Some Sad News

St. Paul author Daniel Hardy died of a heart attack on Saturday (Read his obituary here).

Daniel had been working on a book about a man who he thought--and had pretty strong evidence to back it up--was the basis for Fitzgerald's Gatsby. According to the obituary Daniel had just finished the book, which is little consolation, but if you are involved with writing, you know that this fact offers at least some.

I had talked to Daniel about possibly excerpting part of this book in InDigest when talks with publishers got further along. According to the obituary, his wife, Mary, is going to try to publish the book posthumously. I hope she can. I was always severely interested in Daniel's updates on the progress of the book. I would see him in a local coffee shop or bookstore and he would excitedly--well, as excitedly as he got, he seemed a pretty laid back guy--tell me some far fetched story that he had learned through his research about his Gatsby's escapades.

It really does seem like a fascinating book. Maybe InDigest will still have the opportunity to publish an excerpt.

But that's for another time.

Now is a time to offer our condolences. To say our thoughts are with all of Dan's loved ones. To mourn the loss of a literary St. Paulite. And to celebrate his life's work and passion.

-David


I think this highlights some thoughts from David's last post as well - writing is really fucking hard.

Talking frequently to Daniel about his ten plus years of work on his book made me remember how important writing is to society, and to individuals. He put a lot of passion and hard work - and a good chunk of his life - creating an in depth study on whether Cushman Rice could have been the real inspiration for the legendary Gatsby. Something that could have been a little literary and intellectual, but he made chatting on the subject something to look forward to, something that was unabashedly intriguing.

We wish Mary Hardy the best of luck continuing Daniel's work. It's a heavy task, but if the book is even half as fascinating as talking with Daniel about his research was it could only be a remarkable book.

It is surely no easy task to pick up his year's of labor at this point, so we offer our condolences for the loss of very funny, intelligent man that we had the good fortune to meet. Our thoughts are certainly with his family and friends.

-Dustin

5th Anniversary

Hey, it's the 5th anniversary of "Mission Accomplished"...

MPAA lied, and no one cares

I read an interesting report this week regarding the MPAA lobbying of congress in 2005 to force college to adopt strict anti-piracy rules. A study conducted by LEK for the Motion Picture Association of America concluded that 44% of all MPAA losses were due to piracy on college campuses. After two years and two major rulings in their favor they have acknowledged that the study was flawed and completely inaccurate. The real number is more like 15%. Yet the damage has been done. The study was based on the assumption that every time someone downloads a film they would have bought it if they had not acquired it illegally. The 15% number reflects an adjusted analysis assuming that it is plausible that some people may have rented the film instead of buying it. So, actually, the 15% number is even flawed, because it assumes that people would have watched it if they hadn't downloaded (which some quite possibly wouldn't have) and that the people who bought would not have bought a used copy. The MPAA presented entirely false data to congress in order to force tighter restrictions on campuses. I wouldn't go so far as to assert that that is a really bad thing, it is stealing and they have a right to protect their interests. But it seems odd to me that there are no consequences for lying to congress to get what they want, and that it's not really getting any coverage. It's hard to talk about without sounding like you're trying to defend people's right to illegally download films. But doesn't this seem like a pretty flagrant case of a major conglomeration lying to the public to get what it wants and the media, the government and the public just accepting this as a part of life? It brings to mind Mark Twain's famous quote about the three types of lies: "lies, damn lies, and statistics."

This is ridiculous

Really? Is this necessary?

I just heard Linda Daves on NPR defending the ad, and talking about why she wouldn't even pull the ad if John McCain called her personally. I don't mean to get down on the level of this ad, but simply put, she didn't seem like a very bright woman. And I doubt that even the most gifted of philosophers would have a tough time creating a syllogism about why you should vote for the North Carolina Democratic gubernatorial candidate based on the words of Jeremiah Wright. But they're trying...

Issue 5 like what

Issue 5 of InDigest is up and online. So listen up best of the net. Maybe the first four weren't good enough for your hotsy totsy awards, but, oh, is Issue 5 something special. In the new issue we've got a gallery of sculpture from Alonso Sierralta, new poetry from Meggie Elder, and new fiction from New Yorkian Meakin Armstrong. We've added a new column called Is That Cowardly? where Jess Grover takes a look at new poetry. Also there are new columns from Bedside Stacks and Dorkolopogous.

