Mickeleh's Soapbox

This is NOT Ozzy Ozborne

2010-10-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I wrote or did video on U.S. Politics. But in this case, I felt strongly enough to risk being mistaken for Ozzy Osbourne.

Mickeleh's Take: She denies being a witch. But she doesn't deny believing in witches. Clearly she knows her base.

Chico Marx Explains the Democratic Strategy on Healthcare

2010-01-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

I was trying to remember why the Democratic strategy on healthcare seems so familiar, suddenly I remembered where I had previously seen it: In the Marx Bros. classic, "A Night at the Opera."

Chico is sneaking into the country by impersonating a famous aviator. Asked to make a speech he foreshadows the way the Democrats are behaving with regard to passing healthcare reform:

"So now I tell you how we fly to America. The first time we started we got-a half way there when we run out a gasoline, and we gotta go back. Then I take-a twice as much gasoline. This time we're just about to land, maybe three feet, when what do you think: we run out of gasoline again. And-a back-a we go again to get-a more gas. This time I take-a plenty gas. Well, we get-a half way over, when what do you think happens: we forgot-a the airplane. So, we gotta sit down and we talk it over. Then I get-a the great idea. We no take-a gasoline, we no take-a the airplane. We take steamship, and that friends, is how we fly across the ocean."

You can see a clip of this scene online at TCM.

Mickeleh's Take: Well, at least Chico managed to find a way to complete the journey.

Does Keith Olbermann Still Not Vote?

2008-11-04T06:57:00.000-08:00

My sister reminded me last night that Keith Olbermann once proclaimed that he doesn't vote. Astonished, I asked the Google and found this OJR interview from 2004:

OJR: How would you describe yourself politically on the liberal-to-conservative spectrum? How important do you think it is for MSM to be transparent on their political affiliations?

KO: I'm not political. I don't vote -- I don't believe journalists covering politics should (and I don't think the democracy would suffer if however many of us there are, recused ourselves). I have no more interest in the political outcome of an election than I did in the winner or loser of any ballgame I ever covered. I think transparency is vital; I think it's also, in these super-heated political times, unintentionally inescapable. If a reporter's work in turn winds up criticizing a candidate or party in some cases, and praising that same candidate or party in others, he's as close to neutral as he can be. If not, he's a partisan. The partisans outnumber the neutrals 1000:1.

Mickeleh's Take: This statement predates Olbermann's signature Special Comments, which began August 30, 2006. Anybody know if Keith still claims to have no interest in the political outcome of an election? Is, "I don't vote" still operative?

Obama's Closing Infomercial and FDR's

2008-10-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

Obama's cross-network TV infomercial tomorrow night is probably the single most expensive political ad buy in history: Thirty minutes on CBS, NBC, Fox, three cable news nets, (but not ABC).

The precedent for this is older than the TV era. On election eve, 1944, the Democrats bought an hour of time on all four national radio networks to drum up votes for Roosevelt in his campaign against New York governor Thomas E. Dewey.

SNL previewed Obama's closer as a variety show.

I have no idea if that's what Obama's team has planned. But an all-star variety show is just what FDR's team delivered.

In 1944, the Democrats handed the assignment for developing the format and script for their get-out-the-vote broadcast to Norman Corwin, the most imaginative and poetic writer of the radio era, (still active today at 98). Erik Barnouw wrote that based on the President's approval of a two-page outline, Corwin was given a free hand to develop the show.

What he delivered combines testimonials from citizens across the country and the political spectrum, combined with musical numbers written for the show by Earl Robinson ("Joe Hill," "The House I Live In," "Ballad for Americans") and lyrcist E. Y. "Yip" Harburg ("April in Paris," "Only a Paper Moon"). Singers on the show included two stars who had introduced Harburg classics in their 1939 films, Judy Garland ("Over the Rainbow" in Wizard of Oz) and Groucho Marx ("Lydia the Tatooed Lady" in At the Circus).

You can hear the FDR infomerical online at Vintage Radio Place. Click the Nov 5 show. Then jump ahead to the second hour.

What struck me on hearing the show was how many of the themes and issues raised in 1944 have close parallels to today's campaign.

Vote Suppression: Roosevelt charged that "Millions of soldiers and sailors and merchant seamen have been handicapped or prevented from voting by those politicians and those candidates who think that they stand to lose by such votes."

Campaign Finance: 1944 was the year of the very first PAC. It was set up by the CIO to allow individuals to make small contributions to counter large Republican donations, such as the $13 million given by Sun Oil's Joseph N. Pew Jr. ($13 million in 1944 is equivalent to $161 million today). Naturally, the Republicans denounced it.

Investment in Energy A Tennessee farmer testifies to the benefits of the TVA

The Republican Brand: Then as now, the Republican brand was in tatters. Just as Obama ties McCain to Bush (Iraq, Katrina, Financial Meltdown), the Roosevelt broadcast tied Dewey to Hoover and Harding (Depression, Prohibition, Tea Pot Dome). James Cagney, Groucho Marx, and Keenan Wynn drive the point home in a medly that included"In the Good Ol' Hoover Time" and

East side, west side
All around the town
Banks were bustin' right in your face
Stocks were tumblin down
"Prosperity 'round the corner"
Bread lines 'round the block
Don't let Dewey bring Hoover
To the Sidewalks of New York.

Socialism: Groucho reminded the audience that the red communism scare had been used again and again with "distinguished lack of success." and went on to sing, "The Old Red Scare it ain't what it used to be."

Republican support: Just as the McCain campaign prodded a stream of conservative and Republican voters to announce for Obama, the FDR broadcast featured a series of Republicans who testified that they were voting for Roosevelt. The highlight was 94-year-old Julius Oscar, who, as a child, had shaken Lincoln's hand.

Celebrity Endorsements: FDR's backers appearing on the show included a very impressive cast. (Ronald Reagan was not there, but Jane Wyman was.)

From Hollywood:
Joan Bennett
Mr. and Mrs. Irving Berlin
Humphrey Bogart
Virginia Bruce
Jimmy Cagney
Harry Carey
Claudette Colbert
Joseph Caution
Linda Darnell
John Garfield
Judy Garland
James Gleason
Paulette Goddard
Susan Hayward
Rita Hayworth
Walter Huston
Rex Ingram
George Jessel
Danny Kaye
Gene Kelly
Evelyn Keyes
Groucho Marx
Paul Muni
George Raft
Edward G. Robinson
Gale Sondergaard
Lana Turner
Richard Whorf
Monty Woolley
Jane Wyman
Keenan Wynn
plus the youngest and oldest voters
19-year-old Betty Hall and 94-year-old Julius Oscar.

From New York:
Constance Bennett
Gertrude Berg
Milton Berle
Charles Boyer
Marc Connelly
Bennett Cerf
John Dewey
Eddie Dowling
Olin Downes
Edna Ferber
John Gunther
Fannie Hurst
the Ink Spots
Dorothy Maynor
Vilhjalmur Stefansson
Alonzo Myers
Dorothy Parker
Waldo Pierce
Elmer Rice
Barney Ross
Vincent Sheean
Frank Sinatra
Paul Strand
Franchot Tone
Louis Untermeyer
Benay Venuta
Fay Wray.

From Hyde Park:
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Roosevelt's speech at the close of the broadcast was surpringly unpolitical. He didn't mention his opponent. He didn't ask for votes. He simply asked the American people to be thoughful, look forward to the peace, and create a world worthy of the sacrifice of our fighters. He ended with a prayer.

The chairman of the DNC, Paul Porter, told Corwin that he thought the broadcast produced an additional million votes.

Wassup 2008: Change

2008-10-25T05:54:00.000-07:00

Produced by 60Frames. Thanks to Wizardly and RoadkillRefugee for the tip.

Mickeleh's Take: Impressive

Ron the Director, Meet Your Fans

2008-10-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Joe the Plumber, Meet Amy the Makeup Artist

2008-10-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

I have no special insight here. Just a burning need to unload to post some snark on the news that Amy Strozzi, Gov. Palin's makeup artist, drew top dollar in the entire McCain campaign staff for drawing on the face that launched a thousand quips. I don't suppose Sen. McCain will be introducing her on the Joe the Plumber tour.

Mickeleh's Take: Amy Strozzi's other big credit is "So You Think You Can Dance." Maybe she can offer some terpsichorean tips to the McCain surrogates making the rounds of cable news today. They're going to be doing some mighty fancy tap dancing.

Palin's Wardrobe: Stop Whining. Those Outfits Are Fabulous

2008-10-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

Politico broke the story. "RNC shells out $150K for Palin fashion." And everyone piled on. Ambinder (Atlantic) said "Republicans Disgusted." Koppelman (Salon) snarked "How real Americans dress." Tayor Marsh reminds us that Cindy McCain spent twice that for a single outfit. dday called her a "Welfare Queen." Josh_Painter (Redstate) brushes it off as a bargain—the money didn't just buy outfits for the Gov, but for her whole family. Pandagon calculates that John Edwards could have had a $400 haircut every week for 7.2 years. L.A. Times calls it a "$150,000 Wardrobe Malfunction" and a "one-woman economic stimulus plan."

I say, knock it off. Back in the fifties, Nixon kept his place on the ticket by telling the TV audience that his wife, "doesn't have a mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat, and I always tell her she'd look good in anything."

But TV was black and white back then. And generally fuzzy. Today, we're in a world of color and HD. I say, let Palin dress for success.

Here's the most delicious irony of it all. The official McCain response to the flap:

With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it's remarkable that we're spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses. It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign."
—Tracey Schmitt, McCain spokesperson.

Aren't these the folks who said “If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we’re going to lose”? Now that they want to talk about the economy, they're stuck with the visual dissonance of a hockey mom in couturier fashion. Oops.

Mickeleh's Take: Back in burlesque, they used the phrase "talking woman" to mean a female who could actually deliver lines in a sketch. Talking women were rare in the genre. Most women in burlesque were hired strictly for their looks. Palin may have started out at the Republican Convention with great reviews as a talking woman, but lately the more she says, the less voters think of her. Yesterday's polls say she's an even bigger drag on McCain than Bush. So Palin's a washout as a talking woman. Still, the outfits are fabulous. She wears them well. Don't begrudge.

Robocalls: Shine a Light and Make the Cockroaches Scurry

2008-10-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

Have you ever before seen a campaign rebroadcast their opponent's slimiest ads? Obama has put the McCain Robocalls on YouTube for all to see.

Time was that politics was like the world of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. A visible world of daylight, and a dark subterranean shadow world. The worst of the smears through push polls, phone calls, flyers and mailers thrived in the underground campaigns. No more.

Mickeleh's Take: The primary campaign was a vaccine. We all got the killed virus months ago. We have anti-bodies now.

The Musical Lilt of Sarah Palin's Speech

2008-10-18T04:39:00.000-07:00

Woid sent this to me. He says it's sprechtstimme. I say it's bold and refreshing and devilishly funny.

Mickeleh's Take: There are so many things this talented woman could do. She'll bounce back.

McCain Defends His Fans. Let's Meet a Few

2008-10-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

McCain said this last night at the debate:

"I'm not going to stand for people saying that the people that come to my rallies are anything but the most dedicated, patriotic men and women that are in this nation and they're great citizens."

Let's meet some of these great citizens:

Senator, do you want to revise your remarks? Or stand by them.

Mickeleh's Take: I cheated. Those folks aren't actually going to a McCain rally. They're going to a Palin rally. Whole different animal.

Debate Insta-shirt

2008-10-16T06:15:00.001-07:00

Looks like John McCain has a new running mate. And the merchandize is ready-to-wear already. Woid is the designer. You have a choice of several shirt styles and a mug. Celebrate the world's second most famous plumber (Nixon's gang of burglars notwithstanding).

(Note: at the presidential debate last night, John McCain made innumberable references to a citizen that had a conversation with Barack Obama about taxes. McCain called him "Joe, the plumber." Today we've learned a lot about Joe: He's not a licensed plumber. While he's concerned about Obama's tax plans, he owes back taxes. He thinks Social Security is a joke.

Josephine The Plumber,
Even More Famous than Joe

Help to Filibuster-proof the Senate

2008-10-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

A sixty-seat, fillibuster-proof majority within reach of the Democrats. Can you give $6 for 60 votes?

As of October 15th, Democratic challengers lead in enough states to yield a 59-seat Democratic caucus. But that includes Joe Lieberman (I-CT).

Can we get to 60? Can we do it without Lieberman?

There are six states where polls put the candidates within 5 points of each other. Democrats are barely ahead in three (AK, MN, NC). Republicans are barely ahead in three (KY, MS, GA).

If we hold the three Democratic leads, that brings us up to 59. If we can turn one of the Republican leads, we make 60. If we turn two, we can have sixty without Lieberman.

Because of the closeness of these races, these are the states where additional contributions can have the greatest impact in reaching a filibuster-proof majority.

I've set up a page on ActBlue to make it easy to contribute to these six tight Senate races.

If you give each of these candidates $6, that's a total donation of $36. If that's too much, then pick your favorites from the list and give $6 to as many as you can.

Mickeleh's Take: I set up the page with a very modest goal of raising $360. We blew past that in just a few hours, so I've doubled the goal.

Hey, John, You Earned Yourself a "Get Out of Jail Free" Card. But You're Still on Parole

2008-10-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

John, my fellow prisoner, you did us proud last night, telling your fightened, hateful fan-base that Obama is not Arab (though you might have mentioned that it's okay to be Arab and it's even okay to be Arab-American). You told them that Obama's a decent family man and you said the members of your posse don't have to fear him as president. For that, I hand you this "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

But, my friend, you're still on parole. And we can haul your ass back into Demogogue Jail at any moment. What you did was good as far as it goes. But now you have to show us far it can go. Does it undo your running-mate's and your advertising's game of guilt by word association (terrorists-pallin' around-shady)?

