1) Politics 103: When defining your opponent, remember to pick a metaphor, symbol or image and just stick with it: Now McC has settled on calling Ob "the redistributor." Hey, is that something under the hood? I think mine is loose. Hey! The wheels came off my narrative! Quick, change the McC campaign theme to "I got a foggy notion." Lou Reed will never know.
2) He can be whatever you want him to be this time around: In response to Chris Matthews asking if he thought Obama was a "Marxist," former Texas Rep. Tom DeLay gave the kind of weak affirmative response that suggested he would have said "yes" had Matthews asked if he thought Obama was really a "Martian." In fact, maybe that's what he heard.
3) When do they "go to ground?" First a McC staffer complains that Gov. Sarah is "going rogue." Then former Bushite, Peter Wehner [WP 10-22-08] suggests that on the run GOP politicians have "gone native." Is this an election or a failed intelligence operation? Who's in charge of "walking back the cat" come Nov. 5th?
4) They can't both be right, can they????!!!! First the GOP House and Senate candidates begin to push the argument that you've got to send them back to Washington to prevent "one party rule." Then McC argues that he must win to prevent "one party rule." It's getting crowded under that bus. Note to McC: Stop calling Obama, [Nancy] Pelosi and [Harry] Reid "a dangerous threesome." When people hear that term they think Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty and Gary Busey. Meet them on your MySpace page.
5) Folks who really are on the "pay-no-mind list": Ralph Nader announced this week that he has set a new record for the most campaign speches delivered in a single day. According to Ralphie Boy, he has delivered 255 minutes of speeches in 21 Massachusetts towns all on the same day. Geez, that's great Ralphie, great. Now, how many Coney Island dogs can you eat in one sitting? And hey, what have you been up to lately?
6) Why Washington gets a bad name: From a WP "Style" section piece [10-26-08] on "How Washinton Plays the Shame Game," suggesting that "It really is hard to know everything you're supposed to know here in a town that incessantly name-drops and bill-drops and amendment-drops, where even the wonkiest among us can be outwonked." Among its anecdotes, a young woman embarassed by meeting a congresswoman who informs her: "I am a congresswoman from your home state. You should know who I am." Oh really??? In the old days, that faux pas would have been your fault congresswoman. You know, not doing a very good job of getting yourself well known and all.
7) The 2008 "Don't play with me or you're playin' with fire" Award for Political Advertising: Goes to North Carolina State Sen. Kay Hagan for her quick retort to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's TV spot suggesting that Hagan takes money from atheists and believes 'There is no god." In her response, Hagan counters that "I believe in God," has taught Sunday School and that her campaign is about 'creating jobs...not bearing false witness against fellow Christians." Ouch! Hey Liddy, maybe you should have run that one by Bob first.
8) Worst Closing Presidential Television Spot of 2008: To McC for his parade of "normal" folk all proclaiming, face to the camera, "I'm Joe the Plumber." "I'm Spartacus!" this ain't. Not in resonance nor in (gulp) nobility of purpose. Just juvenile yapping. Hey, where's our book and record deals??!!! Hey, why not just go the Reinhold Niebuhr route, you know, "First they came for Joe the Plumber......."
9) MAAAA!!!! We're workin' down here!!!!!!!!: Moments after Ob delivers his 30-minute "closer" spectacular, Bill O'Reilly and Dennis Miller spend the next 15 minutes arguing over the Sarah Palin doll hanging in effigy on the front porch of a West Hollywood home's Halloween display. Says Miller, "West LA is a tricky place." Yeah, well, there's no need to get graphic here.
10) Roger Clinton, call your office: According to the Washington Post [10-26-08], McC's younger brother Joe, 66, apologized for cursing at a 911 dispatcher after being caught up in a traffic jam on a local bridge. Earlier in October, while out on the campaign trail for his brother, he referred to Virginia's Northern, Alexandria and Arlington Counties as "Communist country."
