Obama the Jokestah at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

I'm usually the first to jump on a "look how cute and human Obama is!!!!!!" moment, but watching this left me with the nagging feeling that we've turned our President into a reality TV character.

Worse, it's almost as if he feels pressure to maintain it (like a still-jovial Jon Stewart) to hold our fickle affections, which clearly can't be won by simply being the rare President who reflects before acting, builds for the long term, maintains dignity amidst so much baiting, and repeatedly opens negotiations with a party that'll do anything to unseat him, even believe that ideas once adopted half in jest are now real causes.

You Cannot Make This Country Up.

"Your Chia Obama is a symbol of liberty. Opportunity. Prosperity. Hope."

Send one to a friend. Or display it on your desk. Or at your school.

"Ch-ch-ch-chia!" V-v-v-via.

ZuneGate: A Potential National Crisis, Averted.

This is me, rolling my eyes.

Obama Gets the FDR Treatment

The current cover of Time magazine is a ready-made archive piece:



Comparisons between President Elect Barack Obama and Franklin D. Roosevelt began in earnest when Obama launched his first fireside-chat-style weekly address to the people -- on YouTube. Voici:



Seems like, for the meantime, John F. Kennedy's slipped off the juxtapo-radar. Which suggests people are thinking less about Obama's youth and charm, and more about how his communication strategies will actively change the political face of the States. (FDR was, after all, a talented piper of both mice and men.)

Hoarding History

MoveOn.org is giving away free stickers commemorating Barack Obama's November 4 win. Headed "Yes we did," a play on Obama's speech "Yes we can," they're designed by Shepard Fairey, one of my favourite street artists.

Tasty, tasty. Would've ordered a print, too, but they're already sold out. Guess I'll have to settle for vacuum-sealing my Nov. 5 copy of the NYT.

Neat how there's also an option to let MoveOn shill the stickies on your Facebook page. It was one of those rare instances where I was like, "Yes, marketer, please use me."

By the Way,

Obama won. And I'm saying this now because it's the first time in days that I'm sitting in near-complete silence -- you know, far away from ad-heads and musicians and newsmen and cab drivers and grinning kebab vendors prattling about how they feel about it.

Lo and behold, I can finally react. And hmm, this is pretty neat.

It's Gov 2.0! Bring on the mash-ups.

Just How Patriotic Are You?

...Enough to put out for your Presidential candidate of choice? Yowza.

The poster at left, featuring a set of anti-Palin Brooklyn girls, plays on the '60s-era image (at right) of Joan Baez and her sisters. The original slogan read, "Girls say yes to boys who say no" -- to the war, that is. And while in most cases vintage is a good thing, Salon.com was less supportive of the "obnoxiously retrograde" vote-for-sex concept. From the mouth of one:

The idea of any kind of political action being taken to impress the opposite sex -- or that guys would only vote a certain way if a woman promised sex at the end (that's also totally the only way you get them to pay for dinner, incidentally) -- sort of makes me want to drown myself.

As an addendum to that, I just wanted to say that's not the only way to get men to pay for dinner. Just smile and lean forward a lot. Once the check is paid, say thank you, yawn and run. You can actually squeeze a few dinners out of them this way.

But I digress. Among people my age, it seems like peer pressure has become a major component of this mostly private political decision. Obama's cool, but his campaign -- flashy, fresh and exciting -- just reeks of the Irresistible It factor. Some people take that sensation and make it playful, sexual; others show us the other side of the same fun, engagement-building (and logic-devoid) coin: what if you were publicly thrashed for choosing the "wrong" candidate?

You May Long for the :30 Spot After This.

Obama buys 30-minute ad on network TV. That's a long time. Hope it's better than the McCain family's Rachael Ray appearance. Kiss the candidate!

Peering into the Future

Just livetweeted the first Presidential debate. For me this felt like a dealbreaker, although overall response on Twitter and on TV was mixed.

I was disgusted by McCain's condescending attitude, coupled with his refusal to examine complex matters closely before doling out prospective punishments and languishing in war stories. He also struck me as dangerously impulsive (a blanket spending freeze on nearly everything but defense? Where did that come from?).

I think people expected Obama to score major points here, but he seemed disinterested in point-scoring. Instead of reacting to jibes, he clarified; his attitude seemed almost professorial. He also demonstrated quality of character: addressing McCain head-on, acknowledging valid points (which Rudy Giuliani has already tried positioning as a concession of his inexperience), looking him in the face, and, at the end, reaching out to shake his hand as McCain prepared to walk offstage.

This late in the game, it's foolish to expect either candidate to go out on some kind of radical limb. Who "won" the debate came down to how they fielded unexpected questions and addressed each other. These characteristics will determine how, as President, they will manage bipartisan grievances and negotiate space with other countries on our behalf.

McCain believes in forcing "preconditions" on proud leaders that are angry with us; in contrast, Obama drew a distinction between "preconditions" and "preparation." He believes these people should be acknowledged, face-to-face, and given the opportunity to speak their piece before the US reacts.

A guy like Ahmadinejad isn't going to kiss the US's ass with "preconditions" before agreeing to have lunch. Demanding that he do so is neither respectful of his power nor productive; it's poking an angry animal. That Obama would look him in the face, without reservation, and listen before exercising retribution on his country, speaks volumes about how he can repair our global reputation.

More analysis on The BBC. Also read Fox/AP coverage of big points made.

