All the propaganda that's fit to print, etc.

You can always count on the New York Times to take exactly the opposite position when discussing Republicans or their actions as they do when discussing Democrats r their actions. Contrast their virulent attacks on Sarah Palin, equal parts People Magazine and Mother Jones, with their lead editorial on July 3, 1984 after the VP nomination of Geraldine Ferraro.

Where is it written that only senators are qualified to become President? . . . Or where is it written that mere representatives aren't qualified, like Geraldine Ferraro of Queens? . . . Where is it written that governors and mayors, like Dianne Feinstein of San Francisco, are too local, too provincial? . . . Presidential candidates have always chosen their running mates for reasons of practical demography, not idealized democracy. . . . What a splendid system, we say to ourselves, that takes little-known men, tests them in high office and permits them to grow into statesmen. . . . Why shouldn't a little-known woman have the same opportunity to grow?

Yes, for the Times, a woman having been a governor and mayor is a splendid qualification…if she’s a Democrat. And a little-known woman should have the opportunity to grow as VP…unless she’s a Republican.

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The thing that stands out about the camera shots of convention protesters this week is how many of them wear some form of mask. Are they ashamed of what they are doing, a la the old hooded KKK, or are they just good old-fashioned cowards? I suspect that it’s both, but we’ll never know since they all will be deathly afraid of addressing the question.

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Vikings safety Darren Sharper loves him some him: “I’m like a fine wine, a Cabernet-Merlot-Shiraz blend. It can do a lot of things. It gets better as you open it up and let it get out there and air out, filtrate, do all those things. I don’t even need a decanter. Just let me go out there and run. Pour me in your mouth, suck it up and let it run.”

No thanks D, I’d rather have a shot of AnnaLynne McCord.

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I’m stunned to hear that Palin’s teleprompter broke about halfway through her acceptance speech. She certainly did not miss a beat, pretty impressive when doing a lengthy portion of a speech mostly from memory (the occasional peek down to a paper copy could help as an outline, but that’s about it).

Since the major topic among serious observers this week has been the comparison of Palin’s experience and fitness for office to Omaba’s, this is significant (to the point people will hear about it, obviously the elite media will try to suppress it). Her ability to adjust to adversity on the fly is impressive, if not exactly enough to qualify her to be president.

And it contrasts with the top of the opposing ticket, which also features somebody not qualified to be president but who doesn’t do quite as well on his feet. Obama is one of the more brilliant speakers I have ever seen in front of a teleprompter, one might even call him Brokawian. His problem comes when he steps away from the teleprompter, at which point he makes Dan Quayle look like Socrates.

McCain is, of course, the opposite – he is uncomfortable delivering prepared text, and superb speaking off the cuff. Palin looks to be brilliant at both, and Biden is entertaining for his sheer unpredictability, kind of a political version of Kristin Chenoweth.

This election could end up being decided by how successful Obama is in trying to avoid any town-hall meeting style debate where he will have to think and speak spontaneously, as opposed to McCain’s success in avoiding an string of debates where the answers can be entirely scripted.

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I knew Isaac Bruce had been around a while, but was still shocked to read that as a rookie he played in Anaheim with teammate Jackie Slater and under coach Chuck Knox.

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Detroit’s criminal mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, has resigned. The Detroit Free Press account is a classic of the genre of political scandal stories in that it does not, at any point, mention Kilpatrick’s party affiliation. The practice of trying to hide party affiliation in stories on Democrat scandals while putting it in the headline or opening sentence in Republican scandals is so common in the elite media that it’s a blogosphere game: Name That Party.

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Children, do not try this at home.