June 2008

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Why Mitt Romney will be John McCain's Running Mate

Filed under: Mitt Romney

“Money talks,” goes the cliché, and let’s be clear: Willard Mitt Romney has a lot of money. So much, in fact, that the oil-slicked Mormon boasted a greater net worth than all other presidential candidates combined during his doomed lunge toward the White House.

But there’s one thing that speaks louder than cash: Guns. And Romney has no shortage of those either, in a manner of speaking. Two words: Blackwater USA Worldwide.

You remember Blackwater, right? The infamous mercenary army currently doing “our” bidding in Iraq, the one that shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians back in September, the one that was awarded the better chunk of a $15 billion contract to fight the War on Drugs, the one that’s unaccountable to the voting electorate, the one that will presumably foment martial law in what will go down as the grandest October Surprise of all time, the one that attempted to slip into the executive branch by playing a once-moderate Massachusetts governor like a sock puppet-- you might recall that Cofer Black, vice-chairman of Blackwater, acted as Romney’s puppeteer head of counterterrorism policy advisory group.

Of course, the polite interpretation of the Romney-Blackwater connection is that the Romney campaign tapped an unsavory character in the honest pursuit of counterterrorism expertise. The more incredible (and dare I say accurate) conclusion is that Blackwater was/is hell bent on setting up shop in the executive and so tapped the most malleable, presidential-looking everyman as a vehicle to that end. Only they bet on the wrong horse. Damn that Mike Huckabee and his come-from-behind victory in Iowa!

This all came rushing back after I came across a story posted earlier today at Politico (“Romney tops McCain veep list”). The first sentence says it all: “In a surprise to many Republican insiders, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is at the top of the vice presidential prospect list for John McCain.”

Surprising, perhaps, given his and McCain’s catty regard for one another during the debates and on the trail. They acted like bitchy tenth-graders vying for the affection of the school quarterback. On more than one occasion, you got the impression McCain would have gladly ripped Romney’s thyroid gland out of his throat and gulped it down in front of Romney’s five Jesus-humping sons— if only McCain were a half-century younger and Romney’s neck wasn’t made of wire-fortified Teflon.

So why would McCain even consider Romney as a running mate? McCain’s people explained to Politico that part of Romney’s appeal is that “he is squeaky-clean and fully vetted by the national media.” (Disregarding the whole Blackwater thing, which the national press have seemingly gone out of their way to ignore.)

Is it paranoid to suggest that Romney’s top-of-the-veep-heap status is due to his special relationship with Blackwater? That there might be a not-so-proverbial gun to McCain’s head?

Probably. At this naive point in American history, to suggest that a mercenary army might throw around its weight behind closed doors in an attempt to strong-arm its candidate into the White House is to demand instant incarceration in an insane asylum. Anyone who does so will be brushed aside as a loony conspiracy theorist, a terrorist sympathizer, or Charlie Sheen.

Well, color me Sheen. Should a McCain-Romney ticket prove victorious in November, you can fuck your alleged democracy goodbye.

Posted by Matt Snyders at June 30, 2008 4:38 PM | Comments (19)

 

Submarines! Bullet proof luxury boxes! The RNC is coming.

The Hudson Star-Observer just published a rather rambling piece that begins with a word about Hudsonite Jeff Larson (whose name you might recognize from this story--or this one), who has been central to RNC planning from the start and is quoted throughout. The story ends with an interesting peek into security efforts in advance of the convention.

According to Larson, some of them are rumors--like these:

The approximately 14 convention sub-committees have dealt with scores of contingencies, but that hasn’t fully squelched some wild rumors, Larson said. One of those is that a submarine will come up the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers and present a security risk.

Larson denied that all of St. Paul’s ambulances will be present at the Xcel Energy Center site as a precaution, as some local officials have charged, saying it would leave surrounding areas lacking. Larson also noted that there are major hospitals in the immediate area of the Xcel Energy Center to provide whatever service may be needed.

And for those of you with luxury boxes, they'll soon be bullet proof. Or something:

Others who live or work in Hudson, who did not want to be named, have unusual ties to this kind of a convention ... A former St. Paul woman who recently moved here works at the St. Paul Post Office, which is near the convention site, and says that they have been briefed on the hubbub that will go on, as well as that some upper floors will be taken over by people such as customs workers, who also have ties to the postal industry, and Secret Service. An Xcel Energy Center worker, who sometimes visits Hudson to go out with a friend from here, said that the luxury boxes are being totally revamped for security reasons, then will be converted back right away. The friend is one of several from Hudson who work as servers in Woodbury, and she said the idea has been kicked around to offer a shuttle service to and from the Xcel.

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at June 30, 2008 8:15 AM | Comments (0)

 

Romney: Non-proliferation is a liberal issue

Filed under: Mitt Romney

Watching McCain re-brand himself through surrogates is fascinating -- especially when they're incompetent surrogates like Mitt Romney.

The meme-of-the-week is that Barack Obama never reaches across the aisle. This is a non-starter, because Obama's worked on high-profile legislative efforts with republicans like Sam Brownback, Gordon Smith, Richard Lugar and others. But it's interesting, because it shows that the McCainiacs don't think they can win without recasting St. John as a moderate agent of change.

It also leads to hilarious rhetorical gymnastics like the kind Mittens engages in here, accusing Obama of only reaching across the aisle on knee-jerk "liberal" issues like ... nuclear non-proliferation and the gas crisis.

I also like how Mitt pronounces Sen. Richard Lugar's last name Lu-Gar, as if he were from Krypton.

