US News and World Report has an interesting article on the presidential candidates from Yale University. It’s a fascinating article. Is there any precedence about so many candidates from one undergraduate school, having attended during the same decade? And, there’s always a good backstory about that – for example, I remember watching, about a year or more ago, this interview that Ted Koppel had with Garry Trudeau, the Yale alumnus/Doonesbury cartoonist; one question was about whether he (Trudeau) recalled George W. Bush at Yale. The answer was along the lines of, “Yeah, I remember that he was a nice, fun guy during the inter-fraternity meetings. He selected good beer. Pretty much it.” At least it can be said that Yale must have been quite a place for the undergrads back in the ’60’s, I daresay. (Disclaimer – Yale’s not my alma mater; heavens knows, I’m not silly enough to pick on Yale, since it’s not like my school produces presidents or even candidates for higher office – not the undergraduate schools anyway; the law school produces candidates of an assorted variety, including one named George Pataki, a Yale undergrad alumnus who became the governor of my home state).
Slate.com’s “Ad Report Card” evaluates the Miller beer ad – the one where people are falling like dominoes before the guy at the end avoids falling down and orders his Miller beer. It’s supposed to be an ad where you salute the guy for his having free will and not falling down like an idiot. The Slate.com’s writer’s concluded that it was a decent ad. I see it as silly; then again, I’m too busy still cracking up on the Sprint/Pillsbury doughboy ad. Recall my previous post about this and other fine Sprint ads.
On a more belated observation, check out John Dean’s latest diatribe on the state of Congressional affairs on Findlaw.com. His critique of Congress’ passing the buck on voting on the appropriations bills is a very persuasive argument that the Republican party’s majority is not quite looking out for the public good and that Congress in general isn’t quite doing a superb job as per the Constitution’s own language. Dean is apparently an independent, neither Republican nor Democrat and so he would critique both parties. But, lately, he has been very critical of the Republicans, particularly the Bush administration. He’s now an investment banker, but still talks and writes like a lawyer (I wonder why he no longer practices, but my understanding is that he did minimal prison time for his part in Watergate; that may have put a crimp on his legal career). Dean has a sharp analysis in this article – rather good reading. I had no idea that this was going on in Congress and it sounded rather disturbing.
Three days before Christmas…