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	<title>Vanitas Vanitatum</title>
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	<description>Exploring the vanities and vagaries of Pax Americana</description>
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		<title>Vanitas Vanitatum</title>
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		<title>Changes</title>
		<link>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/changes/</link>
		<comments>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/changes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:42:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marque & Reprisal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Presidential Debate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Kosmopolitan]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/?p=277</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Again, more self-referential updates: besides working on UA issues over at the Desert Lamp, I&#8217;ve also started doing blogging on broader affairs over at The Kosmopolitan, a new publication that seemlessly combines low and high culture, serious analysis and Thackerian humor (it&#8217;s fair to argue that there is no difference), and the arts and politics [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com&amp;blog=4089515&amp;post=277&amp;subd=vanitasvanitatum&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Again, more self-referential updates: besides working on UA issues over at the Desert Lamp, I&#8217;ve also started doing blogging on broader affairs over at <a href="http://www.thekosmo.com/">The Kosmopolitan</a>, a new publication that seemlessly combines low and high culture, serious analysis and Thackerian humor (it&#8217;s fair to argue that there is no difference), and the arts and politics &#8212; we hope. It&#8217;s starting to get under away, and I encourage you to explore the site &#8212; even in its infancy, there are a lot of great features already up. The blog, entitled <a href="http://www.thekosmo.com/kosmopolitan_online/marque-and-reprisal/">Marque and Reprisal</a> (intro post <a href="http://www.thekosmo.com/kosmopolitan_online/2008/10/tonight-we-set-sail.html">here</a>), will also be doing a live-blog of the imminent presidential debate. Please tune in, adjust your RSS feeders, and don&#8217;t <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">maverick</span> play drinking games that result in stomach pumps!</p>
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		<title>Songs for these financial times</title>
		<link>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/10/02/songs-for-these-financial-times/</link>
		<comments>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/10/02/songs-for-these-financial-times/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:55:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Humor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bear Stearns]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ben Bernanke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Financial Markets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Henry Paulson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nancy Pelosi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Beatles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/?p=275</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Great Depression had Woody Guthrie; the Great Bailout will have poor Beatles parodies! All apologies go out to the Fab Four; the original lyrics can be found here. Paulson and &#8216;Nanke, assets at your feet Wonder how you manage to make ends meet Who find the money, who seeks the rent Did you think [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com&amp;blog=4089515&amp;post=275&amp;subd=vanitasvanitatum&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Great Depression had Woody Guthrie; the Great Bailout will have poor Beatles parodies! All apologies go out to the Fab Four; the original lyrics can be found <a href="http://www.lyrics007.com/The%20Beatles%20Lyrics/Lady%20Madonna%20Lyrics.html">here</a>.</p>
<span style="text-align:center; display: block;"><a href="http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/10/02/songs-for-these-financial-times/"><img src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/9vf26cRtG_w/2.jpg" alt="" /></a></span>
<p>Paulson and &#8216;Nanke, assets at your feet<br />
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet<br />
Who find the money, who seeks the rent<br />
Did you think that money is feder&#8217;lly sent</p>
<p>Friday night arrives without a bailout<br />
Sunday morning weeping with a gun<br />
Monday morning&#8217;s House, they nixed the package<br />
See how they run</p>
<p>Paulson and &#8216;Nanke, Bear Stearns at your breast<br />
Wonders how you manage to feed the rest<br />
Pay pay pay pay pay. . .<br />
See how they run</p>
<p>Paulson and &#8216;Nanke, housing market&#8217;s dead<br />
Not much you can do from inside the Fed</p>
<p>Tuesday afternoon the market&#8217;s bending<br />
Wednesday morning papers, <em>sturm und drang</em><br />
Thursday night your LIBOR needed mending<br />
See how they run</p>
<p>Lady Pelosi, Paulson at your feet<br />
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet.</p>
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		<title>Down goes Paulson! Down goes Bernanke!</title>
