1) Charlie Black channels his inner Ed Rollins: Or did he? The big news is Black making such a blunder. Not to get too Machiavelli and all but he did manage to get the terror thought back out into the media for about three news cycles. And at what cost to the candidate? None. So...
2) Obama and the FISA fight: For those still waiting for the man to jump into this one for the good of all mankind, here's a name you may have forgotten - Sister Souljah. Ring a bell? Capiche?
3) Whatever's the matter with Ralphie? Dead white man walking here. Make way. Or, as he explained his unending quest to the Washington Post [6-25-08]: "It's the rational approach. If you're locked out of the governmental system, if you can't get a hearing, and I can't, you go to the electoral system. What's my alternative? Should I go to Monterey and watch the whales?" YESSSS!!!! Wonderful idea. Here, we'll help you pack.
4) From the "Counting your chickens" Department: The Great Seal of Obama. We blinked and you were gone. What bothered you more, the forced Latin or the creepy new-agey wave thingy in the eagle's chest? And that was one pissed-off looking eagle.
5) Political Journalism Awards 2008: First nominee is Daniel Libit's piece on Politico.com [6-25-08], "Meet the make-believe strategists of TV." Thank you Daniel. We collectively knew that we had never heard of any of those people strategizing anything in real life. To read them explaining away their labels hurts the eyes.
6) Gordon Smith starts a trend: Endangered GOPers clinging to an association with Barack Obama. Let's call it the "Politics of Oz." Instead of "Don't look behind the curtain," it's "Don't look at that 'R' after my name!" The part of Toto will of course be played by Frank Luntz.
7) What hath Fossella wrought? The sad and untimely death of Francis Powers, the retired Wall Streeter hand picked to serve as the GOP candidate in the race to fill Vito Fossella's Staten Island Congressional seat, has made this contest no longer a laughing matter. In fact, this seat could soon become like that house down the street that never sells because of what happened there a long time ago. Maybe the NRCC should just move on and forget all about this one.
8) Hey Sen. McCain, what's on your Victrola? Enough with "the Lexington Project" and the references to "Imperial Japan" and anything else that happened more than twenty years ago. You're scaring the kids. Or at least leaving them really confused.
9) You may already be a winner: Ever since McCain offered the $300 million prize for the better car battery why do we have visions of guys in top hats lining up outside the White House with their perpetual motion machines tucked under their arms? You know this will turn into some weird Soap Box Derby type competition where there'll be an explolsion in somebody's garage and they'll sue the campaign.
10) Sam Nunn, now and forever: Thanks to NYT's Mark Leibovich [6-22-08] for reminding us just how many times over the past 24 years that former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn's name has been tossed around as a potential vice presidential running mate. And to Ralph Reed for calling the modern day vetting of possible veeps "the equivalent of a total G.I. track exam."
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Politics: Just another verb masquerading as a noun
1) Political Play of the Week: Luke Russert gets McCain and Obama in the same pew and then preaches his dad's political philosophy to them from the pulpit. Smooth move.
2) Patti Solis Doyle to the Obama ranks: Yes, the whole thing is its own parlor game. But Axelrod roots run deep, no?
3) What does Ron want? Now that he has officially stopped his quest for the GOP nomination Ron Paul can concentrate on just what he's going to do with that room full of folks at his anti-convention. And what to do with all that Internet cash? I say he buys gold. Lots of it.
4) Rudy G. sets new standard in being helpful: Giuliani will go to any length to help elect any Republican this year. For a price. Why not go the whole way and offer to sell "Rudy" ice and bottled water at all campaign events? This answers the question of what Trump would be like as a candidate.
