We all did it!!
Showing posts with label campaign. Show all posts
Showing posts with label campaign. Show all posts
Sometimes Even Fox News Gets It Right
November 1, 2008
New York Times
Shepard the Anchor
We do not often cheer on Fox News's coverage of politics. But we did the other day when the anchor Shepard Smith reported on an especially absurd turn in the "Joe the Plumber" saga.
John McCain's reference at the last presidential debate to Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, the Ohio plumber who worriedly asked Barack Obama about taxes, was a predictable campaign stunt. It ought to have lasted for half a news cycle, especially after it became clear that Mr. Wurzelbacher's taxes would go down under Mr. Obama's plan. But the Republican nominee simply will not let the plumber go.
On Thursday, he shouted: "I’m going to Washington, and I'm going to bring Joe the Plumber with me!" Earlier, in Virginia, Mr. McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, announced that one of her favorite rally signs — sometimes made by voters, but more often supplied by the campaigns — was "I am Jo Momma."
Mr. Wurzelbacher has held press conferences. He was interviewed on the "CBS Evening News," where he compared Mr. Obama to Sammy Davis Jr. According to Politico.com, he has an agent and is exploring "a possible record deal with a major label, personal appearances and corporate sponsorships."
At a campaign rally this week, Mr. Wurzelbacher was filmed agreeing with another McCain supporter that electing Mr. Obama would be "death to Israel."
For five painful live-on-Fox minutes the next day, Mr. Smith repeatedly asked Mr. Wurzelbacher what evidence he had to back up that charge. Mr. Wurzelbacher refused to answer. He said it was up to Mr. Smith's viewers to figure out why he, Joe the Plumber, thought Mr. Obama was a menace to Israel.
Looking incredulous, Mr. Smith gave up. He read a statement from the McCain campaign praising the plumber's "penetrating and clear analysis."
Then Mr. Smith said: "I just want to make this 100 percent perfectly clear. Barack Obama has said repeatedly and demonstrated repeatedly that Israel will always be a friend of the United States no matter what happens once he becomes president of the United States. His words."
"The rest of it," he said, "man, it just gets frightening sometimes."
Yes it does.
From Michael A. Simpson
New York Times
Shepard the Anchor
We do not often cheer on Fox News's coverage of politics. But we did the other day when the anchor Shepard Smith reported on an especially absurd turn in the "Joe the Plumber" saga.
John McCain's reference at the last presidential debate to Samuel J. Wurzelbacher, the Ohio plumber who worriedly asked Barack Obama about taxes, was a predictable campaign stunt. It ought to have lasted for half a news cycle, especially after it became clear that Mr. Wurzelbacher's taxes would go down under Mr. Obama's plan. But the Republican nominee simply will not let the plumber go.
On Thursday, he shouted: "I’m going to Washington, and I'm going to bring Joe the Plumber with me!" Earlier, in Virginia, Mr. McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, announced that one of her favorite rally signs — sometimes made by voters, but more often supplied by the campaigns — was "I am Jo Momma."
Mr. Wurzelbacher has held press conferences. He was interviewed on the "CBS Evening News," where he compared Mr. Obama to Sammy Davis Jr. According to Politico.com, he has an agent and is exploring "a possible record deal with a major label, personal appearances and corporate sponsorships."
At a campaign rally this week, Mr. Wurzelbacher was filmed agreeing with another McCain supporter that electing Mr. Obama would be "death to Israel."
For five painful live-on-Fox minutes the next day, Mr. Smith repeatedly asked Mr. Wurzelbacher what evidence he had to back up that charge. Mr. Wurzelbacher refused to answer. He said it was up to Mr. Smith's viewers to figure out why he, Joe the Plumber, thought Mr. Obama was a menace to Israel.
Looking incredulous, Mr. Smith gave up. He read a statement from the McCain campaign praising the plumber's "penetrating and clear analysis."
Then Mr. Smith said: "I just want to make this 100 percent perfectly clear. Barack Obama has said repeatedly and demonstrated repeatedly that Israel will always be a friend of the United States no matter what happens once he becomes president of the United States. His words."
"The rest of it," he said, "man, it just gets frightening sometimes."
Yes it does.
From Michael A. Simpson
BREAKING NEWS--SARAH PALIN REPLACED BY TINA FEY
I have it through frequently reliable entertainment contacts that Sarah Palin has been removed from the Republican ticket—but only physically. With her own cooperation—“I just can’t stand the way the press looks at me anymore!”--Palin is being sequestered on Little Diomede (previously unvisited by an Alaskan governor), the island closest to Russia’s Big Diomede, where she will mend fishing nets, throw zingers at the locals, keep an eye on Putin for us, abuse her authority, and shoot baby seals for the remainder of the campaign.
Fey has taken up Palin’s schedule seamlessly, without the need for a briefing, and will continue the campaign filling in for McCain on days when he is too angry or confused to complete the planned itinerary himself.
