Vee

As am I. I think it'll have to sooner or later. Hopefully sooner. Ncuti Gatwa apparently lets it slip that he's filming his third series next year, which then gets scrubbed from UK media.

That's them flooding the zone with junk polls, the same thing they did in the midterms (and 2020).

The Alex Thompson/Frank Luntz/Dave Weigel ouroboros - Weigel seems unaware or uninterested that he himself has been drifting rightward back to his libertarian roots for years since his Bernie Bro period (and his chastisement for sexist behavior at the Post which caused him to exit) and that he and Thompson (who breathlessly RT'ed an anti-Harris oppo clip out of context) are essentially cut from the same cloth:

From the very reliable Jon Ralston: I definitely don't think things are perfect or that the campaign is necessarily doing everything right, but I think they're doing quite well. I think more can be done but I don't think polling is going to move much. The only time we'll see the truth (and I suspect bigger numbers) is on the day.

That piece just feels like Pierce having a 2016 encounter group moment to me, and I like Charles Pierce. But it doesn't mean anything to me. As marceline said, it's the same race it's been for weeks and the same October doldrums. And no, I don't think Trump is actually gaining much ground - I don't see any substantive or credible evidence of that. I believe even Carville himself (never known not to be a crank when he wants to be) said that the other day on a podcast - the race hasn't moved much and everyone is getting paranoid because there's nothing else for onlookers to do. Do I think there is more to be done campaign-wise? Of course, always. But no matter how much RCP or Politico, etc. tries to wishcast it there is no sign of a clear 'shift towards Trump'. Even the reputable pollsters are saying we're being flooded with junk polls or nonsensically-skewed stuff like today's TIPP numbers. So barring that it's just stasis.

A solid thread:

Felicia's 2012 return or rather the rehabilitation of her character was pretty superficially written IMO, which was common for Ron Carlivati at that time - all callbacks and exposition, all short FV-style scenes. But they did put in the time with keeping her around, having people talk about things at least and hold her accountable, etc. and that did enough for me. They made her part of the fabric of the show again and it redeemed her in full. I just thank God things went as south as they did with Jack Wagner BTS, because otherwise Ron might have legit tried to reunite Felicia and Frisco and leave Mac in the dust again. I couldn't have forgiven that. I'm still mad as I think it was RC who began the modern practice of having Maxie call Mac anything other than "Dad" regularly again, though I may be imagining that.

He's still got it. I'm not going to post all of this but the Aaron Rupar and Acyn accounts have a ton of it, and I'm sure the full speech will be on YT shortly. I will post a little though!

I admired Mitt for his stance against Trump at a few key points in the last several years (particularly re: impeachment), but in the end he always defaults to trying to thread the impossible needle where he will come out the victor. I think he's delusional. There is no party base that will ever accept him now, even if he just manages to deftly keep Trump's name out of his mouth.

That's wild. What a world.

I think Lucky's current arc, however weakly executed, is about becoming a better parent and father for his family (and Liz), though. Jason is never going to be capable of that so (particularly after Mulcahey exited) they've just entirely elided that issue that he came on dealing with. There are a couple fanbases very invested in making JJ's return a failure but the performances are still strong and he's still getting consistent praise, which is more than we can say for Steve. I don't think anybody was served well by spending weeks in those bare rooms playing cards, but that is typical Frank, Van Etten etc. nonsense over the last 5-10 years. I think things with Lucky will continue to settle onscreen, and I'm pleased Becky is at the forefront again.

Amusingly, Trump leaked his internal (Tony Fabrizio) polling today - and even his slanted internals only have him tied in all swing states.

Ridiculous that this had to air. They should've fought it in court.

It's official, though I think his team may panic and try to set another:

Taking a break from seething and spitting nails that Harris is in the race at all let alone doing well, Jonathan Martin offers a coping mechanism:

I don't think that's actually reality, though - I think that's just very online noise. Outliers aside, I just don't see the coalition breaking off, I don't see that bearing out in any actual Dem turnout numbers or polling so far. Just the opposite for both turnout, registration and now apparently early voting. And Trump always pointlessly goes to states he either doesn't need or can't win simply because he feels like it to lift his spirits. He's been doing that since at least 2020. And I don't think it's half the country behind him - otherwise Trump would be over 50%. He hasn't been in years. He's only been losing voters, never gaining them. Not since 2016. And honestly, Joe's win (while a nailbiter on the first night) was not that close in the end. I can understand being tense or concerned, because I am tense. It's not over til it's over. And it may be tight on Election Night, though I'm not convinced it will be. I don't see 2016.

I agree, as I said in my post earlier. I don't think the day to day writing is very good for the show period but this reaction is in character for Lucky at this point. The idea of the arc is for him to grow past it.

Joe Kahn on the ropes:

I understand why they did what they did here with Lucky. The fact is he has been running for years and he would attempt (and fail) to go back to that bad pattern of behavior. It makes sense as drama, and of course he's not going anywhere.

The Kelly Monaco brigade can't do anything to anyone. That being said, while I'm happy they'll be dealing with Liz I know this appearance will be all about Heather. Reeves did a fine job in a support role for a few years but I'd still rather they recast if they want to bring Steve back long-term.

That title does feel like just an entry point for more though. Maybe.

Oh boy. @Darn

It's not exactly the first time.