So America wants a spanking?

MSNBC talk show host Tucker Carlson, speaking in Huntsville on Thursday, offered his theory on why Republicans will fare well in 2008: The GOP is the "sit up and eat your peas or we're going to spank you party. The Democrats are softer, more compassionate, like Mommy ... the kind of guy who cries at Meg Ryan movies."

Another Carlson observation: "The president is not entirely comfortable with language."