MoveOn.org has a cute new ad they're pushing about Herpes hope. It starts off looking like a new Valtrex commercial, but quickly shifts gears to - one assumes - Barack Obama. I don't always like what these guys do, but that little chick at the end makes my heart melt. (I'm referring, of course, to the baby chicken.)
Now that John Edwards has admitted having an affair, the political pundits get to weigh in on how they think he handled it. Ugh.
The tragedy of the affair aside, Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf says Edwards should have just told the truth. Sheinkopf knows what he's talking about - he handled the 2004 scandal involving former New Jersy Gov. James McGreevey who admitted to a gay affair with his "Homeland Security Adviser," as well as crisis management for numerous other politicians. Here's his take, from a blistering piece in Politics Magazine.
"The good news for the Democrats is that [Edwards] isn't the nominee right now,"... "He really handled this badly," Sheinkopf says of Edwards. "Truth is always the refuge of politicians who want to survive, and he didn't tell the truth."
...
As for what advice Sheinkopf would have given Edwards after the initial report from the National Inquirer some months back: "First I would have found out the truth. Then I would have told him to go public with the truth," says Sheinkopf. "In politics these days, if you lie, you're a dead man."
I'd add one even more important reason to tell the truth: it's not just the best strategy, it's the right thing to do.
Apparently not satisfied merely having the Worst Press Ever, HD-56 candidate Ali Hasan took it upon himself to take a vow of celibacy for the remainder of his campaign. Seriously, you can't make this shit up.
My favorite quote from the article in today's Denver Post, which reads like an audition piece for the The Onion: "Hasan said the decision to remain celibate is not in response to allegations that he was stalking a former girlfriend and publicist."
Well that's a relief. I'd hate to think a guy stopped dating just because of one really bad experience. More from the Post:
District 56 incumbent Christine Scanlan, a Democrat, was surprised to hear about Hasan's plans.
"Oh my goodness," she said. "That probably falls in the 'too much information' category. Yeek."
Hasan said his decision helps ensure his party that he isn't going to be out partying.
A committed campaigner, he says he's knocked on more than 10,000 doors and intends to reach 17,000 by the end of August.
He takes everything seriously, he said, so when he's in a relationship, he spends "a lot of time" with the woman.
"If I were to have a relationship in the next couple months, it could derail my chances," Hasan said.
Right. Like an article in the state's largest newspaper about how you've taken a vow of celibacy doesn't already do that. Good call.
So what does Hasan do with all that free time, besides study position papers and think up even more embarrassingly horrible ways to get free press?
He misses the companionship, he said, but it's given him opportunity to get closer to his family.
"I've never been closer to my family, my two sisters. In substitute of companionship, that's good," Hasan said.
The story ends with this gem, from Hasan: "'The women in House District 56 are beautiful and wonderful, and very articulate and gorgeous,' he said. 'So not dating here really is kind of a drag.'"
You know what else is kind of a drag, Ali? Knowing that you're going to lose, because believe me, no one wants you in the State Legislature more than I do. Seriously.
The storied Rothenberg Report posted on their blog yesterday that "Wal-Mart is on pace to give more money to House Democrats this cycle than House Republicans for the first time ever."
No need to start sending your old ski jackets down to Hades just yet, though. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal (also referenced in the Rothenberg post), Wal-Mart managers have been encouraging their employees to vote Republican:
The Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings don't specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's election, but make it clear that voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in, according to Wal-Mart employees who attended gatherings in Maryland, Missouri and other states.
"The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. "I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote," she said. [emphasis added]
Now I'm not one to pass judgment on America's largest corporation, but they seem to think money matters more to politicians than votes. Last I checked candidates use that money to - surprise - get votes.
No matter how much Wally World doles out from its PAC, actions speak louder than benjamins.
Republicans have Democrats on the run over high gas prices. According to the Politco, even Speaker Nancy Pelosi is privately encouraging vulnerable Dems to vote in favor of opening up additional areas to oil exploration.
