Here’s a very interesting take from guest blogger Weldon Berger over at PressThink:

The big balloon popper, of course, is that almost all of the moral values angst and triumphalism can be chalked up to a poorly written exit poll. When all the numbers were crunched, the percentage of voters who identified moral values as their top priority in 2004 was about the same as in 2000.

... The reality is that almost half of John Kerry’s votes came from red states, and much of the Bush margin of victory resulted from inroads he made in the blue states. A majority of voters support either gay marriage or civil unions, and a substantial majority support keeping abortion legal.

This analysis provides an interesting take on how perceptions are grabbed and run with by the media. But I don’t think we should downplay the role of moral values just yet. The percentage of voters who claimed that moral values were the most important factor in determining their votes may have remained static when compared to 2000.

But it didn’t remain equal.

Let’s go back to the 2000 election for a second. We had just been through two years during which morality was in fact at the top of our news almost everyday. The Lewinsky saga was in many ways the defining moment of the 2000 campaign. It makes sense that morals would be front of mind for voters.

Now let’s cut to 2004. We have 140,000 troops in Iraq. We are fighting a massive worldwide war on terrorism. The economy is sluggish. Our reputation in the international community has been dramatically altered. To put it plainly, we don’t have time to focus on the same nonsense that defines many elections.

And yet, moral values played an equal or greater role in determing this election than 2000. Given the years that preceded that vote and the ones that preceded this one, those numbers are more (not less) remarkable than the coverage has suggested.

Call it closing the trade gap one parking ticket at a time.

New York is looking to pull in some of the $195 million in unpaid parking fines owed by foreign diplomats.

So here’s the deal. Foreign aid to countries whose diplomats have unpaid parking tickets will be cut by 110% of the amount outstanding.

The neocons are still trying to come up with something a little more appropriate for nations whose diplomats participate in the more egregious acts of blocking the box or parking in front of a hydrant. And we’re still awaiting the results of a study aimed at determing the effectiveness of bunker-busters as a double-parking deterrent.

What happens when even a conservative judge thinks that a sentence being handed down is way, way too harsh?

Nothing if mandatory minimum sentencing is at work.

From Slate:
“In May and June 2002, the founder of Extravagant Records, which counts Snoop Dogg among its clients, twice sold $350 worth of pot to a Utah police informant. The first time Angelos carried a pistol in the center console of his car; the second time he had one in an ankle holster. When the police searched his apartment more than a year later, they found three handguns. Angelos wasn’t accused of hurting or threatening anyone. He has no criminal record. But after he turned down a plea bargain that would have locked him up for 15 years, the irked federal prosecutors in Salt Lake City piled on three counts under the federal statute that penalizes drug dealers for carrying weapons. One count would have gotten Angelos five extra years in prison. Three of them got him 55. All told, Angelos faced a possible 61 years behind bars once the jury convicted him. He is 24 years old.”

So who should replace Dan Rather?

CBS needs a ratings boost. They need someone who younger viewers will be attracted to and trust. Why not just hire Jon Stewart.

When it comes to most major news stories, the line between parody and real coverage is already blurred anyway.

And besides, Stewart means to be funny.

There is no denying the cold, hard fact that young people are abandoning newspapers (even the top brands) at a significant clip.

So what should newspapers do?

Revamp their websites. Newspaper websites should include their own branded material. But they must also allow consumers to customize the news and use RSS feeds to build their own version of the daily news. Yes, that will mean readers leaving your site. But it also means that they might keep coming there in the first place. We’re going in the direction of personalized news. There is no turning back.

Newspapers need to decide if they want to try to establish a foothold as the start-up page for that personalized news. They missed the boat as eBay and online classifieds ate into one of their main revenue streams. And most of them are missing the boat on RSS as well.

It shouldn’t be such a foreign idea. Newspapers have long been selling wire services like Reuters and AP under their brands. Why not sell links to all of your news the same way?

The train is coming. You’re either onboard or you’re on the tracks.

Predictably, a lot fewer former active-duty soldiers are signing up for the Army National Guard. What used to mean a weekend of month of service can now mean 18 months in Iraq.

Guard and Reserve units make up 40% of the U.S. troops currently in Iraq.