Fish Stew and then the Puppy Fight

First, Ducknik and Plotnik ate the Bahian moqueca -- fish and shrimp in a coconut and onion broth. They ate it without chile, because they knew they couldn't let their stomachs be the least bit upset before the debates to follow.

Then the little puppies took the stage. The Republicans went first. Governor Huckabee is very cute. He wore a red jeweled collar and leash that George Bush was holding onto off stage.



It didn't take five minutes until Plotnik was screaming at the screen, especially every time Fred Thompson opened his cynical TV mouth. Ducknik remained calm, albeit with remote control in hand. Whenever smarmy, self-righteous, suburban Romney spoke Plottie lost more enamel on his teeth, but as Ducknik reminded Plotnik this morning, whomever Plottie hates most is likely to end up the Republican candidate.

For her part, the Duck and Mayor Giuliani would probably never be bowling buddies.

To Plotnik, the race seems over and it's Giuliani, hands down. He represents safety, just as Bush did, and the people who bought then are still buying. There's a lot of them too. Plus, if you're still determined to be a Republican after the lies and corruption of the past six years, you've got little else to base your choice on. At least Mayor G is a man who understands big cities and seems less bound by ideology.

Then, the Dems took the stage. Both Plotniks had to admit that Hillary, Edwards and Richardson all sounded more ready for prime time than Obama, especially Hillary. If it's a contest of substance, Hillary is the one. She schooled Edwards repeatedly.



Edwards was not happy about it.



Of course, it never is a contest of substance. If it's about a new way of doing business, it's going to be Obama or Edwards, and Edwards has painted himself into an impossible corner. Agree with him or not, he's starting to sound like Ralph Nader.

The best of all would be Bill Richardson and he'll probably be somebody's vice presidential pick. He's fat, which is refreshing.