Don't fret, readers: you now have a chance to get tickets for the McCain - Obama forum! In an email sent just before noon, President Bollinger officially announced the details for the event and ticket process behind it. All one has to do is register online here between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. tomorrow (Friday). Winners will be notified on Monday.

As for the odds, it appears that almost every Columbia student is eligibile, and preliminary reports indicate that, this time, all the schools have actually recieved the email before tickets disappear. Furthermore, a senior administration official tells Bwog that not all the remaining tickets will go towards students. In other words, the percent chances are almost certainly in the single digits.

For those of you who don't get a ticket, "alternative viewing options for those unable to attend are being arranged." Full email is below the jump.

Well, they moved quickly this time. As we wrote about before, the announcement of a joint appearance by Obama and McCain on campus next Thursday took student government and group leaders completely by surprise.

Just before midnight, though, the presidents of the student councils, club governing boards, and Panhellenic councils have sent an email to President Lee Bollinger, as well as fellow administrators interim Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger, Executive Vice President for Student Services Jeffrey Scott, and Housing & Dining Vice President Scott Wright.

The email asks for two accomodations: "a fair share of the tickets made available are apportioned to undergraduates" and "arrangements, similar to those made for the Ahmadinejad visit, should be made for all students, including but not limited to the installation of a large screen on South Lawn." In other words, "make sure everyone gets an equal chance at tickets, and give us another jumbotron." The full letter will be printed in Thursday's Spectator, but you can save yourself from waiting outside a residence hall until noon and just read it below the fold.

With a mere 63 days left until the Presidential election, the blogosphere has lit up with speculation about the personal life of Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. While the daughter of Alaska's favorite hockey mom may be five months pregnant and questions abound about her readiness to lead the nation should she find herself a 72-year old heartbeat away from the Presidency come November, rumors about Columbia's favorite son have come up as of late courtesy of the New York Sun. See what our downtown colleagues have to say about Obama's days at old alma and perhaps why none of his personal information from his days here have been leaked. While previous presidential candidates have unabashedly released personal records from their university days, Obama's have been tightly sealed. Does good old Bams have something to hide about his "monkish" days buckling down in Butler?

In other political news, IvyGate spoke today with Lauren Salz BC '11 about life as Executive Director of the College Republicans. While Salz may take issue with the current state of political life on campus, Bwog can just sense the ghost of Chris Kulawik bursting through the seams of this piece.

Bwog's Political Columnist Jim Downie returns to live-blog some random speech.

No doubt 2012 is wondering why Bwog is employing a political columnist, and why he's live-blogging alongside almost every other political website in the country. I can't answer the first question, but, since I'm here, I might as well live-blog the first presidential nominee with a Columbia undergraduate degree.

9:18: Dems have trotted out 25 retired generals onto the stage. Subtle.

9:25: At the bottom of its graphics, CNN has a Nantucket Nectars-inspired "Facts" box. It's wonderfully distracting.

9:30: Joe Biden introduces a parade of random people to attest to Obama. So far, we have a union man from Michigan and a teacher from Ohio. Again, subtle.

9:33: These are some of the most animated speeches we've seen, actually. Though, in fairness, following Al Gore would make anyone look animated.

9:35: A woman with a graduate degree is shouting "¡Buenas noches!" Lou Dobbs's head just exploded.

Most of the NSOP schedule leaves freshmen with two choices: go to the "required" event, or skip it. Tonight, though, newly-convocated Columbians have at least five choices for their entertainment.

• NSOP is asking you to join them at Victorian Gardens to "meet your class for a tantalizing night under the stars. Who knows who you might meet?" Bwog's just guessing at the answer here, but you'll probably meet your class. Doors opened at 7:30.
  
• One 2012er has taken the night into his own hands by throwing his own party. Yes, it's Jose "Stephan" "Pregame Lol" Perez's "Sexxx in the City" party. Doors to the bar (thoroughly stocked with fruit juice and Coke!) open at 10.
• Those who want to stay closer to campus might be considering the various party options around as upperclassmen arrive. Doors open whenever their stuff gets unpacked.
  
• Sleep. Doors stay closed.
  
• For those seeking more of a national profile, Barack Obama is accepting the Democratic nomination later tonight at Invesco Field in Denver. Those of you of the Democratic persuasion can join the Columbia Democrats in the Tasti Lounge Hartley 3B starting about 8:30. Bwog's Political Weekly will be liveblogging the speech right here as well.
  

While the first 2012ers are off hiking, biking, or rafting somewhere north of New York, and three days before the rest of their classmates arrive, NSOP has released its 2008 schedule to the public. Mind-numbingly boring rituals like Convocation, Under1Roof, and the academic assemblies are of course part of the schedule. For the more "fun" events, NSOP 2008 seems to be sticking to Manhattan. The highlights:

• Tuesday: "After Hours At The Met," a private party and viewing of three galleries - Egyptian Art, Roman and Greek Art, and Art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Budding activists looking to get a head start will no doubt protest the lack of Asian Art.
• Wednesday: "CU: Remix," this year's incarnation of the BlaZe. At this time, it is unknown what, if anything, NSOP will be remixing.
  
