My god, these are supposed to be our superstar candidates? Obama can’t answer a straight question. Hillary looks like she was programmed down at the Third Way factory for political robots, and Edwards can’t explain why he paid $400 for a hair cut. Biden, Dodd and Richardson might as well not even be there. And this guy from Alaska — whoa. How did they even let him into the room?

I hope somewhere in America Al Gore is watching this and telling his people to get his campaign rolling.

I haven’t blogged about parenthood in awhile. Mostly, because Tina does such a good job of it, herself, that anything I write feels inadequate in comparison to her experience.

The girls are about 21 months old, and they are really coming into their own as people and as opposites. Rachel frequently defines herself by what she’s against, while Anya defines herself by what she is for. It is not uncommon for Rachel to be telling someone or something to “go away,” while Anya spontaneously blurts: “I love babies!” I often wonder how they will get along when they’re older, when at the moment the contrasts in personality are pretty significant.

At the playground, Anya is bold and adventurous. She rushes up to the top of the biggest slide, and sends herself down the ramp with speed and gusto. Meanwhile, Rachel is more timid, preferring to sit at the foot of the slide, scared of climbing. She likes swings, though, and smiles and laughs as she soars through the air. Anya will swing if you strap her in, but it’s not her favorite thing.

It’s also weird to note how different my relationship with each of them is. Rachel and I are very close — some mornings, she will wake up shouting, “Daddy, where are you?!” when I’m actually right next to her, just obscured by a sheet or blanket. Some nights, I rock her to sleep in my arms just as I have since she was little, often by request. Anya won’t let me rock her at all — she prefers to fall asleep with her mommy. These bonds formed when they were tiny, and Tina and I spent more time individually with one over the other — now, despite all the trading off we’ve done, they seem more or less permanent. I’m saddened that Anya and I aren’t as close as Rachel and I. I love her dearly. But it seems that what they say is true — each twin does favor one parent.