Just a quickie. This clearly has been a bad, bad week for U.S. Sen. John McCain, but I think he hit rock bottom with his tortured -- and just plain wrong -- description of the surge in Iraq at a press conference in the cheese aisle -- the cheese aisle -- of a supermarket. McCain, a true military hero, was supposed to be the candidate strong on national defense.
It was supposed to be a wedge issue, an extra sharp distinction between him and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama. Instead, he's left standing in front of plastic packages of neon colored cheese slices. McCain looked even more overripe than usual under the bright fluorescent lights. He looked whey bad. The grating episode got started when McCain -- blinking even more than ususal -- did an interview with Katie Couric and shredded the surge timeline. Strangely, CBS sliced the gaffe right out. But in the world of blogging and YouTube, it quickly ripened, finding its way to the political surface in no time; CBS quickly aired it in its entirety.
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann highlighted the fromage case presser with a handy-dandy timeline. You can watch it here:
McCain's wheel down the cheese aisle may seem funny, but this is no laughing matter. This is only the latest in a series of frightening mistakes that curdles my blood. The bottom rind: this man is not fit to be president.
- According to AdAge, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's campaign dropped $5 million to be among the sponsors of NBC's Olympics coverage. His spots will run on both network and cable TV.
- Obama is in Berlin where he is set to deliver his much-anticipated speech at 1 p.m. EST (If you needed more proof, Gallup has more polling showing just how much Europeans prefer Obama to McCain). Jake Tapper has a great post on Obama's speech. Meanwhile, McCain is in Ohio at a Livestrong Summit with Lance Armstrong. Tomorrow he's off to meet the Dalai Lama in Colorado.
- U.S. Sen. John McCain's VP update: Gov. Bobby Jindal said he will not be McCain's VP yesterday and Chris Cillizza points out that the Michigan Democratic Party is going after Mitt Romney in a new web ad.
- The Obama campaign is ramping up its interaction with the Hill. Yesterday, campaign manager David Plouffe met with House Democrats to discuss strategy, and The Hill points out that the campaign is coordinating a publicity blitz with "Obamacans" (those who have been aligned with the Republican Party but back Obama).
- The Hill also reports that donors who backed Sen. Joe Lieberman in 2006 don't seem to be giving their financial support to McCain. In fact, it cites financial records which show that "only two of John McCain's post-primary contributions [over $200] have come from Sen. Joe Lieberman supporters".
- Jonathan Martin has a must-read piece in The Politico about how the GOP is losing the new-media war.
- Want a ticket to come see Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Denver? Chuck Plunkett says Steve Hildebrand, Obama's deputy campaign manager, wants you to leave as an informed Obama volunteer.
- Robert Reich compares the economic philosophies of both candidates in a clear, understandable way on his blog.
- John McCain has a new web ad out in South Florida that places Barack Obama next to Fidel Castro with "Fidel Castro thinks he is the most advanced candidate" on it. Check out the Huffington Post for an image. This is interesting, as our own Will Wallace rightly points out, because Obama's Spanish-language radio ad that is running in FL highlights issues like education, job growth, etc., which are what's really relevant. Learn more in NDN's 2006 Cuba poll.
- In the Turkish daily, Today's Zaman, Jeffrey Sachs reflects on the G8 Summit meeting in Japan and asks where all the global leaders are.
- President Bush will address the RNC Convention, but who knows where he'll fit in the line up.
- And finally, check out the Secret Pants video below where the interviewer asks participants whether phrases were said by Batman or President Bush. Thanks for the head's up, Nate! I'm not sure how I feel about the likeness in some of these, but it's amusing nonetheless:
Having worked in political communications for nearly two decades, I have been trying to avoid watching U.S. Sen. John McCain and his communications team and campaign as they have reverted from grown men and women into jealous, petulant children over media coverage of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.
But it's like driving by a car wreck -- you try not to look; you do it anyway.
McCain's campaign reached a new low yesterday, sending a pathetic "valentine" to reporters that mocked them for being biased in their coverage toward Obama.
Check the love-o-gram out here:
To be sure, some reporters may be swooning. But this is pretty rich coming from McCain, who has long enjoyed a sweetheart relationship with starstruck reporters who saw the Arizona Republican as a "maverick;" who couldn't wait to board the Staright Talk Express; who caused candidate George W. Bush to whine that the media was biased toward McCain.