You answered "Who is the real Barack Obama?" Twice. But many times did you ask it? Has your campaign ceased asking it? Look how nicely your new words fit your old questions:

John, you have, as the Prophet Hosea put it, sown the wind. And now you're reaping the whirlwind. Your campaign has attracted a core supporter base that is among the most fearful, ill-informed, hateful, and irrational in the country. You, Palin and your surrogates have expressed, magnified, and unleashed their hatreds. The vast subterranean river of slander carried out of public view by emails is now spewing forth in your rallies with calls for violence against Barack Obama. Are you going to take responsibility for cleaning up that sewage? When?

You've made a meme of "I know how to do it." Well let's see if you know how to do this: Can you stuff that foul genie back into the bottle?.

You're auditioning for leader. Let's see if you can lead your rabble back to sanity. Let's see if you can lead the Atwater-inspired, Rove-trained crew that you hired on a path back to rational discourse? Can you lead your Vice Presidential choice away from her winky-poo demagoguery? Can you lead your estranged and bullying base back into the American family?

We're watching.

Mickeleh's Take: John, I'm so proud of my country because it isn't falling for the same old Nixon-spawned politics of division that your team attempted. They don't believe, don't even have much interest in the scurrilous messages you approved. And have you noticed the growing chorus of decent conservatives and Republicans who have spoken out agains your wretched, lying, dangerous tactics? I don't expect you to listen to me. But how about listening to them? I don't think you can save your campaign any more, but there's a chance might be able to save some shred of your reputation. Get out of jail, my fellow prisoner. Get off parole. Be a mensch.

Lee Stranahan's 30 Days, 30 Reasons

2008-10-11T10:26:00.001-07:00

Lee Stranahan counts us down to election day with a project to release a video a day telling us why he's voting for Obama. Here's the series so far.

Mikeleh's Take: So far, so good. Worth watching. Subscribe to Lee's YouTube Channel to get the rest of the series. Or Come back here, I'll be adding them as he releases them.

Feelin' The Love?

2008-10-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Guess Who's the Real Crypto Muslim in This Race

2008-10-11T06:43:00.000-07:00

Hat tip to John Green, (author, vlogbrother, nerdfighter, and anagrammarian) for getting me thinking about vice presidential anagrams this morning.

I soon discovered that Sarah Palin anagrams to "Sharia plan." So, clearly, she's the one who plans to institute Muslim law in the United States.

By the way, John's favored anagrams for the candidates:

I need job (Joe Biden)
Las Piranha (Sarah Palin)

Mickeleh's Take: Other anagrams for Sarah Palin include:
a sharp nail
a plain rash
anal parish
has anal rip
(but you didn't hear them from me.)

Two apt anagrams for Joe Biden:
jibe node
jibe done.

Divine Intervention Against Free Speech?

2008-10-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

At the Palin rally in Greenville, N.C., the Rev. Walter Leake prayed this prayer invoking both Scripture and the X-Files:

Father, you said the truth will set us free. We know the truth is out there, and the truth is that the other side is lying, ubelievably lying... God, we ask you to close their mouths."

After which, Palin proceded to tell two oft-debunked lies that stand at the heart of her stump speech.

Mickeleh's Take: "God bless America," I'm used to. "God, tell Obama to STFU" is new territory.

Quick, Everyone Send John McCain a Cake With a File Baked Into It.

2008-10-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

I don't know exactly why John McCain addressed us all as, "My fellow prisoners." It may have been a vibe he picked up from Warden Baracuda standing behind him. He may have been watching too many Naomi Wolff videos. He may just be feeling trapped in a role which has forced him put his honor into dry dock for the duration. Maybe he was reading the biography of Father Damien among the lepers on Molokai. But whatever it is, he said it.

When you watch the video, keep your eye on Palin. She's looking at John until he has his brain-fart, then... well, see for yourself.
Mickeleh's Take: Let's all send him a cake with a file baked in. If that won't get by the Secret Service, then let's all send him a harmonica.

The Rabid Base Gets Real Foamy

2008-10-08T07:06:00.000-07:00

Earlier, I noted that John McCain declined to bring the mud last night. I thought that was in recognition that the mud is only working for his rabid base and not at all for independents and undecideds.

Turns out the rabid base was none-too-happy about that. Andy McCarthy in NRO's "The Corner," got real foamy in the mouth about it. Called it a disaster and said McCain failed because he didn't portray Obama as a radical leftist. He blamed the failure on McCain's not being a true-believer in conservative doctrine.

Memo to McCain Campaign: Someone is either a terrorist sympathizer or he isn't; someone is either disqualified as a terrorist sympathizer or he's qualified for public office. You helped portray Obama as a clealy qualified presidential candidate who would fight terrorists.

[snip]

With due respect, I think tonight was a disaster for our side. I'm dumbfounded that no one else seems to think so.

The debates have been a fine way for us all to answer Groucho's question: "Who are you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?" McCarthy is just furious that the country is coming around to believe our own eyes rather than the dangerous radical they conjure and fulminate against.

Mickeleh's Take: Memo to McCain Campaign; cc: Andy McCarthy. You can tell me: Do any of you actually believe the crap you are trying to pin on Obama? Or is it—as it looks from the outside—pure, cynical demogoguery? I'm getting the impression that you are derranged enough to swallow your own snake oil.

"That One" "That Girl" & "This Boy"

2008-10-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

"That One" is the immortal line from this debate. File it with "There you go again," and "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."

In celebration, please enjoy the following vids.

That One (McCain)

That Girl (Marlo Thomas)

This Boy (Beatles)

Mickeleh's Take: At least McCain didn't munge all three of these and call Obama "That boy."

Who Won The Debate? Irrelevant.

2008-10-08T04:29:00.000-07:00

Before last night's presidential debate, Obama had a clear lead in both national polls, and state-by-state electoral votes.

In order to change that, McCain would have had to deliver a breakthrough. He didn't. If you favored him, he did well enough for you to tout his victory. But if you didn't, nothing he said or did would have flipped you into his column. Best line of all is from Melissa McEwan:

McCain needed to win; he did not. He got owned. Say goodnight, Johnny. It's President That One to you.

I'll tell you (though you know I'm biased going in) that Obama did better on substance, style, energy, focus, and looking, as Buffy once said, "very commandery." He did himself some good in bringing home some undecideds.

I'll tell you that McCain started strong, but tired out through the debate, puttered aimlessly across the stage, looked grumpy and uncomfortable when Obama spoke, came to life briefly when he gave a navy guy a back pat and a handshake.

I'll tell you that the CNN audience dial-a-smile didn't seem very interested in what McCain had to say.

I don't have to tell you, because you probably read it elsewhere that the insta-polls gave it decisively to Obama.

I won't miss Tom ("Is Russia evil?") Brokaw.

Mickeleh's Take: If you want Obama in the White House, don't let up. We still have four long weeks to go. But smile while you work.

Second Debate: Who is the Real John McCain?

2008-10-08T03:33:00.000-07:00

The most striking thing about last night's presidential debate is what we didn't hear. McCain didn't bring up Ayres, Rezko, or Rev. Wright. He didn't tell us that Sen. Obama accuses the U.S. of doing nothing in Afghanistan but bombing innocents. He didn't accuse Obama of wanting to raise taxes on people making $42,000. He didn't say that Obama just showed up "out of nowhere."

The Sen. McCain who debated last night bore no resemblance to the Sen. McCain whose campaign has been throwing nothing but mud and asking, "Who's the real Barack Obama?" The John McCain who came to at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn comes from an alternate universe.

Except for an eruption of disdain that burst out in when he called his opponent, "that one," this John McCain pretty much stuck to issues while he puttered around the stage. He threw only the mildest of shopworn zingers ("nailing jello to a wall") and a short list of distortions, including the canard that Obama voted 94 times for tax increases. (Using the same dubious methodology that gets Obama to 94, McCain voted 105 times for tax increases since 2005 and nearly 500 times in his Senate career.)

It was a tacit admission that the core of his campaign is not working for anyone but the rabid base. It's a flop with undecideds and an energizer for Democrats. If you watched the CNN dial-o-rama to see how their panel of viewers rated the debate minute-by-minute you could see that anytime McCain went negative, the response flat-lined.

Mickeleh's Take: Who is the real John McCain? The fellow who showed up last night to debate, or the one that approves a steady stream of deceptive smear ads and whose running mate demagogues Obama as a pal of terrorists?

Short Takes

2008-10-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

Time for Biden to get up and remind a rally that John McCain is pallin' around with Phil Gramm, an economic terrorist who targets his own country.

Marlon Brando in the Story of John McCain
(Upright Citizens Brigade)

BarbinMD: "At what point do we call the tactics of John McCain and Sarah Palin for what they are? Hate mongering"

Howie Klein: "Unless 'maverick' means a crook or a tired old wreck of a man, McCain is no maverick."

16-yr old girl: "Mom, anyone who has ever seen even one Disney movie can tell that Sarah Palin is the bad guy in this story."

One more right wing lie to set straight: The Palin Rape Kit story has not been debunked.

I used to think this Ira Gershwin lyric was a quaint reminder of a time long gone:

Refrain from "Who Cares?"

Let it rain and thunder,
Let a million firms go under.
I am not concerned with
Stocks and bonds that I've been burned with!

The lyric also includes this couplet that I've enjoyed all my life (because it mentions the town where I grew up). But I've never caught its full impact till now:

Who cares what banks fail in Yonkers
As long as you've got a kiss that conquers.

Here's how to answer someone who tells you they won't vote for Obama because he's a Muslim.

Mickeleh's Take: Here's the upside of the McCain Palin Slime Talk Express: It exposes them as having zero honor. It wouldn't be happening if they didn't know why the rest of us know: they're losing.

Thirty Days, Thirty Reasons to Vote Obama

2008-10-06T04:42:00.000-07:00

Lee Stranahan kicks off a month-ong series of videos in support of Barack Obama. First installment: health care.

Mickeleh's Take: Obama wants to end the insurance companies's ability to reject people who have pre-existing conditions. The best way to do that is to reject McCain-Palin on the basis of their pre-existing condition: they're Republicans.

Bruce: Why he Supports Obama

2008-10-06T04:05:00.000-07:00

Mickeleh's Take: I've heard many speeches in support of Obama. This is a good as they come. (He sings, too.)

McCain and Palin: Double Standard?

2008-10-05T13:00:00.001-07:00

L. John McCain, speaking in Indepedence, MO, Oct. 1
R. Sarah Palin, at the V.P. debate in St. Louis, Missouri, Oct. 3.

Mickeleh's Take: The eyes have it. When McCain does it, they call it a twitch. When Palin does it, they say it's a wink. Somehow that just doesn't seem fair to me.

VP Debate: What did Palin Actually Say?

2008-10-03T06:05:00.000-07:00

The lasting impressions of the debate come from the visuals, the demeanor, the smiles, the glares, the poses. We all know that. But before it all fades away, it's worth taking note of what Gov. Palin actually said last night.

Well, for one, Palin said nookyular. There's one culture war I'm happy to sign up for: the Nuclears against the Nookyulars. If you can't pronounce nuclear, you just don't get to be Vice President. Stop trying to rhyme Nookyular with arugula. We've had eight years of nookyular. That's enough.

And then she said this:

"I'm thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president's policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are. "

WTF? Do we know which Constitution she's referring to? Do we know what her intentions are? And if I may be so bold as to ask, does she?

There was a brief relapse into her Couric-era syntax of loosely connected phrases (includin' some more o' that "head-rearin" she's so fond o' warnin' us about—only this time it wasn't Putin doin' it. It was pesky mortgage lenders)"

...there have been so many changes in the conditions of our economy in just even these past weeks that there has been more and more revelation made aware now to Americans about the corruption and the greed on Wall Street.
We need to look back, even two years ago, and we need to be appreciative of John McCain's call for reform with Fannie Mae, with Freddie Mac, with the mortgage-lenders, too, who were starting to really kind of rear that head of abuse.... It is a crisis. It's a toxic mess, really, on Main Street that's affecting Wall Street.

Throughout the debate she made a string of assertions that ranged from dubious to infuriatingly false:

that John McCain is "one representing reform" in our financial markets
that he's the one who brought the folks in Congress together
that he suspended his campaign
that he put politics aside
that he really meant "the American workforce" when he called the fundamentals of our economy strong
that Obama supported raising taxes for families making only $42,000
that John McCain is "known for" pushing for even harder and tougher regulations
that John McCain's health care proposal is a good deal for folks.
that Barack Obama "even opposed funding our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan"
that our current troop deployment (152,000) is down to pre-surge levels (132,000)
that Obama's plan for for troop withdrawal is white flag of surrender in Iraq"
that Obama refused to acknowledge the surge is working
that "victory is within sight" in Iraq
that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror
that Obama would meet with enemies "without diplomatic efforts being undertaken first"
that John McCain knows how to win a war

On that last point, I need to ask, what is the evidence that John McCain knows how to win a war? Did he ever win one? Given his academic record (finishing 894th out of 899 students in his class at Annapolis), it surely wasn't book-learning.

Palin declared that she wasn't about to answer any questions that didn't please her, and proceeded instead to deliver a rote recitation of the misleading and discredited talking points that the McCain camp has been peddling all summer. That's treating her audience with the same dirisive contempt that McCain showed to Obama last week.

It wasn't so much a debate as an interrupted monolog. Eugene Robinson put it this way: "the pattern, so far, has been one of Biden presenting facts and Palin countering with… saying stuff."

The New York Times summed up the debate this:

In the end, the debate did not change the essential truth of Ms. Palin’s candidacy: Mr. McCain made a wildly irresponsible choice that shattered the image he created for himself as the honest, seasoned, experienced man of principle and judgment. It was either an act of incredible cynicism or appallingly bad judgment.

Mickeleh's Take: I said yesterday that even a perfect storm of Palin success, Biden failure, and Ifill bias wouldn't change the dynamics of the race. In reality there wasn't a storm of any magnitude whatever. Palin had, at best, a mild recovery. Biden's performance carried the day with independent voters in both the CBS and CNN surveys, and Ifill lived up to her well-earned reputation as a solid pro. On balance, the Dems are now two for two in debates. So the race goes on.