Our big news, aside from the new issue, is we went clothes shopping and now we've got a whole new look. And damn we look good. Look at us.

Chris has a point

I never really use the myspace account that I created a long time ago. But I went onto it today and Chris left a note that said he about had a seizure when he went to my page. So I went to my page, I think I've only done this once before, and I never liked that people have music that starts playing on their page when I get to it, it's too much sensory excitement. But my page is out of hand, I almost need to leave it up. It's a piece. It gives you anxiety when you look at it. No man has yet to stay here for more than 3 minutes and 14 seconds. try it.

This is what my face would look like if I lived inside of a scanner and walked around with my face pressed to the glass all day

How the wild make me struggle

I never really saw myself in the light of being a sports fan, and when I would read "What I've Been Reading" and Nick Hornby would talk about how he hadn't read much in the last month because Arsenal was playing particularly well I thought it was funny, but deep down I thought it was kind of ridiculous. I have had the urge to read Dashiell Hammet's The Thin Man for a while now (just because the films are great and why not, I guess) but I can't even accomplish that. When your team is in the playoffs there is so much invested in every game that I have to spend hours in the morning reading analysis and the breakdown for the next game, interviews with the coaches etc. etc. etc. I guess I'm really trying to say is that I haven't done anything personally challenging since the playoffs began and I don't even care. I was going to use it as a cloak for why I haven't been reading a good deal, but I regret it not. The last game was as exciting as playoff hockey gets. Good shot Carney.

Cheers

Now it's 1-1.

UPDATE: now it's over.

God's Comic

This stand-up routine is called "God's Comic" it's Damien Green, a fella from Minnesota I know, and he just did this live for the first time and has posted a video from it. I didn't know what to make of it at first, it's some really dark comedy, but the more I got to thinking about this the more I liked it. So I thought I'd repost it and share, probably not for everyone, but I got a kick out of it. It's that kind of awkward humor that you're not sure if you should laugh at, or if it's even funny, but it is...

Why: ESPN is wrong, the Wild still have a chance, and City Pages sucks

Almost all sports coverage outside of the Twin Cities (and even some within) seems to be completely ignoring the Wild’s playoff bid this year (City Pages you’re going to run a cover story on Al Jefferson and ignore the Wild? Really? Cover one of the worst teams in the NBA and forget about the one Minnesota based team that is going to make the playoffs this year? Really? – though I guess we should be thankful that Village Voice hasn’t begun syndicating sports coverage). The discussion is revolving around Detroit, Dallas, Anaheim, San Jose and Calgary in the West, and the Canadians, Rangers, Devils, and Penguins in the East.

I like to think that I’m a realistic fan of any sport, and tend to assume that any team that I would find myself cheering for will just never win a championship (especially since the teams are generally from Minnesota and our sports teams have a reputation for choking that rivals the Cubs). But I think it’s hard to deny that the Wild are a serious contender this year, even though most of the major sports media are ignoring this.

At the moment the Wild are relatively healthy, a few sicknesses and they’ll be missing Curtis Foster for the post season with a broken leg (which somehow didn’t draw a suspension).

With one win they will clinch the Northwest Division championship, which will give them home advantage. Last year they were undoubtedly one of the best teams at home, given in large part to the fact that they have NEVER had less than a sell out crowd. This year their home record is not as impressive, but they’ve won their last five at home, and Backstrom is 5-0-1 in his last six. With the exclusion of the first period in their loss against Edmonton they’ve been playing their best hockey of the year.

They’ve always been a defensive team, due in large part to the coaching style of Jacques Lemaire, but they are also an offensive threat with many skill players like Rolston, Gaborik, Koivu, Bouchard, Demitra, and Burns. Who have all been outstanding in the last ten games. But their major weakness, all year, has been a lack of physicality, a criticism they’ve faced throughout the year, which was made especially apparent through the absence of Derek Boogaard. But with the acquisition of Chris Simon at the trade deadline and the return of Boogaard they have become one of the most physical teams in the West. Lemaire has been suiting Boogaard, Simon, Aaron Voros, and Todd Fedoruk, which has been combination that has made it tough for any team to produce offensively. This combination also seems to have produced a larger sense of team lately, everyone has been participating in the scraps and other teams enforcers have been apprehensive to take a shot at a skill player (and when they have their have been retaliations instantly – see the video below of Burrows taking a cheap shot at Bouchard and the instant retaliations of Burns, Carney, Simon and even Bouchard gets into the first fight of his career). Even Gaborik has been playing a much more physical style of hockey since Lemaire made him captain.



