Ummm...has he been watching the same person I have?

Marc Ambinder took a break from splitting atoms...with his mind to write an informal Q&A with...himself?  I found one of his answers to himself a bit nuanced (emphasis mine):

How big are the risks for McCain?

Enormous. The fighter pilot whose hero is TR is trying to land with zero visibility. It is going to be hard to wrest away from Obama the banner of change, and McCain risks being seen as unserious about national security.  Palin is smart and quick on the draw, but she is completely untested and prone to bursts of the mouth.  She seems to know very little about Iraq and the world and even about the national economy.  She is an identity pick, first and foremost, and a process-pick, second.   Women could be offended or inspired.

First of all, she has been to the Middle East (Kuwait, not Iraq) as many times during her tenure in office as Barack Obama has in his.  Secondly, what mother with a son headed to Iraq isn't following what's going on there?

As far as the national economy goes, I've (of course) found her to speak eloquently on how America's reliance on foreign oil hurts both our national security and economy.  But then again, I'm from a town that's smaller than Wasilla, Alaska, so what do I know?

Update: I've just been informed that Sarah Palin is not--I repeat not--a Jew like Eric Cantor and Jack Abramoff.  I'm not sure if this applies to her bastard grandson Trig Palin.  I'll keep you updated .

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 08:32 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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OMG! Look at all the Alaskans who HATE Palin

Thank you, Politico, for providing today's DNC talking points.  It turns out that Sarah Palin is a horrible pick because Alaskans hate her:

It will be fascinating to see the Alaska Republican delegation front and center at this week’s Republican National Convention now that Alaska governor Sarah Palin will be on the ticket.

This is a state party whose establishment faction, to put it mildly, isn’t too enamored with their reform-minded governor.

This is a state party whose chairman, Randy Ruedrich, has been feuding with Palin for years. Palin exposed Ruedrich for ethical violations in 2004 when both served on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission — and their relationship has been frosty ever since.

Ruedrich declined to comment at the historic nature of having an Alaskan on the national ticket for the first time in the state’s history.

Gee, I guess those 80-90% approval ratings were just a fluke!  Who would have thought that running against both the Democratic and (to some extent) the Republican parties in her state would leaver her with a few enemies?

Exit question: Why hasn't the Politico gone to great lengths to highlight the frosty relationships between Sen. Obama and his opponents in Chicago?

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 12:21 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Headline of the day

From the L.A. Times: Barack Obama is lauded as everyman at Democratic convention.

Uh-huh.  Sure.  Whatever you say.

Posted by: Sean M. at 08:51 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Remember, conservatives are the humorless ones...

The Los Angeles Times has a slide show of the Best and Worst of the Olympics.  Coming in as photo 23 of 33:



Sayeth the Deciders:

Apparently, according to the AP, she then said, "Mr. President, want to?"

And instead of laughing at the sheer grotesque silliness of the situation, we have this picture of the president.

Read that quote, and then think to yourself, "What would one of the LA Times' favorite presidents, Bill Clinton, do in this situation?"

Update: Oh yeah, the political attack ads during the Games made the list, too.  But guess whose ads they decided to screen cap for the picture...

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 08:13 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Another Halperin page goes blank...

Ace had some fun with Mark Halperin's "Oh Matt!!!" post going down the memory hole, so last night when Halperin reported that two of his GOP sources said Mitt Romney would be McCain's VP, Allah wisely saved a thumbnail.

It's a good thing he did. 

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 11:14 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Surprise! The Wall Street Journal loves them some Lieberman

The "conservative" Deciders have spoken and they say that a McCain-Lieberman ticket would be a winner!  Well, if it weren't for the uneducated rubes who think the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee should be at least, ya know, a Republican:

Mr. Lieberman's national security credentials are first-rate, and we've known him long enough to remember his opposition to an income tax in Connecticut, and his support for lower capital gains taxes, school vouchers and private Social Security accounts. Liberated from having to run as a Democrat, he might recall those policy instincts.

We have no doubt he'd be a better vice president than many oft-mooted Republicans, including some of those who are favorites of the anti-Lieberman alarmists.

Sen. Lieberman would make a better vice president than a Mitt Romney or a Tim Pawlenty or a Sarah Palin because he might go back to holding some conservative positions that these "oft-mooted Republicans" already hold.  Well boys, you sold me!

(h/t Kathryn Jean Lopez, who thinks a convention cage fight between National Review and the WSJ might be in the mix.  Blech.  Please don't film it.)

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 09:36 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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MSM: McCain should be like Lincoln and choose a Democrat for VP!

