It’s another night of live-blogging, maybe some pizza, perhaps a Tecate or two, who knows? Right now I am not watching channel 11 as they blabber on about nothing, especially David Brooks. Instead I’m reading an article the Nitz just sent me on Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, someone whose music has taken up a part of my life recently. Great, interesting story.

Cubs game tonight too, and as an added bit of excitement they have installed instant replay, starting tonight. That was unexpected. Or, I didn’t know they were even thinking of doing that. Well, game at 7, Obama later, and I have consulted with my D-Town correspondent and hope to have a full report tomorrow on the goings-on there. I’ll be back when things start heating up!

Whoa! Almost forgot, the Bears are playing too! But it’s the final preseason game, and as I flip over to it, it’s already 10-0 Cleveland. So that’s not looking good. They’re a little…troubled this year, the Bears. Back to the DNC and Tim Kaine is on quoting gospel stuff. Alright. Whatever, dude. Now he’s speaking Spanish. Hmmm, time for a Tecate?

Bill Richardson. Yeah! Nice line on the flip-flops! Shit, bases juiced for the Phillies, already 1-0. Whew, strikeout! Nice escape job there by Dempster. Richardson is speaking Spanish too! I’ve got two cats around me, laptop on my lap, remote control by my side. I can’t get up! Where’s my lovely pregnant wife when I need her to get me a beer? Stevie Wonder! Now Grossman throws a TD, it’s 10-7 Cleveland. OK, I just ordered a pizza from Father & Son, cheese and sausage, free with 20 cards. Yeah, we eat there a lot.

“Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie! This laptop is hot and I need to get up. Who’s fired up and ready to go? Not these cats. They’re flopped out all over me. I missed Clinton last night, and Biden, the whole thing. Sounds like they did a good job. I was busy with Rock and Roll.

Al Gore! You go, guy. Shoulda been president. We really missed out on that one. I’ll never forgive Florida for that. They just showed that dude from “Lost” at Mile High Stadium (whatever it’s called). Jin?

I was glad to hear Barack Obama stand by his White Sox while dissing the Wrigley fans as being “not serious.” Really. It’s much better than, say, being born in Chicago and then running for the Senate in New York and wearing a Yankee hat. He’s a South Sider, so he should stick by his team. Anything else would be pandering. Daley is a Sox fan too, and doesn’t try to pander to Cubs fans. He shouldn’t. It’s just sports anyway.

But of course Obama is wrong. As another Sox fan, Richard Roeper of the Sun-Times points out, “make no mistake, they’ll die inside if this team doesn’t make it to the 2008 World Series.” He’s talking about me, and lots of other people. It has never been about the “experience” so much as it is about the team. Whether it’s opening day in the cold of April or game 7 against the Marlins in the cold of October, I am there, and yes, dying on the inside, sadly. Hot chicks, yes; cold beer, yes; awesome park, yes. But what can I say, I’ve watching and going to games since I was, I don’t know, 7 or something. It’s never been a pickup bar for me. Sadly. Not once!

But I understand why people would say these things; there’s a lot of meatheads that go to sports games, and by meatheads I mean assholes who are trying to impress their girlfriends or frat buddies. I’ve even seen this at, yep, Comiskey Park, or Cell Phone Field, whatever you call it these days. When Obama says that they’re not serious at Wrigley, maybe he means that they fill up the park even when the team sucks, unlike the White Sox, who had trouble filling it when they were good (maybe they still do, I have no idea).

Whatever. Much worse to hear Derrek Lee agree with him about Cubs fans. He should be pandering a little. But at least he’s smart enough to be on Obama’s side:

According to Lee, politics is a topic that seldom is broached in the clubhouse. He talks politics with the trainers in the training room, but didn’t know if the Cubs who vote are predominantly Republican.”I think some guys don’t even know what they are,” Lee said with a laugh. “But yeah, they’re probably mostly Republicans.”

Big dumb jocks. Big surprise.

This is tough work. Cubs on WGN and Hillary Clinton about to speak at the DNC. I’ve opened a Tecate after a delicious taco dinner and settled in for the fireworks. Cubs tie it up, again, on a bases-loaded walk and then another walk gives them the lead! Still juiced, no outs. Let’s finish these Pirates off! Base hit for Reed Johnson, 10-8, still nobody out!

Two outs now and the Montana governor (I think) is revving things up before Clinton. Whoa! Soto clears the bases with a three-run double! 13-8! Nice. Fontenot follows with a double and it’s looking good, 14-8 Cubs. Damn, this Tecate tastes good! Cubs finally get out and we head to the 9th bottom of the 8th with a solid lead.