The switch occurred yesterday morning, at nine a.m., when Palin was escorted by four ear-phoned, sunglassed men, disguised Secret Service into a waiting red pickup and driven by a circuitous route to Memphis International. Ten minutes later the Vice Presidential candidate’s limo pulled up at the bus station where Fey alighted to join McCain in his humongous campaign bus along with her own makeup and hair. Within minutes, according to reporters, the Senator from Arizona was laughing again, though he later admitted he didn’t “get” what Fey-Palin was talking about.
According to the Morris Office, who represents Palin, her deal for the prolonged impersonation, which includes weekend breaks so she can appear both as Fey-Palin and Palin-Fey on “Saturday Night Live,” was “in the mid eight figures”--but was tucked away in Clause 383e of the Bail-Out as a service to the public that both Republicans and Democrats agreed upon immediately.
Neither Fey’s agent nor her publicist could be reached, though their assistants reported they were “laughing all the way to the bank.”
One can only hope the bank wasn’t Wachovia.
Fey has taken up Palin’s schedule seamlessly, without the need for a briefing, and will continue the campaign filling in for McCain on days when he is too angry or confused to complete the planned itinerary himself.
The switch occurred yesterday morning, at nine a.m., when Palin was escorted by four ear-phoned, sunglassed men, disguised Secret Service into a waiting red pickup and driven by a circuitous route to Memphis International. Ten minutes later the Vice Presidential candidate’s limo pulled up at the bus station where Fey alighted to join McCain in his humongous campaign bus along with her own makeup and hair. Within minutes, according to reporters, the Senator from Arizona was laughing again, though he later admitted he didn’t “get” what Fey-Palin was talking about.
According to the Morris Office, who represents Palin, her deal for the prolonged impersonation, which includes weekend breaks so she can appear both as Fey-Palin and Palin-Fey on “Saturday Night Live,” was “in the mid eight figures”--but was tucked away in Clause 383e of the Bail-Out as a service to the public that both Republicans and Democrats agreed upon immediately.
Neither Fey’s agent nor her publicist could be reached, though their assistants reported they were “laughing all the way to the bank.”
One can only hope the bank wasn’t Wachovia.
OBAMA SHOOTS, SCORES IN HOOSIER STATE!!
Barack Obama's speech yesterday in Indiana was, frankly, one of the strongest he's ever delivered. And for five very good reasons:
1) He presented a clear and incisive outline of how our current financial crisis occurred (or was allowed to occur, under the present administration). Unlike John McCain, who prides himself on being anti-regulation and still maintains that tax cuts to the wealthy will prompt movement in the economy, Obama stated convincingly his belief that in a complicated global economy, there is a role for government in providing appropriate oversight.
2) Obama emphasized that the government rescue plan, though flawed, was crucial if we were going to solve the credit crunch. Cracking that logjam is vital, since both the average citizen and the small business owner relies on credit to secure a car loan, or maintain employee payrolls.
3) As a baby-boomer, I well remember JFK's call to the nation to pull together, to set lofty goals, and to understand that each of us had a stake in America's future. I thought both Obama's rhetoric and the content of his speech reminded us of that shared vision, shared responsibility, and shared goals.
4) He spoke vigorously against fear and panic, and in favor of the value of leadership in the face of crisis. Quite a contrast to the fear-mongering approach of a desperate McCain-Palin campaign.
5) Overall, he spoke as someone whose time has come. Despite McCain's best efforts in the debate the night before in Nashville, he was unable to convince voters that Barack Obama was not fit to be president. And since the only remaining weapon the
McCain-Palin ticket has in its arsenal is attacks on Obama as a person, it's apparent that Obama is surviving that onslaught pretty well.
That's why my favorite line of Obama's speech, in reference to these personal attacks, was, "I can survive four more weeks of John McCain; but this country can't survive four more years of Bush's policies."
Tell me about it!
Dennis Palumbo
1) He presented a clear and incisive outline of how our current financial crisis occurred (or was allowed to occur, under the present administration). Unlike John McCain, who prides himself on being anti-regulation and still maintains that tax cuts to the wealthy will prompt movement in the economy, Obama stated convincingly his belief that in a complicated global economy, there is a role for government in providing appropriate oversight.
2) Obama emphasized that the government rescue plan, though flawed, was crucial if we were going to solve the credit crunch. Cracking that logjam is vital, since both the average citizen and the small business owner relies on credit to secure a car loan, or maintain employee payrolls.
3) As a baby-boomer, I well remember JFK's call to the nation to pull together, to set lofty goals, and to understand that each of us had a stake in America's future. I thought both Obama's rhetoric and the content of his speech reminded us of that shared vision, shared responsibility, and shared goals.
4) He spoke vigorously against fear and panic, and in favor of the value of leadership in the face of crisis. Quite a contrast to the fear-mongering approach of a desperate McCain-Palin campaign.
5) Overall, he spoke as someone whose time has come. Despite McCain's best efforts in the debate the night before in Nashville, he was unable to convince voters that Barack Obama was not fit to be president. And since the only remaining weapon the
McCain-Palin ticket has in its arsenal is attacks on Obama as a person, it's apparent that Obama is surviving that onslaught pretty well.
