I have writer’s block, and you know what happens when I have writer’s block. It was either this or an atheism post. You’re welcome.

Besides, for once I’m getting some recognition for my blogging. Ed and MKH may have “blogger of the year” awards but I’ll always have this, my friends:

I applaud Allah’s remarkable achievements in the field of finding endlessly-repeatable blog fodder.

Once again: You’re welcome.

“At this moment, it’s ‘no’ for Mitt and for the boys,” she told The Washington Post. “Honestly, we’ll have to see what happens. But we have no plans and I don’t imagine circumstances changing.”…

“I just sort of feel that we went into the 2012 election thinking we are giving it all, that we believe in Mitt and this country. But it didn’t work out. That night we looked at each other said we did our best and we’re done,” she said.

Romney called the latest round of 2016 speculation “encouraging” but said, firmly, that “our feelings don’t change quickly. We really hope and pray that our leaders will be able to have an impact and change the dynamics in Washington.”

Nice job by Ann there in compressing the now trademark no-but-maybe Romney response to 2016 rumors into two adjacent sentences. By next month they’ll have it down to the same breath, and by December they’ll have coined some new word so that they can express the thought in one short utterance. (“Noybe”?) WaPo notes that the last two times Mitt ran, the family gathered at Christmas after the midterms to vote on whether he should do it, but this time, Ann insists, they’ll “probably be talking about the kids’ grades.” You believe that, right? A guy who’s been running for office for 20 years, who has off-the-charts name recognition and endless millions in contributions from admiring Republican millionaires waiting for him, won’t even broach this subject with loved ones at Christmas — despite giving the New York Times an interview a few weeks ago to let the world know he’s kinda sorta thinking about it.

The more this goes on, the odder it seems to me that the Romneys keep teasing the press with “noybe” comments. At first I thought it was a way to signal to donors that they should keep their powder dry, but since Mitt running seems contingent upon Jeb Bush not running, that doesn’t really make sense. The media should be hanging on Jeb’s every word, not Mitt’s. (And they are, sort of.) Then I thought Romney might be trying to warn other centrist candidates that they’ll have him to contend with next year even if Jeb passes, which is his way of warning the Rubios and Christies of the world not to run. But that doesn’t make sense either; if Mitt gets in, he’d get in late, long after Christie, Rubio, et al. have been forced to decide. Now I think maybe the Romneys are just screwing with people. If the press wants to pay them some attention, sure, they’ll have fun with it. “Noybe.” They avoid all sorts of vices that less disciplined people succumb to. Who can fault them if their version of “YOLO” is jerking the media around about a 2016 campaign?

What I’m trying to say here is I’m deeply sorry for allowing myself to be so easily manipulated. Please, accept this video palate cleanser as a token of my contrition.