This is insanity. Why are Dems conceding that opening up ANWR and offshore drilling sites would reduce the cost of gasoline when it wouldn't have any impact whatsoever?! We just don't have enough oil anywhere in America to drill our way out of high gas prices. Democrats should hang this issue on the heads of Republicans, not let it drag them down!
Defenders of Wildlife led the way with their attack on Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave. Democrats under attack from Republicans over high gas prices should run that spot, not run the other way.
Democrats have the truth on their side. Why not use it?
John McCain, who at one point may have actually strived to run a decent campaign, has now put winning above honesty. He lies almost as much as Mark Udall's opponent Bob Schaffer (see the press release here).
As mentioned over at ColoradoPols, The Washington Post called out McCain on his latest lie about Barack Obama. McCain wants to build a narrative about Obama's lack of patriotism and respect for the troops, but unfortunately for McCain it just isn't true.
The right-wing underground attack machine has also been doing their duty, as I recently received two emails about Obama blowing off troops in Afghanistan so he could go take publicity shots playing basketball. I knew something fishy was going on when I got the forwarded email a second time signed by a different "soldier." So I checked Snopes, as everyone who forwards emails should, and sure enough it just ain't true. He didn't even play basketball while over there, and there's even a video on YouTube of Obama chatting with and thanking the troops.
Seriously though, could you imagine a presidential candidate NOT stopping to shake hands with voters? Could you imagine a presidential candidate in 2008 not stopping to thank uniformed soldiers serving in Afghanistan?
During a breakfast with the troops, Obama delivered this memorable line: "The food is excellent, but the company is even better."
President George Bush will leave his successor the largest budget deficit of all time: $482 billion. Not all that surprising considering the Bush tax cuts, prescription drug benefits, and, oh yeah, that whole Iraq war business.
I learned about the deficit while listening to NPR yesterday afternoon (yeah FM!) but the blurb I heard didn't mention any of the above reasons. Nope, instead the White House did something brilliant. Very, very wrong, but brilliant. This is what I heard on NPR from White House spokesman Dana Perino's briefing yesterday:
We recognize that it would be very important to try to help save this economy, and to do so by passing a bipartisan stimulus package. That was the right and prudent thing to do. If we hadn't done that I don't know where the economy would be right now.
WHAT?! Oh yes, my friends, we have a nearly half a trillion dollar deficit because of the hugely popular and bipartisan economic stimulus package!
Wait, weren't we on track to pay off the entire national debt by the end of this decade? Hasn't the War in Iraq cost us nearly $1 trillion all by itself? Oh, but the cost of the war isn't even included in the projected deficit.
Again, this is very wrong, but the White House managed to change the focus of the deficit story from spend and spend Republican policies to that check we all got from the IRS. They are very bad people, but very smart.
Or maybe it's just that anyone left in the White House press room didn't even qualify for McCain's JV Team.
Politics is politics, right? I mean, everyone lies - it's part of the game!
WRONG. As a Communications Director and spokesman I've always believed my job was to tell the truth better than the other side lies. It's tough because lies are usually easier to sell and far simpler to understand. But that doesn't matter - we're the good guys, we tell the truth.
Mark Udall's campaign sent an email out today asking for donations to put up a fantastic TV spot that effectively responds to Shaffer's misleading negative attacks. It's a great spot, and does the job well.
*sigh* There's a saying that it's easier to tell the truth because you don't have to remember all the things you lied about. Unfortunately, it seems like too many people in politics these days - from both parties - think "spinning" through lies and deception just works better than telling the truth. Their wrong, and I hope one day they realize it.
According to an article published today by Fox News, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki endorsed Obama's plan for a 16-month withdrawal of US forces from Iraq during an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel.
"U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama is right when he talks about 16 months," al-Maliki told Der Spiegel. He said he wants U.S. troops to leave "as soon as possible."
The apparent endorsement of a cornerstone of Obama's foreign policy is a big boost for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee ahead of his scheduled meeting with al-Maliki.
...
Al-Maliki said for the first time earlier this month that the U.S. military should work toward a timetable for withdrawal - something President Bush and Obama's rival John McCain oppose. The White House also reported Friday that Iraq and the United States are discussing a "general time horizon" for reductions in troop levels.
