Here are the reasons (besides the obvious ones) that we think it was a good idea for Jeremy Paul Olson to throw food at Sarah Palin today during her Minnesota reading, for which he is currently incarcerated:

Throwing food at people has a long, messy history

The first recorded incident of throwing food at a public figure in history, according to our ten minutes of Googling, was in 60-something AD when Roman emperor Vespasianus Ceaser Augustus was "pelted with turnips" at a riot, most likely by people sick of having nothing to eat but turnips. In the 1770s, preacher John Crook was similarly assaulted when he tried to convert the heathens of the Isle of Man to Methodism.

Later, an 1883 Times article titled "AN ACTOR DEMORALIZED BY TOMATOES" recounts the fierce pillorying of the actor John Ritchie

He had a crowded house, and was warmly received, in fact, it was altogether hot for him, there being distributed among the audience a bushel or two of rotten tomatoes. The first act opened with Mr. Ritchie trying to turn a somersault. He probably would have succeeded had not a great many tomatoes struck him, throwing him off his balance and demoralizing him... a large tomato thrown from the gallery struck him square between the eyes, and he fell to the stage floor just as several bad eggs dropped upon his head. Then the tomatoes flew thick and fast, and Ritchie fled for the stage door.

Come on, haters: That is awesome!

More recently, Nixon was pelted with eggs and tomatoes during a 1958 trip to South America, but cleverly blamed it on the fact he was riding in one of the notoriously shitty Edsel convertibles. You guys just got a face-full of history there, which proves that throwing food is basically the "Mad Men" of political protest.

A violent action without all that violence

Violence is wrong. But sometimes you just want to fuck shit up. Throwing food is a good compromise, with much of the spectacle and newsworthiness of violence but none of the stupid "hurting people" part. (Incidentally, we should mention that we endorse that tomato-throwing guy if and only if he was chucking very soft, overripe tomatoes which would splatter readily and harmlessly all over Ms. Palin and drip down into her clothes while she was trying to sign books. Also, the tomatoes should have been organic and fair trade!)

It's democratic

Did we mention that, after signing her books today at the Mall of America, Palin headed off to a $5000 per head fundraiser for The Freedom Club PAC? The people who can pay $5000 for this kind of thing are the people who run our country. It's only fair that we allow Joe the disenfranchised Plumber the right to hurl at members of the power-elite the tomatoes which their own unfair trade policies have made so affordable and delicious.

Usually, the victim deserves it

Consider this partial list of people who have had food thrown at them, according to Google:

• Roman Emperor Vespasianus Caesar Augustus
• Shitty 19th century actor John Ritchie
• Nixon
• Nick Griffin (British right-wing politician and notorious Holocaust denier)
• Thomas Friedman
• Bill Gates
• Ann Coulter
• David Horowitz
• William F. Buckley
• Phyllis Schlafly
• Sarah Palin

If a group of people who more needed a pie in the face exists, then someone should pie those people, too. Chances are, if people are angry enough to risk incarceration simply to throw food at you, you have done something to deserve it—and then some.

It's hilarious

Politics is so boring. Those people who complain about how childish or unproductive throwing food at politicians is forget that the political process is by nature childish and unproductive. At least throwing food lends some real and hilarious slapstick to a system which too often resembles Wile E. Coyote trying to blow up Road Runner with a stick of dynamite made out of stupid, boring legislation.

"The tree of liberty is watered by the pies of patriots."
-Thomas Jefferson (American revolutionary and inventor of the pie)

This is like the "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out" of health care town hall viral videos. According to the videographer/blogger, a dozen teabaggers staked out Al Franken's booth at the Great Minnesota Get-Together ready to boo and hiss and shout "socialism!" and all of those things that they have been doing, everywhere.

But these are Minnesota teabaggers. They may be all ginned up with outrage, but these are people who've been conditioned for generations to listen politely to literally anyone talking to them. So, you know, Al Franken, who is actually a smart, wonky guy who loves talking about the specifics of policy, explains some stuff, and the teabaggers reveal concerns slightly more complex and reality-grounded than "DEATH PANELS HITLER," and everyone learns something.

Specifically everyone learns that reasoned debate is booooooooorrrrring. You will never ever see any of this clip on Fox, unless they can somehow edit it to make it look like Franken started crying or something.

[Via AMC, who is guest-hosting Maddow today barring the unexpected 4:30 pm death of Gabe Kaplan.]

See, a blogger took a picture of anti-health care protesters outside a town hall. Their signs were hand-made, with markers and stuff! Then, to drive the point home, they show another picture of people advocating for health care reform. Their signs were printed professionally!

Thus something or other is proven beyond any possible doubt. If this group of people wrote things on signs by themselves, the Town Hall disruption campaign can't possibly be a coordinated media effort by Dick Armey's FreedomWorks.

This vile fucking terrible woman is, obviously, a miserable liar and a political hack. The mad old people, though, are not Republican "plants." They are just angry old white men who believe crazy things because all their preferred media outlets lie to them relentlessly and shamelessly, and that is not their fault, really, except inasmuch as they're generally incapable of being reasoned with.

The Star Tribune says Franken now leads by more than 250 votes, up from just single digits this morning. But the NYT says, hey, still 5,000 absentee ballots left to be awarded, things can change. So what does Nate Silver, overlord of all things statistical, Grand wielder of the fancy calculator, say?