Now, the Hillary video has begun. Very orange tonight, she is. Huge, non-stop ovation. Glad the Cubs took care of business so I can watch this! No way. No how. No McCain! Did she just say doody? Oh, duty, right. Quick flip to the Cubs and they’re up again. Good, back to HRC. Sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits! Ha!

Poo-tin. You go, girl. She’s good. Shoulda been VP, I’m thinking right about now. Bill is bursting with pride. Have the Cubs won yet? I don’t know, I can’t turn away. Nice Twin Cities shot! Can’t tell McCain and Bush apart! Could use another Tecate right about now. And so my lovely pregnant wife gets up and gets me one! Right as the speech ends.

I instantly get a text from someone who had written to me this morning, saying that the Clintons are going to blow this like Nader did. Now, he says “great speech.” I tell him he worries too much. Then he responds: “I’m a Cub fan and a Democrat. I’m accustomed to blowing it whenever we’re ahead.”

The Cubs! Did they win? Looks like it, news is on channel 9. A quick check and yes, 14-9, Cubs win! A good night all around, in D-Town and C-Town.

I’m on a major Joy Division kick after watching Control the other night. What a depressing flick, but I enjoyed it anyway. We know how it ends, but still… I can’t say that I’ve ever been huge on them, but I’ve always been on the fringes, with The Cure, The Smiths and New Order in heavier rotation while growing up. But yeah, that’s good stuff.

Michelle Obama…wow, that was a great speech. I had expected very little, for no other reason than it’s the first night and I had never really heard her talk at length but…whoa. She’s as good as her husband. Really, I was blown away.

UPDATE:

Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune:

I hadn’t seen her give a speech before, but this one made me wonder if some of Barack’s oratorical prowess comes from getting advice from her. Talented though he is, he may not be the best public speaker in the family.

Note to GOP: change all black is white/up is down equations. This year, down is up and white is black.

Explanation: In 2004, John Kerry was the flip-flopping senator with the long record (and face), rich heiress wife, and out of touch persona who needed to remind everyone again and again that he fought in Vietnam. He was mocked mercilessly by the very same people who are now championing John McCain, the flip-flopping senator with the long record, rich heiress wife, and out of touch persona who can’t stop telling everyone that he was a POW in Vietnam.

Now, as I argued for Kerry then, having money has nothing to do with anything; look at the Bush family! They have so much money they built a fake ranch for George to pretend he was a Texan at. It’s a long way from Connecticut, clearing brush in Crawford. But everyone who runs is going have some level of wealth and connection. It’s not news. Unless they’re a Democrat!

Still, Bill Clinton came from nothing much at all, and Obama certainly has inherited nothing in his life, and both were fatherless, but somehow these stories are misplaced when the rich, elitist tag comes up. Obama wrote a book–by himself–and made lots of money from it. Two books, actually. Is he out of touch? Please. There is no other candidate who is more in touch than Barack Obama, certainly not any running in this election.

As for Biden, I like the choice. I started to wish for Hillary only for the reason that the election would be sealed quite easily with her, but besides Webb I think Biden is a good man to do the dirty work. And he’s likable, unlike his would-be predecessor, Mr. Cheney. As for Clinton, she blew it by going so negative, I wish she would have taken a higher road. There’s still hope for her in Denver tomorrow, perhaps. But I really wanted to like her, really, and I just couldn’t do it.

No, I didn’t see Eddie Vedder last night, thanks for asking. Mr. Vedder is a bit older than I am, but I’m happy to see that his first concert, like mine, was Bruce Springsteen. Although mine was about 8 years later than his. And of course, my favorite Cubs player was Bill Buckner, not Jose Cardenal.

Vedder reminisced about being in “the worst seat in the house” at the same venue in 1978 to see his first concert: Bruce Springsteen. He talked about whiling away afternoons in Wrigley Field watching his favorite player, the Cubs’ Jose Cardenal, and he addressed his fellow “foul-weather fans” in an ode to the perpetual North Side losers.

- Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune

UPDATE:

On the other side, Jim Derogatis gives a surprisingly warm review as well:

The highlights were many, the missteps negligible, but there can be no denying that the night’s most emotional moment came when Vedder was joined onstage by Tomas Young, a Kansas City native and army veteran who was paralyzed after he was shot while riding in an unarmored humvee in Iraq in 2004.

