Anticipating a new era

Marty:
Hey there, Billy Boy, just wanted to be the first to congratulate you for entering the JD Drew Era …

 

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Marty:
Or rather the Nancy Drew Era. Bwahhaaha. I guess this makes Theo the Ned Nickerson of the oh so cute couple.

 

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Bill:
Jeez, Marty, as local chairman of the Hilary Clinton fan club and election office, I figured you'd have more important mattahs to attend to just now.

 

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Marty:
Just like you to try and change the subject, Callaghan, when I'm starting to sweat your ass over another round of Red Sox impotence.

 

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Bill:
C'mon, Marty, you know Obama has Hillary on the run.

 

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Marty:
Typical of a Red Sox fan to ignore the facts. Senator Clinton leads Senator Obama in every poll.

 

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Bill:
Yeah, but, Marts, the momentum has shifted. It's like Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS and Obama is the Red Sox.

 

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Marty:
Still clinging to the past, eh, Bill? Sad.

 

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Bill:
OK. Let me get this straight, Marty. You're the guy who's so Clinton blinded that you're available 24/7 for a little yodeling in Hillary's valley while you let Bill "order out for pizza" with your wife, but I'm the one who's living in the past?

 

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Bill:
It's time you step out of your insulah New York enclave for a moment, Marts, and realize the Clinton's are yestahday's news in politics. People want to move on, fresh faces, fresh ideas.

 

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Marty:
Obama's got baggage.

 

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Bill:
Wishful thinking, buddy. Get ready for Total Obamination in 2008. I smell a 50-state sweep.

 

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Comments

[Dave S.]

And here I was thinking that Marty would be an advocate for McCain.

So the Sox can dump Drew after three years if his shoulder blows. That's a pretty nice escape clause.

[h.b.]

No, Marty and Bill are both straight up, solid Dems, but, as you see, a bit different view of the the proper direction for the party.

Doug is your guy who might support McCain .

[Harwich Rich]

...and it will give Shill someone to pray with.

[yazbread]

If the Democrats are so foolish as to nominate Clinton, I vote for McCain and become the first member of my family to cast a Republican vote in 100+ years.

[Ryan with a capital "R"]

I love it when a Yankees fan accuses someone else of living in the past. Unintended irony is an untapped natural resource.

[anotherbetsy]

Marty's a Democrat? This is blowing my mind. Next you're going to tell me that Jason O. is really a sox fan.

[h.b.]

It is rumored that Marty was responsible for first getting Mrs. Clinton into a NY Yankees cap for photo ops back when she was first contemplating the move to NY and the Senate run.

He's got deep connections with the DNC.

[illegitimate son of dwight evans]

It is rumored that Marty was responsible for first getting Mrs. Clinton into a NY Yankees cap for photo ops back when she was first contemplating the move to NY and the Senate run.

He's got deep connections with the DNC.

Makes sense he lives in a moneybags condo high above the proles scurrying in the street.

I love it when a Yankees fan accuses someone else of living in the past. Unintended irony is an untapped natural resource.

Took the words right out of my mouth, Ryan.

[RPS]

What? No love for your MA Governor? Mitt is going to surpise a lot of naysayers next year!

[Kaz]

I woulda put Mahty on the Guilani payroll...

[Scott]

Sigh!

I guess everyone has already made up their mind about Clinton. Obama has little or no strong ideas or experience in foreign policy. What better preparation for president than 8-years in the Whitehouse.

Too bad Hilary will have to re-educate the public on what her positions are and what she really stands for. Obama has the advantage since many do not really know about him yet.

The latest poll has 47% or close to it saying that they will NEVER vote for her.

Not a good situation for the next president to inherit. Maybe let the Republicans win this one.

[h.b.]

Doug, the unabashed Republican among the group, is currently supporting Romney.

FWIW here's the political breakdowns of the group.

BILL - Classic Massachusetts Democrat.

MARTY - NYC "limosine liberal" Democrat.

DOUG - GOP all the way.

MIKE - Independent, but leans left.

STEVE - Independent, but leans right.

TARA - Dem.

CIRCLE - supports the Dem talking points for the most part, but never votes.

