The Other McCain

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

OK, It’s $1,179 One-Way to Auckland …

. . . if I book now for an early February departure from Dulles International, and the connection via Air New Zealand to Bauerfield International Airport in Porta Vila, Vanuatu, would be another $400, so that my basic cost to get there would be roughly $1,600. Expedia offers a low rate of $147 a night […]

8,000,000: Fear and Loathing on Vegas Debate Media Credential Deadline Day

Later today we will record our 8 millionth visitor to the blog. We got our first 3.3 million at the old Blogspot site (March 2008-December 2009) and, since switching to the custom domain with WordPress software in January 2010, have added another 4.7 million visits. We recently recorded our best month to date with 339,343 […]

The Herman Cain Story

A new Pew Poll shows the astonishing surge for Herman Cain in the GOP field since the Sept. 22 debate in Orlando. Cain trailed Rick Perry by four points Sept. 22-25, but by Oct. 1-4 Cain led Perry 18-15, while front-runner Mitt Romney softened slightly, declining from 25% to 22% in the span of little […]

When It Rains, It Pours

Herman Cain Set to Win S.C. Debate — headline, Wednesday, May 4 Things keep happening that nobody but me predicted, and predictions that were ignored when I made them are forgotten when they come true. A commenter on a previous post said, “The whining is unbecoming,” to which I replied, “An admission of failure is […]

Looking Up From Here, It’s Barely Possible to See the Bottom of ‘Down’

BREAKING: South Carolina to hold primary on January 21 A friend sent me that on Twitter and then, via Memeorandum, I saw this: Nevada Republicans decided Saturday to move up the GOP presidential caucuses to January to preserve the state’s early voting spot, although it will cost the Silver State half its delegates at the national […]

Unlike Alex Pappas …

. . . Mark Block never returns my phone calls: The man who talked Herman Cain into running for president, and plotted a strategy that has the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO surging in the GOP presidential race, knows both highs and lows. Mark Block was the first 18-year-old ever elected to office in Wisconsin when […]

No Joy (McCann) in Mudville

Several commenters have been wondering why I haven’t blogged about Herman Cain’s victory in yesterday’s straw poll. Others have tried to bait me into writing about Rick Perry’s “N–rhead” hunting camp, or Cain’s comments about that controversy. Short answer: Because there is no point in my doing so. I’m not Michael Barone or Jennifer Rubin. […]

Like Islanders Mystified by Lack of Cargo, Blogger Weeps at Altar of the ‘Lanche God

Ceremonial cross of John Frum cargo cult on the island of Vanuatu Something has gone drastically wrong, and I can’t figure out what it is. About a month ago, as Wombat noted in his Aug. 28 FMJRA round-up, we got no fewer than six Instalanches in the span of a single week. There are bloggers […]