Next she'll be saying, "I am not a crook!"

Oh my God! Hillary is changing! See for yourself! Her jowls are getting bigger. Her eyes are darting back and forth. She's growing a ski-jump nose on her face. Here comes the five o'clock shadow. She's holding her fingers up into two peace signs. She's becoming... (cue the dramatic sci-fi movie music: "duh duh duh!!!") NIXON!!!

You heard right, Blog Pals. In the tradition of President Richard Nixon, Hillary and Bill Clinton have come up with their own "Enemies List."

Back in the early 1970s, Nixon kept a list of people he considered to be his most outspoken political opponents. The list included members of Congress such as Senator Teddy Kennedy and Representative John Conyers; celebrities like Jane Fonda, Barbara Streisand and Gregory Peck; and for good measure, Nixon's Enemies List even included New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath and a comedian who did bad Nixon impersonations (!!!).

Now, in 2008, Hillary and Old Bubba are now keeping their own list of "traitors" who "betrayed" them in the primaries. "Those Loyal to the Clintons Take Note of Who Was Not," announced a headline in the New York Times. As the British newspaper the Daily Telegraph noted: "Top of the list is thought to be Bill Richardson, now Governor of New Mexico and former energy secretary and United Nations ambassador, who gave Mr Obama a glowing endorsement after dropping out of the race himself, and only weeks after being pictured watching the Super Bowl with Mr Clinton. Other A-List betrayers include James Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, Gregory Craig, Mr Clinton's lawyer in his impeachment trial, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri and various members of the Kennedy political clan."

It's not surprising that Hillary Clinton is becoming more and more like Nixon. When Old Bubba was in the White House back in the Nineties, he exhibited similar behavioral traits. On the campaign trail this year, Hillary's key campaign staff -- especially Sidney Blumenthal -- began to eerily resemble Tricky Dick's old crew: H.R. "Pufnstuf" Haldeman, John "Trench Coat" Ehrlichman and good old Chuck "Blag Bag Op" Colson.

Terry McAufliffe, chairman of Senator Clinton's campaign, assured the media that Hillary keeps an Enemies List for purely practical purposes. "The Clintons get hundreds of requests for favours every week. Clearly, the people you're going to do stuff for in the future are the people who have been there for you."

Sounds like a load of B.S. to me. An "Enemies List" fits in perfectly with Senator Clinton's Nixon-like obsession with gaining power and keeping it. It's only a matter of time before her jowls start flapping, her fingers form peace signs above her head, and we hear her saying, "I AM NOT A CROOK!"

Bill Clinton sez: "YOU WON'T HAVE OL' BUBBA TO KICK AROUND ANY LONGER!"

Mudslingers of 1828

Some Americans think that dirty political campaigns are a relatively recent phenomenon. But that is not the case. Actually, mudslinging is as old as the Republic itself. And many historians have described the Presidential Elections of 1828 as the "dirtiest" in American History. The election pitted incumbent John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), son of president John Adams and the candidate of the National Republican Party, against Andrew Jackson (1867-1845, pictured above), commander of the American forces in the Battle of New Orleans (1815) and a prominent Tennessee frontiersman, land speculator and slave owner. This was the second presidential race that featured Adams going up against Jackson. Four years earlier, Jackson lost to Adams in what many of Jackson's followers considered to be a corrupt election. In a four-way contest, Jackson had by far the most votes. But the House of Representatives decided the outcome of the election because none of the candidates received an actual majority of the popular vote, and they selected Adams to be president. Needless to say, the decision infuriated Jackson's followers.

Flash forward four years: Followers of Adams and Jackson believed the 1828 presidential election would be the most important race in the history of the Republic. Adams (left), a staunch elitist, believed it was his destiny to silence "the howl of raving Democracy" by defeating the "egalitarian" Jackson. Meantime, Jackson's supporters established their own political party, the "Friends of Jackson," which eventually morphed into the Democratic Party. Jackson was a lean (6 feet, 1 inch, 140 lbs.) and charismatic man with boundless energy. He journeyed on horseback and spoke to cheering crowds in towns and rural areas, repeatedly boasting, "I am not a politician."

Hatred between the Adamsites and the Jacksonians was intense. Jackson's supporters claimed Adams lived in "kingly pomp and splendor" in a "presidential palace." They insisted he was a monarchist "like his father." In reference to Adams, one Jacksonian noted, "His habits and principles are not congenial with the spirit of our institutions and the notions of a democratic people."

