On call this week, Friday 5PM to Friday 5PM. And to start things off, I discovered last night my beeper is dead. It has beeped its last beep, so to speak. I won't be able to get a new one until Monday or later. Thank goodness for cell phones, I guess. Off to do hospital rounds, and then go to clinic to see walk-ins. Cheers.

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Palin is not only clueless. She is also guilty.

What next? McCain could dump Palin and pick a new running mate, but then Obama's steady attack that McCain is erratic would resonate strongly with independents and Democrats. Furthermore, who would he pick? The base wouldn't tolerate Lieberman on abortion. They would love Mike Huckabee, but McCain thinks he is loony. Mitt Romney might be a plausible pick given the emphasis on economics, but having a ticket consisting of a guy worth $100 million and a guy worth $200 million when people are losing their houses wouldn't look good. Giuliani can say "9/11" more times per minute than anyone in recorded history but that's not what McCain needs right now. Picking another unknown who hasn't been vetted is not appealing. So he's probably stuck with Palin and has to hope this subsides quickly.


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Great news about a couple of poems taken the other day. Still working on & off on the long "Expedition" series. There just isn't enough time in the day.

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Listen to C Dale read "Sotto Voce" on Poetry Foundation's audio site today.