My American friends and I, just like my friends from other countries, often have arguments about whose country is better.  The American argument, though, is usually fairly odd - the inverse of "mine is better than yours" that you'd usually expect.

23%.  That's the President's approval rating in the latest LA Times / Bloomberg poll.

A new poll from Public Policy Polling confirms the finding in a Rasmussen poll two days ago :

Barack Obama leads John McCain in the presidential race in Virginia.

Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) said back in February that he would decline to serve as Vice President.  I think he should reconsider.

Would Kossacks accept stereotyped cracks about a Black president?  From Democrats, Republicans, anyone?  

So why are so many eager to jump on John McCain's age with stupid and insensitive jokes about the elderly?

So Arizona bill SB 1108 says it would ban state-funded colleges and universities from offering classes that are "deemed contradictory to the values of American democracy or Western civilization."

I spent a few years teaching introductory courses in a university philosophy department, trying to turn young minds on to philosophy as a way of thinking and a way of life.  Let's think for a minute about how many of those texts are "contradictory to the values of American democracy or Western civilization", shall we?

Well I guess the profs over at Language Log (let alone crusading editor "fev" over at headsup) aren't going to be giving any plaudits to United Press International, who appear to have done their level best to tar Obama with the "hidden Muslim" tag.  In a story posted today on the controversial South Carolina pastor Roger Byrd, they managed to come up with this little gem:

Despite a Muslim-sounding name, the freshman Illinois senator and Democratic presidential candidate is a practicing Christian and longtime member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

I saw a comment in a thread earlier today that made my blood boil; for the commenter I am sure it was an non-reflective, knee-jerk response born out of Clinton hatred.  But to me, it was an almost perfect symbol of the reflexive sexism of so many critiques of Hillary Clinton.

Let's make a new rule for ourselves and pledge to ourselves to keep it - for every diary you write attacking a Democrat, you have to write two other diaries - one supporting or thanking a Democrat (without attacks), and one attacking a Republican (or other baddie).

Democratic supporters of Obama and Clinton appear to be doing their best to tear the Democratic party apart, at a time when the world needs Democrats to cleave together and consign the Republican party to political oblivion.

In the interminable Jerome thread, Bill White asked a very important question in response to my comment that "If you don't understand why those of us outside the United States dislike saber-rattling, you will never understand why you are so isolated."

It's worth quoting almost in full, because it was very well put:

Nobody likes saber-rattling unless they are holding the saber. But America simply is the largest military power and with the EU is one of the top two largest economies in the world... Bill Clinton DID what Obama talks about, he was simply very good at papering it over with his personal charm...

Would you prefer American politicians lie?

It will be a long, hard road for the United States to get back to a position of trust with even its international allies given not just the disaster that is Bush II, but several presidencies before it.

My Shorter Jonah Goldberg: