Independents

After looking back at my post-Massachusetts post, I'm sticking with my snap analysis. Coakley was a terrible candidate - just listen to her concession speech - and arrogant in her approach to the general.  


But make no mistake - she would have been a lot better than Scott Brown.  Things got much worse yesterday with his election and now every single Republican, even moderates like Olympia Snowe, are emboldened to never work with the President.  


I'm not optimistic about the legislative agenda for the next 10 months.  Republicans will obstruct everything, and they have NO alternative to any of the proposals the Democrats have proposed on heath care or even a jobs bill.  The GOP plan for 2010 is to hope things get worse so they can pick up seats in November.  Bottom line, the grassroots of the Republican party are more interested in Obama failing than solving the problems facing the country.  When you hear McConnell or McCain saying they support a bipartisan approach - to anything - you know one thing: both of them are lying.

I hope Dems pin the loss in Massachusetts to Coakley's arrogance and NOT to a see change among the public regarding Obama or the Democrats.  

Anyway, that's my second draft.

Center-left Country

As we all know, Republicans are very good at repeating talking points and staying on message.  In trying to spin Tuesday night's results, which include not only a liberal yet pragmatic president-elect but also significant Democratic gains in the Senate and House, Republican pundits have repeatedly described America as a 'center-right' nation.  I assume that is an attempt to box in the new Democratic majority.

Maybe it's already working, with Pelosi stating that the country needs to be governed from the center at a press conference on Thursday. Of course, governing from the middle probably makes sense, both as a starting point and as a strategy to prevent overreach, overreach that could trigger a backlash against the party in power in the 2010 mid-term elections (something that traditionally happens).  More importantly that a philosophy, governing from the center is a necessity since the government is out of money anyway.

But I have to push back against the notion that the U.S. is a 'center-right' nation. I think it's clearly center-left, more of a Clintonesque ideology.  I think culturally the country is generally left (except for gay marriage, but on gay rights it's different), and had been economically conservative since the 1980s.  But the recent financial collapse and the crash of Reagan-era deregulation may spur a shift towards economic populism and liberalism.

So culturally we're left, economically we've been right but may be shifting, and politically we've been split. However, the last 5 elections, covering a generation, show that rather than being split a center-left pattern is emerging.  Clinton won elections in 1992 (with help from Perot, but he ran a pretty lefty campaign) and 1996 - a landslide - then Gore won the popular vote in 2000.  Bush won a narrow margin four years later (by 3 million votes), and now Obama wins in a rout (by more than 8 millio votes).  And don't forget Democrats took back Congress in the 2006 mid-term elections by running left on the war. 

In four of the last five elections the center-left has won the popular vote.  And if patterns from the Obama win persist - Hispanics and young voters going 2-1 for Democrats, increased turnout by African-Americans - this trend could last for two or three more elections.  And who knows, if the economy rebounds there may be money for a national health care system, a complete overhaul and modernization of our infrastructure with more mass transit, and a shift to clean energy.

Frank Rich plows some of the same ground in today's New York Times (though for the record I posted this blog entry on Saturday night).

Hellection Update

There's a new Greek-American member of Congress, Dina Titus from Nevada. Kudos to my friend Art Dimopoulos, the publisher of Odyssey Magazine who went out to Nevada to campaign for her. She joins Shelley Berkeley, who is descended from Greek Jews, in the three-person Nevada Congressional delegation. That makes five Greek-American members of Congress: the Nevada two plus Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), John Sarbanes (D-MD), and my man Zack Space (D-OH). And we can claim Greek-in-law Nikki Tsongas, the widow of Paul Tsongas, who represents Lowell, Massachusetts who is 'Greek by osmosis.' Those six join Maine Senator Olympia Snowe in Washington. Not bad considering there are about 1 million Greeks in the U.S.

State Level Stuff

One last election review.  Hard to believe that in California voters supported a constitutional ban on gay marriage. California!  The vote was 52 to 48 percent for the ban.  Arizona and Florida voters supported similar initiatives. Specific issue aside, seems odd to me that the threshold for amending the state constitution is so relatively low. To amend the U.S. Constitution, both houses of Congress have to pass it AND three-quarters of the states have to ratify the amendment.  Fifty percent plus one seems too low to amend a state constitution.

Jon Stewart still has the best take on gay marriage: unless every one has to marry gay - mandatory gay marriage for gay and non-gay alike, why do straight people care enough about gay marriage to reject it politically?  If you are not gay, this does not affect you.

