The New York Times wonders if candidates are giving us too much information. Then the paper lets a surrogate act as its mouthpiece:

“I’m all for democratizing dialogue, but this is just much too much information,” Mr. Begala said. “It’s appalling, really.”

Hmmm. Appalling? I wouldn’t go that far. I see all public figures—from politicians to CEOs to movie stars to sports sensations to news anchors to talking heads—as self-conscious performers. They’re in front of the camera—of course they’re performers! Plus, no one can create a public profile in today’s world unless s/he’s got good visuals.

Bottom line: they’re not my cuppa, but they’re here to stay, because as long as there are public figures and cameras, there will be performers

Here’s what I had to say back in February:

Gawker reports on a “Firm Potent Leader with Plenty of Stamina”:

The Post ruined all our breakfasts with their cover this morning (seriously: “Judi gushes as Rudi rushes in”?? Ewwwww!!!)

Check out the placement of her hand on his cheek. And her hair, cascading just so. I’m going to throw up.

I also once posted a picture of The Kiss:

And for a while I was obsessed with making fun of the PDAs of the Chief Monkey of Iran:

 

the many loves of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

July 31, 2006

June 2006

As regular readers know, I’m on vacation. Till mid-October, posting will be irregular, infrequent, and not pegged to up-to-the minute events.

If you’re in need of sustenance, check out some of these links:

Back Talk, where the casualty count in Iraq is measured scrupulously as a means of determining the results of the surge—and where Engram provides the logical evidence that Al Qaeda in Iraq is a huge factor in our troubles there (contrary to what you hear from the intellectually lazy and/or politically insecure members of the MSM).

Martin Kramer on the Middle East, a treasure trove of up-to-the minute geopolitical/political news links, among other valuable links and essays.

Arts and Letters Daily—the website I cannot do without.