McCain

EVER SAT down to watch a NASCAR event? Many people can’t bear the thought of watching cars going around and around in a circle, as the criticism goes, and often the weekly race is about as exciting as watching freeway traffic. But for those who enjoy the pit strategy—such as the nuances of how to garner the slightest increase in horsepower—and feed off the melodrama that ensues when drivers invariably aggravate their fellow competitors by cutting them off, it’s a nice way to burn four hours on a Sunday afternoon. Even if you don’t care to watch auto racing and scoff at the idea

THERE WILL be more than just tons of political “hot air” emitted in Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul during the respective Democratic and Republican national conventions in the coming weeks. So will, literally, be tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite efforts by both parties to appear politically correct by “greening” their conventions and their marketing efforts, neither campaign has bothered to address the carbon footprint of their political advertising and events. And they constitute a big footprint, indeed. PQ Media reports that political ad spending is expected to rise 43 percent to an all-time high of $4.5 billion during the 2008 election cycle. Direct