Finally, who'd a thunk it that on the same day California would reject gay marriage SOUTH DAKOTA would uphold a woman's right to choose, for the second election in a row?  Though in it's defense, California also rejected restricting access to abortions on election day.

Election Eve

Every presidential election in America is important. To quote a former president, that statement is self evident. And though each one is always the most important election on the planet, tomorrow's rises above the usual quadrennial significance.

One, simply marking the end of the last eight years is huge. After running as the 'compassionate conservative' ticket, the Bush-Cheney administration governed at times like incompetents in way over their heads - the war in Iraq, Katrina, the lack of oversight of Wall Street, tax cuts for the wealthy while fighting two wars and thus running up huge deficits - and at other times like paranoid Nixonian rogues - misleading the public about weapons of mass destruction, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo. The combination adds up to eight years of failure and shame, and America's standing in the world at it's lowest. To think that on September 12, 2001 the entire world stood with us as the west rallied against dangerous religious extremism and violence. All of that is gone thanks to the boobs in the White House.

Two, this election could mark the evolution of the United States from a democracy to a participatory democracy. For liberals, actually for any American, that is a tremendous development. Having so many first-time voters vote for a winning candidate will make them lifelong voters. But I also think this election, and the election of someone like Barack Obama, will make people political not just repeat voters. I hope this leads to more people following current events, reading newspapers, writing letters to the editor, volunteering with civic organizations - a rejuvenation of our civic life. That's what a message of hope, and a message than wins elections, can do.

Far too many Americans put down politics, but to me politics is the best thing about America. And not voting is simply un-American. The best thing about America is we aren't like the Greeks or Chinese, bound together by blood or thousands of years of history and tradition. America reinvents itself too often to be rooted in old world concepts like blood or place or family. Instead, the United States is defined by something vastly superior: an ideal and a politics exemplified by elections and Congress and the separation of powers and a free press and the Bill of Rights. Our ideals make us Americans, and it has always bothered me when one of my fellow citizens puts down politics. Politics makes us who we are more than any other facet of American life.

Obama is making politics - and American ideals - cool again for the first time in my lifetime, certainly for the first time since John Kennedy was president. He keeps drawing huge crowds in Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina; conversely, McCain and Palin, with a more fearful and cynical and less uplifting message, have played to some small crowds in the last few days.

And three, there is Obama himself. For me, Obama is significant on two levels. The first one is obvious; electing an African-American is incredible and something frankly to be proud of. What a great leap forward for America and the American electorate. But even more important than his blackness - yes, he's black enough - is the fact that Obama's election reinvigorates one of the best American dreams of them all: the fact - FACT - that truly anyone can grow up to be President of the United States. That simple fact speaks volumes about our nation. Not to sound to corny and immigrantee, but only in American can someone like Obama - and as Chris Rock has pointed out, you can't elect a blacker name than Barack Obama - be elected President. A mixed-race child of Kansan and Kenyan parents, raised in Hawaii - can any story be more everyman American, and better illustrate America reinventing itself?

Again, we are a nation not united by blood or ethnicity but by ideals, ideals that like our nation can be reinvented or rejuvenated every four years.

That is, every four years if the right guy wins. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow on a very historic election day for our nation (and hopefully, it won't always be guys).

A little more blather

• Obama has a great story, but most of our presidents since Kennedy have had similar backgrounds. Did you know, for instance, that Lyndon Johnson's father was from Uganda? Ok, that's not true. Johnson was from a rural part of Texas and graduated from South West Texas State and initially was a teacher; Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer from southwest Georgia (southwest Georgia is east of the middle of nowhere); Bill Clinton lived the lyrics of a country song, raised in Arkansas by a mama married multiple times to an array of shady men, and a man who never knew his daddy. Even the Republicans not 'born with a silver foot in his mouth' have humble origins: Nixon was from rural California, and Reagan went west from Illinois in the quintessential quest to remake himself and start all over.
• Earlier in this blog I blathered about participatory democracy. That will be very significant for African-Americans, especially in the south, a young people. In the south, massive turnout rewarded with victory could finally make the south a progressive region, with the long-awaited alliance of blacks (25 to 30% of the vote), white liberals (10-15%, mainly in cities, gay parts of town, and college towns), and ethnics (Jews, Greeks, but most of all Hispanics) making states like North Carolina and Georgia truly bipartisan and in play every election from here on out.
• One last defense of politics. If folks want to put down something, how about attacking economics or fear or unfettered free trade, or greed? To me, those motivations are responsible for the worst things American has done in the past: the slave trade, stealing the land of Native Americans, interning Japanese-Americans, etc. Politics has it's share of problems, but it wasn't politics than produced those atrocities.
• Finally, I think Obama will finish with an astounding 353 electoral votes. In the end, though my head says not to, I'm giving Obama both my home states of North Carolina and Florida. Add those two to the states Kerry carried, plus Obama's strength in expanding the map in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, then Ohio (a state that went very D in 2006 where the economy will carry the day for Obama) and you get to a almost-landslide like 353 electoral votes, with probably 53 percent of the popular votes, for a brutha' named Barack Obama. Astounding, and excellent.

