Better Banter

Unfortunately, I believe the vote count to be much closer than my friend Stephen does. My predictions: Bush electoral votes: 270 Kerry electoral votes: 268 Switching to Red: Hawaii, Iowa, New Mexico Switching to Blue: New Hampshire, Ohio Popular vote: Bush 50.1, Kerry 48.5 Senate: GOP picks up 2. House: GOP nets 5. Should Colorado split its vote, Lt. Kerry reports for duty (with Bush still winning the popular vote). I suppose the only consolation for such a circumstance would be the deafening silence on the topic of reforming the electoral college.

It truly seemed like some kind of alternate universe right from the start. Thousands of midwesterners lined up around the block waiting to see George W. Bush. We waited an hour and a half to get through security, but nobody seemed to mind. The long line was comforting. So many W supporters in one place. Every snippet of conversation overheard was something pro-Bush or anti-Kerry. I felt perfectly free to openly crack jokes about the Democrats. I was in a conservative cocoon. There was no line-jumping despite the length of the wait, no rudeness, nothing but excitement. Everyone was on the same team. It was strange, but great. The event itself was fantastic. The ovation given to the President when he first arrived was deafening. I didn't think it would ever stop. Arnold Schwarzenegger was brief, but quite good. The President was truly on top of his game. He was relaxed, sharp, funny, and did a great job hammering John Kerry and his record. No stumbles, no strange tele-prompter ...

I guess one advantage of living in Ohio is that the President is here a lot. I get to go see him tonight. Unfortunately, the agenda does not include Mr. Schilling. Still, I'm quite excited. Will report back later.

My friends and family don't seem to understand my need to tune in to the CBS Evening News every once in a while. "I thought you couldn't stand Dan Rather?" "Why do you do that to yourself?" "I'm going in the other room. I don't want to listen to you watch that show..." I guess I like to complain. Tonight's broadcast was enough to tide me over for months. CBS aired what I considered to be 20 straight minutes of anti-Bush material. No, it wasn't a good news day for George, but there was a marked lack of balance in each story. The finishing touch on the night was another "What Does It Mean to You" piece, which ostensibly shows where each candidate stands on a particular issue. To be more accurate, the segment should be titled "No Matter Your Interest, Here's Why You Should Vote for Kerry." The issue today was hunting and fishing. The slant: Democrats are making inroads with "hook and bullet"...

I have a hard time knowing where to begin or what to say. Up three games to none, I allowed myself to think about it yesterday. What if ? I felt the grip of the hex loosening. Sure, the Red Sox could have lost last night. And that could have given the Cards the sort of improbable momentum that propelled Boston to their four straight wins in the ALCS. But I realized there were only two possible outcomes: The Sox win the series, or the greatest collapse in sports history, immediately on the heels of the previous greatest collapse in sports history. The latter would be improbable, to say the least, and had it actually happened, it would have been a story to be told for generations. So the thought crept into my head: what will I do if they win? I didn't know. Given that I'd be watching at home I wouldn't jump up and down and scream. I kind of worried about it. I haven't lived in New England for almost ten years. The Patriots have won two Super Bowls in recent years. H...

My beloved Boston Red Sox are up 2-0 in the World Series, and I am simply too dumbfounded and fearful to say much about it. Red Sox fans come in two flavors: Sun-is-always-shining optimists and world-is-about-to-end pessimists. In 1990, the Red Sox were down to Oakland 3-0 in the ALCS. A "sunny" friend of mine insisted our team was better, and we would win the series despite the odds. Not that they "had a chance" but that they would win. This is the same kind of person who, every spring, and after every three-game win streak, says "This is the year!" So what of The Curse? The strange thing is that the sunny-siders tend to believe in it as much as anyone else. The just think it's due to end this year (every year). On the other hand, you have us doom-and-gloomers. We don't have this attitude because we like being crotchety. On the contrary, many of us are considered optimists on most other subjects, and can have seemingly completely normal ...

A nuclear Iran is a concern for the world, and one which Senator Kerry professed to be the most grave danger confronting America. The question is, what would he do about it? Asked directly about it in the town hall debate, he completely ducked the issue. Fortunately for the world, even if Kerry is elected President of the United States, somebody will do something about Iran. That somebody is Israel, and they have a very un-nuanced position: a nuclear Iran is not acceptable. Period. The LA Times has a great article today about Israel's take on the situation. The resolve shown by Israeli leaders is heartening. Israel would much prefer a diplomatic agreement to shut down Iran's uranium enrichment program, but if it concluded that Tehran was approaching a "point of no return," it would not be deterred by the difficulty of a military operation, the prospect of retaliation or the international reaction, officials and analysts said. Unfortunately, the United States...

Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals. 1946, 1967, 2004. Here we go.

As a Red Sox fan, I get nervous no matter how big my side's lead. This bit of news is having a reassuring effect, however: Al Gore is going to be campaigning in Florida for Kerry. Did nobody on the Kerry staff think "backfire?" Did nobody notice the global warming speech on the coldest day of the year? Half a dozen over-the-top speeches in the last six months? Are they more desperate or out of their minds?