Furthermore, the other major players in the West lack the momentum the Wild have at the moment. Detroit clinched their playoff position too long ago and has been struggling, allowing Nashville to take them into overtime among other tight games that would have been a different story at midseason. They are also dependent upon good performances from either Hasek and Osgood. Both of whom have proven themselves in the playoffs before, and have had great seasons, but are aging and have had points this season when they’ve struggled pulling a solid game together dragging the whole team down with them. Dallas has been in a backslide since the All Star break. At one point the number two team in the NHL, they still have not officially clinched a playoff position. Colorado and Vancouver have both struggled playing in Minnesota and have not, as of yet, clinched a playoff birth (though surely both Colorado and Dallas will). The only team that has been giving the Wild trouble has been Calgary, but with what may be a preview of the first round match up taking place on Thursday the Wild have the opportunity to show that the can stop Iginla and the Flames. San Jose has been another tough team for the Wild but they won’t face them until the second round at the earliest, and Nabokov hasn’t been at his best in the past few games even though he is seemingly always hot against Minnesota.

Will they win the Stanley Cup? Probably not. But it’s to their advantage that no one is taking them serious as a Cup competitor, because they are. When they are as hot as they have been, playing with a playoff mentality since the All Star break, competing in the tightest division in the NHL, they have the ability to beat anyone. And with the guarantee that they will not be facing the Red Wings in the opening round, they have time to prepare for the teams that have given them trouble (though they have beat both Detroit and Dallas earlier in the year when they were missing both Boogaard and Koivu). They at least stand a chance (whereas Nashville, Vancouver, and Colorado seem to be up against much greater odds) and are not getting the respect that they are currently earning.

Their major weakness is that they are running thin at defense with the loss of Foster and Lemaire’s decision not to call anyone up from the AHL. An injury on defense could be detrimental to their post-season. This is putting a lot of pressure on veterans like Sean Hill (who has been hot since Foster went out) and Keith Carney, who have both stepped up but are facing a lot more ice time and a lot more pressure. Also Lemaire is faced with a tough decision if he is going to continue suiting all of his bruisers, which leaves less space for the finesse players who score more often like Shepherd, Puilot (who is untested but playing very well), Belanger, and Radivojevic. Playing all of these forwards means pushing Demitra out to a wing and having a lot less muscle on the bench, yet the suiting of Boogaard, Simon, Voros, and Fedoruk seems to be helping the finesse players put more points on the board. How this will play out in the post-season probably depends on who the first round match up is. Vancouver or Anaheim could mean Lemaire would start by suiting the Boogaard crew to help intimidate some of their more fierce rivals, whereas a match up against Calgary or Dallas could merit a few more skill forwards. That all remains to be seen, but it means that Wild are versatile right now and that most of the sports media is choosing to ignore their rise and that may be to their advantage, surely their opponent will take them more seriously than ESPN is, but for a division leading team there seem to be low expectations, which could easily be surprised in a record breaking season for the Wild (Lemaire is one win from 500 which has only been done by ten coaches I history, Gaborik broke both the team goal and point record, Rolston had his third straight 30 goal season, Burns has broken every Wild defenseman record and Backstrom broke the win and shutout records for the Wild).

On the rhetoric of Obama

So yesterday was kind of a disappointment for anyone supporting Obama (or the Wild).

The primary that will not end continues.

I’ve given my opinion a few times now, I support Obama, and thus I got the Obama newsletter late last night, his attempt to rally the troops after a disappointing evening in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island. The newsletter was maybe the biggest disappointment tonight (except for the Wild). He has been repeatedly criticized for being all talk, that his rhetoric is fancy but never really says anything. I, personally, don’t believe that to be true, but the newsletter was a striking example of what he is being criticized for I’m terribly disappointed by how the rhetoric within, despite the call for “change,” is “politics as usual.” The letter he sent out (though I’m sure it wasn’t actually typed up and sent out by Obama despite the loving “Barack” signature) is copied below.

We may not know the final outcome of today's voting until morning, but the results so far make one thing clear.

When the dust settles from today's contests, we will maintain our substantial lead in delegates. And thanks to millions of people standing for change, we will keep adding delegates and capture the Democratic nomination.

We knew from the day we began this journey that the road would be long. And we knew what we were up against.

