ON ITCAPSKI(BGC/RSD)

This chick flick, naturally, features a wild stroke of fate, when the two-year governor of an oversized igloo becomes commander in chief after the president-elect chokes on a pretzel on day one.

The movie ends with the former beauty queen shaking out her pinned-up hair, taking off her glasses, slipping on ruby red peep-toe platform heels that reveal a pink French-style pedicure, and facing down Vladimir Putin in an island in the Bering Strait. Putting away her breast pump, she points her rifle and informs him frostily that she has some expertise in Russia because it’s close to Alaska. “Back off, Commie dude,” she says. “I’m a much better shot than Cheney.”

Then she takes off in her seaplane and lands on the White House lawn, near the new ice fishing hole and hockey rink. The “First Dude,” as she calls the hunky Eskimo in the East Wing, waits on his snowmobile with the kids — Track (named after high school track meets), Bristol (after Bristol Bay where they did commercial fishing), Willow (after a community in Alaska), Piper (just a cool name) and Trig (Norse for “strength.”)

“The P.T.A. is great preparation for dealing with the K.G.B.,” President Palin murmurs to Todd, as they kiss in the final scene while she changes Trig’s diaper. “Now that Georgia’s safe, how ’bout I cook you up some caribou hot dogs and moose stew for dinner, babe?”

-Maureen Dowd, “Vice in Go-Go Boots?” NYTimes Op-Ed

-Relatedly: The unfadeable Molly Lambert taking no prisoners with mind grapes and truth bombs…

-Wow. 38 Million folks watched. I kept texting Roza randomly last night with cryptic messages about stoked I was. I think I was annoying. Catch me not caring.

-As for the Biz, Jeff Chang’s write-ups remain crucial. Pointing out that 50 of Minnesota’s 80 delegates were of color is super major and yet another reason to feel pride.

Of course, the debate on race is still woefully infantile up in here (At least us mixed/indeterminate race folks can point to someone else when someone look at us all confused) and that’s why I really appreciate the Can’t Stop Won’t Stop commentary as I’ve allowed myself to take in a bit too much policy/realpolitiky wonkery and step aside from my typical theoretical paradigm. Also sup to Poplicks on that tip of course.

That was rad.

I got emotional.

Sue me.

Psychotic (based on previous showings) Ann Althouse and Libertarian McArdle

vs.

“Tool of the Brazilians/Massive Yiddish Raves” Ezra Klein and Impeccable Laughter Start-Stop control Reihan Salam

Just waiting for Mickey to return so Bob can roll his eyes.

Not a few people are disappointed about Obama’s selection of Biden. And while there are not a few items about dude that are less than magically ideal for the campaign (verbal gaffes, stands on RIAA/Copywright issues, etc.) I’m not all that mad.

To be sure, I’m really no fan of this kind of f-ckery:

In his latest effort, Biden wasted no time subverting his already microscopic chances. On the day of his announcement, he mused about Illinois Sen. Obama: “I mean, you got the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

In Biden’s defense, the quote was widely misunderstood. Having listened to it, it’s obvious that Biden was not saying Obama is the first mainstream African American candidate who is also articulate and so on. He was saying he’s the first mainstream candidate – meaning ideologically mainstream, unlike Carol Moseley Braun, Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson – and that he’s articulate and so on. He wasn’t calling Jackson or the others inarticulate. To be sure, this is still a pretty cringe-inducing way for white people to talk about African Americans. There’s a famous Chris Rock routine in which he complains about how people describe Colin Powell as “articulate,” as if it were a surprise that a secretary of State can speak well.

And, of course, last summer Biden attempted to endear himself to an Indian American supporter by telling him that in Delaware, “you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.” Not only was this an offensive line, it didn’t even make any sense: The observation, familiar to anybody who watched a comedian on cable television 15 years ago, is that Indian Americans are the only ones who work in convenience stores, not that they’re the only ones who shop there. The man can’t even keep his condescending cliches straight.

But, in this campaign…it’s “bom-bom-iran” on the other side. And the voters we need to woo ain’t trippin on dudes trippin on words (not taking stuff for granted of course, but I just have enough faith in the number one of this show. call me naive.)

Looking past what’s wrong with Biden, Politico is on point with this: Stick to your guns, Joe. Dude can say what needs to be said, often courageously (perhaps too powerful a word, but you know what I mean). Calling out Giuliani fits in this theme and doing the same to McCain and his eleventy houses is super necessary for the Obama campaign. But…duh right?

Stay tuned to the stencil for hella updates and hopefully here as I try and prevent brain atrophy by staying sharp on this.