It was the horse!!!!

I have a theory about the Belmont Stakes last Saturday. Sad to say, I have to make the assumption that some kind of chicanery was going on. Yup, it was crooked. The race was thrown.

Neither the ownership, the trainer nor the jockey was involved. Nor was any other human.

Yes, I have to say it. Big Brown threw the race all by himself. Faced with the prospect of making a lousy quarter on every dollar he bet, he tanked. Gave it up. Took a dive. Basically, he bet the field and made a mint.

There was another reason; had he won the race, he would have hit a track just once more, at the Breeders' Cup in the fall. Now he gets one additional start, in Saratoga later this summer. After all, once his racing career is over what does he have to look forward to at the tender age of three? An endless supply of high strung athletic fillies? What's the fun in that?

[note: No research was done in preparation for his post.]

Fish and fowl and....

Can it be done?

Can John McCain be fish and fowl and beef and tofu and whatever other protein food group you might care to mention? Can he be a "maverick" and adhere to what has become the standard Republican mantra all at the same time? Can he simultaneously satisfy the religious hard right and the swing voters? Will perceived "national security" issues trump choice? Can a traditional Republican "spend less" (and tax rich folks less) approach fly in a time when rising prices and the lack of the old-time union "wage floor" will be putting a serious squeeze on the largest swath of the American public?

I sure hope not.