Much of the ugly smear campaigning came from the Adams camp. His followers unleashed a torrent of hateful charges against candidate Jackson. One pro-Adams faction published a pamphlet titled Reminiscences; or, an Extract from the Catalogue of General Jackson's Youthful Indiscretions Between the Age of Twenty-three and Sixty, which -- as the titled suggested -- documented Jackson's alleged duels, brawls and fights. Other Adams backers attacked Jackson from the gutter. As one pro-Adams newspaper announced, "General Jackson's mother was a COMMON PROSTITUTE, brought into this country by the British soldiers. She afterward married a MULATTO MAN, with whom she had several children, of which number General JACKSON IS ONE!!!" It was all lies, but Jackson took it in stride. What he couldn't stand, however, were the numerous attacks against his beloved wife, Rachel (below). Jackson took part in no fewer than 13 duels to uphold his wife's honor. During the 1828 campaign, Adams' followers found out that years earlier, Rachel married Jackson while still married to her first husband, Captain Lewis Robards. It was due to a mix-up: Rachel and Lewis separated in 1790. Soon thereafter Lewis told Rachel the divorce had been finalized. After that, she became romantically involved with Jackson and the two were soon married. Turns out that the divorce had not been finalized, and Robards used Rachel's involvement with Jackson to claim she lived in "sin." When the divorce was finally granted in 1794, Jackson and Rachel had already been married a few years and the couple remarried.

Adams' followers found out about this and went absolutely apeshit. Karl Rove would've been proud. They claimed Rachel was an "adulteress" and a "whore." Pro-Adams newspapers were filled with stories about torrid trysts between Jackson and his married "lover." An anti-Jackson newspaper posed the question, "Ought a convicted adulteress and her paramour husband to be placed in the highest offices of this free and Christian land?" The smear campaign against Rachel was so intense that she soon became physically ill and complained of heart pains.

By early December, newspapers announced that Jackson triumphed in the 1828 elections. "Well, for Mr. Jackson's sake, I am glad," Rachel said. But, she added, "for my own part, I never wished it." Rachel suddenly died just days later.

Jackson mourned her loss for the rest of his life and never remarried. He loathed Adams for not making an effort to stop the dirty campaigning. "May God Almighty forgive her murderers, as I know she forgave them," Jackson said at her funeral. "I never can."

So ended the 1828 campaign, a low point for mudslinging in American history. It's pretty much impossible to say that things have gotten worse.

There's an interesting postscript: Jackson was raised in a Presbyterian household. But by the time of the 1828 election, he hadn't been a churchgoer in years. During the '28 campaign, Rachel urged him to attend church on Sundays with her, but Jackson refused. He told her, "My dear, if I were to do that now, it would be said, all over the country, that I had done it for the sake of political effect. My enemies would all say so. I can not do it now, but I promise you that when once more I am clear of politics I will join the church." Sure enough, after leaving office in 1837, Jackson immediately joined the Presbyterian Church. He attended services every Sunday until his death in 1845.

As Sean Connery's character Malone said in The Untouchables (1987): "Here endeth the lesson."

Bruce "Utah" Phillips, 1935-2008: An American Original

When newspapers across America noted the passing of Bruce "Utah" Phillips on May 23 of congestive heart failure, they used plenty of words to describe the man, including raconteur, activist, itinerant folk singer, unionist, peacenik, agitator, hobo and even "poet of the railroad." I recall Utah Phillips as a Santa Claus-like, guitar-strumming hell raiser who journeyed from place to place, playing his music free of charge (or for a tiny fee). I heard him twice -- once at a peace demonstration in the 1980s and then at an event for the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.) in Salt Lake City in the mid-1990s.

He sang folk songs about down-and-out people -- men and women living on the edge -- and he sang old labor songs and ballads about the railroads and hard-traveling people. He was the real deal, as authentic as they come. Born in 1935 in Cleveland to labor activist parents, Utah Phillips worked in a number of different jobs growing up. He was also a Korean War veteran. Along the way through life, he learned the art of folksinging from other hard living people. As Phillips told the Boston Globe back in 1999: "I worked with lots of old drunks only fit to shovel gravel. But, they all knew songs, and they showed me how to play them. The reason I wound up doing what I do now, I guess, was that the songs these guys sang were so close to their lives, to what they were experiencing in their work and loves and afflictions."

