McCain’s Five Oldest Debate MomentsMcCain didn’t help himself last night by repeatedly doing and saying things that, frankly, made him seem even older than he already appears.
ByDan Amira
in other news
Tom Brokaw Saved MSNBC From ItselfAccording to the former NBC News anchor, it was his idea to tone down Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, and also he who saved the network’s relationship with the McCain campaign.
ByChris Rovzar
early and often
The Real Reason McCain’s Age Might MatterSince Joe Lieberman has taken to calling Barack Obama a “young man,” isn’t it time to finally ask: Is John McCain too old to be president?
in other news
Ed Koch Is Still AliveThe former mayor is the new poster child for Life Alert. And he didn’t even fall without being able to get up!
McCain Gaffe Makes Him Seem Older Than EverThis may seem like a superficial issue, and that’s because it very much is. But deep beneath the superficiality, this could be something that actually matters.
King Coot Wins Court Battle Over Subway SlappingJohn Clifford gets really, really angry when people talk on cell phones in the subway. Sometimes he lashes out, both physically and verbally. And that, we learn today, is A-OK.
in other news
Mrs. Bojangles Needs a Roommate Looking to share a cheap pad with a mature roommate? Look no further than Craigslist, where a woman is offering the second bedroom of her Murray Hill apartment for only $700 a month. There’s a catch, though:
I am an elderly lady, in my 70’s. I am looking for someone lovely to live in the second bedroom(lovely people only). I am not thrilled about living with someone but I could use the extra cash. I have only one rule. You must wear a belt I designed that has bells all over it. I do this so I know when you are in the appartment and where in the appartment you are.
If you have friends over, they must wear the device as well. I only have 2, so no more than 1 friend over.
Hear that? Only one friend.
$700 LOOKING TO SHARE MY APPARTMENT WITH SOMEONE LOVELY (Murray Hill) [Craigslist]
neighborhood watch
Coney Island Demolition Destroys Family Fun
Astoria: Use Astoria Park? Help take care of it. Start by attending a community meeting tomorrow night. [Joey in Astoria]
Chelsea: The Bourne Ultimatum was shooting on Seventh Avenue yesterday morning. Expect lots of dead CIA agents strewn around 25th to 27th Streets. [Blog Chelsea]
Cobble Hill: The Lamm Institute on Amity and Henry is for sale. What will the 13,750-square-foot building go for? [Brownstoner]
Coney Island: Good-bye, go karts. So long, mini-golf. Demolition (right) takes out some old favorites. [Gowanus Lounge]
Fort Greene: Outside, a shady-looking storage area. Inside, it looks like an antique post office. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Harlem: If you’ve been meaning to take yoga classes with your dog, then it’s time to move uptown. [Harlem Fur]
Red Hook: Gowanus Nursery will open in its new Summit Street location on March 31. [Brooklyn Record]
Williamsburg: While not yet open to humans, East River State Park is a prime resting area for migrating (and crapping) Canada Geese. [i’m not sayin, i’m just sayin]
in other news
Toy Soldiers on the Upper East Side
They’ll probably never end up in Iraq, or in whichever poor country we’ll be bull-in-the-china-shopping by the time they grow up, but it turns out rich Upper East Side kiddies like to play with guns. Yesterday’s Times unearthed the Knickerbocker Greys — a kind of atavistic, paramilitary scout group, instituted in 1881 and still chugging along under the radar, providing 6- to 14-year-olds a place to have fun wearing Army uniforms and handling (unloaded) guns. Less than two dozen strong, the co-ed kiddie regiment spends its time over soda and marching drills in the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue. Most of the children, naturally, hail from military or law-enforcement dynasties, and, as behooves the neighborhood, there doesn’t appear to be a public-school kid in the bunch. We’ll let you decide whether this sort of thing is adorable or repulsive or a little bit of both. Before you do, however, let little Tommy, a proud Grey, help us collectively shake the mental image of, say, a Somali preteen with an AK-47. “I’m not going to ever join the military,” he told the Times. “Not unless my parents go bankrupt.”
Manhattan’s Littlest Soldiers [NYT]
company town
Giant Bonuses for Former Clerks Make Judges Feel Even WorseLAW
• Associate pay raises are pretty good, but $200,000 signing bonuses for former Supreme Court clerks are even better. [Slate]
• Ben Rosenberg starts work today as chief trial counsel for the New York State attorney general’s office. His first task is to win back some of Dick Grasso’s money from the NYSE. [Law Blog/WSJ]
• Lawyers who play Second Life are bringing their real legal expertise to this artificial world. [ABA Journal via Legal Blog Watch]
in other news
In the American Political System the People Are Represented by Two Separate But Equally Important Groups…
“Former Senator Fred Thompson, who now plays a district attorney on ‘Law & Order,’ told Fox News today that he’ll make a decision in the coming months about whether to jump into the field of Republican candidates vying for the 2008 presidential nomination.” —The Caucus, New York Times, yesterday
Daily Intel tried to contact Thompson for comment on this matter. Unable to reach him, we relied instead on answers in the public record — that is, actual L&O quotes he’s delivered as District Attorney Arthur Branch. The Q&A is after the jump. Duh-DUM.
gossipmonger
‘Radar’ CallingA Radar editor left a cell phone on — as in, making a call to someone’s voice mail — during a meeting, and the recording showed that staff meetings are disorganized. Donald Trump is planning to build a $125 million house in Palm Beach, and the locals aren’t happy about it. Damaging tape of Britney Spears “partying” with two dancers at a club may soon surface. A play about Spalding Gray shows he wasn’t a very attentive father. Brandon Davis tells his parents he’s an art dealer; he may actually be a different type of dealer. A married TV anchorwoman is about to get dumped for having an affair.
photo op
Alternatively: Practice, Practice, Practice
Spotted in front of Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall Friday night, just before a New York Philharmonic concert performance of My Fair Lady, starring Kelsey Grammer, Kelli O’Hara, Brian Dennehy, and Charles Kimbrough: a woman desperately soliciting a scalped ticket — in her mink coat. Only in New York, kids.
the morning line
Cops Broke, Case Open
• We’ve lost count of the “milestones” in the Second Avenue Subway saga, so forgive us for not sharing in the MTA’s glee over the news that a construction contract signing is imminent. Key phrase: “The third groundbreaking ceremony will be the charm, MTA officials said.” [amNY]
• Despite eyewitnesses, a sketch, surveillance footage, and tons of tips, Queens cops have been unable to nab an ostensible human being who mugged a 101-year-old (and punched an 85-year-old in the face). [NYP]
• Possibly related: So strapped for cash are NYPD recruits, reports the Daily News (whose new site design is lovely), that the Police Academy is offering them a $500 credit card. As opposed to, say, a $500 pay raise. [NYDN]
• The Roxy, the cavernous disco–skating rink on 18th Street, shut its doors in style Saturday — with a gay bash that attracted 4,000 and lasted until Sunday noon. The building — suddenly a neighbor to Frank Gehry’s NYC debut — will, naturally, be “redeveloped.” [NYT]
• And, Fred Thompson (Manhattan D.A. Arthur Branch on Law & Order) is mulling a presidential run. He spent more time in the Senate than Obama (1994 to 2003). [WNBC]