Oddly, for the last eight years, non-proliferation has been a liberal issue, mostly due to the current administration's policy of seeking imaginary weapons at the expense of real ones. But stemming the tide of weapons of mass destruction has historically been, and should be, the ultimate bipartisan issue. That's why the most successful program of its type is called Nunn-Lugar, after Democrat Sam Nunn and, you guessed it, our second-favorite Kryptonian.

Wanting to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of America's enemies isn't bipartisan enough for Romney. If only we could compromise on important issues, like Rachael Ray's scarf.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at June 27, 2008 9:05 AM | Comments (9)

 

Norm Coleman Isn't Funny, But He's Trying to Be

Filed under: Shameless Whores

OK, so as if the speculation last week surrounding Norm Coleman’s newest campaign ad wasn’t enough, late Friday the Coleman campaign tried to stick it to the "liberal bloggers" who argued the 30 second spot was fake, by creating their own fake Franken commercial.

Apparently, the campaign didn’t have enough of the bloggers' ruthless attacks and went in for more. Trying to be funny it posted a mockery of its own ad with this teaser on its official website:

Amazingly, there seems to be a real conspiracy in the making based on a video that has been found from the Franken archives! We have released a portion of an Al Franken web video that we find suspect. There is this guy we showed the Franken video to and he said it was "obviously faked." Another man, who has seen several movies, told us that, "Franken's mouth doesn’t even move throughout the entire production. This is totally fake. He should drop out now to save himself embarrassment."

Here's the ad.

The impetus behind this blog war is a commercial released by the Coleman campaign last week, in which Laurie and Norm appear awkwardly in their kitchen. Throughout the ad, the two never really look at each other and the Blo & Glo princess seems unusually large, causing local bloggers to question if she was added into the clip later using a green screen.

Laurie is known to spend much of her time in California, and the couple’s relationship is often questioned in the press. Here’s the original commercial. Notice the weird shot of her bling bling engagement ring.

Anyway, it’s good to know that Senator Coleman is using his campaign funds wisely creating serious commercials poorly and publishing fake, supposedly funny blogs humorlessly. For more professional campaign highlights, check out Coleman's official campaign website.

Hat Tip: Matt Martin, MN PUBLIUS

Posted by Beth Walton at June 23, 2008 12:23 PM | Comments (6)

 

The Ralph Nader of 2008?

Filed under: Bob Barr

I suppose Ralph Nader is the Ralph Nader of 2008. He's running, remember?

Turns out the Republicans may have a Nader too. An AP report today examines the spoiler-potential of a Bob Barr candidacy.

Barr's Libertarian Party bid for the White House is the longest of long shots, but political experts say he may be able to exploit the unease some die-hard conservatives still feel about Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting. Combined with the surge in turnout among Democrats during the primaries and a difficult political climate for Republicans, they see what could be a recipe for trouble for the GOP.

"Bob could be the Ralph Nader of 2008," said Dan Schnur, a GOP consultant in California who worked on McCain's 2000 campaign but is not involved in this year's contest. Consumer advocate Nader is the third-party candidate many Democrats blame for helping George W. Bush narrowly win in 2000.

Rep. John Linder, a Republican who defeated Barr in 2002 after Georgia's Democratic-controlled Legislature redrew congressional boundaries to put the two lawmakers in the same district, said he didn't think Barr would top 4 percent of the vote.

"But in some states that may be enough," Linder said.

Barr, you might remember, was the first member of congress to call for Bill Clinton's resignation over Monica Lewinsky.

You might also remember him as the "party official from ruling regime"--interestingly, this clip didn;t make it onto Barr's official Liberty for America YouTube channel...

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at June 23, 2008 11:15 AM | Comments (4)

 

Is Minnesota Really a Battleground State?

Filed under: Minnesota elections

Battleground states in presidential elections have all the fun. Candidates flatter them with attention. Media hordes breathlessly monitor their every electoral whim. Expensive TV ads flood the airwaves.

Minnesota is widely considered to be a battleground state, based on the last two presidential contests here, when Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry squeaked out razor-thin victories over George Bush by 2 and 3 points, respectively.

But is this really a national battleground?

The latest Rasmussen poll released last Friday shows Sen. Barack Obama with a hefty 13-point lead over Sen. John McCain for the third month in a row. A recent Star Tribune poll shows Obama with the same margin.

By comparison, many other supposed battleground states are close contests already, according to Rasmussen: McCain by a point in Ohio, Obama by 2 points in Pennsylvannia, 2 points in Wisconsin, a point in Missouri.

True, the Republican National Convention in St. Paul will bring Minnesotans all the media attention we can stand, but when the conventions are over, are we destined to be standing on the outside of election relevance, looking in?

Don't count on it, says the state Republican Party. "Polls are a snapshot in time, and things will change a lot between now and election day," says GOP Communications Director Gina Countryman. "Minnesotans have a long record of supporting candidates with an independent, maverick streak," she says, and McCain's record should be attractive to them. McCain's early TV commercials here, and his visit yesterday for a fundraiser and town hall meeting, show that his campaign believes Minnesota is in play.

Interestingly enough, the DFL state party's executive director agrees. "It's absolutely a battleground state," says Andrew O'Leary. " I think it's too early for us or anybody to be taking states off the map. Yeah, there's a 13-point spread between Obama and McCain now, but we don't know where that's going to be in November."

O'Leary points to at least two factors that could have a serious impact in narrowing the gap here: the Republican convention in September and McCain's potential choice of Gov. Pawlenty as his running mate.

