Trying too hard to be cool is not cool

Look, kids, the Republicans know Paris Hilton and Britney Spears have enjoyed fame in the last decade! And they've seen those old Norm Macdonald sketches on Saturday Night Live where he talks about how much Germans love David Hasselhoff, too!

Surely these ultra-clever pop culture references, along with John McCain's avowed awareness of the Internet, shall be the final elements needed to establish the GOP brand as the choice du jour of the "it" crowd and thus worthy of electoral dominance this fall. Or maybe they can keep people from thinking about, you know, issues and stuff. Hey, it's a win either way, right?

The long-promised return to regular posting will begin no later than this weekend. Now that political reality seems more outlandish than the best efforts of The Onion and Stephen Colbert combined, I have too much material to stay away any longer.

Yes, he can... make it a little closer

The news that Barack Obama has trimmed John McCain's lead to 15 points in Alabama's presidential polling -- cutting the previous lead in half -- raises three notable points:

1) Despite all the caterwauling from pundits who really want a close race for the White House, this election is shaping up to be a solid victory for the Democrats. Obama is holding his own among independents, and even after a seemingly never-ending primary fight, he has a base that is far more motivated than McCain's and is consolidating more and more as the days pass.

2) Things have reached the point in Alabama that a mere 15-point deficit for Obama is considered a moral victory for the Democratic side. Considering Alabama is McCain's surest bet this side of Utah, though, this news can't be heartening to the Republicans. It also can't be good news for GOP congressional candidates who hoped McCain might have some coattails to ride.

3) I've got a lot of catching up to do. Three to four months' worth, to be precise. Those of you who have continued to visit have superlative patience, and you deserve to be rewarded with a whole host of posts. Tonight, though, let's start slow by breaking that unhealthy "one post a month" trend.