The Closer

Obama is going to go into the ninth inning of this campaign with a lead built on Bush and Iraq fatigue (pitching), McCain's age (defense), and the economy (timely hitting). But the closer for this election is going to be Hispanic voters. While reading the New York Times this morning, it struck me that in the west and even places like northern Virginia and perhaps even North Carolina and it's going to be Hispanics (many appropriately named Rivera and K-Rod) who get the last three outs for Obama.

World Series Update

I made it to the fourth inning of last night's game 3, but have to say starting a World Series game at 10:00 pm eastern time is a joke and a travesty.  

The ratings for this series will probably be low due to the teams and markets, so what does baseball have to lose by being a bit more fan friendly with starting times and the endless commercial breaks?  All games - but especially weekend games - should start at 7 or 7:30, not 8:20 or 8:30.  And in order to appeal to younger fans, there should be at least one day game in there.  

And baseball needs to do something about how long the games take.  For starters, I'd do at least 3 easy things (of course, the first one is not easy): limit commercial breaks to 2 minutes.  To make up for lost revenue I'd allow for a corporate logo near the ball-strike line score at the top/bottom of the screen but the time between innings needs to be shorter; two, a hitter must keep one foot in the batter's box at all time - you're there to hit not go for a walk. Ditto for the pitcher, who I would put a clock on as they do in the Arizona fall league; and three, no visits to the mound, unless you are changing pitchers, by either coaches or players.  Play stops every half inning - talk in the dugout.

Finally, getting rid of the DH would shorten games too, and restore some balance between hitting and pitching. But with the steroid era over I guess that will never happen.

World Series Preview

Though it lacks the star power of a Dodgers or Cubs versus Red Sox World Series, I'm looking forward to the Fall Classic.  

The Red Sox-Rays series was a modern classic.  Games 5, 6 and 7 featured some quality baseball action, and I was literally on the edge of my couch watching the last three innings of game seven.  How about the stones showed by Joe Madden, bringing in rookie David Price to get the save, in a game seven?  As big as Madden's were, Price must have even bigger ones.  

And I was happy to see Rocco Baldelli drive in the winning run.  He's one of the many young players drafted and developed by the Rays, a talent who was once compared to Joe DiMaggio.  Baldelli has been sidelined most of the last three season with a variety of injuries and ailments.  Most seriously, he was diagnosed with mitochondrial myopathy this season, a disease that makes him fatigue easily and could end his career after the Series is over.  Here's the link to a good article about Baldelli from the New York Times.

The Rays are one of the best baseball stories in a long time, one that gives (false, due to Bowden, etc.) hope to teams like our home town Nats.  If they win the World Series they will become the first team in any American sport to go from having the worst record in the league in one season to winning a championship the next.   

And as most of you know, the Rays weren't just bad last year, they've had 10 years of being really really bad.  But they had a plan, or at least drafted very well, made a few shrewd trades for players like Kazmir, Garza and Bartlett, and made some savvy free agent signings (Floyd, Pena, Iwamura).  It all came together this year for 97 wins and an American League championship.

The Phillies are a pretty good story too, a team of likable players who represent America's toughest sports town.   

In recent years, American League teams like the Yankees and Angels were lauded for winning championships by playing a more National League-style of baseball: pitching, defense, moving runners over, not just bashing homers.  The Phillies have turned the tables this year; they are a National League team that plays an American League brand of baseball.   Howard, Utley and Burrell all hit more than 30 homers, and Werth had another 24. Three other starters hit more than 11, so the Philies dig the long ball.

I'm still not sold on the Phillies' pitching staff.  After Hamels there is a pretty steep decline.  I'm surprised that cousin Charlie Manuel has Myers pitching game 2, with Moyer slated for game 3.  That means Blanton will only get one start, which seems odd to me; neither Moyer nor Myers pitched that well against the Dodgers so I wonder why each get two starts?

