Debates - In case you missed 'em last night (Catch the Dems tonight!)

I watched the Republicans debate last night and I agree completely with CNN Political Analyst Bill Schneider-- Huckabee scored points, Mitt defended himself well, and McCain came off petty and may have hurt himself. (Well, I think Mitt performed a little better in the debate than Bill says. There was no weaseling from Mitt last night.) But other than that I'm in complete agreeance, to use a W. word. See Bill's analysis here (It's a short article.)

Note: wonkette.com liveblogged the debate. Funny stuff. (That's where I got the picture.) Quotes: "They are sitting! They are serious! They are just saying 'Ronald Reagan' again and again." Also: "Do any of these tired old men want to be president? ... We might as well let Hillary and Obama run against each other in the General Election, for fun."

Don't Miss Tonight: Hill and Barry -- alone at last!! This might be a donnybrook. Must-see TV. The debate is at the Kodak Theatre-- the site of next month's Oscars (maybe) and news out of Hollywood is that the debate is the hottest ticket in town.

Other Random Political Stuff:

New fun term of the day: After receiving the Kennedys' endorsement, Barack's supporters are looking forward to Obamalot.

Yowza, Barry grows a set: Yesterday at a huge rally in Denver Obama had this to say:

"Democrats will win in November and build a majority in Congress not by
nominating a candidate who will unite the other party against us, but by
choosing one who can unite this country around a movement for change."

"It is time for new leadership that understands the way to win a debate with John McCain or any Republican who is nominated is not by nominating someone who agreed with him on voting for the war in Iraq or who agreed with him in voting to give George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran, who agrees with him in embracing the Bush-Cheney policy of not talking to leaders we don't like, who actually
differed with him by arguing for exceptions for torture before changing
positions when the politics of the moment changed..."

"I know it is tempting — after another presidency by a man named George Bush — to simply turn back the clock, and to build a bridge back to the 20th century..."

"... It's not enough to say you'll be ready from Day One — you have to be
right from Day One," he added in unmistakable criticisms of Clinton, who often
claims she's better prepared to govern, and her husband, who pledged during his
own presidency to build a bridge to the 21st century.

Hillary 08

The Big Game meets The Big Game

Too funny. Super-Duper Tuesday is two days after Superbowl Sunday. Both Superbowl teams need a traveling day after the game, so a victory rally would have to be on-- yup. So Hizzoner the mayor was trying to come up with a plan for a parade that wouldn't block four Boston precincts from getting to the polls-- walled off by "a million delirious knuckleheads with their faces painted red, white, and blue." But when Mayor Menino publicly mentioned the plan? You guessed it. He "may as well have suited up for the Giants," 'cuz now he's a jinx.

A quote:

Meanwhile, New York city officials are tight-lipped about plans for a
Giants victory march through the streets of Gotham.
“We in New York always
find a way to honor our teams, but we’re not going to jinx them by discussing
any plans beforehand,” Stu Loeser, spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, said
in response to a Herald inquiry.

Beautiful.

You can read the Boston Herald articles here and here. The picture is from the Herald, too.

Postscript: Menino v. Bloomberg Superbowl bet:

If (or when) the Pats win, Bloomberg will send a delivery to Boston that includes Manhattan clam chowder, pastrami sandwiches, New York pizzas, black and white cookies, New York steaks and a few gallons of lemon ice.

And in the unlikely event of a Giants victory, Menino will send a package with New England Clam Chowder, Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, Boston cream pies, chicken sausages and Brigham’s ice cream.

Barack and Hillary -- It's more personal than you think

The SOTU Snub

If Maureen Dowd's NYTimes op-ed piece is accurate, we'll never see them on the same ticket. (Click here.)

Just in Time for Superbowl Sunday

A new study shows that Seinfeld episode was right: double-dipping your chip is some nasty bidness. (See NYTimes article here.)

An excerpt:

[Food microbiologist]Professor Dawson said...“The way I would put it is, before you have some dip at a party, look around and ask yourself, would I be willing to kiss everyone here? Because you don’t know who might be double dipping, and those who do are sharing their saliva with you.”

Ewww. You might want to serve that dip with a serving spoon and some little individual bowls.

State of the Union Drinking Game

9:00 tonight! Time to brush up on the rules. Pick your version:

Drinkinggame.Us

Wonkette's State of the Union Drinking game

Bottoms up!

Speaking of Tom Cruise

This is priceless, but contains language not work-friendly and not for kiddies. If you're a grown-up, click here.