CNN/YouTube Democratic Debate

Tonight was the democratic debate on CNN. They tried an “unprecedented” format using YouTube clips of ordinary Americans asking questions. What a terrible mistake. It looked unprofessional, and the candidates did not look presidential responding to such unimportant questions as “Who is your favorite teacher?” I don’t give a crap. Is this Miss America or a presidential primary election? The YouTube format made the questions confusing, distracting, and overshadowed the candidate’s answer. The format also made it easier for candidate’s to pander to the lowest denominator, rather than articulate a distinguishing argument. The only thing more uncomfortable than trying to understand the questions was watching CNN’s Anderson Cooper interpret them.

The Big Winners:
Hillary Clinton – Despite her laughable assertion that she did not support big government Hillary won the debate. She overwhelmingly looked the most confident and her answers shaped the responses of the other candidates. She didn’t frame the debate; she was the debate.

Joe Biden – Biden performed very well, and I think should have gained the most ground. I have no idea if this can cause any momentum for his campaign, but he should celebrate his performance. He was confident in his positions, and aggressive in his message. He seemed very knowledgeable about Iraq policy and had Governor Bill Richardson on the ropes.

The Big Losers:
Barack Obama – I don’t understand Barack Obama’s appeal. The only thing I can chalk it up to is the democrats have been waiting for a marketable black candidate to atone for white guilt. People think he is visionary and speaks in grand terms. I say he doesn’t answer the question. He also looked startled every time he had to respond to a question. Senator Obama you are a front runner! Expect every question!

John Edwards – A very, very, very poor performance. He seemed apologetic for all of his answers and is not worth anymore space on this post.

I hope the Republican debate (also in the YouTube format) goes better.

Andrew, BAMF

For any of you wondering what my roommate/cousin has been up to in Oklahoma...

Hot Fuzz

A theater where I am working over the summer just opened up. The theater was showing older movies for a dollar with dollar popcorn! The movie I chose to see was Hot Fuzz which was released earlier this year. This film gets funnier every time I see it and I was delighted for the chance to see it on the big screen again. This British comedy does its best to spoof cop action flicks and absolutely succeeds. I laughed the entire length of this movie. If you can make counting change funny in a movie, you did something right! This movie is made by the same cast that created Shaun of the Dead. Both films share an edgy and fast paced filming style. You can also catch several actors from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film. The DvDs should be out now. Buy it, rent it, see it.

Score 1 for Liberty

In a 5-4 Opinion, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling allowing anti abortion ads to be run 2 months before an election. This is a chink in the McCain-Feingold bill (see earlier rant) and supports free speech. Opponents said the ruling, unfairly allows for individuals, groups, and corporations to influence elections. Imagine that? People having the right to influence elected Representatives and voters with speech... Where have I heard that before?

But Chief Justice Roberts said, "Discussion of issues cannot be suppressed simply because the issues also may be pertinent in an election. Where the First Amendment is implicated, the tie goes to the speaker, not the censor."

Do not rejoice just yet. As of now, people still have their first amendment rights suspended before elections. Thank you John McCain. When will the Court give the people all of the first amendment back? I could just spit...

Spore

Will Write has been working for awhile on a revolutionary new game called "Spore." The premise of the game is that you evolve a creature from a single celled organism to an all powerful-universe traveling race. It seems Mr. Write is trying to adapt to the monstrous scale of today's games. Classic games (with smaller textures, lower frame rates, and simpler concepts) could be programed by a handful of dedicated workers. Now, because of their complexity, games require buildings worth of programmers, designers, testers, voice actors, and others all working together. Video game budgets now include millions of dollars in development costs alone. Write is hoping to ease that with a revolutionary new game style. You, the player, create the characters. You create the enemies. You populate the worlds. The designers just give you the tools to do this. Spore's revolutionary AI and game physics learn how to make your creature walk with the legs you create for him. That is just the start. The game interprets your creatures physical make up to decide how it will mate, eat, hold items, fight, dance, and build. The creature editor seems intuitive to use and Write's team has gone through great lengths to make the vehicle and building editors operate similarly. But how do you populate the game world? Well it is not just you. Every creature you, your friend, me, and your mom make in the game goes into an online database. "Spore" will then examine your world and populate it with creatures other players have made. "Spore" is capable of making complex ecosystems with user made content. Write, creator of Sim City, The Sims, and other successful games, continues his tradition of making open ended games. There is no final victory. You progress you creature through different stages of development as fast as you want. The final stage which gives you the ability to travel the universe, terraform dead planets, and experiment on native life has been described as a "sandbox mode." By playing all stages in the game, you should learn how to manipulate it as a god race. I for one am excited about this game, but don't get your hopes up. The game is not set for 2007 release and the estimated release date continues to be pushed back.

