All But Your Four Fastest Ships

The Princess Bride is one of the funniest and most quotable movies of all time. And it provides the perfect springboard for this post. Evil Prince Humperdink has promised Buttercup that he will send his four fastest ships out, one in each direction, to carry a message to Westley. Of course he never does, but to compound the problem, he forgets his promise. So he tells Buttercup that "every ship in my armada will escort us on our honeymoon." She says, "All but your four fastest ships." "Well, of course, not those ships," Humperdink stammers, caught in his falsehood.

Andrea Mitchell had one of those moments on the Christ Matthews Show this morning. Talking about President Bush's position on stem cell research and teaching intelligent design she said it was designed to appeal to the Republican base who "didn't turn out in sufficient numbers" in the Ohio Congressional special election last Tuesday. Then catching herself, she said, "Well they did win, but not by as much as expected." (inexact transcription from memory)

It was hilarious watching reality conflict with a reporter (yet again). They're so married to their worldview that they have a hard time processing events that don't fit their preconceptions. A narrow win is still a win--there aren't any moral victories in politics...or war. You either get the prize or you go home defeated.

Chris Matthews also asked his panel if Bush's position represented him "putting on his boots and going Southern on us." Nice slam at the red states Chris. Keep it up. Even if you insult us till you turn blue, we won't!