Glenn Reynolds has a message to Republicans: “Don’t get cocky. Kerry can’t possibly do this badly for the entire campaign.” I sure hope he’s right.

Here are Glenn’s thoughts on the Village Voice article stating that Kerry must go.

51-49.

UPDATE: “Veteran GOP Sen. Arlen Specter narrowly won a fifth term,” CNN proclaims. Um, guys… it’s a primary. He hasn’t quite clinched the general election just yet. Heh.

ANOTHER UPDATE: They’ve corrected it now: “Veteran GOP Sen. Arlen Specter narrowly won a shot at a fifth term.” But I saved an image of the original mistake for posterity, and you can see it here.)

Los Angeles shattered the 123-year-old record high of 94 with a temperature of 102 degrees at USC!

Here in Phoenix, we managed only a measly 97. Who’d have thunk it: L.A. hits triple-digits before Phoenix does!

Okay, so maybe you didn’t put any stock in it when the New York Post’s John Podhoretz dissed John Kerry. After all, the Post is not exactly known for its liberalism. But now James Ridgeway of the lefty Village Voice has jumped on the dump-Kerry bandwagon, writing: “Note to Democrats: it’s not too late to draft someone — anyone — else.”

With the air gushing out of John Kerry’s balloon, it may be only a matter of time until political insiders in Washington face the dread reality that the junior senator from Massachusetts doesn’t have what it takes to win and has got to go. As arrogant and out of it as the Democratic political establishment is, even these pols know the party’s got to have someone to run against George Bush. They can’t exactly expect the president to self-destruct into thin air. …

Kerry sinks day by day. The pros all know that the candidate who starts each morning by having to explain himself is a goner.

What to do? Look for the Dem biggies, whoever they are these days, to sit down with the rich and arrogant presumptive nominee and try to persuade him to take a hike. Then they can return to business as usual—resurrecting John Edwards, who is still hanging around, or staging an open convention in Boston, or both.

It strikes me as extremely unlikely that the “Dem biggies” will do what Ridgeway suggests, and almost inconceivable that Kerry would go along with it if they tried. Instead, any serious move along these lines would surely produce the most divisive Democatic convention since 1968. Worse, the only candidates who would have even a remote chance at pulling off an anti-Kerry coup would be Hillary Clinton and Al Gore — and I don’t particularly like either of those options.

Alas, barring a cataclysmic scandal of some sort (as I posted earlier, “Where have you gone, Alexandra Polier?”), we’re almost certainly stuck with Kerry, a.k.a. the quantum candidate:

It’s the Schroedinger’s Candidate. He’s an undefined state. You don’t know where he stands until you put him in office.

He is subject to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle as well — you can either know his momentum or his position. As a candidate, he is trying to gain momentum in his Pesidential bid. Therefore, we cannot know his position on anything.

And you change it by trying to measure it.

Heh. (Hat tip: Wonkette.)

The polls just closed in Pennsylvania, home of the Specter-Toomey Senate primary. You can view results here as they come in.

Contrary to previous reports, USA Today says ABC is not going to throw out a number:

Bowl Championship Series officials will have to wait until September to learn what value ABC places on an expanded format that might include a title game after the New Year’s bowls.

At the BCS meetings in Phoenix on Tuesday, ABC senior vice-president Loren Matthews denied a report that ABC was there to offer a huge bid for not only a fifth game but a new separate championship game in a revised BCS deal beginning with the 2006 season.

“These meetings are about potential future formats for the BCS,” Matthews said. “But I read where we’re going to come in with a blockbuster bid. It’s absurd. I have the authority to bid whatever is in my pocket, which is about $20 to $40.”

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Ivan Maisel writes that the “plus-one” proposal is probably unrealistic anyway.

Poetic justice for criminals and terrorists:

A Hamas suicide bomber blew up two armed Palestinians who tried to rob him at gunpoint in the Gaza Strip. …

Palestinian security officials said the the gunmen were criminals who were involved in a car theft ring that brought stolen vehicles from Israel to Gaza.

Hamas said the bomber was on his way to try to infiltrate into Israel, accompanied by another Hamas member and a guide, when they were stopped by the armed men.

The robbers forced the bomber to lie on the ground and tried to steal the bomb, but the militant detonated it, killing all three.

You don’t see me shedding any tears.