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
What's an election for, if it isn't to divide people? - Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
1) "See you in Napa!" is no way to rev up the troops: Speaking at a joint appearance at the National Press Club this week, DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer predicted that it was "possible" for Dems to hit the 60-seat mark in the Senate. His counterpart, John Ensign, chair of the GOP's Senate campaign committee, conceded that "it's also possible that, you know, [Republicans] end up with 44, 45, 46 votes left in the U.S. Senate." As for his post-election plans, Ensign said, "I'm taking my wife to Napa Valley. And so we'll either be able to celebrate or drown our sorrows." [Politico.com 10-21-08]
2) Remember when candidates quoted Lincoln and Jefferson? Gov. Sarah Palin, on CNN [10-21-08], "I'm not going to call [Obama] a socialist, but as Joe the Plumber suggested...."
3) Speaking of which: New philosopher king Joe "the plumber" Wurzelbacher, speaking to CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, described Obama's original answer to his question as a "tap dance" which was "almost as good as Sammy Davis Jr." Hey Joe, where you goin' with that wrench in your hand?
4) Things you haven't seen in the NYT in a long while: Interviewing voters down in Mobile, Alabama, NYT reporter Adam Nossiter [NYT 10-15-08] quotes one James Halsey, described as a part of an environmental cleanup crew standing in a Wal-Mart parking lot, as saying of Obama, "He's going to tear up the rose bushes and plant a watermelon patch" at the White House. Another voter interviewed, Ricky Thompson of Mobile, said of the Democrat, "He's neither-nor. He's other. It's in the Bible. Come as one. Don't create other breeds." Uhhhh....I don't feel so good......
5) Our slacker brothers and sisters to the north: Voter turnout for Canada's general election last week was the lowest ever recorded. Just 59.1 percent of eligible voters made it to the polls, breaking the previous low turnout record of just under 61 percent set back in 2004. Come on, if you try you can get below 50 in 2012! Choad!! [Yahoo! Canada News 10-15-08]
6) Uh oh, somebody woke up Tom Hagen: Speaking at a GOP fundraiser last week, actor Robert Duvall lambasted "the super-nerd George - what's his name? George Wills..[sic]..and Tommy Thompson. The original block of wood," for their criticism of the McC/Palin ticket. [WP 10-15-08]
7) From the "Ten things I hate about you" desk: Peggy Noonan, on Sarah Palin [WSJ 10-18-08]: "But we have seen Mrs. Palin on the national stage for seven weeks now, and there is little sign that she has the tools, the equipment, the knowledge or the philosophical grounding one hopes for, and expects, in a holder of high office. She is a person of great ambition, but the question remains: What is the purpose of the ambition?" Peggy, let's face it, we all can't be expected to have philosophical groundings, now, can we?
8) God only knows: Lori Lipman Brown, director of the aetheist lobbying group, Secular Coalition of America, bemoans the lack of aetheist participation in American politics. "We should have a base of at least 30 million Americans to work with. And yet those who are active are a much smaller percentage. We're probably looking at just a few hundred thousand active participants. It's hard to even quantify." [NYT 10-18-08] Maybe you can call for a meeting after church in the basem....oh, sorry, that won't work....let's see, where do they congregate?
9) How to lose your seat without even trying: First Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann tells Chris Matthews that Ob "may have anti-American views" and calls for the news media to investigate her fellow members of Congress to find out, "Are they pro-America or anti-America?" [MSNBC "Hardball" 10-17-08] Then North Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes tells a crowd that "liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God." [Politico.com 10-21-08] Then the money pours in and both are on the run. I guess HUAC ain't comin' 'round anytime soon.
10) So they're like most folks, huh? Veteran political reporter Jeff Greenfield, explaining why the press is talking the way they are about the presidential race: "One piece of press bias is they don't like losers. When the whiff of defeat surrounds a campaign, the press picks up on it the way sharks smell blood in the water, and then it becomes a feedback loop." [WP 10-20-08]
2) Remember when candidates quoted Lincoln and Jefferson? Gov. Sarah Palin, on CNN [10-21-08], "I'm not going to call [Obama] a socialist, but as Joe the Plumber suggested...."
