Politico has an early copy of MSNBC reporter Richard Wolffe's new book Renegade, about Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and among his many tales is the following confrontation between Joe Biden and John McCain during the ServiceNation forum (presumably in Lerner).

When Sen. John McCain wouldn’t return the phone calls of Sen. Joe Biden, the never-subtle Delawarean sought out his longtime colleague.

In New York City with Obama and McCain where the two were both appearing at a public service event on the anniversary of 9/11, Biden was rebuffed by McCain’s aides backstage when he asked to see the GOP nominee.

So, Wolffe writes, Biden went to McCain’s green room door and knocked.

“’John McCain,’ he shouted, according to Wolffe. “'It’s Joe Biden. The next time I phone you, take the damn call.’”

And here we thought Ol' Joe was calm and collected in his word choices.

- Anonymous photo of the CC '10 presidential candidates in friendlier days (aka "last week")

The 2010 Class Council hopefuls gathered in cramped Lerner 568 to wade through students' favorite topics this evening. Guessing, perhaps, that there would be little new and exciting to hear, there were not more than ten people in the audience, including the moderator, Brenden Cline, and Elections Board Head James Bogner.

The debate was between The Party Party (not a typo) and The Clear Party. Though punsters both, The Clear Party was clearly more tickled with its name, never missing an opportunity to end its alloted time with a flourish of, "I think we've been Clear."

Cline's questions covered familiar territory and were met with familiar answers. Both parties responded on topics ranging from engaging and uniting the senior class to student life initiative proposals to throwing parties.

Indeed, engaging the senior class after three years of moderate disinterest was the focus of both parties tonight. AJ Pascua, The Party Party President, was firm in his belief that senior year has to be a turning point: "Senior year is incredibly different," he said. "It's all about traditions." Cliff Massey, The Clear Party President, countered that new perspectives were needed; the council should not rely on tradition alone.

Photo by JYH

Please pardon the late start this morning (or afternoon); after Bwog's graciously-attended birthday party last night, we're a little sleepy. All that Pin the Tail on the Donkey, you know.

But the news does not pause for hangovers, and Primate of the Bwogosphere Jon Hill has spotted an exciting opportunity to hear Archbishop Desmond Tutu and "bestselling historian" (and Columbia grad student of yore) Thomas Cahill "speak on the moral imperative to end the death penalty." The talk, free and open to the public, takes place this Wednesday at 7 PM at the Riverside Church.

The discussion will focus on Cahill's new book, A Saint on Death Row: The Story of Dominque Green (no, not the Bond villain). Green spent twelve years on death row in Texas, during which both Cahill and Tutu advocated (unsuccessfully) for him. It promises to be a thoroughly moral evening.

Caroline Kennedy may be attracting all the national attention in the quest to replace Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, Governor (and CC alumnus) David Paterson has not limited himself to famous last names. Yesterday, according to City Room, Paterson interviewed local Assemblyman Daniel J. O'Donnell, adding O'Donnell's name to a list that includes Kennedy, attorney general Andrew Cuomo, and various members of New York's congressional delegation.

O'Donnell was elected in 2002 to represent the 69th district, which includes almost all of Morningside Heights. Perhaps more significantly, he was the first openly gay man elected to the State Assembly, and led the 2007 fight to legalize gay marriage in New York (though it passed the Assembly and was supported by then-governor Spitzer, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to consider the bill). Oh, and his sister is Rosie O'Donnell. Yes, that Rosie O'Donnell.

Up against such names as Cuomo and Kennedy, O'Donnell's realistic about his chances - according to City Room, "he put his odds of getting the seat at about one in 10, or 'about the same as the population of gay people in the world.'" Still, he's representing the area better than some other politicians Bwog could name.

The new issue of the Columbia Political Review is out on shelves and online! Unfortunately, it's only online in PDF form, so we can't link to individual articles, but CPR has updated its website, and the issue is now available both as PDF (55mb, be warned) and as individual articles:

Professor Jenny Davidson on politics and politeness

What a Democratic state senate will do (or not do) for abortion and gay marriage

The NROTC debate analyzed: "Both sides have staunch answers, but neither has it completely right"

Internet piracy and industry inflexibility

The Internet's role in the South Korean mad-cow protests

The November issue of The Blue and White is on racks near you! This month, we went abroad, into Morningside, and outside of conventional history.

The only feature that combines public nudity in Japan with being a Mormon in France (plus music and food from Argentina, Russia, and Turkey).

The chain store invades Morningside Heights.

Imagine a Columbia where athletes and protestors are the same people.

Meet veterans of the Iraq War, the hunger strike, and the campaign trail.

It may be the 25th anniversary of coeducation at Columbia, but even the university seems to have forgotten.

Last night in 417 IAB, Professor Alan Brinkley, The New Yorker's Hendrik Hertzberg, and The Nation's Katha Pollitt came together to discuss the election. Bwog Daily Editor James Downie was there.

If nothing else, last night's panel discussion between Alan Brinkley, Hendrik Hertzberg, and Katha Pollitt proved that smiles are contagious. Brinkley (who served as unofficial moderator in the absence of a real one) opened the night by joking, "Four years ago, I hosted a similar event, and I never saw a more depressed group of people. Tonight, I suspect most people are not depressed." The room burst into applause, and a buoyant mood was set for the next two hours.

Perhaps because the panelists had spent the previous 22 hours in a state of bliss, there was little in the way of prepared speeches. When Brinkley asked the guests to share their thoughts, both Pollitt (who recieved her M.F.A. from Columbia) and Hertzberg admitted that they were still absorbing the results of the election. Pollitt's thoughts were mostly about how happy she was. "I learned that people are not so dumb, and that's really good," she said. She also commended in particular Obama's temperament, comparing him favorably to her original favorite, John Edwards. Unlike Edwards, she said, Obama "communicated being a good person."

