STOP. JUST STOP.

I'm on about 5 hours sleep for the past two nights combined, yay finals.

I mentioned yesterday that Mickey Kaus was among the first to Clinton-ize the Gore endorsement, though only in a hinting manner.

Well, I guess it takes a good night's sleep, or at least a big schizophrenic slumber party, to cook up some BS Clinton conspiracy theories. What kind of a mind spews out this claptrap:

Take 4--or maybe it should have been 3: It's now a Gore vs. Clinton Democratic party, today and in 2008. Noam Scheiber and Ryan Lizza lay it out in TNR. (See also John Ellis.) Scheiber says Gore helps his presidential chances because he now has a wing of the party to call home--the Gore/Dean wing! [Isn't that the name of an old HUD scandal?-ed] Scheiber might have added that by endorsing Dean early, Gore may be attempting to ensure that only one big national figure (i.e. rival) comes out of the 2004 race--a figure who will probably be defeated and removed from the scene by 2008. If the endorsement works, Gore cuts off any chance that Edwards, Gephardt, or Kerry will emerge from the primaries as potential rivals in stature for 2008 (although whomever Dean picks for his running mate will still be a potential rival.) ... Take it away, Dick Morris! ... You'd think Clark, as the representative of the Clinton Wing, is the 2004 Dean rival least squashed by Gore's announcement, under this theory. Clark may also appeal to relatively conservative Dems who (unlike potential Kerry, Edwards, and Gephardt supporters) are less likely to be influenced by Gore in his current incarnation. ... More: Sullivan argues that, in the anticipated 2008 Gore-Clinton matchup (kill me now), Gore will have a left, activist base and Hillary will represent the center. If you had to pick one of those bases with which to win the Democratic nomination, you'd pick the left. But this ignores Hillary's bizarre personal appeal for so many of the left-liberals she so often betrays (e.g., on welfare reform, and now Iraq). ...

Whoa there! Calm down, have some dip.

Guess what, I have the inside scoop as to why Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean: Because he thinks Dean is the best guy to beat Bush! Conventional enough for ya?

These Clinton conspiracy theorists are hilarious in how they get so worked up about it. My gut feeling is that Al Gore is probably more motivated by, oh I dunno, HAVING AN ELECTION STOLEN FROM HIM than any sort of Bill/Hillary soap opera.

Please, just get over it.

Now back to studying for my PS121 final...