It will help the Democratic Party overall if Obama loses.

I think. Do you agree?
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	I can't answer until I hear people bat the concept around in the comments.
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The Crack Emcee doesn't buy Romney's "claim to humility, and that condescending-as-hell 'sad eyes' routine..."

"... with the slightly tilted head and wan grin, is as grating today as ever - four years of that is going to be excruciating - as are the cutaways to his wife, who has the eyes of a bald eagle deciding what chunk of flesh to tear next."

I'm extracting a description that made me laugh from what is more or less a positive review of Romney's speech.

"Can You Make It Through This Post Without Crying?"

I was tough, but #13 got to me. And the parrot, now that I think of it.

"International and intercultural marriages are the quickest way to bring about an ideal world of peace."

"People should marry across national and cultural boundaries with people from countries they consider to be their enemies so that the world of peace can come that much more quickly."

Wrote Sun Myung Moon. Dead now, at the age of 92.

Remember Moonies? I remember being accosted on a daily basis by these suspiciously friendly people — back in the 1970s in New York City.

"A New Guide to the Democratic Herd."

Illustrated with a cute animation of blue donkeys.

And here's a corresponding animation with red elephants.

Politico identifies "5 landmines" for the Democratic convention.

#1 is: Bill Clinton. 

I'd say Obama should not trust Bill Clinton. Hillary has too much to gain from an Obama loss.

The other 4 are:

2. "Rebuilding 'You didn’t build that.'" (Especially with Elizabeth Warren as a prime-time speaker. She's "a political novice who will be making her debut on the national stage," and whose personal goal is winning in Massachusetts, and thus in being much more liberal than the average American.)

3. "Actual class warfare." (The Occupy protesters, who might have once seemed to be boosting the Democratic Party, are taking it to the streets of Charlotte. What if there's something 1968-ish?! And then there's just the danger of various convention-goers saying something non-mainstream.)

4. "Not a sell-out audience." (And with extra tickets being given away, there's an unusual danger of hecklers and protesters.)

5. "Can Charlotte cut it?" It's pretty small and ill-equipped for a city hosting an event this size.

"Orange Bowling On The Romney/Ryan Planes."

Orange bowling, a means of communication.

Cosmo's "9 Ways to Look Even Hotter Naked."

Even hotter. Here's my favorite one:

So, this is gonna sound wacky, but we swear it works. When you're in the bathroom getting ready, say to yourself, "peas and carrots." Photographer Chris Clinton uses this technique on models to amp up the sultry vibe during a shoot. Something about the way your lips move when forming those words feels so pouty and sensual.

Presumably, naked people look hotter crazy.

The insulated tent cabins are killing people.

Deer mice — carrying hantavirus — nest between the double walls. 2 have already died, and 10,000 are at risk.

"Incumbents tend to win presidential elections, but second-term presidents tend to be disappointing."

"Mr Obama’s first-term record suggests that, if re-elected, he could be the lamest of ducks. That’s why he needs a good answer to the big question: just what would you do with another four years?"

"Fornicating with the help."

That's one way to put it.

UPDATE: "Seal would like to clarify that he was not implying his wife was cheating while they were together, but he was merely pointing out that their separation and divorce are not yet final and they are indeed still legally married."

"I bet every one of the students passed out in the bathroom with their pants around their ankles..."

"... thought, 'I’ll be in the top ten percent of my class, no problem.'"

Summer camp for "kids who don’t fit into society, gender-wise."

Founded by Nick Teich, identified by the Boston Globe as "a social worker who is pursuing a doctorate in social policy from Brandeis."

“Before camp, I was really shy and not confident,” said Gabriel, 15, who has attended camp all three sessions it has been open. “Now, I feel less alone and way more confident.... Here, I realized there isn’t anything wrong with me and there were people like me,” he said. In fact, transgender topics don’t come up all that often at camp, he said. “It’s like it’s not even there, but if we want to talk, we feel totally safe talking to each other.”...

Damien Gabriel, like some of the others, had been on hormone blockers to keep the estrogen at bay and last year started taking testosterone. Two months ago, he had chest surgery to remove breast tissue; he also had a hysterectomy, “which really hurt.”...

The girls tend to wear bikini tops with shorts or little skirts, while the boys wear knee-length swim trunks but leave their T-shirts on. Some, Teich said, wear a binder to flatten their chests. The few who have had chest surgery display bare chests — with horizontal scars.

Romney 48%, Obama 44%.

Rasmussen's daily tracking poll, showing the post-convention bounce. It's a 3-day poll, so it's only 2/3 post-convention. It will be interesting to see what we get tomorrow. And, of course, the Democrats are about to launch their convention. They get a bounce too, and perhaps we'll bounce back into a tie. But shouldn't an incumbent have a much better head start going into September if he's going to win?

The NYT tries to figure out what portion of Barack Obama is Valerie Jarrett.

A fascinating long article by Jo Becker:

“She is the single most influential person in the Obama White House,” said one former senior White House official, who like many would speak candidly only on condition of anonymity.

“She’s there to try to promote what she understands to be what the president wants,” the former aide said. “Ultimately the president makes his own decisions. The question that is hard to get inside of, the black box, is whether she is really influencing him or merely executing decisions he’s made. That’s like asking, ‘Is the light on in the refrigerator when the door is closed?’ ”

Makes her sound like Karl Rove, right? But as the NYT puts it: "If Karl Rove was known as George W. Bush’s political brain, Ms. Jarrett is Mr. Obama’s spine."

“He’s got a real mess in the West Wing,” said one close presidential adviser. “Valerie is effectively the chief of staff, and he knows, but he doesn’t know. She’s almost like Nancy Reagan was with President Reagan, but more powerful.”...

It is not so much that she is Mr. Obama’s liberal id. Rather, her voice is often the one at the table reminding everyone of the president’s aspirational “first principles,” that he “didn’t just come to the White House to hold the office, but to make change,” [according to Anita Dunn, who was the president’s communications director].

Specifics: 1. Jarrett was responsible for encouraging Kathleen Sebelius to go ahead with the contraception mandate in the health insurance regulations; 2. She once "order[ed] a drink from a four-star general she mistook for a waiter"; 3. She snubbed George Soros and may be be responsible for his "largely sitting on the sidelines this presidential election," 4. She insulted Cornel West (after he whined about not getting invited to the inauguration), letting people know, as he put it: "one, I was crazy, and two, I was un-American."

#1 is the most important revelation, and the NYT begins and ends the article with it:

Urban Dictionary's Word of the Day: laugh.

"A smile having an orgasm."

Dude1: Oh dude look at that smile it's totally orgasming
Dude2: That's called a laugh...