Seems to have been some confusion over that “Obamanations” item last week. I figured that by scraping together all of the anti-Obama mud and molding it into an overwrought, overwritten tirade, I could expose the absurdity of that narrative. Well, some people read it as a direct attack on the man, so I got praise and condemnation from surprising quarters.

So, let’s clear this up:

I don’t believe Barack Obama is a radical Marxist Muslim from Indonesia. I don’t believe he is an illegal alien. I don’t believe he pals around with terrorists, devious developers or anti-Semitic professors. Nor do I believe that the professor is anti-Semitic. I don’t believe his wife is unpatriotic. I don’t believe he is Arab (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I don’t believe he enjoyed racist lectures, nor do I believe he reamed Joe the Plumber or engaged in sexist attacks against Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin. I don’t believe he is anti-flag, anti-flag pin or anti-Pledge of Allegiance. I don’t believe he was sworn into office with a Quran.

And, finally, I can’t believe anyone believed that I believed all that. But I should’ve assessed the raw emotions behind the election and been more obvious. As the poet Ogden Nash wrote:

Here’s a good rule of thumb:

Too clever is dumb.

E xtreme makeovers. Mercifully, the obnoxious campaign ads have been unplugged. The battle between the BIAW (Building Idiotic Ad Wars) and the SEIU (Serial Exaggerators Insulting Us) is over. The winner is the Service Employees International Union, which supported Gov. Chris Gregoire and Initiative 1029 (higher standards for long-term-care workers).

It’s been a rough run for the Building Industry Association of Washington, which has poured millions into failed efforts to unseat two Supreme Court justices in 2006 and get Dino Rossi elected governor in 2004 and this year.

If BIAW were a house, it would face condemnation. Well, it is anyway.

Speak! I don’t believe in superstitions, but I’m willing to make an exception for Dino Rossi, whose family has a pooch named “Dubya.” Since then, the unpopular president has dogged both of his campaigns.

You have to feel sorry for a guy whose fate has been determined by the other Washington, but kudos to him for his recent concession speech. Now, how about one for 2004?

Joe the Builder. Speaking of cursed, how about that Joe Lieberman? He was Al Gore’s running mate and then John McCain’s faithful companion on the campaign trail. If Senate Democrats choose to waterboard him, he could always quit and go to work for the BIAW.