John McCain is a smart cookie. Yesterday McCain put a smack down to Bill Cunningham. The radio host was introducing McCain at some

Ohio rally and Cunningham was getting the crowd fired up. Throwing out that red meat partisan crowds love so much. When he tore into Barack Obama, Cunningham mentioned Obama’s middle name three times. Not a big deal really, but let’s be honest: Cunningham didn’t say Hussein to the crowd s because he was going for accuracy.

Well Cunningham is now a bit hot under the collar because according to him McCain threw him under the bus. After the rally, McCain held a press conference and gave Cunningham a public spanking.

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Ann Richards rises from the dead to endorse Hillary; her sons express astonishment…

Hillary Clinton has won what well may be one of the most surprising endorsements of the 2008 campaign season — the endorsement of the last Democratic governor of Texas. What makes the endorsement especially surprising is the fact that the silver-haired and silver-tongued Ann Richards actually died in September 2006 at the age of 73. But in an unexpected development in a campaign full of unexpected twists and turns, Ann Richards has risen from the dead to endorse Hillary Clinton. In the face of a potential loss in the Texas primary next Tuesday, the Clinton campaign has now clearly demonstrated that miracles are indeed possible.

In contrast, Barack Obama has taken the much more conventional approach of seeking endorsements from those still in the land of the living. Yesterday, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) — a one-time contender for the nomination himself — announced his endorsement of Obama. Chris Dodd’s endorsement of Obama is significant, coming as it does from a respected senior member of the Senate with extensive foreign policy experience — more experience, arguably, than either of his erstwhile rivals for the nomination, Obama or Clinton — and it was eagerly sought by both camps.

But how boringly conventional; why bother with getting live bodies to support you when you can go to the morgue to shop for dead ones? Read more…

Kate’s got an Oscar wrap-up and a Hillary update for you.

 

Kate Clinton is back from the AZ! And she’s down with Tina Fey and the deliciously transgressive “Bitch is the new black!” SNL rant. Plus, Kate watched the Oscars. And the lame ads. And hurrah for “Freeheld,” the lesbian-issue-relevant documentary that won the statue!

Still Kate is none-too-fond of the premature obituaries for Hillary in the press. What gives? And that brings us to Ralph Nader stepping into the presidential race. Oy… Let Kate at him!

 

 

Lawrence King

Lawrence King, a 15-year-old boy who was perceived to be gay but who could well have been transgendered, was shot to death on February 12 by 14-year-old Brandon McInerney at their junior high school in Oxnard, a Southern California city outside of Los Angeles.

The murder brought over 1,000 out to a tribute to King in Oxnard last Saturday. And activists have set up the Remembering Lawrence King website to inform the community of vigils for Lawrence all over the country.

Lawrence King’s murder has provoked pointed questions about the pervasive harassment that LGBT students face in schools across the country and raises questions about the willingness of federal, state and local government to fulfill their obligation to protect gender variant youth from violence. Read more…

Tyra and Huck jam? And she talks about his weight loss. And his issues with gays. Bring out Miss J, please!

 

Okay, maybe “grills” is putting it too strongly. But the Arkansas governor does have a sit-down with the supermodel-turned-Top Model-diva-turned-TV-magnate on The Tyra Banks Show, which airs this Friday (February 29th). The show was taped on February 7th, and during their hour-long chat, Tyra gets up in Huck’s face with lots of gayness.

In her eloquent way, Tyra asks Huckabee simply: “I know that you are a preacher; do you believe that homosexuality is immoral?” He deftly dodges and says that people are fallible and “miss the mark” and that we’re all sinners, etc. He says that being gay isn’t as bad a sin as murder (thanks, Preacher!), and that he’s had gays on his staff, and there are bigger issues.

Huckabee says he’d love to get “the gay vote,” and when Tyra asks about a voter who might ask him: “I’m a gay man and I want to marry my man. What do you say to that?” Huckabee says, basically, “nuh-uh.” Marriage is not up for being changed to allow same-sex inclusion. He’s opposed to such nonsense.

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Although the Democrats are still trying to decide who will be the flag bearer come fall, Republicans are making plans on how to combat historical firsts. As they make those plans the GOP is also trying to make sure that it is immune to charges of racism and sexism.

This is a valid concern but also something Republicans shoulnd’t loose that much sleep over. There will be those who look at any Republican critique of either Clinton or Obama as the musings of Archie Bunker. This of course is silly because there are sound reasons to be against the campaigns of either Democratic front-runner (Obama’s inexperience and Clinton’s triangulation), and keeping the light on the issues will serve McCain well in the general election. Sure he can wrap himself up in the history of it all, but if he acts like he’s got issues with history then he’s toast.

On the flip side, Clinton and Obama will have to keep their moral outrage to a minimum when they get attacked. Don’t get me wrong. They should slam any knuckle-head who makes race or gender into an issue; however, they are going to come off as whiny if they get touchy. And whiny never wins elections.