Politirazzi

By Lynne

McCain may not have been in the news as much as Obama this week, but I’m not so sure that the media Obama’s been getting is translating into any new votes.

McCain needs to focus on choosing his vice presidential running mate. That choice will have significant impact on his ability to peel Democrats away, keep Independents from voting for Obama or solidify conservative support.

As far as Obama — I’m hoping he takes another vacation, maybe does a little writing. Hey, he could do some more fundraising for his campaign now that he has broken his promise to accept public financing in the general.

Seriously, people are tired. We need a break. I’m in Chicago — Obamaland — helping get ready for the upcoming Green Party National Convention in July, and people are a lot more concerned about gas prices, and overcrowding on the Metra.

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By Lynne

McCain might not have to do anything to grab disgruntled Hillary supporters away from Obama ... not as long as Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney is in the race.

The Nation posted an opinion piece this week by John Nichols in which two students, former Clinton supporters who are now backing McCain, wrote:

For those of you who just can't stomach McCain, we suggest you look into Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party candidate. She is an African American woman from Georgia and is a former member of the House.

We think the endorsement will make more impact if it goes to John McCain, but we see Cynthia McKinney as a viable alternative and someone more qualified than Senator Obama to be President having served for longer in Congress.

In fact, McKinney served six terms in Congress and two terms in the Georgia Legislature. She’s poised to become the Green Party's first female presidential nominee.

Students aren't the only ones noticing. Comedian Roseanne Barr posted several endorsements of McKinney on her blog this week. Since Roseanne "will vote for a woman instead of a man," she is urging support for "cynthia mckinney of the green party. the green party is the future of america ..."

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By Meg

1. What will Clinton have to do/say to get her supporters to also throw their weight behind Obama?

Nothing. Sure, there will be some who refuse to vote for Obama because he’s not Hillary, just like there will be some Americans who will refuse to vote for Obama because he is black, some who refused to vote for Hillary because she’s a woman and some who will refuse to vote for McCain because ... I don’t know, they think he’s an alien or something.

There are always exceptions to every rule, but most Democrats are going to vote for the Democrat. They’re angry now, which is fine, but they will get over it.

Example: I watched Hillary’s fantastic concession speech (the real one) with a group of die-hard Hillary supporters, one of whom started chanting “Denver!” when Hillary took the podium. An hour later, they were all vowing to vote for Obama. We’re talking about people who were wearing Hillary buttons pinned to Hillary T-shirts. There was signage involved. But they turned pretty quickly. The majority of her supporters will do the same.

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(AP)

By Jeff

Former Clinton supporters are going to be voting for Obama. They were always going to vote for Obama, no matter how much they pouted. I think even if Clinton hadn’t come out for Obama, her supporters would have still voted for him. The quasi-posturing about supporting McCain by her senior supporters was more about bargaining power and trying to get some assurances from an eventual Obama administration.

Now that Hillary has come out and backed Obama and is now making calls to get her pledged delegates to vote for Obama (though not officially releasing them for a reason), it’s even more likely that Clinton supporters will vote for Obama. Obama has already done whatever he needed to do apparently during the private Clinton-Obama meeting last week. We just don’t know what it was. It wasn’t a VP nod, that I’m sure of, but conventional wisdom says maybe it was a promise of Attorney General, Supreme Court Justice or as the shepherd in Congress for his health care plan. Or maybe it was just, “Hey, shut up; you lost. Go away or I will crush you.” That would have been my tactic.

This trend indicates that those Clinton supporters who previously may have been saying they were going to vote for McCain over Obama, are predictably now admitting that they plan on voting for Obama.

By Jeff

The big mistake that the Democrats have made is their proportional method of assigning delegates. It’s just made it nearly impossible for either candidate to pull ahead. Continuing to do it this way will enable a lengthened primary season, and we’ve seen that the longer a race, the more it devolves into petty attacks. That only makes both candidates look worse.

The whole idea of “superdelegates” strikes me as extremely un-Democratic (meaning the party; not the adjective). The Democratic party is supposed to be the champion of the little folks; the downtrodden; making sure that everyone that all the evil Republicans ignore, gets a real voice. The Republicans are supposed to be the party where the elite sets the rules and everyone else just falls in line or gets trampled.

