Monthly Archives: July 2008

Trade Deadline Notes

Not very many trades this year- the biggest, of course, being Manny-to-the-Dodgers/Bay-to-the-Red-Sox. It’s going to be so, so odd to see Joe Torre managing Manny Ramirez. Also, Ken Griffey, Jr. in a White Sox uniform is a site that I’ll never get used to, ever. And not just as a Twins fan.
As for the Pirates, I don’t see this trade making them better anytime soon, even if they do now have both Adam LaRoche and Andy LaRoche.
The Phillies made no trade, and I’m looking forward to hearing the talk radio idiots scream about it on the way home. Because clearly, the team that is in first place and has been for most of the season needs to make radical changes, and because they didn’t, it’s proof that the people in charge aren’t committed to winning.

We Are All Flip-Floppers

Jonathan Chait may be America’s finest political writer. Here, he notices that Obama’s being cast as a flip-flopper- just like, oh, every Democrat who’s ever run for president, ever:

The details of the Republican character narrative vary a bit from campaign to campaign. (In 1992, 1996, and 2008, Republicans waxed rhapsodic about the moral virtues inherent in military service; in 2000 and 2004, they played them down.) The alleged flip-floppiness of the Democratic nominee, though, is a hardy perennial. Flip-flopping is a simple accusation that campaign reporters can sink their teeth into. Moreover, there’s always grist for the accusation, because getting to the position of running for president without changing your stance on a few issues is essentially impossible.

It would be quite hilarious if the GOP continued to run with the flip-flop thing while running, say, a McCain-Romney ticket.

Al Franken is Ollie North

No, he never sold arms to Iran, but he is well on his way to losing a very winnable Senate race against a weak opponent amid the rising tide by his own party. Much like when Ollie ran against Chuck Robb in ’94, as the New York Observer’s Steve Kornacki points out. I just hope the Franklin-Coleman race leads to a documentary as great as “A Perfect Candidate.” It would almost certainly be better than “Stuart Saves His Family.”