Now an outspoken anti-war activist undergoing physical therapy in Chicago, Young co-wrote the song “No More” with Vedder, and it was included on the soundtrack of the Phil Donohue-directed documentary “Body of War.”

Thursday night, the vet sat in his wheelchair beside the musician. Young nodded his head ever so slightly as Vedder howled the simple but poignant words and the crowd, which remained standing after giving Young a lengthy ovation, joined with full throats on every chorus: “No more war. No more war.”

It’s been a long time since Pearl Jam produced a moment so simple but moving, spontaneous but theatrical and ultimately unforgettable. And fans who didn’t bother to listen truly missed out.

Here’s Bill Maher on religion (on Larry King).

I can’t believe it, but I’m actually at the point where I would be OK with Obama picking Clinton as VP. Just because it would be so huge. She’s insane, and I couldn’t stand her in the primaries, but…I don’t know. Not that I think he will, but since Webb seems to be out, there’s no one else that can make an impact like she can. Well, I guess we shall see, tomorrow…right?

I didn’t realize how extreme the Republican party platform is on abortion, which makes no exceptions for rape, incest, and danger to the life of the mother. Just like the Catholic church! And John McCain, as recently as last year, wanted to change that platform to allow for those exceptions, but…now that he’s no longer a “straight talker” he has to pander to the extremists that are in control of the GOP.

Just to clarify, the Republican platform is to ban all abortions, giving women no control, no say, no choice over what happens to their own body even in the event of rape, incest, or a life-threatening pregnancy.

Why now would a woman ever want to vote Republican?

This is from the day I pitched for the Cubs. Denver Jim was a solid shortstop too.

Asked if Catholics could ever in good conscience vote for pro-choice candidates, the Archbishop Charles Chaput replies:

I think there are legitimate reasons you could vote in favor of someone who wouldn’t be where the church is on abortion, but it would have to be a reason that you could confidently explain to Jesus and the victims of abortion when you meet them at the Judgment.  That’s the only criterion.

A follow-up please. Archbishop–your excellency–could I ever, in good conscience, vote in favor of someone who supports the death penalty or is responsible for unjust wars? A war president, if you will?

“Yes, Mr. Doom, that is acceptable. You see, most death penalty victims are guilty of something, even if the evidence is lacking. As are the many war casualties that we allow as collateral damage. So do not worry, your vote for President Bush will not count against you in the eyes of Jesus. You did vote for him, yes?”

Uh, sure, whatever you say. And what about sexual misconduct? What is the criterion for that?

“Oh, Mr. Doom, this too is acceptable–if you are a Catholic. The faggots will burn, but our brothers and sisters of the church will be escorted by angel-driven golf carts to their proper eternal rest.”

Thank goodness. So it’s just the abortion stuff that will raise some eyebrows?

“Indeed.”

Gotcha.

Good god, who is this Jack Cafferty of CNN? He’s my new hero:

It occurs to me that John McCain is as intellectually shallow as our current president. When asked what his Christian faith means to him, his answer was a one-liner. “It means I’m saved and forgiven.” Great scholars have wrestled with the meaning of faith for centuries.

One after another, McCain’s answers were shallow, simplistic, and trite. He showed the same intellectual curiosity that George Bush has — virtually none.

Yes, but it’s those simple one-liners that so impress the evangelicals–hell, they impress the whole right-wing movement. Black and white. No big words. Absolutes. Nuance? That’s code for “thinks too much.”

He no longer allows reporters unfettered access to him aboard the “Straight Talk Express” for a reason. He simply makes too many mistakes.

That’s because he can’t keep the old “maverick” version and the new “conservative talking point” version of himself straight. He’s rightly confused. Let’s not mention his age.

George Bush’s record as a student, military man, businessman and leader of the free world is one of constant failure. And the part that troubles me most is he seems content with himself.

He will leave office with the country $10 trillion in debt, fighting two wars, our international reputation in shambles, our government cloaked in secrecy and suspicion that his entire presidency has been a litany of broken laws and promises, our citizens’ faith in our own country ripped to shreds. Yet Bush goes bumbling along, grinning and spewing moronic one-liners, as though nobody understands what a colossal failure he has been.

I fear to the depth of my being that John McCain is just like him.

Well, yeah. That’s like what this entire Booze Cabinet has been saying for almost 8 years about Mr. Bush, boiled down to a paragraph. The legacy has already been written. Cheers to Mr. Cafferty. And as for McCain, don’t say we haven’t been warned.

This room used to be my home office!