Both developments gave Obama fuel in his argument that U.S. involvement in Iraq soon must draw to a close. But al-Maliki's comments to Der Spiegel seemingly were the deepest the foreign leader has waded into the tense foreign policy debate between the two major presidential candidates.
Al-Maliki told the magazine that his comments were "by no means an election endorsement."
But he seemed to refer disparagingly to McCain when he said "short time periods" in Iraq are more "realistic," while "artificially prolonging the tenure of U.S. troops in Iraq would cause problems."
Maliki can claim all he wants that his endorsement of Obama's plan isn't an endorsement of the candidate himself, but it goes pretty far in undermining McCain's central campaign platform that he's better on foreign policy. McCain hasn't really made much of an argument on domestic policy, and I can't figure out how he gets around this. Depending on coverage, which I expect will be huge, this could become the biggest turning point of the election.
Adding to the good news coming out of Bagdad, "Iraq's largest Sunni Arab bloc rejoined the Cabinet Saturday after a year-long boycott," according to CNN. "The United States and Iraq have cited the inclusion of Sunni Arabs in Iraq's political lifeblood as a major factor in restoring political stability and improving the atmosphere for national unity."
Also this week my favorite Iraq war blogger, Michael Yon, declared, "We have won the war in Iraq." This from a guy who has been on the ground from the beginning, working side-by-side with our soldiers and frequently critiquing the Bush administration's mishanding of the war. From his most recent post:
I would go so far as to say that barring any major and unexpected developments (like an Israeli air strike on Iran and the retaliations that would follow), a fair-minded person could say with reasonable certainty that the war has ended. A new and better nation is growing legs. What's left is messy politics that likely will be punctuated by low-level violence and the occasional spectacular attack. Yet, the will of the Iraqi people has changed, and the Iraqi military has dramatically improved, so those spectacular attacks are diminishing along with the regular violence. Now it's time to rebuild the country, and create a pluralistic, stable and peaceful Iraq. That will be long, hard work. But by my estimation, the Iraq War is over. We won. Which means the Iraqi people won.
I wouldn't make some major speech on an aircraft carrier declaring "Mission Accomplished" or anything, but it looks like things in Iraq may actually turn out ok.
Afghanistan, though, now that's where we're in trouble.
UPDATE: The Bush administration really can't do anything right, even sending emails. They accidentally sent the Obama/Malaki story to their entire press distribution list. Oopsy!
Whoa. With a stinging rebuke of the two front-runners in the race to replace Rep. Mark Udall in CD-2, the Rocky Mountain News endorsedWill Shafroth for Congress.
The two experienced office-holders, Polis and Fitz-Gerald, are flawed to the point that we think voters should acquaint themselves with the political newcomer, Shafroth. He's a professional conservationist who could add a needed perspective to the Washington debate. (emphasis added)
I'll say it again - whoa.
The endorsement goes on to compare Polis with Huey Long and condems Fitz-Gerald as - incredibly enough - too liberal. Huh?!
This is a great piece for Shafroth, and the inevitable TV ad practically writes itself: The Rocky Mountain News says that Will Shafroth has a "proven ability to work with people across the political spectrum," and that "Shafroth's level-headed approach paid big dividends while he was executive director of Great Outdoors Colorado." Will Shafroth is "a professional conservationist who could add a needed perspective to the Washington debate." "We'd urge voters to... get back to basics: Which candidate has the skills to best excel in Washington's ego-heavy arena. We think the answer is clear." Will Shafroth for Congress.
One more endorsement from a major paper and this dark horse could become a Congressman. Who'd-a-thunk?
My usual disclaimer: I'm supporting Polis in this race and have donated to his campaign, but I have good friends working for all three candidates.