Starting pitching will decide this series, so I see the Rays, the Tampa Bay Rays, winning the Series, 4 games to 2 (Hamels two starts, basically).

Obama Update

Good to see six Rays players appear with Obama at a rally in Tampa yesterday.  It's good to see some liberal athletes, something that is usually rare, and athletes acting like engaged citizens instead of aloof millionaires.  

The Rays showed up at the event even though Obama said, with the White Sox eliminated, he was rooting for the Phillies since his campaign manager is a big Philadelphia fan.  The appearance and Obama's rooting interest generated quite a few stories, including this one in The Politico. 

Orlando Menendez Update

I don't how many times readers of this blog have asked me: donde ahora esta el, Orlando Melendez? Well, the former 9th man of the Heels during the Guthridge era, after playing in Europe and South America, is now the first Puerto Rican member of the Harlem Globetrotters.   He may also be the first Tar Heel to play for the Trotters; need to get my intern on that bit of research.

As part of ESPN's coverage of Hispanic Heritage Month an article about Menendez is in this month's issue. 

Clear winner in the third debate

I thought Obama won the most recent debate, going away. Obama was solid - no big whoop - and did not make any mistakes, sounded and looked presidential and perhaps most importantly, took my advice from a few blogs back (Friday, October 7th, to be exact). 

McCain, on the other hand, was terrible. Even before the Joe the Plumber story started to unravel in yesterday's news cycle, his performance was horrible. He was angry, dismissive, petty - simply not very presidential. Whereas Obama has effectively used each debate to reassure swing voters that he is up to the challenge of being president, McCain's performances - and his selection of Sarah Palin - has driven swings and independents away in droves.

That is one theme of this election: swing voters have consistently reacted as expected, preferring the practical, anti-war, and not-too-ideological Democratic ticket over the ideological, evangelical Republican one.

Finally, Bob Scheiffer's question about the vice-presidential nominees, and the responses, tell the story of this campaign in a nutshell: Obama was a gentleman in discussing Palin and not take any cheap shots. Conversely, McCain acted like a complete asshole in talking about Biden. The swings responded to Obama's approach, not McCain's, in the last debate and will likely do the same on November 4th.

Great Win for the Heels Today

Great win for the Heels today against Notre Dame, 29-24.  Carolina trailed for most of the game but their defense repeatedly made big plays.  The Heels picked off 2 passes - one for a touchdown to start the second half and another big one late in the fourth quarter - and recovered two huge fumbles including one to end the game on their own 7 yard line.

For much of the game Notre Dame moved the ball with ease against the Heels, but all afternoon Carolina refused to break despite lots of South Bending against the Irish. 

Though the defense carried Carolina, the offense played well in the second half, including a nice drive to end the 3rd quarter than ended with Sexton diving in for the go-ahead touchdown to start the 4th.  

The Heels are now 5-1 with a head of steam as they head into the meat of their conference line up.   In fact, the rest of their games are all winnable.  Next week they travel to Charlottesville to play a suddenly hot Virginia team. The next two games are home games against Boston College and Georgia Tech, followed by a trip to Maryland, home against NC State before finishing the regular season at Duke.  Carolina has an outside shot at 11-1; how crazy is that?  At a minimum Carolina should win their three home games and at least one of their road games, so at worst should finish at 9-3.

Ellas Wins Too

Hellenic blue had a good day of football, too.  The opponent, Moldova, is hardly in the same class as Notre Dame but Greece dominated in winning 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Piraeus today.  Christeas had two goals, including one off a nifty pass out of a free kick, with Katsouranis (off an assist from my man Fanis Gekas) netting the other. 

Greece plays Switzerland on Wednesday in Athens.

McCain defends Obama

In an attempt to stem some of the hate-speech and vitriol his supporters have been spewing towards Obama, we saw the old 2000 John McCain today.  McCain-Palin rallies have increasing turned ugly, but here's some video of McCain urging his supporters to show some restraint (still, you hear some boos when he does). 

Ironic that the only time McCain has looked presidential in the last month is when he's defended his opponent.

Red Sox, Reputation and Right-wing hypocrisy

I don't know why I keep picking against the Red Sox.  As good as their pitching is, as solid as their line up is, their number one asset is they know how to win.  A professional operation through and through.  