VP Debate: Talk About Your Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations

2008-10-03T06:03:00.000-07:00

If you are a Republican you're ecstatic that your candidate actually can talk. You're proud she can duck questions and deride "the filter." You think she was pretty slick to co-opt Obama's change message and slap it onto McCain. And you marveled at her attempt to ward off any examination of your sorry record with a leaden rewrite of a Reagan classic: "Say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again pointin' backwards again." You loved how perky she was, with the beaming smile, the winks, the head tilt and the occasional puzzled nose-scrunching.

If you were grading her on a curve that also includes a tennis ball, an avocado, and that lady who showed up for the Couric interview, you'd have to say she aced it. OK, base, consider yourselves re-energized.

Mickeleh's Take: As for the rest of us, we're still scared shitless about what the Republicans have done to our economy, our national honor, our prestige in the world, and our constitution. We didn't find any substantive answers in Palin's presentation. Instead we found a rote recitation of discredited Republican talking points. We're ready to move on.

The VP Debate. Will it Even Matter?

2008-10-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

The most likely outcome of tonight's debate between Gov. Palin and Sen. Biden is this: we get to see Tina Fey again this weekend.

But will the debate have any impact at all on the race to the White House? Probably not.

People vote the top of the ticket, not the bottom. And at the top of the ticket, the Obama momentum is growing. A CBS-New York Times poll finds Obama's favorable rating at 48%—the highest its been in this poll. By contrast, McCain's mavericky teflon has worn perilously thin; his unfavorable rating now reaching 42%—the highest in the poll's history.

Following a tiny bounce after the Republican Convention, Sen. McCain's national polling has been trending down, while Sen. Obama's is trending up. (shown pollster.com's trend chart of last month's composite poll of polls).

Even more dramatic is the recent movement in electoral votes. In state polling since the Wall St. meltdown and the first presidential debate, Obama seems headed for a solid win in electoral votes. CNN - Time - Opinion Research polling shows Obama ahead among likely voters in Florida (+4), Minnesota (+11), Misouri (+1), Nevada (+4), and Virginia (+9). Obama's lead among registered voters is even wider. (Given all the evidence we've seen of expanded voter interest and participation, the likely-voter forumula probably understates Obama's margin) NBC's Chuck Todd, this morning, called it a "tipping point."

It's Character, not Issues.

The McCain strategy has always been to make the campaign about driving up Obama's negatives to make him appear too risky. Celebrity. Speechmaker. Unready. Unpatriotic. (The underground campaign pushes even further: crypto-Muslim, anti-American, anti-Israel, socialist—a guy whose secret agenda is set by some shady, dangerous friends and influences. Not to mention his wacky peacher—and mention him as often as possible.)

But the last two weeks have reduced that campaign to a Groucho line: "who are you gonna believe—me or your own eyes?"

Our own eyes have given us a close look at "no drama Obama," responding to crisis with measured strength, steady communication, and deft humor. The same crisis showed us a clear view of McCain lurching from one position to another, one stunt to another, one outburst to another.

What's the Best She Can Do?

Against all this, what's the very best outcome Sarah Palin can deliver to her ticket? The bloom is definitely off the rose. Gov. Palin has quickly moved from an argument for McCain's strategic genius, to another example of his impulsively dangerous decision-making. She's in a very deep hole right now. Clearly unprepared for national office. Uninterested in national issues. Unable to name a newspaper. Unaware that supporting a constitutional right of privacy undermines the anti-Roe v. Wade position.

Some pundits are telling us is that the bar is now so low for Palin, that a charm offensive, a few canned zingers, plus some folksy soccer-mommery will make her a winner. Nonsense. She can't charm her way out of the devastating self-portrait she painted under the gentle prodding of Katie Couric. No way. Laughing stock today. Laughing stock tonight. Laughing stock tomorrow.

Some pundits are telling us that verbose and gaffe-prone Biden will say something dumb and talk too much. Who cares? He's immune. That's who he is. That's who he was. That's who he will be. Everyone already knows that. But he's also solid, informed, and active in both international and domestic issues and in tune with the Chris Matthews "regular American" voter. That won't change either.

Mickeleh's Take: Let say there's a perfect storm tonight. They let Palin be Palin and she's the best Palin she can possibly be. Joe Biden is at his worst. And Gwen Ifill is discredited as pro-Obama. Does anyone expect significant votes to shift toward the erratic, impulsive, resentful, disdainful, and less-than-honest McCain-Palin ticket? I don't. All their base is belong to them. The rest of us are voting for change.

The Perfect Palin Metaphor: She's a Post Turtle

2008-09-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

Just got this email from a local Obama supporter. It pretty well sums it up.

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year old Texas rancher who was injured while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Sarah Palin and her bid to be a heartbeat away from being President.

The old rancher said, "Well, ya know, Palin is a post turtle."
Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a post turtle was.

The old rancher said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle."
The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain.

"You know she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she is up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put her up there to begin with."

Have a great day and see you at the polls on November 4th.

Mickeleh's Take: Pass it on.

"We Have Some Results For You"

2008-09-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

Mickeleh's Take: Brilliant. Daisy-girl, I think you're in second place now.

Spin Surrogates: Biden kills, Palin is MIA

2008-09-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

Presidential debates are the only sporting event where the post-game show counts for more than the game. It's the coverage that reminds people what they need to remember. Obama sent his V.P. Biden was on fire.

Sen. Joe Biden Surrogate and Spinmeister Extraordinaire.

In the debate last night McCain praised his V.P. "I'm happy to say that I've got a partner that's a good maverick along with me now." But said V.P. was not available for spin duty. (Maybe she was on Letterman last night.)

Gov. Sarah Palin. Nowhere to be seen last night.

Mickeleh's Take: It's not that Palin wasn't up to the job. It's just that those master showmen in the McCain camp are trying to build suspense for the Vice Presidential Debate next week.

The Debate: Pictures trump Words.

2008-09-27T06:10:00.000-07:00

As the Fonz used to say, "I was wr-wr-wr-wr..."

I was mildly disappointed by Sen. Obama's performance in the debate last night. Yes, Obama landed a few: mocking McCain for his "bomb Iran" ditty; unleashing a flurry of "You were wrong about..." jabs on Iraq; tying McCain to Bush.

But I was looking to him for more harder hits against Sen. McCain and fewer "John is absolutely right" interjections. I worried that McCain's theme line of "You just don't understand..." would resonate with the viewers. Whle I thought that Obama carried the early rounds, McCain came on stronger and stronger as the debate wore on.

In affect, it looked to me like the smart guy vs. the strong guy. And I feared the public would opt for the strong guy.

But then I saw this tweet fly by on Twitter's mesmerizing new election site

knowalott ... he didn't look obama in the eye. not once. he wouldn't look him in the eye, and as a southern boy, I can't accept that.

Hmm... I remembered what my college chum, Jeffrey Bell, once told me about the Nixon-Kennedy debates. Jeff had been attending school in Switzerland. In 1960 their only access to the debates was by radio. He said everyone at his school was sure that Nixon had won. They were astonished to read in the news that for TV viewers, Kennedy had won. Pictures trumped words.

Debate Clip circulated by Democrats

What did last night's pictures show?

At one podium: an old man, showing contempt and disrespect by not deigning to look at his rival. An old man whose troweled-on pasty-white makeup and botox combined to make him less lifelike than a Disneyland audioanimatronic robot. An old man whose fixed smile conveyed intense disdain. An old man who responded to his opponent with a dismissive chuckle. Chris Matthews boiled it down to "troll-like" and "grouchy."

At the other podium: a young man, poised, informed, centered, calm, courteous, and focused.

Early polling and focus groups say Obama won.
CBS/Knowledge Networks polled 500 uncommitted voters. 39% Obama, 24% McCain, 37% tie.
CNN/Opinion Research Corp polled 524 adult Americans who watched the debate: 51% Obama, 38% McCain.
Focus groups conducted by Frank Luntz (Republican) and Stan Greenberg (Democrat) also gave the nod to Obama.

Mickeleh's Take: Gore lost his first debate when the only things people could remember were his eye-rolling and the heavy sighs. This year, the lasting impression will be McCain's contempuous affect. Wanna bet that tonight's SNL sketch cements the McCain affect as in our memories.

Groucho on Palin

2008-09-26T05:56:00.000-07:00

Watching Part II of the Palin Couric interview, one of Groucho's lines from "Duck Soup" popped into my head:

"Gentlemen, Chicolini here may talk like an idiot, and look like an idiot, but don't let that fool you, he really is an idiot."

Mickeleh's Take: Quick John, do another one of your batshit crazy stunts and maybe people will stop talking about your idiot trophy running mate for a sec. I know, go to Washington and scuttle the bailout. And, um, tell everyone you're just too righteous to debate while you're at it.

In case you missed it, here's Pt II of Palin-Couric

Olbermann: Never Lie to Letterman

2008-09-25T18:01:00.000-07:00

Joe Scarborough, this morning, in one of those moments that have habituated me to watch his show barefoot, lest I destroy my TV by hurling a shoe through the screen, excoriated Letterman for daring to spice up his McCain rant by including a feed from the Katie Couric interview with John McCain. Neither Joe nor anyone on his panel (not even Mika) bothered to mention what had set Dave off and motivated him to show the feed: Sen. McCain and his campaign had not only canceled at the last minute, but had also blatantly lied to Letterman. He wasn't rushing off to the airport at all. But heading to another CBS studio for an interview with Couric.

In case you haven't seen it yet, I've included a clip from last night's Letterman show in a previous post.

Tonight, Keith Olbermann set the record straight. (He was not only a witness, but a participant, having jumped in as a last minute replacement for the mendacious senator.)

Letterman would probably have been a tougher interviewer than Katie. Except that McCain chose to duck Letterman, perhaps as a warm-up for ducking tomorrow's debate. If McCain does chicken out of facing Obama, I trust he'll be clobbered for it at least as hard as the clobbering Letterman gave him last night.

The moral Keith drew: Never lie to David Letterman.

Mickeleh's Take: Never wake up to Joe Scarborough.

McCain's Willful Suspension of Credibility

2008-09-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

The great talent of the McCain campaign is throwing stunts to dominate the news cycle whenever Obama is gaining momentum. They write the songs that make the whole world sing. But stunt-based hits chart only briefly. And with each shot the public and press build resistance.

Where the Palin bubble lasted more than two weeks, yesterday's dramatic announcement that Sen. McCain would suspend his campaign drew raucus skepticism within minutes. Suddenly the McCain campaign wanted to suspend the first presidential debate... and possibly reschedule it by canceling the vice presidential debate. How convenient.

McCain's stunt succeeded in overshadowing news coverage of a devastating critique of his foreign policy by Sen. Biden. Watch this and you'll understand why McCain has every reason to duck an open debate on foreign policy and national security.

The day did not end well for John McCain. While the public may be used to McCain's lying, David Letterman was mighty pissed when McCain lied to him personally. Letterman has a big megaphone for expressing his annoyance.

For a more complete and coherent rundown of McCain's day, see Arutisha.

Mickeleh's Take: By his series of reckless stunts, McCain may gain ink and airtime, but he is also demonstrating how willing he is to ditch his credibility as a reliable leader in times of crises. By asking for an extension on the first debate he is turning tail rather than showing us a profile in courage.

More Palin Banners

2008-09-22T12:14:00.001-07:00

More banners...

Casting Idea for Gov. Palin.

2008-09-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

How about if we just put Gov. Sarah Palin into a road company of "Annie Get Your Gun" and be done with her? Also starring Todd (First Dude) Palin as Frank Butler, Sen. John McCain as Buffalo Bill.

Mickeleh's Take: In a minor rewrite, we could give one of Frank Butler's songs to special guest star Levi Johnson: "The Girl that I Marry."

Banners for President Palin

2008-09-21T11:50:00.001-07:00

Help yourself. Take one. Collect 'em all. Please use liberally.

More banners...

THIS is the Change We Need: Toughest Obama Commercial Yet.

2008-09-15T05:02:00.000-07:00

Slated to run on national cable and in battleground states. Also slated for a lot of free showings on cable news shows, followed by talking heads. Can't wait for Keith and Rachel to weigh in on this one.

Mickeleh's Take: I thought the last two were on the right track. This one pulls into the station and unloads a can of whup ass. McCain earned this one. As for the rest of us: let's get out there and canvass. Do you know how your neighbors are voting?

New Obama Ads: Back on Track

2008-09-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

One of the most pernicious fallacies perpetuated by media coverage and polling is that a presidential campaign is a form of job interview. Do the candidates care about people like me? What have they done? What do they know? Are they strong, resolute, compassionate?

All that's important, but it leaves out something more important: We're not hiring an individual. We're installing a team, a party, a governing philosophy. The outcome of an election is most important to people who want jobs or contracts with the government. It's all those department heads that actually do the governing and regulating. It's the corporations they contract with and write laws to favor that actually do the screwing us over.

Yes, the president makes the call on the big issues—but usually picking from a range of staff-prepared options.

That's why I love the approach of these two recent Obama ads that talk about McCain's staffing choices.

His Administration

It's Over

Mickeleh's Take: Talking about lobbyists too hip for the room? I hope not. Because this is the real issue. McCain-Palin would like us to believe that we can throw the bums out by electing them. Who are they kidding. They are the bums. And this year they have nothing to peddle but lies, distortions, attacks, and smears. I've had enough.

Helping McCain Use a Computer

2008-09-13T06:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Obama released an ad that reminded us that McCain still doesn't use a computer and can't send email.

Magically, as though their strings are all pulled by the same puppet master, the usual suspects in the right wing blogosphere lit up in outrage. Their claim: McCain can't use a computer because of war injuries. (Did you know, by the way, that he was a POW? Never talks about it, so you might have missed the news.)

Here's some news that John McCain and the right wing attack dogs may have missed: Computers have had adaptive devices and software since before John McCain was first elected to the Senate. Computers are accessible to folks with disabilities far more limiting than McCain's.

Voice recognition and dictation software is now rated at 99% accuracy. (Which is better than my typing skills.)

Two solutions worth looking into are Dragon Naturally Speaking and IBM ViaVoice

John, I know you can't read this yourself, given your current skillset, but maybe someone will notice it and pass the word along. Welcome to the computer age. Seriously.

