Short Cuts

Double Down on Dean: Both Newsweek and Time are doing the Dean-dance with lengthy profiles on the surly sawbones and his early run at capturing the 2004 dem nomination. Both weeklies leave the door wide-open for him to fail which is probably the safest bet. McMemories (McGovern-McCarthy-McCain) of the political disasters of yore resonate in Dean. Meanwhile he and his Internet Deanieboppers make good copy while we wait for him to draw dead. That's poker talk for trying to make a hand that even if made, won't win the pot.

Dean's Doctor Motif: We kid you not, Deanieboppers fashion noise-makers out of prescription bottles filled with change, and say mindless things like, "Howard Dean, a prescription for change." They wear lab coats at rallies. Here, Ann Gerhart at the WaPo takes a look at the man's personality that's a real heads up. Is "Take gas now so we won't have to call him in the morning" too rough? The analogies and slogans are endless. We're sure you have some of your own.

Panty Hose and a Beard? Ed Rendell who is now governor of Pennsylvania (who never seemed to have this problem) has issued an executive order saying state employers can't discriminate against anyone who has "undifferentiated sexual characteristics." Unless Pennsylvania has some sort of kinky system where job seekers are interviewed naked, we're not sure how they figure this out. Perhaps this is just some kind of fashion statement? We're confused.

Fighting Back: John Sutter, the publisher of a little New York newspaper called The Villager, has had it with the New York Times for swiping stories, copy, and ideas from his paper. He's taken his beef to the right place: Howard Kurtz and the WaPo. Kurtz had a Times employee on his CNN media show this weekend who flatly stated that no one is ever fired at the Times. When they do incompetent work they are simply asked to do it more slowly.

Soon, Sooner, Soonest: It's August and no one is around so Bob Bartley, a seasoned political pro, takes a Hillary candidacy out for a spin in today's WSJ column. He suggests she may be the only way to stop Dr. Death...er...Dean from destroying what is left of the dem party. We figure she needs no such excuse herself and the dems would welcome her at the head of the ticket. Might as well get rid of her in 2004. Why wait?

-Your Monday Challenged LComStaff