Yet, the Democrats have made it so less than 800 people control 20 percent of the possible Democratic delegates. If the delegates want to stereotypical “evil, selfish Republicans," they can withhold their vote and use it as a bargaining chip to cull favor with the eventual nominee (gee, I wonder why over 25 percent of superdelegates haven’t committed yet).

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By Matt

Simply put, this primary season has gone on for too long. I personally have lost interest in the campaign as it has dragged on across these many months. The continued battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, instead of stoking my interest in the race, has had me asking myself when it will all end. In conversations with family and friends, this feeling seems to be somewhat common. Thus, the most important change that the parties can make to the primary system would be to shorten it.

One of the reasons the primary (and general campaign) season has been so long this year is because Iowa and New Hampshire moved their caucus/primary dates to make sure that they retained their first-in-the-nation status.

As long as these two states fight to retain that status, the primary season will remain abnormally elongated. But who cares about Iowa and New Hampshire? Are the traditions associated with their respective primary selection methods so important that the nation should suffer the effects of the malaise and fatigue that can (and has) come from this seemingly endless race?

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By Kimberly

Glued to C-SPAN on this rainy Saturday, I witnessed the contentious spectacle that was the DNC RBC meeting in our nation’s capital. Hearing hecklers (totally a New Yorker, see below!) and partisan cheering abound, I almost felt cool witnessing this carnage first hand, though the real meat would have been to be in the closed door three-hour meetings that transpired over “lunch.”

In the end, the committee voted for compromise by seating half votes from Florida and Michigan, but if it were up to me, I would have motioned for full seated delegates from Florida, and maybe half or none in Michigan. I would figure that it is at least a bit more fair if both frontrunners were at least on the ballot as was the case in Florida, but not in Michigan.

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(AP)

By Jeff

At the adult table (as always) is the Republican Illuminati of James Baker, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, a picture of baby Jesus and George W. Bush in his rocketship seat. At the kids table is all the people who may potentially be vice presidential candidates: Bobby Jindal, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Charlie Crist and Tim Pawlenty.

Poppa Bush says, “Alright men, while McCain’s back at the grill we need to determine — Dick, quit eating that puppy carcass for a second, this is important — by the end of this day, we’re going to decide who is assigned as vice presidential nominee. Rove, go.”

“Well, it really needs to be someone young and energizing to fight the Obamania factor, and someone with a strong conservative record to placate the core Gays/Guns/God crowd that doesn’t think McCain is conservative enough” as Karl looks over while Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee arm wrestle to see who gets to say grace. “It would also be ideal to get someone who could help us carry some swing states.”

Baker butts in, “I think we should start excluding some guys. We’ll get Florida even if Crist isn’t on the ticket — I made sure of that last time — plus he’s got white hair, and we’ve already got one of them. Huckabee is a nice guy, and I’m really impressed with his weight loss, but is it just me, or does he come off as a bit crazy? When he tries to be funny, it just kind of creeps me out. Liability.”

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By Kim

Tensions rise at the Asylum as vice presidential hopefuls Gov. Bobby Jindal, Gov. Charlie Crist and Mitt Romney fight to look the least Democratic while eating calamari. “Your sweatshirt is a nice shade of green, senator,” remarks Romney, “Brooks Brothers?” McCain lets out a sigh at Mitt’s unabashed pandering that makes even him cringe.

“So, Bobby,” McCain turns to his left, “I can’t believe they had steak on the kids' menu!” Jindal rolls his eyes and turns up his iPod. Forty years of a generation gap will not be filled so easily.

McCain looks awkwardly around and meets the gaze of Crist. He holds out his plate and asks, “Charlie, can you serve me Florida?”

By Jeff

Of course race, sex and age are more discussed in this election season than they have in the past; there’s a black, a woman and a 71-year old running for president. I will admit that as a straight white male, I really haven’t been exposed to prejudice in my life. I realize there are prejudiced people, and while I haven’t experienced bias, I haven’t witnessed much either. And when I have witnessed it, it has immediately been stamped out by everyone around. Racists and sexists are becoming more of a minority in this country every day. The real reason race, sex and age have been so prevalent in this campaign are because of laziness and pandering.