We knew that the closer we got to the change we seek, the more we'd see of the politics we're trying to end -- the attacks and distortions that try to distract us from the issues that matter to people's lives, the stunts and the tactics that ask us to fear instead of hope.

But this time -- this year -- it will not work. The challenges are too great. The stakes are too high.

Americans need real change.

In the coming weeks, we will begin a great debate about the future of this country with a man who has served it bravely and loves it dearly. And we will offer two very different visions of the America we see in the twenty-first century.

John McCain has already dismissed our call for change as eloquent but empty.

But he should know that it's a call that did not begin with my words. It's the resounding call from every corner of this country, from first-time voters and lifelong cynics, from Democrats and Republicans alike.

And together you and I are going to grow this movement to deliver that change in November.

Thank you,
Barack

Clearly “change” and “hope” are the buzzwords of his campaign, that’s fine with me, every candidate finds their buzz words so that their followers have signifiers to identify with. In just over 250 words he delivers the word “change” four times. Not an incredible amount but quite excessive. But that’s fine, he’s been criticized by Clinton and McCain for overuse of the word, but Clinton could be criticized for overuse of her signature scowl and McCain for (insert here).

But what was truly disappointing is the way in which this letter doesn’t say anything. It’s the same philosophy that drives “Support Our Troops” signs. The phrasing is vague, making it seem clear that if you don’t agree you must be crazy. But the words don’t say anything; they never define what they describe. It’s a rhetorical method of drawing a line in the sand without actually defining the argument, so that as many people as possible want to be on your side of the line.

The sentence that begins “We knew that the closer we got to the change we seek, the more we’d see of the politics we’re trying to end” is particularly revealing of Obama’s pension to oversimplify his statements into rousing emotional appeals instead of speaking to the people who are listening about what is really going on. It seems to me that “politics as usual” is rehashing rhetoric that is solely intended to gather the support of the public without giving the truth, the facts, indeed “the politics we’re trying to end.” This paragraph is somewhat bulkier than the others; it is thematically the message of the letter. This is the section where we don’t talk about defeat, or the attacks, this is where he tries to define “us.” Yet this statement is so inclusive and vague that it doesn’t say who “we” are or what defines “we” or what the politics are that need ending.

“The attacks and the distortion that try to distract us from the issues that matter to people’s lives, the stunts and the tactics that ask us to fear instead of hope” is an interesting end to that statement. It differentiates between us and them instantly. “They” are the ones who attack and distort. “They” want the politics “we” want to end. Furthermore, though the statement is largely evasive deep down it is directed at someone, or rather two specific people. It is their attacks and distortion that are distracting in the phrase. But this statement is itself an evasive attack, and seems to be taking up the space where information could/should reside, so it is really distracting from the issues that matter to me. The Obama campaign has a captive audience in a space such as this, yet it is nonetheless filled with this hollow rhetoric and othering of the rest of the field.

This example isn’t necessarily sinister, but this is what we have seen over and over in the past. Presidents who use tired rhetoric to gather support for war, or for pet spending projects, or frequently in the same capacity of trying to gather voters for elections. It makes the listener feel more patriotic for believing what the speaker believes, demonizing the opposition, even if their stance is not that far removed, othering them against those who agree, those who are patriotic. “Americans need real change.” Interpretation: if you want this change than you are American. And implicitly in this kind of rhetoric the more “American” you can acquire, the better.

The newsletter even goes on to state what the critics are saying about this rhetoric: “John McCain has already dismissed our call for change as eloquent but empty.” I’ve stated my bias, I believe there is substance to his campaign, that he has shown it often, but this letter to his supporters is eloquent and empty. It didn’t instill any “hope” in me this evening.

And Chicago beat the Wild, the world is a dark place this evening.

Missile strikes on Somalia

The story is still fairly fresh at this point, but I've only seen CNN reporting on this. The US has attacked Somalia this morning, sending missiles into the country in an attempt to weed out "known terrorists." the major issue with what has been reported so far is that reporters are, as usual in war reporting, not asking the right questions. They "pentagon correspondent" for CNN is happy having the authority of the Pentagon behind her, and accepts "known terrorist" targets as sufficient explanation. But this is the same thing that happened last January. The US bombed "strategic" targets in Somalia, but then the story disappears, the public has no idea why we are attacking another country, and we aren't allowed to.