Utah Phillips' debut album appeared in 1973. Over the years, he recorded numerous songs and several records. He collaborated in the late 1990s with Ani DiFranco and the two of them were nominated for an Emmy for their work together. He was a singer in the tradition of Joe Hill, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. He possessed a purity -- not a self-righteous purity, but a purity of authentic decency -- that showed in the songs he sang. When I saw him, he played for small crowds on outdoor stages, but he performed with the same enthusiasm you'd expect from someone singing their heart out at Woodstock.

Phillips was also a radical. He was a lifelong member of the I.W.W. He was an anarchist and a humanist. He'd be the first to agree with the old bumper sticker that said, "Capitalism is Organized Crime." He knew that the only way that poor and working-class people would see any improvements in their lives would be if they fought like hell to change society for the better. Utah Phillips was colorful, creative, outspoken and fearless. He worked hard his entire life. He made the people in his audiences -- young and old, male and female -- laugh, cry, hope and, perhaps most importantly, he emboldened them. He was one of those remarkable people who wasn't afraid to live on the fringes of society and yet, ironically, there was also something so quintessentially American about him.

Bruce "Utah" Phillips (1935-2008)

Is it time to say, "Adios, Hillary"?

Now that Senator Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination, there is the predictable media frenzy over the question, "What about Hillary?"

"Obama, Clinton Hold Talks in Feinstein's Living Room," cried a CNN website headline about the "secret talks" underway between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton in Senator Diane Feinstein's Washington, D.C. home. Secret talks? What the hell? Since when did this thing become the Manhattan Project? Now the pressure is on Obama to select Clinton as his running mate. The New York Times announced, "Clinton Says VP is Obama's Choice." A poll taken by CNN found that most Democrats want Obama to choose Clinton to be his vice president.

Is this a wise idea? Aside from political guru David Gergen's famous quip that if Obama selects Clinton to be his vice president he's also going to need a food taster, a lot of pundits, campaigners, political junkies and Democratic bigwigs think Hillary would make an ideal veep.

To be honest, this Blogger has mixed feelings about whether Hillary Clinton would make a suitable running mate. True, she would bring a lot to the campaign: A wealth of connections, a base of support, cunning political sensibilities and an air of experience. She did a lot of things right on her campaign, especially her efforts to reach out to working-class voters. Plus Clinton is a dirty fighter -- and the Democrats need to dish it out a little more effectively to counter the army of Republican Orcs in the GOP Attack Machine who are already crawling out of the woodwork with their eyes on the prize of destroying Obama's momentum. Now that she's on our side, we can use her toughness. In these respects, Clinton would make an ideal vice-presidential candidate.

The negatives of making such a choice are obvious. Clinton is a polarizing figure. Poll after poll shows that a substantial number of ordinary Americans don't trust her, and that distrust cuts across party lines. Half of the voters on the right side of the political spectrum think she's still a flaming Sixties liberal, while many on the liberal/left/progressive side tend to view her as a reactionary warmonger. David Frum, by far my favorite conservative columnist (I read him religiously) weighed in in the pages of the National Post: "Clinton must surely rank close to the bottom of his vice-presidential preferences: too divisive, too 90s, too female, too untrustworthy and too prone to scandal. (Just last week, Vanity Fair magazine published a long story packed with lurid hints about Bill Clinton’s post-presidential sexual and financial adventures: 'No former president of the United States has ever traveled with such a fast crowd …')"

Frum continues: "So if Obama does choose Clinton, it will be obvious to all that he yielded to pressure and threat. That would put a humiliating mark on his candidacy — and offer an ominous clue about his hypothetical future presidency."

Old Bubba (above): Is there any way Hillary can keep a leash on that sucka?

Obviously, I have mixed feelings about Obama selecting Clinton as the Veep. Despite some brilliant moments on the campaign trail, Clinton showed a dark side of herself as a political figure possessing a Nixonian obsession with achieving and holding on to power at any cost. In many respects, she is a classic Machiavellian. How well will it serve Obama in conservative stronghold "Red States" to have a running mate widely considered by voters in those states to be a northeastern elitist who is out of touch with the people? And let's not forget Bubba (Bill Clinton). Man alive, Hillary is gonna have to put a leash on that sucka. Talk about leaving a foul taste in people's mouths. (And to think, I was actually getting nostalgic for Bubba after so many years of Old Dubya running the show.)