		<link>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/down-goes-paulson-down-goes-bernanke/</link>
		<comments>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/down-goes-paulson-down-goes-bernanke/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:31:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bailout]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ben Bernanke]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Henry Paulson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wall Street]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/?p=273</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Instant update on the $700 billion bill: WASHINGTON — In a moment of historic drama in the Capitol and on Wall Street, the House of Representatives voted on Monday to reject a $700 billion rescue of the financial industry. The vote against the measure was 228 to 205. Supporters vowed to try to bring the [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com&amp;blog=4089515&amp;post=273&amp;subd=vanitasvanitatum&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Instant <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/business/30bailout.html?hp">update</a> on the $700 billion bill:</p>
<blockquote><p>WASHINGTON — In a moment of historic drama in the Capitol and on Wall Street, the House of Representatives voted on Monday to reject a $700 billion rescue of the financial industry.</p>
<p>The vote against the measure was 228 to 205. Supporters vowed to try to bring the rescue package up for consideration against as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Stock markets plunged sharply at midday as it appeared that the measure was go down.</p></blockquote>
<p>Remember when Republicans were supposedly Wall Street shills? The GOP has been absolutely insipid over the last few years, but this is strength in the face of the Bush Administration.</p>
<p>As for Wall Street, this song seems rather appropriate:</p>
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		<title>A Simple Question for Obamacons</title>
		<link>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/a-simple-question-for-obamacons/</link>
		<comments>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/a-simple-question-for-obamacons/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:55:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bob Barr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Election 2008]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John McCain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obamacons]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/?p=271</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I can understand the disgruntlement over McCain as the nominee. But why not Bob Barr? From what conservative standpoint is Obama a superior choice?<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com&amp;blog=4089515&amp;post=271&amp;subd=vanitasvanitatum&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I can understand the disgruntlement over McCain as the nominee. But why not Bob Barr? From what conservative standpoint is Obama a superior choice?</p>
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		<title>Mystery Solved</title>
		<link>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/mystery-solved/</link>
		<comments>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/mystery-solved/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:48:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Humor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew Sullivan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Greg Gutfeld]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lindsay Lohan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Red Eye]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sarah Palin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/?p=267</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ever since The Daily Dish jumped the shark polar bear on the Sarah Palin, some in the blogosphere have wondered what happened to the most popular Oakeshottian of all time. Will the real Andrew Sullivan please stand up? Thankfully, Reason&#8217;s Hit &#38; Run has unwittingly unveiled the true identity behind the current Dish posts: Lindsay [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com&amp;blog=4089515&amp;post=267&amp;subd=vanitasvanitatum&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Ever since <em>The Daily Dish</em> jumped the <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">shark</span> polar bear on the Sarah Palin, <a href="http://johnschwenkler.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/sullivan-award-nominee/">some</a> in the blogosphere have wondered what happened to the most popular Oakeshottian of all time. Will the real Andrew Sullivan please stand up? Thankfully, Reason&#8217;s <a href="http://www.reason.com/blog/show/128784.html">Hit &amp; Run</a> has unwittingly unveiled the true identity behind the current Dish posts:</p>
<blockquote><p>Lindsay Lohan chimes in on the big race:</p>
<p align="left">&#8220;I find it quite interesting that a woman who now is running to be second in command of the United States, only 4 years ago had aspirations to be a television anchor, which is probably all she is qualified to be.</p>
