Debate Fallout

Well, I'm somewhat surprised and very pleased to see the CW congealing around Tuesday's debate that, whoever won, Hillary Clinton definitely lost. She comes in for a gentle ribbing from Chris Dodd here, and a sharp attack from John Edwards here (politics of parsing indeed!). At the same time, Barack Obama responds to one of the Clinton campaign's least attractive features (among many contenders), namely its woe-is-me brand of feminism, here. [Isn't some opposition to Hillary rooted in misogyny?--ed. Sure. And Clinton and her retainers' tactic of reducing all criticism of her to expressions of latent misogyny is all the more repugnant.]

Observing all this, Andrew Sullivan comments: "This race is shifting a little, isn't it?" In the beltway, undoubtedly, it is. Elsewhere, I'm far from optimistic. Since Democratic primary voters somehow have found Clinton's position(s) on the war not only not disqualifying, but indeed unobjectionable thus far, and assuming the gender-baiting nonsense actually works with them, she will be very tough to beat.

Let's Think Before We....

I'm sitting in my apartment watching the National Heads-Up Poker Tournament, in which Shannon Elizabeth is in the semifinals [what?--ed.] against Paul Wasicka. Before the last commercial, Shannon (if I may call her that) had a ~3:1 chip lead when Wasicka went all in with pocket 10's. Shannon called with AcQc. In other words, the hand was close to a coin-flip, but Wasicka had a slight lead. A queen fell on the flop, making Shannon a big favorite at that point---until Wasicka back-doored a straight.

Since this happened, the broadcasters have, by my count, described the hand as a "bad beat" three times, a "suck-out" twice, and a "beat" twice. Now look, I get it that both commentators want to sleep with Shannon Elizabeth. So do I. So I can sympathize with their (faux) sympathy for her. But this trope is retarded, and I've seen way too many instances of it in poker coverage, and it needs to be strangled in the cradle. If you go all-in with the best of it, and your opponent improbably takes the lead, only for you to come back and win the pot, that is not a bad beat or a suck-out. Enough. It's enough.

UPDATE: Now they're talking about the "emotional roller-coaster Shannon's been on."

UPDATE: On the final hand of the match, Shannon went all-in with 65, Wasicka called with AK. The flop came AKQ. Thus: "Shannon can chop with J10, and can return the suck-out favor with running 5's or 6's."

UNRELATED UPDATE: Although the episode must have come out ten years ago, I only recently got why the Simpsons episode featuring a drink called the "flaming homer"/"flaming mo" is so funny, when I heard someone use the expression "flaming 'mo."

RELATED UPDATE: One of the broadcasters is named "Ali Nejad." Therefore, I blame Rod for this.

Condolences

Well, oddly good news about Elizabeth Edwards this morning. The Edwards' announcement is part of what seems to be a new medical paradigm in which diseases are treated and (with luck) rendered asymptomatic rather than aggressively --- and as anyone who has seen the effects of substantial radiation or chemotherapy can attest, poisonously --- attacked. If we could have a direct election for first lady, Mrs. Edwards would surely win in a landslide. I'd vote for her for president if she were running.

In considerably sadder news, Cathy Seipp, an indy journalist and very smart and all-around charming woman whom I met when I was working in LA a couple of years ago, has succumbed to lung cancer after surviving it four or five years longer than she was supposed to. RIP.

UPDATE: Just to clarify what I meant by "oddly good news," the story the slightly-more-reliable-than Drudge Report Politico unfurled early in the morning was that the illness was bad enough to compel Edwards to drop out. As George Burns is supposed to have said when asked how he felt on the occasion of his 90th birthday, "Considering the alternative...."

Blogrolling

You'll notice at right that I've added a few blogs that should have been here ages ago; and also a new one, from our pal Jeremy, "An American at Cambridge."

The Apotheosis Of Bergerdom

To wit:

Are you striving for a higher degree of professionalism for your fantasy sports league? Would you like an impartial and effective method for resolving disputes with other teams? Do you needa comprehensive league constitution? Or, might you be looking for that extra degree of scouting intelligence that can make all the difference during the season?

Professor Marc Edelman's "SportsJudge™" brings an unsurpassed level of experience and expertise to the competitive world of fantasy sports. As a practicing attorney and professor trained in the legalities of professional and virtual sports, Professor Edelman has quicklybecome recognized as a leading authority and resource by
those who take their fantasy sports seriously.

There's training in "the legalities of virtual sports"? Only and Danandrich University (est. 2011).

Babysteps back into blogging. Hat tip: Radley Balko