Tuesday, July 09, 2002

Dems Do Their Thing: The DNC faxes must smell like burning rubber today. The papers are peppered with the spin the democrat Pony-Hiding-machine has cranked up - hoping, in McAuliffe-driven desperation , to blame Wall Street's current melt-down on the Bushies. Here is the second of two classic examples. Anyone watching W's press conference late yesterday knows that NBC's David Gregory got the first wet copy.

Beige Like Me: Following up on Michael Jackson's street performance which was the career-changing equivalent of self-immolation in the public square, Roger Friedman at Fox News Online does the numbers and discusses what was really behind Jackson's disastrous stunt. It only made it more delicious that he pulled a pop-eyed Al Sharpton into the fire and forced him to spend all day Monday distancing himself from this weird little singer.

Happy B'Day to the Rumster: Newly minted TV Star Donald Rumsfeld turns 70 years old today and will spend it in an arm and hand cast after surgery to correct an arthritic condition. This will further control his ongoing temptation to flip the one finger salute to the pesky press.

It's Him Again: Gore Vidal, not yet exhausted from his handbag duel with writer Dominick Dunne over who has the more withering comeback, has now taken on Bush. But, look at it this way: if we didn't have people like this we'd have to depend on Harvey Pitt for yucks.

LDotter Note: If you only have room for one thing to read in your vacation luggage, pick up Michael Kelly's Atlantic Monthly. We call it Kelly's because thanks to him the dusty, fusty, old mag is not only, at last, readable but remarkable. The July/August edition has a near book-length look at the whole WTC disaster and contains information you've never read before. American Ground - Unbuilding the World Trade Center is a prize-winning effort and not to be missed. There is much more as well but start with this piece and enjoy. This is not your father's Atlantic Monthly.

-Your Steadfast LComStaff