Published May 8, 2008
in News.
The Economist responds to my post about how McCain’s trouble with the base is showing up in a 20% protest vote in the primaries. They don’t think it’s a problem, but if you look at the late 2004 Democratic primaries the only candidate getting a substantial vote other than Sen. Kerry is Sen. Edwards. But unlike the Huckabee/Paul vote that vote was not a rejection of Kerry. I was one of those who voted for Edwards, not because I rejected Kerry as the nominee, but because I wanted him to pick Edwards as his running mate.
So when John Kerry was the nominee and a move on to have Edwards as his running mate, their combined votes were 81-87% of the vote - not the kind of number McCain is getting.
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Published May 3, 2008
in News.
Democrat Don Cazayoux just won a seat held for 34 years by Republicans in Louisiana. They tried to connect him to Pelosi and Obama. He won by about 3%. There is one more democrat in the House.
Clearly this is good for John McCain.
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Published April 21, 2008
in News.
Just thought about this. You know there’s a good shot that the crowd will boo Sen. Clinton’s piece, right? They’re not going to be wild about Obama or McCain much either, but as a long time pro-wrestling fan they’re not exactly the Clinton prime demo.
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Published April 15, 2008
in News.
I’m not the only one who noticed. I visited the newly opened Newseum yesterday and while I was overall quite satisfied by the experience, the video presentation on bias was quite unbalanced. The only watchdog organization represented was the conservative AIM and only the issue of a conservative bias in the media was explored. NBC’s Brian Williams was there to prop up the underlying argument, saying he thought the media needed a corrective when it drifted to the left. The Newseum needs to do a better job in this presentation and not just tell one side of a very important story.
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- Reporter tries hard to get Mccain to say Obama is an elitist
- McCain concedes were probably in a recession yet of course a few weeks ago he didn’t think so
- Says finger of blame for economy can be pointed at Bush, congress. Of course his party has been in control of both to date
- Claims he didn’t flip flop on mortgage bailout plan
- Said “greedy” execs also to blame. Wonder how his legislative record matches that
- Says we haven’t reached full equality
- AP reporter (Liz Sidoti) apologizes for asking him a question he won’t like then asks him about his age. The deference is pretty stunning.
- Ron Fournier asks if McCain would have Obama or Clinton would serve in his cabinet. He says no. McCain says this will be “a respectful campaign”. McCain says he’s tired of 527s. Yet he rallied with one last week.
- Says he will be able to increase military enrollment by “inspiring” people
- Szdoti asks him how would win the war if he doesn’t win the election. What a weirdly constructed query.
- Reiterates opposition to torture and waterboarding. Yet the other day didn’t he sign on to something else entirely? And why is it I know that standing over here yet the press can’t/won’t ask a follow up
- McCain says he doesn’t support Roe vs Wade, promises to nominate constructionists
OVERALL: He didn’t exactly make any serious news. The basic attack on the “bitter” remarks seems to be to say that rural/small town America has been the backbone of our society, especially the military. Of course, this construction requires a deliberate distortion of Sen. Obama’s remarks and as they demonstrated here the press will let him get away with it. He also said that he has proposed “green” legislation that he thinks can stand up versus Clinton/Obama. But the media won’t note that McCain is practically a zero on environmental networks.
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- McCain notes his early decision to provide open access to the press.
- McCain says he regularly makes himself available to the press. Of course, that wasn’t the case during the Vicky Iseman story that popped up.
- McCain says NY Times disclosure of warrantless wiretapping story came close to hurting national security. You know what else hurt national security? Violating the due process of law.
- McCain announces that he supports the federal shield law. Well, that’s clearly a way to bolster your base by supporting legislation they favor. I guess he learned that from all the lobbyists aboard the Straight Talk Express.
- AP reporter presents McCain with his favorite coffee. Please.
- McCain on the small town comments: Talks about the people of the Great Depression and how they fought WWII. Says that their faith wasn’t hurt by the depression and transposes it to love of hunting. Somehow. Notes that he served in Vietnam. Announces small town tour to tell people living there that there must not be “any forgotten Americans”. Says “time for pandering and false promises is over … it’s time for change, but real change”.