The journalist who are covering this story need to be more vigilant, ask the right questions. If the pentagon doesn't want to give information find someone else. How about questioning other military officials, or how about they stop pretending like military officials are the be all and end all of authority. They are trying to control what is known, do Somali officials know anything? what about people in the region who are being bombed? It's disappointing to see that major journalists are satisfied being told evasive answers from the pentagon and don't feel like they need to dig any deeper, especially in a time of war. Why? They are afraid of repercussions from the top, and of being perceived as unpatriotic. So instead they use the government jargon, and play up standard rhetoric to make the public believe that what is being done, though mysterious, must be noble because we are doing it, and the secretivism must be a product of our dealing with the eradication of terrorist cells...which is just generally not true. The journalists who have the power to ask the questions have a responsibility to ask the right questions and not the questions that have been asked over and over, nor the questions that they have been told to ask.

Rheinmetall/Victoria 8

On a recent trip to the MoMA4 I had the chance to see a variety of wonderful short film works (this has nothing to do with film in Minnesota, but I’m rolling with it). As anyone who reads the blog will know I find Jeremy Blake’s work very interesting and I had the chance to see Angel Dust in person, which is entrancing and odd, with it’s digital reproduction of futuristic ski lodge.


              This is snow flying.6

But the piece that really caught me was Rodney Graham’s “Rheinmetall/Victoria 8.” It’s really a very simple piece. It sits alone, in a room of it’s own. The film is of a German Rheinmetall typewriter, an obsolete machine. It is projected by a 1961 Victoria 8 projector, in it’s time considered to be “the Rolls Royce”1 of film projectors. The Victoria 8 is a loud hulking machine, the centerpiece of the room. The film takes in different angles of the Rheinmetall, showing in it’s entirety, then in jarring angles, revealing the inner workings of the machine, it’s subtleties, it’s precision. The room is set up in such a fashion that the Victoria is the center of attention in the room, but convention tells us that the true focus of the room should be the film, but the loud clacking and mass of the projector demand attention. Slowly snow begins to fall on the typewriter. Accumulating in odd place, piling and cascading over the edges. Coming to neat, fine point on the keys, leaving a dusting around the edges. The film oddly entrancing, it’s oddness demands an attention of it’s own. As the film progresses the dual demands for attention, and the inability to satisfy both needs births a sort of anxiety. There is a battle going on in the room. The two machines are at war with each other2. Mutually dependent3, yet at odds. Two obsolete machines, allowing each other to exist, and demanding exclusively. I don’t wish to go into the repercussions of this or anything else, just that one fact about the piece was really powerful; it was an odd sensation, the kind of disquieting anxiety and dissatisfaction that art should produce.




1I have no idea who said this, but I read it somewhere else, so I’m citing something that I have no idea the origins of. But I did it, I didn’t say, so I’m citing it, here.

2So to speak.

3Look at me.

4I have posted this on my other blog as well. Why?5

5 Because I felt like it. And it makes it look like I post more often than I do. No one reads this anyway.

6 in the film. Angel Dust.

Adapting McCarthy

On the heels of No Country for Old Men’s big sweep at the Oscars I thought I would take a moment to note the rising popularity of the McCarthy adaptation. What McCarthy adaptations you ask? There has only been All the Pretty Horses and No Country. But with the success of No Country for Old Men, and McCarthy Pulitzer this past year his novels have become production gold.

I’m slightly opposed to this trend, I’m a fan of McCarthy’s work, let’s skip objectivity, I’m a fan and don’t want to have these novels ruined, or worse yet, bastardized. The track record provides little insight into whether or not these adaptations can work. All the Pretty Horses (until recently) was his most commercially successful work, the Billy Bob Thorton movie adaptation was less than successful. No Country for Old Men was arguably one of his weakest novels; it tended towards a little bit more simplistic structure and never quite comes together the way, say, Blood Meridian or The Road ever do. Which, oddly, lent itself to a much better screen adaptation. The Coen Brothers found the heart of the novel, the impotence of Sheriff Bell, and used that as the focal point of the adaptation (thus the much debated final scene of the film).

But with two more adaptations in production it’s not clear that adapting two of his most successful novels will lend themselves to quality filmmaking. Both Blood Meridian and The Road are currently in the works and may not have the kind of strength and insight behind them that the Coens brought to No Country for Old Men.