Phoenix is the center of the college-football universe today, as the BCS commissioners meet at the Royal Palms Resort — which is roughly 10 miles from my office — and prepare to entertain a “hardball offer” for a championship game after the BCS bowls. The Boston Globe reported on Sunday:

Sources at ABC and within the BCS say television officials are ready to come in with a hardball offer for a “Five Bowl Plus One” plan that would create not only a fifth BCS bowl but a one-game “championship playoff” after the BCS games. …

A source familiar with the ABC proposal said, “They’re going to come in and try and blow people away with a money offer to get this Five Plus One deal done.” …

The catch is that ABC, which controls all four BCS games under the current contract (through the 2005 season), wants exclusive bargaining rights on the deal.

Tranghese says he is not sure that can or should happen.

“That means a long-term commitment [perhaps 10 years] for one network on the main college football bowl games,” said Tranghese. “I have some concerns about that.”

Tranghese added, “I’m almost certain nothing will be decided at the meetings in Phoenix. We might hear some ideas, but I would be very surprised if anything gets done.” (Emphasis added.) Heh. So will we, Mike, so will we.

“Under the system ABC will propose, LSU would have met USC in a one-game playoff” last season, the Globe states. Of course, with the “fifth bowl” that is also being planned, the nation’s other one-loss team, Miami of Ohio, might have beaten somebody good — like, say, Ohio State or Miami of Florida — and therefore might have become a legitimate title contender, leaving the LSU-USC winner to grapple with yet another who’s-the-real-champion argument. A playoff, obviously, is the only real solution to this. But I digress.

ESPN, CNNSI, and BoiFromTroy have coverage as well. This ABC proposal is supposed to be heard sometime this afternoon, so today could be a big day in college football history. Stay tuned.

Lunch-break update, Tuesday, April 27, 2004… “hot heat” edition…

Heat wave strikes Southern California: The “downtown” Los Angeles weather station (on the USC campus) reached a record high of 99 degrees yesterday, easily topping the previous record, 91. Long Beach hit 101, shattering the old record of 89. West Hollywood hit 98, and BoiFromTroy is hot. (Erm, not like that. I mean, maybe he is, but I don’t play for that team. Not that there’s anything wr… oh, nevermind. :)

Yesterday was also Phoenix’s hottest day of the year so far — though not as hot at USC! — as the mercury hit 98 degrees here. And the forecast calls for another 98-degree day today. So, will Phoenix have its first 100-degree day in April? It looks like today might be our last, best chance to reach triple-digits before the new month begins Saturday. (The forecast calls for 96 tomorrow, and then low 90s for the rest of the week.) Right now, it’s 93. Stay tuned.

The heat is on Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter (like the segue?) as he faces a tough primary challenge from a conservative Republican today.

The U.S. will be able to deflect North Korean missiles by the end of the year. Maybe.

Or maybe we’ll use blimps. Big Brother wants to watch you from 100,000 feet using an airship 25 times the size of the Goodyear blimp. Doubleplusgood or doubleplusungood? We report, you decide.

An NYU student who was living in the library basement has been evicted from his “home” after campus officials discovered his blog, www.homelessatnyu.com. Note to self: when squatting illegally in subterranean lair, do not publish location on the Internet.

Breaking news: Explosions in Syria.

That’s all for now.

UPDATE: CNN reports:

An hour-long battle between police and gunmen broke out Tuesday in downtown Damascus, the capital of Syria, killing at least one passer-by and injuring several others, according to Syrian television and other sources.

At least one attacker was killed and one wounded, according to the Syrian ambassador to the United States.

At least six explosions preceded the gunfire at about 8 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) in an area between the Iranian and Canadian embassies and near the residence of the British ambassador to Syria, according to witnesses.

Syrian TV quoted security sources as saying a “group of terrorists engaged in random fire with Syrian security forces.”

“Kerry is a terrible, terrible, terrible candidate,” declares the New York Post’s John Podhoretz. “Guys, you should have gone with John Edwards.”

Mickey Kaus refers to this reality with the frequently repeated headline, “Uh-oh, We’ve Nominated a Turkey.” In his latest post, he agrees with Podhoretz and wonders, “At what point do Democrats begin to consider that they haven’t nominated this guy yet?”

What should I be rooting for: that Kerry somehow overcomes his inherent flaws and magically becomes a good candidate, or that he somehow screws up so badly that the Dems really do begin to consider nominating someone else in July? [”Hill-a-ry! Hill-a-ry!” -ed.]

Where have you gone, Alexandra Polier?

UPDATE: On second thought, a Polier-like scandal probably wouldn’t convince the delegates to deny him the nomination. These are Democrats, after all. :) We need something really, really scandalous: like, say, evidence that Kerry cheated on his wife… with Barney Frank.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.