This blog's name comes from former Ronald Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan's off-camera description of the process that John McCain employed in choosing little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate in the 2008 presidential campaign.
Last December 10 was a big news day. U.S. Senate negotiators announced they had agreed to a compromise on health care reform, final preparations were being made for a global conference on climate change, President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, and new details emerged on five young American men who had been arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of plotting terror attacks. Not to mention that America was involved in two wars and was still in the throes of the worst recession in eighty years.
That night, the main news programs on the three cable news networks—CNN Tonight on CNN, Fox Report on Fox, and The Big Picture on MSNBC—all led with approximately five minutes of coverage of Obama, cutting between video of his acceptance speech and reports from on-the-ground reporters in Oslo. CNN and MSNBC also included on-air analysis of the speech by a variety of commentators. Fox had no such commentary on its news show, just a more-or-less straightforward report on the speech.
This might seem surprising, given the charges of bias leveled against Fox by members of the Obama administration. Charges, for example, like this from Anita Dunn, then the administration’s director of communications, speaking last October on Howard Kurtz’s CNN program, Reliable Sources:
The reality of it is that Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party. And it is not ideological. . . . What I think is fair to say about Fox, and the way we view it, is that it is more of a wing of the Republican Party. . . . They’re widely viewed as a part of the Republican Party: take their talking points and put them on the air, take their opposition research and put it on the air. And that’s fine. But let’s not pretend they’re a news organization like CNN is.
A defiant Gov. Paterson praised the Lord - and himself - Sunday, vowing at a Brooklyn church that he will serve out his term as governor.
"My determination is to run this state," Paterson told congregants at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant in his most forceful comments since the scandals erupted.
"I will keep governing till the end of the year," he promised. "I will not be daunted or distracted by any voices."
For the embattled Paterson, who has faced increasing calls that he resign over his role in a bevy of mushrooming scandals, it was a fire-and-brimstone performance on a day that saw his few remaining friends trying to circle the wagons.
The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart set out last night to prove FNC anchor Megyn Kelly was not as “fair and balanced” as she is purported to be, and in fairly convincing 10-minute segment they made the point loud and clear.
But the Daily Show was edited to prove that point – so we watched the full two-hour America Live today, and frankly, Stewart has a point.
Now Sarah Palin comes right out and says it, that she really is thinking about running for President in 2012. She says it in the same starry-eyed way kids talk about growing up to be astronauts, but actually seems to believe it, that somehow she can go from being this kind of pinup girl for her Tea Party friends to the White House.
"I think it would be absurd to not consider what it is that I can potentially do to help our country," Palin told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday."
Now there are many, many ways Sarah Palin could help this country. Running for President will never be one of them. You listen to her long enough and actually feel yourself getting dimmer by the minute, like a dying light bulb.
Closer inspection of a photo of Sarah Palin, during a speech in which she mocked President Obama for his use of a teleprompter, reveals several notes written on her left hand. The words "Energy", "Tax" and "Lift American Spirits" are clearly visible.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (8 PM CST)
Ahh sweet Earl Grey Revolution! Sarah Palin knew that speech like the back of her hand. The Q&A answers, however, were on the front of her hand.
Or so it appeared.
During the Q&A following her speech at the Tea Party Convention, Ms. Palin appeared to read from her hand in answering.
BY Tina Moore
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, February 7th 2010
Sarah Palin was the life of the Tea Party Saturday night.
The former GOP vice presidential candidate teed off on President Obama's leadership, saying a failed attempt to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day was evidence of how he's mishandling the war on terror.
"To win that war, we need a commander in chief, not a professor of law," Palin told followers of the grass-roots conservative movement.
Palin, the former governor of Alaska, also told about 1,000 people at the event in Nashville, Tenn., that Obama's proposed 2011 budget is "immoral" because it increases the national debt, which she called "generational theft."
Sarah Palin PAC Paid $47,777 for Memoir Copies (Galleycat)
By Jason Boog
Feb 01, 2010 04:23 PM
As news of price wars obsessed the publishing world today, one political celebrity disclosed some hefty book purchases. According to filings from the Sarah Palin PAC, the former Alaskan governor bought $47,777 worth of copies of her memoir from HarperCollins. UPDATE 1: The LA Times cites reports that the Palin PAC spent more than $63,000 on book purchases.
If the campaign team paid the $13.50 hardcover price currently featured on Amazon, those campaign dollars bought more than 3,500 copies of the book. If they paid the full $28.99 hardcover price, they bought more than 1,600 copies. However, if they paid the $9.99 harcover price batted around during the Great Walmart and Amazon Price War, they could have purchased more than 4,700 copies of "Going Rogue: An American Life."
TalkingPointsMemo: New Senate Democratic talking points, distributed in response to last night's special election in Massachusetts show the party pre-emptively placing the blame for a lackluster agenda moving forward on Republicans, who Dems say they now need to pass legislation.
