QandO’s Jon Henke dissects the Republican Party and where McCain fits.

DJ McGuire compares John McCain’s conservative credentials to Mike Huckabee’s, issue by issue. The verdict? McCain.

Virginia could make or break the Clinton campaign tomorrow.

Back in October West Of The Boulevard News posted about the upcoming Infuzion Ice Bar.  Couple comments here, a couple comments there, months go by and suddenly, bam, mid-January you have yourself a regular ol’ deluge of comments coming in saying Infuzion is the bestest place in the whole wide world.  Interestingly enough, the two or three cheerleaders for Infuzion have a strikingly similar writing style.  And the conversation is still going.

Now maybe this is a case of people just Googling “infuzion” and finding WOTBN’s coverage on the place.  But so much talking so far after the fact just strikes me as odd.  Especially since it’s only people coming in and screaming “OMG, INFUZION ROXORZ!” (more or less).

So are we seeing people truly enjoying Infuzion or folks at Infuzion trying to get people to come enjoy it?

Redskins Offensive Coordinator (for the last two weeks) Jim Zorn has been named Head Coach of your Washington Redskins.

Former Gov. and current Senate candidates Jim Gilmore has endorsed John McCain for President.  (h/t Mason Conservative)

Conservativa has a great find in Paul Goldberg’s column “Taking Issue With the Democratic Race: An Empty Primary“:

Obama is “the one” — in Oprah’s words — not because of his policies but because his is a transcendent, unifying, super-nifty-cool personality. Hillary, meanwhile, is staying aloft largely through her ability to guilt-trip female liberals into sticking with her. Her cultivated weepiness and dour lamentations about how she’s been so picked on sometimes make it seem like she’s setting up a political version of one of those “how-does-a-Jewish-mother-change-a-lightbulb?” jokes. Answer: “It’s all right; I’ll just sit in the dark.”

Recall how her crying jag in New Hampshire, which apparently turned things around for her, was all about how important it is to her to be president. Message: Go ahead and vote for Obama; I’ll just sit here in the dark. Indeed, I’ve lost count of how many stories I’ve heard on public radio about Democratic women deciding to vote for Hillary out of guilt.

The Republican party is a mess, absolutely. Conservatives are sorting out what they believe, what heresies they can tolerate and on which principles they will not bend. At times this argument is loud, ugly and unfortunate. But you know what? At least it’s an argument about something. On the Democratic side, if you strip away the crass appeals to identity politics, the emotional pandering and the helium-infused rhetoric, you’re pretty much left with a campaign about nothing.

A post by Lowell at Raising Kaine demonstrates this completely: It’s not what you know but who you know. It’s not about being for anything but being against it.

The Democrats took Congress in 2006 not by running on any issues of substance but by merely running as being Not Republican. Put some sheep skin on that platform and you have your Democrat voiced “Change”. The candidates are rock stars despite the trite lyrics of their one hit wonders.

Republicans, on the other hand, are running on identity defined by issues, what it truly means to be a Conservative. There’s substantial policy talk on issues across the board, from immigration to taxes to the war in Iraq. While the Democrats are pulling the heart strings and targeting emotion, Republicans are aiming for the minds.

While Mike Huckabee is still in the race and winning states, this is forcing Republicans to discuss issues and focus on what the heart of the party truly is. This puts John McCain and the Republican Party on very good footing for unifying the party come November. Democrats are facing a drawn-out primary that only serves to further split the party emotionally, a wound that is much harder to heal then merely one of discussion and reason.

Hope everyone’s doing alright dealing with these brushfires.