LISA - unknown

[Jason O.]

Marty's a Dem?

I understand it so clearly now: Marty is a high powered NY lawyer and a DNC "fixer," similar to but not quite to the level of Vernon Jordan. But he has the "juice" to make problems go away...he's tactically ruthless, but everyone seems to see him as a swell guy.

The contrarian in me says: Drew, .285/.370/.495, 27HRs, 450ABs

[Jason O.]

Obviously, Lisa is the anarchist offspring of Patricia Hearst.

She longs for the opportunity to burn it all down...

[mikeya2k1]

pitchers and catchers cant show up fast enough...GO RUDY G.

[Aaron]

I love it: Fox hears the rumors of Obama attending a "Madrassa," and reports it without bothering to check for themselves, along with a lot of breathless "will he side with the terrorists?" speculation. And then an actual news organization goes and, you know, investigates the school, because that's what news organizations are supposed to do, and finds out it wasn't a madrassa at all.

I don't yet know enough about Obama's stands on the issues to decide whether or not I'd support him, but just knowing that he throws Fox into such a tizzy automatically raises him several points in my estimation.

[Rob in CT]

I heard Bill bends to the left. (uh, Bill Clinton, that is...)

[h.b.]

Oh you mean "real" reporting like the kind Dan Rather did at CBS over the obviously faked National Guard documents?

Gotta love those actual news organizations.

[Aaron]

I mean "actual" as in "sends a reporter to investigate a story."

[h.b.]

Oh, OK, kinda like how all the reporters were sent to investigate the veracity of claims in the aftermath of Katrina that six bodies were found at the SuperDome and four at the Convention Center before those stories hit the news as being true?

Look, just busting balls that media failings are not something unique to Fox or something that doesn't encompass both sides of the political spectrum and beyond.

Indeed, if that were not the case, we wouldn't have dolts like Dan Shaughnessy and Murray Chass polluting the sports pages of major newspapers.

[Aaron]

media failings are not something unique to Fox

Point taken. In this particular case, my ire was raised by the fact that not only did Fox not bother to check the story before running it (which, as you point out, a lot of news orgs on both sides do) but then, on the basis of that unchecked story, they felt free to question Obama's patriotism and speculate on whether or not he'd side with the terrorists when the chips were down. It seemed over the line, even for them.

Anyway, on to lighter topics: what's the over/under on DL days for JD Drew this season? 30? 60?

[h.b.]

I'm with you that Fox News should be embarrassed by that. Definitely over the line.

FWIW, though, I don't have the antipathy for Fox News that most people do. Sure Hannitty and O'Reily are partisan assholes, but so are Mathews and Olberman.

I like to split my MSM news getting between NPR and Brit Hume. I like to think that between the two I get a decent balance of left/right p.o.v.

[mikeya2k1]

hey aaron maybe drew will spend as much time on the dl as beckett did last season with blisters... the scotch glass is half full sox fans

[Pond]

Between Hil and Obama, my money is for the white guy. Actually it amazes me how early this is all becoming so big. The election is 600 days away. Before a new President is elected, Clemens might actually retire. Before a new President takes office, it is mathematically possible for Peyton Manning to have a decent playoff record.

[jamesfrmmaine]

Awesome cartoon, but its tough watching the political battles spill into the forums.

Isn't the best and most obvious answer to never believe anything you see on tv or read in news until you verify it yourself?

Its called google people.

[Dave S.]

I just think of the news media as all being a bunch of assholes. I find that the key to gleaning news from the news is simply knowing the teller's angle. O'Reilly ends up being a good source because his own angle is so clear. Not that I bother so much with him, as his angle ends up taking up a lot of space and one ends up waving his hand at the screen asking him to get on with it.

My personal solution is to scan the headlines and read the editorials from both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times (except Maureen Dowd, who is unreadable to me). I get a nice diet of both the left and the right, and the cross reference allows for cancellation of ideology and distillation of information.

By the way, the whole "who's living more in the past" makes both Sox and Yankee fans alike look stupid. We're both living in the past: Boston Massacre II '06, Greatest Meltdown in History of 7-Game Series '04, Aaron-f'ing Boone '03, '96 - '00 Yankee Dynasty with '99 Fenway ALCS. Let's talk shit about the present, no?