<p align="left">&#8220;Oh, and&#8230; Hint Hint Pali Pal—Don&#8217;t pose for anymore tabloid covers, you&#8217;re not a celebrity, you&#8217;re running for office to represent our, your, my COUNTRY!&#8221;</p>
<p align="left">Lohan—who is rumored to be in a relationship with DJ Samantha Ronson—also referenced Palin&#8217;s views on homosexuality.</p>
<p align="left">&#8220;Is it a sin to be gay?&#8221; Lohan asked. &#8220;Should it be a sin to be straight? Or to use birth control? Or to have sex before marriage? Or even to have a child out of wedlock?</p>
<p align="left">&#8220;Is our country so divided that the Republicans best hope is a narrow minded, media obsessed homophobe?&#8221;</p>
<p align="left">In conclusion, Lohan cited an Associated Press story reporting that Palin&#8217;s church advocates a conference about prayer curing homosexuality. Wrote Lohan: &#8220;Palin&#8217;s Desire to &#8220;save and convert the gays&#8221;—really??&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>
<p align="left">Of course, we still don&#8217;t know where the hell Andrew actually is. Perhaps House of Wax 2 will star a hirsute intellectual in Lindsay&#8217;s stead?</p>
<p align="left">UPDATE: It seems, however, that there&#8217;s a second candidate: the host of <em>Red Eye</em> (the best show on TV), <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-gutfeld/sarah-palins-murderous-we_b_126539.html">Greg Gutfeld </a></p>
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		<title>Progress</title>
		<link>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/progress/</link>
		<comments>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/progress/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:09:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Random]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bacon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Innovation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/?p=264</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Much of the campaign has focused on whether or not America is better off than it was four, or even eight years ago. With this new development, via Conventional Folly, that question can be put to rest once and for all: Bacon salt is a zero calorie, zero fat, vegetarian and Kosher seasoning that makes [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com&amp;blog=4089515&amp;post=264&amp;subd=vanitasvanitatum&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://vanitasvanitatum.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/2256719087_269242d00d.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-265" title="Bacon" src="http://vanitasvanitatum.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/2256719087_269242d00d.jpg?w=500&#038;h=375" alt="" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
<p>Much of the campaign has focused on whether or not America is better off than it was four, or even eight years ago. With this new development, via <a href="http://americasfuture.org/conventionalfolly/2008/09/bacon-salt/">Conventional Folly</a>, that question can be put to rest once and for all:</p>
<blockquote><p><span class="articles-body">Bacon salt is a zero calorie, zero fat, vegetarian and Kosher seasoning that makes everything taste like bacon.</span></p></blockquote>
<p>The website is located <a href="http://www.baconsalt.com/">here</a>. This new, post-LHC world is definitely an improvement. Now if you&#8217;ll excuse me, I have to go the grocery store.</p>
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			<media:title type="html">Bacon</media:title>
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		<title>More Palin-mania</title>
		<link>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/more-palin-mania/</link>
		<comments>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/more-palin-mania/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:38:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Humor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Election 2008]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sarah Palin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Satire]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/?p=262</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Apologies for the lack of posting; unfortunately, I did not make it up to the Man-Su Valley (although that would be quite the excuse, wouldn&#8217;t it?). I&#8217;m still in the process of putting things together, but for now enjoy the work of the ingenious Fafblog, proof that satire isn&#8217;t dead (yet): MAVERICKNESS. As a moose-hunting [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com&amp;blog=4089515&amp;post=262&amp;subd=vanitasvanitatum&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Apologies for the lack of posting; unfortunately, I did not make it up to the Man-Su Valley (although that would be quite the excuse, wouldn&#8217;t it?). I&#8217;m still in the process of putting things together, but for now enjoy the work of the ingenious Fafblog, proof that satire isn&#8217;t dead (yet):</p>
<blockquote><p><em>MAVERICKNESS.</em><br />
As a moose-hunting Jesus-fearing hockey-mom mother of five who <em>hunts moose,</em> Sarah Palin isn&#8217;t some petty Washington bureaucrat. She&#8217;s a petty <em>Alaskan</em> bureaucrat, and she&#8217;s gonna shake things up in Washington! For her first reform she will pose for photographs with a gun and a stuffed moose head! For her <em>second</em> reform she will say something <em>bold and brassy.</em> For her <em>third</em> reform she will give birth at a live press conference to six eagle scouts, three peregrine falcons and an American mastodon, rear them in the Christian faith and release them into the wild before hunting them down, shooting them and mounting their heads in the Roosevelt Room!</p></blockquote>