3) Speaking of which: New philosopher king Joe "the plumber" Wurzelbacher, speaking to CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, described Obama's original answer to his question as a "tap dance" which was "almost as good as Sammy Davis Jr." Hey Joe, where you goin' with that wrench in your hand?
4) Things you haven't seen in the NYT in a long while: Interviewing voters down in Mobile, Alabama, NYT reporter Adam Nossiter [NYT 10-15-08] quotes one James Halsey, described as a part of an environmental cleanup crew standing in a Wal-Mart parking lot, as saying of Obama, "He's going to tear up the rose bushes and plant a watermelon patch" at the White House. Another voter interviewed, Ricky Thompson of Mobile, said of the Democrat, "He's neither-nor. He's other. It's in the Bible. Come as one. Don't create other breeds." Uhhhh....I don't feel so good......
5) Our slacker brothers and sisters to the north: Voter turnout for Canada's general election last week was the lowest ever recorded. Just 59.1 percent of eligible voters made it to the polls, breaking the previous low turnout record of just under 61 percent set back in 2004. Come on, if you try you can get below 50 in 2012! Choad!! [Yahoo! Canada News 10-15-08]
6) Uh oh, somebody woke up Tom Hagen: Speaking at a GOP fundraiser last week, actor Robert Duvall lambasted "the super-nerd George - what's his name? George Wills..[sic]..and Tommy Thompson. The original block of wood," for their criticism of the McC/Palin ticket. [WP 10-15-08]
7) From the "Ten things I hate about you" desk: Peggy Noonan, on Sarah Palin [WSJ 10-18-08]: "But we have seen Mrs. Palin on the national stage for seven weeks now, and there is little sign that she has the tools, the equipment, the knowledge or the philosophical grounding one hopes for, and expects, in a holder of high office. She is a person of great ambition, but the question remains: What is the purpose of the ambition?" Peggy, let's face it, we all can't be expected to have philosophical groundings, now, can we?
8) God only knows: Lori Lipman Brown, director of the aetheist lobbying group, Secular Coalition of America, bemoans the lack of aetheist participation in American politics. "We should have a base of at least 30 million Americans to work with. And yet those who are active are a much smaller percentage. We're probably looking at just a few hundred thousand active participants. It's hard to even quantify." [NYT 10-18-08] Maybe you can call for a meeting after church in the basem....oh, sorry, that won't work....let's see, where do they congregate?
9) How to lose your seat without even trying: First Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann tells Chris Matthews that Ob "may have anti-American views" and calls for the news media to investigate her fellow members of Congress to find out, "Are they pro-America or anti-America?" [MSNBC "Hardball" 10-17-08] Then North Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes tells a crowd that "liberals hate real Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God." [Politico.com 10-21-08] Then the money pours in and both are on the run. I guess HUAC ain't comin' 'round anytime soon.
10) So they're like most folks, huh? Veteran political reporter Jeff Greenfield, explaining why the press is talking the way they are about the presidential race: "One piece of press bias is they don't like losers. When the whiff of defeat surrounds a campaign, the press picks up on it the way sharks smell blood in the water, and then it becomes a feedback loop." [WP 10-20-08]
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
As all students of politics know, whether they read Sun Tzu or listen to Stevie Wonder, it's essential to take "higher ground" and hold it.
1) Why the founders had the foresight to seperate Church and State: Former pastor Arnold Conrad of the Grace Evangelical Free Church of Davenport, Iowa, prayed to God this week for a McCain win: "There are millions of people around this world praying to their god - whether it's Hindu, Buddha, Allah - that [McCain's] opponent wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord, I pray that you will guard your own reputation, because they're going to think that their God is bigger than you, if that happens." Lookin' out for God's street rep, huh? Dude, do you think Buddha really cares who wins the U.S. presidency? Although we understand that he is trying to get Shiva to take the over/under on total Electoral votes.
2) Custer notes that it's a sunny day: McC, on the eve of the third and final presidential debate: "My friends, we've got them just where we want them." Time to "unleash Chang," my friend. [Check with 41 about this.]