5) Tony Schwartz R.I.P.: Everybody knows the "Daisy" ad inside out and it was great. But nothing was so simple, yet effective, as John Q. Voter siting in his living room easy chair laughing hysterically at the idea of Spiro T. as a heartbeat away from the presidency. From his Washington Post obit: "We can hear four times as fast as we can talk. So the question is, what do you do with the other time?" [WP 6-17-08] And, from his NYT obit: "The best political commercials are Rorschach patterns. They do not tell the viewer anything. They surface his feelings and provide a context for him to express these feelings." [NYT 6-17-08]
6) Just what are you gettin' at fella? Asked if he plans to be a Democrat "forever," Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman says: "You know, forever is a long time." Geez, goin' to the GOP Convention and all, why not JUST SAY IT!!!!!! [USA Today 6-19-08]
7) Bob Barr threatens to take away votes from McCain: Hey, don't the authorities look into schemes where non-existent organizations try to raise money for non-existent causes? I'm just askin'.
8) Dennis Agonistes: Kucinich, in his quest for articles of impeachment, observes that "there are some things that yield to reason, and there are other things that yield to politics. I cannot understand what the political reason would be to not [impeach the President]." Dennis, go back and review the first sentence. [Washington Post's "In The Loop"]
9) Obama opts out: Yeah, he said he wouldn't. Now, what are you going to do about it? And who exactly will spend the time trying to make people understand this? And, even if someone does try, who will remember come September? I say TV ad buyers everywhere are partying hearty this weekend.
10) Michelle O hits "The View": Seems like a homer. Disarms (or at least quiets) Hasselbeck, impresses with simple Republican cloth dress, dispels evils of the fist bump, and tips her hat to Laura Bush. What more could the campaign ask? Oh, and makes Cindy McC look a couple of weeks late.
2) Patti Solis Doyle to the Obama ranks: Yes, the whole thing is its own parlor game. But Axelrod roots run deep, no?
3) What does Ron want? Now that he has officially stopped his quest for the GOP nomination Ron Paul can concentrate on just what he's going to do with that room full of folks at his anti-convention. And what to do with all that Internet cash? I say he buys gold. Lots of it.
4) Rudy G. sets new standard in being helpful: Giuliani will go to any length to help elect any Republican this year. For a price. Why not go the whole way and offer to sell "Rudy" ice and bottled water at all campaign events? This answers the question of what Trump would be like as a candidate.
5) Tony Schwartz R.I.P.: Everybody knows the "Daisy" ad inside out and it was great. But nothing was so simple, yet effective, as John Q. Voter siting in his living room easy chair laughing hysterically at the idea of Spiro T. as a heartbeat away from the presidency. From his Washington Post obit: "We can hear four times as fast as we can talk. So the question is, what do you do with the other time?" [WP 6-17-08] And, from his NYT obit: "The best political commercials are Rorschach patterns. They do not tell the viewer anything. They surface his feelings and provide a context for him to express these feelings." [NYT 6-17-08]
6) Just what are you gettin' at fella? Asked if he plans to be a Democrat "forever," Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman says: "You know, forever is a long time." Geez, goin' to the GOP Convention and all, why not JUST SAY IT!!!!!! [USA Today 6-19-08]
7) Bob Barr threatens to take away votes from McCain: Hey, don't the authorities look into schemes where non-existent organizations try to raise money for non-existent causes? I'm just askin'.
8) Dennis Agonistes: Kucinich, in his quest for articles of impeachment, observes that "there are some things that yield to reason, and there are other things that yield to politics. I cannot understand what the political reason would be to not [impeach the President]." Dennis, go back and review the first sentence. [Washington Post's "In The Loop"]
9) Obama opts out: Yeah, he said he wouldn't. Now, what are you going to do about it? And who exactly will spend the time trying to make people understand this? And, even if someone does try, who will remember come September? I say TV ad buyers everywhere are partying hearty this weekend.