<p>Seriously, read the rest <a href="http://fafblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah-palin-sarah-palin-sarah-palin.html">here</a>.</p>
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		<title>Paleocon Paradise</title>
		<link>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/paleocon-paradise/</link>
		<comments>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/09/02/paleocon-paradise/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:50:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alaska]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conservatism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Crunchy Con]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marijuana]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paleoconservatism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sarah Palin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/?p=259</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Via Reason&#8217;s Hit &#38; Run, a place I wouldn&#8217;t mind vacationing to myself: Q: I was just talking to someone who claimed to have knowledge of Alaska to some degree, and they say where Sarah Palin comes from it&#8217;s the equivalent of Humboldt or Chico in California, like, of course, you know, she&#8217;d have a [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com&amp;blog=4089515&amp;post=259&amp;subd=vanitasvanitatum&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://vanitasvanitatum.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/p8250304.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-260 aligncenter" src="http://vanitasvanitatum.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/p8250304.jpg?w=556&#038;h=417" alt="" width="556" height="417" /></a></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;">Via Reason&#8217;s <a href="http://www.reason.com/convention2008/show/128519.html">Hit &amp; Run</a>, a place I wouldn&#8217;t mind vacationing to myself:</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align:left;">Q: I was just talking to someone who claimed to have knowledge of Alaska to some degree, and they say where Sarah Palin comes from it&#8217;s the equivalent of Humboldt or Chico in California, like, of course, you know, she&#8217;d have a Girls Gone Wild phase, and smoking pot. Is this just wishcasting, or what can you tell us about her geographical background?</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">A: So the Mat-Su Valley, you know, Matanuska-Susitna Valley, otherwise known as Upper Wingnuttia, is full of right-wing libertarian militia fundamendalist Christian gun-toting, pot-growing dope-heads.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">Q: Awesome.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">A: Yeah. If Jerry Falwell rolled his own, you would have the Mat-Su Valley. I live in South Anchorage, and my raspberry plants, courtesy of 22 hours of daylight in the summer, grow eight and a half foot high. That&#8217;s a raspberry bush. Can you imagine what a single pot plant would turn into? [...]</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align:left;">Note that Alaska legally allows <a href="http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4522">possession</a> of up to an ounce of marijuana, and also allows for the possession of 25 plants.</p>
<p style="text-align:left;">The title, of course, is merely an excuse to link to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsrDv3K7RNI">this</a> song. Who knew that Axl Rose was a curmudgeony Buchananite on the inside?</p>
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		<title>Drug war quote of the day</title>
		<link>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/drug-war-quote-of-the-day/</link>
		<comments>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/drug-war-quote-of-the-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:21:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bolivia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cocaine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Evo Morales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hugo Chavez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[War on Drugs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/?p=256</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[From a New York Times story on the war on coca in Bolivia: “The Chapare was the caldron of violence out of which Evo [Morales] was born,” said Jim Shultz, a political analyst in Cochabamba. “If there had not been a U.S. war on drugs, there would not have been a President Evo.” Of course, [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com&amp;blog=4089515&amp;post=256&amp;subd=vanitasvanitatum&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>From a <em>New York Times</em> <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2007/11/is_there_a_cocaine_shortage_1.html">story</a> on the war on coca in Bolivia:</p>