When Sen. Clinton’s camp talks (or plants in the press) of sexism or the “glass ceiling” in an effort to explain why she’s fallen behind Obama, it strikes me as a cheap political ploy to either energize her supporters or to try and pander to current Obama supporters. Maybe the Clinton campaign can convert some Obama supporters by appealing to their liberal guilt and questioning their sexism.

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By Matt

The most interesting “ism” at play in this year’s presidential race is racism. It is an issue that has at times shadowed and at times come to the fore of Barack Obama’s campaign. While he might have hoped to settle the issue of his race with his speech on the matter several weeks ago, it is unfortunately likely that it will surface in some serious (as in attention-grabbing) way again.

Rather than focus on the obvious racism question — something to the effect of “Will racism keep Obama from winning?” or “Can whites overcome their animus to vote for a serious black candidate?” — I’d like instead to ask whether Obama’s success in several former Confederate states says something about racism in this nation more broadly. A common notion (or stereotype) is that feelings of animus toward members of minority races are more prevalent, naturally, in the South. But do Barack Obama’s primary victories in places like, among others, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, speak to a heretofore unrecognized evolution of our fellow Americans below the Mason-Dixon line?

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By Kimberly

In a time when we should be zooming around in jet packs and wearing shiny clothing, we sure are seeing every kind of “–ism” rear its ugly head in 2008. After Kerry’s loss in 2004, nearly all Dems shook their fists in ire and vowed that next time around we would put up someone electable, unlike Kerry who was pegged as the Starbucks-drinking, windsurfing, French-speaking, New England liberal elite.

But only four years later, both the Dems and Republicans have an unprecedented line up of alternative nominees: a woman, an African-American man and a senior citizen. Frankly, I am excited about these options because it shows progression in the American mindset of who should lead our country. I remember people citing voting for Bush because they’d like to have a beer with him, but time has shown that people realized you should never put your drinking buddy, wing-man into office, he’ll just run up your tab and pick some fights.

In Clinton’s case, she’s been under fire for getting “vechlempt” and for not graciously bowing out like a good girl should. From what I’ve seen, however, the sexist remarks haven’t been directed at her, but rather at those who haven’t supported her like Sen. Ted Kennedy. Also, Obama himself has been labeled as sexist recently when he brushed off a young woman’s question while calling her “sweetie,” see below, (an admitted bad habit of his). Ummm ... is anyone else concerned about this habit?

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By LaShawnda

I’ll go ahead and put it out there: I’m a black woman.

There have been a couple of instances in life when I’ve felt a sense of double discrimination. However, there have been innumerable occasions where I’ve cringed on other’s behalf -- usually minorities and women. I think Marie Cocco’s Washington Post article is a bit biased and blind to the realities of the personal attacks on both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Cocco blatantly and stupidly suggests that there would be more of an uproar in the upper echelons of the Democratic party if Barack was characterized as a blaxploitation film character versus Hillary being reduced to a character who is paid for her sexual services.

Sorry, but Obama’s critics didn’t give him the courtesy of comparing him to an overproduced black film character. This week alone, the week of Ms. Cocco’s article, Barack has been likened to the monkey, Curious George and to the monster, Adolf Hitler. There is no red carpet of niceties laid out on the road to the presidency for either candidate. All the personal attacks are demeaning, belittling and reprehensible. For Cocco to suggest that Clinton has it harder because she’s a woman is, frankly, insulting. It’s offensive to my intelligence. Is it offensive to yours?

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By Matt

If Hillary Clinton were to win the Democratic nomination — in spite of the popular vote in favor of Barack Obama — the question I will be most concerned with is not what effect that will have on Democratic voters, but whether those dissatisfied with the result of the 2000 presidential election will finally stop harping on the deficiencies of the electoral college and the supposed injustice of a system in which a person who doesn’t get the highest absolute number of votes can still manage to get elected.

One cannot help but trip over the irony of the Democratic nominee potentially being decided not by the popular vote — oh no! — but by the popular vote and the votes of the party’s superdelegates. It would be ironic indeed if the precedent relied upon in such a nomination fight was the scourge of Bush v. Gore.

