Jude Smith

So, as of 1930hrs Congress has voted down the bail out. Democratic House? Next twelve or so hours. Barack Obama will swing in and maybe make a deal- it will up his points for a swing into October. Or its the end of global capitalism as we have known it.

I had a month off blogging. Not sure I meant to- but college caught up with me and so on. So now I'm back- and apparently I have 2 followers. Not sure what that means! Anyway- listening to Gordon Brown. Not sure I'm liking the fairness motif- but hey. More later.

Scandal.. C'mon Sarah!!!!!!

Scoring sports! The boxing- ridiculous Tae Kwon Do- obscene Diving- well that remains to be seen but lets face it.. where there are Chinese competitors its unlikely to be unbiased. Absolutely ridiculous.

(I know, the Olympics are not yet over, but I am a fickle fan and as we are not winning everything anymore I'm distracted). Barack Obama has picked Joe Biden as his running mate. He's taken him on board to counter his inexperience in foreign policy. Biden is a long time Washington insider, he is straight talking, he's not perfect and he's from North Eastern Irish Catholic roots. In short, hes Leo. I can't help but get more and more alarmed at how this campaign is matching up with West Wing Series Seven. A nice Republican. A young and non WASP Democrat. An international issue that might have repercussions. Its nuts. Lets just hope we don't get the election day tragedy of Wing! (though the result might be nice).

Another good day at the games! High point Natasha D-S.. oh and the Oscar speech from the Windsurfing chick... But in a mid afternoon lull in the medal tide I picked up maybe the first really negative whinge. It was Brendan Foster who was moaning (not an original but quite an apt word) about the demise of Britain's middle distance running. He was mean, harking back to a golden age, when we were good. Now I don't wanna cause a fuss but I have to take issue on a number of levels. First- I was growing up during the alleged "golden age". Yes, those two Olympics in a row with missing superpowers. When Coe or Ovett would often drop out with a cold (I have a soft spot for Crammy so he gets off lightly here). Oh, and yes the golden age took place before the African resurgence (or certainly before the African athletics beast was awakened!) Second. Look at the changing demographic of Britain. Then look at who is winning medals. Thats consistent. Third. The "Gold...

This deserves a mention. I should have left the sofa by now but instead found myself watching the superheavyweight weightlifting. Not exactly the pretty boy sport! The German winner (Steiner) managed to illicit tears as he stood, gold medal in one hand and picture of his wife in the other. Remarkable because she died in a car crash last year and he vowed he would win gold for her. Well done big guy!