"Republicans have an obligation to the American people to join us in governing our nation through these difficult times and to help clean up the mess they left behind," reads the memo obtained by TPMDC. "It is mathematically impossible for Democrats to pass legislation on our own. Senate Republicans to come to the table (sic) with ideas for improving our nation and not obstructionist tactics."
1. Roger Ailes was interviewing Sarah Palin for a job at Fox News. “According to your resume, you left your last position as Governor of Alaska due to ‘philosophical differences’ with your employer. Could you explain?” “Y’see Mr. Ailes,” said Palin, “I became philosophically opposed to doing actual work instead of flying around in a private jet wearing fancy clothes and basking in the adulation of idiots.” “Oh, I didn’t mean that,” replied Ailes. “I meant, explain how you learned how to spell ‘philosophical.’”
2. A producer was giving Sarah Palin a tour of the Fox News studio. He pointed out the coffee machine, the restrooms, and the temperature-controlled pool where Glenn Beck’s tears are harvested. “Where’s the indoor dog track?” asked Palin. The producer was confused: “Indoor dog track?” “Yeah, I’ve heard dogs panting since I got here,” replied Palin. “Ah,” the producer said, “those aren’t panting dogs; it’s Bill Kristol. It means he’s excited to see you.”
3. Why did Sarah Palin cross the road?
Because there was an opportunity to make an ass of herself on the other side.
The National Enquirer is a supermarket tabloid, but the time has come for the media elite to admit that it has an excellent investigative reporting team, which broke the biggest political scandal of 2009, the John Edwards affair.
While its own editor concedes that the paper would never be given a Pulitzer Prize -- the jury is dominated by the newspaper establishment -- I believe the time has come for us to recognize the Enquirer's political investigative reporting.
Though I don't know the other nominees for the 2009 investigative category (the deadline isn't until February), and I'm sure there are many worthy entries, it's clear to me that the Enquirer deserves consideration for what remains the highest honor in American journalism.
WASHINGTON — Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, apologized on Saturday for saying that he believed Barack Obama could become the country’s first black president because he was “light-skinned” and had the advantage of carrying “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”
The apology was prompted by the release of a new book on the 2008 presidential campaign, which reported that Mr. Reid privately urged Mr. Obama to seek the presidency more than three years ago despite his limited experience and the historical obstacles to making a successful bid for the White House.
“I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words,” Mr. Reid said in a statement. “I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African Americans for my improper comments.”
Even if your candidate didn't win tonight, you have reason to celebrate. We all do.
Ten months ago, when Obama won in Iowa, we had a glimpse of what was possible and what became real tonight. What I wrote then about one state is now true for the whole country:
Barack Obama's impressive victory says a lot about America, and also about the current mindset of the American voter.
Because tonight voters decided that they didn't want to look back. They wanted to step into the future -- as if a country exhausted by the last seven-plus years wanted to recapture its youth.
And they turned out in unprecedented numbers today to make sure that no amount of scrubbed rolls, malfunctioning machines, endless lines, or polling places running out of ballots would block the way. Click HERE to Keep Reading!
A Job in His Future? John McCain Sells Stuff on QVC (SNL)
John and Cindy McCain joined Tina Fey (as Sarah Palin) to hawk campaign geegaws on QVC, thanks to "Saturday Night Live." He could have a future at this.
Goodwill Belittles Presidential Candidates With Thinly Veiled Barb (AdRants.com)
Image by circulating via FlickrADRANTS.COM: OK so not everyone in America has thousands of dollars to spend on clothes but should a person who can afford such clothes be given a back handed slap upside the head for looking good on national television while running for the President of America? It would appear that's what Goodwill is doing to Barak Obama and Sarah Palin in a new ad campiagn asking them to donate their clothing on November 5th when the Presidential dust has settled.
Image via WikipediaIt's the game that challenges you to behave like a GOP consultant and dress like a vice presidential candidate whose name is not Joe Biden. Need a hint? It's Sarah Palin.
Win, Lose or Draw: Political Comics and Campaign '08 (Publishers Weekly)
By Evie Nagy Publishers Weekly 10/13/2008 3:44:00 PM
The 2008 presidential campaign has been historic and gripping in a multitude of ways, and with the fast approach of Election Day, politics are seeping into many corners of popular culture. Comics are no exception, and while political themes in comics are nothing new, a number of publishers and creators have developed projects tied directly to this election season. Benefits for the comics industry include the publicity and sales that come from tapping into current widespread interest in the campaign—but the new batch of politically minded projects also demonstrates the various ways that the medium of comics can uniquely contribute to the political discourse.
Image by earthpro via Flickr Check out PalinAsPresident.US for a look at the most excellent legacy John McCain plans to leave the United States if elected. Lets of "Easter Eggs" in the phot and it updates daily through the election!
Image via WikipediaGrand Rapids, MI (October 2, 2008) – As election season reaches its peak and the debates take center stage, the film gurus at Spout.com have offered up another topic for debate: The 10 Coolest Film Presidents. Silver screen Presidents have come from almost every film movie category including comedy, drama and action-adventure. Spout.com took all of these into account in selecting their top 10.
