Marching with Hamas? Fine. But Overruled on a Nomination...

Denis Coderre has finally come to a simple point of fact that many have known for some time when "he realized 'lacked moral authority' to do his job." I have personally never felt much use for this individual, whether it was his pathetic attempt to smear Shane Doan as an anti-Quebecois bigot or his particularly vile march alongside Hamas and other terrorist sympathizers. So he resigned today, and all of a sudden Michael Ignatieff's coterie of advisers is that much stronger. Addition by subtraction and all of that.

Mmmm Donuts

It's late September and that means it's time for the annual gathering of world leaders at that wonderful talk shop, the United Nations. High on this year's agenda: climate change, a new dialogue between the United States and the rest of the world, and other matters of global interest. It is one of the few times every year in which we see so many heads of government convened in a single location to discuss global issues, and thus an opportunity to forge new friendships, partnerships, and consensus.

Stephen Harper is spending today in Oakville to talk about Tim Horton's with the media.

Maybe what Stephane Dion said about priorities was true all along.

In Alaska, Sarah Palin is Smiling

She has found her ideal running mate for 2012. Joe Wilson, congressional Republican from South Carolina, is her type of people. Two peas in a pod. They'll get the Republican base motivated even more than Bush v. Kerry did in '04, certainly much more than last year's election. McCain just isn't what a Republican wants these days. But Mrs. Palin and Mr. Wilson, that'll get them going. Wrap themselves in the flag and say anything--at any moment in time--about Obama and his policies, and they're set.

While to most educated people, Obama/Biden v. Palin/Wilson seems like a walk in the park for the former pairing, never underestimate the voting power of a motivated Republican base. It'll give the Jon Stewarts and Stephen Colberts of the world more comedic material than Bush ever did, and to many outsiders it would seem like there'd be no way in hell Americans could possibly put that latter combination in the White House, it might just happen.

Because American electoral politics are sometimes scary & funny all at once.