ON LEADERSHIP AND FLATULENCE: Traveling again, Sacramento to be exact. Jotted off a quick note to a Kerry-voting pal this morning, and in lieu of the real and custom post y'all readers deserve, I'll excerpt that note here, for your edification and enjoyment:

Sure, Bush's ad is manipulative to the point of being dishonest. And I think he's stupid on same-sex marriage, stem cell, choice, etc.

But I think Kerry is always qualifying everything, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, which makes me think he's just an overthinking BIG PUSSY. Now, I, too, am an overthinking big pussy, as I'm sure you are, too. But that's why we'd make bad presidents. Bush, like Reagan and Roosevelt who you wisely cited, is just the brand of clued-in and yet clueless cowboy that I think makes a good prez. It's my opinion that the prez is mostly about security and bully pulpit morality and, as such, I like how Bush represents more morality (via less abortion, JudeoChristian values, importance of marriage and family) and more badass defense than prevaricating Kerry. He's, admittedly, too extreme on both fronts, but I think that's a leader's curse and requirement. Pull like a motherfucker and then let the populace be the drag on you. And I suspect and hope that, when it comes to social issues, the illusory (but I believe real) will of the people will overwhelm Bush's moralizing in practice, moving us closer to same-sex marriages, keeping abortion legal (albeit scarce and under fire), and protecting our civil liberties.

I may be wrong.

And I'm definitely disoriented at 39K feet, somewhere over Denver, en route to Sacramento. But that's largely because there's a mad farter unleashing his/her inner ass juices on his/her unsuspecting neighbors. Good God. For the love of all that is non-stinky, he/she must be stopped. Stoppered. Butt plugged! We need handheld fart-detection units up here...so that this cowardly ass-terrorist has to face the music, has to be held (at arm's length) accountable, etc.