Congrats to my longtime pals Bill and Cheri Steinkellner. This morning, they became Tony nominees for the book they wrote for the Broadway musical, Sister Act. They are good, bright people deserving of every possible honor. And I'm not just saying that in the hope of scoring house seats, next time I go to New York.

D. Altshuler writes…

I agree with you of course that the next presidential election is a long way off and many things can and will happen between now and then. But are you really suggesting that Obama's election chances didn't just get a tremendous boost last night?

No, I think everything a President does and doesn't do affects his shot at another term. I'm just saying that the polls any minute now which will give him a big X% bump in his approval rating will be a distant memory by the time this nation votes. I always remember that sketch on Saturday Night Live in 1991 in which four prominent Democrats (Richard Gephardt, Mario Cuomo, Bill Bradley and Tipper Gore standing in for Al) debated and each argued against being the nominee of their party because whoever was was going to be crushed by George Herbert Walker Bush. This was back when those four names were being mentioned and most folks hadn't even heard of this Bill Clinton guy.

That sketch aired on November 2, 1991, which was 367 days before Bush lost…and lost rather badly to Clinton. Well, today is 554 days before America votes to see if Obama gets another term or if not, who takes over. And if anything, the news cycles have gotten more volatile with folks getting hysterical over every little thing. If Bush seemed unbeatable a year before that election, how could anything Obama did make him a shoo-in a year and a half before he stands for re-election?

What he has done though is make it a lot harder to hang things on him like "He's really on the side of the terrorists" and "He's a pussy when it comes to defense." That's not nothing…and that plus the smell of some economic recovery in the air and the Republicans' sorry slate of candidates make Obama look about as secure as anyone could look this far out. I just have this bizarre idea that something could possibly happen in the next 554 days which will have some impact, one way or the other, on the election.

My recent postings about Hot Turkey Sandwiches seem to have sent many of you scurrying to find a good one. Hope you enjoyed yours and that it was even half as good as the ones I enjoy at Magee's Kitchen in the Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax here in Los Angeles.

I seem to have become quite a connoisseur of turkey and if you live in Los Angeles, the following may be of value to you. They make an incredible turkey meatloaf at a little hole-in-the-plaster restaurant called The Main Course on Pico in West L.A. Also, if you shop at a Gelson's Market, you may have seen how the deli department has a guy who carves roast turkey that they sell by the pound. It's superb turkey but I'll let you in on a secret. If you ask (this isn't advertised), they'll sell you an entire turkey thigh — cooked and juicy and warm and delicious and with meat enough for 3-4 meals — for under three bucks. Such a deal. Such a delight.

Which brings us to maybe my favorite way to eat turkey. It's the Jennie-O Turkey Pot Roast — a heat-at-home hunk of dark meat that's been slo-cooked to make it oh so moist and oh so tasty. I've written about these before but it's my damn blog so I can write about them again if I like. Let me remind you of the reasons I like these…

• They taste great, whether you consume them as they come out of your microwave or you take the turkey meat and use it in some other recipe.
• They're easy to make and you can do it without any prep. If at 7:00, you get the urge for turkey, you can be dining on one of these by 7:15. These are lifesavers when I have one of my difficult-to-plan days…which lately is every day.
• They're healthy. Or at least healthier than anything else I'd be likely to eat if I didn't have one of these available.
• And they're cheap…about $3.33 a pound for cooked, almost-boneless turkey. One Jennie-O Turkey Pot Roast usually weighs in around three pounds so for ten bucks, I get an awful lot of good, cheap meals. They also reheat rather well.

So is there a downside? Yes, this: They can be hard to find. I used to get mine at Costco but the ones around me have stopped carrying them. In this post and later in this post, I detailed my frantic search to stock up before my supply lines were cut off. Just when I was running out, a couple of readers of this site, starting with Dave Sikula, came to my rescue. They informed me that they're now being carried in outlets of the Fresh and Easy market chain which currently has more than 170 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada. I stopped in at one today and sure enough, there they were.

I believe some Costcos still carry them; just not around here. There are also some other market chains that sell them heated in the same place as they sell cooked rotisserie chickens. That may not be a bad way to enjoy them if you get them when they haven't been sitting out for hours, but you lose that wonderful sense of security when you have an unheated one waiting in the fridge and know you can make it whenever you like. Give one a try if they sell 'em near you.

Boy, it's nice to see America so happy. This country has been in bad need of a hug for a long time and the killing of Osama Bin Laden seems to be it, at least in some quarters. I guess I'd be a better person if I never felt joy at anyone's death…but I'm not that good and if anyone deserved it, it's Bin Laden. Part of me is also glad they didn't take him alive, thereby leading to endless arguments about how to give him a fair trial and what nation has jurisdiction, etc.

I tweeted, "I can't wait to hear Rush Limbaugh explain tomorrow how killing Bin Laden is the worst possible thing that could happen to Obama." If Rush doesn't, someone else will. My guess is most Obama foes won't dare go much farther than to minimize his role and accuse him of taking even the tiniest bow for the accomplishment of our military. I never thought it was a failing of George W. Bush that this didn't happen on his watch but if it had been President Gore who didn't catch him, the right-wing crowd would have chanted every day that the Chief Exec was a failure. That is, if they hadn't already impeached him for reading My Pet Goat or ignoring the "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in America" memo.

(In case the above isn't clear: I don't think anyone should be politicizing this kind of thing. I'm criticizing those on both sides who are sitting around tonight, trying to figure out how to use this to electoral advantage.)

The timing is fascinating. Today is eight years since Bush gave that speech with the "Mission Accomplished" banner…and I just heard Brian Williams say that May 1 was the date when the death of Hitler became official. It's also kind of funny that Obama's announcement preempted Mr. Trump's Celebrity Apprentice in some time zones.

Getting back to the elections for a second: As I keep saying here, I think it's foolish that people are trying to handicap the 2012 Presidential Election now, this far ahead of the day we go to the polls. Article after article reminds us that this far ahead of previous votes, Joe Lieberman looked like he had the inside track on the White House…or Rudy Giuliani or any number of other folks who never got too close to their party's nomination, let alone the presidency. People hear that, acknowledge the basic truth…and then turn around and say, "Yes, but Obama's only three points ahead of Mike Huckabee in Kentucky." Like that means anything right now.

These discussions always seem based on the premise that nothing can happen between now and Election Day that will change anything — no revelation, no candidate gaffe, no change in the economy, no statement in the debates, no natural disaster, no military action…nothing. And now here we are with an event that changes something. I don't know what it changes but one of the reasons those folks are dancing in flash mobs on MSNBC right now is that something has changed. Maybe it's just that a dark cloud has been lifted but that's something and it should lead to other somethings, hopefully good but maybe some bad. Right now, the mood of this country is so down that any change is likely to be good in some regard. Here's hoping we look back on 5/1/11 and regard it as a day of healing and renewal.

Just me seeing if I can blog from my iPad a different way. Apparently, I can.