The critique of the news media is particularly striking coming from McCain, R-Ariz., who has long enjoyed a cozy relationship with journalists. In 2000 and 2008, his Republican rivals accused members of the media of being too close to McCain, and McCain once jokingly referred to the political press corps as "my base."
McCain and Co. are incensed at the coverage that Obama is receiving abroad. He is meeting with heads of state, is being received as a head of state and sounds like a head of state.
According to a report from the Chicago Tribune's Mike Dorning:
Barack Obama has three months to go before voters decide whether he will become president, but on Tuesday he adopted much of the pageantry of a leader on the world stage as he completed an official visit of war zones and met up with the considerable media entourage waiting to accompany him on a tour of foreign capitals.
Obama's trip put him among ancient ruins on a hilltop, fielding questions on international issues in an outdoor news conference with the backdrop a majestic view of Jordan's capital.
He dined with King Abdullah II of Jordan at his palace and was chauffeured to his departing plane by the king, who drove Obama to the jet's stairs in his Mercedes 600...
The day's events provided the imagery of a candidate appearing poised and confident in the international arena, with no major gaffes to further a story line of inexperience.
But wait? Isn't foreign policy supposed to be McCain's strength? What's wrong with this picture? While Obama is preparing to deliver what promises to be an historic speech in Berlin tomorrow, McCain was left home alone to talk about gas prices in New Hampshire. This from the man who admitted he doesn't know much about the economy? Yes, it's true. McCain has become a one-note Johnny. The only things he talks about are offshore drilling and gas prices, backed up by ridiculous, creepy and blatantly false ads like the one Jake wrote about yesterday.
Again, McCain's campaign fell back on bizarre attempts at pathetic humor, issuing press credentials for the campaign's Wilkes-Barre visit today that read: "McCain Press Corps: JV Squad. 'Left behind to report in America.' " The credentials were complete with a picture of the Statue of Liberty, according to ABC's Bret Hovell.
And McCain is still smarting from his rejected New York Times op-ed piece. The Politico reports that a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives is circulating a letter among his colleagues asking them to sign on to a missive he will send to the paper asking whether it will run an ad that includes the text of the rejected op-ed. The hope is that a third-party will pay for the ad. Stay tuned.
And speaking of the New York Times, I'll wrap up with an excellent article by that paper's Alessandra Stanley. Some of the funnier snippets, in case you don't have time to read the whole piece:
On Tuesday, Mr. McCain held a town hall-style meeting in Rochester, N.H. In the shadow of the ancient Temple of Hercules in Amman, Jordan, Mr. Obama solemnly described his vision for peace in the region while standing at a lectern, the Middle East sprawling out behind him. Reporters were cordoned in front of him like the White House press corps — except that an audio snag kept their questions inaudible.
All three cable news networks carried Mr. Obama’s news conference live and in full. They showed only parts of Mr. McCain’s forum and focused mostly on his reaction to Mr. Obama’s statements. Even Fox News broke away from Mr. McCain midevent to cover the rescue of a bear cub wounded in a California fire and nicknamed Lil’ Smokey.
And more:
Touring ruins of the Citadel in Amman, Mr. Obama strode confidently with his jacket crooked over his shoulder in classic Kennedy style. He also practiced statesmanly restraint, telling reporters in Amman that he wouldn’t criticize his opponent while abroad.
Some images are so potent that Fox News, which hammers at Mr. Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience, uses its headline crawls as disclaimers: Shots of his arrival in Iraq were captioned, “Obama in Iraq: Second-Ever Trip There.”
McCain aides haven’t been nearly as creative on his behalf: their stagecraft has been notably unflattering to the candidate. While Mr. Obama was shown striding across military tarmacs and inspecting troops standing at attention, Mr. McCain on Monday was seen being driven around in a golf cart by former President George Bush in the resort town of Kennebunkport, Me. Later, the two men spoke to reporters side by side at a waterfront, and they looked more like fellow members of a Past Presidents’ Club than a party elder passing the torch to his political heir.
It has indeed been a bad press week for Old Man McCain. Even Lil' Smokey beat him out.
In the video below, NDN President Simon Rosenberg offers his thoughts on U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's trip overseas, what the polls show, and U.S. Sen. John McCain's recent ad that blames Obama for high gas prices. It's about 4 minutes long, so check it out.
As he says, we're going to be doing more of these so let us know what you think. And if you have any questions you'd like him to answer in the next video, feel free to leave it in the comments below. Don't know how? Use our help section!