But presidential polls are only one part of the equation. A high-stakes Senate race and four contested congressional races should ensure that both parties will be pouring resources into the state, O'Leary says. "There are going to be no decisions made about taking Minnesota off the map until there are empirical [data] about the effect of the Republican convention here. There are just too many moving parts in Minnesota to take us off the list."

Maybe. But if Minnesotans really want to be a player in this year's presidential race, they might want to start waffling.

Posted by Matt Smith at June 20, 2008 11:59 AM | Comments (4)

 

Two Minnesota contests make list of seats that might flip from Republican to Democrat

Filed under: Local Republicans

DCCC's Red to Blue list of 20 "emerging races" that might flip from Republican to Democrat includes two Minnesota campaigns.

Sam Bennett (PA-15)
David Boswell (KY-02)
Colleen Callahan (IL-18)
Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03)
Jill Derby (NV-02)
John Dicks (FL-09)
Judy Feder (VA-10)
Nick Leibham (CA-50)
Dan Johnson (NC-10)
Mike Montagano (IN-03)
Jill Morgenthaler (IL-06)
Tom Perriello (VA-05)
Bob Roggio (PA-06)
Steve Sarvi (MN-02)
Dennis Shulman (NJ-05)
Josh Segall (AL-03)
Michael Skelly (TX-07)
Annette Taddeo (FL-18)
El Tinklenberg (MN-06)
Vic Wulsin (OH-02)

Hat-tip: Daily Kos

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at June 19, 2008 1:19 PM | Comments (0)

 

Everybody hates John McCain

Filed under: John McCain

Top stories on Drudge Report this morning:

Poll: Obama has clear lead over McCain in Pennsylvania...
Poll: Obama has modest lead over McCain in Ohio...
Poll: Obama has slight lead over McCain in Florida...
Poll: Michelle 9-point favorable lead over Cindy...

Ouch.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at June 18, 2008 8:05 AM | Comments (5)

 

Want your own political TV ad? Got $500? Boom!

Filed under: Media

Slate correspondent (and, in the interests of full disclosure, my friend) David Roth shows how any candidate with $500 in his war chest and fire in his belly can get himself a perfectly-suited campaign advertisement.

You can watch his video here. And watch it you should.

You can read more about the good people who make these ads, a company called Spotrunner, here.

Posted by Jonathan Kaminsky at June 18, 2008 5:00 AM | Comments (0)

 

John McCain supports Michele Bachmann's oil drilling plans

Filed under: John McCain

Yesterday Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann held a press conference at a service station to call for opening up oil drilling in the United States, claiming it could bring the price of gas to $2 a gallon.

Bachmann's proposing what she calls the "No More Excuses Energy Act." It's a far-reaching plan to open up oil drilling from Alaska to America's off shore coasts and build more nuclear plants and oil refineries.

"So this is our answer. The question is one of supply and demand. We want to increase the source of supply, so that we can get back to $2 a gallon," said Bachmann.

Now it looks like Bachmann was the tip of the spear for a GOP strategy to turn domestic drilling into a wedge issue. Republican presidential candidate John McCain also came out in support of drilling yesterday:

McCain's announcement is a reversal of the position he took in his 2000 presidential campaign and a break with environmental activists, even as he attempts to win the support of independents and moderate Democrats. Since becoming the presumptive GOP nominee in March, McCain has presented himself as a friend of the environment by touting his plans to combat global warming and his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in the Everglades.

Backfill: This may also drive a wedge between McCain and potential running mate Charlie Crist:

The senator's push to end the ban is sure to annoy two key Republican allies -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist -- both of whom oppose drilling off their states' coastlines.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at June 17, 2008 10:44 AM | Comments (4)

 

Obama: What Latino Problem?

Filed under: Barack Obama

CP alum Paul Demko poses this question over at Mindy, citing a 21-state poll of Latino voters.

Demko uses this quick-hit post to get at the running mate issue. Would Hillary Clinton really help Obama among voters where he needs to shore up strength?

This poll's not enough to reach firm conclusions -- just 800 voters were queried, and we don't know in what states the data comes from -- although the results are encouraging for the presumptive nominee.

There underlying issue, of course, is whether the Obama-Clinton ticket would be a dream or a nightmare for the Democrats. I'm undecided on that issue, although it seems I'm substantially more pro-Hillary than many observers. Though I'm just about 60-40 in favor of making Clinton the running mate, I'll try to make an argument in favor of that choice later this week.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at June 17, 2008 10:13 AM | Comments (0)

 

Hillary backers, consider this: McCain wants to roll back choice

Filed under: John McCain , John McCain , John McCain , John McCain , John McCain

Like many Hillary supporters, I was distraught by the way her campaign was shredded in the news media. I was angered by her sometimes-petty political antics and downright livid that she couldn’t win the nomination.

Today, I sit at my desk pessimistic that she will not go down in history as the brilliant trailblazer she is, and rather she will be remembered as the woman who wouldn’t give up and lost.

But the political reality is that none of that matters anymore. What matters is that this is a crucial political tipping point. To Hillary supporters who want their candidate's values represented, nothing should matter more than putting the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, in office. Nowhere is this more true than on the issue of reproductive choice.

Unfortunately, my mom -- and many of the women of her generation -- don't see it that way. To these descendants of the Baby Boomer age, Hillary, not Obama, represents change.

They remember a time when women were limited professionally and dependent upon men for their livelihood. Getting a college degree likely left you with a working class job as a nurse, social worker or teacher. If you couldn’t go to school, you were sure to be a waitress, store clerk or secretary.

