Wonkette

Sen. Hillary Clinton almost made it through last night’s debate without a scrape. She came out crisp, assertive and confident. She held her annoying smirks to a minimum and seemed to respectful to other candidates, attentive even. But did anyone notice she looked weird? It was horrible! Her eyes were dead and her face appeared waxy and paralyzed. When she spoke, her words and mouth movements never quite linked up with her eyes. And that seems, shall we say, a little unnatural. MORE »

Things tend to get confusing (and stupid) when “ex-gays” are involved, and so it is with Barry “Osama” Obama’s gospel singer pal all the kids are talking about. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but if you’re an ex-gay man, and you’ve built up a reputation for enthusiastically bashing the queers, aren’t you supposed to not have a boyfriend at the time? Blogger Clay Cane has an interview with Donnie McClurkin’s ex, a man who claims that the Jesus-lovin’ gospel singer was bashing the gays during the day, and making love to him at night. Awkward! MORE »

The New York Times has a delightful round-up of all the godawful campaign merchandise offered by all the leading presidential candidates… and Ron Paul, too! Soon all the kids will be wearing McCain hoodies, Obama baby-doll tees and Giuliani baseball jerseys. Our favorites by far are the extensive wares offered by Mike Huckabee’s shop, a dizzying array of merchandise featuring superb graphics meant to appeal to his followers’ lack of grammar skills (”a.Huck.i.be”) and love of flop existential Hollywood comedies (”I [Heart] Huckabee”). MORE »

Hillary Clinton is not only kicking Barack Obama’s ass in the polls, she’s giving him a sound trouncing when it comes to staff numbers. AND she’s doing it with less money. According to reports, Clinton has around 700 on the payroll, while Obama has 631. In the last quarter, Clinton coughed up a mere $3.8 million to Obama’s $12.6 million. Meanwhile, Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani is far behind in staff numbers, weighing in at 189. [New York Post]

* Heard on the Hill: Airline travel brings out the worst in all of us…”The Devil Wears Prada” comes to Washington by way of Jeri Thompson’s antics…Stephen Colbert WILL get to know your district, unless its one of the 80 he forgot…What would a tour of Minneapolis be without a trip to the now infamous airport bathroom? [Roll Call]
* Yeas and Nays: Connie Lawn wants you to say hello to friendly, gentler motorcades…Supreme Court Justice David Souter never recovered from the recount ruling…Museum takes in former Rep. Earl Hutto lime-green 1979 Oldsmobile…New Zagat guide is out…Ann Coulter is asking for it–a fatwa, that is…Presidential hopefuls find their books going for pennies on Amazon…No widowed Wiccans allowed…Distillers try their hand at George Washington’s whiskey recipe…The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad a fortress of solitude, shopping and cinema. [Examiner]
* Under the Dome: Hurricane or not, Mitch McConnell enjoyed his time off…Sen Tom Harkin serves it up for ‘08 candidates…A call for resignation has less to do with the severity of the sin and more to do with the party persuasion of the governor. [The Hill]
* Shenanigans: Bush leaves through the side door…We’re the reason Larry Craig had to resort to an airport bathroom…The Oprah-Obama bash is only days away!…Gossip is a lifelong addiction…Larry Craig: a self-proclaimed romantic. [Politico]
* The Sleuth: Idaho men are tough and rugged with their tight jeans and tighter faces. [WP]
* Page Six: omeone’s getting fired at CNN after losing the only copy of Anderson Cooper’s Hurricane Katrina special. [NYP]
* Rush & Molloy: John Edwards does the down-faced dog for Russell Simmons. [NYDN]
* Washington Whispers: “Anything Goes” on the college version of 60 Minutes…Karl Rove finds a new job for the same boss…John Kerry helps out his old friend Leonardo DiCaprio…Bill Richardson won’t give up his SUV, despite his own pleas…Bill Clinton still hiding tapes in his sock drawer…Bush’s cabinet finally gets some pull…House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer goes to the Holy Land, finds the Golden Arches. [USN&WR]