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By Elvin Lim

Rick Santorum had a great night, but he would need to win 70 percent of the delegates moving forward to unseat front-runner Mitt Romney. That’s not going to happen, but it’ll be a painful road toward the increasingly inevitable. As late as it is in this game, powerful conservatives like Thomas Sowell, Rush Limbaugh, and Tony Perkins are still advocating for Rick Santorum and other non-moderate candidates. Every day they continue to do this, they make less likely confident predictions from outside the beltway that Republicans will come together in the fall against Obama.


The problem could go away if Rick Santorum bowed out, but he has absolutely no reason to. At worst he would be a Hillary Clinton — a serious challenger to the eventual nominee, someone who ran a very credible campaign, and the candidate all eyes will turn to first in the next nomination race. Since all the benefits accrue specifically to Santorum and all the cost is diffused across the entire party, the candidate is here to stay for as long as Romney has not clinched his 1144th delegate.

This means that Romney wouldn’t be able to turn to a frontal, undistracted campaign against Obama just when Americans check out, tune out, and head to the beaches in summer. Most Americans would have made up their minds about their vote by then, and there may not be enough time between September and November for the constant barrage of negative messages and psychological massaging to convince independents that Obama is so bad that he needs to be fired.

The Republican “establishment,” otherwise read as Romney’s supporters, fear this more than anything, and for the love of God — no pun intended — simply don’t understand why Tea Partiers and Southern evangelicals are continuing on the road to electoral perdition. Yet while resentments are building and intra-party strife is festering, it isn’t the moderate Republicans but the Rush Limbaughs of the world who are ironically assuming that an upper-crust, French-speaking Mormon from the Northeast who entered the one percent by way of Wall Street would be able to put Humpty Dumpty together again before the party faces Barack Obama. Hubris!

Next up are Washington, DC and Wisconsin. That means relatively cash-strapped Rick Santorum now has a windfall of a week and some to gloat over his victory in Louisiana, and consolidate the narrative that he is a credible candidate and the truly conservative alternative to Romney. Yet each time the Republican Party has thrown an anti-Romney candidate a lifeline — and doing so has been the leitmotif of campaign 2012 — it has deprived itself of one in the real contest that is to determine the eventual occupant of the White House.

All this is also to say that we are witnessing the maturation of American conservatism. For years observers have described liberalism as a bloated tent filled with too many strange bedfellows. But all we were saying is that it is necessary for a dominant ideology to co-opt many disparate factions in order to form a governing majority. Finally, American conservatism, nearly 60, is big enough to have its own internecine feuds played out in the public square (and not just in the Na

By Bassem SabryIn early April, Bothaina Kamel, a female television presenter and media figure, announced that she would run for the office of the presidency. In a society where the idea of a woman leading a country, the judiciary, or serving any similar role is discouraged by both culture and religion (indeed, it is often outright banned), the presence of a woman in elections stirs up strong reactions from the public. A cursory glance at the news articles that have mentioned her after she declared her candidacy feature such statements as: “Are we so out of men that we would be run by a woman?”

Elvim Lim is Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University and author of The Anti-intellectual Presidency, which draws on interviews with more than 40 presidential speechwriters to investigate this relentless qualitative decline, over the course of 200 years, in our presidents’ ability to communicate with the public. He also blogs at www.elvinlim.com.

In recent weeks, some political commentators have observed that Senator Barack Obama is all talk, but no substance. Where his supporters see an orator of the highest order, his detractors see only a smooth talker.

Flash back to the 1980s, and we had the same bifurcated response to Ronald Reagan. Whereas some saw profundity and deep meaning in his speeches, Reagan’s detractors heard only vacuous platitudes. Indeed, Reagan’s supporters even used the same words as some liberals do today to describe Obama’s “soaring oratory.” How did Reagan score with the Reagan Democrats? By being all things to all people. The Obamacans in this year’s elections are being swayed by a parallel strategy. Talk a lot, but mean nothing.

Consider Obama’s response this week in Georgia when he addressed charges that he had been “flip flopping” between his positions : “I’m not just somebody who is talking about government as the solution to everything. I also believe in personal responsibility. I also believe in faith.” the Senator sagely declared.

But who doesn’t believe in faith? Such rhetoric misses the point, ending rather than initiating debate - a strategy consummately deployed by President Bush in selling “Operation Iraqi Freedom” by exploiting our universal and creedal belief in liberty. The question is how we should balance our respect for the identity and autonomy of religious charities with our belief in the separation of church and state. And the question is whether freedom in Iraq can and should be bought with the sacrifice of our freedoms at home and the suspension of some of our constitutional principles. By design, Obama’s and Bush’s words elided these difficult, but pressing questions.

