Thursday's Charge

According to John Edwards, we're supposed to know in our guts that he's the most electable Democrat for 2008. Boy, everybody's got very important gut feelings these days...but, given the fact that Edwards' top two rivals for the Democratic nomination just happen to be a woman and an African-American, his take on his own potential "electability" rubs me the wrong way. I'm not exactly nuts about Democratic candidates subtly echoing The Prince of Darkness, Robert Novak. I'm sure his standing in the national polls has something to do with it, but there's a sense of desperation in Edwards' campaign style this time around that's downright irksome.

Speaking of "this time around," Julio Franco is once again a Brave. The track record for former Braves being brought back for a late-career encore is not a good one. Failed second acts for Terry Pendleton, Otis Nixon, and Mark Wohlers leap to mind. But Julio, even at 48, is a significant upgrade over Chris Woodward. And he's a guy I'd rather see up there as a pinch-hitter with a late-season game on the line than...say...Scott Thorman. You knew Thorman was going to struggle with offspeed stuff like any rookie...but the way he screws himself into the ground going after fastballs up in his armpits is excruciating to watch. TP, earn your money and shorten that kid's swing.

Now that Formula 1 is out, MotoGP is in at Indy. Good on Tony George and IMS for so quickly finding a world-class event to replace the USGP but...motorcycles racing at The Brickyard? My inner traditionalist is not pleased. At all.

While Rusty Paul is a huge "get" for the Giuliani campaign, I still think Rudy's going to be a tough, tough sell down here. I could see him, however, balancing out a Country Mouse/City Mouse ticket with Fred Thompson.

Finally...even though I don't know either one of them personally (not to mention some slight ideological differences), if a straight-shooter like James over at The Other Athens says Paul Broun is a good guy, that carries a lot of stroke with me.