JS

is a scary politician. He seems to be relatively ignorant about foreign affairs and he is a socially conservative evangelical Christian. This means in plain terms that he opposes abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Still, this is the man that many people in Iowa (and across the U.S.) think might be the best man to lead the country.

Worst of all, Huckabee is a likable, nice and friendly guy that has overcome a personal obstacle. Does it sound familiar? George W. Bush could still get elected, despite his bad record as businessman and his problems with alcohol. Similarly, Huckabee seems to be someone that the average Republican voter wants to have a coffee or beer with.

Some speculation: Hillary would love to get Huckabee as her opponent. With her moderate politics she will be able to capture the center while still getting the votes from the left-wing of her party. An inexperienced right-wing opponent would be wonderful for her. She might be a triangulating, overly strategic Washington insider, but these features would serve her well against someone like Huckabee.

If, on the other hand, Obama gets the nomination then I am not so sure what will happen in the general election. Obama is also relatively naive. For example, he wants to reform health care by sitting down and discuss with the HMOs. I am afraid that if Obama gets the nomination, he would make the same type of blunders that Gore did in 2000. Moreover, Obama is probably more to the left on social and economic issues than Hillary, which leaves the center open.

Just by looking at their issue positions, then Hillary might be a better candidate to win over independents than Obama. However, most Americans do not vote on the issues or by ideology, so among the independents it will come down to the personal characteristics of the candidates.

written by Jacob \\ tags: Hillary Clinton, Huckabee, Obama, politics

Watching ski jumping on New Year’s Day used to be, if not interesting, at least soothing. Ski jumping in pairs is perhaps more entertaining:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRncHJG0Eu8[/youtube]

Another spectacular event on January 1 is NHL hockey outdoors.

written by Jacob \\ tags: sports

It is a fantastic song. These guys do not like each other any more. Things are pretty gloomy and there seems to have been a lot of drama, but they nevertheless try to stay positive and to look forward with a sort of down-to-earth optimism. I really dislike sweeping statements about cultures. Anyway, here it goes. This song captures a part of what it means to be Swedish.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcLMH8pwusw[/youtube]

written by Jacob \\ tags: music, Sweden

Stay away from Colgate’s Caribbean Cool Gel. The company says it is an “Exciting Flavor!” and that you can get clean teeth with a “surge of tropical mint”. Something must have gone horribly wrong at their test lab because the taste is awful. It tastes like rotten pineapples and has a smell that reminds me of dead animals. Since I cannot throw it away (what a waste) I have to endure this for at least another month or so.

written by Jacob \\ tags: food, products

I sold my soul to Google. I regularly use reader, gmail, scholar, calendar, maps and igoogle. Like a crack cocaine dealer, they fooled me into using gmail with the phrase “it’s free, try it out”. That was a long time ago. My most recent addiction is their reader application. And of course, it is a great program - just as I had feared. So here I am now, knee deep in Google applications.

But rather than using Google’s blogger, I am going to rely on Wordpress. It is not because of some silly act of resistance, it is because Wordpress looks better and has more options.

written by Jacob \\ tags: blogs, google

Every year around this time the same question returns: What are you going to to do for New Year’s eve? I usually end up doing something relatively fun, but it is never exactly what I want. I have many fond memories. For example, a few years ago, Max and I went to a private party. One of the girls asked me what I did and I replied truthfully “absolutely nothing”. She said nothing for about 3 seconds and then left. Last year a fireworks display went wrong, no one got hurt, but it created some tension at the party - in short, it was a successful celebration.

A New Year’s Eve should ideally have the following:

• Dangerous, homemade fireworks.
• An open bar
• A performance show done by one of my friends (it might involve swords, fire and animals)
• A mix of men and women
• Only people I like
• Smoking allowed inside
• 12 grapes

written by Jacob \\ tags: fireworks, holidays