3) The passing of a pro: John R. Reilly, 80, Democratic party operative from the time of the Kennedys right up until today, of cancer at the Washington Home Hospice. He was the guy who went upstairs to tell Geraldine Ferraro that she was Mondale's choice. As he once observed to Newsweek, he had hit the "third stage" of political notoriety: "First, 'Who is John Reilly?' Then, 'Get me John Reilly.' Next, 'Get me a John Reilly.' And then: 'John Reilly - who's he?'" [WP 10-14-08]
4) From the "Folks who don't take politics seriously," Department: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, on his rift with Bill Clinton: "Have I heard from President Clinton? No. It could be pretty much a permanent fissure. But that's politics: that's O.K. I did what I thought was best for the country. I'm still very fond of the Clintons. I've reconciled with her, but with him, he wants to keep a grudge, that's fine with me. I move on. I'm governor of New Mexico. I'm happy where I am." Cool. When's your term up? [NYT 10-10-08]
5) Uh, Uh, I've got to do my hair that night: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist tells the McC crew that he'll help out when his schedule permits. Geez, Charlie, and after going and getting engaged and all that. Hey, do you think that when Skynyrd sang "Ooh, ohh that smell, can't you smell that smell?" they were talking about the losing end?
6) Wasilla Sleigh Ride: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin braves the ice to start a Philly Flyers game last week, weathers the boos and the catcalls, despite dressing her little one in a Flyers jersey. Can 20,000 Philadelphia hockey fans be wrong? The next day she enters her own private Twilight Zone, explaining that she was cleared of any ethical wronging in the Troopergate story although the state report found her guilty of ethical wrongdoing. Kafka, call your office. [Hey Sarah, when you keep saying, "America, we cannot just afford another big spender in the White House," you are comparing Ob to the current President, right?]
7) You know, that "Give us Barrabus" thing had a bad end: McC Campaign Manager Rick Davis on the angry crowds at McC and Palin events: "I don't think it's that big a deal. I think political rallies have always attracted people who have an emotional connection to the outcome of an election."[NYT 10-11-08]
8) No, no, how about we hook them up to batteries for electroshock to be administered by the viewing audience?: Indiana 9th District GOP Party Chair Larry Shickles called for Democratic Rep. Baron Hill, his GOP challenger Mike Sodrel, and Libertarian candidate Eric Schansberg all to be hooked up to polygraph machines for their upcoming debate on October 21st. Sodrel and Schansberg agreed. Hill is apparently still sane.
9) Where you been? Headline on the front page of the Washington Post 10-12-08: "Issue of Race Creeps Into Campaign."
10) What money makes you say: On Karl Rove being paid gobs of money to speak to audiences, his new Fox News colleague Howard Wolfson, former honcho of the Hillary for President Campaign, said, "There is an incredible amount of interest in what Karl Rove has to say." [NYT 10-11-08]
2) Custer notes that it's a sunny day: McC, on the eve of the third and final presidential debate: "My friends, we've got them just where we want them." Time to "unleash Chang," my friend. [Check with 41 about this.]
3) The passing of a pro: John R. Reilly, 80, Democratic party operative from the time of the Kennedys right up until today, of cancer at the Washington Home Hospice. He was the guy who went upstairs to tell Geraldine Ferraro that she was Mondale's choice. As he once observed to Newsweek, he had hit the "third stage" of political notoriety: "First, 'Who is John Reilly?' Then, 'Get me John Reilly.' Next, 'Get me a John Reilly.' And then: 'John Reilly - who's he?'" [WP 10-14-08]
4) From the "Folks who don't take politics seriously," Department: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, on his rift with Bill Clinton: "Have I heard from President Clinton? No. It could be pretty much a permanent fissure. But that's politics: that's O.K. I did what I thought was best for the country. I'm still very fond of the Clintons. I've reconciled with her, but with him, he wants to keep a grudge, that's fine with me. I move on. I'm governor of New Mexico. I'm happy where I am." Cool. When's your term up? [NYT 10-10-08]
5) Uh, Uh, I've got to do my hair that night: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist tells the McC crew that he'll help out when his schedule permits. Geez, Charlie, and after going and getting engaged and all that. Hey, do you think that when Skynyrd sang "Ooh, ohh that smell, can't you smell that smell?" they were talking about the losing end?