Mickeleh's Take: McCain supporters, if you have any positive energies at all, please channel some toward helping your audience learn about accessibility options for people with disabilities.

John McCain Taking Campaign Cues from Pat Nixon and Nancy Reagan?

2008-09-10T05:11:00.000-07:00

Enduring images in my memory: Pat Nixon standing silently, gazing adoringly at Dick when campaigned; Nancy Reagan doing the same for Ronnie.

Based on the news clips, it looks John McCain has been going to school on Pat and Nancy. He's learning to beam his admiration at Sarah Palin, who takes on the traditional Republican campaign task of lying through her teeth.

Joe Biden: "The Silence of the Republicans"

2008-09-06T07:25:00.000-07:00

Here's what Joe Biden heard at the Republican convention. And what he didn't hear.

Mickeleh's Take: Please sir, I want more.

Palin: The Perfect Candidate for the Twitter Era

2008-08-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

Mickeleh's Take: Sarah Palin is the perfect candidate for the Twitter era. Her resume can fit into 140 characters.

PUMA Bait, the Video

2008-08-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

Playlist: Best Speeches of DNC08

McCain goes for the PUMA bait.

2008-08-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

All week the Dems have been telling us that McCain doesn't have good judgement. His first presidential decision—picking a running mate—confirms it. Meet Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska (44) who reaches us across that bridge from nowhere.

Ooh, look a woman. Oh, so mavericky. Guess that'll stick it to Obama for not picking Hillary. Hey, PUMAs (all seventeen of you)! You were right. McCain is the one, isn't he? (PUMAs here's your essay question: compare and contrast Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. I think McCain just insulted you. Big time.)

The Constitution defines only two responsilities for the Vice President: To preside over the Senate and to succeed the President in the case of death or resignation.

Get that? A Vice President needs to be prepared to be President. Go work on the concept of President Palin for a while. I'll wait.

Back? The big case that McCain is making against Obama is that he's not qualified for the job. Get out your balance scale, boys and girls. Put Obama's qualifications on one pan, Palin's on the other. Can McCain say with a straight face (or even with his crypt-keeper's forced grin) that Palin is ready but Obama is not? Well, maybe he can. But that goes right to the issue of his judgement.

If (G-d forbid) McCain becomes president... and if (G-d forbid) Palin has to succeed, her only hope would be to appoint Cheney as Vice President and follow the GWB model. (Just kidding. A Vice Presidential appointment must be approved by a majority of both houses of Congress.)

Mickeleh's Take: First decisions: McCain goes for the PUMA bait. Obama goes for someone with deep knowledge of domestic and international affairs. Are you scoring this at home?

I've just made a movie of this post. You'll find it here.

Watch This Hillary Delegate Run Away from McCain

2008-08-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest (in a series of three, so far) McCain ad hoping to pick off disappointed Hillary supporters. It's a testimonial from a woman named Debra Bartoshevich, itentified onscreen as a "former hillary delegate."

Mickeleh''s Take: The funny bit comes at the end. As McCain's image dissolves on, Debra skedaddles away from him. Like most Hillary supporters with a lick of sense, she'll be smart enough not to vote for another four years of Bush policies. I'll bet the odds are good that she'll vote for Obama - Biden.

McCain Camp Scratchin' Through the Teflon?

2008-08-21T14:30:00.000-07:00

When John McCain said he needed some staff help to sort out how many houses he owns, he opened the door to Obama's strongest negative ad of so far.

This one has legs. That's clear from how hard the McCain camp and camp followers are struggling to quash it. They've even gone so far as to bring out the POW shield. McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers told the Washington Post: "This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- in prison." The Rogers line reads like it originated in the writers' room of a late-night TV show. (Although he might want to punch it up from "one house" to "one room." Rim shot.)

McCain is quickly passing from being reluctant to talk about being a POW never shutting up about it. Just as Giuliani managed to turn 9-11 into a punchline, McCain can do the same for his POW ordeal.

Mickeleh's Take: What McCain endured was dreadful, but if his campaign persists in exploiting it as the prize in a Survivor-style immunity challenge, they're wrong. Even Teflon wears out if you don't treat it with respect.

Addendum: digby covers this same territory, as usual much more eloquently and with more punch, "A noun, a verb, and POW" Go digby.

Did War Candidate McCain Just Show the White Flag?

2008-08-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

Did the McCain camp just blink?

After days of saber rattling, using the Russian action against Georgia for partisan purposes to paint Obama as "not ready," McCain finds himself isolated at at the belligerent fringe of neo-con opinion. Obama, Bush, the EU, and even Cheney, are unfied in calling for a more nuanced approach.

According to MSNBC's First Read, Obama's foreign policy advisor, Susan Rice, characterised the McCain position this way:

"We cannot shoot from the hip. We cannot act on the basis of ideology and preconceived notions. When this crisis began, Barack Obama, the administration indeed, and all of our NATO allies took a very measured and reasoned approach, because we were dealing with the facts as we knew them. John McCain shot from the hip -- very aggressive, very belligerent statement, and he may or may not have complicated the situation."

The McCain response? From spokesperson Tucker Bounds, "“During an international crisis when bipartisanship is needed most, it’s disappointing that the Obama campaign has chosen to launch inflammatory and baseless political attacks.”

Say, wha? Is the McCain camp suddenly retreating to "politics stops at the water's edge"? Oops.

MSNBC details a whole string of inflammatory and baseless political attacks on this issue by Sens. McCain, Graham, and Lieberman and Gov. Jindal. But now that it's clear how out of bounds "More Wars" McCain has been on this issue, the McCain camp calls for bipartisanship.

Mickeleh's Take: I think we saw Mr. Tough Guy blink.

Clinton's Speech and What Seinfeld Once Told Me

2008-06-07T10:46:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, I listed three things that I hoped Sen. Clinton would deliver in her endorsement speech: 1. Acknowledgement of Obama's victory. 2. Endorsing Obama as the agent to achieve her goals. 3. Making McCain an unacceptable choice for her supporters.

She delivered on the second in full and merely hinted at the other two, but she did something even more important. She tuned her speech brilliantly to the expectations and emotions of her supporters and she moved them towards acceptance and support of Barack Obama.

I want to talk in depth about what she accomplished, but I'm going to start with a long diversion.

One night in the eighties, the Improv in L.A. arranged a showcase for some of the hot San Francisco comics of the day. The house was filled with producers, agents, scouts. A bunch of comics had flown down from the Bay Area to perform. After the last San Francisco comic finished, half the audience left the show room and headed for the bar.

But the show continued, and the next comic up was Jerry Seinfeld. This was in the time after his role in Benson had ended, and a few years before he got his own show on NBC. He was one of the strongest standups working at the time.

But this night, he went onstage to an audience that had just been disrupted by a major exodus. There was a long pause in the show. The remaining crowd was left talking amongst themselves. Then Jerry came up and did his set. He got some laughs, but not too many. It was tough going.

When he came off stage, he told me, "That was one of the best sets I've ever done in my life." I asked him how he could say that. What he told me was one of the most important lessons you can have in communication.

He said he always rates his own sets on the basis of where the audience is when he starts and where they are when he finishes. If you have any comedy chops at all, you can get up before a hot Saturday night date crowd and kill. The audience starts at a 10 and you keep 'em there. Maybe get them to 11. What Jerry was so pleased with this night at the Improve was that he took a non-audience, just a few clusters at tables talking amongst themselves, and brought them from minus -10 to a healthy 5.

Communication is always about moving an audience from point A to point B. You can't start your speech at point B.

I like to talk about what I call "The Parable of the Taxi." If you call a cab to take you to the airport, it doesn't do any good if the driver heads right to the airport. He has to come by and pick you up first.

Which brings us back to Clinton's speech. She did a masterful job of coming by to pick up her audience before heading to the airport.

She wasn't talking to the crowd at an Obama rally. She was talking to her own supporters, people who had invested their time, money, and aspirations in her quest. She needed to connect with them and move them.

That's why it was important for her to spend as much time as she did rehashing her campaign themes and connecting with her voters. Some critics pounced on this as an unwarrented "all about me" indulgence. But that's not the case. It was all about her audience.

As for the three things I had hoped for, she delivered best on endorsing Obama. She listed her goals and made a refrain of "...and that's why we need to help elect Barack Obama our president."

She did acknowledge his victory, but did not explicitly embrace it's legitimacy. She still flirted with claiming a popular vote majority.

As for making McCain an unacceptable choice, she did it only by implication. She didn't name him. She didn't even name President Bush. Instead, Clinton talked about how the past seven years were a set-back and diversion from the goals that she and her supporters are fighting for.

The conclusion of the speech was another master stroke. Where the opening connected with her supporters on the basis of their shared history, the conclusion connected with the emotional state of their dissappointment. If Clinton is to succeed in bringing her supporters to Obama, this is, perhaps the most critical area to address. "Always work hard, and when you stumble, keep faith. ... and never listen to anyone who says you can't, or shouldn't go on." I trust that means "go on to get Obama elected."

Mickeleh's Take: This speech wasn't for Obama supporters. It was for Hillary supporters. It didn't do everything I hoped for, it did a few things I wasn't clever enough to hope for. I look forward to joining with Hillary's devoted and passionate supporters in reaching our shared goals.

What HRC Must Do In Her Speech: Obliterate McCain

2008-06-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

Sen. Clinton is about to make her concession speech. I'm looking for three things:

1. Concede that she lost fairly. This will be tough for her. She's been making the case that she's the real winner based on popular vote. It's false claim for two reasons. First, the contest was always about delegates, not popular vote. Second, her count takes unfair advantage of the fact that Obama supporters in Michigan had zero opportunity to vote for him. Zero. And it takes advantage of the fact that some caucus states simply didn't report any vote totals. Obviously the super-delegates were not persuaded, but many of Clinton's supporters were. To them, Obama is a trickster and a usurper. Clinton has to fix that.

2. Annoint Obama as a strong advocate for her own agenda. She needs to let her supporters know that Obama will work for the issues that she values. There is very little that Clinton and Obama disagree on. The only significant issue is whether participation in a health care system should be mandatory or voluntary.

3. Kick McCain in the nuts. Hard. Somehow her hardcore supporters have the notion that Obama is the anti-Hillary. That's just crazy talk. It's a hookah vision. She needs to tell the Harriet Christians of the world, in the friendliest way possible,what W.C. Fields told Grady Sutton in The Bank Dick, "Don't be a luddy duddy. Don't be a moon calf. Don't be a jabbernowl. You're not those, are you?" Do you want what Hillary wants? McCain ain't gonna get it for you.

Mickeleh's Take: It was Clinton who famously brought the threat of obliteration into the campaign. It's time for her to obliterate the idea that McCain is an acceptible plan B for her own supporters.

Rep. Insee's Menschy Letter Endorsing Obama

2008-06-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

My Congressional representative (and former Clinton superdelegate), Jay Insee (WA-1), announced his decision to endorse Barack Obama for President. It's well done, menschy, with a powerful unity message to both Obama and Clinton backers.

Dear Michael,

First of all, let me offer my congratulations to those who helped Senator Obama secure his historic nomination.

As this Democratic primary process concludes, I want to let you know that I am going to work very hard to help unify our party behind our nominee, Barack Obama. This Saturday, Senator Clinton will announce her support for Senator Obama, and I will be officially endorsing his candidacy as well.

Some of you who receive this are strong Hillary Clinton backers, and have passionately supported her campaign. Others of you are strong Barack Obama supporters and passionately support his candidacy. To all, I ask that we now pull on the same rope.

For a guy who admires Senator Obama, I am deeply concerned when I read in the paper or receive e-mails from Hillary supporters vowing to not support our new candidate. I am already excited about an Obama presidency, but to those who are hesitant I implore you to join this cause because time is a luxury we cannot afford.

Over the next few weeks, or as long as it takes, I will be urging Hillary supporters in Washington State and across the country that we must put the past behind us. We must be unified in our support of Senator Obama, or else we risk another disastrous four years of a Republican White House. Whether Obama or Clinton supporters in the primary, we all are neighbors, we are friends, we are Democrats, and we are family. And, like any family that has occasional squabbles, but who has learned to put their problems behind them and move forward, we must do the same.

I know that many people didn't agree with the candidate that I endorsed. I respect their feelings, and all I can say is that sometimes I even disagree with my own wife after 35 years of marriage. Now we have a job to do together, so let's do it.

I know personally that Senator Obama is uniquely capable of bringing our family together. A couple of weeks ago when I ran into him on the House floor, I asked him when will he get a hoop up on the South Lawn of the White House. He replied "As soon as I'm president...hey, did you know that I've been playing basketball with the North Carolina Tar Heels?" I jokingly replied "Of course, that's why you won North Carolina by such a large margin." He laughed a big Obama laugh. This is a man who can put past differences aside and move on to unify the Democratic Party, as well as the country.

I was asked by a reporter today if I was disappointed in this result. I answered honestly and said no, I always knew that we had two brilliant candidates each in their own way, either of whom would represent a break through for America.

Senator Obama's genius is obvious, his inspirational qualities have touched millions, and I am confident in his ability to win this race - if we all pull on the same rope. Now I am chomping at the bit to hear Senator Obama's Inaugural Address, one that has the capacity to have the same effect as the one we heard in January 1961 by JFK. I will do everything within my power to ensure that America has the chance to hear that speech. I hope that you will do the same.

Very truly yours,

Jay Inslee

Reports of Penn's Departure, Exaggerated, Premature

2008-04-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

Sam Stein on Huffington Post reports on a conference call that Mark Penn hed with the managing directors of Burson Marsteller (where he is CEO). They can't have been any happier about the events of the past week than were the Clintons (where he is no longer Chief Strategist, but still plenty plugged in.

Burson Marsteller has even more reason to be upset than the Clinton campaign: Penn's handling of the matter lost them the Colombia contract.

Stein confirms that Penn's resignation is (per Penn, anyway) a non-resignation.