And, it is for this reason, along with many others, some of these women say they would rather vote for John McCain than Obama. They think Hillary worked hard to get where she is, that her experience makes her deserving of the office, and that her loss to a candidate they perceive as less experienced is just one more example of how pervasive and cross-cutting sexism still is in our society.

Maybe they’re right. But this is no time to take a stand that could undermine women's issues for decades. My wish is that they remember one thing: the bloody coat hanger.

Let me make this loud and clear. If John McCain is elected president he will work until his dying day to overturn Roe v. Wade. And, with an aged Supreme Court, there’s a good chance he could. Express Milwaukee writer Lisa Kaiser explains:

Elections have consequences," ...John McCain said last week." One of the consequences is the president of the United States gets to name his or her nominees to the bench.”

That statement sent a shiver down the spines of many voters, not only because President George W. Bush has tipped the U.S. Supreme Court decidedly to the right, but because Justice John Paul Stevens just turned 88 on April 20.

Whoever is elected president will likely appoint Stevens' successor—and perhaps other Supreme Court justices, since Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 75, Antonin Scalia is 72 and Anthony Kennedy will turn 72 this summer.

Better than anyone else, it is the women of this generation that understand abortion isn’t going anywhere -- regardless of what the law is. They are the ones who watched their friends bleed out on the dorm room floor. They are the ones who stayed up late at night holding a sister's hand as she lay near death on a dusty old couch because some illegitimate “doctor” sliced her open in someone’s basement. It is these women who know first hand that criminalizing abortion doesn't eliminate the practice. The fact of the matter is, what outlawing abortion really does is deny women adequate health services and put them at increased medical risk.

Why is it then, that these women, who have seen so much, don't seem to understand McCain’s ultimate influence over their reproductive health? A Planned Parenthood poll of some 1,205 women in 16 battleground ground states found that more than half have no idea what McCain’s stance is on the issue.

In fact, forty-nine percent of the women who favor McCain are pro-choice and 23 percent ignorantly believe that McCain is on their side. There is some good news though, as Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post reports:

... 36 percent of pro-choice McCain supporters are less likely to vote for him after learning that McCain opposes Roe v. Wade and favors making most abortions illegal. That number hits 38 percent when those voters learn that McCain has also consistently voted against expanding access to programs that reduce pregnancy and the need for abortion, consistently voted in favor of abstinence-only programs, and against legislation requiring insurance companies to cover birth control. …Clearly, when it comes to this key issue, the more voters learn about McCain, the less they like him.

So it appears some schooling is in order. Per Huffington, a round up of McCain’s "voting lowlights":

- Denying low-income women access to abortion care except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother's life (although McCain is now wavering on trying to put these exceptions into the party platform).

- Shutting down the Title X family-planning program, which provides millions of women with health care services ranging from birth control to breast cancer screenings.

- Opposing legislation that established criminal and civil penalties for those who use threats and violence to keep women from gaining access to reproductive health clinics.

- Banning overseas health clinics from receiving aid from America if they use their own funds to provide legal abortion services or even adopt a pro-choice position.

And so I say to my mother and the rest of the confused Baby Boomers who are at a loss of who to vote for: vote Obama. Do it for your gender.

I too am sorry that Hillary will not be the next president of the United States. I too think it is tragic that you might never see a female president in your lifetime. But, at the age of 25, I’m hopeful that I will; women like Hillary have brought us closer to that day.

And I think we'll get closer with each passing year -- as long someone like John McCain isn’t given the opportunity to take back decades of all your hard work.

Posted by Beth Walton at June 16, 2008 3:00 AM | Comments (3)

 

Minnesota in play? No way.

Filed under: Republican National Convention

Republicans have given every indication that they want to put Minnesota in play this fall. The polls give no indication that will happen.

The latest from poll/baseball/poker analyst Nate Silver:

There just isn't much indication, however, that the state is liable to be competitive. Rasmussen's newest poll in Minnesota has Barack Obama leading John McCain by 13 points. This is technically not a bounce: Obama led by 12 and 13 points in Rasmussen's April and May polls, respectively.

Silver also says he's sitting on research that shows the selection of a VP candidate actually doesn't boost the presidential nominee's chances all that much in the veep's home state. This makes sense given history -- John Edwards, extremely popular in North Carolina, couldn't help John Kerry carry the state.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at June 15, 2008 2:34 PM | Comments (0)

 

Racist Fox News calls Michelle "Obama's Baby Mama"

Filed under: Bullshit

Fox isn't even trying to disguise the racism any more. In this clip, the network called potential future first lady Michelle Obama "Obama's Baby Mama," clearly a reference to her race. Watch for the unintended irony when Michelle Malkin says conservatives aren't making "... gratuitous and cheap shots at her that have nothing to do with the substance of what she's saying ..."

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at June 12, 2008 3:01 PM | Comments (3)

 

John McCain: "Not too important" when we bring troops home

Filed under: John McCain

Just as the American public had almost forgotten McCain's foolish soundbyte about staying in Iraq for 100 years, the doddering warmonger has gone and done it again.

Asked on the Today show about if he had an estimate when American troops can come home, McCain says: "No, but that's not too important."

Of course, it's of great importance to all the families of troops stationed overseas.

