The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Via a new commercial, I keep hearing the phrase, "Third time's a charm." The more I see that commercial and hear said phrase, the more I think, "Yeah, that doesn't make any sense." So, what, after a person has already failed twice, he or she will suddenly get lucky on the third try? In what situations does this happen most frequently? With job interviews, marriage proposals, lottery tickets? Do people actually go into their third attempt thinking, "Hey, the first two times were awful, but I'm due. This is lucky #3!"? Derek Desperate: "Will you marry me?" Nadia Negatory: "No" Derek: "How about now?" Nadia: "No" Derek: "Now?" Nadia: "Yes! I never thought you'd ask!" I don't think so... No, if a person fails at something two times, he or she shouldn't give up. However, no matter what they may want to believe, there's no such thing as the third time being a...

Juliet Eilperin and Zachary A. Goldfarb of The Washington Post just wrote an article which has me simultaneously chuckling and scratching my head. The title of the article is, "After string of setbacks, more charm may be the last, best option for Obama." In the article, the following is written: "After more than four years in the White House and weeks into his latest effort to woo lawmakers, Obama still isn't very good at using his personal charm to achieve political success. Yet, it may be one of the few strategies the president has left if he hopes to accomplish his remaining second-term priorities, including a sweeping budget deal and a comprehensive immigration bill." Charm? Really? President Obama's best hope at accomplishing his second-term goals is to charm Congress? Okay... So, how is he to do this exactly? How does Obama "charm" Congress? According to one website, the following are all examples of how to charm a person. I will be ...