Today at IMAO Harvey notes that John McCain lacks a catch-phrase. Of course McCain lacks a lot of things so this is like busting on a Gremlin because there is a scratch in the paint job. Buff out the scratch, it’s still a Gremlin.

Nonetheless, Harvey has stepped up and offered some suggestions, and they are strong. Kind of makes me wish Mac would go with one of them. I mean, he’s going to lose anyway, why not have some fun, right?

I’ve had some big picture thoughts rumbling around in my head, and each I day I see things that just confirm my instincts. So here they come …

On my way home from work I drive right by the swimming pool in our complex. One day as I drove by I noted 5 massive SUVs sitting there. Translation: 5 lazy individuals or families drove not more than two blocks in their fuel-inefficient vehicles with a/c blasting, to lay out in the hot sun for an hour and then drove not more than two blocks back to their apt. No doubt later in the week they whined aplenty while dropping nearly $100 to fill up their tank.

Congress’ approval rating dipped into single digits for a bit there and hangs out in the neighborhood of 10-12%. But, if you check the sites that prognosticate on such things, a majority of congressional seats will remain unchanged, and only a small percentage of states / districts are even considering voluntarily firing their congressperson.

And, it appears that a man may be cruising to the most powerful office on earth on the strength of his oratory, despite having not one bit of relevant experience or ability.

Here is why our government may never work again: The yahoos in charge aren’t doing their job!

I’m not talking about Congress, the President or the Supreme Court. I’m talking about the American voters who have somehow rationalized that they can just continue to do the same thing (which 2/3 of the time is nothing at all) and somehow things will change. I’m talking about the idiots who have bought into the idea that when there is a problem you just run to the government for a fix despite the fact that our government repeatedly shows an inability to even understand problems, much less fix them.

Inefficiency wasn’t the founding fathers’ only reason for shunning pure democracy. They also realized that humans are fickle and too easily swayed by unsound logic when it is hidden behind tantalizing rhetoric.

Until we are ready to hold our elected leaders accountable for their actions and inactions we can expect no relief from our impotent government.

Dick Morris has posted his recommendations for McCain’s Veep selection. I agree with him a little.

First of all though, I think we’re all way off base in assuming that the selection will be some shrewd, calculating maneuver which will give flight to McCain’s dull effort. Strategy and wisdom have been absent from the Arizona Senator’s campaign since he locked up the nomination. I don’t know why we should assume that those things will suddenly appear when he picks a partner.

Morris argues that Mitt Romney would be a bad choice. Romney comes with some strong negatives, and how valuable is a guy who couldn’t attract conservative votes for himself going to be? I agree but for different reasons. As flawed as Romney’s primary campaign was, right now Conservatives are still squeamish about voting for McCain, so any conservative, however bland they may be would help.

However, I never like the idea of selecting someone you previously had to bash during the primaries. Maybe you can dance around inevitable “Back in March you said __, but now all of a sudden you think this person is the greatest thing since sliced bread,” inquiries. Sure those questions can be handled, but is that what you want to be talking about? If you succeed you’ll have convinced American that you are ok with your running mate. You automatically increase the time and effort spent off message, and McCain isn’t sharp enough when he’s on message to afford that.

Morris suggests Condi Rice or Colin Powell. Personally I like both, but I’m not sure it would be the strong strategic answer to Obama’s appeal that Morris thinks. I remember when Walter Mondale tagged Geraldine Ferraro to be his running mate. It was not hailed as a groundbreaking event in American political history. The reaction was more like, “Wow, you really ARE desperate.”

Joe Lieberman is Morris’ other choice. I can see that, and again I like the guy. But, Lieberman didn’t used to be a Democrat by accident. He’s strong on defense and has some other conservative-friendly positions. Like that. He stuck his thumb in Hillary’s eye by running as an independent and winning after her coalition ran him out of the party nomination for his seat. Love that, and even more I love thinking of him roaming around the Senate chamber not owing the party that tried to screw him a damn thing. I’d kind of like him to stay there. Plus, in many other ways he is a liberal.

Part of my difficulty is that I’ve already mentally given up on this election. There is no foresee-able outcome that I can get excited about, other than the hope that receiving a sound ass-kicking will motivate Republicans to return to their “Contract with America” spirit. So, I must admit that I like the idea of a McCain / Lieberman ticket based on entertainment value alone. I’m just a bit concerned about what might happen beyond that if it were to succeed. It’s similar to how, on the Democratic side I’d love to see an Obama / Clinton ticket because I believe that would be a full-on three-ring circus. The quest for a little fun is at war with my desire to be rid of the Clinton scourge once and for all.