"I think you've heard that I made the decision to step down as chief strategist of the Clinton campaign. Penn Schoen and Berland is going to continue to poll for it and I'll continue to play a role advising Senator Clinton and former President Clinton as well as the rest of the leadership of the campaign."

The Clinton campaign, apparently, is eager to absorb even more of his disastrous advice.

(Tags: Clinton, Hillary, Hillary Clinton, Mark Penn, Mark J Penn, Lobbyist, Burson-Marsteller, campaign)

Mickeleh's Take: Here are three things any chief executive (POTUS included) needs to master:

Finding smart advisors,
Empowering them to develop smart strategic options,
Having the perspective and judgment to select the best of those options for implementation.

Seems to me that Hillary, working with Penn, is 0 for 3.

Mark Penn's Triangulated "Resignation"

2008-04-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

Mark Penn, caught-out selling his knowledge and access to both sides of the free trade war, has resigned from the Clinton campaign. Or has he? He's dropped one title ("Chief Strategist"), but apparently he personally and one of his firms stay on the payroll and will continue to advise the campaign. Here's the official announcement from Maggie Williams, Clinton's campaign manager.

"After the events of the last few days, Mark Penn has asked to give up his role as Chief Strategist of the Clinton Campaign; Mark, and Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, Inc. will continue to provide polling and advice to the campaign."

Two questions: What were the unmentioned "events of the last few days," that led Mark Penn to ask to to give up his role? Is he gone or not? [Update: The answer is "not gone." Penn participated in this morning's conference call.]

Monday, Penn (wearing his hat as CEO of lobbying and PR giant Burson-Marsteller) met with officials from Colombia to advise them on strategies for getting Congressional approval of the Colombian Free Trade agreement. (Sen. Clinton has been wooing labor with her vigorous opposition to free trade—and has specifically denounced Colombia for anti-union violence.
Thursday, the press and blogosphere started playing back an unfairly edited Clinton remark from early March regarding leaks that an Obama staffer had back-channel conversations with Canada. The snipped version: "“Just ask yourself [what you would do] if some of my advisers had been having private meetings with foreign governments," What Clinton actually said: "Just ask yourself, if some of my advisers had been having private meetings with foreign governments basically saying 'ignore what I’m saying because its only political rhetoric,' I think it raises serious questions.” Well, close enough for politics.
Friday, Penn apologized for the meeting: "“The meeting was an error in judgment that will not be repeated and I am sorry for it. The senator’s well-known opposition to this trade deal is clear and was not discussed.”
Saturday, Colombia, taking umbrage a the apoloty fired Burson-Marsteller: "The Colombian government considers this a lack of respect to Colombians, and finds this response unacceptable.” (The $300,000 contract had been in place for more than a year, and as Joe Trippi noted, the only question is why hasn't this been an issue earlier?)

But there's one other event that surely preceded Mark Penn's asking to step down: A confrontation with Bill and/or Hillary. According to Ann Kornblut and Dan Balz this much has been leaked: "Clinton and her husband, Bill Clinton, were furious with Penn for going to the meeting, campaign officials said." Delicious details, surely to follow.

Steeped in triangulation (the art of finding middle-muddles between two controversial positions), Penn and the Clinton campaign offer us a non-resignation resignation. What exactly happened here? By giving up one title, but retaining a lucrative contract Mark Penn finds himself unable or unwilling to ask the Clash's musical question: "Should I Stay or Should I Go"

Mickeleh's Take: Given the long string of self-wounding strategic blunders that the Clinton campaign has made, and given the ludicrous and transparent goal-post moving spin that Penn has concocted almost daily in his press calls, it's amazing that he's held the Clinton's trust until "the events of the last few days." More amazing that he may still have it.

(Tags: Clinton, Hillary, Hillary Clinton, Mark Penn, Mark J Penn, Lobbyist, Burson-Marsteller, campaign)

Prime Time for Hillary

2008-04-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sen. Hillary Clinton has just released a second 3:00 AM TV spot. This one is aimed at Sen. John McCain, and focuses on the economy.

"It's 3 am, and your children are safe and asleep.
But there's a phone ringing in the White House and this time the crisis is economic."

Despite the absurdity of anyone making a 3:00 AM phone call on the mortgage crisis, Clinton's team are determined to brand her as President 3:00 AM." Maybe she should change her slogan to "ready on night one."

When did keeping vampire hours become part of the presidency? Makes you wonder what she plans to do with her days. Maybe she'll give Bill the day shift and keep the graveyard shift to herself.

Mickeleh's Take: The Democratic National Convention should offer Hillary Clinton a 3:00 AM speaking slot. In her world, that's prime time.

(Tags: 3:00 AM, Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Campaign)

Did Hillary Just Offer Her Pledged Delegates for Poaching?

2008-03-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

Sen. Hillary Clinton has floated a new possible path to victory: she reminds Obama's "pledged" delegates that they're free to switch sides (Newsweek, Daily News). Does she really want to open that door? What's sauce for the gander's delegates is sauce for the goose's.

Mickeleh's Take: I keep encountering folks who are turned off by Clinton's scorched-earth tactics. Among the supers, more folks have switched away from Clinton than to her. What if the same trend takes hold among the pledged delegates?

The Line Obama Needs to Fix In His Speech.

2008-03-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest, surefire, applause lines in Sen. Barack Obama's standard stump speech is this one:

"Here is the good news-the name George W. Bush will not be on the ballot. [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] And my cousin Dick Cheney won’t be on the ballot. [LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE] Well, everyone’s got a black sheep in the family.”"

It's an easy warm up joke. But why just let it lie there? Isn't this a ripe opening for Obama to remind us that, while George Bush won't be on the ballot, his war will be; his confusion about who's the real enemy will be; his economic program will be.

People think highly of John McCain. The press loves him. But he's running for the third term of George W. Bush. The Democrats need to work harder—at all levels—to tie McCain to the failed Bush presidency.

Mickeleh's Take: The best way for Obama to take on Sen. Clinton is to show us how effective he will be in taking on John McCain.

Obama on Race: Breadth, Depth, and Respect

2008-03-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

A funny thing happened on my way to blog about Obama's speech on race. I saw the Reuters headline: Obama denounces preacher; says can't disown him. Not inaccurate, but is that really the headline?

True, Obama talked at length about his relationship with Rev. Wright and distanced himself from his former pastor's remarks without denouncing the man. But isn't that what we all expected? Couldn't that headline might have been written last night?

Here's the real headline. Obama talks honestly about race in America (video). He put the whole festering, difficult tangle of issues on the table for open discussion without pandering or patronizing. It's never happened in any presidential campaign I can remember.

What astonished and heartened me about the speech was its breadth, depth, and respect.

Breadth, in that it encompassed the full sweep of race relations in this country from slavery, through constitutional compromise, segregation, and hopeful future.

Depth, in that it embraced our shared and separate experiences from both black and white perspectives—acknowledging resentments and suspicions on both sides—all channeled through the lens of Obama's multi-ethnic heritage.

Respect, in that the tone, structure, language, and argument of the speech appealed to our heads as well as our hearts, adult-to-adult.

Oliver Willis wrote this after the speech:

"One of my personal maxims has been that politicians will disappoint you... With Senator Obama, for the first time in my life, I have watched a political leader who I don’t worry if he’ll be up to the task."

Mickeleh's Take: If I may borrow from Rep. Ferraro, we're very lucky he is who he is.

What the Media Never Bothered to Answer About Rev. Wright

2008-03-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

No question that Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, made outrageous remarks in his sermons. The clips that have been most played on YouTube and TV are harsh, inflamatory, and disturbing. There's no easy way to spin, "God Damn America." Obama did what he needed to do, in written and video communications he distanced himself and denounced the statements. (see below for excerpts and clips).

How is it that this story—based solely on excerpts from old, long-available videos of sermons—was covered breathlessly as breaking news? It was covered with the urgency of of a crane falling and demolishing a New York building or an investment bank suddenly sucked into a sinkhole of bad credit, or the revelation that a righteous governor went to high-priced whores.

We got a lot of "what?" But very little "Why?" and not a bit of "Why now?" Does anyone know the flashpoint of the Rev. Wright firestorm? Anyone tracking that down?

Missing from the coverage was any sense of the context of the Rev. Dr. Wright's remarks. Here are some of the things what I wish the press would have told me.

Who is Rev. Wright (other than Obama's former pastor)? What's his bio?
What has he accomplished in his community? With his congregation?
What, taken as a whole, is his message to his congregation? to the African American community? to the Christian Church, to America?
What do his colleagues think of him?
What do members of his congregation think of him? What do they think his message is? Why are they drawn to him?
What is the background of Rev. Wright's black liberation theology?
What were the sermons with the nasty bits actually about? What was their message? What did they ask of the congregation?

Instead, the standard media play was: Here are some awful things that Obama's minister preached; will it sink his campaign or will it just get people to stop talking about Geraldine Ferraro?

The best main stream attempt to answer any of this came this morning in The Wall Street Journal in an article by Suzanne Satalin and Douglas Belkin. They quote Melissa Harris-Lacewell, associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University

"America is our country and we love her, yet she has done such awful things. We have to have a place where we say…'This is not okay. I'm still hurt about this.' "

The best perspective piece I've seen on Rev. Wright is not in the traditional media, but in this blog post by Kim Pearson on BlogHer.

Mickeleh's Take: If you want to take an even longer view: Rev. Jeremiah Wright's namesake, the prophet Jeremiah delivered even harsher messages against Israel and Jerusalem than anything Rev. Wright has said about the United States. In a ministry spanning the last days of the Kingdom of Judeah through the destruction of the Temple of Solomon, Original Jeremiah was even charged with treason, and indicted on a capital offense for his troubles. He railed against prophets who say all is well, all is well, when it's not well at all. (You probably know the more famous translation, "They cry 'peace, peace,' when there is no peace." Or the more recent version, "'The surge is working, the surge is working,' when the surge is not working.")

PostScript: Obama's statements.

"I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue."
—Huffington Post

He also sat for a friendly interiew with Keith Olbermann (MSNBC), and a prosecutorial one with Major Garrett (Fox News) and then addressed the issue again at a rally in Plainfield Indiana.

(Tags:Barack Obama, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's_Pastor, Media, Liberation Theology)

Ferraro's Game: Segment and Conquer

2008-03-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

Former Congressional Rep. Geraldine Ferraro is playing a nasty, cynical game. It's a game I know well because I play it professionally. She's not a racist. She's a marketer.

Ferraro is just working the old dodge of market segmentation and positioning. And the Clinton campaign is eagerly playing along.

Ferraro's original claim (in the Daily Breeze) that "if Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position" frames the competitive product as a candidate for blacks and elitist, latte-swilling liberals. What's that leave for her own product (Clinton)? The much larger segments combined from white working-class and rural voters and women.

She's not a racist, but she's dog whistling to them along with whites who resent black progress and to feminists who think that the woman candidate deserves to go first while the African American candidate waits his turn.

Will Bunch calls it "Hillary's 'Archie Bunker' Strategy," and he reminds us that Ferraro was Archie's congresswoman.

Adam Hanft exposes the preposterousness of taking Ferraro's claims at face value by asking us to imagine the impact of a white candidate who had the education, skills, perspective, and vision of Obama.

But Ferraro herself exposes her own cynicism (or idiocy) in the defense she made on ABC yesterday morning.

"I was celebrating the fact that the black community in this country came out with a pride in a historic candidacy, and has shown itself at the polls. You'd think he'd say, 'Yeah thank you for doing that.'"

Right. That's just what you'd think. Obama, whose signature is broad appeal to black and white, old and young, gay and straight, Democrat and Republican is about to thank you for defining him as the niche candidate for the black community.

It's a shameful game. And more shameful is the record of the Clinton campaign moving slowly and gingerly to ever-so-slightly distance itself from it. But the Clinton campaign has no shame.

Even the master shamer of cable TV, Keith Olbermann won't move the Clintonistas. But he has moved me, and I'm hopeful he will move you. His rant is up all over the Web in the left blogosphere. But just in case you've somehow missed it, here it is again.

Mickeleh's Take: Segmentation and positioning are powerful tools in politics as well as marketing. The Clinton campaign has chosen the route of Segment and Conquer.

Obama Netted +13 Delegates Last Week

2008-03-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

Kos has revised his delegate math since I posted earlier. Turns out his California total rose (after certification), and it turns out there were even more superdelegates declaring for Obama. So the net gain for Obama is thirteen delegates on the week.

Clinton Obama Takedown Comes in Three Sizes

2008-03-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

The Clinton camp continues to trash Obama's ability to serve as commander in chief. As of this morning we have the Poppa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear versions:

Baby Bear was Gov. Ed Rendell, yesterday on Meet the Press said Obama is qualified, but Clinton more so:

I think he's qualified. I don't think he's as good a potential commander in chief right now as Hillary Clinton is. But I certainly think he's qualified. And I will work my heart out for him if he's our nominee,

Mama Bear was Sen. Clinton Herself, leaving out a direct pronouncement on Obama's qualifications:

I think it’s imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold. I believe that I’ve done that. Certainly, Sen. McCain has done that and you’ll have to ask Sen. Obama with respect to his candidacy,”

Today, Papa Bear, Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said no. And then preposterously added that he could get better by Denver (to qualify as Clinton's running mate).

We do not believe that Senator Obama has passed the commander-in-chief test. But there is a long way between now and Denver."

Mickeleh's Take: Wolfson is spinning so hard, he's in danger of disintegrating. Obama is not qualified if you're voting in a primary. But by Denver, if you're voting for Veep, maybe he will be. I wonder if Governor Rendell got a reprimand for speaking honorably.

Obama's Top Five Wins Last Week

2008-03-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

No question that Hillary has had a good run these past two weeks. She snapped her 11-state losing streak with wins in Ohio and Rhode Island, and the perception of a win in Texas. Her "kitchen sink" strategy planted doubts about Obama's fitness as commander-in-chief and his forthrightness. She successfully worked the refs (with an assist from SNL). She won the spin cycle when two of Obama's key advisors (Goosling and Power) were caught talking trash. She managed her public personas, tamping down the over-the-top "shame on you," scold and "the sky will open" sarcasm.