McCain well knows this, and clearly was just pivoting into a discussion about casualities, but it goes to show that McCain is still completely out of touch with YouTube and the Internet Age. It's like an old bear who managed to gnaw off his leg to get out of a trap, only to go and stick his snout in it again.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at June 11, 2008 4:53 PM | Comments (2)

 

John McCain Gets Owned

Filed under: John McCain

Say what you will about Ron Paul and his merry band of supporters. (I’ll spare you my personal take, suffice it to say I think it’s arguably the most misunderstood and overly maligned campaign in recent memory— inexcusable racist newsletter garbage notwithstanding. I’ll stop there, because I don’t want to incite the wrath of a one Jeff Shaw, whose astute analysis of Paul has been as tenacious as it’s been trenchant.)

At the very least, internet-savvy “Paulbots” know how to smear a candidate. At least whoever produced this clip does. The anti-John McCain montage below was posted on YouTube Monday and has already seen about 20,000 plays. Enjoy.

Posted by Matt Snyders at June 11, 2008 1:56 PM | Comments (0)

 

Fox News anchor apologizes for calling Obama's knuckle bump a "terrorist fist jab"

Filed under: Bullshit

How low can Fox News go? Rupert Murdoch's propaganda wing has somehow turned the loving gesture of two spouses into some secret Manchurian Candidate voodoo.

Here's the apology:

And here's the promo that got her in trouble:

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at June 11, 2008 7:12 AM | Comments (2)

 

Welcome Back, Clinton: The Victory Video

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

Before they play the Super Bowl, victory merchandise is prepared for both teams. The losing team's gear is then donated to needy nations throughout the world. These rarities serve as reminders of a world that might have been.

The political example of a "New England Patriots: 2007-8 Super Bowl Champs" is this video: What if Hillary had won?

There would have been animation, for one thing. There would also have been a marvelous song and dance routine set to the "Welcome Back, Kotter" theme. Without saying any more, it's worth watching until the end for the surprise.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at June 10, 2008 7:48 PM | Comments (0)

 

Minneapolis city council restricts free speech in wake of convention

Filed under: Republican National Convention

A spirited debate came to an end Friday when the Minneapolis City Council approved an ordinance to regulate demonstrations in the wake of the Republican National Convention, against the advice of the ACLU.

The law requires groups of 50 or more to register with the city if they want priority over sidewalk space for protests. While failure to register can not result in criminal charges, if two groups are at the same spot, the police will ask the non-registered group to leave.

The measure introduced by councilman Paul Ostrow was meant to be permanent, but council members amended the legislation to make it only apply during the weeks surrounding the convention.

Proponents of the legislation say it gives police the necessary authority to handle a situation if chaos occurs during the RNC.

Others say the law restricts free speech, gives certain groups ownership over public sidewalks and is a bureaucratic solution waiting for a problem. They doubt any sort of action is necessary in the wake of the RNC, since most protests will be occurring in St. Paul.

Posted by Beth Walton at June 9, 2008 2:58 PM | Comments (2)

 

Not Even Fox News Can Feign Excitment Over McCain's Speech

Filed under: John McCain

Last week, we--along with pretty much every other mammalian vertebrate able to detect sound-- indicated that we were less than impressed with John McCain's speech. (You know, the one he delivered the same day as Obama's victory speech in St. Paul. The one that convinced 33 Republicans across the country to shoot themselves in the face.)

As the video below shows, not even the sock puppets at Fox News were able to feign approval, much less excitement. Consider this a portent for the GOP.

Posted by Matt Snyders at June 9, 2008 11:59 AM | Comments (0)

 

Post-St. Paul speech polling: Obama gets big bounce

Filed under: Barack Obama

Sunday's data from Rasmussen Political Reports offers excellent news for Barack Obama.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows Barack Obama’s bounce growing to an eight-point lead over John McCain. Obama now attracts 48% of the vote while McCain earns 40%.

When "leaners" are included in the data, it's a seven-point gap of 50-43. By itself this would be significant, but when placed in context it's indicative of major momentum. Three reasons:

* Obama's tied with or ahead of McCain in most polls despite the rough Democratic primary campaign, which has allowed McCain to avoid media scrutiny while all the negative campaigning has focused on Obama. McCain's already had his "I'm-the-nominee" bounce;

* According to Rasmussen, 81 percent of Democrats "say they will vote for Obama over McCain. That’s the highest level of party support ever enjoyed by Obama." And this is during a time when you'd most expect disappointed Hillary backers to shy away for making such a declaration;

* McCain's already gone back-and-forth on his own strategy, first trying to establish evangelical bona fides by embracing nutjobs like John Hagee and Rod Parsley -- and is now trying to run as the candidate of independent, bipartisan change, a laughable tack that shows the Obama message is killing them in internal polling.

This leaves aside that the more people get to know Barack Obama, the more they seem to like him, the fact that he's 10 times the orator on his worst day than McCain can hope to be on his best, and that in my view a Republican presidential candidate simply cannot win by appealing to the middle. Oh, and he's also likely to have an overwhelming fundraising advantage.

CNN's latest poll has Obama up by three or four points, depending on whether third parties come into play. The excellent poll analysis site fivethirtyeight.com notes that the Gallup Poll also shows a "unity bounce for Obama," and author Nate Silver suggests that the Democratic candidate might "gain several points over the next couple of weeks and essentially never give them back."

If Obama were behind by three to five percent at this stage of the game, he should still feel good about his chances. As it stands, well, John McCain's looking like Bob Dole v. 2.0.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at June 9, 2008 5:59 AM | Comments (2)

 

Why is Hillary suddenly so magnanimous? The payoff.

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

The payoff:

Clinton will likely seek help from Obama in retiring her massive campaign debt, which has swollen to more than $30 million, including $11 million she lent the effort, advisers said Thursday.

