May 9, 2026

THE HOPE GOES ON FOREVER AND THE VIBES WILL NEVER DIE:

Few things were more inevitable than an Obama musical. What better way to commemorate the Hamilton presidency than with a vibes-drenched, profanity-laced sing-along for liberals who stopped being proud of their country on Nov. 8, 2016? That was the day Eli Bauman resolved to start writing what would become 44: The Musical, which began a limited run in Washington, D.C., last month after stints in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.

You might be surprised to learn that 44 was created by a white male Millennial nepo baby. Bauman is the son of Jon “Bowzer” Bauman—best known as the greaser frontman for doo-wop revival group Sha Na Na. His cousin, Eric Bauman, chaired the California Democratic Party until his resignation in 2018 due to sexual misconduct allegations.

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Bauman, who worked on the 2008 Obama campaign before going to journalism school, has described 44 as his “best answer” to an “inexplicable” question: How did we get from Obama—hope and change, soaring rhetoric, epic vibes—to Donald Trump?

There have been many attempts to answer this question. Very few have incorporated a live R&B band, a slutty Sarah Palin telling Katie Couric to “suck my d—,” and a racy scene in which Barack and Michelle Obama croon about being one another’s “freak dot gov” while making “White House love.”

In other words, 44 is a relatively good answer to the question of how we got from Obama to Trump. Certainly not in the way it was intended, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Obama and his swooning fans presumably envisioned a Lincolnesque figure who could inspire a nation with words. Now he’s just another celebrity we hear about every now and then. But nostalgia is a powerful drug. To revel in what could have been, irrespective of what actually was.

Incidentally, a subtext of the Spencer Pratt campaign is reminding Los Angelinos of their craziest voting choices over the past decade, even beyond the disastrous Karen Bass. The AI video of “Pratt Summer” is a sendup of one of Kamp Kamala’s stranger messaging choices in 2024, and he isn’t afraid to reference someone who benefited from 2008’s mass formation psychosis on the left:

Which was one of the mile markers on the road to Trump:

Posted at 5:46 pm by Ed Driscoll

BHO, THE ANTI-WASHINGTON:

UPDATE:

MORE:

 

Posted at 4:33 pm by Ed Driscoll

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THIS, L.A.:

 

Posted at 4:14 pm by Ed Driscoll

WHEN THEY TELL YOU WHO THEY ARE, BELIEVE THEM:

Posted at 3:18 pm by Stephen Green

CHANGE:

Peaceful change, too, unlike what we’ve seen from some lefty groups.

Posted at 2:48 pm by Stephen Green

OUT ON A LIMB: “An enlightened society would not say that your skin color is an immutable characteristic as an indicator of your political persuasion.”

Related:

Posted at 2:45 pm by Ed Driscoll

CHRISTIAN TOTO: Goodbye, Stephen Colbert – ‘The Vax Scene’ Cringe-fest.

Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” exits stage far Left on May 21.

Good riddance.

It’s not kind to celebrate a show’s demise, especially since it means the people working on it will be looking for work along with its host.

“The Late Show” has been a drag on the culture for some time, and its demise is a net positive. Colbert and company have spread many false narratives, dividing the country in the process.

That’s why we’re starting a new series featuring the worst “Late Show” moments over the years.

● Cringe interviews

● Shameful sketches

● Political buttocks smooching of the first order

Read the whole thing, but Colbert’s 2015 love fest with Trump is fascinating considering the subtext behind it:

Flashback:

[To take Jeb Bush] down, Clinton’s team drew up a plan to pump Trump up. Shortly after her kickoff, top aides organized a strategy call, whose agenda included a memo to the Democratic National Committee: “This memo is intended to outline the strategy and goals a potential Hillary Clinton presidential campaign would have regarding the 2016 Republican presidential field,” it read.

“The variety of candidates is a positive here, and many of the lesser known can serve as a cudgel to move the more established candidates further to the right. In this scenario, we don’t want to marginalize the more extreme candidates, but make them more ‘Pied Piper’ candidates who actually represent the mainstream of the Republican Party,” read the memo.

“Pied Piper candidates include, but aren’t limited to:
• Ted Cruz
• Donald Trump
• Ben Carson
We need to be elevating the Pied Piper candidates so that they are leaders of the pack and tell the press to [take] them seriously.”

—“They Always Wanted Trump,” the Politico, November 7th, 2016.

Posted at 2:14 pm by Ed Driscoll

OLD AND BUSTED: “No Kings.”

The New Hotness?

Related:

Posted at 1:45 pm by Ed Driscoll

DISPATCHES FROM THE RED/BLUE DIVIDE:

Tweet concludes, “and taking in their cries and lamentations than you are listening to blackpill rightwingers on Twitter who trade in discouragement, drama, and low IQ conspiratorial slop.”

Posted at 1:27 pm by Ed Driscoll

YOUR WEEKEND CAN NOW START:  Memes Ahoy!

Posted at 1:22 pm by Sarah Hoyt

SHAMING YOUNG MEN MAKES WOMEN OF ALL AGES HAPPY, THOUGH:

Posted at 12:21 pm by Glenn Reynolds