While reading this Washington Times article, whose author is salivating at the prospect of a GOP vice president with a 2007 ACU rating only one point higher than Sen. Obama's, I came across this gem:

Naming Mr. Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew who is pro-choice and voted against a ban on partial-birth abortions, would certainly transform Republican presidential politics.

Not since Republican President Abraham Lincoln chose Democrat Andrew Johnson as his running mate in 1864 has the GOP taken a bipartisan leap.

How about that, it has been a long time since the GOP went bipartisan with it's vice presidential choice.  What better time than now?

Exit question: When was the last time a Democratic nominee chose a Republican to be their vice president?

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 11:29 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Welcome to our world, Johnny Mac

It's nice to know that, even late in life, you can still learn valuable lessons.  At the ripe old age of 71, it just dawned on Sen. McCain that NBC News is slanted toward Obama. 

After Andrea Mitchell aired her belief that the theory that John McCain must have cheated in the Saddleback Forum, McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis sent off a letter to president of NBC News:

Indeed, instead of taking a critical journalistic approach to this spin, Andrea Mitchell did what has become a pattern for her of simply repeating Obama campaign talking points.

This is irresponsible journalism and sadly, indicative of the level of objectivity we have witnessed at NBC News this election cycle. Instead of examining the Obama campaign's spin for truth before reporting it to more than 3 million NBC News viewers, Andrea Mitchell simply passed along Obama campaign conspiracy theories. The fact is that during Senator Obama's segment at Saddleback last night, Senator McCain was in a motorcade to the event and then held in a green room with no broadcast feed. In the forum, John McCain clearly demonstrated to the American people that he is prepared to be our next President.....

I'm going to let the past two days of actually liking John McCain wash over me, because I'm sure it won't last. 

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 01:56 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Let it not be said that I can't predict the future

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 11:44 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Mary, Mary can't imagine the contrary

Sorry to do two posts in a row on essentially the same subject, but I just loved this line from Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell's column on Corsi's book so much that I thought I'd share it with you:

But because there is such intense interest in Obama, Corsi's book is a No. 1 New York Times best seller despite the fact his sole purpose for writing the book is to defeat Obama.

Ah, you've got to love that "despite" there, huh? Because, as far as Mary is concerned, anybody who shows "interest in Obama" ought to be interested in the Hope and Change and nothing else. Certainly nothing negative. I mean, there isn't anything negative about the Obamessiah, is there?

If you feel like having another laugh at Mary's expense, I'd suggest the third paragraph, where she notes that Corsi's book on John Kerry was "largely discredited" without mentioning, you know, anybody who actually discredited anything from the book, about which she makes a major mistake. Painstaking layers of editorial fact-checking in action, right there.

Posted by: Sean M. at 02:37 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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What liberal media?

In one of the top stories on Yahoo News right now, AP reporter Nedra Pickler's take on the Obama campaign's rebuttal of Jerome Corsi's new book The Obama Nation, I found the following interesting passage:

Jerome Corsi's anti-Obama book, "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality," claims the Illinois senator is a dangerous, radical candidate for president. The book is a compilation of all the innuendo and false rumors against Obama — that he was raised a Muslim, attended a radical, black church and secretly has a "black rage" hidden beneath the surface. [my emphasis]

I'm sorry, but how is that (the second paragraph of the story, by the way) appropriate for a "straight" news story? Maybe it was a rush job, and someone left out the part where that's the Obama campaign's assertion, but otherwise, that sure as hell looks like the reporter's opinion to me.

I'll keep my eyes peeled to see if they make any changes.

Posted by: Sean M. at 12:19 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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Overt Racism on display at the AP!

Quick!  Someone inform HuffPo!

(h/t)

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 07:18 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Guidelines for Selecting News Stories

In the wake of heavy criticism from certain recent stories which are perceived to have gone under-reported, the following style guide is proposed to help journalists decide which stories are worthy of coverage. 

 

 Reporters should ask themselves the following questions, and if the answer to 8 or more is "Yes" then it may be considered a potentially newsworthy and thus referred to higher-ups in the organization who can best decide how individual journalists should be spending their time.

 

The ten questions to determine newsworthiness:

 

1)  Is the report being broadcast by other serious outlets?

(Note:  Serious in this case denotes someone who is not affiliated with tabloid journalism, so-called "blogporting" on the Intertubes, or Fox News.)

 

2)  Is the source of sound mind?

(Note:  If allegations detail issues regarding a sitting President of the United States who is running for re-election, this can be assumed to be 'Yes,' because crazy people would never pit themselves against the President.)