10) Michelle O hits "The View": Seems like a homer. Disarms (or at least quiets) Hasselbeck, impresses with simple Republican cloth dress, dispels evils of the fist bump, and tips her hat to Laura Bush. What more could the campaign ask? Oh, and makes Cindy McC look a couple of weeks late.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Politics, much like Denise Richards, is complicated
1) SnopesObama.com: The Obama campaign announced its new rumor mill debunking operation by proclaiming: "The Obama campaign isn't going to let dishonest smears spread across the Internet unanswered." Bravo! And thanks. Where would American politics be without the "honest smear?"
2) What's wrong with these people? First Fox's E.D. Hill suggests that the Obama fist bump could be "a terrorist fist jab" and now they've referred to Michelle Obama on screen as "Obama's baby mama." Just what is it with that network? Do you think they just have problems relating to folks from Chicago? Is that it? God forbid they're trying to be hip like the kids. Next thing you know Bill O will be saying that he got jiggy with it. And we all know he did.
3) That a way to turn out the vote: Sen. John Ensign, Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has set a new high in lowballing expectations, telling reporters this week that if the GOP only loses three Senate seats in November, it "would be a terrific night for us. I don't want to slip below the four-seat loss." Hey John, is it true you're going to host a special screening of "Paths of Glory" before the big election night party?
4) Happy Father's Day, Dad! In the bizarro world that is the race to succeed Staten Island's Vito Fosella, GOP candidate Frank Powers is facing his son Fran Powers, who's running as the Libertarian candidate. Dad, a retired Wall Street exec, told the press that he had tried to help Fran "live a healthy lifestyle." His remarks were accompanied by a comment from a GOP source who referenced Fran's "carefree" music business career. In response, Fran, a product of Frank's first marriage, countered, "I'm not out here doing heroin. I have a regular life. Do I have a beer? Yes. I'm having one now." Fran is in the Staten Island band, Box of Crayons. [Staten Island Advance 6-5-08] Gabba, Gabba, Hey! Have you registered to vote yet?
5) The hubbub over the supposed Clinton Enemies List: Duh! People who write and talk about politics for a living expressing surprise that two professional politicians remember who was with them and who wasn't? That's news? Does the phrase "ABC Common Traitor" ring a bell? The only people who can't understand this have never worked around other people before. Whether it's CNN or a Kinko's. Or Dunder Mifflin.
6) Political Humor Awards '08: Mark Penn's NYT Op-ed piece [6-8-08] on "What Went Wrong" with the Clinton campaign. That was great. Really. A knee slapper. I mean, could anyone get through that with a straight face? I mean, "we needed a different kind of operation to win caucuses and to retain support of superdelegates." That's gold, Jerry! Gold!
7) Madam, I believe your pants are on fire. Too bad LBJ isn't around to deal with the "new breed" of Internet political blogger/reporter/citizen journalist/folks with too much time on their hands and no visible source of income-types who prey on the unsuspecting and then express such surprise that they've managed to make national news. Case in point, this week's Howard Kurtz [WP 6-9-08] profile of Mayhill Fowler, who got Bill C. to call Todd Purdum a "scumbag." Says Fowler, "I have no journalistic training. I just discovered that I'm impelled to get out there and get the truth of the matter." Aw shucks, you didn't have time to identify yourself. How lucky for you.
8) Old School still applies: Speaking of LBJ, USA Today's Susan Page references the man in her piece this week on how to choose a Veep [6-12-08]. Johnson, speaking on the phone to Sargent Shriver in 1964: "I think a man (who) runs for vice president is a very foolish man. [The] man who runs away from it is very wise. I wished I'd run farther away from it than I did...And don't you ever be a candidate and don't let anybody else be a candidate, and tell them anybody that runs for it never gets it." Yo, Mitt!
9) Your own worst enemy is sitting right there on the Straight Talk Express: Come now, "not important????!!!!" Obviously the McCain campaign is in for a very long five months. Time to turn the conversations back around to William Jennings Bryan, I'd say.
10) R.I.P. Tim Russert. American politics has lost a source of insight, historical perspective, and darn good questions. We're all a bit dumber for the loss.