6) Wasilla Sleigh Ride: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin braves the ice to start a Philly Flyers game last week, weathers the boos and the catcalls, despite dressing her little one in a Flyers jersey. Can 20,000 Philadelphia hockey fans be wrong? The next day she enters her own private Twilight Zone, explaining that she was cleared of any ethical wronging in the Troopergate story although the state report found her guilty of ethical wrongdoing. Kafka, call your office. [Hey Sarah, when you keep saying, "America, we cannot just afford another big spender in the White House," you are comparing Ob to the current President, right?]
7) You know, that "Give us Barrabus" thing had a bad end: McC Campaign Manager Rick Davis on the angry crowds at McC and Palin events: "I don't think it's that big a deal. I think political rallies have always attracted people who have an emotional connection to the outcome of an election."[NYT 10-11-08]
8) No, no, how about we hook them up to batteries for electroshock to be administered by the viewing audience?: Indiana 9th District GOP Party Chair Larry Shickles called for Democratic Rep. Baron Hill, his GOP challenger Mike Sodrel, and Libertarian candidate Eric Schansberg all to be hooked up to polygraph machines for their upcoming debate on October 21st. Sodrel and Schansberg agreed. Hill is apparently still sane.
9) Where you been? Headline on the front page of the Washington Post 10-12-08: "Issue of Race Creeps Into Campaign."
10) What money makes you say: On Karl Rove being paid gobs of money to speak to audiences, his new Fox News colleague Howard Wolfson, former honcho of the Hillary for President Campaign, said, "There is an incredible amount of interest in what Karl Rove has to say." [NYT 10-11-08]
Monday, October 6, 2008
When you believe in things that you don't understand: The return of the Know Nothings!
1) Remember, a wink is as good as a nod to a blind horse: So many thanks to Gov. Palin for correcting Joe Biden in last week's debate. Joe, the mobs don't shout "Drill! Drill! Drill!" "The chant is drill, baby, drill." Where would we be without her?
2) What politics can learn from sports: When the Baltimore Colts left town it was under cover of darkness and moving as quietly as possible. When McC left Michigan he issued his own press release. Or as the GOP's former Yoda, Karl Rove, explained, "Some of the best strategies are the strategies that you don't draw attention to." [NYP 10-05-08] Or, "Leave Michigan so soon you should not." [Special aside to the Governor, "Yes, Sarah, we have to."]
3) Things (and people) that don't exist any more: Testy ol' McC to The Des Moines Register's ed board: "Realllyyy????? I haven't detected that in the polls; I haven't detected that among the base. If there's a Georgetown cocktail party person who, quote, calls himself a conservative who doesn't like her, good luck."
4) Learned Hand #1: The Bard of Michigan politics, Bill Ballenger, editor of his Inside Michigan Politics newsletter, on the McC withdrawal: "I have never seen this in a presidential election at any time, in the last 50 years." [USA Today 10-03-08]
5) Learned Hand #2: A tie between two veteran GOP veteran gurus, Jan van Lohuizen ["The crisis has affected the entire ticket. The worse the state's economy, the greater the impact."] and Neil Newhouse ["The bailout crisis has had a corrosive effect on the national political environment, and that impacts not just John McCain, but GOP candidates up and down the ticket."] [WP 10-04-08]
6) I KNEW IT!!!! Political scientist Gary C. Jacobson, UC San Diego, proclaims: "Party identification is part of your social identity, in the same way you relate to your religion or ethnic group or baseball team." [WP 9-29-08] Someone please cue "Us and Them."