A new ad out today from the McCain campaign seeks to blame Barack Obama for rising gas prices. Take a look at "Pump," and the interesting imagery:
The overall narrative that the McCain camp is trying to pin on Obama through the first half of this ad and its dark imagery is evident: a figure we don’t know much about who is a pop sensation built only on false hopes and making our lives worse. The image of Obama floating in front of spinning gas prices while crowds chant his name is especially pointed.
The ad continues to be over the top by being almost entirely intellectually dishonest. Note the wording of the blame that McCain puts on Obama: "Some in Washington are still saying no to drilling in America." The ad uses the word "still" because McCain changed his view on drilling about a month ago, and, even if he had his policy, gas prices would not be any lower.
McCain also tries to have it both ways, as his campaign generally tries to point out Obama’s inexperience, but then goes back and holds Obama responsible for three decades of American energy policy, while giving himself a free pass. In fact, courtesy of Politico'sBen Smith, a recent quote from a McCain speech, that works more as a self-indictment than anything else:
"Let me give you a little bit of straight talk on energy. Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been thirty years in the making, and was caused by the failure of politicians in Washington to think long term about the future of the country."
McCain looked to be gaining momentum on energy security and offshore drilling, at least as being able to point to a specific plan on energy prices (even an ineffective one). This ad has a desperate feel, and is so easily debunked and ironic, that it seems like McCain has decided to just run against Hope.
- Continuing his world tour, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama is in Jordan today with his recently repainted plane. (This time, you can see change in the air!) ABC's Jake Tapper has more details of the trip, which includes a press conference with Obama on his trips to Afghanistan and Iraq. Look for more questions regarding Obama's assessment of the surge to come up.
- For those looking for an interesting piece on how the Netroots is adjusting to Obama's candidacy, check out this Washington Post piece from Jose Antonio Vargas. As Simon explains:
"Think about it: Netroots was born at a time when the Democrats were in opposition, and it's learning how to be a force of good when the Democrats are in power -- and could have more power next year."
- Negating recent polls that reflect a European fondness of Obama, the WSJ's Washington Wire cites David Aaronovitch's column in The Times of London to show that their feelings are not likely to last.
- Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. John McCain is successfully breaking into the press cycle with speculation over whether he will soon announce his VP candidate. As Eric Kleefeld points out, McCain is set to meet with LA Governor Bobby Jindal tomorrow. Coincidence? For more on the VP stakes, check out Christina Bellantoni's piece in the Washington Times that features some advice from Simon on picking a VP:
"The single most important thing is it has to be somebody Barack Obama actually likes. This is the greatest battle of your life, and you should have someone you know and trust at your side."
- Whether or not Evan Bayh fits that particular mold is uncertain, though Chris Cillizza makes the case for him in The Fix. Andrew Sullivan also has a good roundup of the VP speculation - in addition to some devastating news about the latest Caped Crusader - over at The Daily Dish.
- The New York Times is defending its decision not to publish an oped "as submitted" from John McCain. The paper is willing to look at another version, but the McCain campaign isn't planning on submitting one.
- Since eyes will be following Bobby Jindal, it is worth mentioning that his state of Louisiana just asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling on the death penalty for child rape. (via SCOTUSblog)
- Hillary Clinton's donors are giving to Barack Obama, at least according to The Trail's Sarah Cohen and Matthew Mosk.
For years, NDN has pointed out that the rapid growth of the Hispanic community is one of the great American demographic stories of the 21st century. In Hispanics Rising 2,our analysis explains how the Hispanic community is more central to American politics than ever before - we got the debate going. We weighed in on this national development at a time when there was little or no debate about the influence of the Latino vote. Our findings, which initially constituted a nuanced approach to Hispanics and this election, have become conventional wisdom. It's interesting to see the change from a piece like the one written by Marcela Sanchezof the Washington Post about a month ago (and NDN's response), which focused on Barack Obama's "Latino problem" to her piece from Friday, "Latino Woes Curtail McCain's Wooing". For more details on how NDN has influenced the debate, the following is a list of media citing Simon and Andres on this topic from the publication of Hispanics Rising 2 in May, to Andres's presentation at NCLR's Conference in San Diego last week:
San Francisco — Yesterday we saw the release of a whole slew of political video (thanks to Mark Halprin's The Page for always keeping me up to date). Here's a look at a few of them.
