SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:52 P.M. ET: 

BERNIE NOT DEAD – From The Hill:   Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is holding onto a double-digit lead in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, according to a new CNN/WMUR Poll released Wednesday.  Sanders receives 50 percent support in that state, followed by Hillary Clinton, with 40 percent support, and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, with 1 percent support.  Sanders and Clinton both gained support in the poll, which for the first time did not give respondents the option to select Vice President Biden, who announced in October he would not seek the Democratic presidential nomination.
Clinton narrowed the gap slightly since the last iteration of the poll in September, when she trailed Sanders by 16 points.  It probably won't matter much in the end.  Clinton appears to be sewing up the nomination, in part due to substantial black support in Southern states.  The only thing that can disrupt her is the FBI investigation.

NEVER BEEN JAILED – Hillary Clinton certainly knows how to produce awkward moments.  From the Washington Free Beacon:   Hillary Clinton made an awkward joke Wednesday during a town hall in Iowa, remarking that she’d been to “Yale, not jail” when a man wearing the university’s logo on his cap stood up to ask her a question.  “Ok, we’ve got a gentleman right there in the Yale cap,” Clinton said. “Oh my goodness. I’ve spent time there. That was Yale, not jail! He and I, we have this in common.”  The audience laughed, although it was unclear why Clinton felt the need to clear that up to her supporters. Clinton received her law degree from Yale, where she also met her husband and future president Bill Clinton.  Hillary Clinton and her use of a private email while she was secretary of state are under federal investigation right now, as well as her potential mishandling of classified information at the State Department. She signed a non-disclosure agreement laying out criminal penalties for any negligent handling of classified information that could jeopardize national security, as many experts have charged happened with her use of an unsecured server that she wiped clean.  Maybe jail is on her mind as one career alternative before her.

THE SINKING SHIP – I was baffled by the decision by CBS to replace David Letterman with doctrinaire, politically driven Stephen Colbert.  Apparently, others are baffled as well.  From Mediaite:  For Stephen Colbert and CBS, this wasn’t the game plan.  Because now…just three months after so much hype and so much love went into Mr. Colbert’s debut as the new host of Late Night, the former Comedy Central star has somehow fallen into 4th place where it matters most. In the all-important demo, he’s now being doubled up (and then some) by NBC’s Jimmy Fallon (outscored by 137 percent) and hasn’t beaten ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel in over a month. But here’s where CBS brass is likely doing a double-take: During the week of November 23-27, the 11:35 PM Late Show on CBS was beaten by Seth Meyers, who happens to be on one hour later (12:35 PM) on the Peacock.  I don't think Colbert will last that long.  He doesn't have that "late-night feel."  He's so obviously liberal that he loses a large chunk of audience before he even goes on the air.  The key to late night is comedy, with a little bit of sting.  Not sting, with a little bit of comedy.

December 9, 2015