Golly.

Even in cautious polls, candidate Scott Brown has pulled ahead of Martha Coakley. Some say he has a 4% lead; others put him closer to 17%.

The President, originally content to support Coakley with a phoned-in video bit—which is the same depth of support he gave to the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Wall—has realized that this requires his special touch. He is planning to arrive on-site in Massachusetts (or, if you’re Coakley, Massachusettes) this weekend to make a personal, live pledge. Maybe.

Scott Brown must be positively welcoming President Obama’s personal endorsement of Martha Coakley.Because the Democrats are not sure if he should do it on Sunday, when everyone is watching the NFL Divisional Playoffs, or on Monday, which is a holiday with no significant television viewership. So it is possible that a Democratic voter pool—some surveys are showing that most Dems are not even planning to vote on Tuesday—will not even notice the endorsement. They are giving a present but not voting message; this way they don’t have to ever confess to voting for a GOP candidate.

And what an outstanding endorsement the President will give. So far, he tried to promote American popularity in the Islamic world but escalated the war. He tried to land the Olympics for Chicago, but got them sent to South America. His olive branch to Iran wound up causing open revolt there. He got on television to promote his healthcare bill, but saw his popular support—and the bill’s popular support—nosedive thereafter. His Asian goodwill tour got him laughed out of Japan, and saw China boldly take the offense in military expansion and attempted control of the Internet. His reset button with Russia has escalated tensions to 1990 levels. And let us not forget his determined appearance at Copenhagen that wound up being a bigger disaster than they were warning us about.

Scott Brown must be positively welcoming President Obama’s personal endorsement of Martha Coakley. That oughta seal the deal for the Republicans: the President is a guaranteed kiss of death for anything he promotes.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.