State of the world

Congrats to my recently engaged high school friends, Kristin and Lauren!  (No, they're not engaged to each other. Ew, what's wrong with you.)  Seriously, YAAAAAAY!

Another high school friend of mine posted a note comparing Obama to Fidel Castro.  Really? This in the same week the Wall Street Journal prints a pro-Obama editorial.  Go figure.

Everyone is talking about the Edwards affair.  It's too bad, and it makes me lose a lot of respect for him.  I agree with Cenk Uygur on HuffPo that, based on historical precedent, it's ridiculous to say that Edwards' career must be over because he cheated. As he points out, Clinton, Kennedy, and Alexander the Great cheated, and by definition lied about it.  So did John McCain, and I don't think he should be getting a free pass on this.  I hope the silver lining of the Edwards scandal is that this important point about McCain comes to focus.  However, when Uygur asks how Edwards' affair is different from John McCain's, I have an answer.  Edwards was having his affair while dedicated volunteers were campaigning for him.  While college kids and housewives were going door to door, Edwards and his family were guarding this secret, instead projecting an image of the devoted husband.  It was a gamble.  Let's say Edwards had won the nomination.  McCain would now have November in the bag.  Edwards -- and his wife, who knew about this in 2006 -- were banking on not being caught. He would put our country at risk for the sake of sex and personal ambition.  Say what you will about McCain's affair; it did not occur while he was running for President.  That's the difference.  

Russia and Georgia gear up for battle as Beijing kicks off the Summer Olympics. Body count and medal count should dominate the headlines for awhile.  One of the things that has bothered me about the Olympics ever since I was old enough to know better is its nationalist spirit.  The more games are likened to war, the more war is likened to games.  I might sound like a party pooper, but watching the USA duke it out with China for most medals and listening to chants of "USA Number One" makes me uneasy in the Bush era.  Whoever said we had to root for American athletes?  Me, I root for the attractive ones.

RIP, Bernie Mac.

On the weekend agenda:  pick up new glasses, get haircut, re-dye hair.