"Wouldn't I Run a Thousand Miles..."

We'll get one more beautifully sunny day here in the city before the fog and wind make their return. The gorgeous days we've been experiencing have led me to pull out classic tunes from summers past. And your Song of the Day is one the classiest...

"Precious" by Annie Lennox

George, Detroit, and a Missed Opportunity

Quote of the Day:

It's disgraceful how badly Detroit has delivered in recent years. While other automakers were moving towards fuel efficiency Detroit made every effort to be combative and go in the opposite direction. The end result is tens of thousands of lost jobs and years away from competing on a global scale. It is in everyone's best interest to get Detroit producing sensible products that are environmentally friendly and that people want to buy instead of smearing environmentalists.

-Chris in Paris, over at AmericaBlog, responding to a speech by Sen. Barack Obama (Democrat-IL) in which he criticized Detroit automakers for their refusal to wean Americans off foreign oil.

As I've said previously, a large part of this is due to piss-poor leadership on the President's part. Had he stepped up to the plate in the days following 9/11 and demanded fuel efficient cars from Detroit - perhaps making such policies attractive by offering substantial tax incentives to the auto companies - Americans would have rallied around the idea. Had the President moved forward with such a progressive policy the benefits for Detroit would have been two-fold: the automakers would be enjoying a huge economic windfall right about now; and, by extension, the city of Detroit would be in the middle of a much needed and long overdue urban renewal.

But alas, George's vision is limited to those oil profits.

Good for Sen. Obama for putting the issue out there. The man's candidacy becomes more attractive by the day.

"What an utter imbecile"

Come on...you know that's what she is thinking here.


(Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

"Livin' just enough....

...for the city!" This classic Stevie Wonder track from 1973 is - in my opinion - far and away his best. I was blasting it around the house this past weekend. It was the perfect song for the nice weather.

It's your Song of the Day. Enjoy.

Even Better News For Obama

As mentioned below, a hypothetical match up between Sen. Barack Obama (Democrat-IL) and Sen. John McCain (BushBitch-AZ) gives Obama a huge lead over McCain. It seems those numbers reflect a Republican flirtation with the Democrat from Illinois.

Sarah Baxter has the story.

More Early Polling

We're a year-and-a-half from the next presidential election, so take that into account when you look at these numbers. But new polling from Newsweek shows good news for the Democrats:

Clinton: 49%
Giuliani: 46%

Obama: 50%
Giuliani: 43%

Edwards: 50%
Giuliani: 44%

Clinton: 50%
McCain: 44%

Obama: 52%
McCain: 39%

Edwards: 52%
McCain: 42%

I find the Obama vs. McCain number particularly fascinating!

I Heart San Francisco

The weather was perfect this past weekend in San Francisco. Temps were in the 70's and 80's and the sunshine was bright and glorious. It'll be quite hot today with temps expected to reach 90 here in the city!

Special shout out to Larry, Trevor, Gil, and Steve for making the weekend so great!

The Return of Michael "Mouse"

The cover art for Armistead Maupin's new novel "Michael Tolliver Lives" has been released in advance of its release on 12 June. This new book revisits "Mouse," the beloved sweet spirit of Maupin's "Tales of the City" series.

Eighteen years have passed since we last left Michael. He is now 55 years old, still living in his beloved San Francisco, and still best friends with Brian Hawkins.

A mini-review from Publishers Weekly:

Maupin denies that this is a seventh volume of his beloved "Tales of the City," but - happily - that's exactly what it is, with style and invention galore. When we left the residents of 28 Barbary Lane, it was 1989, and Michael "Mouse" Tolliver was coping with the supposed death sentence of HIV. Now, improved drug cocktails have given him a new life, while regular shots of testosterone and doses of Viagra allow him a rich and inventive sex life with a new boyfriend, Ben, "twenty-one years younger than I am - an entire adult younger, if you must insist on looking at it that way." Number 28 Barbary Lane itself is no more, but its former tenants are doing well, for the most part, in diaspora. Michael's best friend, ladies' man Brian Hawkins, is back, and unprepared for his grown daughter, Shawna, a pansexual it-girl journalist à la Michelle Tea, to leave for a New York career. Mrs. Madrigal, the transsexual landlady, is still radiant and mysterious at age 85. Maupin introduces a dazzling variety of real-life reference points, but the story belongs to Mouse, whose chartings of the transgressive, multigendered sex trends of San Francisco are every bit as lovable as Mouse's original wet jockey shorts contest in the very first Tales, back in 1978.

I am re-reading (for a third time, mind you) the original six-book series as we approach the release date for "Michael Tolliver Lives." Needless to say...

I. Can't. Wait.

Rock Box

Blake Lewis' brilliant take on Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" combined some brilliant beat-boxing with a rock n' roll classic ("Rock Boxing"??). Whatever happens in the final weeks of "American Idol," this little hottie is on his way to becoming the next Leon Sylvers or Timbaland...a force to be reckoned with behind the microphone and behind the scenes.

Your Song of the Day is "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Blake Lewis:

The 2008 Landscape

On Tuesday conservative columnist Bruce Bartlett essentially conceded the 2008 presidential election to the Democratic ticket:

As each day passes, it becomes increasingly clear that the Democrats will win the White House next year. It’s not quite 1932, but it’s getting close to a sure thing.

