Much of my mind is on Hurricane Matthew, which is predicted to do much damage to the Eastern coast of the U.S., starting in Florida and working its way north. I feel sorry for the folks who have to live with all that uncertainty and danger and maybe displacement in the coming days. When you see all the money that is wasted in this country on silly, often petty matters, you wonder if there isn't some way to use some of that to be better prepared for incidents like this. Hope everyone and everything comes through it all right.
I said here the other day that when my parents dragged me to a Lakers game in 1960 — which they did using much the same technique the Symbionese Liberation Army used to enlist Patty Hearst — the team was all white. John Neumann writes, "The Lakers left Minneapolis and arrived in L.A. with at least one man of color, future Hall-of-Famer Elgin Baylor. Granted, Minnesota wasn't the most diverse state, but I'd hate to have you think it was so lily-white the basketball team had to move." Point taken. I don't remember any black guys on the court that night but it was long ago…and my mind was in Bedrock anyway.
The New York Times poll aggregator Upshot currently says Hillary Clinton is pretty likely to win states totaling 263 electoral votes — and that's without awarding her Wisconsin, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa or a few other states where she's currently leading in at least some of the major polls. All the major pollsters have her between 2 and 15 (!) points ahead in Wisconsin so its ten electoral votes would put her over the top even if she loses Ohio (possible) and Florida (unlikely) and North Carolina (unlikely).
Trump must know this so logic would tell us he's going to try something big in Sunday's debate — something that could possibly turn things around. Then again, logic would have told us he wouldn't have done most of the things he did in the first debate, including being so unprepared. So who can say what he's going to try? A few choruses of "Darktown Strutters Ball" wouldn't surprise me.
There have been many little tells and indicators that he's going to hammer her on her hubby's sexual escapades and her "enabling" of him. I'm wondering if that isn't a red herring so she'll prepare comebacks for that and not for something else he has in mind. He must know that bringing up Monica and other women never really hurt Bill politically, let alone made people dislike his wife. Also, it's ancient history insofar as much of the country is concerned.
Moreover, it's just asking to have people bring up Donald's own marital infidelities and problems. As Joe Conason reminds us, it's not like Trump or his surrogates Rudy Giuliani and Newt Gingrich don't have anything to be ashamed of in the relationship department.
Hey, which TV host do you think makes more money? Jimmy Fallon or Dr. Phil? You may be surprised.
Lastly for now: People keep writing to ask me if I'm going to be at this comic convention or that comic convention. Quick answer: I have none planned between now and WonderCon, which is in Anaheim March 31-April 2. On the second day of the con, I will be hosting a panel with Steve Ditko, Wally Wood, Howard the Duck and a guy who'll be passing out free mint-condition copies from the first printing of Action Comics #1 in 1938. Put it on your calendar now.