David Broder’s column this morning (McCain as Alpha Male) is premised on the following observation:

That suggests an imbalance in the deference quotient between the younger man and the veteran senator — an impression reinforced by Obama’s frequent glances in McCain’s direction and McCain’s studied indifference to his rival.

Whether viewers caught the verbal and body-language signs that Obama seemed to accept McCain as the alpha male on the stage in Mississippi, I do not know.

So McCain came off as the alpha male by…avoiding all eye contact with Barack Obama? Really?

This seems to be the exact inverse of what is actually observed in social animal psychology, from feces flingers to feudal farmers.

Does the king avoid eye contact with his peasants, or is it the other way around? Is the big hunky monkey compelled into social deference while totally banging the nerd monkey’s girlfriend, or vice versa?

TPM was initially on the case, providing this reality check from their resident monkey scientist (be this scientist of monkeys or monkey who is scientist I’m not positive):

I think people really are missing the point about McCain’s failure to look at Obama. McCain was afraid of Obama. It was really clear–look at how much McCain blinked in the first half hour. I study monkey behavior–low ranking monkeys don’t look at high ranking monkeys. In a physical, instinctive sense, Obama owned McCain tonight and I think the instant polling reflects that.

Why does it seem like Henry Paulson’s the guy Bruce Springsteen’s going to “do a little favor for” at the end of Atlantic City?

The US got some jobs and tried to put some money away, but we got debt that no honest man can pay.

Or is Paulson the chicken man? No no, cause the favor guy blew up the chicken man. So I guess maybe the chicken man is…Saddam Hussein?

And the DA who can’t get no relief? Bush? Maybe that’s too generous. And if Saddam is the chicken man, then it’s really Bush who’s the favor guy; or, at least I suppose, the Bush administration, proper (and thus, Paulson, too).

And the broad putting the makeup on, fixin’ her hair up pretty? I’m thinking…Canada.

When an aversion to corporate influence leads to comments like this:

There’s no such thing as an iPod. The word “iPod” is a marketing tool for a hard drive with software that plays mp3s. Yeah, doesn’t sound so sexy now, does it you chimps?

Stupid evil corporations and their incessant naming of things!!!!!! Who are they to attach words to products?!?!?!? Where does the greed end?!?!

You chimps!!!!!!!

Sarah Palin describes one of the great Alaskan ideas she’ll be bringing to Washington:

“We’re going to do a few new things also,” she said at a rally in Cedar Rapids. “For instance, as Alaska’s governor, I put the government’s checkbook online so that people can see where their money’s going. We’ll bring that kind of transparency, that responsibility, and accountability back. We’re going to bring that back to D.C.”

Great idea! If only someone had thought of this earlier!

Oh wait, someone already passed this into law. Some guy named Berock Osama. Or something.

I wonder what happened to him.