7) Another reason mail-in ballots are catching on: According to an article in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association, on average, 24 more people died in automobile crashes during voting hours on presidential Election Days than on other Tuesdays in October or November. An 18% increase in risk of death. The study looked at traffic fatalities going back to 1976. [NYP 10-01-08]
8) And this week's award for best political writing goes to: The late Marjorie Williams, whose latest collection of writings was assembled by husband Timothy Noah. From Reputation: Portraits in Power: "Washington is not the only city that lauds and rewards a gifted manager. But only Washington, gazing on that package of skill, energy, calculation, and discipline that constitutes the successful 'player,' insists on calling it virtue." Reviewed by David M. Shribman in last Friday's WSJ [WSJ 10-03-08]
9) Mudcat Saunders explains the world (again): On Mark Warner's success in Virginia, first as Democratic Governor, and now as forthcoming Democratic U.S. Senator: "Mark Warner has become part of the culture. We accept him as part of who we are, if for no other reason - God damn, he got V.P.I. into the A.C.C.! I mean, it's a big damned deal." [The New Yorker 10-06-08]
10) The latest Maytag Repairwoman of GOP politics: Christine O'Donnell, the Republican candidate challenging Joe Biden in his Senate reelection bid in Delaware this year. [He's running simultaneously for veep and for reelection to his seat.] Says Christine, who can't manage to engage her opponent, "He doesn't have any signs up, billboards up or stickers." [Politico.com 10-04-08] She has been endorsed by Buzz Aldrin.
2) What politics can learn from sports: When the Baltimore Colts left town it was under cover of darkness and moving as quietly as possible. When McC left Michigan he issued his own press release. Or as the GOP's former Yoda, Karl Rove, explained, "Some of the best strategies are the strategies that you don't draw attention to." [NYP 10-05-08] Or, "Leave Michigan so soon you should not." [Special aside to the Governor, "Yes, Sarah, we have to."]
3) Things (and people) that don't exist any more: Testy ol' McC to The Des Moines Register's ed board: "Realllyyy????? I haven't detected that in the polls; I haven't detected that among the base. If there's a Georgetown cocktail party person who, quote, calls himself a conservative who doesn't like her, good luck."
4) Learned Hand #1: The Bard of Michigan politics, Bill Ballenger, editor of his Inside Michigan Politics newsletter, on the McC withdrawal: "I have never seen this in a presidential election at any time, in the last 50 years." [USA Today 10-03-08]
5) Learned Hand #2: A tie between two veteran GOP veteran gurus, Jan van Lohuizen ["The crisis has affected the entire ticket. The worse the state's economy, the greater the impact."] and Neil Newhouse ["The bailout crisis has had a corrosive effect on the national political environment, and that impacts not just John McCain, but GOP candidates up and down the ticket."] [WP 10-04-08]
6) I KNEW IT!!!! Political scientist Gary C. Jacobson, UC San Diego, proclaims: "Party identification is part of your social identity, in the same way you relate to your religion or ethnic group or baseball team." [WP 9-29-08] Someone please cue "Us and Them."
7) Another reason mail-in ballots are catching on: According to an article in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association, on average, 24 more people died in automobile crashes during voting hours on presidential Election Days than on other Tuesdays in October or November. An 18% increase in risk of death. The study looked at traffic fatalities going back to 1976. [NYP 10-01-08]
8) And this week's award for best political writing goes to: The late Marjorie Williams, whose latest collection of writings was assembled by husband Timothy Noah. From Reputation: Portraits in Power: "Washington is not the only city that lauds and rewards a gifted manager. But only Washington, gazing on that package of skill, energy, calculation, and discipline that constitutes the successful 'player,' insists on calling it virtue." Reviewed by David M. Shribman in last Friday's WSJ [WSJ 10-03-08]
9) Mudcat Saunders explains the world (again): On Mark Warner's success in Virginia, first as Democratic Governor, and now as forthcoming Democratic U.S. Senator: "Mark Warner has become part of the culture. We accept him as part of who we are, if for no other reason - God damn, he got V.P.I. into the A.C.C.! I mean, it's a big damned deal." [The New Yorker 10-06-08]
10) The latest Maytag Repairwoman of GOP politics: Christine O'Donnell, the Republican candidate challenging Joe Biden in his Senate reelection bid in Delaware this year. [He's running simultaneously for veep and for reelection to his seat.] Says Christine, who can't manage to engage her opponent, "He doesn't have any signs up, billboards up or stickers." [Politico.com 10-04-08] She has been endorsed by Buzz Aldrin.
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