AdVerve Episode 51: Ignoranima

Play the show now.

No guest this week, so we springboard in 58 different direction as we often like to do. We kick off with Maureen Dowd's article on how Sarah Palin makes ignorance chic, fertilizing the warm podcasty earth for the blossoms of debate: portrayals of women in power, patriotism and American governments/companies, fameballing on the coat-tails of Steve Jobs and all those goddamn strikes that are always happening everywhere (but especially in France).

We also steamroll our rage tractors into The Social Network, the Zuckerberg factor, and if Aaron Sorkin is man-biased.

Take that venty venti latté to go, kids. It's wild in this here West.

Humor me ››

Why Sarah Palin on Twitter...

... is "the best thing to ever happen on the internet."

And if you need more evidence than that, your standards are too high.

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.

Classic.

Invent your own caption! Big ups to @cdny for this jewel of a find.

In other news, Palin's speech at the RNC last night drew 37 million viewers -- about 1.4 million viewers shy of Obama's acceptance speech at the DNC, which appeared on two more networks than Palin's did.

One growing variable fueling GOP passion is perceived media bias in Obama's favor. More on that in the link above. If what you want next year is a party switch as well as a change in administration, I suggest picking your battles (especially if you blog), providing compelling data -- and making sure to vote.

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.

Don't Wiki Too Zealously, Cyveillance Sees All

Cyveilliance normally trawls the Internet for data on behalf of clients seeking open source information in advance of a corporate acquisition, an important executive hire, or brand awareness. For example, an executive updating his Wikipedia page or resume on Monster.com may be an indication of that person's plans to change jobs, or even that the company is in financial trouble.

Heavy Wikipedia action on Sarah Palin's bio page yesterday. That's what you call "sculpting a WINNAR."

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.