2) What's wrong with these people? First Fox's E.D. Hill suggests that the Obama fist bump could be "a terrorist fist jab" and now they've referred to Michelle Obama on screen as "Obama's baby mama." Just what is it with that network? Do you think they just have problems relating to folks from Chicago? Is that it? God forbid they're trying to be hip like the kids. Next thing you know Bill O will be saying that he got jiggy with it. And we all know he did.
3) That a way to turn out the vote: Sen. John Ensign, Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has set a new high in lowballing expectations, telling reporters this week that if the GOP only loses three Senate seats in November, it "would be a terrific night for us. I don't want to slip below the four-seat loss." Hey John, is it true you're going to host a special screening of "Paths of Glory" before the big election night party?
4) Happy Father's Day, Dad! In the bizarro world that is the race to succeed Staten Island's Vito Fosella, GOP candidate Frank Powers is facing his son Fran Powers, who's running as the Libertarian candidate. Dad, a retired Wall Street exec, told the press that he had tried to help Fran "live a healthy lifestyle." His remarks were accompanied by a comment from a GOP source who referenced Fran's "carefree" music business career. In response, Fran, a product of Frank's first marriage, countered, "I'm not out here doing heroin. I have a regular life. Do I have a beer? Yes. I'm having one now." Fran is in the Staten Island band, Box of Crayons. [Staten Island Advance 6-5-08] Gabba, Gabba, Hey! Have you registered to vote yet?
5) The hubbub over the supposed Clinton Enemies List: Duh! People who write and talk about politics for a living expressing surprise that two professional politicians remember who was with them and who wasn't? That's news? Does the phrase "ABC Common Traitor" ring a bell? The only people who can't understand this have never worked around other people before. Whether it's CNN or a Kinko's. Or Dunder Mifflin.
6) Political Humor Awards '08: Mark Penn's NYT Op-ed piece [6-8-08] on "What Went Wrong" with the Clinton campaign. That was great. Really. A knee slapper. I mean, could anyone get through that with a straight face? I mean, "we needed a different kind of operation to win caucuses and to retain support of superdelegates." That's gold, Jerry! Gold!
7) Madam, I believe your pants are on fire. Too bad LBJ isn't around to deal with the "new breed" of Internet political blogger/reporter/citizen journalist/folks with too much time on their hands and no visible source of income-types who prey on the unsuspecting and then express such surprise that they've managed to make national news. Case in point, this week's Howard Kurtz [WP 6-9-08] profile of Mayhill Fowler, who got Bill C. to call Todd Purdum a "scumbag." Says Fowler, "I have no journalistic training. I just discovered that I'm impelled to get out there and get the truth of the matter." Aw shucks, you didn't have time to identify yourself. How lucky for you.
8) Old School still applies: Speaking of LBJ, USA Today's Susan Page references the man in her piece this week on how to choose a Veep [6-12-08]. Johnson, speaking on the phone to Sargent Shriver in 1964: "I think a man (who) runs for vice president is a very foolish man. [The] man who runs away from it is very wise. I wished I'd run farther away from it than I did...And don't you ever be a candidate and don't let anybody else be a candidate, and tell them anybody that runs for it never gets it." Yo, Mitt!
9) Your own worst enemy is sitting right there on the Straight Talk Express: Come now, "not important????!!!!" Obviously the McCain campaign is in for a very long five months. Time to turn the conversations back around to William Jennings Bryan, I'd say.
10) R.I.P. Tim Russert. American politics has lost a source of insight, historical perspective, and darn good questions. We're all a bit dumber for the loss.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Wheel in the Sky keeps on turning
1) Exit, Stage Right: Charlie Rangel on that HRC conference call: "She wanted to talk to supporters and get advice, so she got advice. Love and affection doesn't have a damn thing to do with counting votes." [Politico.com 6-5-08]
2) "Today, we settle all family business." Last Saturday the Obama team worked out the Michigan and Florida mess while the candidate resigned from his troublesome church. Michael Corleone would have been proud.