McCarthy Pulitzer winning The Road is currently filming with director John Hillcoat at the wheel. Hillcoat’s most recent film, The Proposition, seems to be in a similar vein to the novels of McCarthy. He may be a well suited director for the project, and The Road may be the kind of novel that allows itself to be adapted into another Oscar worthy film. The novel is simple and sheds a typical narrative arch. In fact there isn’t really an arc it’s more like a sun-bleached plain with minor depressions. The film is going to star Viggo Mortensen, Guy Pearce, and Charlize Theron, which is a decent lineup for a dark moody novel that takes place in a post-apocalyptic America.

What may be a much more difficult task is Ridley Scott’s pending adaptation of Blood Meridian. Blood Meridian may be a novel on par with Tristram Shandy, as a nearly unfilmable work of fiction. So much takes place in Blood Meridian, vast internal worlds, horrible massacres, betrayal, unparalleled violence. It is an economical novel; every scene feels important and trimmed of the fat. Much like No Country for Old Men it isn’t always about what is happening in front of your eyes, but what is being left out, about what isn’t yet being said. The major obstacle here may be Ridley Scott. A quality filmmaker, yes, but his filmography does not say much for subtle films. Scott’s films tend towards the overblown epic, the glorious sweeping stories that tell of great heroes and underdogs, in a word, Hollywood. Scott has made some great films in his career, but the subtlety, which this novel needs in adaptation, may not be within his realm. William Monahan will be actually penning the adaptation. He, as well, doesn’t not have a history of subtle screenplays. His screenplays for Kingdom of Heaven and The Departed were both well-written scripts, but an adaptation of a modern American classic may not be as successful (as he works simultaneously on the screenplays for both Blood Meridian and Jurassic Park IV). Even the adaptation of The Departed from Infernal Affairs lacked a sense of subtlety or the notion that he had found the heart of the story. It is a great adaptation, but so much of it is directly lifted from Andrew Lau’s Infernal Affairs that there isn’t a whole lot of adapting going on. Even with the nearly one to one adapting scheme used for The Departed he seems to miss the heart of Infernal Affairs and creates a new thematic trajectory for The Departed that did not exist in Infernal Affairs.

Adapting a film from a novel is a common practice, and a dangerous one. More often than not it leads to arguments over how well it was adapted or which form the story is better suited for. And adapting a great American author like Cormac McCarthy can be even more dangerous, yet it can be done. The Coen Brothers proved that it is possible to truly find the heart of a story and evade such esoteric arguments, allowing the novel and the film to coexist, to even become interdependent or lend a helping hand in analysis. But the Hollywood’s rush to adapt McCarthy’s great novels is reminiscent of the constant fads that take over the studios, be it comic book films and superheroes, apocalyptic epics, or McCarthy novels, a saturation of a certain kind of film can be a negative thing in theaters, especially when you’re toying with a novelist of McCarthy’s stature.

RIFTMAG

I've been writing for Rift Magazine for about a month or so now, but I just wanted to plug what they are doing over there. they are one of the only outlets left in Minneapolis that is really trying to cover the local music scene, keeping up to date, and trying to be all inclusive of the music that is going on in town. that said Rift wants to get back into print, the website is great, but they are looking to do both again and are looking for writers and financial support, so go check them out, save local art, hero.

El Diablo

David Doody did a great short piece on the phenomenon of Diablo Cody, and her win last night at the Oscars. go look at it on his blog.

InDigest Issue 4

Hello everyone, just the obligatory note that InDigest Issue 4 is up. It has poetry from Ingrid Chung & Rebecca Porte, art from Travis Lindquist, new Bedside Stacks and a new Dorkolopogous. There will be more of Issue 4 posted soon with new fiction, a brand new column, and an interview with director Robert Stone.

So I've obviously already voiced my opinion on the primaries, but I thought I'd pretend to be unbiased (and fail), I just can't help but wonder why Hillary Clinton continues to bury herself in cow shit. She's really grasping at straws trying to smear Obama subtly. The whole plagiarism deal, now calling him "change you can xerox." I think she is just making herself look ridiculous and making him look good every time he rises above it. No doubt she's got very intelligent people working on her campaign, but why can't they see how awful she looks every time that she does this, it's not like they've seen any success from this strategy, she just keeps sinking ungracefully. She maybe try something new, or try using the slogan "Don't change horses in midstream" everyone always loves that one for some reason.

Also doesn't she bare an odd resemblance to Christopher Walken at times? It's kind of creepy. Not that that should make you decide to not vote for her...but it makes you wonder...