On Thursday, while I was filming the latest episode of the Corn & Miniter Show, which should be posted sometime Friday on PajamasMedia.com, I spotted Tom DeLay strolling by. We interrupted the show to ask the former House majority leader (who is still facing criminal charges) a few questions. What are you up to these days? I inquired. Trying to be the "Democrats' worst nightmare," he answered with a grin. But, I replied, didn't you do that already? Why not set a new personal goal? DeLay noted he was endeavoring to build conservative groups to take on the Democrats. One source tells me he's trying to find conservative billionaires who could finance a George Soros-like operation of the right. As for who he likes in the Republican presidential contest, he says, no one yet--though DeLay did say he'd like to see Newt Gingrich run. Now what could be better for Democrats than to have Gingrich and DeLay back in the ring? Maybe Jack Abramoff could give them advice from jail.

NEXT BIG THING...OR GIMMICK? On Monday YouTube and CNN will sponsor a debate for the Democratic presidential wannabes. Anderson Cooper and other CNNers will choose questions from hundreds of video queries submitted to YouTube. Will this debate mark a turning point in how the Internet interacts with politics? Probably not. Andrew Polsky, a poli-sci prof at Hunter College, says, "The pseudo-populist trappings of the YouTube formula will not make this debate any different. The questions will be posed and the candidates will still answer with their planned responses, often not to the point of the question." He's probably right. If a YouTuber asks, "My insurance company won't pay for a bone marrow transplant that my six-year-old daughter needs within the next two months, so I want to know what can be done tomorrow so my child might live," each candidate will express concern and plug in his or her 60-second healthcare spiel. And with CNNers picking the question, this is not much of a break from earlier debates when moderators chose questions from the audience--after vetting the questions and questioners.

I'd like to see the candidates air-dropped into town hall meetings in various locations across the United States--including inner cities, border areas, and towns hit by factory shutdowns. Open Mike Night, in a way. Of course, they all would do fine. They're trained to do fine in such circumstances, and they would indeed resort to their planned responses. Ever try to get a politician off-message? I have. It's damn hard. They are genetically programmed to say what they want to say--regardless of the question. In other words, the format doesn't matter. Still, it would be more entertaining--and perhaps a tad more informative--to see them interact in an unscripted fashion with voters on matters of substance.

Which reminds me; I have a friend who used to live in New York City who tells me that one morning she spotted Rudy Giuliani campaigning for mayor at a subway stop. She was no fan of his, but she went over to shake his hand. He took one look at her, said sharply, "You're not going to vote for me," and dismissed her. (She was not wearing a "Screw the State" t-shirt or anything like that; she was off to work at an ad agency.) I'd like to see more of that Rudy during this campaign. Which reminds me: if you haven't seen the video of Rudy Giuliani making fun of a man with Parkinson's disease, click here.

SHOCKED. Toe-sucking political consultant and professional Hillary-basher Dick Morris has a new book out titled: Outrage: How Liberals, Congress, Unions, Drug Companies, Big Oil, Banks, Lobbyists, Corporations, the United Nations the World Bank, the INS, the TSA, and the Democratic Party Are Ripping Us Off....and What To Do About It. Whew, that's some list. Did you notice that Morris leaves something out of the equation? The Republicans. How have Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big Banks, assorted corporations and lobbyists been able to rip "us" off? With the help of GOPers on Capitol Hill and in the White House. Talk about selective outrage.

PHAT. Yesterday I heard a troubling fact: within eight years 86 percent of all black women will be obese....Meanwhile, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, the social conservative, creationism-favoring Republican presidential candidate who a few years ago dropped 110 pounds and has made obesity an issue in this campaign, held a "Meet Mike Huckabee" campaign event yesterday at the Pizza Ranch in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Posted by David Corn at July 20, 2007 11:07 AM