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Your humble correspondent recently wrote a NewsBusters story casting aspersions upon the poetic ability of one Elizabeth Alexander whom many thought delivered the absolute worst poem ever at a presidential inauguration. This came to the attention of ConWebWatch whose mission seems to be to keep a jaundiced eye focused on evil rightwingers such as myself. Here is the ConWebWatch post decrying what they consider to be my deep insensitivity on matters poetic: ...Another apparent Hallmark-card fan is P.J. Gladnick, who in a Jan. 25 NewsBusters post likens Alexander's poetry to that allegedly written by a "crazed woman passenger" accused of...

The tradition that a president-elect should choose a poet for his inauguration goes back to JFK and Robert Frost. Frost stole the heart of a nation with his performance on an icy January afternoon in 1961, reciting his poem "The Gift Outright" from memory when he found he could not read the faint typescript of the poem he'd written for the occasion. I was a kid, watching the inauguration on television, and it was the first time I knew that it meant something to be a poet. Poets could inspire a nation, as Frost did. Since then, I've watched as...

So easy, a poet could do it. The internet is full of poetry generators, most of which do a better job than Elizabeth Alexander's strange musings. My favorite, the Beatnik Rambler. The United States muscle hath United The are just its much 'cause athlete you freaks am liking No, then dance, toes of the drug deeply. to sing, to dance, to watch "Frasier" weekly... yet time waneth not like unto the moon and whatever's there Dancing the Boogah 'neath the big Disco Ball. When is this ranting to end!? I declair. All this pointless waste of air. Don't breathe! My...

While it's fair to say I'm not the most qualified to judge President-elect Obama's choices for the Interior (I was never much for decorating) or the Treasury (as every other Thursday I'm lucky if I have enough money for lunch), but Christianity and poetry are two of the few things I'm qualified to critique. And, although I may have some bones to pick with Rick Warren about how he sometimes trades Truth for tolerance, at least he's promoting a theology that for the most part is based on the Trinity. On the other hand, Elizabeth Alexander, Obama's choice to...

<p>Obama has been touted as among the most literary presidents in modern history, but his choice for an inaugural poet has some scratching their heads.</p> <p>Acting more like a man of politics than a man of letters, Obama picked former Chicago neighbor and family chum Elizabeth Alexander to deliver an original inaugural poem next month. Alexander, 46, is an African-American studies professor at Yale. Her brother worked on Obama’s campaign and transition team, according to the New Yorker magazine.</p>