| Morning Jolt
. . . with Jim Geraghty July 24, 2013 The Era of the Psychotic Candidate Remember Alvin Greene? He was the guy who scraped together the filing fee to appear as a candidate for Senate on the Democratic line in South Carolina in 2010, and who won the nomination, even though almost no one in the state knew who he was. One of his major ideas to improve the economy was making an action figure of himself. We all had fun laughing at the surreal Forrest-Gump-come-to-life, and he was enjoyably crazy candidate, right up until the moment he started howling and wailing at a reporter who showed up at his home, and then it started to feel like we were laughing at a man with serious mental-health issues. We can still laugh at Anthony Weiner . . . and we will be laughing at him for a long time. But it is starting to feel like we're watching a man with serious, deep-rooted psychological issues relating to his sexuality, his self-control, his ability to assess risk, his inability to admit the truth unless confronted with overwhelming evidence of his falsehoods, his willingness to see others as objects and God knows how many other issues… New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner said he sent texts and lewd photos of himself to a woman over the Internet after he resigned from Congress, prompting at least three rivals to call for him to drop out. The gossip website The Dirty posted correspondence between the unidentified woman and Weiner, 48, who left the House of Representatives in 2011 after similar pictures sent to women surfaced. The latest images used the name "Carlos Danger," the website said. It displayed a photo taken straight down a man's body showing bare feet and strategically placed pixels. "I said other texts and photos were likely to come out, and today they have," Weiner said at a press briefing in Manhattan with his wife, Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton. "While some things that have been posted today are true and some are not, there is no question that what I did was wrong. This behavior is behind me." Weiner said he would stay in the race for mayor. God, I wish Andrew Breitbart were still alive so he could have hijacked the podium again yesterday. 
Full video of the most brilliant comeuppance of the modern media era. Did anybody really think Weiner had actually changed from the man caught in scandal two years ago? Some may have hoped that fatherhood would make him grow up some, and some may be surprised that he would be so reckless as to choose to run for mayor with additional women out there, waiting to tell their tales of his much more recent tawdry behavior . . . but did anybody really believe that he had turned over a new leaf and become a changed man? Back in June, BuzzFeed's Ruby Cramer quoted professional therapists who contended Weiner's description of his short stay at a psychiatric evaluation center did not come close to what they would consider serious treatment. People go into politics for a lot of reasons — some altruistic or idealistic or principled, some base, and for many, a mix of both. A career in politics can provide an individual with a lot of what they desire — power, admirers, fame, money. Kissinger declared power to be the ultimate aphrodisiac, so perhaps political stature is indeed a great way to enhance one's sex appeal. (Right now, half my male readers working in politics just mumbled to themselves, "I must be doing it wrong.") Clearly, fulfilling those desires can be addictive. We've seen the comeback playbook executed by politician after politician, time after time, so that it has become a boring, predictable cliché; the more a candidate sticks to the playbook, the less persuaded we should be that there is any real remorse or acceptance of responsibility. After the "deny, deny, deny" strategy (as Monica Lewinsky quoted Bill Clinton) blows up in a politician's face, he admits some portion of the accusations, but denies others. (A "modified limited hangout.") There may be counter-accusations; there is an acceptance of some consequences but not others. At the press conference, the wife may be rolled out as a human shield. There is an insistence that the focus on the scandal has been a distraction from the politician's real work. There is an insistence that this wrongdoing was a private matter and not the public's concern. The accusations are driven by partisan motives, anyway. There is an admission of sin and often a very public seeking of spiritual counsel from political allies who are religious figures. There is a soft-focus interview that appears to be an open confession but that remains vague on key details; the privacy of others will be cited. God will get mentioned a lot. And throughout it all, the politician remains convinced: I can come back from this. This isn't the end of me. As his presidential campaign flopped and his sex scandal ticked like a time bomb, John Edwards was utterly convinced he could trade his endorsement for the running-mate slot to either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton; when that effort went nowhere, he set his sights on being attorney general or, ultimately, a Supreme Court nomination. They need this. They so, so need this. They really cannot go on to living a life outside the spotlight, just practicing law somewhere or running a hardware store. (Well, John Edwards is apparently returning to practicing law.) The spoils of political victory — power, fame, groupies, lucrative post-elected-office jobs in lobbying or consulting — will always attract a certain number of unscrupulous head cases, egomaniacs, narcissists, and the borderline unhinged. They will only go away when the voters say "no." Speaking of "no," and how some politicians don't realize it means "no" . . . San Diego Mayor Bob Filner: Heroic Veteran of the War on Women. Okay, San Diego. What's it going to take? A former employee of San Diego's mayor stepped forward Monday claiming she was forced to resign after she said the mayor treated women as "sexual objects or stupid idiots." "The past six months turned out to be the worst time of my entire working life," said Irene McCormack Jackson, former communication director for Mayor Bob Filner. McCormack Jackson had worked as a journalist and as a manager with the Port of San Diego before she accepted the position on the mayor's staff. Among the allegations: that Mayor Filner told her to work without panties. She also claims the mayor said he wanted to see her naked and couldn't wait to consummate their relationship even though they had only a working relationship. "He thought it was acceptable behavior to regularly make sexual comments that were crude and disgusting," McCormack Jackson said. Wait, there's more! SAN DIEGO - San Diego city attorney Jan Goldsmith will question the police officers in charge of Mayor Bob Filner's security.