“As Presidential campaigns have become big budget affairs, they’ve almost become cinematic in their own way,” said Christopher Campbell, Spout.com. “So if McCain and Obama really want to get ahead in the polls, they might consider taking some pointers from the following Presidents...well, maybe not Lloyd Bridges.”
The 10 Coolest Film Presidents
10. President Lindberg (Tony “Tiny” Lister), from The Fifth Element I’m not saying that being cross-eyed or incessantly receiving calls from your mother is cool, though both could very well be thought so in the year 2263. That’s so far in the future that Lindberg isn’t just the President of the United States, he’s head of the “United Federation” (like in Star Trek). No, I’m saying that Lindberg is cool because he’s really big and badass and could probably do some sweet damage to some Mangalores all by his lonesome. Unfortunately, Lister never gets to display his old wrestling moves in any action scenes.
9. President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews), from Idiocracy Another African-American wrestler-turned-president, also in a future setting. Only this time it’s the character who is a former pro wrestler (Crews is instead a former pro football player) and the setting is even further in time, 2505, when the people of the world are very, very stupid. But is it stupid to elect a man with an awesome chopper and a tendency to sing his speeches? If Teddy Roosevelt were alive, he’d probably also have a motorcycle and a machine gun, though maybe he wouldn’t shoot the latter while standing before Congress. Or maybe he would, and maybe we’d still re-elect him.
8. President Devlin (George Clooney), from Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over If George Clooney stopped simply talking politics and actually ran for president, a lot of people would vote for him simply because he’s a cool celebrity. Fans of the Spy Kids films got a taste of what President George Clooney would look like when his character, Devlin, became commander-in-chief by the third installment.
7. President James Dale (Jack Nicholson), from Mars Attacks! Of course, if there’s one actor even cooler than Clooney, it’s Jack Nicholson. What if the presidential race consisted of these two actors up for the position? If you truly voted based on the coolness of the candidate, you’d have to go with Jack. But only if he wore sunglasses during every public appearance, including especially the State of the Union Address.
6. President Joseph Staton (Dennis Quaid), from American Dreamz In a crazy instance of life imitating art, George W. Bush appeared on American Idol in 2007, just one year after President Joseph Staton appeared on American Dreamz (the fictionalized version of the popular show).
5. President George W. Bush (James Adomian), from Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay This list is basically limited to fictional presidents in film, but we can make an exception for Adomian’s portrayal of Bush, as it’s no more accurate a representation than is Neil Patrick Harris’ portrayal of himself in the same film. In this movie, Bush is a much cooler guy. He gets high, has an awesome rec room, and he’s like a rebellious yet spoiled teenager. Heck, if ‘Rold and Kumar like hanging with him, you’d probably like hanging with him, too.
4. President James Marshall (Harrison Ford), from Air Force One People used to prefer a leader who’d proven himself in battle. Now, it’s not so important for a presidential candidate to have served in war or even been shown to have some sort of fight in him. But let’s face it, to kick a bad guy’s ass while also avoiding falling out of an airplane cargo door.
3. President Thomas “Tug” Benson (Lloyd Bridges), from Hot Shots! Part Deux President Benson has been through enough to make McCain look like a lazy hippie. He caught a bazooka round in Okinawa, took a bullet in Corregidor that went straight through both ears, took a torpedo in the lower abdomen that resulted in the removal of his intestines, he has a shell the size of his fist in his head and he was shot down on more than 194 air missions. He’s not too bright these days, but he’ll still take it upon himself to go into Iraq and fight the enemy face to face. With a light saber.
2. President Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock), from Head of State He’s not as cool as his running-mate (who is also his brother, played by Bernie Mac), and the movie isn’t as funny or insightful as Chris Rock’s political stand-up, but Mays Gilliam is like an even hipper exaggeration of Obama. Not only does he listen to rap, he plays Nelly at formal events and gets old ladies to dance and sing along. He takes mudslinging to a new level with “Yo Mama” jokes. And his “That Ain’t Right” slogan is like a cooler, possibly more genuine, inverse of Obama’s “Yes We Can.”
1. President Max Frost (Christopher Jones), from Wild in the Streets As the hit song from the movie goes, “nothing can stop the shape of things to come,” and I take that to mean that inevitably a rock star will one day be elected to the presidency. After all, there has already been a movie star president, and eight years ago plenty of young music fans were ready to vote Jello Biafra into the White House, simply because he’s Jello Biafra. Despite the uncool things done by Max Frost and his band, The Troopers, such as putting LSD in the capital’s water supply and detaining citizens over the age of 35 for re-education, they do carry out some really hip ideas, such as lowering the voting age to 14, and gaving the world some classic garage rock tunes.
Spout.com is the premier online destination for film lovers and film discussion. Featuring up-to-date news, trailers, reviews, podcasts, festival info, and vibrant forums where users can discuss and debate the best in film, the worst in film, and everything in-between; the mission of Spout.com is to connect everyone with more films they are likely to love. Whether it’s big budget blockbusters, independent releases or foreign films, Spout.com has a recommendation for you.
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