doesn't even remember it had a job to do let alone do it well, I do not see a hopeful outcome to this race anymore. Hopeful in the sense of a sea change in our political culture. To win, Obama will have to claw his way to the nomination now, and either candidate will come away seriously damaged goods. The politics of personal destruction will be just fine, thanks for asking. None of it means anything, which is why it's so important.

I also had this to say after the Ohio race, and the words ring even truer after Pennsylvania:

Maybe our political system is too crass, too bought and sold to be reformed or inspired. We're not large enough as a people. We are not people of character. We're a nation of small minded, greedy bastards, feckless and afraid. And the country will yet again receive the kind of disastrous leadership it deserves.

There comes a point in the epic struggle of a nation vying to overcome its baser nature, when one must seek higher ground, the better to watch Rome burn.

Guilty Boston Terrier

Watch it all the way to the end...!

Getting to know Barack

So Obama is doing what I thought he should be doing a few blog posts ago:

Obama needs to solidify his African American support in Philly and march his way out through the suburban counties, where my horsesense tells me he will find much support. The rest of the commonwealth will really test his persuasive skills. Those blue collar and older voters will be a tough sell. I would suggest a change in tactics. Get on the ground, work smaller rooms, hold some town halls, do some barn storming, maybe a railroad tour or a bus road show. Couple that with hard nosed policy proposals and stir the pot with big rallies on the college campuses and big cities, and he might get the votes he needs. Oh, and hammer Clinton on policy and experience issues. Show no mercy. To win Pennsylvania or at least to keep the margin of loss miniscule, he's got to turn voters away from her.

My sense is that, anemic bowling skills aside, his charm offensive is working. As Pennsylvania voters get used to the man, see that's he not a Manchurian candidate, an empty suit, but a level-headed, intelligent, principled candidate, they will begin to lean his way. For the first time, I'm thinking he has a shot in this state. He has plenty of time to close the gap, and Clinton's slipping down the credibility slope, thanks to her Bosnian embellishments.

You can't underestimate the Bob Casey endorsement. It will play very well in upstate and Western PA, where Barack needs to make serious inroads. I'm not convinced that the Rendell endorsement is going to help Clinton all that much, aside from the obvious institutional advantages. Rendell's base of support is Southeastern PA, which should go strongly toward Obama. He's not nearly as popular in the rest of the state, which has a longstanding bias against Philadelphia. So the Rendell endorsement might work against her to some degree. Just saying it's not an automatic advantage.

Obama should not give up on this state. It is winnable. It is not Ohio (as I have maintained already), and he has time to close the deal. By all appearances, the campaign has weathered the "guilt by association" storm and is back to work in a big way. I'm impressed by their discipline and street smarts. They never panic. In PA, they've been quietly registering voters in bunches. Now, they're kicking it into third gear. Obama looks refreshed, sober, and serious about getting this thing done. I'd be shocked if the polls don't start moving significantly after this week. By the time of primary week, I expect to say gigantic rallies in the major cities.

He shouldn't gamble it all on Pennsylvania. Hedge some bets for North Carolina, Indiana, and the remaining contests. But he should go for a knockout blow. It could happen, and I'd be proud to say my state delivered the stake to the heart of the Bush-Clinton era, one of our most shameful political generations.

One final note: I think the keys to victory in Pennsylvania are the cities beyond the suburban rim of Philly: Allentown, Reading, Harrisburg, and Lancaster. If Obama can win over those cities, he'll cruise in Pennsylvania. It won't be easy, but it looks like Obama is going to force Clinton to wage all out war in PA, which could bankrupt her campaign headed into the final round of states.

Chelsea does West Chester

Walked over to West Chester University's Sykes student union building to see Chelsea Clinton speak at a Q & A session. There was a sizeable crowd stuffed into a TV lounge area. I was on the fringes where the curiosity seekers lurked alongside dweebs hoisting their McCain signs. Obama's supporters must have engaged their cloaking devices, for they were nowhere in sight.

The PA system was underpowered and you couldn't hear squat. Chelsea, though a well groomed, amiable looking woman, did not look very comfortable standing in front of the half interested, hearing impaired crowd, and she didn't really exhibit any political charisma. That's not her fault; the genes just didn't get passed on.

When a cocky student shouted from the back "WE can't hear you?!" he was surrounded by defensive, sweating Hillbots who assertively explained the sound problem to him. The entire event was obviously pointless, so we walked away after five minutes and bought pizza at the food court.

The enthusiasm for this event was not registering on the Richter scale. If any news was made today, I missed it.

Carry on Wayward Son

Watch this Japanese girl kick ass on a Kansas classic, all by herself!