3) Dude, enough already: Will somebody tell Chris Matthews to stop noting that if HRC was to take the Veep spot she would "have to obey." Saying the word "obey" once was weird. Repeating it over and over, day after day, was getting creepy. Did Nixon ask Agnew if he was ready to "obey?" Okay, so Johnson probably did ask HHH, but come on.
4) Jordan Wright RIP: Dedicated collector of American political memoribilia for the last 40 years, he went way beyond a mere button collection. You've got to love a guy who had "Clean Up With Ike" bars of soap. Quoted in his NYT obit: "There hasn't been an election since Washington's when we didn't go to the voting booth holding our nose." [NYT 6-1-08]
5) Cheney's West Virginia Quip: Recounting Cheneys on both sides of the family tree, "So I had Cheneys on both sides of the family and we don't even live in West Virginia....You can say those things when you're not running for reelection." Funny as a crutch, Rich.
6) On knowing a lose/lose situation when you see one: NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg's Deputy Mayor, Kevin Sheekey, passes on the RNC offer to manage the GOP Convention in Minnesota.
7) Didn't he hear about the notebook thingy? Rep. Artur Davis (D., Alabama), Obama campaign adviser, suggests list of names for possible VP pick, including ex Florida Sen. Bob Graham, who is probably making note of that (and other things) as you read this.
8) Shelby, quit while you're ahead: Shelby Steele's book about Obama was titled: "Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win." He also predicted HRC would take the nomination.
9) Ralph Reed writes a novel: And titles it "Dark Horse." And says it's the "most honest book, without question, I've written." Say no more.
10) The Pres speaks: As quoted in The Washington Post's "In The Loop" column this week, GWB delivering a speech on May 27th in Arizona: "And so the fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there's jobs at the machine-making place." As the man said, it's "The working, the working, just the working life," indeed.
2) "Today, we settle all family business." Last Saturday the Obama team worked out the Michigan and Florida mess while the candidate resigned from his troublesome church. Michael Corleone would have been proud.
3) Dude, enough already: Will somebody tell Chris Matthews to stop noting that if HRC was to take the Veep spot she would "have to obey." Saying the word "obey" once was weird. Repeating it over and over, day after day, was getting creepy. Did Nixon ask Agnew if he was ready to "obey?" Okay, so Johnson probably did ask HHH, but come on.
4) Jordan Wright RIP: Dedicated collector of American political memoribilia for the last 40 years, he went way beyond a mere button collection. You've got to love a guy who had "Clean Up With Ike" bars of soap. Quoted in his NYT obit: "There hasn't been an election since Washington's when we didn't go to the voting booth holding our nose." [NYT 6-1-08]
5) Cheney's West Virginia Quip: Recounting Cheneys on both sides of the family tree, "So I had Cheneys on both sides of the family and we don't even live in West Virginia....You can say those things when you're not running for reelection." Funny as a crutch, Rich.
6) On knowing a lose/lose situation when you see one: NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg's Deputy Mayor, Kevin Sheekey, passes on the RNC offer to manage the GOP Convention in Minnesota.
7) Didn't he hear about the notebook thingy? Rep. Artur Davis (D., Alabama), Obama campaign adviser, suggests list of names for possible VP pick, including ex Florida Sen. Bob Graham, who is probably making note of that (and other things) as you read this.
8) Shelby, quit while you're ahead: Shelby Steele's book about Obama was titled: "Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win." He also predicted HRC would take the nomination.
9) Ralph Reed writes a novel: And titles it "Dark Horse." And says it's the "most honest book, without question, I've written." Say no more.
10) The Pres speaks: As quoted in The Washington Post's "In The Loop" column this week, GWB delivering a speech on May 27th in Arizona: "And so the fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there's jobs at the machine-making place." As the man said, it's "The working, the working, just the working life," indeed.
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