And Duane Oyen and I both believe that replacing Obama is the objective in this election, and we can achieve that a lot easier together than divided. And then suss out our differences afterwards :)

I have doubts that Grennell's sexuality was the exclusive reason for this happening, but as a gay conservative, I find the prospect troubling. Mostly because if it's true, it indicates that Romney may be too willing to appease Gary Bauer and Focus on the Family...and that seems to me like a great way to lose this election. I could be wrong, but I personally suspect that most conservatives who would even think of withholding their actual vote live in states where Romney is likely to win already, whereas alienating independents, moderates, and the increasing number of gay conservatives could really hurt in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Mexico, Nevada, etc, etc. 

I hope Grennell left over Romney's strong objections, and I hope Romney will continue to pursue a Big Tent strategy in terms of making gay voters feel welcome. McCain got something like 27% of the gay vote, almost 10% more than Bush did. Romney stands a chance to gain even more with organizations like GOProud now in existence. It would be foolish to make them feel unwelcome. Obama will take the gay vote for granted, but Romney shouldn't give him reason to do so.

This sounds like a horrifying way to create content...but "Awkward" and "Teen Wolf" were surprisingly good last season. Well. "Awkward" was surprisingly good. "Teen Wolf" wasn't really the kind of thing anyone was watching for the writing. Including myself.

Here's the thing. I don't really believe Romney's unfavorables are solid, I think he has time to persuade. Newt is pretty known; I'd wager that few of us doubt Marianne's comments, even if we believe he's not the same man now. Newt's unfavorables don't seem likely to move. If we must have a nominee with 56% disapproval...why can't it be Palin? I have no faith that she can win either but I like her a heck of a lot more than Newt.

Another worry we don't have with Newt: how to actually fix any of the problems this country faces. I feel like I'm watching a major political party commit suicide right before my eyes. 

I've seen it--twice, now, actually--and I don't necessarily agree with this review but I personally felt it left more than a bit to be desired. Meryl Streep's performance is breath-taking, but Thatcher's actual convictions and beliefs are not explored much and a lot of huge moments are rushed through or completely ignored. Thatcher is painted with a great deal of respect and very little history is fudged--even Thatcher's children will tell you she was not especially present in their childhood, and her attention to Dennis is a huge part of the film's core, she's definitely not presented as an absent wife though she is presented as someone who chose to pursue her personal ambitions much more than many other women of her time. Which is true. It's definitely worth seeing to form your own opinion, Meryl's performance alone makes it so, and Jim Broadbent and Olivia Colman are excellent as Dennis and Carol. 

I've never understood the compulsion to judge a work of art--be it theatre, film, television, sculpture, etc--without actually examining it. Goodness knows, no one on here would want me to judge their personal positions, religions or accomplishments without thoroughly considering them, right? I was initially very skeptical about The Book of Mormon because it seemed to me that it could only be coming from a place of mockery and there's an awful lot of Mormons in musical theatre, so...that didn't seem like a smart or necessary thing to do. Then I saw it. With my Mormon collaborator, as it so happens (we're both trained in musical theatre writing and are currently working on a piece about Margaret Thatcher, so while we're biased in favor of musicals...we're both pretty solidly-credentialed conservatives).

We both loved it. It's full of heart, and it will last. The only surviving creator of West Side Story agrees. Perhaps you should consider checking it out before you decide to write it off.

God, I wish that happened on the New York City subway system. My morning commute would be a lot more peaceful. 

No, this...this does not inspire confidence. 

I'm not convinced she's finished yet and she's pretty likely to get my vote in the primary if she runs--though a lot of that has to do with New York being late enough in the game that it really won't matter much who I vote for in the primary. At this point in 2007, McCain's candidacy was a joke and Obama was 30 points below Clinton, so...anything could happen. The woman definitely hits her mark an awful lot, that's for sure.

Michelle Bachmann became a Republican after she misinterpreted a Gore Vidal book; absolutely no one in the middle is going to take her seriously, so she's more than welcome to run and keep things entertaining but if she should stumble into the nomination, we're stuck with the President. It'd be nice if the dark horse actually turned out to be a viable contender who could persuade people in the middle or even disaffected Obama supporters to vote for them. While I wish we lived in a world in which Palin could actually win, the person I'm keeping an eye on at the moment is Huntsman.

Ursula.

"See what happens when you let gays into the military?" (Not mine, but one of the ones I enjoyed most on Twitter last night.)

I think it's safe to assume most of us on here are in that 46% or so who will NEVER vote for him, no matter what...but I do think this is going to be influential to some of the folks in the middle, and it may actually energize a few of his disaffected supporters. For a while, at least. I think in the minds of a lot of journalists, this HAS changed his presidency forever and ensured re-election but those aren't objective individuals when it comes to this man. We know that. We'll see how much this is still a game-changer in 18 months. If gas is over $6/gallon...it won't matter in the least.

Who would even WANT 72 virgins? SO MUCH WORK involved in that...

Several times I have stopped conversations dead by repeating Claire's question about whether or not gays who attack Israel have every given the slightest bit of thought to what life would be like for gays in Palestine. I'm ashamed of my brethren in London. And will take them to task for this.