“I also believe in personal responsibility” are also coded words Obama’s speechwriters designed to woo conservative audiences without explicitly repudiating the liberal point of view that governmental programs are the other side of the rhetorical equation that ought to have been addressed. Reverend Jesse Jackson was understandingly aggravated. Yet while Jackson has apologized for his crude verbal gaffe, we have yet to take Obama to task for his rhetorical sleight of hand because this is what we have come to expect from political candidates seeking the highest office of the land.

We are not going to face the complex problems of our time if our would-be leaders continue to take the rhetorical path of least resistance, to buy our assent without any content. To say nothing even when one talks a lot is to fulfill the rhetorical formula for, literally, empty promises. There were times in this election season when Obama rose above the anti-intellectual fray, just like there were times when Ronald Reagan and George Bush used the bully pulpit to educate rather than to merely seduce the American people. This year, when conservatives see in a liberal political candidate the same rhetorical flaws as what liberals saw in Reagan and George Bush, perhaps we will come closer to recognizing a systemic flaw in our political system, and it is the Anti-intellectual Presidency.

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David Domke is Professor of Communication and Head of Journalism at the University of Washington. Kevin Coe is a doctoral candidate in Speech Communication at the University of Illinois. They are authors of the The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America. To learn more about the book check out their handy website here, to read more posts by them click here.  In the post below they bid farewell to Mike Huckabee.

On Tuesday, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee finally gave up on his bid to win the GOP presidential nomination. Let us be among the first to say good riddance. (more…)

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On Wednesday, December 19th, Becky, LittleMiss, LittleMiss' Mama, and select other friends got together to celebrate Christmas early. LittleMiss as always was just adorable. She looked so adorable in her Christmas jumper. Here are the goodies LittleMiss took home:


3 books by Sam McBratney
2 books by Beatrix Potter

But LittleMiss wasn't quite satisfied with just her goodies. No, she wanted--she really, really wanted her Mama's new potholders.


And really, who could resist such bright and colorful creations? Not LittleMiss, certainly. And....wait a minute...she's not the only one....


Pilly, or Pilgrim, can't resist them either! Who could have ever guessed that homemade, quilted pot holders would be the smash of the 2007 holiday season??? Pilly and Sarah both like to chew on them. Hot pink must taste good!

Becky knew that LittleMiss' daddy loved reading the book Guess How Much I Love You to his little darlin'...so she hoped these new sequels would be much-appreciated.




LittleMiss really enjoys her new books, "Colors Everywhere" and "When I'm Big" by Sam McBratney from Miss Becky. She loves hearing how little Nutbrown hare learns about growing up and the beautiful colors in the world around him. Normally LittleMiss' Daddy reads her stories about the little Nutbrown hare, her Mama just couldn't wait so she had to give her sneak peek.

The two books really are delightful especially if you're already a fan of Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram. In Colors Everywhere, Big and Little Nutbrown Hare discuss the colors they see around them in nature on a bright summer's day. Sky blue. Leafy green. Berry red. Flowery yellow. Nutbrown brown. And in When I'm Big, Big and Little Nutbrown Hare discuss how everything grows and changes. Tadpoles become frogs. Acorns become trees. Caterpillars become butterflies, etc. Overall, I say these two books are definitely too much fun to resist if you can't get enough of these two hares.

The second book that LittleMiss reviewed was Baa Baa Bedtime. This book appealed to her very much because each page had fluffy, fleecy little sheep to touch and grab. In fact, she was so enthralled with each page that her mama had a hard time turning the pages! LittleMiss' mama loved the illustrations, they are warm and the pages almost seem to glow. LittleMiss' Daddy was quite excited to have new books to add to her bedtime reading ritual.

As a few of you may know, I have a baby reviewer on staff who goes by the name of LittleMiss. She isn't even six months old, but she is a smart little reader-in-training. Look at her go!


Miss Becky gave LittleMiss some new books and LittleMiss could hardly wait to review them. She talked her mama into postponing naptime so she could read her new books. The first book she read was "Ten in the Bed" by Penny Dale. LittleMiss really loved this book, she held it in her lap while her mama read the pages. LittleMiss especially enjoyed the fact that each animal made a different sound as it fell out of bed. She laughed each time she heard the new sound that they made.