A lawsuit filed Monday by former Filner communications director Irene McCormick Jackson claims the men who guard the mayor witnessed sexual harassment.
"McCormack Jackson was in an elevator with ... Filner along with the police officer..." the lawsuit alleges.
"The police officer was fixing his handcuffs," the lawsuit claims. "The mayor put a headlock on (McCormack Jackson) and said, 'You know what I would like to do with those handcuffs?'"
The lawsuit also says Filner stopped the harassment when a member of his security detail walked in on it.
"Mayor Filner only ceased trying to kiss her when the elevator stopped and a staffer got in with them," the lawsuit said. Remember, Filner's excuse is, "I'm a hugger." Conservative Efforts Against Lindsey Graham Take a New Form Bruce Carroll, friendly blogger, has a new project down in his home state of South Carolina: Carolina Conservatives United launched today with a grassroots effort to Defeat Lindsey Graham in the 2014 Republican Primary. Carolina Conservatives United is a non-profit political organization based in South Carolina whose mission is to support political candidates who support conservative values and oppose those who do not. "As residents of South Carolina and grassroots activists in the conservative movement, we are concerned not only about Lindsey Graham's voting record on important issues but also the contempt he regularly displays toward small-government conservative citizens," said Bruce Carroll, Chairman of CCU. "Lindsey Graham is part of the DC culture that is crippling our nation. We believe that he's been there long enough and we are going to spend time outside our normal day-to-day jobs & lives to bring him home," said Breeanne Howe, CCU Board Secretary. "Fellow conservatives who would like to join us can donate to the cause and also send us leads on Graham's record through our email: DefeatGraham@gmail.com." For more information, visit www.DefeatLindseyGraham.org. Bruce tells me, "Our board is expressly NOT supporting any candidate. We are only working to force Lindsey Graham into early retirement. I do not expect we will endorse a candidate for the GOP 2014 Senate Primary . . . We are starting from scratch and the investment of our time and personal money. We are starting with about $10,000 at kickoff tomorrow. I have some promises of donors once we launch, but I never count my chickens in advance. Our goal is to raise enough money to start running TV ads in South Carolina by the fall." Here's their first web video: 
There's certainly no shortage of national conservatives who would prefer to see Lindsey Graham replaced with a more conservative voice, and probably a healthy percentage of South Carolina Republicans feel that way, too. But these folks will need a candidate — Nancy Mace, Lee Bright, and Richard Cash are all mentioned, but haven't jumped in yet — and Graham has $6.3 million in cash on hand. We Now Return You to Garden-Variety Untrue Statements from Politicians Can you stand one more politically shady deal? Careful, Watchdog.org. This is the sort of thing that will make GreenTech sue you in an effort to intimidate you… I mean, again. At a time when attorneys representing GreenTech Automotive said the green car firm was in financial trouble , company chairman Terry McAuliffe was running for governor – and telling a reporter his business was flush with cash. "We are in great shape financially. I'm a big believer in get your money up front," he said during a September 2011 interview [4] with Politics Matters, a Virginia PBS news program. "It's not hard if you have a new idea . . . I could've raised a lot more money if I needed it. Today's Movie Review: How Warner Brothers Is Probably Going to Louse Up their DC Superhero Movies Man of Steel I think most of the usual laments about Superman from comics writers and storytellers are accurate: He's hard to relate to compared to more "mortal" superheroes. He's either too powerful and not facing a real challenge — really, if you're a bank robber in Metropolis, just move – or a story involves Kryptonite, where he instantly changes from way too powerful for an interesting story to utterly powerless. 
