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Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Ta-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues for TheAtlantic.com and the magazine. He is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle. More

Born in 1975, the product of two beautiful parents. Raised in West Baltimore—not quite The Wire, but sometimes ill all the same. Studied at the Mecca for some years in the mid-’90s. Emerged with a purpose, if not a degree. Slowly migrated up the East Coast with a baby and my beloved, until I reached the shores of Harlem. Wrote some stuff along the way.

And so its Biden

By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Aug 23 2008, 7:24 AM ET Comment

It's no mistake the text came at three AM is it? Nate claims that this means Pennsylvania is no longer a swing state. Hmm, not so sure. Anyway here's the GOP hitting back, courtesy of Marc. Nice shot, I guess. I fucking hate this game. Who really knows what's going to happen? I have this deep-seated suspicion that the things we think decide elections--ads, gaffes, rallies, counter-punches--aren't as important as we make them. I mean they are important, but often I suspect that they're just distracting us from much deeper, uncontrollable--and in some ways unknowable--questions. How's the war going? How will the economy be doing in November? What do the voter reg numbers look like? How many of those are likely to turn out?

I distrust a lot of the coverage I'm seeing of this campaign. I can't tell you why, only that it feels wrong, only that it it feels surface. Wasn't the Democratic primary decided on two simple factors--1.) Obama's team understood the rules, the Clinton's didn't 2.) Obama opposed the war, Hillary didn't 3.) Hillary ran for the Senate from New York, not Illinois. I'm not shorting the theater of it all. Of course you need actors to play their part, but I'm so sick of reading about performance. What's going on at the local level with this thing? What's happening--right now--in the voting precints of Ohio and North Carolina? Stop telling me how much money Obama is pouring into those states--I want to know what that money does, how is it being put to work. Less top-down coverage, more bottom up.

Anyway. That's my rant for today. Let's talk Joementum. I do think that there isn't a single VP candidate who McCain can select that wants to see Biden in a debate. Not one.


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