Vote-Smart

I was poking around my good friend's blog, TheCommonVirtue.com, and found this Vote-Smart.org link in his tools section. It is actually pretty powerful. If you look at the presidential contendors you can see republican, democrat, and indepent candidates as well as those that are in the race and those that are potentially running. There are summaries of their bios and organized surveys showing political views on a number of issues. They even have voting records. You can see the very groups they support and how often they vote with their interests. Very cool...

Thompson Tops Republican ‘08 Poll

*These results are from the latest Rasmussen Poll.

Thompson: Thompson is unapologetic. He knows what he believes and knows how to aggressively fight for it. Republicans have been caught up in this compassionate conservative nonsense! Conservativism is compassion. Thompson is willing to take it to political enemies and run on principles. At the same time, this outsider shows a great political awareness. Rather than jump into a race where he would have to share the debates with 10 contenders he does interviews alone on the news networks. This is probably why his poll numbers are so high without officially getting into the race or running ads, but there is more to him. He has written essays rallying the conservative base in a number of online publications. Thompson seems like a man who might lead a movement. Is he Regan? No one is Regan. How sad is it that we have no conservative to point to in the last 25 years? We need to learn from Regan, but it will doom us to continue to live in the past. My only complaint with Thompson is that I want to know more about him.

Guiliani: I don’t care what his stance on abortion is! I am sick of hearing him defend himself. He believes what he believes. What the hell does it have to do with being President? He plans on appointed conservative judges to the Supreme Court. The President does not make the abortion law of the land. The Supreme Court stole that from congress. What I do know is that Rudy has shown to be a fiscal conservative and tough on crime. His record can back this up even as a former mayor of liberal New York City. On top of that, he will be aggressive in the war on terror. He was America’s Mayor on 9/11 and maybe he might become her President. Guiliani is articulate and would do well expressing himself in office. It has yet to be seen on whether he can motivate the conservative base, but his polling is strong against Democrat and Republicans alike.

Romney: Romney seemed to have a lock on the early conservative battle cry. The former governor of Massachusetts was very popular and continues to raise boatloads of money. He has the necessary private sector credentials as a successful CEO and is credited for his great work during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He has been firm in his combating of crime and support charter schools, but I do think Thompson has stolen a lot of Romney’s thunder. Thompson lacks the inconsistent past. Romney has been accused of flip-flopping on abortion and gay rights. To make matters worse, the media continues to bring up his Mormon religion. I think Romney could be a powerful candidate, but he must exercise a few demons from his campaign.

McCain: I would love to think McCain is doing poorly because the base hates him almost as much as I do. Sometimes I feel he has done more to damage the Republican party than a Democrat ever could. Many have not forgiven him for a brutal campaign in 2000 against the then governor Bush. Straight Talk Express my ass! McCain is a Washington insider who maneuvers his positions on media pandering not conviction. He limited the freedom of speech with the (what should be obviously unconstitutional) McCain-Feingold Act. The Bill of Rights states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech…” How the heck then does McCain get to tell us, the people, when and how we pay for political ads? It was supposed to take the money out of politics. Yea that worked great… This is only one of many ways McCain has shown that he is a RINO and does not deserve the party’s nomination. However, the American public’s memory is short. McCain was still a top candidate for the Republican nomination because of his political experience, name recognition, and media savvy. I was never worried though, because I knew it would only be a matter of time in the primary campaign before he showed his true colors and commit campaign suicide. Thank you immigration bill! That being said, even McCain would be a better President than any leading Democrat contender because of his steadfast support of the war. Thank God his numbers are falling, because it was aggravating my gag reflex, the idea that I might vote for him.

On an aside note, I do not mean to assume Thompson has no chinks in his armor. He supported McCain-Feingold, and has made varying statements on abortion. Not a single candidate agrees with me on anything, but I think Thompson has some real potential. I want to learn more about him and see how he stacks up against his contenders.