Conventional wisdom says all this has rattled the Obama campaign and thrown it off stride. I hope not. Because he's had a terrific week and Clinton has given him ammunition to come out of this stronger than ever.

1. IL-14. Former Republican House speaker Denny Hastert's house seat went Democratic (53-47) in a race where Obama endorsed victorious Bill Foster and John McCain endorsed the loser. This district hasn't voted Democratic since the 70's. Obama's camp should flog this win heavily. Obama has coattails. Superdelegates notice those things. Here's Obama's TV Spot. (By the way... Foster himself counts as one more superdelegate for Obama.) Extra bonus: Foster opposes retroactive immunity for the telecoms.

2. Wyoming. It's not just that Obama won, but his win gave the Clintons one more chance to repeat their disrespectful spin that some states just don't count. (I live in Washington, and I'm tired of hearing from Clinton camp that we don't matter.) And more important, it gives the Obama camp an opportunity to remind superdelegates in a majority of states that Clinton dismisses them as unimportant.

3. McCain. Hillary Clinton actually rated the Republican standard bearer as more qualified than Obama (while out of the other side of her mouth she touted Obama as a potential "dream-ticket" running mate). What a golden opportunity to tie Clinton to McCain/Bush. Clinton needs to be held to account and penalized for creating sound bites and video clips for the Republicans.

4. Delegates. Kos did the delegate math for the week. In all the primaries and caucuses (OH, RI, VT, TX, WY), Hillary nets a gain of four. Obama picked up a total of four supers (including Foster). But, according to Kos, it doesn't end in a tie, as there's an "unpledged" delegate in Wyoming who will be selected by the elected delegates. Since Obama has a majority of Wyoming's elected delegates, he's going to get that one too. So Obama's net for the week is plus one.

5. Focus. The downside spin is that Obama is rattled and thrown off stride. Here's the upside. Last week was a wake-up call. Obama's got the more disciplined campaign engine (Goosling and Power notwithstanding); he's got the cleaner, larger donor base; he's got a huge dollar advantage; he's all got charisma. But, it seems, he's been coasting in a bit of a complacency bubble which just popped.

Mickeleh's Take: This is going to be a fine, fun week for Obama fans.

(Tags: campaign, Obama, Barack Obama, Hillary, Hillary Clinton, delegates, superdelegates)

Do Florida and Michigan Supers Fall to Clinton by Default?

2008-03-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

The DNC, the states, and the campaigns continue to wrestle with the issue of the disqualified delegates from Florida and Michigan. Chuck Todd (NBC) points out that the two states have 53 superdelegates between them who will owe a big debt to Sen. Clinton if her efforts to get them seated pay off.

Mickeleh's Take: The Clintons launched their campaign with a YouTube video that cast them as the Sopranos. I'll bet they know a thing or two about collecting debts.

Obama's Gloves

2008-03-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

Eriposte in The Left Coaster compiles a long list of negative attacks from the Obama campaign against Clinton.

He says it's a "fairy tale" that Obama has run a purely positive campaign.

Mickeleh's Take: Obama fans: is this good news or bad? Pundits keep saying Obama needs to take the gloves off. What if they've been off and nobody noticed?

Nader in; Takes "Oldest" spot from McCain

2008-02-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ralph Nader, 73, whose spoiler role in the 2000 election enabled the Bush victory, is running again. So, now, John McCain, 71, isn't the oldest candidate in the race.

Mickeleh's Take: Nader, who saw no practical difference between Bush and Gore is unsafe at any age.

(Tags:Ralph Nader, Nader, Campaign)

Who Won Last Night's Debate? Here's a Clue.

2008-02-22T09:38:00.000-08:00

Note: McCain-Obama First Debate Who Won?

Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had strong debate showings last night. Many folks are calling it a draw today. And in the sense that the debate probably changed no votes, it was a draw. Which, of course, means that Clinton lost.

Mickeleh's Take: There were two memorable moments last night and Clinton owned both: When she dissed Obama with a cheap joke, she was boo'd. And when she praised him at the end and promised unity no matter who got the nomination, she got a standing ovation.

I think that says it all.

(Tags:Hillary Clinton, Hillary, Clinton, Barack Obama, Barack, Obama, Debate, Democratic Party, Campaign)

Viva Obama

2008-02-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

Mickeleh's Take: Yum.

Jokes You Can Xerox

2008-02-21T18:08:00.000-08:00

That plagiarism thing came up again. Obama said Deval Patrick is one of his national co-chairs, and gave him the line. Clinton said, Obama should use his own words. Otherwise it isn't "Change you can believe in. It's Change you can Xerox."

So where did Hillary get that line? Anybody out there think she wrote that joke? Anybody?

Obama and Hillary on Edwards: Both gracious, one masterful.

2008-01-30T10:59:00.000-08:00

With John Edwards dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination for president, the two remaining candidates are both reaching out to Edwards supporters on their websites. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama lead with gracious nods to John and Elizabeth and to the issues and causes that they championed in the campaign.

As an Edwards supporter, I appreciate both statements. But it is Barack's statement that gets my vote. Here's why:

Hillary' statement is in her prosaic voice:

John Edwards ended his campaign today in the same way he started it - by standing with the people who are too often left behind and nearly always left out of our national debate.

John ran with compassion and conviction and lifted this campaign with his deep concern for the daily lives of the American people. That is what this election is about - it's about our people. And John is one of the greatest champions the American people could ask for.

I wish John and Elizabeth all the best. They have my great personal respect and gratitude. And I know they will continue to fight passionately for the country and the people they love so deeply.
—Hillary Clinton

It praises John, identifies with his issues, and wishes John and Elizabeth well. By the numbers.

Now read Barack's statement. It is a much more savvy embrace of the tonality and history of the Edwards campaign.

John Edwards has spent a lifetime fighting to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the struggling, even when it wasn’t popular to do or covered in the news. At a time when our politics is too focused on who’s up and who’s down, he made a nation focus again on who matters – the New Orleans child without a home, the West Virginia miner without a job, the families who live in that other America that is not seen or heard or talked about by our leaders in Washington. John and Elizabeth Edwards have always believed deeply that we can change this – that two Americas can become one, and that our country can rally around this common purpose. So while his campaign may end today, the cause of their lives endures for all of us who still believe that we can achieve that dream of one America.
—Barack Obama

In the opening sentence Obama acknowledges that the media largely kept John in shadow and silence. He chides the media for horserace coverage rather than issues and causes. He personalizes abstract issues with examples in the way that Edwards did in his stump speeches. He then uses his own campaign lexicon of "believe" and "change" to embrace the Edwards quest. And he closes by embracing Edwards key phrases "cause of my life," and "one America."

Graphically, Obama's site has absorbed Elizabeth and John into its own design language, while Clinton has posted a news photo.

The Hillary statement feels obligatory. The Barack statement feels like John's voice is still heard.

Mickeleh's Take: Regardless of whether John Edwards chooses to endorse either of the remaining candidates, Obama has already endorsed Edwards issues and embraced his supporters.

(Tags:Edwards, John_Edwards, Barack, Obama, Barack Obama, Hillary, Hillary Clinto, HRC, Campaign, Democratic, Primary)

Ann Coulter, Christian Revisionist

2007-10-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

Isn't it off message for Coulter to talk about "perfecting" the Jews? I thought the object of the game was to "save" us.

She called Christianity the FedEx version of Judaism. As in, "There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold And she's buying the FedEx to heaven."

Mickeleh's Take: In Coulter's view of her religion, she gets to think of herself as being perfect, without actually having to be decent.

(Tags:Ann Coulter, Coulter, Jews)

Money Talks

2007-09-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

Tristero at Hullabaloo explains how it works.

President Bush or President Betray Us?

2007-09-21T05:50:00.000-07:00

The freedom to dissent got a double-barreled blast yesterday—from the President and the Senate. (Yes, the same Senate that earlier failed to restore the right to Habeas Corpus.) Both condemned the "General Betray Us?" ad that MoveOn.org placed in the New York Times last week.

Are we now supposed to hold our General in the same reverence that the Muslims hold their Prophet?

Isn't General Petraeus is fighting for our liberty to make cheap puns on his name? Or don't we have that freedom anymore?

Bush, on the other hand, is fighting to equate dissent with treason, subvert our Constitutional liberties, and gather dictatorial powers to the Presidency.

Yesterday he came up to (maybe over) the line of warning the Democrats not to irritate the military. He does this while cherishing the privilege of his political allies to smear honorable opponents with lies and innuendo. He said, "I felt like the ad was an attack, not only on Gen. Petraeus, but on the US military." (Hats off to Prof. Lakoff who presciently declared yesterday "Metonymy Day.")

I'm embarrassed and infuriated that twenty-two Democrats made it possible for the Dornyn amendment to pass. (SEE BELOW for the names.) Thought experiment: how many Republicans would join with Democrats in condemning the Swift-boating of Kerry, the smears of Max Cleland and John Murtha?

Turning an ad (whether you liked it or not—and I didn't like much, BTW) into a issue worthy of Presidential threats and Senatorial condemnation is not simply an attempt to distract from weightier matters (cholera breaks out in Iraq; Blackwater security guards ordered to leave by Iraqi government, etc.). It's an attempt to chill dissent. (Please see the excellent post on Kos by hbjackson.)

To guard against having all of our liberties frog-boiled away by slow increments, I'm reviving and adapting the old Homeland Security alerts to track attacks against our freedoms. I'm raising the threat level to Orange.

I'm also signing up and sending MoveOn.org some money to continue their fight. Please do likewise. Liberty: use it or lose it.

Mickeleh's Take: Bush claimed, after 9-11, "they hate us for our freedoms." Maybe he thinks that suppressing our freedoms will make them hate us less.

Here are the Democrats who voted to condemn the ad: Baucus (MT), Bayh (IN), Cardin (MD), Carper (DE), Casey (PA), Conrad (ND), Dorgan (ND), Feinstein (CA), Johnson (SD), Klobuchar (MN), Kohl (WI), Landrieu (LA), Leahy (VT), Lincoln (AR), McCaskill (MO), Mikulski (MD), Nelson (FL), Nelson (NE), Pryor (AR), Salazar (CO), Tester (MT), Webb (VA)

Three Democrats avoided the issue: presidential candidates Biden (DL) and Obama (IL), and my own Iraq-tightrope-walking, needle-threading Sen. Cantwell (WA).

(Tags:MoveOn, Petraeus, MoveOn.org, Betray Us, Dissent, Libery, Senate, Bush, Iraq)

Five Questions Following Senate's Failure to Restore Habeas Corpus

2007-09-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

Why is the headline: "Senate Rejects Habeas Legislation" and not "Republican Minority Blocks Vote on Habeas Legislation"?
Why does Majority Leader Reed accept cloture votes and move on rather than forcing Republicans (plus Joe Lieberman) to go to the diapers and actually filibuster?
Why don't Democratic Party leaders (including the presidential candidates who have the media spotlight) make Republican obstructionism the issue—leaving Republicans a clear field to make "Democrat" ineffectiveness their issue.
If we support the Democratic campaigns to get a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, will we actually see progressive legislation?
Is the Ralph Nader claim that there's no significant difference between the parties starting to look any better to you?

Mickeleh's Take: Congressional approval polls are even lower than Presidential approval polls. Bonus question: How politically risky would it be for the Democratic leaders to more assertive?

Edwards Fundraising: Smart, Postitive, Uplifting

2007-09-17T08:42:00.001-07:00

In a word, here's how politicians raise money: fear.

The typical fundraiser is an appeal for money to keep the boogeyman du jour at bay. You've seen 'em: If so-and-so wins the world will end and you'll lose your immortal soul and your Google stock.

Can we stand four more years of the Bush war? Can we stand to have Hillary in the White House? Can we stand by while gays destroy the sanctity of marriage? While abortionists murder the unborn? While the Republicans shred the Constitution? While Al Qaeda plots to murder us in our beds? While Republican senators and airport policemen spend all afternoon hogging the toilet stalls, preventing decent travelers from finding a place to poop? etc.

John Edwards decided to go a different way. Contribute to his campaign and you'll be entered into a drawing to go to New Orleans with him to work with him "alongside families who are rebuilding their homes and their lives."

Mickeleh's Take: A politician ppealing to goodness, generosity, and our better natures? Hmmm. Isn't this newsworthy in the traditional "man-bites-dog" sense? Which means it will go unnoticed in a media world where the top stories are a girls doing an awkward dance in her undies and a football player turned murderer makes a grab for sports memorabilia.

Here's my suggestion, John. You want coverage? While you're in New Orleans, get your hair cut in a local barber shop. And throw the guy a $400 tip.

Francine's Take on Alive Day Memories

2007-09-15T20:11:00.001-07:00

Francine Hardaway has written a deeply moving reflection on watching the HBO documentary Alive Day Memories, in which James Gandolfini interviews troopers who had been seriously wounded, physically and emotionally in Iraq. She notes

The war goes into its fifth year. Bush goes on doing whatever he wants. Congress goes on doing nothing. And I wonder how the voters feel about staying in Iraq forever.

While I was reading it, iTunes randomly selected The Band's "Tears of Rage" as the soundtrack.

Mickeleh's Take: This quick note is no substitute for reading Francine's blog. And reading her blog is no substitute for watching Alive Day Memories. And watching Alive Day Memories is no substitute for ... what? What are we doing to stop this?

"Return on Success"? Nah, Impeach on Failure

2007-09-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

Whatever happened to the fearsome Republican phrasemaking A-team? You know, the folks who brought us "the death tax," "clear skies initiative," "defense of marriage." Have they all left the building? Is there nobody left who can do better than "Return on Success"?

The phrase can't help but stir echoes of "Return on Investment." We have made an investment of 3776 dead (3637 since "Mission Accomplished"), 27,848 wounded, (at least 500 with amputations), and a cost surging well past $400 billion. The Bush proposed investment will see us to at least another thousand U.S. dead and a cost mounting toward a trillion dollars. (And that investment, of course, doesn't see us to the end. It leaves us with more troops in Iraq than we had before the surge began.)

