the 941

We were thinking about spending this fine Tuesday afternoon standing outside our local polling place, heckling asking people who they voted for to get a sense of today’s results. But we thought better of that foolish plan. Who needs to spend all day badgering people when you already know who’s going to win? Sure, they say it’s anyone’s race, but you 941 readers know the real score:

McCain in a landslide.

Cue Wolf Blitzer voice: With .00000004 percent of Floridians* responding, we can now call the 2008 Florida Republican Primary for Senator John McCain. McCain clearly benefited from Charlie Crist’s endorsement, Rudy’s repeating history and Mitt Romney’s love of the bling-bling.

Congratulations, Mr. McCain. Because, as we all know, “the winner of Florida [or the 941 poll] will win the nomination.”

* We’re pretty sure our brother, who lives in California, voted — you should probably tack on an extra zero. Or eight.

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They haven’t been campaigning here (at least until recently), but that doesn’t mean you passionate 941 readers can’t weigh in on the Democratic candidates for president.

Yeah, we know polls are, um, less than reliable — check Joel’s column this week for a firsthand account of just how much of a fiction they can be. And if you, like damn-near everyone Joel talked to, are still making up your mind, take a look at this week’s cover story — we unearthed three things that you probably don’t know about each candidate. (Oh, Barry Obama, you were so cute.)

Once you’ve got your mind made up, cast your vote below. Or, if you’re still unsure, join the ever-growing ranks of the undecided. For those GOPers out there, we’ll put up the Republican poll tomorrow morning. Both will close along with the Florida primary at 5 p.m. on Tues., Jan. 29.

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Who are Chad and Jeremy? Yeah, we didn’t know, either. But then we asked around in the office, and it turns out they’re the guys who sang that song about summer that you always hum on damp, gray days like today.

Did you already know that? Then maybe you desere a free pair of tickets to hear the duo do their thing tomorrow night at the East Village Cabaret. The first person to e-mail and leave a comment on this post about something they like to do on damp, rainy days will be the winner.

Chad! Jeremy! Free!

Do it.

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Don’t forget — you can listen to Amy Goodman’s weekly podcast, “Breaking the Sound Barrier,” on CL’s website. This column will appear in next week’s paper:

NBC 1, DEMOCRACY 0
The odds were with GE in Vegas.
By Amy Goodman

One pundit called last night’s Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas “a lovefest.” It may well have been, but only because the corporate sponsor of the debate, General Electric-owned NBC News and its cable news channel MSNBC, rescinded its invitation to candidate Dennis Kucinich. NBC decided earlier that it would invite the top four Democratic candidates to the debate. Then New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson dropped out of the race, which elevated Kucinich to the fourth position.

Jenny Backus of NBC sent an e-mail to the Kucinich campaign, saying Kucinich “met the criteria set by NBC and the debate sponsors.” So Kucinich was surprised when, less than two days later, NBC News political director Chuck Todd called the Kucinich campaign to rescind the invitation. Kucinich responded with a lawsuit, filed in Nevada state court, claiming that NBC had broken its contract with him to include him in the debate.

(more…)

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Feeling a little down this Friday morning? Fast forward to the 2:44 mark, sit back and revel in the glorious, glorious awkwardness of international diplomacy.

And if that doesn’t work, there’s apparently a little awkwardness involved in hanging street signs, too.

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This column by Amy Goodman will appear in next week’s CL:

Hillary Clinton’s surprise victory in New Hampshire guarantees a longer, more competitive Democratic primary season. It’s like money in the bank for broadcasters, as the first-ever billion-dollar presidential campaign continues.

While the world’s oldest democracy, the United States, spends trillions of dollars claiming to bring democracy to Afghanistan and Iraq (through the barrel of a gun), what have we got here? A process driven by major donors shoveling huge sums of cash into the troughs of television broadcasters, who are holding the electoral process hostage through their control of the public airwaves. The same broadcasters arbitrarily exclude viable candidates from their so-called debates, elevating themselves to kingmaker.
(more…)

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Dear Hillary,

We’re big enough to say it: We were wrong. You were right. There is crying in the presidency. Congrats.

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As bored as we are by the national championship game? Unless both of these teams can find a way to lose and the BCS is forced to call an 8-way tie, we’re ready to stop watching college football until they start a playoff.

Meanwhile:

+ Hillary’s tired, friends. She’s tired and she’s cranky and she’s starting to realize she’s going to lose. [abc]
+ We didn’t think there was anything that could change our impression of the poor Ms. Spears. Then we read this. [the stranger]
+ How long till this goes up on the Longboat drawbridge? [wooster collective]
+ Outing the homer who spent his MVP vote on Favre. [fanhouse]
+ What the Bucs need to do. (Aside from, you know, blitzing Eli. Ever.) [best bucs blog]
+ Could gentrification be behind the commission’s dismay at lawn parking in Gillespie Park? Bruce Asbury investigates. A classic. [ht]

Finally, and only because everyone we just watched the Hillary clip with instantly quoted Hanks:

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This morning, for the first time since we moved to The Sunshine State three-plus years ago, we had to use the device pictured at left. That we even owned said device may be surprising; we bought it in the Northeast, a region we left, in part, because of its winters.

What did we hate about the winters? The device pictured at left. And now its come back into our lives.

And you know what? It was kinda nice … for a day.

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Last Friday, The New York Times did one of its 36-hours-in stories on Sarasota. The piece was among the top e-mailed all weekend — perhaps we should be bracing for even more traffic during season. So what did the Gray Lady suggest? Eating at Selva, dancing at The Gator Club and strolling through Selby Gardens. Oh yeah — The Paper of Record also recommended picking up a copy of good ol’ CL.

Who knew those Yanks were so with it?

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