Now last night was just one game, and the Rays demonstrated amazing comeback power in regular head-to-head match ups against the BoSox.  Down the stretch Tampa Bay played well in Fenway.  But winning last night in the Trop - a stadium I campaigned against, by the way, when I lived in St. Pete primarily due to the fact that they built it on a small toxic waste site, a former transfer station for dry cleaning fluids or something like that - is big for Boston. 

Lost in all the talk of Lester and Beckett was the fact that Matsuzaka had a great season in his own right, winning more games than any other Red Sox starter.  He was a dominant, shut down starter last night, the kind of clutch performance you want from a starter on the road.

Tonight's game is big for two reasons: to see if the Rays, especially their offense, can bounce back; and to see how healthy Beckett is.   Should be another good game.

I'm also being proven wrong by the Phillies-Dodgers series, though the Phillies are being patient before they unleash their offense.  The first six hitters in that line up are impressive, but I didn't expect them to overwhelm Billingsley like they did last night.   

Game one was a tense play off classic, the kind of game where one mistake can do a lot of damage.  On Thursday it did, and it cost Lowe and the Dodgers.  That said, I still love Rafael Furcal.  Why the Braves let him walk is beyond me.

Carolina Football Update

Brand image still goes a long way, which explains why I am so focused on Carolina's game today against Notre Dame.  Carolina is the higher ranked team, and is playing at home, but still feels like the underdog against a team with Notre Dame's reputation and history.  

That said, I hope we beat them badly. Doing so would go a long way in cementing the notion that Carolina football is legit, which in turn should really help with recruiting especially in state with NC State being kind of down but also regionally.

Conversely, a win over the Fighting Irish may give fans and alumni the false impression that the rehabilitation of the football program is complete, an assertion that I imagine Butch Davis would reject.  Realistically, I doubt that will happen; it's my impression that alumni like it when the football team is decent and respectable but don't get that invested in the program.

Election Update

Interesting to see how the mean-spirited crowds at Palin rallies became a story this week.  Sadly, it's explainable when you look at the right-wing echo chamber in this country, namely Fox News, talk radio and certain blogs and websites.  You just don't see that kind of anger on the left, for better or worse (obviously for the better, though it would have been nice to see so left-wing anger over invading the wrong country in response to the attacks of September 11th). 

Their anger reminds me, again, that right-wingers are less patriotic than left-wingers in my book. They are much more ideological than the left, and certainly more angry then left is too. This vitriol reminds me of Duke and Carolina fans.  Dookies seem to hate us much more than we hate them.  

As exhibit A, look at how the right treated John Kerry's military service.  Kerry volunteered for Vietnam - unlike President Bush - and unlike John McCain - who flew a bomber - Kerry was on a boat and on the ground fighting his war.  Again unlike McCain, he was responsible for a squad of men, saw those men die, and perhaps more importantly saw the people he killed.  In short, all the attributes Republicans laud about McCain that Kerry displayed were mocked and challenged.

One reason liberals stayed quiet in the run up to the war in Iraq five years ago was the consensus that as a nation we have to support our troops (of course, the other reason is the President lied, etc).  The hypocrites on the right did not afford John Kerry the same respect or courtesy four years ago.

Obama Won Last Night's Debate

Unlike two weeks ago, when I thought the two candidates tied, I thought Obama won the debate last night.   

He won in part because McCain actively lost it - he seemed testy all night including his now famous 'that one' quote, sounded frustrated, rambled at times, repeated talking points more than once, and in general did not look or act presidential.  

I'm not sure acting presidential in a debate is that big of a deal but it is to lots of voters, including swings.

Conversely, I think Obama had a number of good moments.  After a tepid first 10 minutes, I thought Obama was strong and confident the rest of the night.  I particularly liked his answer to the 'sacrifice' question when he talked about both energy policy and national service.  

Obama also did a good job in using the word 'Bush' in almost every answer.  It would be fun - maybe not fun, interesting - to see if Obama said 'Bush' as many times as McCain said 'my friends.'   Obama is going to win this election due to Bush and the economy.  That must drive Hillary crazy; she'd be in the lead now too, for the same reasons. 

Once again, Obama was good on the war.  McCain, on the other hand, was incredibly shaky.  He walked into it, saying Obama did not have the judgement on Iraq.  Obama pounced all over that one, and hit a home run in pointing out McCain's misreading of all things Iraq - wrong country to invade, greeted as liberators, etc.  Why did McCain attack Obama's judgement on Iraq?  That's playing on Obama home turf.

