Ebbs and eddies

Vocabulary update
Any criticism of Sarah Palin, any unflattering account, however factual, of her record, her past or her own words, is “vicious” and “hate-filled.” It is anti-woman, anti-Christian and anti-working mother.

Please make a note in your political glossary.

Give it a rest
Some readers of my newspaper column have suggested that I’ve pushed the connection between contemporary Republican rhetoric and 1950s Red-baiting Senate witch hunter Joseph McCarthy one time (OK, maybe two) too many.

One offered to buy me a ticket to Russia or China (irony is clearly not this political analyst’s long suit); another expressed the wish that I’d been around when McCarthy was in his heyday (actually I was, but I was about 2 years old) so the good senator could have exposed me for the crypto-Marxist that I am.

They might have a point – not about Russia, China or Marx, I hope, but about overplaying the McCarthy card. Believe it or not, I’m probably as tired of evoking that shameless sleazeball’s memory as some folks are of hearing about him.

So here’s the deal: I’ll stop mentioning McCarthy when right-wing pols stop using him as a role model.

Sports spots
Auburn’s “win” against Mississippi State last Saturday night was excruciating. My impression, after three games, is that this supposedly explosive new offense is not just bad, but virtually unwatchable.

One more time seeing that unit break the huddle, line up over the ball and then break formation to stand around cluelessly to wait for a sign from the sidelines would have had me throwing something through the screen of an almost brand-new TV.

The look on Tommy Tuberville’s face as that travesty of a football game dragged on suggested that he’s starting to suspect he bought a bill of goods in O-Coordinator Tony Franklin. If Tubs saw any more offense or any more coordination than the rest of us did, he’s keeping it to himself.

Does Auburn now have its very own Dan Henning?

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