Wednesday Roundup: The Adulation of Strangers

Forget what the polls about Congressional approval tell you — House Democrats are all set to roll over any GOP challenge in 2008.

Anyone who reads this publication will know that I love polls — that I, in fact, can't get enough of polls. Which is often a disappointing addiction, because, as I also happen to know, many polls are bunk. The polls discussed in the HuffPo link are not perfect, as generic candidates on either side aren't much of a telling factor; it is nice, though, to see quantifiable information showing that people's frustration with what Congress has been facing is separated from how they view Democrats in the upcoming election, and that Democrats still control the agenda on every issue.

Speaking of controlling the agenda, how about this? On Monday, Senator Ted Stevens' home was raided by federal agents due to what may amount to a collection of ethics problems. On Tuesday, Ted Stevens took it upon himself to drain the Sea of Irony and declare that he was committed to fighting an ethics reform bill just sent over from the House. Sometimes I am simply amazed.

Keeping with that same sort of irony, I have something similarly amazing to share: Dick Cheney admitted he was wrong about the insurgency being in its "Last Throes." He also thinks it was totally uncool for Scooter to get convicted, and also that Gonzales is awesome. For the record. I am honestly clueless as to why Now equals a better time for him to talk about his feelings than any other time he's been in government. Maybe he'll start blogging.

Or maybe it is because of oil. Oil closed at a record high yesterday. I am usually that guy who tells people "Hey, you should buy gas today instead of next week, because the prices... whoo!" but in the last few months I have found that I am usually wrong. I know that gas prices have gone down recently because refinery production is up after a few came back online from maintenance in the US. I'm not sure what will happen with oil prices at $78/barrel, creeping towards $80, and the relationship between oil prices and gas prices has been erratic lately. Still, though, I bet you should buy gas today instead of next week.

In last week's Who's Blue, Bob Ray Sanders and I talked about how cuts to the newsroom at papers across America are directly affecting how the news gets reported. The Fort Worth Weekly has a story about how such cuts are affecting the Dallas Morning News, in particular.

All that noise you've been hearing about Talmadge Heflin and the Texas GOP has no doubt made you ask the same question we've all been pondering: why would you put someone twice whipped in a position with so much juice in your party? Well, Burka thinks he knows the reason: Heflin is apparently not much more than a glorified temp, holding down the fort while they find someone to take over the gig for good.

Finally, if you looked at a copy of the Wall Street Journal yesterday and felt a chill run up your spine, or heard the echo of dogs and trumpets in the distance, here's why: Rupert Murdoch's attempts to purchase Dow Jones came to fruition. You can only imagine how I think that will turn out.