Obama ought to consider all the options carefully. But once he has, if he thinks Clinton is the way to go VP-wise, then Democrats will circle the wagons. Democrats are still stinging from the divisions of the primary season. So if Obama chooses Clinton, this Blogger will pick on her a little less (at least until November 5, the day after Election Day).

Robert F. Kennedy, 1925-1968

First, a confession: For years, I had doubts when it came to Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968). Strong doubts. To me, the ambitious younger brother of President John F. Kennedy seemed to be too cunning, too hawkish, too much of hardened cold warrior, too vicious of a political animal. I was not swept away by Bobby Kennedy-mania like so many people I knew. In graduate school, I shared an office with a fellow doctoral student who kept a photograph of RFK above his desk. At the time, I did not understand his love of Kennedy.

As I grow older, though, I've found that my attitude toward Robert Kennedy has changed. Maybe it's because I've lost the self-righteous edge I had my youth -- the black-and-white sense of right and wrong, the inability to come to terms with ambiguities in people. I've also become better informed, having read such gripping accounts of Kennedy's final years as Thurston Clarke's The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America and David Talbot's Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years. I have come to appreciate the complexities, ambiguities and multiple facets of Kennedy.

And the more I read about Bobby, the more I'm struck by what a truly remarkable man he was. In the final months of his life, he was undergoing a transformation. He became a deeper thinker, a more compassionate visionary, and an advocate for the forgotten men and women of American society. His was a voice of peace and reconciliation in a relentlessly trying time of American history. When riots erupted in more than 100 cities following the tragic assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis on April 4, 1968, presidential candidate Robert Kennedy urged calmness, compassion and unity.

Speaking in Cleveland the day after King's death, Kennedy said, "Too often we honor swagger and bluster and the wielders of force; too often we excuse those who are willing to build their own lives on the shattered dreams of others. We must admit that our children's future cannot be built on the misfortunes of others. We must recognize that this short life can neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or revenge."

Two months later, the assassin's bullet ended Kennedy's life, too. And a nation plunged into despair.

His life was much too short. Toward the end of it, a new Robert Kennedy was born. This Kennedy was a humanistic visionary poised to lead America toward something better. He courageously -- fearlessly -- reevaluated his most fundamental beliefs. And along the way, he challenged a generation to live up to America's highest ideals. "One person can make a difference," he insisted, "and all of us ought to try."

Moments before his assassination (which occurred shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968), Kennedy told a cheering audience at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles (pictured right), "We must recognize that this short life can neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or revenge. We can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek, as do we, nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can."

Forty years later, those words still resonate.

Watching History

Victory belonged to Senator Barack Obama (left) last night. As he has done throughout this race, he projected confidence and calmness in his triumph. He is the first African American to head the ticket of a major political party. Son of a white American woman and a black Kenyan, Obama has preached the most compelling message of unity of any Democratic candidate since Franklin Delano Roosevelt and -- in the process -- he has repeatedly challenged the dominant race relations paradigm. Standing before a cheering crowd in St. Paul, Minnesota, Obama said, "Tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another -- a journey that will bring a new and better day to America."

Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, entered the race at the beginning of 2007. At that time, most observers were betting that Senator Hillary Clinton would emerge the Democratic candidate for president. For the next year and a half, Obama and Clinton crisscrossed the nation, rallying supporters, debating each other on over 20 occasions and drawing 35 million backers out to the polls. They both stumbled -- Clinton's Bosnia boner, Obama's endless headaches with the outspoken Reverend Jeremiah Wright. And there were moments on the campaign trail when Obama looked discouraged, morose and just plain tired, like he just wanted to crawl into bed and forget the whole thing.

But Obama, the third African American to serve in the United States Senate since Reconstruction, refused to surrender. And he showed remarkable resilience. Last night, in St. Paul, his message resonated with the audience. "This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past."

And what about Hillary Clinton? Will Clinton and Obama form a "dream team" (a term that dates back decades that means having equally strong presidential and vice-presidential candidates on the ticket)? Will Hillary take the VP slot? Last night would have been the perfect moment for her to step out of the race, yet she still refuses to budge. Rumors aplenty have been circulating. The Associated Press wrongly announced the other day that she was ready to concede. "And I hereby announce," she said, "I'm hanging around a little longer." She certainly didn't sound like she was ready to give up. The closest Clinton came to hinting that she might end her campaign was when she told her backers, "In the coming days, I'll be consulting with supporters and party leaders to determine how to move forward with the best interests of our party and our country guiding my way." A headline in the Globe and Mail (Toronto) said it best, "The Cost of Clinton's Narcissism." Unless Clinton changes her course, the toll may turn out to be awfully high.

