The Ultimate Punishment

I think the remarks were remarkably clumsy, but if a trailing black candidate said he wanted to stay in the race to make sure the voices of African Americans are heard, no one would care, right? Is it impermissible to talk about it in reverse?

National Review's Jim Geraghty makes this point:

"African-Americans are voting overwhelmingly for a candidate who shares their skin color, but it's being repeatedly suggested that white working-class voters are motivated by racism."

Some conservatives are candid in seeing a rough road this fall, John Podhoretz among them:

"Between them, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have generated more than 30 million primary votes. To say there has never been anything like this is to understate the case.

"In 2000, when George W. Bush and John McCain were fighting it out for the GOP nomination, a total of 20 million votes were cast. The Democrats in 2008 have bested that by 50 percent.

"What this means is that, even if a third of Hillary's voters absolutely refuse to vote for Obama in November, that will leave him with a probable 30 million votes in the bank. In May. Six months before the November election."

In case you had a hankering for the latest assessment of Karl Rove, here it is:

"As much as Mr. Obama's cheerleaders in the media hate it, Rev. Jeremiah Wright remains a large general-election challenge for Mr. Obama. Not only did Mr. Obama admit on 'Fox News Sunday' that Mr. Wright was a legitimate issue, voters agree. Mr. Obama's favorable ratings have dropped since Mr. Wright emerged as an issue. More than half of Mrs. Clinton's supporters say it is a meaningful reflection on Mr. Obama's character and judgment.

" This will be a very difficult year for Republicans. The economy's shaky state, an unpopular war, and the natural desire for partisan change after eight years of one party in the White House have helped tilt the balance to the Democrats.

"Mr. Obama is significantly weaker today than he was three months ago, but Democrats have the upper hand in November. They're beatable. But it's nonsense to think this year is going to be a replay of George H.W. Bush versus Michael Dukakis or Richard Nixon versus George McGovern."

Hey now: another member of Congress with a sex scandal! And the Republican lawmaker just had a DWI incident. Is there anyone out there who can keep his pants on?

"He's the baby daddy!

"Disgraced Staten Island Rep. Vito Fossella admitted Thursday he fathered a 3-year-old love child in an illicit affair with the woman who rescued him from a Virginia drunk tank," says the Daily News.

" 'My personal failings and imperfections have caused enormous pain to the people I love, and I am truly sorry,' the married congressman said in a four-sentence statement e-mailed to reporters.

"Fossella, a conservative Republican who always stressed 'family values,' confessed to an extramarital affair with retired Col. Laura Fay, 45, who paid $2,500 to pluck him from jail after his arrest in Alexandria, Va., May 1. Fossella, the city's only Republican congressman, did not address his political future."

Let me address it for him: bleak.

Finally, this question: Is "The Daily Show" (which hosted John McCain on Wednesday) fair and balanced? Would Jon Stewart make fun of the question itself? A study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism says:

"Republicans in 2007 tended to bear the brunt of ridicule from Stewart and his crew. From July 1 through November 1, Stewart's humor targeted Republicans more than three times as often as Democrats. The Bush administration alone was the focus of almost a quarter (22%) of the segments in this time period.

"The lineup of on-air guests was more evenly balanced by political party. But our subjective sense from viewing the segments is that Republicans faced harsher criticism during the interviews with Stewart. Whether this is because the show is simply liberal or because the Republicans control the White House is harder to pin down."

I'd like to see the figures for 2008, when the Dems clearly dominated the campaign news.