"This is fuzzy, fuzzy math, but with Norm Coleman again converting only a very low percentage of his challenges in counting this morning, I am now projecting a Franken lead of something like 40 votes after all challenged ballots — including ballot challenges withdrawn by both campaigns, and special circumstances ballots — have been processed."

If Nate Silver says Franken will win by 40 votes (earlier this month he said 22 votes), who are the courts et al. to disbelieve him? Prepare your Senator Franken paraphernalia, Minnesota knick-knack vendors.

Less awesome: one ballot is roughly the margin of difference in this recount.

Here is actual Lizard People voter Lucas Davenport, who says he intended to vote for Al Franken. Ironically, his little joke will have the effect of helping Lizard Person candidate Norm Coleman instead.

[via City Pages]

Last month, we sent out a note to the agency on the importance of making your voice count by registering to vote.

We'd like to remind you that the future of your country depends on making your voice count, NOT your political affiliation—which is why Ogilvy is actively encouraging each and every one of you to exercise your constitutional right to vote in the November 4, 2008 General Election.

We will both be voting before we come to the office on Tuesday. Shelly believes so much in our power to vote that she even filmed a video as part of a CEO Get Out the Vote effort sponsored by Google. (To see Shelly's full message, click on this link: https://truffles.ogilvy.com/root/tpl/en/nws_room.asp?newsID=7342. To view the full Google montage, click on this link: http://www.votehour.org/#.)

We urge everyone to try to vote early. We will be flexible that day if you need to come in late or leave a little early (please make sure you account for your office's minimum required hours of work time – if you need more time, please use personal or vacation).

What's important is that everyone takes the time to cast a ballot and make your opinion count.

"The issue itself is almost mundane," Roll Call explains. Love that hedging "almost." You know, the future of the free world might depend on allowing members of congress to vlog, we better leave that for the reader to decide. How did this particular negotiation fall apart? Did John McCain step in at the last minute to broker a deal, again?

At one point, Rep. Mike Capuano (D-Mass.), who heads the franking commission, accused Republicans of twisting the issue and misrepresenting the commission’s proposal.

“Yesterday it was OK. Today it’s not. Make up your mind,” he yelled. “Honestly, if you want to make a deal, pick up the phone or find me on the floor. This is not the cooperative way to do it.”

The problem is Senators are not allowed to use Senate resources for politicking. House Dems want the same rule applied—no ads on members YouTube accounts. The debate fell apart over interpretation of that rule and over a seeming violation of parliamentary procedure by a Republican.

The attempted negotiations and the subsequent fiery meeting seem to have lessened the prospects for any action during this session. In a statement released after Thursday’s meeting, Capuano said the meeting “made it clear to me that further review is required.”

“[W]e do not agree on interpretation of that language,” the statement read. “Apparently, Republican Members of the Commission believe there should be no restrictions whatsoever on where a Member can post official web video. Democratic Members believe that official web video should appear on sites free from commercial or political advertising.”

Ha ha ha and there the debate ends. The Dems won't just push a bill through for whatever reason, because then they'll get in trouble or something, and that is the story of how Schoolhouse Rock lied to you about bills, and congress.

It is incomprehensible to me that Mrs. Clinton can seriously be touting the notion, with the support of the punditocracy of CNN and Fox, that she is leading in the popular vote and should therefore be seriously considered as the most electable candidate in the November election. ...

[W]hat about us? What about the American people? Haven't we had enough of Mrs. Clinton's mad antics in her pursuit of the realization of venal personal ambition; her "say anything, do anything, no matter what" effort to manipulate our all too willing media to gull this country's populace into believing that her wretched illegitimacy is indeed legitimate. How much mendacity do we have to suffer, how much brazenness do we have to swallow before someone, anyone, has the decency, the common sense, to relieve us of this terrible trifle, this pathetic madness?

Such vitriol — from a Canadian! Anyway, if you're reading this, Kiefer, your Dad's OK. You can pick him up at Arianna's.

• Hillary's Popular Vote Notion only 'Popular' with the Punditocracy [HuffPo]

Clinton Supporter Pressures Pelosi Over White House Battle [CNN via TPM]

Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales is particularly harsh (and rightly so) on the moderators. "[Charlie] Gibson sat there peering down at the candidates over glasses perched on the end of his nose, looking prosecutorial and at times portraying himself as a spokesman for the working class." And: "The boyish Stephanopoulos, who has done wonders with the network's Sunday morning hour, 'This Week' (as, indeed, has Gibson with the nightly 'World News'), looked like an overly ambitious intern helping out at a subcommittee hearing, digging through notes for something smart-alecky and slimy." Zing!

George Stephanopoulos appeared on ABC's own Good Morning America today to smugly praise his ability to get Hillary to grudgingly say that Obama could beat McCain, while pointing out that the question was entirely pointless because there's no chance she's going to say "no."

The blog comment takeaway: Obama received a harsher grilling on more inane topics, and also ended up looking a bit better than Clinton.

Also a couple years from now we're going to get another round of those terrible "oh we are so ashamed of how we acted back then" pieces from the idiots who cover the campaign, just like we got after 2000 and 2004. Ugh.

Please welcome Mike Wang, the USG Vice-President and, according to his friends, a guy with "nice hair" who is a "chill guy" and "magic!"