Blog post

February 5, 2007 [LINK / comment]

Democrats lack self-control

The six announced Democratic candidates presented themselves at a "beauty pageant" in the Washington Hilton last week, and the competitive pressure is already undermining their discipline. At the outset, DNC Chairman Howard Dean warned each speaker that a seven-minute time limit would be severely enforced. So what happened? The first candidate, Sen. Chris Dodd, talked for more than 20 minutes, three times more than he was allotted, and the rest of them were nearly as bad. As Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank observed, "the Democratic National Committee is not exactly a precision drill team."

This episode reminds us how the presidential candidate selection process is getting more frenzied and arbitrary every election cycle. Part of the problem is the accelerated primary election schedule, with several states considering moving theirs up to early February. So, the time lag between effective candidate selection and the formal selection at the convention will lengthen even further, making most people even more apathetic and cynical about politics. I fear that the 2008 presidential primaries will become ever more farcical, yielding mediocre but media-savvy candidates on both sides.

Take this quiz -- if you dare!

I should have known better than to expose myself to ridicule, but what the heck:

You Are Most Like George W. Bush

So what if you're not exactly popular? You still rule the free world. And while you may be quite conservative now, you knew how to party back in the day!

What Modern US President Are You Most Like?

That is courtesy of Not Larry Sabato, who is most like Bill Clinton.

Virginia Blog Carnival

After many months of putting it off, I finally made a submission to the Virginia Blog Carnival -- the Super Bowl Edition hosted by Cat House Chat. It was my "compendium" of gripes last week about the Republican Party over the last two-plus years. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to pay more attention to the Virginia blogosphere, and I am going to try.