Media Stars to Follow Obama Overseas

All of the media bigs are going to Iraq with Obama next week. You know, so he doesn't get lonely on his first trip overseas.

Chuck Todd, the political director for NBC News, said Obama's ability to draw media interest should not be surprising. "This is the way all of the new guys are treated — whether it was Ronald Reagan, Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush," Todd said. "There's always a candidate who gets more 'new guy' treatment versus the other one, and it's not always positive."

Riiiiiiiight. Obama gets adoring media mega-coverage because he's... new. It has nothing to do with media bias.

http://http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/17/america/17anchors.php?page=2

"The imbalance has appeared in various analyses of the news coverage. The Tyndall Report, a news coverage monitoring service that has the broadcast networks as clients, reports that three newscasts by the traditional networks — which have a combined audience of more than 20 million people — spent 114 minutes covering Obama since June; they spent 48 minutes covering McCain." Surprise, surprise.

This is Obama's greatest advantage -- bigger than the money gap. He has the media and entertainment industries in his pocket. McCain needs to find some 527s willing to do dirty work like Moveon.org is -- or we'll never hear about Wright, Rezko, or Ayers again. We'll never hear about shady Chicago politics. We'll never hear about voting "present". We'll never hear about flip-flops on Iraq, FISA, etc. We'll never hear about his inexperience, his ultra-left voting record, or his utter lack of any evidence of hopey-changey post-partisanship.

You see, Obama is new. But all that stuff is old.

http://http://youtube.com/watch?v=h6EoXjK9fQY

The Swing State War is On

Team Obama is opening 20 new offices in the traditionally red state of Virginia. As you know, I think he steals Virginia from McCain.

http://http://blog.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2008/07/obama_will_open_20_offices_in.html?hpid=topnews

Hide-the-Homeless

For Barack Obama's triumphant historic euphoric convention, Denver plans to park all their bums in movie theaters. The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless plans to get 500 movie tickets as well as passes to the Denver Zoo, Denver Museum of Nature and Science and other cultural facilities for street bums. Of course, it's only for their own good: "A person who typically sits under a tree in a park that is now occupied by 1,000 protesters won't have the peace and quiet they're desiring," Parvensky said. "Particularly those with mental illness can't cope with crowds." But the bums don't agree: Ronnie Wand, who was panhandling across the street, said he will believe the free tickets when he sees them. "I don't care," said the 62-year-old, who expects to land in jail for vagrancy during the DNC. Ronnie doesn't sound very interested in peace and quiet.

A person who typically sits under a tree in a park would rather have that free movie ticket in the middle of a freakin' Denver winter blizzard, not during a nice summer day. But it has NOTHING to do with hiding the homeless. Oh no. There's nothing to see here. Move along, people. Move along.

Think of the hilarity of this plan: you drive your Prius out to see Obama descend from a cloud, but afterwards your legs are still tingling so you decide to catch a movie. You sit in the dark next to a man who smells like a bad combination of bodily fluids and liquor. You decide to go to the Denver Zoo instead, but someone has the monkeys hopped up on meth and they're flinging poo everywhere.

http://http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/15/homeless-hey-buddy-can-you-spare-movie-ticket-duri/

Grow a Pair, Barack

Obama's recipe for success in the primaries was simple: adopt policies just slightly to the left of Hillary's, smile a lot, and say hopey-changey stuff. His current lurch to the right is decried in the lefty blogosphere, but they're not going to abandon him. Obama could propose drilling for oil in Berkeley and they'd still line up to vote for him. So why doesn't Obama take a bigger step to the right? Seize McCain's issues the way he did Hillary's. Declare "I'll secure these borders!" or "I'll face down Iran!"

He's got his base. All the talk about Hillary supporters sitting on the sidelines is nonsense. Those are core, old-school Democrats. They're not skipping an election, and they're certainly not voting for McCain. They just want to be petted.

But he does need us Independents and the moderate voters. And just watering down his long-held positions won't work. Just months ago he told us the surge will fail, we should withdraw immediately and be gone in 16 months. Now he says, uhh, something about listening to his generals. Whatever that means. He doesn't know any generals except Wes Clark, who almost got his ass kicked in Kosovo. Kosovo! A well-armed boy scout troop could secure Kosovo. Obama needs something new to tell us. Something that demonstrates his so-far nonexistent willingness to work across the aisle. If I were advising him, I'd unveil the brand-spanking-new Fightin' Obama -- and take a hard line against some boogeyman like Ahmadinejad, Chavez, or Kim Jong Il. Or maybe slam the United Nations, the GOP's useful idiots for all these years.

Scary Black Man

http://http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/poll-finds-obama-still-faces-racial-gap/20080716092109990001

According to this New York Times/CBS News poll, only 33% of white voters have a favorable view of Obama. Hmmm... isn't this country still, uh, mostly white? Wouldn't that be kinda a problem once the curtain's closed in the voting booth?

It seems to me that Team Obama acts like they can coast to victory by moderating Obama's lefty policies, avoiding the media, and pointing out McCain's age and Bush's foibles. This poll may indicate he's got to play some offense, not just defense.

The convention in Denver looms large. Obama's lovefest will be showered with media adoration even if he gets up on stages and farts the Star Spangled Banner, but he'd better watch his step. If in playing to the adoring crowd he appears to be an egotistical blowhard who hasn't worked to get where he is, he might face a blowback that'll knock him off his podium.

Wall Street's Scared of Obama?

Yeah, Wall Street's scared of Obama. They're also scared of oil sheiks, mortgage loans, and spiders. But this part I get: "And finally, there is a well-founded anxiety that one-party rule in Washington for at least the next two years will bring about the sort of abuse of power that has gotten both parties into trouble over the past few decades."

With the Democrats raiding the cookie jar even with a Republican President, just imagine what horrors await when inexperienced Barack takes the reins.

http://http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/SuperModels/WhyWallStreetIsScaredOfObama.aspx

The New Yorker Kicks Obama in the Cherries (Yep, the Same Ones Jesse Wants)

The reliably left-of-Che New Yorker kicks Obama (in the groin, of course) with their July 21st cover story. Naturally, the Obama camp calls this caricature "tasteless and offensive". And the McCain camp smiles broadly, winks, and calls this "tasteless and offensive."

I'm having trouble picking my favorite part. The portrait of Osama Bin Laden on the wall, the flag burning in the Oval Office fireplace, the afro-and-AK-toting Michelle, Barack in his Muslim garb, or the fist bump?

Here's the really damaging part for Obama: the media can't howl at the moon over this one. If any right-of-center publication had dared run this drawing, we'd be in full media code red. There would be calls for apologies from all, there'd be investigations, nonstop wall-to-wall cable news coverage, and Olbermann would have an aneurysm while blaming it all on Fox News, Bush, the Saudis, and the Masons (or is it the Illuminati?). Instead, we're kinda in media code yellow. They want to howl. But it's the New Yorker, for God's sake! They adore the New Yorker! They aspire to write for the New Yorker! What to do, what to do? Oh the lamenting and rending of clothes in newsrooms today!