We have gathered some of the top political writers in the country and asked them to discuss the presidential race throughout the year. Today they discuss McCain’s new frontrunner status, religion in American politics, and Edwards’ departure. Seattlest: How do you handicap the Republican race following John McCain’s win in Florida? Mark (The New York Times): The GOP in Florida has given McCain true front runner status. It must suck to be a wacko Republican......

Mercer Island is not just the home of the fifth richest man on earth. And 98040 isn't just the wealthiest zip code in our state. It is now known as a childhood home of Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Dunham. Yes, she was born in Kansas. Yes, Obama was in the Midwest this morning, touting his deep Kansas roots. But his mom spent most of her adolescence in Mercer Island, and was a standout member of......

We have gathered some of the top political writers in the country and asked them to discuss the presidential race throughout the year. Today they review Tuesday's doings in New Hampshire. Seattlest: Thanks for joining us again. We’ll start by asking what do you think made the difference for Senator Clinton in New Hampshire? Jeff (The New York Times): Is what happened in New Hampshire a pro-Hillary movement, or is it a reaction by Stubborn......

Corner of 3rd and Union last night, the air's full of crazies. The rabid anti-Hillary crazies, fueled by and fueling right-wing panic even as they convince the mainstream that she's unelectable because she's so polarizing ("Just look at us!"). The Ron Paul crazies, all suited and tied. The 9/11 crazies in search of evil conspiracies. So what do the street crazies have to do with, say, the newspaper crazies? It's the possibility, however small, that......

Pearl Jam capped off this year’s three-day Lollapalooza blowout on August 5, and as anyone who knows much about the band might expect, singer Eddie Vedder badmouthed Big Government (Mr. Bush) and Big Business (BP Amoco) on stage. If you weren’t lucky enough to be there (as we weren’t), but caught AT&T’s “live” Blue Room webcast of the band’s performance, you missed some of Eddie’s poli-sci jabs because they were strategically removed. What did......

The Windy City has awakened to the news that Americans love miniburgers. We're glad the food writers at the Chicago Tribune finally noticed. "We like small things," [restaurant owner Jonathan] Segal says. "People, especially females, like the portion size. And burgers pretty much are the all-American sandwich." Especially females? Thank heavens, in Seattle, Cascadia's miniburgers are a unisex treat, even if the price has gone up to $2 per each. Those with fond memories......

Howard Schultz, Inc. has made some interesting business decisions recently. The latest, as we obliquely mentioned yesterday: Signing former Beatle and Heather Mills survivor Paul McCartney to a record deal, the first from Starbucks' new Hear Music label. Actually, it’s not interesting, and that’s the problem. The formation of a music label by a massively successful company with global tentacles was intriguing. Would Hear reach out to unknowns—American or otherwise—who could use the kick-start of......

While it's tempting to make fun of the Seattle Times (or the P-I, for that matter) for not getting the story the Los Angeles Times reported this weekend on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the conflicts that exist between the foundation's charitable work and its financial holdings, and while we're somewhat inclined to point out the fact that no one in Seattle is in a position to say boo to the Gates Foundation,......

Editor Dan loves you, Seattle. City, people, land, water and professional sports franchises; all of it. However, he cannot back you on the issue of the Seattle Seahawks vs. the Chicago Bears. If you're looking for calming words of compassion or hilarious Seahawks histrionics Seattlest will take care of you there, too, but one of us grew up with a Bears helmet painted on our neighbor's garage door and didn't appear in a photograph......

As the NBA's 10th worst team, the Sonics had about a 1/25 chance of getting one of the top three picks, and about a 9/10 chance of getting the 10th pick. They did not pick up an ace "on the river" however (if you have been unemployed in the past year you will know what this means), and so the tenth pick is theirs. This is a weak draft, and there's a reason for......

What can you say about the Seahawks yesterday? They dominated the Panthers on offense and defense. They held Steve Smith to 33 yards receiving and a disputed return touchdown. They didn't turn the ball over and they took the ball four times. All in all, their 34-14 win was the best performance by a local team in a big game since, well, since the Huskies' 34-14 win over Michigan in the 1992 Rose Bowl. 34-14......