I'm enjoying the "Let's go Red Sox!" chant emanating from Yankee Stadium at this moment. Now that's great stuff. Quite a series, to say the least. I'm still in shock. After winning Game 4, I didn't want to jinx anything, so I kept quiet. And when they kept rolling, I certainly couldn't mess with success. Apologies for my silence. You couldn't script something like this. As I said in an earlier post, breaking the "curse", and doing it in style, would be going first through NY, then St. Louis. Mainly through New York. And what a way to beat them. Causing a Red Sox-like collapse by the Yankees is the stuff dreams are made of. Breaking the curse? Bucky Dent threw out the first pitch (a move that smacked of desperation, by the way). It couldn't have been any better if a foul ball hit Mookie Wilson in the face. To the game itself: though it was 8-1 when Pedro came out in the 7th, I was mystified. And I was very nervous when they sc...

Mark, you're welcome. Obviously, I disagree with you. I find the chant of "Yankees suck!" during any random gathering of New Englanders to be a wonderful bonding kind of moment. It's fun to hate the big, bad Yankees. Where's the sport in hating the Red Sox? As Bill Simmons says, rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for the house in blackjack. I do understand not liking some of the fans. They are represented by a brillo-haired doofus named Dan Shaughnessy, who one week builds the team up to be of mythic proportions, only to preach doom and gloom when the lofty expectations set by himself and a few other nitwits do not come to fruition. "This is the year!" is followed by "They betrayed us." This guy invented "the Curse of the Bambino" and has helped a league of would-be neutral people across the country detest the Sox. Are the Sox actually cursed by Dan? If nothing else their fans certainly are.

Sheffield just knocked one out after the A-Rod walk. 9-6. And as I type, Matsui (I really hate that guy) just smacked a double. Now they're bringing in Wakefield, who was supposed to start tomorrow. I think it's the right move, but if Wake gets rocked, what do you do? Time to turn off the computer and get more beer. Better luck next year?

It feels like it's the eighth inning, but it's only the top of the fourth. Well the Sox rallied to tie it at 6. And now the Sox bullpen is doing its best to make sure I have a minor heart attack, as Ramiro Mendoza hit the first batter to begin the inning. Is he still getting a paycheck from the Yankees? Now Leskanic almost hit Jeter. Do we feel uncomfortable unless there are multiple baserunners before recording the first out? Nixon just made a great catch in right. Now a walk to A-Rod. I swear I'm turning it off.

Well, it's only gotten worse. Three runs are in, a runner on second. Still nobody out. Can't remember the last balk I've seen, especially one that scored a run. Apparently the Sox just don't like having a lead. Their 1-run margin (their only lead of the series) evaporated without another out being recorded. I'm ready to turn it off...

OK, that last post was stupid. A-Rod's homer immediately after clicking "Publish" put me back in my place. Sheffield just walked. No one out. Gloom-and-doom time again.

Wow, big second inning. Up 4-3. Kevin Brown's looking like he did the last time we saw him. I refuse to get cocky, but the cracking open of a Bud Light and my laptop have not been the least bit harmful.

3-2 thanks to Trot Nixon's bomb in the 2nd. I am NOT getting my hopes up, but am enjoying my beer more.

So we're only one inning in, but I'm not sure how much more I can stand. The Yankees did exactly what we hoped they wouldn't: pile up three in the first and take the crowd completely out of the game. But just when the Sox looked like they might have a two-out rally going, Manny Ramirez made a horrible decision to try to go from first to third on a base hit. The rule is never make the first or third out at third base. The fact that Manny is slow, Sheffield in right field has a great arm, and they're down by three should have undescored that rule. I'm distraught.

VDH takes on Kerry's "nuisance" comment and the liberal mindset on the war on terror. A devastating critique. He believes Bush will win because most Americans no longer buy what the Democrats are selling: ...the Democratic party is run not by unionists, farmers, miners, truckers, and average folk, but by those rich enough not to have to make a living, and who wish out of either guilt or noblesse oblige to force the dumber upper middle class to be more sensitive, generous, or utopian. Americans also believe Europe has lost its way and is bogged down in a hopeless and soon-to-be scary task of legislating by fiat heaven on earth. Great stuff. As usual. Read the whole thing.

A couple of weeks ago I was unable to resist my impulse to wildly speculate as to why Vladimir Putin would entertain the idea of ratifying Kyoto. Shooting from the hip, I offered the following two reasons: What could the Russians be thinking? This can't possibly help their struggling market economy. Is that the point? Could it be that Putin wants the Russian economy to fail, so that a return to communism seems the only natural choice? The other possible explanation is that Russia is preying on European anti-Americanism. For over 50 years the United States and Europe benefited economically from their alliance. In a new world order, the Russians may see an opportunity to wedge themselves between America and Europe. If the U.S becomes the lone holdout from Kyoto, it is not hard to imagine a system of tariffs implemented to make U.S. goods next to impossible to buy in Kyoto-ratifying nations. It's also not hard to imagine Russia positioning itself to take advantage of such a ...