Ah, Calfornia. 36 degrees. Hot wind. A waft of jasmine. The sting of ozone in the air on the freeway. Mexican boys on elongated chopper bicycles (no helmets) down in Costa Mesa, Ethiopian restaurants and second hand clothes shops up in Hollywood, and everywhere Tacos, tan-coloured strip malls, and drug stores; those tall skinny palm trees, jacarandas and oleanders. But it's different from 2005: the flags are gone, the S.U.V.s and Hummers are largely gone, the patriotic bumper stickers have gone. Now it is all chastened late-model sedans, with the odd Obama '08 sticker. It makes for a less alienating entry into America.
A quick read of the LA Times in the peaceful (airconditioned) UC Irvine library showed the campaign to be in a bit of a lull...the major story concerned cookie plagiarism. Cindy McCain's oatmeal and butterscotch cookies, submitted to the Family Circle's Presidential bake-off was, gasp, a near duplicate of one on Hershey's website, while Bill Clinton's oatmeal cookie was identical to one on Betty Crocker's website. Only Michelle Obama's shortbread treats were deemed 'original', which may or may not be sufficient for people to forgive her the 'new high five'.
Still, there was plenty else worth reading in the Irvine library:
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