That's why my favorite line of Obama's speech, in reference to these personal attacks, was, "I can survive four more weeks of John McCain; but this country can't survive four more years of Bush's policies."
Tell me about it!
Dennis Palumbo
Go Obama Go!
Congratulations Rudy, your iMix "Go Obama Go!" has been published in the iTunes Music store here.
Playlist Notes: The people are singing! From the irresistably infectious rock of the Obamabots "Yes We Can" to the YouTube sensation Obama Girl's "Crush" with hot offerings from Rankin Cobra, Blakk Rasta and more, Obama lovers are singing out for the next President of the US!!
Song Name - Artist
Yes We Can - Obamabots
I Got a Crush On Obama (Single) - Obama Girl
Obama - Pistol Opera
Obama -Extra Golden
Obama - Rankin Cobra
Obama - CD & O-Dubs
Obama Girl Vs. Giuliani Girl - Barely Political
Barack Obama (Root Version) - Blakk Rasta
Obama Meets Osama - Capitol Steps
Obama - Chick Willis
Obama Slammer Dub Mix - Rankin Cobra
Hey the Obama - Manson - Bubba the Love Sponge
Barack Obama (Dance Hall Version) - Blakk Rasta
Playlist Notes: The people are singing! From the irresistably infectious rock of the Obamabots "Yes We Can" to the YouTube sensation Obama Girl's "Crush" with hot offerings from Rankin Cobra, Blakk Rasta and more, Obama lovers are singing out for the next President of the US!!
Song Name - Artist
Yes We Can - Obamabots
I Got a Crush On Obama (Single) - Obama Girl
Obama - Pistol Opera
Obama -Extra Golden
Obama - Rankin Cobra
Obama - CD & O-Dubs
Obama Girl Vs. Giuliani Girl - Barely Political
Barack Obama (Root Version) - Blakk Rasta
Obama Meets Osama - Capitol Steps
Obama - Chick Willis
Obama Slammer Dub Mix - Rankin Cobra
Hey the Obama - Manson - Bubba the Love Sponge
Barack Obama (Dance Hall Version) - Blakk Rasta
OBAMA AND HISTORY
From Dennis Palumbo--For what it's worth...
Tonight, Joe Biden accepted his party's nomination as Vice President, to run with nominee Barack Obama, who speaks tomorrow night in Denver.
However, as good a running mate as Biden is, I think Obama's real running mate is history itself. The first African-American nominee of a major American political party. A man whose father was from Kenya, and whose white mother raised him herself, with the help of her parents. A black man with the unlikely name of Barack Hussein Obama, running for President. If this isn't the unfolding of history---a history with a new face, a new contour, a new expectation of how things go, I don't know what is.
History itself is Obama's running mate, and partner, and advisor. History itself is the thing with which he must contend, the thing he must convince with his oratory and policies, the thing he must both respect and challenge. But it's not his personal history that accompanies him on the upcoming campaign trail. It's our history, the history of the American voter, that stands with him on every podium at which he speaks in the coming months. It's our history that will be challenged, tested, wooed. It's a nation's history that will be made and, perhaps, re-made, in a new, 21st-century image.
Yes, history was made tonight, when Obama became the Democratic presidential nominee. And so he begins his campaign with his new partner, new constant companion, new (and truest) running mate: American history---as conflicted, complicated, disheartening, inspiring, and surprising an entity as any living, breathing person.
Only in November will we know whether the team of Obama and history itself can work together in such a way as to, frankly, reinvent each other.
Dennis Palumbo is the author of From Crime to Crime: Mind-Boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder
Click on book image to buy From Crime to Crime on Amazon.
Visit Dennis Palumbo's website here.
Read his blog here.
Tonight, Joe Biden accepted his party's nomination as Vice President, to run with nominee Barack Obama, who speaks tomorrow night in Denver.
However, as good a running mate as Biden is, I think Obama's real running mate is history itself. The first African-American nominee of a major American political party. A man whose father was from Kenya, and whose white mother raised him herself, with the help of her parents. A black man with the unlikely name of Barack Hussein Obama, running for President. If this isn't the unfolding of history---a history with a new face, a new contour, a new expectation of how things go, I don't know what is.
History itself is Obama's running mate, and partner, and advisor. History itself is the thing with which he must contend, the thing he must convince with his oratory and policies, the thing he must both respect and challenge. But it's not his personal history that accompanies him on the upcoming campaign trail. It's our history, the history of the American voter, that stands with him on every podium at which he speaks in the coming months. It's our history that will be challenged, tested, wooed. It's a nation's history that will be made and, perhaps, re-made, in a new, 21st-century image.
Yes, history was made tonight, when Obama became the Democratic presidential nominee. And so he begins his campaign with his new partner, new constant companion, new (and truest) running mate: American history---as conflicted, complicated, disheartening, inspiring, and surprising an entity as any living, breathing person.
Only in November will we know whether the team of Obama and history itself can work together in such a way as to, frankly, reinvent each other.
Dennis Palumbo is the author of From Crime to Crime: Mind-Boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder
Click on book image to buy From Crime to Crime on Amazon.
Visit Dennis Palumbo's website here.
Read his blog here.
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