It appears that Clinton wants to take this battle to the Democratic National Convention August 25-28 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Such a move would only weaken Obama and strengthen Republican candidate Senator John McCain. At long last, Senator Clinton should take a long, hard look at what is at stake and ask herself if that is, indeed what she really wants. Because whoever the winner turns out to be in such a bitter contest, theirs will be a Phyrric Victory. And America simply cannot afford four more years of reactionary and destructive Bushite Republican policies.

She's a Little Bit Country, He's a Little Bit Rock 'n' Roll

This just in, Blog Pals: Donny and Marie Fever is apparently sweeping across England! Remember Donny and Marie Osmond, the syrupy sweet, squeaky clean, toothy dynamic duo from Utah who stole everyone's hearts in the 1970s? Recently, they attracted huge, screaming crowds of fans all over Britain. It's true. Look it up if you don't believe me. Donny and Marie (both entering their 50s), along with their less famous siblings -- Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay and Jimmy (didn't there used to be a Larry?) -- were mobbed everywhere in the U.K. by crazed admirers. A headline in Hello Magazine said it all: "Osmond-fever hits London with the return of the Seventies stars." Wherever the Osmonds went, enthusiastic crowds turned out to greet them. The Guardian described one scene at the packed London concert: "A matronly type in an 'I Love Donny' T-shirt cannot stop screaming the name of the purportedly cutest member of the group. The emotion is heightened by a video of the group's arrival in London in 1972 when they were mobbed by bawling girls, some of whom are undoubtedly here right now." Before sellout crowds, they sang such unforgettable favorites as "Love Me For a Reason," "Crazy Horses," "Puppy Love" and "Paper Roses."

The highly successful British tour is but one sign of the Osmond Family's (pictured left) comeback. Last month, Marie hosted a wholesome reality show on NBC called America's Favorite Mother. Now the brother and sister are conducting nationwide auditions for dancers to be part of their upcoming, six-month gig in Las Vegas. But wait, there's more! A Fiftieth Anniversary DVD (yes, the Osmond Family began entertaining audiences way back in 1958!) featuring the very best of the Osmonds is coming soon to a video store near you. And if you happen to be in Utah on Pioneer Day (July 24), you can catch the Osmonds playing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Sure, America is beset by war overseas, recession at home and global warming, but at least the Osmonds aren't going anywhere. Utah's hottest export is here to stay! Well, actually, Utah's hottest export is the double pastrami cheeseburger with secret sauce with four scoops of Leatherby's Old-Fashioned Strawberry Ice Cream on the side. But by golly, the Osmonds are a mighty close second!

The Unbearable Lightness of Dick

When Vice President Dick Cheney (left) isn't blasting away his hunting buddies, he actually shows some promise as a stand-up comedian. As a keynote speaker at the Gerald R. Ford Foundation journalism awards luncheon yesterday, the Veep talked about his distant cousin, Senator Barack Obama, and he revealed interesting details about his family tree. Turns out the vice president has Cheneys among his maternal and paternal ancestors dating back to the 1600s. Then the Vice President got in a dig at the Mountain State (West Virginia): "So I had Cheneys on both sides of the family and we don't even live in West Virginia."

CUE THE PUNCHLINE DRUM STING: Ba-dum-bum-TSSS!
While you're at it, cue the chirping crickets.

Folks in West Virginia aren't laughing. They've been on the bad end of one too many crass hillbilly jokes. In fact, Governor Joe Manchin was fit to be tied: "I truly cannot believe that any vice president of the United States, regardless of their political affiliation, would make such a derogatory statement about my state or any state for that matter. West Virginia is home to some of the most patriotic people in the nation and our sons and daughters have answered the call to duty every time a president has needed their service. They deserve better from the vice president, and so I would simply ask for his apology."

Added Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.): "West Virginians are the hardest working, most decent people I know. Anyone who spends time with them gets it. The Vice President should be more careful about cheap shots aimed at the very people who elected him."

Even the Republicans weren't laughing. As Representative Shirley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) put it: "This is exactly the type of stereotyping that we don't need from our elected officials."

The Vice President apologized through his spokesperson, but his follow-up line at the luncheon on the heels of his West Virginia crack pretty much said it all: "You can say those things when you're not running for re-election."