What is our return? Well, we got Saddam and Bush got to prance around and parade his package in a flight suit. And I think some Iraqi schools got painted. And there's a market somewhere that U.S. politicians can visit if they are sufficiently well guarded.

Any other returns on our investment? Iraqi deaths number, by the most conservative estimates, about 70,000. By more likely estimates, they are multiple hundred thousands—and a story by Tina Susman in this morning's L.A. Times says the Iraqi toll may pass one million. Dead.

The U.N estimates more than 4 million Iraqis have been forced from their homes, some 2 million are now living in other (mostly Arab) countries. We've fueled worldwide recruiting for al-Qaeda.

And the other day, our poster-boy for "success" in Anbar province, Sheikh Sattar Abu Reesh was blown up near his heavily guarded compound.

Krugman, this morning, notes that Bush political crony and member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, Ray Hunt has gone and cut a side deal with the Kurds in Iraq for oil. Talk about insider trading—here's a guy in a position to know and he's betting on the failure of Bush's proclaimed policy of seeking a united Iraq. Over the line, Smokey puts in more plainly: "Bush's pals begin the looting of Iraq."

That's just a partial accounting of our return on investment.

But "return on success" is not a bad choice simply for its echo of "return on investment." It's downright monstrous in its own right. It seems to place the burden of coming home squarely on the shoulders of the soldiers and marines in Iraq. Get the job done and you can come home.

As if the job is theirs to do. As if they had the power to deliver success.

Everyone (but Bush and Cheney) agrees that there is no military solution to Iraq. The only way out is diplomatic and political. But there, we got nothin'.

So, Bush is holding our military force hostage pending a "success" that they cannot influence, a success that he has so far refused to pursue with any vigor, commitment, or competence.

Mickeleh's Take: When Bush lists all the awful things that might happen if we pull out, he comes up with a list that's very close to the things that have happened since we invaded. How about replacing "Return on Success" with "Impeach on Failure"?

Caustic Column by Kitman on Couric

2007-07-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

Marvin Kitman spews a little well-deserved sarcasm in his take on New York mag's cover story on Katie Couric.

Michael Moore Does Surgery on Wolf Blitzer With No Anesthetic

2007-07-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a bit of joy. Crooks and Liars has video of Michael Moore on the Wolf Blitzer show on CNN. Moore detours the interview away from Wolf's agenda to demand an apology from Blitzer (as well as CNN and the rest of the MSM) for neglecting their job in the run-up to the Iraq war. He reminds Blitzer that Fahrenheit 911 was right and CNN's coverage of the run-up to the war was wrong. He points out that CNN's hostility to Sicko might be motivated by the large infusion of advertising they carry from big pharma.

Moore also has the video on his own site along with a refutation of the Sicko slams that intro'd the interview.

Mickeleh's Take: Nice to know that someone other than Cheney can reduce Wolf Blitzer to a stunned, sputtering blintz. Wouldn't the world get better faster if more guests would follow Moore's lead? Why do guests blandly accept the premises of the interviewer?

(Tags: Sicko, Michael Moore, CNN, Wolf Blitzer, Healthcare, News)

Isikoff Quotes White House Aid: Bush Pardoned Libby to Avoid "Fracture" with Cheney

2007-07-08T18:36:00.001-07:00

Michael Isikoff has some insder reporting on how Bush came to commute Libby's sentence. No surprises, but some good detail. The money quote of the report is attributed to one of two unnamed White House "advisers," "I'm not sure Bush had a choice. If he didn't act, it would have caused a fracture with the vice president."

Naturally, Isikoff has to balance the article by throwing up Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich as an equivalent. Howie Kurtz on TV ended his segment on this topic with "enough hypocrisy on both sides."

It's time for the press to cease and desist from using false balance to distort what's happening. Bush clearly used the power of a commutation to stop an investigation into what special prosecutor Fitzgerald J Fitzgerald identified as a "cloud over the Vice President." There is no equivalent to that in Clinton's actions. As Fitzgerald said last February, "We didn't put that cloud there. That cloud's there because the defendant obstructed justice. That cloud is something you just can't pretend isn't there."

During the investigation, Libby was told not to discuss the case with anybody. He almost complied. Who did he discuss it with? Says Fitzgerald: "the only person [Libby] told is the vice president. Think about that." (source: Truthout.)

Mickeleh's Take: The fix is still in. The big lie is still the order of the day. And too much of the media still plays along. Mr. Isikoff, what's the compulsion to stuff every report with "on the other hand..."? Keep the other hand in your pocket. It will improve your objectivity.

And yes. Clinton did some terrible things. So did Bush 41. (He pardoned the Iran-Contragate crew.). If you have to find historical balance, how come you only talk about Clinton? The Bush example is a much closer parallel.

(Tags: Cheney, Libby, Commute, Bush, News, Politics)

Thom Hartmann: An Even Better Rant

2007-07-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

A common thread in the rants I linked to below is the common sense view that George W. Bush kept Scooter out of jail to keep him silent and protect the White House.

Thom Hartmann presents a chronology that points within a week or so the moment that the fix went in—the moment when Scooter's defense team suddenly decided to mount no defense—not to call Libby, not to call Cheney, not to do anything but smile and wait it out.

Hartmann begins with the objection raised by George Mason at the time the constitution was written:

The President of the United States has the unrestrained Power of granting Pardons for Treason; which may be sometimes exercised to screen from punishment those whom he had secretly instigated to commit the Crime, & thereby prevent a Discovery of his own Guilt. –

and makes a very strong case that what Mason feared is exactly what transpired.

Mickeleh's Take: The framers did not leave us without remedy. As James Madison responded to Mason's objection:

[I]f the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds tp believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty...

It's up to Congress to act. It's up to us to keep the pressure on Congress.

For your Weekend Reading: 10 Best Rants About Bush-Cheney-Scooter

2007-07-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

That dead soul who slinks into a room to the strains of "Hail to the Chief"... that smirk on a stick who tells audiences he's happy to take an incomplete on how history will judge his administration... that self-styled commander guy and decider who, in reality, is content to merely be puppeteered by his vice president... that guy who in refering to himself simply as "43," reminds us continually of his I.Q... has this week provoked new outrage, scorn, and deeply earned contempt for handing a stay-out-of-jail card that George W. Bush handed to his and Cheney's shared operative, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Jr as well as carefully reasoned and researched explanations of how far Bush has strayed from the guidelines of his own Justice Department.

Here (with a nod to the friends who have emailed me pointers) are ten of the best responses. Actually, it goes to eleven (and beyond).

Mark Morford (S.F. Gate)

...But really, you do have to laugh at the vicious antics this administration, and perhaps Dick Cheney in particular, that most nefarious molester of U.S. law and ignorer of all political integrity and deeply homophobic father of a creepily lesbian daughter and overall gruntingly guff sneerer at all moral principle, masterful mocker of everything you somehow still manage to think, even in your most despondent and ethically disillusioned state, that American politics is somehow supposed to be about....

Juan Cole (Informed Comment)

...Basically, in Bushworld, high government officials are above the law, including all international law and most domestic...

Hunter (Daily Kos)

...With each passing day, Bush becomes a little less presidential, and a little more like Al Capone with an Air Force.

Editorial (NYT)

...Mr. Bush’s assertion that he respected the verdict but considered the sentence excessive only underscored the way this president is tough on crime when it’s committed by common folk. As governor of Texas, he was infamous for joking about the impending execution of Karla Faye Tucker, a killer who became a born-again Christian on death row. As president, he has repeatedly put himself and those on his team, especially Mr. Cheney, above the law.... Mr. Bush did not sound like a leader making tough decisions about justice. He sounded like a man worried about what a former loyalist might say when actually staring into a prison cell.

Edward Lazarus (FindLaw)

As a procedural matter, the President chose to bypass long-established Department of Justice guidelines for exercising his pardon and commutation power.

These guidelines recommend and anticipate that the Administration will consult with the lead prosecutor on the case, and even with the sentencing judge... that commutations ordinarily should not be given until the individual under consideration has served some period of time in jail, and has either exhausted or given up his or her appeals...

TPM Reader AR (Talking Points Memo)

It seems pretty clear to me that Bush would not be taking nearly as much heat if he'd waited for Libby to do some time in prison. So why the hurry? Was the hurry because Bush wanted to take no chance that Libby would start talking?...

Amy Butler (Senior Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.)

Dear Mr. Bush... Maybe you feel you’re protected enough to behave in whatever manner you want, to leave democracy and the American people in the dust while you keep your friends happy, but I want you to know I’m tired of it all. For the first time in my adult life I am genuinely alarmed about the kind of country I will be handing off to my kids....

Andrew Sullivan (The Atlantic)

... The number of people George W. Bush sent to their deaths without a second's thought is higher than any living governor in the United States. And yet it took a perjury conviction of a white, wealthy, connected apparatchik to awaken the president's sensitivity to injustice...

(For the record, the number Bush sent to their deaths is 152, including 2 women. In the case of one of those women, Karla Faye Tucker, Bush ignored pleas for mercy from the Pope, Jerry Falwell, Pat Roberts. Sullivan cites a devastating 2003 article from by Alan Berlow from The Atlantic, "The Texas Clemency Memos." Read it and weep.)

Editorial (The Montgomery Advertiser)

Don Siegelman must be wondering right about now about the wisdom of being a lifelong Democrat, not a Republican.

The former governor, who last week pleaded with a federal judge that he deserved probation and not prison time, instead was whisked off in shackles immediately after his sentencing to start serving a seven-year sentence, despite the fact that his appeals in the case were still pending...

Dan Froomkin (washingtonpost.com)

... Was there a quid pro quo at work? Was Libby being repaid for falling on his sword and protecting his bosses from further scrutiny? Alternately, was he being repaid for his defense team's abrupt decision in mid-trial not to drag Cheney into court, where he would have faced cross-examination by Fitzgerald?...

(Froomkin cites A Judiciary Committee report prepared after Watergate: which summarizes the framers' intent regarding Impeachment. George Mason, anticipated circumstances much like our own in which a president might use the pardon power to shield actions that he himself initiated, "to stop inquiry and prevent detection." James Madison responded, "[I]f the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds tp believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him...")

Keith Olbermann, Special Comment (MSNBC)

[AGAINST FOOTAGE OF BUSH AT GROUND ZERO] ...We enveloped our President in 2001. And those who did not believe he should have been elected—indeed those who did not believe he had been elected—willingly lowered their voices and assented to the sacred oath of non-partisanship.

And George W. Bush took our assent, and re-configured it, and honed it, and shaped it to a razor-sharp point and stabbed this nation in the back with it.

Were there any remaining lingering doubt otherwise, or any remaining lingering hope, it ended yesterday when Mr. Bush commuted the prison sentence of one of his own staffers....

(See it on YouTube.)

[late breaking: Thom Hartmann's even better rant]

Bonus section: The Washington Post Series on Cheney by Barton Gellman and Jo Becker:

Part 1: “A Different Understanding with the President”
Part 2: “Pushing the Envelope on Presidential Power”
Part 3: “A Strong Push from Backstage”
Part 4: “Leaving No Tracks”

Sidney Blumenthal (Salon)

Mickeleh's Take: The White House is counting on our national ADHD to ensure that we quickly move on to some other shiny thing and lose sight of our outrage. We're not moving on until Bush and Cheney move on. I wonder if moveon.org should consider a name change.

(Tags:Scooter, Scooter Libby, Commute, politics, justice, injustice, Bush, Cheney)

Can You Spare $61 To Help Undo What Bush Has Done?

2007-07-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

George W. Bush turns 61 tomorrow. To exploit the occasion, Laura Bush's name has been appended to a GOP fundraising letter inviting folks to give a present that all Republicans can share: a donation to the party.

Alan Bisbort has a better way to celebrate: Donate $61 to someone or some group to help repair even a bit of the damage caused by the Bush administration.

Consider, for example, sending $61 to a friend who needs help with the bills after her recent illness and lack of insurance has wiped out her life's savings (I've got a couple candidates, if you're stumped for anyone who qualifies). Or consider sending $61 to any prisoner jailed for political reasons. (My personal pick is Jeff Luers; for more information, visit http://www.freefreenow.org). Or just send the $61 to the usual suspects who are out there on the front lines, trying to redress global crises and political repression: Greenpeace (www.greenpeace.org), Earth First! (www.earthfirst.org), Wild Aid (www.wildaid.org), Population Connection (www.populationconnection.org), Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org), and Doctors Without Borders (www.doctorswithoutborders.org).

The point is to send the $61 anywhere that offers hope, compassion, healing. That means, literally, anywhere but the GOP!

Bisbort urges that you accompany your gift with a note explaining its significance.

Mickeleh's Take: It's a great idea. Where will you donate your $61?

Surprise: Bush Can Use Language With Great Precision

2007-07-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

A running bit on Letterman called "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches," follows the classic comedy three-step of set-up, set-up, punchline.

Set-up: FDR, delivering his best remembered line: "The only thing we have to fear is... fear itself"
Set-up: JFK, delivering his best remembered line: "Ahsk not what youah country can do faw you. Ahsk what you can do faw yoah country"
Punchline: GWB, fumfering and stammering, eyes darting, shoulders hunched

It's a sure-fire laugh. But it's Bush and team that get the last laugh. When the chips are down, Bush says neither more nor less than he means.

When Plame's name was first leaked, Bush said: "If there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated the law, the person will be taken care of.'' After a jury said Libby violated the law, Bush took very good care of him. (With an implication of even better care to come.)

When Gonzales play-acted advanced Alzheimer's in front of the U.S. Senate, Bush said Gonzales "answered every answer he could possibly answer, honestly answer, in a way that increased my confidence in his ability to do his job.” Translation: Gonzales answered only the questions that could be answered without implicating Rove, Cheney, or me. His ability to stonewall increased my confidence that he could do his job, which is to shield the rest of us." He went on to say, "Some senators didn’t like his explanation, but he answered as honestly as he could."