...At some point, politically sophisticated conservatives will have to recognize that no Republican can win in 2008 and that their only choice is to support the most conservative Democrat for the nomination. Call me crazy, but I think that person is Hillary Clinton.

I know Bill Clinton won his first term with significant support from Republican voters, but Hillary? Something tells me not so much.

And in this morning's USA Today, Susan Page lists five reasons the Republican ticket faces a daunting task next year:

- The Iraq War.
- Enthusiasm. Democrats have more this time.
- Numbers. The number of voters who say they are Republicans has fallen.
- Money. More of it is going to Democrats.
- A hunger for change.

Page goes on to cite a well-known presidential formula that has predicted the winner of the national popular vote in every election since 1860:

...six of 13 "keys" have turned against the GOP, enough to forecast defeat of the party that holds the White House.

It would do everybody - especially giddy Democrats - a world of good to remember two things. First and foremost, the election is a year-and-a-half away. Neither party has chosen their nominee.

What difference does that make? Well, a generic nameless Democrat beats a generic nameless Republican by an enormous 13-point margin. But when you ask voters about a Hillary vs Giuliani match-up, Republican Rudy beats Democrat Hillary by 5-points.

Secondly, a year-and-a-half before the 1992 election George H. W. Bush was unbeatable. The coming contest was going to be a cake-walk for him. By early 1992 things had drastically changed, and on Election Day he lost re-election with one of the lowest popular vote totals (37%) for a sitting president in U.S. history.

Don't get me wrong, I'm quite optimistic about next year. But until the nominees are chosen and we know what foreign policy and economic indicators look like in early 2008, it would probably do us all well to keep that optimism in check.

The Commander Guy

Bushism of the Week (from his appearance at the Conference of Associated General Contractors, earlier today):

The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear - I'm the commander guy.

Coming this summer to theatres everywhere...[swoosh]...the movie Ebert and Roper give "two thumbs up his ass"...[swoosh]...Nancy Pelosi...[swoosh]...Harry Reid...[swoosh]...and the Decider as...[swoosh]...The Commander Guy.

(Photo courtesy of AmericaBlog)

Bu-Bye Chris

Bu-Bye Phil

"Idol" Recap, 1st of May

Two go home this week. Who will stay? Who will be voted off? Here's my recap of last night's "American Idol"...

Phil: "Blaze of Glory" has a country edge to it so it was the perfect song for him. He did it well but at this point I don't know if "well" is good enough. His fan base isn't strong enough to keep him in the competition without an "out of the ballpark" performance. And this wasn't that.

Jordin: My attention was on that hot guy playing guitar next to her on stage, but then her crappy performance knocked me back into reality. Plain and simple, her rendition of "Livin' On A Prayer" was pure crap.

Kiki: First off, her outfit was about as unflattering as it gets. I mean really...does this woman not have a full-length mirror in her dressing room?! As for her performance, Lakisha has the disadvantage of not being the best female singer in the competition. That said, she did a decent job with "This Ain't A Love Song," especially at the end.

Blake: He sang "You Give Love A Bad Name." It was beat-box meets rock 'n' roll. I guess you'd call it "rock box." Either way...he was superb. I. Loved. It.

Chris: I have to admit, he did better with "Wanted: Dead or Alive" than I thought he would. Still, one has to wonder if it was enough to keep him around this week.

Melinda: She totally threw down the Tina Turner attitude as she rocked out to "Have A Nice Day." Once again, the best vocal of the night.

The worst performance of the night? The really bad scripted banter by the imbicile in the White House and that wife of his. What a way to ruin an otherwise fun episode of "American Idol."

Total Eclipse...

I was in charge of providing music for my sister's wedding celebration this past weekend. My "i-J" (iPod jockey) abilities were, for the most part, right on the money. But I didn't realize until after Saturday's reception that I failed to put a very important song on the playlists.

With heart-felt apologies, this one is for you Maggie...

Blair To Announce Resignation

The Guardian has learned that British Prime Minister Tony Blair will announce his long-expected resignation on 10 May. In British politics this means the political party with a majority of seats in the House of Commons - in this case, Blair's Labour Party - will elect a new P.M., who will govern until the next general elections are called.

The Veto

Americans United For Change lay it out...

MacArthur Maze Is Melting In the Dark...

We returned home to the news of Sunday's gas-tanker explosion at the MacArthur Maze - the convergance of three highways in the East Bay as they approach the Bay Bridge. Judging from news reports, the explosion and resulting highway collapse seem to be a bit north of my normal everyday route on and off the bridge.

I'll need to get a gauge tomorrow of how re-routed traffic effects my morning and afternoon commutes. If blogging is light through the rest of the week, then chalk it up to heavy traffic on I-880.

But all news reports seem to indicate that traffic jams were minimal this evening. We'll see how long it lasts while repairs and rebuilding are done.

(Photo: KPIX-TV, San Francisco)

Back Home

The wedding was a smashing success, my sister and brother-in-law are happy as can be, Brent and I are back home, and all is well in the world.

"Trumped Up Political Stunts"

Today is the fourth anniversary of his testosterone-induced speech announcing an end to hostilities in Iraq, and in celebration President Bush vetoed a bill that funded his war while at the same time setting timetables for troop withdrawal. Mr. Bush called the bill a "trumped up political stunt."

Say it with me: Worst. President. Ever.