 

3)  Has allegation been confirmed true by a source close to the accused, such as a friend, staffer, or family member?

(Note:  If you don't know, feel free to call up the campaign or family member and ask.  It's a proven fact that the more emotionally close the contact is, the more likely their answer will be 100% truthful and not at all designed to protect the accused.)

 

4)  Does this story help Michelle Obama's children in some way?

(Note:  The answer to this must be "Yes.")

 

5)  Is story within accepted framework of desired characterization of the person charged?

(Note:  Stories must further media presentation of particular public figures as buffoonish or saintly, without exception.)

 

6)  Did the story come from a stringer, or get confirmed by one?

(Note:  Stringers are extra-reliable, particularly in the Middle East, because they know that their word is the only provenance of their stories.)

 

7)  Can a suitable photo be found to accompany the story?  It not, can one be manufactured to fit the story?

(Note:  Contact graphic arts department if need be.)

 

8)  Will the entire story be easily summed up in a snappy headline that can be written at a third-grade level, preferably referencing the pain of high gas prices on ordinary American families just struggling to get by?

(Example:  "Ordinary American families struggle to deal with high gas prices as ______.")

 

9)  Is the story of purely prurient interest?

(Note:  Sex scandals involving religious leaders or "values candidates" are always prurient.  Any gay sex scandals are super-prurient and should be in forty-two-point font.)

 

10)  If scandalous and damaging to one political party or group, can heretofore unexamined allegations against someone in the other party be tangentially referenced to produce a trickle-down scandal effect and thus diminish both groups equally, as mandated in the Journalist's Oath to First, Appear Neutral?

(Note:  If 'Yes' unexamined allegation must be put to the other 9 questions to see if it is in fact the lead story.  Be sure to submit unexamined allegation to editors for consideration.  If tangential secondary allegation is lead story, current allegation will be forgotten.)

Posted by: plebian at 04:27 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Surprise! Guess whose statement on Russia/Georgia the Politico likes!

As DrewM and Ed Morrissey have noted, both Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama released statements on Russia's invasion of Georgia. Sen. Obama even decided to release two statements: one before he knew what the hell he was talking about and another after one of his puppet masters told him what to say.

Now, let's see how The Politico decided to compare Sen. Obama's first statement to Sen. McCain's statement (link in the original):

While Obama offered a response largely in line with statements issued by democratically elected world leaders, including President Bush, first calling on both sides to negotiate, John McCain took a remarkably — and uniquely — more aggressive stance, siding clearly with Georgia’s pro-Western leaders and placing the blame for the conflict entirely on Russia.

[...]

Obama’s statement put him in line with the White House, the European Union, NATO and a series of European powers, while McCain’s initial statement — which he delivered in Iowa and ran on a blog on his Web site under the title “McCain Statement on Russian Invasion of Georgia” — put him more closely in line with the moral clarity and American exceptionalism projected by President Bush’s first term.

You silly conservatives! Obama's generalized initial statement doesn't show that he's unfamiliar with foreign affairs, it shows that he's an experienced statesman like like the leaders of various European powers, the EU, NATO, and even your dear President Bush.

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 12:01 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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The #1 thing I am dreading in the next week

More pictures of a shirtless Obamessiah frolicking in the surf, with a possible Michelle Obama swimsuit edition. 

Oh, and all the media lust that will accompany them.

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 06:24 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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The latest stupidity from David Shuster

Via Hotair, the latest from CB's favorite punching bag,

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 08:28 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Media redeploys to Afghanistan

The Grim Milestone Narrative^TM has made its inglorious return as the press is forced to retreat from the battlefield in Iraq by a recent string of successes by  American and Iraqi forces.

The media has since pulled back, regrouped and redeployed in Afghanistan, with media cells popping up in Afghanistan, hoping to push back coalition forces with their defeatist rhetoric.  Pinch Sulzberger hopes that they can win this one before his political sledgehammer newspaper folds.  It has been a few rough years for America's Pravda, with sales steadily falling.  Sulzberger wonders how long they can hold up if American forces continue having successes. 

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 10:21 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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People getting sick of Obama

48% of people in this Pew survey are saying they're tired of hearing about Obama, and want to hear about McCain.  So, two things, one, obviously is that the media is overreaching and too obvious, two, that means McCain needs to do more to break out and to try and make sure the media doesn't completely seize The Narrative^TM if he wants to win. 

The recent series of ads was good, but more is necessary or the media will completely seize the narrative from him.  He also has to offer a coherent philosophy and vision for America, which he hasn't done, but needs to if he's to stand a chance against the Hopey Changey One.

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 10:43 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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