99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall...

Short one this week. The news was dry and television is really interesting. I’m watching “Storm Over Everest” on PBS. Not only is the story compelling, but the high-definition film of Mt. Everest is absolutely breath-taking. Forget American Idol. Learn something people. Watch PBS.

Today’s post is brought to you by the numbers 2, 4 and 7, and by the letter ‘D’. ‘D’ is for Disasterpalooza. And if we weren’t completely engaged before, we certainly are now. Over the past two weeks we’ve been inundated with cyclones, floods, volcanoes, thunderstorms, tornadoes, wildfires, shark attacks and now, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan. Early estimates estimate more than 12,000 dead, 26,000 injured, 7,800 missing and 9,600 trapped beneath debris. The shear scale of tragedy demands that pictures of screaming parents and dust-covered rescue workers lead off every television newscast (although at 8 p.m. tonight cable news instantly replaced Disasterpalooza with wall-to-wall coverage of a meaningless West Virginia Democratic primary.) But there comes a point where we no longer need to see the cameraman wrapped around the reporter’s ankles to prevent him from blowing off the hotel balcony to know that it’s windy outside. I think we’ve reached that point.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, there was a primary in West Virginia today. As expected, Senator Clinton defeated Barack Obama by what looks like at least 35 points. As a result Clinton will collect the majority of the state’s 28 delegates. In terms of pledged delegate count, superdelegate count and popular vote count, this primary is about as valuable as a canoe in the desert. Obama now leads in all three of those categories, and is likely to hold that lead through the final primary on June 3rd. But the victory allows Senator Clinton to continue to claim that she should be handed the nomination, in spite of the will of the voters. Kentucky and Oregon are up next on the primary calendar, Kentucky leaning toward Clinton, Oregon toward Obama. And the beat goes on.

The good news is that this primary nonsense is almost over. The bad news continues to be the exit polls. Even accounting for the fact that these surveys were taken in a state in which the demographics overwhelmingly favor Clinton (under-educated, under-wealthy, over-aged, “hard-working white voters”), the results are very disturbing. Over 60% of both Clinton and Obama supporters now say they will be dissatisfied if the other candidate receives the nomination. Ninety days ago most Democratic voters said they would be happy with either candidate at the top of the ticket. A lot of “healing” needs to take place between now and November if the nominee is to mount a strong challenge to McCain.

In a related story, there may be a bright spot for Democrats this primary season. Even if voters can’t agree on a presidential candidate, they seem to agree that they aren’t terribly interested in renewing Republican rule. As Clinton rolled to victory in West Virginia, Democrat Travis Childers defeated Republican Greg Davis for an open congressional seat in northern Mississippi. This is the third time in as many special elections this season that a Democrat has captured a seat in a traditional Republican stronghold. During all three of these campaigns, Republicans attempted to link the local candidate with Barack Obama and other members of the “liberal” Democratic Party leadership - a strategy which has served them well in the past in the districts in question. But it would appear that for the time being, that strategy seems to be failing. There could be several reasons for this - including the idea that perhaps, after eight years of a Republican administration, the mood in the country has shifted a little. Perhaps the country is ready for ideas like universal health care and alternative energy. Perhaps America has shifted - at least in some respects - to the left.

Oil prices continue to rise to record heights, topping $126 a barrel last week. As a result, regular gasoline in some locations is selling for over $4.00 a gallon. Where is my flying car that runs on water?

Finally, according to the New York Post, Beyonce Knowles is pregnant. Is Jay-Z really the father? Quick, somebody call Maury Povich.