"If they ever find Yellow Kryptonite, both Green Lantern and I are hosed." His villains don't seem to match up well: Lex Luthor is usually depicted as either a) attempting to conquer the city or globe in a purple and green armor-suit that is predictably doomed, or b) he's a fabulously wealthy corporate raider who farms out the dirty work to henchmen. Compared to most other superheroes, Superman is corny, doesn't have much inner conflict, and his secret identity is hard to take seriously – how many comedians have done the "it's just Superman with glasses on, how thick can Lois be?" routine? Finally, Lois usually feels shoehorned into the storylines and most depictions of the Daily Planet newspaper – really required by the story – are out of step with the modern reality of the newspaper business. Despite all these limitations, we've seen six Superman movies in the modern era (four with Christopher Reeve, one with Brandon Routh, and now this one) and two television series (Lois & Clark, Smallville). Man of Steel may be the best of them. The new guy, Henry Cavill, makes a very solid, likeable hero. I'd argue the very best scene is Kevin Costner as his adoptive father, Jonathan Kent, and young Clark, asking upon learning of his alien heritage, "Can't I just keep pretending to be your son?" (Your mileage may vary; perhaps I particularly enjoyed this scene because I watched the movie on Father's Day after having a nice morning with my sons. It also may help if your son looks like a young Clark Kent, and you're pretty convinced he's a gifted genius who will far surpass your accomplishments but you fear him losing his innocent worldview in a messy, complicated, world.) A lot of comics fans are up in arms about (SPOILER ALERT) the climax where Superman reluctantly kills Zod in order to save some innocent people. In the comics, Superman rarely if ever kills anyone (please spare me the e-mails citing rare issues where he did) and quite a few feel this film fundamentally alters a core part of the character. Killing Zod can work if subsequent films emphasize that the killing of Zod was what made Superman so reluctant to ever use lethal force again, even against the most irredeemably evil foes. If there's a catch, it's that Warner Brothers/Time Warner/DC Comics really wants to do a "Justice League" movie, driven in large part by the roughly billion dollars that The Avengers made. And done well, a two-hour action epic with all of D.C's most familiar characters – Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and perhaps the Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, etc. – could be great. Now DC/Warner Brothers has announced the next film will be a Superman/Batman team-up, and hinted it will probably feature the two heroes opposing each other, at least for part of the story, emulating this classic showdown from Frank Miller's 1986 "The Dark Knight Returns." But Man of Steel clearly wasn't built to introduce an audience to a larger universe, the way the end-of-credits bonus scene in "Iron Man" did. Yes, I know we see LexCorp, Star Labs, and allegedly a Wayne Enterprises satellite. But the world at the beginning of Man of Steel is very much like our own – the existence of aliens is an unproven theory and if any superheroes beyond Superman exist, the public doesn't know about them. By the end of the movie, the public knows about human-like aliens, the world sees Superman in action, and oh yeah, Metropolis has just endured a wave of destruction that's just short of nuclear annihilation. The U.S. government generally trusts Superman, but still has some wariness. (I found it interesting that Obama look-a-like Harry Lennix played the general keeping tabs on Superman and any alien threats.) One of the many reasons The Avengers was such a delight was because the seeds of its story had been planted, line by line, scene by scene, in all of Marvel's preceding movies – the concluding scenes after Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and a good part of the storylines of Thor and Captain America. For decades, DC Comics enjoyed the advantage of having characters more popular and mainstream, but most of their recent projects either flopped or don't fit Marvel's model of a large, interconnected storytelling universe: Ryan Reynolds' Green Lantern film was pretty painful, the Wonder Woman television series pilot was apparently too bad to even air; the Christopher Nolan Batman films have completed their story arc and wouldn't fit in well with a world of aliens and superheroes and magic, anyway. Similarly, the Green Arrow television series Arrow is enjoyable, but has established itself as a grounded-in-reality, no-superpowers, no-supernatural, just-very-skilled-human-vigilantes world. So we're left with Superman, and a sense that he needs some solo storytelling to develop the character before sharing a screen. ADDENDUM: Slate introduces the "Carlos Danger" pseudonym generator.
NRO Digest — July 24 2013 Today on National Review Online . . . | THE EDITORS: It's time to fix one of the main reasons for college-tuition inflation. Privatize Student Loans. KEVIN D. WILLIAMSON: It's time to retire a dumb idea about race and the rhetoric that goes with it. The Plantation Theory. MARK STEYN: Are we living in a world where a serial fantasist can upend elections? The Naked City. ANDREW C. McCARTHY: If Weiner were to win, it's New York City, not he, that's past saving. Will Weiner Finally Go Away? ELIANA JOHNSON: Weiner's wife stood doggedly by him. Huma: 'I Believe in Him.' AVIK ROY: In race relations, and so much more, it's hard to see things from the other's perspective. If only Obama acknowledged that. The Other Foot. | Sponsor:
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