The former first lady, who plans to bow out of the race and endorse Obama on Saturday, told donors she will raise money for Obama's campaign, both to help the Democratic Party's cash position and to expand the Illinois senator's prodigious fundraising base. Her advisers estimate the former first lady could bring in $50 million to $100 million for the general election campaign — and much more if she were named Obama's running mate.

The advisers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Clinton hosted a conference call Thursday with her national finance committee, urging them to shift gears and begin raising money for Obama and for the Democratic National Committee, which will be coordinating fundraising efforts with the Obama campaign.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at June 7, 2008 11:56 AM | Comments (0)

 

John McCain: "We should be able to deliver bottled hot water to dehydrated babies."

Filed under: John McCain

Like Kimbo Slice before him, McBush's nonsequitur has become a YouTube sensation with 159,000+ views:

John McCain: "We should be able to deliver bottled hot water to dehydrated babies."

What he meant to say:

"We should be able to deliver bottled water to dehydrated babies and rescue the infirm from a hospital with no electricity."

Ouch.

"we should be able to deliver bottled hot water to dehydrated babies"

Play them all at once.

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at June 6, 2008 8:22 PM | Comments (2)

 

Michelle Obama's "Whitey" album

Filed under: Bullshit

Rumors are swirling around the conservative blogosphere that somewhere there exists an alleged videotape of Michelle Obama using the slur "whitey." Don't believe it.

A blogger named Larry Johnson claimed he had five good sources who had seen the tape (as anyone who has gone to high school can verify, when five independent people all hear the same rumor, it has to be true). Yet Johnson has produced no hard evidence to back up his claim.

This website claims to have a transcript:

Reported verbiage from Michelle Obama’s tape

Michelle Obama: “Once again, the white man keeps us down, what’s up with Whitey, Why’d he attack Iraq, Why’d he let Katrina happen, Why’d he leave millions of children behind. This is the legacy the white man gives us.”

Other have suggested that if any tape exists, Michelle is being misheard:

How you’d say it:

Why’d he cut folks off medicaid?
Why’d he let New Orleans drown?
Why’d he do nothing about Jena?
Why’d he put us in Iraq for no reason?

How Larry Johnson wants you to hear it:

Whitie cut folks off medicaid?
Whitie let New Orleans drown?
Whitie do nothing about Jena?
Whitie put us in Iraq for no reason?

But as has been pointed out, this formulation originated in a Fark thread:

Here's whats gonna happen, the tape is supposedly a speech Michelle made concerning Bush et al. regarding Katrina. In it she says "Why'd he..." several times, which given the quality of the audio, sounds like "whitey". And so will begin the great tin-foil hat of bonanza of the summer of '08

The rumor got enough traction that Barack had to deny it:

“We have seen this before. There is dirt and lies that are circulated in e-mails and they pump them out long enough until finally you, a mainstream reporter, asks me about it,” Obama said to the McClatchy reporter during a press conference aboard his campaign plane. “That gives legs to the story. If somebody has evidence that myself or Michelle or anybody has said something inappropriate, let them do it.”

And here is the most thorough debunking I've found.

So far, there's no word from Snopes--though there is a very interesting article about Michelle Obama's thesis--but I'm going to chalk this up as an urban legend until someone actually produces the evidence. I write about it here only so you know the facts before some conservative friend or family member tells you, "Didja hear Michelle Obama is a reverse racist?"

Somebody needs to hit this guy in the face with a chair:

Posted by Kevin Hoffman at June 6, 2008 8:04 AM | Comments (9)

 

Five songs for the Clinton Concession

Filed under: Hillary Clinton

Photo by Barbara Kinney, courtesy of HillaryClinton.com

It's over. Hillary Clinton is out. And this historical moment is in need of a soundtrack. Here goes...

1. Don't Give Up, Willie Nelson

It was a tough fight. Bitter too. I've got a vivid image in my mind: A table full of Clinton campaign staff are sitting around a bar-room table, slumped and staring at their hands--beers hardly touched. One of them stands up and shuffles over to the jukebox. There's the hum of the dollar being sucked into the machine. The sullen staffer presses B14 four times and just stands there, speaking the words as Willie sings them: "I was taught to fight taught to win I never thought I could fail..."

2. Second Fiddle to an Old Guitar, Jean Shepard

There were more than a few moments during the primary battle when you had to feel for Hillary Clinton--shackled as she was to the whims and fits of her husband. Jean Shepard knows a thing or two about constriction in a world of men, and here's what she sings:

You gaze at that guitar on your knee in a way that you never look at me.
This love affair of yours has gone too far.
I'm tired of playin' second fiddle to an old guitar .
I walked and preached and fought with you and tried most everything.
All you've done is pick and grin and sing off key so far.
I'm tired of playin' second fiddle to an old guitar.

3. I'm Moving Along, Patsy Cline

But moving where? Back to the U.S. Senate? To the Vice President's office. I don’t want to get off track here, but when I moved into my office (former occupant, you know who you are) I found a sample pack of sex lube and a Hellboy poster. Can you imagine what Cheney will leave behind?

4. It's expected I'm Gone, Tortoise with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

I know, I know, it's a Minutemen song. But this is a more fitting interpretation. If you're familiar with the swift kick that is the original version of this song, the remake seems to take forever--you think it's over more than once and it just isn't. You get what I'm tickling at here, no? Plus there's that one line: "No hope? See, that's what gives me guts!"

5. Knife Fight, Astor Piazzolla

I've got this one playing over the end credits as they roll. There aren't any words to this one, just that signature Piazzolla brand of tango. Still, it captures a certain spirit not alien to the long night of the 2008 democratic primary contest.