The second book that LittleMiss reviewed was Baa Baa Bedtime. This book appealed to her very much because each page had fluffy, fleecy little sheep to touch and grab. In fact, she was so enthralled with each page that her mama had a hard time turning the pages! LittleMiss' mama loved the illustrations, they are warm and the pages almost seem to glow. LittleMiss' Daddy was quite excited to have new books to add to her bedtime reading ritual.

Miss Becky gave LittleMiss some new books and LittleMiss could hardly wait to review them. She talked her mama into postponing naptime so she could read her new books. The first book she read was "Ten in the Bed" by Penny Dale. LittleMiss really loved this book, she held it in her lap while her mama read the pages. LittleMiss especially enjoyed the fact that each animal made a different sound as it fell out of bed. She laughed each time she heard the new sound that they made.

LittleMiss is now four months old!

LittleMiss was the proud recipient of two board books at our last visit. Both are published by Candlewick. Both are part of their "Easy-Open" series of board books. Both are by Michael Blake. Both feature black and white photography. One of the titles, Baby's Day, focuses on common objects that a baby is likely to encounter: rattle, book, chair, diaper, wipes, bathtub, towel, teether, etc. Let's Play is a title that again focuses on objects from a toddler's world: shoes, hat, sunglasses, pool, bucket & shovel, balloons, etc. What are the books like? Well, the photographs sometimes are one page, sometimes two pages. And each black and white photograph has the selected object highlighted in color. For example, the text might read "rattle" and so the yellow and red rattle would stand out against the black and white background. Primary colors--red, green, blue, yellow--are used throughout. What does Easy-Open mean? Well, the pages are staggered. So they're easier for little hands to grasp (or big hands) because the pages don't stick together. And you can differentiate between the pages easier. (So you won't accidentally turn two pages.) Overall, I enjoyed the books. I really liked the two-page spread of balloons found in Let's Play as well as the two-page spread featuring the wading pool and toys.



Let's see what LittleMiss thought of the books:

Sarah enjoyed both the "Let's Play" and "Baby Day" books. She didn't stare at the pages quite as long as some of her other books, perhaps because of the black and white pages. Her mother thought the books were beautifully photographed and they reminded her of coffee table books for babies. Her mother also thought that the easy open pages were quite smart. The only drawback is that the books are not slick and so when they ended up in Sarah's mouth (as most things do these days) the cover was a bit wet for a while.

LittleMiss was the proud recipient of two board books at our last visit. Both are published by Candlewick. Both are part of their "Easy-Open" series of board books. Both are by Michael Blake. Both feature black and white photography. One of the titles, Baby's Day, focuses on common objects that a baby is likely to encounter: rattle, book, chair, diaper, wipes, bathtub, towel, teether, etc. Let's Play is a title that again focuses on objects from a toddler's world: shoes, hat, sunglasses, pool, bucket & shovel, balloons, etc. What are the books like? Well, the photographs sometimes are one page, sometimes two pages. And each black and white photograph has the selected object highlighted in color. For example, the text might read "rattle" and so the yellow and red rattle would stand out against the black and white background. Primary colors--red, green, blue, yellow--are used throughout. What does Easy-Open mean? Well, the pages are staggered. So they're easier for little hands to grasp (or big hands) because the pages don't stick together. And you can differentiate between the pages easier. (So you won't accidentally turn two pages.) Overall, I enjoyed the books. I really liked the two-page spread of balloons found in Let's Play as well as the two-page spread featuring the wading pool and toys.



Let's see what LittleMiss thought of the books:

Sarah enjoyed both the "Let's Play" and "Baby Day" books. She didn't stare at the pages quite as long as some of her other books, perhaps because of the black and white pages. Her mother thought the books were beautifully photographed and they reminded her of coffee table books for babies. Her mother also thought that the easy open pages were quite smart. The only drawback is that the books are not slick and so when they ended up in Sarah's mouth (as most things do these days) the cover was a bit wet for a while.

LittleMiss is quite fond of her bath book, Three Little Duckies, written by Jan Jugran and illustrated by Ana Larranaga. (There is a tilde over the n.)She likes to grab at the puffy pages and stare at the yellow ducks while listening to the very brief text. The best part of the book is that it comes complete with three baby sized, yellow rubber ducks to float around in her bathtub. The first time we intruduced the ducks it caused quite a stir with much kicking and splashing. If I am reading her facial expressions correctly, I believe she's wishing she had the dexterity to get the ducks to her mouth so she could chew on them.

