URL: September dKos Straw Poll

I guess it’s never too early to start wishing for your dream presidential candidate.  General Wesley Clark seems to be the front runner on the latest dKos straw poll.  Clark was a favorite of mine from back in the 2004 election — he got my vote during the Missouri primary — but he just wasn’t as prepared as he should have been.  Since then he’s done a lot to put himself forward, to speak out against Bush policies he doesn’t like while at the same time offering interesting alternatives.  Right now, unless someone really great were to come along, he’s definitely my hope for the 2008 ticket.

URL: Voting Panel Will Propose New Calendar for Primaries

Not that we’ll see any of these proposals put in place, but most of them sound very good.  Of all the proposals, the four regional primaries sounds like a damn good idea.  I’ve never been involved in a campaign, but it seems to me candidates would have an easier time of it of they only had to concentrate on one region at a time.  Of course, it still doesn’t address the stupidity of having Iowa and New Hampshire play such an important role in choosing a national candidate.

I’ll give this Cindy Sheehan, she has some cajones, but I guess having your son killed in war can do that to you.

URL: German Political Leaders Mull Next Move (AP)

Leave it to the Germans to not be able to make a decision.  Of course, I find myself wondering if a center-right government would be a good thing for Germany and/or America.   Say what want about Schroder, but at least we knew where he was standing — even if that was standing against us.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  Merkel sounds power-hungry and Schroeder, who is power hungry, will not want to let go easily — if ever.

URL: Top Emmys go to "Raymond," "Lost" (Reuters)

Well, for a change, the Emmys actually made some good choices, not to mention some interesting ones.  First, the good ones:  it was great to see Everybody Loves Raymond take home the Best Comedy prize.  It was well-earned, but it’s a shame Peter Boyle didn’t win for Best Supporting Actor. Brad Garrett is funny, but would have been a fitting end to the show to honor Boyle’s hilarious character. Unlike many long-running comedies, Raymond rarely made a mis-step and remained funny right up to the very last show.  Lost was also a great choice for Best Drama.  The Emmys rarely choose popular choices for Best Drama, unless it’s The West Wing, so this was a bit of a shock, I’m sure.

Desperate Housewives wasn’t completely shut out of the Emmys.  Felicity Huffman, who along with Marcia Cross is outstanding on the show, was deserving of the win.  Here’s something I don’t understand:  why the hell is Desperate Housewives considered a comedy?  It certainly has its funny moments, but it’s a drama, not a comedy.  Patricia Arquette’s Best Lead Actress in a Drama was a surprise, at least to me.  I think she’s fantastic on Medium, but there were certainly more deserving women in the category.  Another surprise, and in my opinion completely undeserving when considering the other nominees, is James Spader’s win for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Boston Legal.  Ian McShane or Hugh Laurie were far more deserving. On the other hand, it was fantastic to see William Shatner — Captain Kirk of all people! — get Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the same show.  Shatner is great on Boston Legal and shows that he actually has some acting ability.

If the Emmys continue to make great choices like these I may actually have to start watching again.