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's campaign will begin airing "Changing World," another national security ad (you can watch the previous one here). In 30 seconds the ad goes from defining the problem, to highlighting the candidate's record on the problem, to outlining solutions. As someone into all things tech, I was particularly happy to hear that "cyber attacks" made the list as one of the threats we face, reminding me once again of the enormous technology gap between the two leading presidential candidates (see Maggie Barker's recent post for U.S. Sen. John McCain's latest luddite internet comment). Also, I found the tenor of his solutions particularly refreshing. Signaling a departure from the brutish militarism that has most recently been the pillar of our national security strategy, the ad invokes an emphasis on multilateral engagement as well as a change in energy policy as means to address the external threats that face our country. And while I realize this isn't necessarily a new policy stance for the candidate, the ad does a good job of instantiating some of the change Obama is promising.
The ad will begin airing on national cable today. Have a look:
MoveOn.org and Planned Parenthood are set to air ads both of which target John McCain. In a $100,000 national cable buy, MoveOn.org continues to focus on the war in Iraq, hammering McCain on his opposition to a timeline for withdrawal. You can watch the ad here. The centerpiece of Planned Parenthood's ad is a video clip featuring a beleaguered looking McCain taking painfully long to provide a non-answer to the question, "It's unfaiir health insurance companies cover Viagra but not birth control. Do you have an opinion on that?" Watch the ad here.
JibJab, the same people that brought us the wonderful web video "Our Land!" in 2004, released a new parody set to the tune of Bob Dylan's "The Times They are a Changin'." It's good for quite a few laughs regardless of your political preference. Take a look:
- John Heilemann draws an interesting parallel between the campaigns of U.S. Sen. John McCain and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton in his New York Magazine piece.
- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama is about to deliver a speech in DC today on Iraq and Security. Watch it live on Obama's blog and check out this primer from the AP. This follows yesterday's speech to the NAACP Annual Convention, which Jake Tapper analyzed on Political Punch.
- Mark Thoma wonders what John McCain's plans for Social Security are given his recent statements.
- The MSNBC team at First Read notes that Mitt Romney might be higher on McCain's short list than was previously thought. (via Marc Ambinder)
- The WSJ's Washington Wire has two interesting posts: The first is a glimpse at how Latino bloggers are reacting to candidate outreach; and the second takes a look at how the McCain family will profit from the recent Anheuser-Busch deal.
- NDN plug: if you want a deeper look at the efforts of John McCain and Barack Obama in courting the Latino vote, NDN staff are posting from San Diego where the NCLR Conference is taking place.
- Lastly, in AdAge Evan Tracey goes over the campaigns' ad strategies in key states and outlines their metrics for success. Speaking of, check out Barack Obama's new ad, "America's Leadership":
San Diego, CA - US Senator John McCain delivered an impressive performance today to the conference attendees at NCLR. I must admit that he performed much better than I was expecting. Senator McCain focused on his support for improving relations with Latin America (something that NDN had been promoting through our Latin American Policy Initiative), the importance for assisting small businesses to help the economy, he spoke of the contributions that many Hispanics provide to our Armed Forces and yes he spoke of immigration. Although he did not provide the rock star atmosphere that was evident during Senator Obama's speech, he kept the audience engaged and informed. It is no secret that I disagree with many of Senator McCain's positions, and that I have criticized him for betraying Hispanics when he walked away from his own bill to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform, but you have to give credit where credit is due. Senator McCain acknowledged that he was not in the most friendly room given recent polls that show Hispanics favoring Senator Obama by 2 to 1, and yet he still allowed the audience to pepper him with questions that were clearly difficult for him to address. In the most important exchange, at least in my opinion, Senator McCain was asked to clarify if his modified position on immigration that emphasizes border enforcement would be submitted in ONE bill or separate bills. Senator McCain stated that his proposal would be ONE bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants in this country, but would provide for securing the border first. This is an important clarification to make because he has not made this statement before. NDN has advocated over the past few years that any Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill must include all aspects in one bill as opposed to multiple bills that deal with the various issues of immigration reform. This statement is significant, and it is important for immigration activists to confirm that this is in fact his position, and hold him to this position.
Tomorrow, I will be speaking on a panel titled - Latino Voters: Making their mark on the 2008 Election. For more info on the panel click here. Exciting times my friends, Iand will report back tomorrow.