And what the hell, let's throw one out to the Democratic Party and its nominee for President of these United States...

Bring it, Reverend:

Posted by Jeff Severns Guntzel at June 5, 2008 1:25 PM | Comments (3)

 

Shania Twain: bigger than Barack Obama

Filed under: Barack Obama

Word on the street is that the big Obama Rally Tuesday night drew in 17,000 folks to Xcel Energy Center. While that’s a huge number, it’s still around 3,500 people shy of the record set by the goddess of country pop, Shania Twain.

Kathy O’Connor, Director of Public Relations at Xcel informed City Pages that the attendance record was 20,545. It was set back on October 28th of 2003. Worse news for the Obama camp is that an Elton John concert has the second place position and the Wild are firmly in control of third place, each busting a little more than 19,000. So his number, while grand, places him out of medal contention.

Still, Hopemongers would argue that the estimated 15,000 people who didn’t make it through security by the time Obama took the stage should be counted in the final tally, securing his victory as the most popular person in Xcel history. They’d also add in that the press took over half the floor space with their nifty laptops and mini-stage for HD cameras. But let’s face it: while Obama has been tapped as the next JFK, he’s no Shania Twain. And while 2003 may have been the apogee of Twain’s popularity (we’ve always wanted to use the word apogee in a sentence and can now die happy), it doesn’t matter. An attendance record is an attendance record. Though we’re pretty sure she’d concede the record for the longest line in the history of St. Paul.

It seems that Obama has finally met his match. Maybe John McCain should look to add Twain as his running mate. She appeals to white, blue-collar voters and can sing rings around them pinko Dixie Chicks…

Posted by Bradley Campbell at June 5, 2008 8:45 AM | Comments (0)

 

John McCain: The Other, Dead White Meat

Filed under: John McCain

There's no getting around that, as far as political animals go, Barack Obama is an alpha lion. Last night’s roar is still reverberating through the media and blogosphere, and a lot of hands are wringing as Dems ponder what a McCain-Obama juxtaposition will look like during the lead-up to the general election. Especially after McCain’s comatose-inducing performance last night. Jesus, did you see it?

There’s no need to point out that the speech was horrible. (It’s already been done.) The man verbally shat himself in front of the whole country on live national television, and, around the 4:34 mark, took on the distinct appearance of a dementia-addled Senator Palpatine scheming against his nursing home overlords. The “speech” embarrassed every American—from right-wing Montana militiamen to anarcho-hippie sodomites—unfortunate enough to witness it. In that sense (and in that sense only) McCain can call himself a uniter.

So never mind the style and/or substance of the address: the more fascinating thing is that, while watching it unfold, you couldn’t help but notice that the alleged war hero embodies the Republican Party to a tee. He is the GOP, all the way down to his physical appearance: a once grand, not-to-be-fucked-with juggernaut reduced to a decrepit, teleprompter-gazing corpse.

Not that this is anything new. During the lead up to the Iowa caucuses back in January, we characterized McCain as a wounded antelope about to be ravaged by a pack of voracious scavengers. He successfully fended off the vultures.

But God help him when he steps into the ring with The Lion.

Posted by Matt Snyders at June 4, 2008 6:20 PM | Comments (0)

 

MSNBC liveblog: Obama in St. Paul

Filed under: Media

I'm not going to lie to you, it's been a long couple of weeks at City Pages World Headquarters. The body is testing the LD-50 of Earl Grey tea. My dogs have forgotten what I look like. Every pair of pants I own is either dirty, ripped, or ripped and dirty. If I don't clean my house new forms of life may emerge and wreak a terrible vengeance.

Hence, City Pages is sending new staff writer Bradley Campbell and a couple of photographers to get a front seat at world history, while tonight I have a date with a Maytag and a laptop with streaming video.

I'll offer my perspective on MSNBC's coverage in this thread, which will be updated on occasion. Pretend I'm on-site liveblogging by checking out our photos of Obama from his trip to the Target Center in February.

7:15 p.m.: Man, that St. Paul crowd is juiced up for Amy Klobuchar. When they put her on the Jumbotron, you could tell that the Senator had a touch time hearing herself over the peoples' roars.

7:19 p.m.: Give Chris Matthews any excuse to bring up Larry Craig, and he's going to take it. Minneapolis airport bathroom jokes redux.

7:32 p.m.: Newsweek's Howard Fineman just called Hillary's campaign "Kaboobie Theater" before correcting himself and saying "Kabuki." Which is itself an inappropriate reference, but as least the malaprop will help me hit some search engines. Ah, Kaboobie.

Fineman also floats the possibility of Bill Clinton campaigning for Obama, saying Bill would likely accept if Obama asked him. Will this happen? Would it represent Obama learning from Al Gore's tragic mistake, that left us with eight years of sub-moronic gibbering?

7:38 p.m.: Trying to glean some p.r. love from the Democrats' night, the Republicans hastily throw together a speech for their nominee. Unfortunately, someone appears to have sent John McCain's dad to the stage by mistake.

McCain tries to kiss up to disgruntled Hillary voters. "As the father of three daughters, I owe her a debt for inspiring millions of women ... I'm proud to call her my friend." Then why did you call her a bitch? In public?

McCain's been in Washington for nearly 30 years and is a renowned Bush-hugger. Yet a healthy hunk of this is about everything the boy king fucked up. McCain talking about affordable health care, combating global warming, building alternative energy, responding to natural disasters? "[Americans] have a right to expect basic competence from their government." Our "disgraceful failure here in New Orleans," he references. Wow. Thus begins the long process of distancing himself from the worst president in American history.