<blockquote><p>“The Chapare was the caldron of violence out of which Evo [Morales] was born,” said Jim Shultz, a political analyst in Cochabamba. “If there had not been a U.S. war on drugs, there would not have been a President Evo.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Of course, allowing for the rise of Hugo Chavez wannabes in South America is worth it, because it has really helped to restrict the cocaine market in the States . . . right?</p>
<p>Or <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2007/11/is_there_a_cocaine_shortage_1.html">not</a>:</p>
<p><a href="http://vanitasvanitatum.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/cocaine_20071120.gif"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-257" src="http://vanitasvanitatum.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/cocaine_20071120.gif?w=454&#038;h=320" alt="" width="454" height="320" /></a></p>
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		<title>VPILF of the future</title>
		<link>http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/vpilf-of-the-future/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:21:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Evan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alaska]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bobby Jindal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Election 2008]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John McCain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sarah Palin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com/?p=253</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Andrew&#8217;s jumped the shark so many times this election, I wouldn&#8217;t be shocked to see him capture a long-jumping gold for the Brits in 2012. This time, the Palin pick has him nearly bounding over the Pond: Think about what the Palin pick really says about how McCain views this campaign and how he views [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=vanitasvanitatum.wordpress.com&amp;blog=4089515&amp;post=253&amp;subd=vanitasvanitatum&amp;ref=&amp;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://vanitasvanitatum.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/palin_deer.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-254" src="http://vanitasvanitatum.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/palin_deer.jpg?w=225&#038;h=295" alt="" width="225" height="295" /></a>Andrew&#8217;s jumped the shark so many times this election, I wouldn&#8217;t be shocked to see him capture a long-jumping gold for the Brits in 2012. This time, the Palin pick has him nearly <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/08/three-words.html">bounding</a> over the Pond:</p>
<blockquote><p>Think about what the Palin pick really says about how McCain views this campaign and how he views his potential responsibilities in national security.</p>
<p>Think about what it says about the sincerity of McCain&#8217;s own central criticism of Obama these past two months in foreign affairs.</p>
<p>Think about how he picked a woman to be a heartbeat away from a war presidency who hadn&#8217;t even thought much, by her own admission, about the Iraq war as late as 2007.</p>
<p>Think about how he made this decision barely knowing the woman.</p>
<p>. . .<br />
Here&#8217;s the real slogan the McCain campaign should now adopt:</p>
<p>Putting. Country. Last.</p></blockquote>
<p>Sigh. Putting that last hyperbole aside, this entire argument is made moot by the fact that<em> McCain is not going to win the presidency</em>. Let me say this again: <em>John McCain will not be president of the United States</em>. It&#8217;s not as though we didn&#8217;t know this from the beginning: the GOP brand is still poison, Obama is still a rhetorical master, and parties don&#8217;t carry the White House for three consecutive terms, unless they were really successful (which this one, clearly, was not). Sure, there were stories about a closing McCain, and tightening polls, which served the dual purpose of giving the press an ephemeral reason to continue the excessive punditry, as well as to get more money out of the donors &#8212; no one gives freely to a dominating campaign (OK, that might be a bit cynical. But the point remains).</p>
<p>The GOP realizes that it must throw this election under the bus. McCain, whose hero is Hemingway&#8217;s Robert Jordan, is fit perfectly for the tragic role. He relishes this.</p>
<p>So where does Palin fit in? Palin is inexperienced, yes. Couldn&#8217;t find Iraq on a map? Perhaps (although she would be in good company if that were the case). But she&#8217;s got promise; she is, ultimately, the future.</p>
<p>She will figure out the rough-and-tumble world of punditry the hard way, and by the time 2012 rolls around, a Palin-Jindal ticket will be a force to be reckoned with. Jindal is already relatively well-known, but Palin barely exists outside of the Internet and the Arctic Circle. By placing her on the ticket, the GOP has actually set up a poignant diptych: McCain is the heroic past, raging against the dying of the light; Palin is the future, a bit unsteady on her feet, but quickly learning. Their opponents laugh now, but I suspect that the GOP will have the last laugh when it comes to the former governor of Alaska.</p>
<p><em>Hat tip to Reason&#8217;s <a href="http://www.reason.com/convention2008/show/128443.html">Hit &amp; Run</a> for the delightful picture. </em></p>
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