Dick Cheney's inbreeding joke isn't as offensive as it is informative. Now we have a better understanding of this genetic time bomb who holds the second-highest office in the land. And all this time, I accepted the Weekly World News version of what makes Dick tick (see below). Now I know better...

Nothing Like a Good "No Rules Knife Fight" Between Republicans

From the "Damn Fun Senate Races to Watch" File: In New Mexico, voters are gearing up for the state primaries tomorrow, where Republicans and Democrats will determine their party's candidates to run for Congress. Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) announced last fall that he's retiring from the United States Senate, which means that there is no incumbent in the Senate race. Now, two Republican members of Congress, Representatives Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce, are duking it out with one another to see who will be nominated at tomorrow's state convention to run as a Republican for the United States Senate. Pearce is farther to the right than Wilson, but they're both quite conservative (Wilson, in fact, calls herself a "common-sense conservative" -- as opposed to the troglodyte variety). Pearce insists Wilson isn't right wing enough. He says she doesn't want to cut taxes as aggressively as he does. In fact, Pearce got a big boost from the Club for Growth, which has spent close to $400,000 on attack ads saying that Wilson leaves something to be desired as a tax cutter. Apparently, Domenici was so troubled by the ads that he after straddling the fence as long as possible, he finally endorsed Wilson.

There have been lots of ugly moments in this race -- too many to count. In recent days, the attacks between the two camps have gotten downright dirty. Wilson is trying to turn Pearce into Snidely Whiplash (right) by accusing him of cutting Social Security benefits to "widows and orphans." A Wilson attack ad against Pearce said, "Cut Social Security for widows and orphans? Unbelievable! But Steve Pearce said he'd do it. Pearce said cut them off - no benefits." Pearce says Wilson is weak on foreign policy because she has voiced doubts about the current strategy in Iraq. Pearce insists that America had better be ready to stay in Iraq a mighty long time. As he put it, "I can tell you that after 50 years we're still in Germany and Japan and after 40 years we're still in Korea." One Pearce attack ad insists Wilson is actually a liberal, along with New Mexico's Democratic congressman, Representative Tom Udall. The ad says, ""Heather Wilson - Tom Udall - liberal values - liberal votes! Both voted to waste taxpayer dollars on a lobster institute and a ballet theater in New York City!"

Wilson says Pearce has not been supportive of poor, rural hospitals in New Mexico. Pearce attacks Wilson for supporting embryonic stem cell research. He insists he's "pro-life" and she is not. Wilson contends that Pearce is into "dirty politics." "He has a tendency to make false statements and hope no one calls him on it," she said. Wilson ripped into Pearce because he voted for the $290 billion Farm Subsidy Bill passed last month in Congress. She insisted the bill subsidizes only dairy producers in the Midwest and Northeast who are competing against New Mexico's decidedly weaker dairy producers.

Who knows which one of these candidates will win? Ugly attack ads seem to work like a charm in American politics, and Pearce's attack-ad arsenal is more heavily stockpiled than Wilson's. The attack ads are having the desired effect, as the polls show. But the race will be close. Both candidates stayed away from President George "Dubya" Bush during the President's visit to Albuquerque last week, which was probably a wise move. Dubya helped raise funds for New Mexico's uber-right-wing congressional candidate Darren White, a man who insisted that New Mexico Democrats are controlled by "radical left-wing special interest groups."

(Above: Old Dubya leaving the White House, May 27, on his way to Albuquerque. He's thinking, "Maybe I shoulda taken that left toin at Albu-koy-kee.")

Can it get any nuttier? Sadly, we only have one more day to watch these two Republicans tear each other limb from limb. As Blogger Joe Monahan put it, "What I make of this is there's no rules in a knife fight and we have a knife fight to the finish here for this U.S. Senate nomination!" One wishes certain knife fights might drag on a bit longer.

From the Nixon Files: Tricky Dick on the Greek Philosophers

May 13, 1971: While discussing a recent CBS documentary that was sympathetic to homosexuality, President Richard Nixon weighed in on the great Greek philosophers Socrates (right) and Aristotle (left):

"I don't mind the homosexuality. I understand it. Nevertheless, goddamn, I don't think you glorify it on public television, homosexuality, even more than you glorify whores. We all know we have weaknesses. But, goddammit, what do you think that does to kids? You know what happened to the Greeks. Homosexuality destroyed them. Sure, Aristotle was a homo. We all know that. So was Socrates."

(From the May 13, 1971 White House Tapes.)