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By Kimberly

By far, the biggest side show of them all has been all the hullabaloo about the superdelegates: Who they are, where they live and who they’ll vote for. This is the sideshow that spawned the pimping out of Chelsea Clinton and the idea that again the decision of president would be taken out of the “peoples’ ” hands and decided by a select elite (?) few. Enter the embarrassing Facebook picture below of 21-year-old superdelegate Jason Rae who was wined and dined by the Clintons, makes one mean chocolate chip cookie (literally!), and who accidentally outed himself during an interview with The Advocate. Aren’t you comforted by those whose hands hold the fate of the free world?

Facebook

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By LaShawnda

The most ridiculous sideshow has been the media’s concentration on the Rev. Wright. It’s interesting that during this whole primary season, the only “negative” the media Hillary and her peeps can poke at Obama about are his associates.

They haven’t found anything about him personally that’s been bad enough to create a national uproar over. Very little to criticize about Obama’s own words and actions. So, the media created a circus act out of Wright’s career and comments.

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By Jeff

When the question was posed to me as to which ridiculous spectacle of the campaign annoyed me the most, my first reaction was, “can it be ‘all of the above'?” I finally settled on the pretty obvious Jeremiah Wright situation. First, the subject really had little to do with Sen. Obama but was given a lot of press just because of the incendiary tone of Wright’s comments. The clearly hostile-to-white America comments do not come close to sounding anything like anything ever being attributed to Obama in his life. In fact, Obama had already distanced himself from Wright in February of 2007, well before the public controversy erupted. Additionally, Obama immediately and repeatedly said that Wright did not speak for him or his campaign. So I really don’t know why people kept harping on Obama. What else was he supposed to do and say to convey the message that he disagreed with Reverend Wright?

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By Dontre

I was not only appalled at Barack's "bitter" comment, I was even more aghast at the incredulity of his arrogance, declaring that questions of his patriotism were not substantive, merely because they rested with his refusal to wear a flag pin. Whether Sen. Obama deems it consequential or not, there are some voters for whom the signifier of the the American flag means a lot.

This is a national symbol that we hoist at our most important functions and events, that defines our countries, and unifies us all; and for many voters, it means a lot. His supercilious remarks, belittling those who merely inquired, not only show that he's out of touch, but in conjunction with his "bitter" comments, shows that he's not the candidate to represent ALL Democrats, or even all Americans. Outside of his base of the affluent, the African-American populace, and youth voters, there's a whole populace that needs to be considered.

By Meg

Hands down, the biggest spectacle in this election so far has been the Rev. Wright scandal. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Because I’ve exorcised that demon already, though, I’d like to share my favorite bit of ridiculousness thus far: The candidates speak out … on American Idol! What better way to connect with that extremely important demographic of tweens who cannot vote?

If I were judging these appearances Paula Abdul-style, I would anoint McCain the winner for his excellent imitation of that thing called humor. Who else could so successfully pander to the kiddies by combining the charm of that uncle who makes you pull his finger every Thanksgiving with the stiffness and menace of Dr. Evil? He’s hip. He’s with it. Tucka-tucka, tucka-tucka…

(AP)

By Matt

In response to this week’s talker, I was tempted to rant about the ridiculous amount of attention paid to Jeremiah Wright (close to 20,000 hits on Google News). Although I have to admit that I’ve enjoyed seeing the otherwise superbly composed Barack Obama squirm as of late, I and I hope most other Americans find it pretty hard to believe that such a smart guy would let his politics be influenced by such a hateful, ignorant one. I don’t support Barack Obama, but I feel comfortable giving him the benefit of the doubt in this case. Maybe Obama could have nipped this story in the bud with a stronger denunciation the first time around, but how could he have anticipated last week’s turn of events?

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By Kimberly

I have recently been accepted into the MIT Sloan School of Management and with a yearly tuition of nearly $50K a year for a two-year program (not including living expenses, rent and supplies), college tuition relief has my No. 1 concern going into this election!

The candidates’ stances on higher education relief are quite similar. Hillary’s is probably the most fleshed out calling for a $3.5K tax credit, increasing Pell grant limits and AmeriCorps scholarships, and private collage tuition transparency measures. Obama’s plan consists simply of a $4K tax credit and turning the FAFSA form into a check box on income tax returns.