• Thursday: "Victorian Gardens." Instead of Coney Island or Ellis Island, NSOP has gone with Victorian Gardens for the Thursday night out.

(Hi Gawker!)

Little known fact: Barack Obama attended Columbia University, the very same one that you do! While he was here, he wrote a thesis entitled Soviet Nuclear Disarmament, which is not actually a "thesis" (but more on that later). Anyway, the journalists have been trying to get their hands on the Lost Thesis but haven't been able to find it, and even Barack Obama himself claims he doesn't have it.

Now the scholarly treasure hunters have turned to Obama's old professor Michael Baron, who now lives in Florida and runs a digital media business. It was in Baron's American Foreign Policy honors seminar that Obama wrote the Lost "Thesis." According to the professor, Obama was "one of the top one or two students in class."

You might recall that awhile back a famed street artist drew Hillary Clinton's face on the sidewalk in front of Citibank. She looked stupendous, and our artist left in his wake promises of two additional portraits to come, namely those of Barack Obama and John McCain. Well Columbia, we are thrilled to report that for Mr. Obama, that time has come. Well, nearly -- the forehead might need some shading in. But oh, he is a masterpiece and a fine addition to sidewalk in front of the Citibank.

Hey jobless alumni, why so glum? With your Columbia degree, the world is at your fingertips: first phone sex operating ("executive stress relief"), and now digital entrepreneurship. Bwog caught up with Kareem Shaya, former Fed editor-in-chief and inventor of famous website Send Barack Your Baby, which lately has gotten all sorts of attention from the rest of the internet, namely Gawker and CNN.

The website provides an opportunity for parents to ship their children in boxes to Illinois so that they might be kissed by a certain other Columbia grad. Except it doesn't actually, which is why the slideshow of Obama-supporting babies features no baby-in-box pictures, to remind us it's only a joke and that babies can't even vote.

One newsanchor in the CNN video also cautions us not to send an actual infant but "if you do, be sure to use bubble wrap." At which point she suffocates a doll with bubble wrap and sticks it in a carboard box. Mazel Tov Kareem!

Bwog's coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign continues with Jim Downie's Political Weekly, now back to its regularly scheduled Monday broadcast.

This week in politics is like the eye of a hurricane (or at least a tropical depression): stuck in between two supposedly significant weeks. Life on the campaign trail continues incessantly: campaign strategists will scheme for votes, blogs will comb ever deeper for "news," newspapers will ignore their impending doom as a mass media, and America will eagerly await the coming summer vacation for the next semi-attractive white girl to be kidnapped so they finally get some enjoyable news again. Political Weekly also soldiers on, bringing you the news you might have already found while procrastinating.

(Also, in honor of the Ron Paul fans who did not realize I was not comparing him to "former mayor" Rudy, but rather "Samwise Gamgee" Rudy, all introductory taglines will reference Lord of the Rings. Whether I'm proud that I can do this is something I'd rather not confront.)

And now, the news:

Ann Coulter has written a column that somehow, someway uses the tragic death of Columbia grad student Minghui Yu to insult Barack Obama and Obama's grandmother and grandfather, whom Coulter refers to as "racist" and "worthless and lazy", respectively.

Coulter goes on to paraphrase a story about Obama's grandparents in which his grandmother wanted a ride to work and his grandfather told her she should take the bus instead. Turns out, this is because Grandma Obama saw an unfriendly black person on the bus, who frightened her. Grandpa Obama took young Barry Obama aside and explained that Grandma was a racist. Or something.

Anyway, directly following the story, Coulter proceeds to make fun of Obama for being offended by his allegedly racist grandmother. Logically, Coulter asks: "If Obama is sent reeling by the mere words of an elderly white woman, how is he going to negotiate with a guy like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? What if Ahmadinejad calls him 'booger-face'? Will he run crying from the table?"

Oh also, in the last paragraph, Coulter manages to refer to Obama's grandfather and Barack's plan to hold talks with Iran "a loser" and "stupid", respectively.

Thank you, tipster Christopher Duncan!

So the Super Bowl is over, but New York is getting ready for another showdown. Bwog wakes up early to catch the solicitors in action!

Snow on Christmas Eve is so trite, but snow on SuperTuesday Eve?! It's just a harbinger of things to come. Volunteers from the rival Obama and Clinton factions have been stationed outside the 110th Cathedral Parkway 1 stop since 7 am handing out fliers and reminding people to vote in the New York primaries tomorrow. The solicitors are braving the elements during both morning and evening rush hours, stop by later to show your support.

With the second most delegates of any state, New York promises to be a critical part of Super Tuesday on February 5th. Here's a brief rundown of what to expect; be sure to keep your mice on the refresh button a week from today and watch as shit gets consequential.