West Wing at the Democratic National Convention

NY Magazine has a feature with former West Wing writer Lawrence O’donnell Jr. writing a treatment for a hypothetical behind the scenes showdown between Hillary Clinton and Obama.

Barack: Hillary, I care about two things exactly as much as you do: the party and getting the nomination.
Hillary: You mean you don’t give a shit about the party and you’d kill to get the nomination?
Barack (smiles): You wearing a wire? (beat) You know, all that ugly ink you’ve been getting all summer about destroying the party, handing the election to McCain—there’s only one person who can make that go away. Me. That brilliant acceptance speech you’re expecting me to give can put you back where you belong—hero of the Democratic Party—can put your husband back where he belongs—respected statesman. Nothing else can.
Hillary: Winning can.
Barack: If you got the nomination, you’d lose to McCain and the Clintons become the official destroyers of the Democratic Party. End of story. Have fun in the Senate after that.
Hillary: C’mon, I can beat McCain. I can—
Barack: Hillary, your negative is at 49 percent. You have the highest negative of anyone who’s ever run. You cannot possibly win in November.

I kind of wish there was some real action like this for us to watch.

Fair and balanced

There is nothing wrong with this image.

Links for Feb 29, 2008

• Since I’ve been growing my hair out for a year, I should have figured the new shit would be not washing your hair. I might reconsider, though, considering how cracked out this woman looks after not washing her hair for eleven years.

• So there’s a reason why we have leap years. Ignoring the Gregorian calendar system, the Chinese are throwing in an extra leap month. That’s a helluva lot of extra time.

• They’re running out of ways to compare the two candidates: Is Obama a Mac and Clinton a PC? I will admit, though, Hillary’s is much more sterile and boxy then Obama’s site, which has a bit more openness and web 2.0 flavor to it. A good choice of font by Obama’s campaign as well; it strikes a similar chord to his slogan.

• A new trailer for Iron Man is out, and damn does it look good.

• Gizmodo reviews Apple’s new external hdd and wireless router, Time Capsule.

• The New York Times report on the ‘Venus and Serena Williams’ of golf, Ginger and Robbi Howard. His father says, “My philosophy, which my kids understand, is that they play the best of the best so they’ll know who they are. Earn what you get. It’s O.K. to be on TV and all, but you have to prove your worth, too.”

Yes we will (plagiarize)

A report over at the NYTimes discusses Hillary’s recent mud-slinging over alleged plagiarism that took place in Obama’s recent speech:

As Mrs. Clinton campaigned in Wisconsin in advance of the primary there on Tuesday, one of her top advisers, Howard Wolfson, convened a conference call with reporters to accuse Mr. Obama of plagiarizing Mr. Patrick’s remarks from a 2006 campaign appearance.

Mr. Wolfson said it was important for voters to know that Mr. Obama’s rhetoric, at least in this instance, was not original.

It seems like she’s really turned on the machine and is churning out a lot of FUD. You can watch the interview with Governor Duval Patrick and his thoughts on the alleged “stolen words”:

well, look, i hear that. it’s a little — it’s not like he’s writing a law review article or a book or something like that. he should have credited me with the use of two words. meaning those words, just words. i suppose he should have credited the declaration of independence, and john f. kennedy and franklin roosevelt whom i quod as well. these are iconic phrases. the point is, we have a candidate here, barack obama with terrific ideas, with more law making experience than hillary clinton as fine a candidate she is but pe has added vision to motivate people to reach for it. that’s a terrific asset to bring to bear.

Ultimately, you can assess Hillary’s accusation of plagiarism by watching her recent speeches. Don’t worry, you’ll be cringing by the first 30 seconds.

Race or gender

A notable observation on Hillary and Obama by The Wall Street Journal:

Mrs. Clinton is stoking the idea that Mr. Obama is too soft to withstand the dread Republican attack machine. (I nod in tribute to all Democrats who have succeeded in removing the phrase “Republican and Democratic attack machines” from the political lexicon. Both parties have them.) But Mr. Obama will not be easy for Republicans to attack. He will be hard to get at, hard to address. There are many reasons, but a primary one is that the fact of his race will freeze them. No one, no candidate, no party, no heavy-breathing consultant, will want to cross any line–lines that have never been drawn, that are sure to be shifting and not always visible–in approaching the first major-party African-American nominee for president of the United States.

Don’t forget about her cackle, either.