What is it like to be a baby reviewer? Like most babies, Little Miss's life is full of eating, sleeping, and well...you know. But sometimes adventures come along....

On a typical day you might find LittleMiss.....












But on a not so typical day, LittleMiss might have an adventure that's out of this world...

Meet our newest (potential) baby reviewer. Okay, he doesn't have a cute nickname yet. And I haven't talked with his mother and asked if he wants to be a reader right from the start. But regardless, he's cute, cute, cute.

Shape is one of the new titles published by Little Scholastic. What is Little Scholastic? Little Scholastic is a new line by Scholastic books. You can read all about it on their official site:
http://www.scholastic.com/littlescholastic/

Many of these new titles were released on July 1, 2007. I haven't received all of the titles yet, though I have requested them from Scholastic so they should be on their way soon, but based on the titles I have received, I am very excited.

Little Scholastic books are designed for babies age 0 to 3. And as the back of the book proclaims it is a title that will "grow" with your child.

Babies: Touch the textures. Point to the images.
1-2: Look at the pictures and text. Listen and repeat the words.
2-3: Learn the concepts. Connect the meaning of the words and images.

I encourage parents to go to their site because it really is quite a resource. I especially recommend reading the article, "Why Babies Need Books" by Kate Jack. Another great article is "Quick Click: Integrating Reading Into Everyday Life for Birth to Age 2." So explore and learn...and then read, read, read!

What I liked about Shape...


I loved the visual and textual components of Shape. The colors were bright and bold. There was great contrast in the illustrations. And the textures were diverse: bumpy, smooth, rough, scratchy, sparkly, etc. The text was simple with only one to four words per page.

For example, the shape on page one was a circle. There was a picture of a car with a smiley face showing through the window. The car has black and white spiral tires. And the car was against a green background. The only words on the page were the words "circle" and "car." The next page, page two, showed a black circle--bumpy texture--against a white background. It simply said "Touch this!" and "Bumpy circle."



LittleMiss's mama writes:

LittleMiss appreciated the simplicity of the book. She stared at the brightly colored pages and her mother ran her hands across the textured shapes. There was not much text so her mother "ad-libbed" and described the items on each page. This book was also a nice size for her.

I think her smile says it all:

Title: My Little Miracle
Author: J Beck & J. Croyden
Publisher: Scholastic
Year: 2007

My Little Miracle is a sweet board book. It has gentle, flowing, rhythmic text alongside some very cute photographs. There are photographs of babies, toddlers, and some nature shots as well. I really loved the photography. It was just well done. Very interesting. And I think people of all ages can ooh and aah over the cute and adorable babies.

Here is a sample of the text:

Welcome to the world of smiles and hugs...when tucked into bed or cuddled in rugs.
Enjoy warm sunshine and feel soft rain. Look for a rainbow when the sun shines again...

But my favorite part of the text:

Let stories and books bring the magic of words...

And of course there is a photograph of a parent reading to a child and pointing to each word as its read. (Or I suppose the parent could be pointing to a picture. The point is that it's an interactive process.)

Overall, I enjoyed this one a great deal. Which leads us to Little Miss's response.

(Written by her mama of course)

Little Miss found this book to be quite comforting. She appeared to respond most happily to the words as they were read to her. This is most likely because her mother found the book to be quite precious and thus read the words with a very loving voice that cracked a bit as she got teary eyed.



And to give credit where credit is due, the photos are by her mama presumably...and the beautiful, beautiful quilt is by MY mom :)

LittleMiss' mama was very excited that I have chosen to make her a guest blogger on the site. And so she emailed me today with some of LittleMiss' current favorites:

FIND THE PUPPY by Phil Roxbee Cox and Stephen Cartwright

I believe that she is particularly fond of this book because the puppy in the illustrations looks like her own puppy, Pilgrim. She likes that it isn't too "wordy" because really it is all about the pictures and short sentences that rhyme. She also seems to follow my finger when I point to the puppy on each page. She seems particularly fond of the page with the red background when puppy makes a puddle by spilling a bucket of soapy water.

BEAR IN THE SQUARE by Stella Blackstone and illustrated by Debbie Harter.

The colors are very very vibrant. She was so impressed with the bold visuals that she did not even realize that the book is teaching her to count. (Her mother is trying not to offer her own opinions about math being boring)





A brief aside: I have begun to be concerned that I am starting a bad habit by reading to her on her changing table. Is this how bathroom reading begins?