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Published April 10, 2008
in News.
If you had just shown some cojones and resigned as Sec. of State in the run-up to Iraq you would be an even better advocate for Obama right now.
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Published March 10, 2008
in News.
What. A. Moron. New York finally gets a Democratic governor and he turns out to be a client of a prostitute. Governor Spitzer should just resign now.
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was recently involved in a prostitution ring, according to a person familiar with the situation. On Monday, without referencing any specific behavior, Mr. Spitzer apologized to his family and the public at a hastily called news conference.
With his wife at his side, Mr. Spitzer told reporters that he “acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family.”
“I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself,” he said. “I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family.”
What makes a guy think that he can do something like this in a public office with such visibility and not get caught? Moron.
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Published November 13, 2007
in News.
I certainly think that the endorsement of one of the major anti-choice groups out there holds more real weight than the brokered deal between Pat “The Gays Caused 9/11″ Robertson and Rudy Giuliani.
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Published November 12, 2007
in News.
In a hysterical post about Al Gore joining a venture capital fund, Noel Sheppard of Newsbusters writes this (apparently while twirling a mustache):
As such, soon-to-be-billionaire Al Gore has brilliantly structured himself as a virtual financial hub of international investments associated with so-called global warming solutions whereby he’ll benefit financially from any hysterical climate claim uttered by a media member, Hollywood sycophant, United Nations climate panelist, or, deliciously, himself.
Except, the facts don’t line up again.
As part of the arrangement, Mr. Gore will donate his salary as a Kleiner Perkins partner to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit advocacy group he founded. Mr. Doerr will in turn join the board of Generation Investment Management, a $1 billion investment firm Mr. Gore founded with David Blood, a former Goldman Sachs partner.
Al Gore is on the board of Apple (YTD: about 100% increase) and Google (YTD: about $300 increase) , as well as the chairman of Current. Somehow I don’t think the big bucks are in donating his salary from looking for green tech.
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Published November 12, 2007
in News.
Conservatives are, of course, wrong again in their pronouncements that because we’re “winning” in Iraq, ergo war movies flop at the box office. I don’t know about you, but I always go to the people who push Pat Boone as the go-to folks on entertainment analysis. What has actually happened is that the market is saturated and the national consensus has changed considerably. Four years ago when Fahrenheit 9/11 was released, it was the rare moment where a voice against the administration got to break through the mainstream media. In 2007 producing an anti-war movie is a little like yet another badly written CGI film trying to copy the success of Pixar’s work without any of the originality, heart and soul of Pixar’s best movies.
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Published November 12, 2007
in News.
I thought Obama’s speech was very good, but I don’t think it was this come-to-Jesus thing that the press is hyping it like. I thought Sen. Clinton gave a good speech as well, and I kind of give her more points because while Obama is a natural orator, she is not. I think in the last week or so what we’ve got is the press trying to manufacture campaign narratives that aren’t there. Of course, the weird thing is that by the press hyping them, it kind of becomes real, doesn’t it? It’s scary.
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Published November 12, 2007
in News.
Published November 12, 2007
in News.
Can anyone read this detail about the Iowa caucus process and not weep at the prospect that this insane process is a major element in the way in which the world’s most powerful democracy chooses its leader? Lord.
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Published November 12, 2007
in News.
Among the many reasons why I think the comparison to Howard Dean’s campaign is beyond faulty is the fact that Gov. Dean did not become a phenomenon because of support from 9/11 truthers and white supremacists. Paul’s support seems to largely come from the superfringe, very disaffected folks who haven’t been involved in politics before — and based on their bizarro beliefs, that may actually be a good thing (”The role of the wackjob has been filed by the RNC, but we appreciate your interest”).
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Published April 18, 2007
in News.
This picture is from the package he sent to NBC:
Sometime after he killed two people in a Virginia university dormitory but before he slaughtered 30 more in a classroom building Monday morning, Cho Seung-Hui mailed NBC News a rambling communication and videos about his grievances, the network said Wednesday.
Cho, 23, a senior English major at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, killed 32 people in two attacks before taking his own life.
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