Obama also did a nice jujitsu on the "I don't understand" phrase.  McCain walked into that one, too.

Finally, I think McCain just does not get it when it comes to Iraq: the country is tired of that war, and no matter how much you talk about the surge, voters tune out anyone who talks about anything other than pulling our troops out or having an exit strategy.   There is no political gain in being pro-surge or staying the course, etc. in Iraq.

The war, along with Bush and the economy, all look good politically for Obama. No gaffes from Obama or Biden between now and November 4th will be key, obviously. But I also liked how Obama closed the debate, going back to his message of hope and promise.  The economy and the war take care of themselves, politically.  If I were advising Obama I'd strongly emphasize the hope/promise message between now and November 4th. 

Baseball Playoffs; Ayers Redux

After batting .750 - going 3 for 4 in picking the Phillies, Dodgers, and Rays - in the first round I'm feeling a bit cocky. I don't know why I picked against the Sox; those guys are professionals with underrated pitching led by an underrated manager in Terry 'Don't Call Me Tito' Francona.  Managing a team expected to win, in a region and nation consumed with the Sox, plus replacing arguably your best hitter in mid-season is quite an accomplishment. Got to give it up for Francona.  And I shouldn't have picked against them. 

That said, I'm picking against them again.  The Rays look like a team of destiny, getting nice starting pitching, great work from the bull pen, and timely hitting.  Plus they are too young to know better, and they're playing in a terrible stadium that gives them a home field advantage.  

I'm picking the Rays in 6.  

In the NL the Dodgers are the team to beat.  Their pitching is peaking at the right time; I love Lowe and Kuroda is as good a number three starter in the NL.  Though a tad shaky in the bullpen that starting pitching should nullify the Phils' considerable power.   

This will be a good, tense series of close games as the Dodgers pitch with precision and the Phillies patiently wait for balls to drive.  Look for Loney and Martin, the guys who hit around Manny, to once again lead the offense.   Dodgers in seven.

One More Thing 

As many of you know, over the weekend Sarah Palin accused Obama of 'palling around with known terrorists' in reference to Obama's acquaintance with former dumb-ass hippie Bill Ayers.  Of course, husband Todd used to be a member of the Alaska Independence Party, a party that favors Alaska's secession from the United States.  Kind of a wash.

Here's hoping that if McCain repeats that accusation, Obama answer's "You know who I pal around with - Robert Rubin, Warren Buffet, and Paul Volker, guys who know how to regulate Wall Street, create wealth, etc."  plus, "I was 8 years old at the time you old, old, old, old, and might I add real old man."

First Cheney, Now Palin

I don't have much to say about Bristol Palin's pregnancy.  Actually, I have two things to say.   One, is it just me or does it seem inappropriate for any parent to run for Vice President when they have a five-month old baby - with Down's or not - AND have a pregnant seventeen-year-old daughter who - if Palin is to believed - is also planning her wedding?  Not exactly putting her family first here, but I guess Mr. Palin is a HELL of a guy.

And two, Americans probably already do this, but we should always assume that holy rollers like Palin are hypocrites. First we had Cheney, who helps preside over a party that gay bashes every chance they get while having a lesbian daughter.  Now we have back to back vice presidential hypocrites with Palin's daughter vividly demonstrating that abstinence does not work.  As irresponsible as it is to go on the road campaigning while your country song lyrics family is at home,  it's almost more irresponsible to allow a 17-year-old carry a baby to term. 

Obama Picks the Heels

Two days after spending the day in Fayetteville, Barack Obama announced that he has Carolina winning the national championship on his bracket.  He also has Pitt in the final four, so two of his squads are from states with primaries looming.

Obama says that his pick of the Heels has more to do with Tyler Hansbrough than the North Carolina primary; sounds like sound reasoning to me. 

The Q Bandwagon

It's not just Carolina and Hellenic Blue Blog - the whole internet is on the Q bandwagon.

There is a nice piece at Insidecarolina.com on Q - http://northcarolina.scout.com/2/731074.html - that reminds us: "Thomas is averaging 7.7 points and 6.5 assists per game in Lawson’s absence, while connecting on 53.6 percent of his field goal attempts for the season. His on-court demeanor has changed dramatically from a seemingly overwhelmed backup to a smooth, calming presence as the Tar Heels ‘ starting point guard."

Ditto the Wilmington paper with their story on no longer doubting Thomas at http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080221/NEWS/802210418/1005/NEWS