McCain’s Web site doesn’t even deal with higher education issues and, instead, focuses on pitting K-12 public schools against each other to attract their clientele (the kids) in hopes that standards will be raised through competition. This lack of platform for college is astounding considering his strong words last week when refusing to vote for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which tries to fill the gap between the 77 cents a woman makes to every man’s dollar. “They need the education and training,” says McCain of the disparity. Way to not have a plan to help both men and women afford it!

In short, I think Hillary’s proposals are actually the best, though they really deal with undergraduate issues. In the meantime, I’ll be socking that stimulus check away in a high-yield online savings account.

By Adrian

For me, the biggest issue in this presidential campaign is the issue of American values and American image at home and abroad.

I am not talking about abortion, prayer in schools or any values that have defined the value wars of the last quarter century. I am talking about the values of liberty — America’s defining values — respect for human rights, freedom of speech and of worship, freedom from fear, self-respect, self-determination and freedom of commerce.

The values I speak of are those values elucidated by our Declaration of Independence, by President Kennedy and so many other great statesmen throughout our history. These values are those which America has stood for since its founding, the principles that made this nation the envy of the world. America’s stance in the world politically and economically has suffered tremendously in the last eight years. War and torture abroad, enhanced surveillance, fear, and economic uncertainty at home have brought low our great nation.

I want leaders who have the vision, as President Kennedy did, to inspire this nation to do great things. Whatever my policy differences with Barack Obama, and there are many, his uplifting rhetoric, his intelligence and belief in American ideals make him a very attractive candidate. However, the more he has fumbled in the last few months, the more attractive John McCain has become.

Maybe it’s time for a grandfatherly figure in the White House. Or, maybe it’s time for an inspirational figure. Either way, it’s time to right the ship of state.

By Jeff

I think the president’s main job in any administration should be foreign policy. The president should spend the bulk of their time outside the country helping to establish, augment or leverage relationships around the world to improve the environment for America’s citizens and corporations. Domestic policy can be driven by the Congress and respective states, with obviously the president’s veto power acting as a check and balance. The need to focus internationally is magnified in this election due to the war(s) and the significantly eroded opinion of America held throughout the world after the Bush administration many abuses.

There are obviously many domestic issues that are also important to me (e.g. the farcical “war on drugs”, the civil rights issue of gay marriage, the Social Security ponzi scheme, fear of the Democrats attempts at nationalizing health care, an increasingly re-distributive tax code and general intrusiveness of the federal government both economically and personally) which will have a significant impact on my vote.

That said, my No. 1 issue of this general election cycle (if it ever gets started) will be how Obama and McCain discuss what will be their efforts to re-establish diplomacy around the world and repair America’s name in light of the Bush administration’s numerous international missteps and abuses of power.

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By Matt

This election season, immigration is the most important issue to me because though important in and of itself, it also touches on other significant issues like homeland security, the economy, and respect for the law. The candidates’ respective positions on immigration indirectly reflect broader governing principles that they will bring to bear in other policy areas.

Aside from devising new legal solutions to the problem of illegal immigration, one of the country’s most pressing policy concerns is how to enforce existing laws against those who enter the country illegally and those who employ them. The problem of illegal aliens within the United States appears to be an intractable one. Yet while there may be manifest difficulties in dealing with the illegal immigrant population currently here, each of the candidates has offered what they consider to be practical, realistic solutions to this part of the immigration problem. Similarly, each has spoken out about the necessity of securing the border not only to stem the flow of illegal entrants, but also to prevent terrorists from entering the country. The presence of vast numbers of undocumented aliens also raises questions about education, health care and the economy. For instance, if economic conditions continue to worsen, and more Americans become unemployed, will the average American still spurn the chance to work in the manual labor and service positions often held by illegal immigrants? Immigration thus touches on a variety of domestic and foreign policy concerns. As the election plays out, particularly if the economy continues to worsen, it will be interesting to see how much attention each candidate pays to the issue and how they frame their solutions to it.

Rather than discuss which candidate’s views on the issue I prefer, I thought I’d provide links to each candidate’s Web site so that the readers can inform themselves on the issue. So, here’s the McCain, Clinton and Obama take on the issue. I’ll follow up soon with my thoughts on whose policy is the most promising and responsive.

(AP)

By LaShawnda

The Pa. primary is going to be an upset for Hillary. She’s banking too much on the perceived ignorance of the public and their lack of interest in the political process. I think she’ll have a rude awakening in the morning. Obama will win, albeit by a 1-3 points. It’ll be a close race, but I think Obama has gained on Clinton much more than the polls are suggesting.

