Shots in the Dark

“That’s it, babe. Now let’s go out and win this election.”

—Montana governor Brian Schweitzer

Perhaps Standing Eagle was right and Obama should have chosen Schweitzer as veep, because last night, Schweitzer rocked the house. When he started urging the state conventions to rise to their feet, you’d have to be paralyzed not to have felt a shiver run down your spine.

“Colorado! Stand up! Florida! Stand up! Pennsylvania! Get off your hind end! In the cheap seats! Stand up!”

It was fun to see the huge grin on Bill Clinton’s face as he listened to Schweitzer; Clinton knows a good speech when he hears one, and Schweitzer’s was terrific. If more political speeches were equally colorful, heartfelt and passionate, people might actually watch these conventions.

Hillary, by the way, was just fine. The most important thing she did was throw herself behind Obama at the very beginning of her speech, so that there could be no doubt where she stood. I think this issue of Clinton-Obama discord will be largely put to rest now.

Also: Who knew that Chelsea Clinton had a voice? (And kind of a nice one as well.)

Bonus points for Hillary in using Van Halen, Lenny Kravitz and Tom Petty in the soundtrack to her autobiographical film. Hard to believe “Girl, You Really Got Me Now” is about 30 years old, but wow, Eddie Van Halen could play guitar. And using Petty’s “American Girl” was a nice touch, although kind of funny, if you think about the chorus: “Oh yeah, all right, take it easy baby, make it last all night….”

Oh, that Hillary. She is a tiger.

I’ve written before about A’Rod’s performance, or lack thereof, under pressure. Last night, as the Yankees lost to the Red Sox, he went 0-5 and committed an error.

Or, more specifically:

Rodriguez went 0 for 5 with two double plays, two strikeouts and a throwing error in the Yankees’ 7-3 loss to the Red Sox on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees fell to six games behind Boston for the American League wild card, and Rodriguez, their marquee player, was booed heavily by the crowd as he fanned to end the game.

Alex Rodriguez must know that there is only one thing that counts in New York Yankee baseball: beating Boston. Perhaps that is why he reserves his most dreadful games for the Red Sox.

Last night’s was a game the Yankees not only needed to win, but should have. Argh.

My, that Larry Summers is prolific. He’s written a piece for the new issue of Harvard magazine about the economy and the presidential campaign.

While the election will set a course for the country on very fundamental issues of foreign policy—from Iraq to Iran to our approach to the Islamic world generally—and on fundamental domestic issues concerning civil liberties—as the next president is likely to appoint a significant number of Supreme Court justices—my focus is on the economic agenda.

The article, which really reads more like a speech, then goes on to talk about areas of particular economic concern—health care, energy, etc.

So this really is a turning-point election, with enormous challenges on a broad economic agenda. I believe America has the strengths to make progress on these pressing issues—and powerful incentives to do so.

The rehabilitation continues…..

I.e., Sox versus Yankees time, and the games really count now. The Yankees may not have to sweep, but it wouldn’t hurt, and they have to take at least two of three.

The Yankees have quietly gained two games on the Red Sox in the American League wild-card standings since the morning of Aug. 16, before they began their mini-surge. They are five games behind Boston for the wild card, and also trailed Minnesota by four games early Monday.

The Yankees have no more games with the Twins, but they have six with Boston and four with the Chicago White Sox, who led the Twins by a half-game in the A.L. Central at the start of play Monday.

Tonight it’s Andy Pettitte versus Tim Wakefield at the Stadium, and yes, I will take your extra ticket.

….waiting….

In any case, I think you have to like Pettitte in this one. He’s fantastic in August (though not so much this year), and the Yankees always seem to crush Wakefield.

…that Barack Obama has perhaps the world’s most beautiful children?

(Other than my nieces and nephews, of course. And my godsons.)

I didn’t see Michelle Obama’s speech last night, because I passed out fell asleep. But the reviews seem pretty good. What’d you all think?

Is it censorship for Random House to change its mind and not publish a novel having to do with Islam for fear that some Islamic nut job would blow up its building?

Salman Rushdie says yes, but Stanley Fish disagrees, calling it “judgment.”

He also refers to Rushdie as “the self-appointed poster boy for the First Amendment,” which strikes me as ungenerous. If there’s anyone who’s earned the right to speak out on behalf of free speech…

And Fish seems awfully lackadaisical about Random House’s decision, which wasn’t a decision not to buy the novel, but not to publish a novel it had already purchased for $100,000. Fish seems sure that another publisher will pick it up; I wouldn’t be so sure. Never underestimate the herd-like qualities of New York publishing houses…..

The answer’s not obvious. Yes, he brings foreign policy expertise. But he’s a Washington insider, mutes the message of change, won’t help with Hillary’s voters, doesn’t influence an important state, and is likely to commit still more gaffes.

So goes John Dickerson’s argument in Slate, anyway.

And yet, there is a fundamental decency and likeability about Biden that will help Obama. And the foreign policy expertise will help shore up a potential voter concern about Obama. (Though I still think voters are going to be voting on the economy.)

On balance, I think it’s a good choice, in part because none of the other choices—Kaine, Bayh, etc.—really seemed outstanding.

Here’s a statistic in today’s Times that surprises me:

Derek Jeter laughed off the idea of playing until he is 45 years old, the way Pete Rose did. But it is worth noting that Jeter has 2,500 hits at an age when Rose, the career leader, had only 2,404. Rose ended up with 4,256.

After hitting around .280 most of this season, prompting much talk that his skills are in decline, Jeter has pulled his average up to .296….

As predicted here on this site—sorry, Standing Eagle—Barack Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate.

Mr. Obama’s selection ended a two-month search that was conducted almost entirely in secret. It reflected a critical strategic choice by Mr. Obama: To go with a running mate who could reassure voters about gaps in his résumé, rather than to pick someone who could deliver a state or reinforce Mr. Obama’s message of change.

David Brooks would approve. Do you?