[h.b.]

Speaking of politics, you see this?

Capitol idea: Senator Schilling?

[h.b.]

Oh and from the article there's this:

Schilling said in 2008 he’ll vote either for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whom he called a personal friend, or Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). “If they are both on the ticket it will be a tough choice,” he said.

See I think Bill Callaghan in today's strip is onto something. If a right wing Evangelical like Schilling likes Obama and is willing to vote for him, it'll be a landslide.

More and more it seems that everyone is falling under the Obama spell. Well, except Hillary.

[COD]

As long as we are discussing politics, and the Red Sox, let we weave the threads together with the idea of Senator Schilling.

[h.b.]

COD and I just "crossed streams" so to speak. :)

[COD]

Damn, need to type faster next time!

[Ryan with a capital "R"]

McCain. Blech. In SAT speak (for no good reason), McCain:Republicans::Hiliary:Democrats.

Neither is what they appear to be (which is to say, they are both further to the right than I've often seen them portrayed in the media). McCain is not a centrist. Hiliary is not a liberal.

[mikeya2k1]

trivia question... who was the last us senator elected to the presidency... we throw out truman cause he wasnt elected from the senate.

[mikeya2k1]

same thing with all gore

[Dave S.]

I doubt the Dems will ultimately nominate Hillary. I do think that the country is ready for a woman President, but I don't think that the Undecided Middle (which gave the Dems Congress this last election) is ready for a Clintonian White House once more. I also think that in a rare instance of the extreme left and the right convergence, the hardcore lefties who actually vote in the primaries will see it as Ryan does, and recognize Hillary's rightward drifting and nominate the person who, parodixically, is actually further away from but perceived as less threatening to the extreme right's agenda: Obama.

My parents, for example, represent a true form of reactionary Republican. They fancy themselves Goldwater Libertarians, but in fact simply hate liberals. From her early 90's forays into politics, they hate Hillary more than just about anything in this world. Never mind her centrist, even Liebermanesque rightward leanings: she is, to them, my frustrating atheist-Bush-loving parental conundrums, the devil incarnate. I know they are not alone in this assessment. Hillary as Presidential candidate is a surefire loss for the Democrats. Obama, not so much.

[Natalie]

Mikey- was it LBJ? That's the only one I recall...

[h.b.]

Agree that the country is ready for a woman president just as it's ready for a Black prez or a Latino prez or any combo therein.

Obama will hold his own with Christian Evangelicals because he speaks that lingo and is pretty much the most seriously "Christian" Democrat (as opposed to playing the religious card as a political means to an end) that I think I've seen in my lifetime. (Of course, Lieberman is a hardcore religious pol, but he's not a Christian.)

Agree, too, that H. Clinton is hated, really hated, but many on the right and the left.

With the caveat that it is very, very early to make any sort of predictions, I don't see how the GOP wins the White House in 08 unless every Dem candidate is revealed as a secret Al Queda operative or child molester or the like or unless Hillary is the nominee.

And I say that out of a weakness of the GOP field rather than any overwhelming national public support for Dem's platforms.

Finally, let it be known that I especially don't want this site to turn into a political discussion place. So let's look at today as a very rare exception to our normal course.

[Ryan with a capital "R"]

JFK was elected from the Senate.

[Dave S.]

It's nice that the discourse isn't nasty. That gets tired, and fast.

I'd only add that McCain might find himself with a nifty little boost from the Libertarian types, and I could see him putting up a good fight against just about anyone the Dems put out there. What Congress does in the next year and a half will also make a big difference: if they appear to be a bunch of lefty whack jobs, the votes might swing back right.

Whoever wins, nonetheless, will be left holding a flaming bag of shit. That much is certain.

[Ryan with a capital "R"]

I agree both with sentiments that it is early and that whoever wins will be moving into a fixer-upper.

I don't mind Hiliary but I know she shouldn't be the nominee. She's a woman. She's perceived as liberal. She's Bill husband. She's from the Northeast (at least, she is now). She might be able to carry a few of those bags. It's too much to carry all at once and win. Obama-Dodd :) (if I can't have Stewart-Colbert).