Tomorrow we’ll read headlines similar to:

Upset in PA!
Clinton Machine Comes to Halt!
Women Turn Out For Obama!

The pundits will be discussing how Hillary lost her base — the female vote — because she spent too much time trying to churn up bitter gunfighters in bars.

All this being said, I don’t think she will bow out gracefully, even with a loss in Pa. Her selfish determination will not allow her to step aside for the good of the party. But hey, it’s her right and prerogative to stay in. Besides, I don’t think anyone is expecting grace from Hillary at this point anyway.

By Emily

Political analysts and junkies alike know how the numbers look as Hillary and Barack duke it out today in Pennsylvania. A summary by Newsday's Glenn Thrush:

Delegates
Obama: 1,450
Clinton: 1,251

Popular vote
Obama: 13,689,293
Clinton: 12,861,985

Cash on hand for the primary
Obama: $42 million
Clinton: $93. million

Debt
Obama: $663,000
Clinton: $10.3 million

Barack's looking pretty good. But what happens after today's primary depends on the margin by which Hillary will win (as polls show she should). The best quote I've read this morning is from CNN's Bill Schneider:

"If Clinton wins by single digits, we're in a political twilight zone. Nothing changes."

I predict this is will be the case. Cue creepy music as we make our way to the Indiana, North Carolina contests. June and Puerto Rico can't seem to arrive soon enough.

Everyone remembers the story of Pandora's Box, right? Obama started out talking about the politics of hope but the cynic in me kept wondering when all the nasty stuff would start to flying around?

Gee, I guess the answer would be: Pennsylvania in April.

While Clinton's been taking a shot of whiskey, pandering to the crowd, Obama's been busy taking a few shots at Clinton.

My prediction: Clinton wins Pennsylvania by 4-6 percentage points.

The reason: Candidates who live in glass houses shouldn't go bowling.
— Lynne

Matt, like most of the other Politirazzi and Obama himself, predicts a Clinton win but only a slim margin. (AP)

By Matt

It looks like it’s coming right down to the wire, but I think Hillary Clinton will pull off a victory in Pennsylvania. The margin of victory will be slim, probably within 5 percent if I had to guess. If Clinton does in fact win, I think the story will be about her resiliency and about Barack Obama’s inability to put the final nail in Clinton’s coffin.

Despite the long odds she faces of catching Obama in popular votes, I find it quite interesting that Clinton has maintained such strong polling numbers in Pennsylvania. Particularly if her own polling numbers are to be believed, Pennsylvania voters do not care that Clinton faces a nearly insurmountable delegate deficit. Her comeback victory in what is an important presidential swing state will carry a broader message about the continued vitality and viability of her campaign, even if the delegate numbers remain in her opponent’s favor.

I must confess that as fan of neither of the Democratic nominees, I will enjoy the aftermath of a Clinton victory in Pennsylvania — perhaps renewed calls for meaningful Michigan and Florida primaries, added pressure on superdelegates to commit to one candidate, and almost certainly more mud slinging between the two nominees. As political theater, the spectacle of a primary fight that extends to (and maybe through) the convention will be riveting. If I were a Democrat, I would this thing wrapped up come Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, with a Clinton victory in Pennsylvania, that might not happen for a while.

And the winner will be: Hillary, by ten points. Yep, I’m predicting double digit margins, kids. I’m also predicting that the narrative to immediately come out of the Pennsylvania primary will be overwhelmingly of the “She’s Back!” … “It’s a Knockout!” variety. La Clinton’s campaign will be absolutely sure to revive that very unfortunate Rocky comparison during her celebratory speech, especially if she wins Philadelphia (though I think Philly will shower her brotherly love on Barack).

The narrative in the days to come will shift, however, as the media once again comes to its senses and realizes that Hillary’s win doesn’t actually net any further gains. Still behind in electoral votes. Still behind in the popular vote. Still less states won than Obama. When that reality sinks in, we’ll all be subjected to that ever-reliable “The Dems are destroying the party!”…“You’re killing your poor father!” narrative that we’ve all come to know and tune out.

And we’re on to the next one …
— Meg