McCain to Suspend Campaign Until After Economy is 'Saved'

From The New York Times:

[Following their telephone conversation], Mr. Obama was left with the impression [...] that Mr. McCain was “mulling over” suspending the debate as an option, not a final decision.

“Apparently, this was something that, you know, he was more decisive about in his own mind,” Mr. Obama told reporters.

Mr. Obama conceded being taken by surprise by the afternoon announcement from Mr. McCain, which Obama aides said occurred about 10 minutes after the phone conversation between the two men.

Taking Obama by surprise like that, McCain's managed to position him as the candidate with screwed-up priorities that revolve around his self-interest. That Obama also pushed back against McCain's wish to cancel their Friday debate only deepened this perception -- even if, in the back of our minds, we know there's no real reason the debate should be shafted.

Gov. Sarah Palin also indicated she might suspend her campaign.

Thanks to BL Ochman for the NYT link.

Politics As Usual

Last night my uncle sent the following chain letter, titled "Reason to vote for McCain," to all 498325948540930849 members of the family:

Okay, let's work this out logically without a lot of emotion.

If you vote for Obama....


You get this.....


But if you vote for McCain....


You get this...





I don't know about you guys, but looking at this in a logical manner, McCain appears to be the better candidate.

ANY QUESTIONS? 

This is the kind of thing anthropologists will use to pad future anthologies about the political circus. (Which is a really nice euphemism for Wacky Crap that, in Lieu of Thoughtful Campaign Research, May Actually Affect the Appointment of a World Leader.)

If nothing else, though, it's hard proof that someone out there is still producing chain letters. The only thing scarier than that is who. Maybe it's Zany Uncle Tad, who just got broadband installed on his office computer. But what if it's your very own mutti or vati?

The thought is enough to chill the blood.

What, McCain Can't Deal with Tough Questions?

The following interview between CNN's Campbell Brown and McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds resulted in the McCain campaign canceling an anticipated appearance on Larry King Live:



The tempest stirred when Brown confronted Bounds about why the McCain campaign elected Sarah Palin, a relatively inexperienced running-mate, after "[making foreign policy experience] a big issue in this campaign." Bounds said Palin served as head of the Alaska National Guard, experience Senator Obama lacks.

Brown then asked Bounds to furnish "one decision [Palin] made as commander-in-chief of the Alaska National Guard." He failed to provide one, and tried wriggling out of the topic, but Brown doggedly pursued a straight answer. (It never appeared.)

The next morning, McCain aides announced the Senator would not honor his appearance on CNN's Larry King Live. According to spokeswoman Maria Comella:

After a relentless refusal by certain on-air reporters to come to terms with John McCain’s selection of Alaska’s sitting governor as our party’s nominee for vice president, we decided John McCain’s time would be better served elsewhere.

Thanks Benj for the link.

Sarah Palin for Veep?!

McCain/Palin '08! Not a bad choice of bumper sticker. (Certainly not the ick-fest I thought it would be.) But is it better than the Democratic alternative?

The Alaskan governor -- age 44, anti-abortion and alarmingly photogenic -- is expected to split women voters that would've otherwise put their weight behind Hillary (and, failing that, her choice of POTUS). According to The Weekly Standard, honey's got an approval rating in the 90s and is allegedly "the most popular public official in any state."

Sounds like a dish the media won't be able to resist, even at the expense of the latest Obama mashup.

Right about now, McCain chuckles to the tattered Obama photo he doubtless keeps by his bed: "That was cute, your little text-messaging racket with Biden. Kept your pulse steady on the blogosphere for at least another day. But when the going gets tough, true red-blooded Amurricans know to hide behind a woman!"

Cheap shots at ye olde Maverick aside, the move nullifies two issues: Obama's age (he's three years older than Palin) and the so-called "novelty vote." What's America most ready for: its first black President, or its first female Vice President -- a position playfully speculated to be the real seat of power?

The plot thickens.

Schwarzenegger on Obama, Environmentalism

Excerpted from Schwarzenegger Suggests He’s Open to Post Under Obama:

Mr. Schwarzenegger endorsed Mr. McCain in January, in part for what he called Mr. McCain’s “great vision in protecting the environment.” But Mr. Obama, a Democrat, has praised Mr. Schwarzenegger’s efforts against climate change in California and mentioned his name in discussions of possible cabinet officers.

That apparently prompted George Stephanopoulos, the moderator of “This Week,” to ask Mr. Schwarzenegger whether he would take a phone call from Mr. Obama if he was calling with an offer to be his energy and environment czar.

“I’d take his call now, and I’d take his call when he’s president — any time,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said. “Remember, no matter who is president, I don’t see this as a political thing. I see this as we always have to help, no matter what the administration is.”

I know this is an unpopular position, but I really like Arnold Schwarzenegger and what he's done for California. I like his idealism and his life story. I like that in so many ways he is young and politically naive and he doesn't care; he's a force that feels conviction and acts on it. And his convictions match mine.

Post link-love, here's a verbatim reaction from a blog buddy: "Wow. What a whore." Yeah, well.

Could the Othello Treatment Earn Hillary the Democratic Vote?

Hillary wins definitively in Ohio and Texas. That's pretty much that, isn't it? Unless something crazy happens, people are only going to congregate more readily around the safe choice as we draw closer to November.

Got this in my email this morning. I don't know whether or not it's true, and you can call it politics as usual if you want -- but I sure as hell won't put a President in office that uses my skin color to condemn me.

Even if she's a woman.

See the ad for which Camp Hillary is accused of darkening Obama's skin color to highlight ... what? Everything we already knew?