Honestly, I don’t know who McCain should pick. Please, God, not Huckabee. That little imp is really starting to get on my nerves. He became the default outlet for a lot of conservative votes in search of a place to land, and he’s playing it like it was about him.

Also, it’s kind of difficult to suggest the possibility of wasting any real conservative talent on designated ceremony-attender duty in the shadow of McCain. If I thought that a McCain administration would set the #2 guy up for a strong run in ’12 maybe. But I just don’t see McCain displaying that kind of competence or experiencing that kind of success.

OK, I have to admit that when I first started seeing promos for USA’s Burn Notice I thought, “Sheesh, not another crime drama.”

Now, after watching the show’s catalog at Hulu, I’m hooked. It has all the necessary ingredients; compelling stories, cool tech crime-fighting tools, engaging characters and hot women.

There seems to be no limit to the TV-watching public’s appetite for crime or crime-esque dramas. They may take different angles on it, but at the core of all of them is some kind of crime or misdeed.

CSI attacks the premise with hardcore science. NCIS has some of that but mixes in a military element which is another surefire element.

Speaking of military, NCIS’ forerunner JAG featured a healthy military backdrop while focusing on the law side of things.

I think Burn Notice works because of its very unique angle. It has been a while since we’ve had a good spy thriller on television. Also there are a lot of technological gadgets which are always fun. The “who burned Michael?” mystery ties the show together from week to week, while Michael and friends run off on smaller weekly matters.

But the Law & Order franchise is still king. Other permutations may add some neat window-dressing, but this is that genre’s roots. They fight the bad guys and solve crimes with good old-fashioned gumshoe tactics, interrogation room theatrics and ever-shifting courtroom principles.

Blogging Stocks has an interesting post on well-known celebrity endorser fiascos. At the bottom of the OJ focus follow the link to see all 20+ fiascoes.

This got me to thinking about the Simpson / Hertz linkage and wondering: Did OJ hurt Hertz? I say, “No.”

No doubt the “running through the airport” commercials were huge, and take their place among the ad campaigns that most will never forget. This is not so much a result of entertainment value, or importance. It’s a matter of sheer ubiquity.

Anyway. By the time the white Bronco lumbered through the streets of LA and across televisions nationwide, I feel like OJ’s link to Hertz had faded over time. Technically Simpson represented Hertz until 1992, but the peak of that relationship had come many years earlier.

When the magnitude of OJ’s situation finally sank in, I linked him more directly to the Police Squad movies than anything else.

– B –

On many of the “fiascoes” my only comment was, “shame on you both – endorser and endorsee.” Example: Madonna. Pepsi dropped the Material Girl after her “Like a Prayer” video featuring questionable sexual and religious content. Shame on you Pepsi. You don’t get the complementary first “shame on the other person.” There had been too many advance warnings for that.

But also, shame on Madonna. She has plenty of star power, and should be able to sign on to endorse organizations and products for whom her antics would be, if anything, gravy.

Thanks to Wizbang for this one:

I think my favorite was the woman calling the cab “public transportation.” Classic: Technically correct, yet so hypocritical in substance.

Good to see DC so cooperatively embracing the Supreme Court’s decision. A DC resident can now unlock his or her gun and put it back together provided a thug is standing over him or her and shoving the muzzle of a loaded shotgun down his or her throat.

OK, I’m still a Brett Favre fan, but he is really making that difficult. Some thoughts …

Granted, I would have been all over him last March had Favre done his usual prolonged delay on deciding whether or not to return for another season with the Pack. Color me educated. There are worse ways to screw with your current/former team. Take resolutely retiring, allowing said team to retool and move on and then announcing your desire to return, for example.

Favre believes that spending a season or two with another team won’t damage his legacy. Unfortunately this is true. Case in point: Joe Montana. His legacy is so cemented as a 49er that I think we all just voluntarily block those waning moments with the Chiefs out of our minds. Same with Favre. He’ll go down as a Packer no matter what. His annual mind games with Aaron Rogers and the Packers are what threaten to taint his legacy.