Intrepid photographer/Columbia Dem Nancy Huemer took about a thousand photos down in Virginia. She sent along her favorites from the trip, presented in chronological order (and with silly captions).

The van considers a stop at the local Cracker Barrel.

Judy Feder introduces herself through "large-hand" gesticulation.

Bwog's James Downie checks in again from Virginia. Photo by Jason Reed of Reuters.

ON THE ROAD BETWEEN LEESBURG AND MANASSAS, VA. — Even after an hour waiting in the November cold, 80,000 people can make some noise. That was the first lesson of the Obama campaign rally the College Democrats attended late Monday night. The second lesson? Standing for two hours in the cold is no less tiring than knocking on doors, especially when you face the prospect of a 4:15 wakeup call. The third lesson? A candidate at the start of his campaign will be very different, in both substance and style, at the end.

The day began in the same way as the last two days: rise, wolf down breakfast, and receive the canvassing sheets. The schedule quickly swerved into the surreal, as Judy Feder (this time actually Dems Media Director Avi Edelman in a fantastic wig) made a second appearance to sing an inspirational song. After a group photo, complete with scenic highway background, the Dems piled into their vans and drove off.

Bwog's James Downie checks back in from Virginia.

LEESBURG, VA. — If you're going to knock on doors for a candidate, you will rapidly learn how much you're willing to work for that candidate. 6 hours of walking tests not only one's feet and shoes, but also the ability to sell a shtick again and again to closing doors. The only thing that could have made it worse would be the weather — we have lucked into reasonably warm weather for this four-day sojourn. Even more fortunately for the Obama, Warner, and Feder campaigns, their Columbia foot soldiers ended a second day of campaigning still in high spirits. They even managed to navigate the Daylight Savings Time switch without missing any vans.

That does not mean there have not been interesting stories of voter resistance and hilarious stories of voter reaction along the way. After all, memorable moments are bound to happen on the campaign trail. Some of the best stories of the last two days, and the method behind the Obama canvassing machine, after the jump.

Bwog Daily Editor and White House Bureau Chief James Downie checks in from Virginia, with the College Democrats' campaign trip.

LEESBURG, VA. - Back in the so-called "glory days" of student activism (really?), student campaigners would arrive in an broken-down Eurovan, sleep on hard floors, scrounge for their own food, and build rafts from local...no, wait, that last one was Robinson Crusoe. Anyways, while student campaigns of yore may have some differences, the method of choice remains the same: walk up to door, knock, (hopefully) talk, repeat.

If they want to help win Virginia, the Columbia Dems will have to do that again, and again, and again. In the "Old Dominion State," the Dems have chosen probably the most important state for both Obama and the Democratic Party. While many states have moved in and out of contention, Virginia has been a close state for as long as any in the presidential campaign. Obama has opened a slightly larger lead recently, with polls giving him anywhere from a 4 to 9 point lead.

Andrew Delbanco, Columbia's favorite English professor and just about everybody's favorite social critic, has put down his more customary meditations on Melville, Lincoln and the like and instead pens his reflections on this year's election in the current issue of The New York Review of Books.

Although he focuses on what he calls the "race card," Delbanco touches on everything from the Dixiecrats and de Tocqueville to both his daughter's and his own career in education. If you're in one of his classes you're probably familiar with Delbanco's political credo already. If not, this piece offers insight from one of Alma's finest.

Bwog Daily Editor James Downie was in Lerner Cinema for the least controversial speech by a Republican official since Eisenhower.

In typical Senatorial fashion, Chuck Hagel was 25 minutes late to the event. In typical Columbia fashion, the room (Lerner Cinema) was too large for the event. Nevertheless, it was a refreshing and informative talk from one of the great independants of the Senate.

After entering to applause, he opened by joking that "we do have colleges in Nebraska." He immediately noted that the country is in the middle of a "historical reorientation" and focused the first part of his talk on that. The first reorientation was international, as nations have come to be more and interconnected. "We are woven in this global fabric," he declared, "which we cannot pull apart."

According to Hagel, the relationships between the US and other countries are maturing and changing at an astonishing pace, especially those relationships driven by energy resources and their owners. Energy is so powerful, he said, that it is shifting geopolitical alliances. He specifically brought up Germany's reluctance to support admission of Ukraine and Georgia to NATO, because of German dependence on Russian oil.

Bwog correspondent Liz Naiden attended last night's panel on the possibility of a "post-partisan world."

The truth comes out; Provost Alan Brinkley is so desperate to return to academic life that he has announced the �death of partisan politics,� in the middle of the great election cycle of 2008�or so we thought. Brinkley first published on his new theory in the Wall Street Journal in September, and most recently headlined the panel lecture entitled �A Post-Partisan World?� sponsored by the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy last night.

Robert Shapiro, the moderator and the most enthusiastic note-taker in the room, introduced the two faculty members who had volunteered to try to tear Brinkley�s idea apart�or so Bwog assumed�Robert Erikson, of the Political Science Department, and Esther Fuchs, of SIPA. As a few more stragglers spread out among many empty seats jammed into a small room in IAB, Bwog wondered how these opponents would challenge Brinkley other than by telling him to get out of Low every once in a while or turn on a television set.

Catch the final installment of the exciting presidential debate series tonight at 9 PM. Your favorite campus political enthusiasts—the CUGOP, the Dems, and CPU—will be watching this thing in Lerner Cinema.

If you're stuck studying, try procrastinating with some liveblogs. Bwog recommends New York Times' the Caucus, Wonkette and Jonathan Martin/Ben Smith of Politico.