Download | play Download | play (h/t Scarce)

Mike Huckabee is desperately trying to prove that he has more on the ball than Bush had back in 2000 when he couldn't name the leader of Pakistan. Talk about setting a low bar for yourself.

So when asked about a foreign policy statement made several months ago that focused more on Pakistan than the then-neocon terrorism target-du jour, Iran, Huckabee insisted that his perspicuity was the result of "prophetic" understanding of our challenges in the "War on Terror"™.

Uh, right. Out of curiosity, was it prophetic when just last week, when asked for a response to Bhutto's assassination, Huckabee didn't know that martial law had been lifted and railed about needing the border fence to keep out Pakistani illegals (does he even know where the Pakistan border even is?)?

Blue Hampshire endorses Chris Dodd.

The Nation endorses Dennis Kucinich.

Correction: Kucinich won The Nation's online poll. The Nation wrote a non-endorsement: "What is needed most now is not a candidate but a movement to surround that candidate, to brace his or her resolve, to press for the best platform and to hold him or her accountable for implementing it if elected. For this reason, we choose not to endorse a candidate for President at this time but rather to call for the rise of a broadly based small-d democratic movement, as only such a movement can create the space necessary to realize this moment's full potential."

The SEIU Union is funding advertising for John Edwards.

If you've heard any other endorsements in the past few days, let us all know in comments....

Corrente: Progressive policies will always be vehemently opposed by the Conservative Movement and the winger billionaires because progressive policies are not in their economic interests.

The Agonist: It seems like the only way we can get people to fight alongside of us in this "War on Terror" is to pay them.

Dahlia Lithwick: The Bush administration's dumbest legal arguments of the year

apostropher: Hey assh*le, you're using my word!

Pam's House Blend: Is Bhutto's murder related to illegal immigration? Huck, thinks so...

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Morning Martini, Akkam's Razor, Calculated Risk, black agenda report, Real Clear Politics

by driftglass click for larger.

Here's the schedule, let us know if you see something worth a share...

ABC's "This Week"-- Hillary Clinton, John McCain

NBC's "Meet the Press" -- Huckabee, Obama

CBS's "Face the Nation" -- John Edwards

"Fox News Sunday" -- Fred Thompson and The Des Moines Register's David Yepsen (who has endorsed Clinton)

CNN's "Late Edition" --Dodd, Biden ; Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) and former Defense Secretary William Cohen on Pakistan

We don't use many swear words here at C&L (company policy) so I really can't talk about Kristol and the NYTimes tonight. So instead I'm going to talk about the other big heartbreaking news story of the day, "Ryan Seacrest Ready to Find Romance in 2008." Which, please, can we bring this back to a serious news story already?... reminded me of that memorable night when Ryan subbed for Larry King on CNN:

Once upon a time there was a man named Santy Runyon who, among other things, played at "The Coliseum", which was then owned by one Alphonse Capone of Chicago. Santy, it turns out, was not only a very good musician and music teacher, but a very skilled manufacturer of custom mouthpieces (the "wind instrument" kind, not the "lawyer" kind.) He began making them in Chicago (yay!), kept playing after he moved his outfit to Beaumont, Texas to raise a family, and then finally settled in Louisiana, where he opened a manufacturing facility in Opelousas.

More on Santy Runyon -- the local boy who made good -- here.

This is the sound of the inimitable Art Pepper blowing "Besame Mucho" through a Runyon Custom 6 with a .074" tip opening. Or so I am told.

John Amato: And say hi to Laurie---Art's wife. She's a very cool lady and loves to hear from the fans whenever we post his music...

The WSJ’s Peggy Noonan argues today that her top characteristic when evaluating presidential candidates is “reasonableness.” The former Reagan speechwriter insists: "We are grown-ups.... We’d like knowledge, judgment, a prudent understanding of the world and of the ways and histories of the men and women in it."

At face value, there’s nothing especially troubling about this standard. Noonan is setting the bar fairly low, but she’s sketched out a relatively practical model. That is, until Noonan starts applying her standards to specific candidates. Here’s her take on the former senator from North Carolina:

John Edwards is not reasonable. All the Democrats would raise taxes as president, but Mr. Edwards’s populism is the worst of both worlds, both intemperate and insincere. Also we can’t have a president who spent two minutes on YouTube staring in a mirror and poofing his hair. Really, we just can’t.

Noonan had just finished arguing that American voters “are grown-ups,” and then she turns around and takes on John Edwards’ hair? What’s more, Glenn Greenwald notes that “poofing” isn’t actually a word, “but rather, a British epithet for a male homosexual — ‘Slang: Disparaging and Offensive’ — a synonym for ‘faggot.’”

Noonan’s looking for a candidate with a “prudent understanding of the world.” I’m looking for a columnist with the same attribute.

Some of you know I've been getting over a nasty virus. Lucky for me I have a Netflix account and decided to "power cycle" through the first season of Battlestar Gallactica while resting up. What I mean by "power cycling" is that I watched the whole season in about a week. It's one thing to check out a series from week to week, but speeding through it like that is a completely different experience. I came up with the term "power cycle"---call it what you like--it's a great way to get through an illness, but it also breathes incredible depth and clarity into the characters and stories.

BA is just another reason why we need to support the WGA strikers. The writers barely see a penny from the sale of a single DVD, let alone a package of 3-6. The success of "FireFly" after it was prematurely cancelled by FOX on DVD promoted millions of dollars to be poured into Whedon's "Serenity," a most excellent movie version of the series. Dexter and The Wire are a couple of other shows to cycle through fast and furious. You won't be disappointed.

Wow, what's up with that? For a guy raising the type of money he is---I don't understand how they can justify his exclusion.

Ron Paul said the decision to exclude him from a debate on Fox News Sunday the weekend before the New Hampshire Primary is proof that the network "is scared" of him.

"They are scared of me and don't want my message to get out, but it will," Paul said in an interview at a diner here. "They are propagandists for this war and I challenge them on the notion that they are conservative."

Paul's staff said they are beginning to plan a rally that will take place at the same time the 90-minute debate will air on television. It will be taped at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown...read on

I have to agree with him on that front. FOX Noise has a very set agenda on the Iraq war in place and Paul only mucks things up. LGF and many other warmongering right wing bloggers will be happy though since they exclude him from their polls already...He'll probably raise another boat load of cash and stay in the race much longer even if his poll numbers are very fairly low. Way to go Roger Ailes...And as Scarce says: Ron Paul is ahead of Fredrick of Hollywood in NH:

Latest Fox Poll: Paul 8%, Thompson 2% in NH

Billw says: "...and the one month trend between both of their polls shows Paul's doubled while at the same time Frederick's halved. That's significant."

Olbermann's got a new book coming out called "Truth and Consequences" Let's see how far up the charts we can get this one...Grab a copy...

Cali Scribe says: Keith Olbermann Thanks Us!

Keith thanked C&L for helping drive up the sales of his book “Worst Person in the World” on Countdown---back on Sept, 1st 2005:

Olbermann: And wait, look, it‘s here! The book version of the “Worst Person in the World” hits stores next week. But guess what happened after the Rumsfeld special comment, the sales ranking of the “Worst Person in the World” on Amazon.com went from No. 19,000, to No. 18. Bill-o‘s new book ranks No. 728. Our thanks to our web boosters like “Crooks and Liars” for the love.

Here's video of the Rumsfeld Special Comment: Download | play Download | play

Glenn Gleenwald wrote: "C&L’s great achievement

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