Ice Man

Mark Twain used to tell the true story of a mail carrier in Death Valley, a public servant who couldn't take the heat. As summer approached, he considered his problem at length and eventually designed and built an overcoat made of sponges. To this coat he affixed a bladder of water and a handpump, which he planned to use to keep the sponge coat wet. On the first really hot day, he put on his new coat, loaded the mail into his wagon and set out on his route, only to be found shortly after noon, beside the road, frozen to death with an icicle hanging from his nose.

I thought of this tale yesterday while listening to a panel of talking heads who claimed that President Obama's recent gratuitous attacks on his liberal political base were actually part of a shrewd plan to win over more conservative independent voters in the 2012 election. I doubt that. Obama is unlikely to be found by the side of the road, but no conjecture is too dumb for the Talking Heads of TV.