[h.b.]

There's a part of me that wonders with so much reflexive Bush hatred that will most likely get transferred to any GOP prez who'd succeed him, if the only way to actually get serious and united about the threat we face (and have faced for quite some time but chose to ignore) is for the Democrats to be in power?

I honestly don't know if I can't take another 4 years of of the "governing" we've been subjected to by both parties over the past 4 years.

[mikeya2k1]

give ryan a cigar... no natalie not lbj either he kinda fell into that deal with truman and gore my fault for not adding him to the group. i was amazed that we dont elect senators this could be the first time since i was born since that happened.

[h.b.]

The problem with Senators is they have about as much practice with leadership and governing a country as the local dog catcher.

I mean their whole deal is to bloviate on and on and on and on (and on) and then, at last, to reach a compromise.

That isn't what Presidents do.

Which is why you see so many state governors get elected. Running a state is different but it is the closest thing to being prez in our political system.

[h.b.]

Oh, I should add that being, say, a former mayor of a really large city, is good experience as well.

[Jason O.]

Current national political trends are overwhelmingly favorable to the Dems.

Everyone's talking about individual candidates...did you all just forget that independent voters just flocked to Dems in droves?

The only chance for any GOP candidate is if Iraq improves...And even then it's extremely unlikely that the MSM would even consider reporting Iraq developments favorable to Bush and the GOP candidate.

Bottom line: 70% chance that any Dem candidate wins.

[Rob in CT]

"Finally, let it be known that I especially don't want this site to turn into a political discussion place. So let's look at today as a very rare exception to our normal course."

Thank you, HB. I'm getting an annoying metallic taste in my mouth reading today's posts...

Mikey - I would have said Johnson too, although I wonder if you disqualify him as he was elevated from Veep after JFK's assasination. If so, then I go with Ryan's response.

[h.b.]

I agree to what Jason just wrote.

Add to it that the conservative base is so frustrated with the GOP right now that many of them will either stay home or consider jumping to somebody like Obama that the 70% chance Jason refers to is even more true.

[Rob in CT]

Sh*t - I walked away from my machine for a while without hitting the "post" button. Once again, I'm left looking the fool... Oh well, happy weekend everybody. It's Oban time, Mikey.

[mikeya2k1]

CHEERS!!

[yazbread]

My bet on the Democrat nominee is Edwards. He has basically kept his mouth shut for the last couple of years in order to stay off the radar screen. Just can't see Obama there. Virtually no experience and I do not think that the country will see a black President in my lifetime - maybe yours.

[h.b.]

The problem with Edwards is he just doesn't excite people the same way Obama does. And that whole "I'm for the poor/two Americas" thing when he's a rich trial lawyer is going to get shredded by the other Dem candidates I suspect.

Also, as far as experience, he only has a few years on Obama, and, like I said before, even a guy/gal with 40 years as a Senator doesn't really mean jack in terms of executive, president style experience.

[h.b.]

Any bets that 08 will be when New Hampshire finally loses it's status as primary barometer with the first primary?

Lots of talk of Cali and Florida moving up to the same date as NH.

[Bob]

Jeez, enough with the politico talk. Let's talk about my runs.

After 4:30, we can hit the beer in the frig at work. Today, some advertising genius stocked it with St. Pauli Girl.

I haven't had that nasty, export-only crap since college. But what the hell, right? It's free.

40 minues later I remember WHY I haven't had it since college. Run-to-the-john-explosive shits, that's why.

Have a great weekend everybody!

[Mark]

To get back to the strip, while I was originally shocked that Marty was a Democrat, I think it's a pretty inspired creation. I remember how disappointed I was when I found out Jon Stewart was a big Yankees fan.

I have to say, that considering that Steinbrenner was convicted of illegal contributions to Nixon (not Trot), the fundraising for the Democrats that Theo and the trio have done adds another fun level to the rivalry.

[yazbread]

Bob - Thanks for sharing. But if you want to drink beer in a green bottle, you are playing with fire.

[louclinton]

Glad I missed out on the politico merry go round today.

With Sheigh Drew, we have hit the better half trifecta.

go Nancy

lc