Never thought I'd see the day. Bill O'Reilly sounds like *gasp* a good reporter. Scratch that, he sounds like someone interested in news and not sensationalism. Well, sensational news, sure, but... Just watch the video:
In a story about Reverend Jesse Jackson saying he'd like to "cut [Barack Obama's] nuts off," O'Reilly chose not to include footage of Jackson using the n-word. In the above interview, O'Reilly explains the quote was "trash talk not directed at Barack Obama" and he asked himself "do we need that to get the story across and the answer is no."
O'Reilly's right that the footage seriously hurts the Reverend's reputation, which makes it all the more amazing it didn't make the final Fox News story.
Still doesn't mean I like O'Reilly or Fox News, but my respect for the guy just went up a notch.
I spent a year in DC working for Senator Salazar as a Legislative Assistant, and I count it as one of the most rewarding times of my life. I feel like what I did made an actual difference in the lives of Colorado's military men and women, and somewhere in Iraq people aren't dead because of what we accomplished.
But damn, I couldn't stand the attitude of so many of my fellow Hill staffers (not the ones in the Salazar office, of course). From an article in the Politico called, "Hill job seekers must be on the list," this is a perfect example of the pervasive "l33t" Hill mentality:
[I]f you want to actually land [a job on the Hill], you'll almost certainly have to subscribe to one of the unofficial e-mail vacancy lists run by staffers themselves.... In fact, some see that as the first test for job seekers.
"To get a job on the Hill, you have to be a good networker, have a little savvy," said Paul Teller, a Republican Study Committee deputy director who runs a jobs list. "The job search is kind of that first hurdle and test to doing that. It provides a good weeding-out of people. If you can't do a basic networking-type thing" - like discovering these e-mail lists - "then maybe you're not Capitol Hill material." [emphasis added]
So, think you're Hill material? Great! Learn this phrase and make it the first thing you say to everyone you meet, "What do you do?"
Watch out, racing fans. According to an article in Politics Magazine posted yesterday, one of the owners of NASCAR tracks, the International Speedway Corporation (ICS), has declared that no campaigning will take place at any of the tracks they own - including those in Daytona and both candidates' home states.
Interesting, because in 1992 then candidate Bill Clinton campaigned at an ISC owned track in Darlington, SC. George Bush has done it, and as the Politics article points out, just this year Rudy Giuliani rode his campaign bus around the ISC owned track in Daytona, accompanied by music from the movie "Rudy."
But now that Obama's the Democratic candidate, all of a sudden it's not OK?
I've lived in the South long enough to know what's going on here, and I'm calling bullshit. ISC apparently thinks having a black man campaign for president at their events would cause a disruption, but NASCAR fans aren't the racists ISC thinks they are - and they should treat their fans with more respect.
ISC claims the policy has been in place for "some time" (since Giuliani lost, maybe?) but refuses to provide a copy. Again, from Politics Magazine, "When asked if her office would be willing to produce the policy in writing for Politics, [ISC lobbyist Cheryl] Coxwell declined. 'I don't think at this point that that will do either one of us any good.'"
Yeah, no kidding.
And yes, these are the same jerks who bought and then shut down Pikes Peak International Raceway down in Fountain.
As you may have read, last week US Senate candidate and Congressman Mark Udall voted to give immunity to phone companies - and the Bush administration - for their role in the NSA's recent illegal wiretapping scandal. Also of note, Barack Obama voted for the same bill in the Senate.
Stephen Ducat observed on the Huffington Post yesterday that this doesn't just indicate election year politics have caused our legislators to surrender their principles. Rather that our strongest Democratic candidates have given in to Republican messaging on this vital issue - our privacy.
3rd Amendment problems aside, of which there are many, Democrats could easily win this fight and come out looking stronger. I humbly offer the following message frame for illegal wiretapping and government surveillance:
"America is only as strong as the liberties we protect. In the face of overwhelming evil we choose to remain true to the principles that have kept us strong through the last 200 years, and will continue to shine as a beacon of light to the rest of the world. We remain confident that no enemy, foreign or domestic, will ever have the power to bring down this great nation so long as we stay true to our rights, our ideals, and the American way of life."
As Benjamin Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." So Mark, next time something like this comes up for a vote when you're a Senator, please do the right thing and vote for America - don't let the terrorists win.
