today's source of despair

From a story in the current issue of the Atlantic:*

A number of mid-level Democratic operatives--the kind who could expect a good job in any Democratic administration--told me they didn't believe [Hillary Clinton] could win a general election, especially against a popular Republican like McCain. But at the same time, they did not entertain the possibility of working for another Democratic candidate. "It's simple, really," one of them explained to me. "Bill Clinton made my career--I wouldn't be who I am, in the job I'm in, if he hadn't made me. There's no way I could ever work against Hillary." He was conflicted about this, as are many others. It sounded as though he and his colleagues would rather cede the race than work against Bill Clinton's wife.

On personal fronts, today has largely been taken up by a self-declared SLURP (Squalid Lifestyle Urgent Reduction Program). I did have a surprisingly strong run of my Standard Shorter Loop, as Sal e-mailed to taunt whether I would be ready for our half marathon in Tulsa the weekend before Thanksgiving.

One thing I learned from my recent trip to Penn State was that, like the University of Wisconsin, the university makes ice cream that is highly regarded by locals. I had a scoop of the Penn State vanilla--the accepted apples-to-apples comparator in the ice cream domain--and Penn State's was better, although it was better by tasting more like custard than ice cream, so maybe they are playing fast-and-loose with food labeling. (N.B.: One friend who has spent time in both places thinks that Madison's ice cream is better, although I think her reasons focused on Madison doing more and more unrestrained flavors.) Anyway, I mention this here because that scoop of Penn State ice cream is the last ice cream I am having between now and the Tulsa run. I am thinking of writing a $1000 check to the Republican National Committee, to be sent off by a conservative friend should I break this vow.

* I'm not linking to the story because I read it in, whatchamacallit, print, and I don't know if it is available online (and am too lazy to look). As reading things online continues to claim an increasing share of my recreational reading, I'm down to only two print magazine subscriptions, the other one being The New Yorker. Oh, and Contexts.