The Chris Moeller Archives

A new "Shift" approaching

Vanity Fair's Jim Windolf has up a clip of one of Jay Leno's first appearances on Letterman, during those more innocent days of the early 1980s when Jay was one of the real "attitude" comedians working the circuit. Leno's contract with NBC Universal runs out late next year, but might we see "The Chin" take his act to ABC or Fox when Conan O'Brien is handed the reins of the Tonight Show? Bill Carter, author of "The Late Shift," seems to believe we will. Attempting a Letterman-like change of networks, though, would really put the comic's ratings metal to the test, if not his entire legacy in late night. If Leno is truly the king of the late night ratings, then we'll only know it once he takes his act-- like Letterman-- to a network that doesn't already have a tradition established in late night comedy.

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John Dickerson at Slate wrote this week about how "taking umbrage" is the latest preferred strategy of campaign consultants. Democrats will attempt to make as much political hay as possible of the right-wing demogogues' use of Barack Obama's middle name (Hussein) in campaign speech and literature. Will Obama be "swift-boated" because of his father's Muslim upbringing? The only person that can allow it to happen is Obama himself-- and the "taking umbrage" strategy doesn't work any political miracles. Ask John Kerry. This is another example of how Democratic party operatives demand solidarity in their efforts in getting a candidate elected, but then in reality, don't have a clue about how to actually do that. Obama is facing an uphill battle as it is in proving his political toughness.

Already, he's gone to great pain in pointing out that his father was "a confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, the implication then being that his multicultural upbringing really is a political liability. The campaign labeled it "fear mongering" recently when "embarrassing" pictures of Obama in Muslim dress surfaced, likely sourced either by the Clinton or McCain political camps. Jesus, they're sissies. My advice: Own your name, Barack. The eight words I'm waiting to hear from you during a televised debate-- "I'm proud of my name and my heritage."

Call it the Tao of Sinatra.

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So the Texas Democratic Caucus system, established by said Democrats, is unfair, is it?

What's unfair in Texas is that for independent candidates to even get their name on the ballot, they have to gather signatures from 1% of the total percentage of Texas voters, none of whom (60,000-plus) can be registered Democrats or Republicans, and the independent campaigns have only a 60 day window in which to gather the signatures. Elected Democrats and Republicans put those "arcane" rules in place.

In Texas, only 32% of the population bothers to vote.

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In twins news, Jennifer Lopez has given birth to "the fake kind," that is, a fraternal set. (Identical twins, conversely, are the real deal.) From now on, when you hear people refer to Jennifer Lopez's "set of twins," this is likely what they're talking about.

posted by CM @ 2:44 PM