I wonder if he'll admit to having a drinking problem soon.

All the cool kids are doing it.

Has it always been the case that winning politics hinges on mudslinging and scandal?

Don't know whether it's hinged on it, but mudslinging and scandal have long been popular weapons in the American political arsenal.

Huh, so it could really just be that ironic. I wonder if he'll admit to having a drinking problem soon.

Yeah. Wonkette claims they may give a prize to the person who has the closest guess as to when Haggard checks himself in for treatment.

It's ironic that we profess to choose honorable, thoughtful and knowledgable leadership and yet...either no one with these qualiities is willing/able to withstand the lifestyle of the politician or we consistently vote for the ones who can dig up the most dirt about the other side.

eta: I recognize the reductionist in me with this statement. I just wish I had the opportunity to throw my support behind someone who concentrates on the important issues and can make positive progress.

I wonder if he'll admit to having a drinking problem soon.

nah, he'll claim a drug addiction. He may even claim that he was so desperate to get drugs that he "did things he shouldn't have"

I heard a kind of incredible political ad this morning. Alan Hevesi, the NY State Controller, got busted for having his state driver drive his wife around or something (I don't know the details because I don't care), so suddenly the Republican challenger is doing much much better in the polls. So Hevesi has been doing ads against the guy, naturally ("He couldn't manage a 12 person office! Do you think he can manage our zillion dollar state pension system??"), but this new one was just Hevesi apologizing. He's like, "I did something stupid. I'm sorry. But it was one stupid thing against my whole record. Really, I was stupid. And I'm sorry. Vote for me!"

The question is, was he abused by a Catholic priest when he was an altarboy? Because THAT excuses everything.

I'm a firm believer that anyone who vehemently tells others what NOT to do is often secretly engaged in whatever behavior outrages them the most.

Moral Majority, my ass.

That's what I was thinking too shrift, even though it seems wrong in the "it shouldn't be an issue" sense.

That's what I thought, but when I Googled. According to Clark County:

"A Coroner Inquest is the fact-finding procedure that takes place anytime an individual dies at the hands of law enforcement. The purpose of this hearing is to publicly bring forth all of the details surrounding the incident causing this death, as described in Clark County Code 2.12. The panel of designated jurors hears the testimony of pertinent witnesses and, based on this information, reaches a verdict determining if the death was justifiable, excusable, or criminal."

So even though it shouldn't be an issue, Greg will still have to go to a hearing and say he killed a kid, which I imagine isn't a cakewalk.

The Hevesi thing is kind of funny. He mishandled money, promised to pay back money that he took for personal use and didn't pay back the whole thing, refuses to leave the race and no one will endorse his opponent.

D'Amato was making fun of his "Columbia PhD, whoo-woo!" commercial on NY1 the other night. (I watched at lot of NY1 while I was home sick.)