Speaking of Rogers, I pity him. It’s bad enough having to fill the biggest cleats in the NFL. With Favre retired there is at least some security in the inevitability of it all. But on active duty with another team, Favre will cast the shadow of “what could have been” over Rogers’ every young QB mistake.

In support of Rogers many offer up the example of Steve Young’s success in replacing Montana. Not fair. Montana was not the iron man that Favre is. By the time he took over as the starter Young had already logged extensive playing time as Montana’s backup. And, while the Packers are a decent team, the 49ers of the Montana/Young era were one of the best teams in NFL history.

Hats off to the Packers for not giving in on this one. They’ve been needing to get on with their transition to the post-Favre era for some time now. To backtrack now would create problems that would easily outlast any benefits they would realize from recycing Favre for another year.

Sad news. Discount clothing retailer … well, that’s an understatement. I’ve previously called Steve & Barry’s something on the order of “Old Navy on Speed.” However you want to describe them, Steve & Barry’s is on the financial ropes.

Apparently that’s the problem. Their prices, perhaps, were too low. I remember my first visit to the S&B outside Charlotte. I asked them how they were able to get away with such insane pricing. I got some vague “how do the other guys get away with such high prices?” counter-point. “Other guys” apparently refers to those retailers who are paying their bills in an attempt to stay in business.

I’m very willing to admit that the markup on clothing is probably pretty high considering just the cost of material and labor to produce the product. But, as always, overhead is a factor. Retailers can’t hide out in low-rent districts. Steve & Barry’s carved out a niche in college towns which was a help. They don’t set up in the highest end of the real estate market. But, their stores are large and require lights, heat, air and employees like everyone else.

I couldn’t track down financial statements for the organization, but the word is they bought time by front loading their income with initial payments from mall retailers. Now that they have entered the zone where normal annual sales must cover normal annual expenses they are struggling.

Whatever the case, I’m with the article’s author. Hopefully some bigger entity will see value in Steve & Barry’s and scoop them up. They are too good to lose.

P.S. If you read on to the comments in the linked article you’ve got to love #1, the knee-jerk lib who sees the doom of one deep-discount retailer as some kind of general economic bellwether. Thanks #2 for quickly shooting that one down.

Normally I’m all for politicians doing nothing. That seems to be when they are most efficient, or rather, least inefficient. However …

In a recent post, Dick Morris highlights an opportunity for McCain to refute Obama’s recent shift to the center. Not a lot of news there unless you’d be surprised to learn that Obama may not really be the objective centrist that he’s been trying to portray since Hillary threw in the towel.

This quote from the piece highlights my frustration, actually one of many frustrations with McCain:

How McCain responds and whether or not he does, will have a big impact …

Exactly. While Obama is busy shifting gears for the general election and monopolizing media attention, McCain is continuing along the course that guided him to the Republican nomination.

Unfortunately he has failed to grasp or maybe refused to acknowledge another shift that any seasoned politician should have seen coming. Back in spring the media ate up his “bigger man” act with a spoon. Not because they liked that approach but because they liked McCain. As Republicans go he’ll always be a media favorite because he’s not much of one.

Those days are over and the media is solidly in Obama’s camp. There will be no more kudos for quietly rising above the fray. If McCain doesn’t attack and point out Obama’s duplicity, NO ONE WILL!

OK, sure, the conservative talk personalities will be on the story, but their audience is already resigned to hold their noses and vote McCain in November. While we’re on that, sending Huckabee out as a surrogate is no help either. I realize he’s McCain’s buddy and the man who helped build this idea that being the campaign’s “nice guy” is a sound strategy, but he doesn’t reach any part of the electorate that is up for grabs.

It shouldn’t be lost on us that to date, the only opponent McCain has been willing to vigorously attack was Mitt Romney. Is it because Romney was willing to attack him, or because McCain felt threatened by the presence of a real Republican in the race. If he’s waiting for Obama to attack it will never happen. Obama is in the lead. As long as McCain sits back and doesn’t play defense (and it’s not like he’s playing offense either) Obama can continue to score at will with positions all over the map to please a broad range of constituencies.

Sadly, it won’t be enough for this reality to sink in. If at some point McCain does wake up from his nap and take Obama to task, it’s not is if he’s a terribly effective communicator. Especially next to Obama.

I’m beginning to think that we conservatives are destined to sit on the back porch with McCain for the next several months and watch this whole thing pass us by.