The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Madness Beneath the Palms

Posted on | January 28, 2012 | 12 Comments

NAPLES, Fla.
After driving all night from Orlando, I arrived about 5 a.m. here at a gated community where Dan Collins’s father has a condo. “Guest of Doctor Collins,” I told the guard at the gate.

“Your name, sir?”

“McCain.”

The gate swung open and I cruised along the beautifull landscaped drive, up to the stuccoed building, let myself in — after some hassling with the combination on the keybox — and found myself in the living room, gazing out the glass doors at the sweeping view of the pond, with the golf course off in the distance. Posh.

Alas, no WiFi. But I was so tired it didn’t matter. Slept six hours, then got up about 1 o’clock today, went into town and finally found a Best Buys, where I paid $129 for a Verizon mobile WiFi card. The device-installation process, however, required technical skills exceeding my aptitude. So I just spent an hour on the phone with a tech-support to figure that out.

And that’s what I’ve done today. Kind of a wasted day so far. Mitt Romney will have a noon rally Sunday here in Naples, so I guess I’ll cover that. Then Rick Santorum has 4 p.m. speech in Punta Gorda, so I’ll go to that, too.

A new poll today shows a dead heat, but it’s an outlier, as every other recent poll shows Romney ahead by between 7 and 9 points. The intensity of the Newt-Mitt arguments is starting to annoy me, because people are acting as if the Florida primary is the end of the world, which it’s not. Howard Fineman at HuffPo tries to explain what’s gone wrong for Newt this past week, but I don’t know if Fineman’s any more insightful than anyone else.

Last night I talked to Cynthia Yockey and suggested she compile an aggregation of campaign headlines with a vintage pinup girl, which she has done. You should hit her tip jar. I did.

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Comments

12 Responses to “Madness Beneath the Palms”

  1. richard mcenroe
    January 28th, 2012 @ 5:06 pm

    $129?!

  2. smitty
    January 28th, 2012 @ 5:22 pm

    I keep telling him not to get the extended warranty, but will he listen to me? Noooooooo!

  3. Mike G.
    January 28th, 2012 @ 5:50 pm

    Ah yes…Punta Gorda. From Naples, take I-75 North to Tucker’s Grade, go west to US41, hang a right will take you right into downtown. You’ll cross over the Mylakka and Caloosahatchie rivers. A very nice drive. The west coast is much nicer and less congested than the east coast.

    If you need directions, that is.

  4. Did Newt Gingrich get one of his talking points from Cracked.com? — Cynthia Yockey, A Conservative Lesbian
    January 28th, 2012 @ 6:02 pm

    […] 1/28/12: My thanks to Stacy McCain for the link and donation! He’s on the road in Florida covering the run-up to the Republican primary there on Tueday, Jan. 31. Tweet How to Get […]

  5. Zilla of the Resistance
    January 28th, 2012 @ 6:08 pm

    I have had many completely wasted days since I have been ill, at least YOUR ‘wasted day’ resulted in something that will help you in the long run to do what you do. My wasted days have just been wasted asking my kids to “let mommy lie down for a bit…”
     
    Thank you for everything that you do, Stacy, if anyone deserves a day “wasted” it’s you, I suggest you have at least one more wasted day some time soon but do something either fun or restful with it, because God help us all if you ever burn out! 

  6. Anonymous
    January 28th, 2012 @ 7:34 pm

    Man, I JUST hit the tip jar yesterday and this is how you use it?  Don’t you have a smartphone that can turn into a hot-spot?  Dammit, Stacy.  Get with the times.

  7. Herman Cain Endorses Newt Gingrich : The Other McCain
    January 29th, 2012 @ 12:35 am

    […] Gingrich, but it was a two-and-a-half hour drive and I was too exhausted after a day spent coping with connectivity issues. So I took a four-hour nap, woke up and went to McDonald’s for a burger and fries.Sunday […]

  8. Anonymous
    January 29th, 2012 @ 12:39 am

    No, it costs $129 just for the prepaid WiFi unit at Best Buys, no extended warranty.

    Before I went there, I went to the Verizon store where they would sell me the card for $0.01, if I signed a two-year contract. No sale.

  9. Anonymous
    January 29th, 2012 @ 12:41 am

    Mommies have it much worse!

  10. Anonymous
    January 29th, 2012 @ 12:42 am

    Smartphone — that requires joining the Apple cult, which I have steadfastly refused to do.

  11. Dave
    January 29th, 2012 @ 3:17 am

    Stacy, I gave you a Blackberry in Annapolis that will function as an internet gateway just by plugging it into your laptop. Hell, the June Fabrics ap that does this was still on it when I gave it to you. Use it. We peons value your reporting skill and want you to be able to file stories from anywhere. That’s why I gave you the phone. Use the damn thing.

  12. Anonymous
    January 29th, 2012 @ 7:51 am

    Not so.  I’m no Apple-Head.  I have an Android.  My HTC Droid Incredible on Verizon is fantastic.  Get with the times, Stacy.  More to phones than iBones.