Mickeleh's Take: If a prisoner is stabbed in a fight, and he tells the authorities that he must have slipped and fallen on the shiv, he gains status in the yard for having "held his mud." Libby and Gonzales both held their mud. They'll be taken care of.

(Tags:Bush, Libby, Commute, Gonzales)

When in the Course of Human Events...

2007-07-04T15:35:00.000-07:00

On this fourth of July, please take a step to help put an end to the injustice of King George. I'm so appalled at the distance between the ideals under which this country was founded and the conduct of its current administration. Kohut says that in the Pew surveys, the single word that respondents use to describe Bush is "incompetent."

But incompetence is the least of it. IMHO, incompetence is a smokescreen for a very effective dismantling of the rule of law in this country.

In commuting Libby's sentence, Bush reaffirms that he believes that the Cheney-Bush administration is above the law.

In commuting Libby's sentence, Bush reveals that his insistence on on strict, mandatory sentencing guidelines does not apply to him or his cronies.

In commuting Libby's sentence, Bush tramples on the myth of fair, impartial justice.

In commuting Libby's sentence, Bush endorses obstruction of justice as a legitimate tool of statecraft to be applied when convenient.

Clemency has no part in Bush's calculation. He's simply reinforcing the stonewall that has protected Cheney, Rove, and ultimately himself.

Commuting Libby's sentence isn't about loyalty to Libby any more than endorsing Gonzales is about loyalty to Gonzales. In both cases, Bush is working to keep up the firewall that keeps real justice at bay.

Congress can leap that firewall with subpoenas backed by the force of impeachment. Will the Senate convict? unlikely. But the impeachment and investigation can move forwared and uncover the truth.

Please take an action to resist. Call the White House. Call your congressional reps. Sign this moveon.org petition to subpoena Cheney and, if he resists, impeach him:

"Congress must force Vice President Cheney to respond to its subpoenas. If he continues to obstruct justice and disregard the rule of law, Congress has no choice but to begin impeachment proceedings against him."

http://pol.moveon.org/subpoena/

Mickeleh's take: ... it becomes necessary.

(Tags:Bush, Cheney, Scooter, Libby, Commute, Commutation, moveon.org, petition, impeach, subpeona)

All of MSNBC is off my DVR for two months

2007-06-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Hardball books Coulter. (see my post yesterday). That earns me a one-month respite from the newscaster known to the blogosphere as Tweety.

Today, the entire network turns into all-Coulter, all-the-time as everyone needs to follow up on the Elizabeth Edwards phone call to Ann. That earns me a two-month respite from all MSNBC programming.

And, of course, the manufactured event takes the lead position on their website.

So, no links for them.

Mickeleh's Take: If Olbermann does something wonderful, I'm sure I'll read about it somewhere.

Hardball is off My DVR for a Month

2007-06-26T02:36:00.001-07:00

Chris Matthews has booked Ann Coulter for his show today. Whenever that happens, I drop him from my DVR lineup for a month.

Mickeleh's Take: Hey, Chris, don't you know that Cable news builds its ratings on missing blond women?

Iraq Prognosis: Juan Cole Posts a Vet's List

2007-05-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

The Commander Guy and his cheering section regularly regale us with the terrible consequences of leaving Iraq. By contrast, they expect positive outcomes if we stay. Considering the intentions and resources of the factions now in play, it might be prudent to remember what Rummy told us back in the days of looting accomplished: "Stuff happens."

Juan Cole posted a grim list of stuff that may well happen in the coming months provided to him by someone identified only as "a canny vet."

Mickeleh's Take: Read the list. Judge for yourself whether these outcomes seem more or less likely than those predicted by the Bushies

Jon Stewart & McCain; Stewart's Best Republican Interview Ever

2007-04-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

Time was that I cringed whenever Jon Stewart booked a right-winger for an interview. To his credit, Jon works hard to keep his interviews civil and congenial. In the past, however, that meant throwing too many polite, soft pitches and letting the right-winger control the segment.

That was then. This is now. Stewart has a found a voice that remains civil and congenial, but now adds tough and challenging. He follows up. He follows through. He doesn't take crap, pap, or talking points. And he does it all with humor. It's masterful.

As for McCain, like Uncle Junior on the latest episode of the Sopranos, the Senator managed to come out of his recent fog and lethargy to show us flashes of the sharp and feisty ad libber he used to be. He still can't get anything past Stewart.

Watch this through to the end. It has a wow finish.

Mickelehs' Take: The good news is that both men were at the top of their games. The better news is that Stewart still decked the old man. Civilly and Congenially.

(Tags: John McCain, John Stewart, McCain, Daily Show, Campaign, Iraq, War, Iraq War, Politics)

Did Bush Okay Firing Iglesias? (Albuquerque Journal)

2007-04-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

In October, the Justice Department had a list of U.S. Attorneys to fire. David Iglesias was not on the list. The November 15th version of that list included Iglesias. How'd that happen?

Josh Marshall points to a Mike Gallagher article in this morning's Albuquerque Journal that indicates Bush personally okayed the firing of U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. Iglesias, you remember, was the one who testified about the phone call he had from Sen. Pete Domenici asking whether he'd be filing an indictment of New Mexico's Democratic Attorney General before the election:

“I gave an answer to the effect of I didn't think so.

“He said, ‘I’m very sorry to hear that,’ and the line went dead, the telephone line went dead. I thought to myself, did he just hang up on me?

“He didn't call back; I didn't call back. I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad had happened, and within six weeks I got a call from Mike Battle saying that it was time for me to move on.”

What does Gallagher add to the story? Two phone calls: Domenici called Rove after the election and asked him to take the firing request directly to Bush. Subsequently, Bush and Domenici had a direct conversation on the subject.

Mickeleh's Take: How does Gallagher know this? Looks like someone in the senator's office is talking. "The Journal confirmed the sequence of events through a variety of sources familiar with the firing of Iglesias, including sources close to Domenici. The senator's office declined comment." I wonder if this will come up during Tuesday's Gonazles testimony.

(Tags: Bush, Rove, Gonzalez, Domenici, Attorneys, Iglesias)

Should Dems Boycott Fox News?

2007-04-14T04:33:00.001-07:00

Twice now, the Democrats have managed to avoid airing their presidential nominating debates on Fox "News", on the grounds that Fox is little more than a propaganda arm of the Republican right disguised as a news network.

The discussion now, raised by John Aravosis after Obama sat for an Fox "News" interview, is whether prominent Democrats should escalate to giving Fox a total and global cold shoulder. No interviews, no nothin.

Mickeleh's Take: Isn't this the Bush position with regard to talking to Syria? Hmmm

(Tags: Fox, Fox News, Democrats, Politics, Bias)

Why the Pelosi Trip is Getting So Much Negative Press

2007-04-06T14:26:00.000-07:00

Devilstower on Kos finds the positive in all of the negative coverage that MSM is lavishing on Pelosi's visit to Syria. (Spoiler: it's a sign that the old applause lines aren't working anymore.)

Mickeleh's Take: Boy are they not working. How not working are they? Bush doing a medley of his greatest hits in front of the usual military audience got nothin' but crickets. Not one interruption for applause.

Q1 Fundraising: Hillary Loses Her Strongest Asset

2007-04-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

With the reporting of Q1 fundraising in the race for the presidential nomination, Sen. Hilary Clinton lost her strongest asset: the aura of inevitability. Clinton's campaign has been running on two levels. Up top is a long list of positions, policies, events, experience, networks (hers and his), and, of course, her gender. Beneath it all was one simple, intimidating message: Hilary is unstoppable, so you're better off betting with her than against her. It's that subtextual message that's helped drive her numbers--both polling and fund-raising. She was IBM of the 60's--risky to bet agains

Obama brought excitement, charisma, youth but eventually, he'd be steamrollered by the inevitable Clinton momentum.

That story ended at the midnight boundary between March 31st and April 1st when Q1 fundraising came to an end.

Clinton's campaign announced a very impressive number: $26 million. Far more than anyone had ever raised this early in any presidential campaign.

This morning Obama's campaign announced numbers that trashed Clinton's. As a total, he announced $25 million, which on the face of it is close enough to derail the Clinton engine of inevitability. But behind those numbers, he trounced Clinton. Her money came from 50,000 donors. His money came from 100,000. Oops.

But wait, there's more: Clinton hasn't announced how much of the $26 million is earmarked for the primary, vs the general election, but it's likely that she called on her biggest donors to give to both campaigns so as to front-load her totals and underscore the "can't lose" message. Obama has $23.5 million for the primary, which observers suspect is far more than Clinton.

But wait there's more: If Clinton's donors have maxed out their legal contributions ($2300 for the primary and another $2300 for the general), she won't be able to call on them for Q2. Obama has lots of headroom among his current donor pool and growing momentum to pull in new donors -- including, some of Clinton's, who might be thinking about hedging their bets.

The Phil de Vellis video mashup of Hillary and 1984 was not only resonant, but prophetic. Clinton is still a formidable competitor in this race with a strong network, but she's no longer the inevitable winner. That changes the narrative profoundly.

Mickeleh's Take: Now playing at my inner cineplex: Dialog from Lawrence of Arabia.

LAWRENCE:
Nothing is written.

(Tags: Campaign, Hillary, Clinton, Obama, Q1, Democrats)

It's the Broadcasters Who Bought and Paid for That "Independent" Study Opposing XM-Sirius Merger

2007-04-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

The headlines all talk about an independent analysis by the respected and influential Carmel Group making a strong case against the proposed merger of XM and Sirius. It's the body copy that tells you who commissioned and paid for this "independent" study: the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters)--you know, terrestrial radio.

I wonder what that contract looked like? What did the folks from the NAB ask for? "Hey, Carmel Group, could you figure out if this merger is a good idea or not? Let us know either way." Hmmm. You don't suppose there was any wink-wink, nudge-nudge about what that report was supposed to "discover," do you?

Mickeleh's Take: I'm not talking about whether the merger is a good or bad idea--or neutral. I'm questioning the coverage. Shouldn't the headlines say "NAB's Case Against Satellite Butressed By A Commissioned Study?" Should the lede be "The National Association of Broadcasters paid the Carmel Group to..." Oh, wait. That's the press, I'm talking about. AKA, the steno pool.

More on Techmeme

(Tags: Satellite Radio, XM, Sirius, NAB, National Association of Broadcasters)

Dave Winer: The 10-year Anniversary That Almost Wasn't

2007-04-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

Oops. This post was meant for my other blog, Mickeleh's Take.

Last year, April Fool's day fell on March 13. On that day, Dave Winer posted on why he would stop blogging. Thank goodness he thought better of that and Scripting News persists. Yesterday, it passed its tenth anniversary. Mazel Tov.

Mickeleh's Take: Dave earned my eternal gratitude for writing Think Tank and More. He could have stopped there. But he didn't and he still hasn't. Consider that for most of his career he's worked as an individual or as leader of very small companies, yet he has done more to shape what I and many others do on the net on a daily basis than most of the giants. Thank you for being a hero not only to me, but to scads of my other heroes. Keep the fires lit. And keep holding everyone's feet to them.

(Tags: Winer, Dave Winer, scripting.com, Scripting News, Anniversary, Blogging)

Our Side Gets Great Words Too: "Bridge to Nowhere"

2007-04-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

The right does not have a monopoly on powerful phrase-making. Bill Adair in the St. Petersburg Times tells the story behind three little words that helped the Dems retake congress, "Bridge to Nowhere." Thank you to Keith Ashdown of CREW who coined the phrase. Got any more where that came from?

Mickeleh's Take: George Lakoff, Jeffrey Feldman, and Geoffrey Nunberg, your lessons are sinking in.

John McCain's Having a Very Bad, Bad Year

2007-04-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

McCain Caught Napping at State of the Union

We knew it was over for McCain on the night of the State of the Union. The camera cut away to this shot of him nodding off. But he chose to play out the charade of his quest for the presidency with one fiasco after another. He flubbed his Meet the Press shot and his Letterman shot and and and.

The latest McCain fiasco came when he set about to prove his assertion last week that--thanks to the Bush-McCain winning strategies--there are now neighborhoods in Baghdad where it's safe to stroll. And so he flew over to stroll, safely (accompanied by 100 U.S. soldiers on the ground with five helicopters overhead and wearing a bullet-proof vest over his shirt. Think Progress has the video.

More reality (from Newsweek): "Agence France Presse on Sunday quoted an Iraqi official who reported a 15 percent increase in violence across Iraq in March. According to their tally, 2,078 civilians, cops and soldiers were killed last month, 272 more fatalities than in February." Juan Cole has more of the grim details and a well-grounded assessment of McCain's descent from straight shooter to "playing illusionist with the lives of our troops."

Mickeleh's Take: John, rent Requiem for a Heavyweight.

What Elizabeth Edwards Said

2007-03-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

I didn't watch Sixty Minutes last night. I'd like to say there was some principle to that. (Someone told me she wasn't watching because she can't stand Katie Couric. Not that it would have mattered to CBS; my friend is in the wrong demo. But my reason was that I was having too much fun with my Apple TV. There I've said it.)

But here's what Elizabeth Edwards said:

"You know, you really have two choices here. I mean, either you push forward with the things that you were doing yesterday or you start dying. That seems to be your only two choices. If I had given up everything that my life was about – first of all, I'd let cancer win before it needed to. You know, maybe eventually it will win. But I'd let it win before I needed to.

And I'd just basically start dying. I don't want to do that. I want to live. And I want to do the work that I want next year to look like last year and... and the year after that and the year after that. And the only way to do that is to say I'm going to keep on with my life."

Mickeleh's Take: I'm sorry for the circumstance that compels Elizabeth Edwards to draw so soon on her enormous courage, strength, and wisdom. But it's a comfort to know that she has all three in such abundance. I've heard commentators throw the phrase "teaching moment" a lot since we learned of the return of her cancer. The phrase sounds awfully glib and pre-packaged. But Elizabeth Edwards taught me something in those remarks. I hope I can remember them in case of emergency.

By the way, for a perspective on Katie Couric from someone who did watch, see Taylor Marsh at HuffPo.

(Tag: Elizabeth Edwards)