Sunday Evening Funnies

Conservative presidential political developments

Bob Barr, Libertarian:

Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr eased into presidential politics Saturday with an announcement that he has formed an exploratory committee to gauge voter interest in his candidacy as Libertarian.

If there are "sufficient numbers" of people behind a Bob Barr presidential race, he's running, the former Republican said.

His announcement brought whoops and applause from the audience of 130 Libertarians, mostly from Midwestern states.

"We are at a tipping point," Barr said, "in terms of the willingness of voters, in significant numbers, to consider alternatives to the major [political] parties."

Barr conceded it was unlikely he could win, but he said his potential candidacy would be an opportunity to preach the Libertarian philosophy.

"I don't think any past performance by a Libertarian candidate is any benchmark," he said. "Are my expectations that the Libertarian candidate will win [the White House]? No. But with a credible candidate, anything is possible."

Barr does McCain considerably more damage than Nader could possibly be to Obama. Word also today of KindaSleazy Rice's interest in "running" for vice-president:

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has exhibited interest in becoming John McCain's vice presidential running mate, a Republican strategist says.

Dan Senor revealed during Sunday's edition of ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that Rice has been seeking support to be considered for the No. 2 spot on the Republican ticket this fall.

"Condi Rice has been actively, actually in recent weeks, campaigning for this," Senor said.

Absolutely fantastic news if he picks her. There would be no escaping the "four more years of Bush" label. And since McSame is so absurdly wrong on the three most important November issues -- Iraq, health care and the economy -- the Republicans' electoral disaster looms larger each passing day.

Now if we can just get Mrs. Clinton to hurry up and take a hint ...

Sunday Funnies (liar, liar, sniper fire)

Charlton Heston 1924 - 2008

Once a progressive:

Heston was always able to channel some energies into the public arena. He was an active supporter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., calling him "a 20th-century Moses for his people," and participated in the historic march on Washington in 1963. (Right), he joined civil rights protesters picketing a whites-only restaurant in Oklahoma City in 1961.

Ben-Hur was released fifty years ago and won eleven Oscars (a record, now tied by Titanic and and the third film in the LOTR trilogy, The Return of the King). Heston also won the heart of every woman of my mother's generation. My mother-in-law in particular occasionally mentioned his name in a tone approaching lust.

He had many script lines chiseled into popular culture but for my generation his signature will be "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape".

His evolution into a conservative nearly overshadowed his considerable body of cinematic work, and his virulent gun-rights activism toward the end of his life -- as well as his creeping Alzheimer's -- was laid bare by Michael Moore in Bowling for Columbine.

Heston was a stellar actor and and an enthusiastic political activist on both sides of the political spectrum. He will always be a mythic figure, and to some a reverential one.