Also, wow, do the Republicans need to work on their chanting. I couldn't tell if that was "Vote Muh-CANE" or "John Muh-CANE." At least it was better than "Mac is Back."

7:47 p.m.: Fully half of this speech is saying that he's not George W. Bush. His opposition to Bush's "mismanagement of the war in Iraq" is an applause line. In front of a Republican audience. Everyone hates this president.

Of the remaining 50 percent of his speech, 25 percent has been devoted to bashing Obama and 15 percent to sucking up to independents (a strategy doomed to failure for a Republican candidate). The remaining 10 percent has been stumbling over his own words. Get this guy a Red Bull and a speech coach, stat.

7:55 p.m.: So far McCain has hit Bush on Iraq, on federal spending, on disaster response, on basic competence, and on energy policy -- and he's the Republican candidate. Plus, he's trying (embarrassingly) to link Obama to the Bush-Cheney energy policy. How badly have Obama's "third Bush term" attacks hurt him that he's taken this tack?

7:59 p.m.: Mercifully, MSNBC cuts away from McCain's speech to announce that Obama's just received the delegates to put himself over the top. This is good for everyone, even McCain. That was a robotic sleepwalk of a speech, where the aged candidate repeatedly failed to hit the rote applause lines correctly.

8:10 p.m.: After I almost blogged about McCain's choice to speak in front of a green background earlier, Harold Ford notices the same choice. Ford says he's trying to revive his independent image, and I imagine that's right. It's not a good time to be a Republican.

8:29 p.m.: I am an unabashed Hillary Clinton apologist. I think she's ultimately a tragic figure, and think she takes a lot of unfair heat from a lot of people, and would have happily voted for her.

And yet the image of Terry McAuliffe on my screen still makes me want to punch him in the mush. I think I'd rather have virtually anyone else introduce Hillary.

8:43 p.m.: Midway through Hillary Clinton's speech, it's worth remembering the oratorical skills do not necessarily win elections. But if they did, neither Democratic candidate would have much of a contest in crushing John McCain.

8:52 p.m.: Did anyone else hear a Hillary supporter say during a lull in the speech "Don't vote for Obama," followed by everyone behind the candidate getting the Ridiculously Uncomfortable Face? Oogh.

9:00 p.m.: Looks like we reported about the 5 Clinton Concession Cocktails too early. But I think she will -- and should -- ultimately concede and be named the vice presidential nominee.

9:09 p.m.: Obama's wife just gave him a pound. I love Michelle Obama.

9:14 p.m.: He drops the "I'm the nominee" blast. Also, he's wearing a flag pin. See? Obama loves America.

Of all the things Obama does well, he does "gracious" better than anything. His oration dedicated to Hillary Clinton was rousing, poignant and seemingly heartfelt. From a pure speaking perspective, it was impressive -- and watching McCain, Hillary and Obama in a row was like watching the bronze, silver and gold medalists of speechifying, in that order.

9:39 p.m.: If that guy doesn't beat John McCain, the Republicans have found a way to rig the Diebold boxes. That's all.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at June 3, 2008 7:21 PM | Comments (1)

 

Obama rally: bigger than Shania Twain?

Filed under: Barack Obama

It’s all about victory spelled with an “O” tonight at the Xcel Energy Center. The AP has reported that Barack Obama, the Kansas heartthrob, has clinched the Democratic presidential nomination. Matt Drudge, conservative blogger turned Obama lover posted the news to his site this afternoon. He also put a little blinking siren above the news, making it all the more important.

Anyways, this is how the AP made their conclusion:

The AP tally was based on public commitments from delegates as well as more than a dozen private commitments. It also included a minimum number of delegates Obama was guaranteed even if he lost the final two primaries in South Dakota and Montana later in the day.

But whatever. Tonight, the Xcel Center will be rocking to an Obama victory dance. It’s his opportunity to draw a line in the sand. Still, poli-geeks are curious to see if the guy in the skinny, sky blue tie will proclaim victory, or keep the mood slightly muted until he has enough superdelegates in his corner to secure the nomination outright. Plus, everyone, (let’s just admit it) is kinda hoping for a unison arm raise between Obama and Al Gore.

Meanwhile, Kathy O’Connor, Director of Public Relations for Xcel Energy Center is pumped. As she drove to work today there were satellite trucks from the national media big boys parked outside, powering up. Rabid Obama supporters were out as well, already in line, ready to enter the center for tonight’s speech, which is scheduled to begin around 9ish. She joked that although it was surprising, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, as people wait in line all day for Wild tickets, too.

“But there is definite excitement,” O’Connor says, “It’s a pretty cool feeling to be at the epicenter of this historic election. [Combined with the Republican National Convention] it’s one of the best years for this facility.”

As for attendance, Xcel can handle, and is expecting, 20,000 people to attend. They’re basing it off Obama’s packed political rally last fall at the Target Center. If crowds swell past the 20,545 mark, then Obama will beat out a five-year attendance record held by the goddess of country Shania Twain, who jammed people into Xcel tighter than country folks jam their hips into denim. But bets are good that Obama will surpass her attendance record, as we all know how good he is at out-shining powerful women.

Speaking of powerful women, Sen. Hillary Clinton says that she will not concede the election tonight, but is open to the Veep spot if it will help her party get back into the White House.

And here is a video of bears tearing apart a car. (Also courtesy of the Drudge Report.)

Posted by Bradley Campbell at June 3, 2008 3:29 PM | Comments (8)

 

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