It was Tweety that really struck me. (4.00 / 4)

The 30 minute info was fantastic.  Well done.

What had me off my chair later was a Tweety Tirade on Olbermann.  He launched off on racist Obama critics (I'm paraphrasing):

What do you want a black man to do?  If you're honest, you'd say you want him to care about his family, to raise his children right, to read to them at night, to make sure they get a good education.  You'd want him to care about his community and to do something to make it better.  You'd want him to contribute to society.  Well what do you think Obama's doing?  What more can you ask out of a black man?

I was stunned, and then realized that he was answering the Unspeakable Question that McCain and Palin have been dog-whistling:  How can you vote for one of THEM?  Do you know what THEY'RE like?  Do you want a BLACK MAN (and you know what I'm talking about) as President?

Rock on, Tweety.

War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength; McCain/Palin 2008

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by: cheesehead @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 07:24:02 AM CDT

Tweety (0.00 / 0)

He's so oblivious -- it's his obliviousness and insensitivity that makes him say both boneheaded things, and also awesomely direct, addressing-the-elephant-in-the-room type things.

He's irritating when he's wrong, but he's fun to watch when he's right.  Go Tweety!

Republicans can't fix our country; they're too busy saddlebacking.

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by: Ms Bluezone @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 15:42:54 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Don't mourn a Kay Barnes loss. (0.00 / 0)

She would've shown up on lists of democrats you were pissed at quickly enough. As mayor of Kansas City, she was primarily and shamelessly occupied with satisfying the needs of business interests. Although she has socially liberal instincts, she's never had to exercise them outside of the heavily democratic precincts of KC. She basically carpet bagged her way up North to run against Graves (after failing to get term limits on the mayoral office repealed) in a far more conservative district than what she dealt with in KC.

I can see why people fell for her as a good challenger - she's good at raising money, her family has a long history in Buchanan County, she's got a brass knuckles political team, etc. But I always figured it would be good for drawing enemy fire and that's it.  

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by: Mobar @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 07:27:25 AM CDT

I liked the personal vignette stories (4.00 / 2)

The 72 year old retired worker who had to go back to work(at Wal Mart) to pay the 2nd they took out on thier paid off house, to pay medical bills

The retired worker who paid into his pension expecting over $1500/month and ending up with <$400/month

and a Presidential candidate listening, not just riding the wave of the "economic cycle".  We're not in a cycle, we are trapped in a deliberate hell hole ditch of a debt prison and concentrated weatlth.  Where 1% of the population has control of nearly 50% of the nation's wealth.  It's not trickling down, it's raining sledgehammers, and it's leaving a mark on each and every American.

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by: gaspare @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 07:34:00 AM CDT

Incredible music (4.00 / 1)

Really luxurious, slow, soul-stirring music throughout. And tying that music to lovely Americana images (opening shot: amber waves of grain) really opens you up emotionally. And again with that retired black couple: the sequence is introduced with some lovely mellow slide guitar, and only after we've met the couple do we see: that old man is playing that slide guitar we've been hearing. And the format had enough room that we could linger on the sound, hear the French horn without a voice over it.

Likewise, the camera work was intimate, lingering on people's hands and faces, soft "magic hour" lighting, stuff you can't get into a 30-second ad because there just isn't room. Like a two-second pause after the end of someone's sentence, and you get to notice the apprehension in their eyes. It's a completely different language, the language of cinema. I noticed the same stuff at work in the Keating Five video they produced. Music, space, patience, pathos.

Yeah, I liked it.

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by: corax @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 10:11:22 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Home run (0.00 / 0)

and a touchdown... and...  what other sports metaphors are there? Oh yeah...  GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That thing was so well produced, I can't see how it can fail to turn some undecideds and give Obama a couple points.

Also, using that retired dude's own guitar playing in the soundtrack was very cool.

p.s.  Saxby Chambliss is a scumbag. I will be so freaking happy if he loses.

miasmo.com

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by: miasmo @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 10:51:35 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Remember when republicans had all the money (0.00 / 0)

and they would produce slick videos that made us liberals pull our hair out?  Now they bitch about Obama and all the money he's raised which McCain could have gone private donors and raised his own money like Obama.  and now the Republicans whine about Obama wanting to soak the rich but whine that millionaires are pouring money into Obama's campaign, which makes absolutely no logical sense.  And remember when it used to suck being a Democrat because we had almost no money and the GOP constantly steam rolled us.  Yeah, I liked the video too, alot, I hope it felt like a 4x4 to the Republican's faces.

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by: gaspare @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 13:16:16 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

The difference in the press is what I noticed. (0.00 / 0)

Remember when we were down, and Bush was up, and we kept grasping onto this or that or the other story and OH MY GOD THIS WOULD DESTROY BUSH IF THE PRESS RAN WITH IT BUT THEY WON'T!!!  Remember that?  The Downing Street Memos and about a half a billion other stories that were reported, but never got the continuous loop play we thought they deserved?

That's where the GOP is now.  Every little thing is the discovery that could end Obama but the press won't report it!  They're pissed that the press won't overturn an entire election in the last week over a piece of audiotape.  They're pissed that one offhand comment to Joe the Plumber isn't on continuous loop.  These things have been reported, but the press is not going to completely upend a long-developing political order based on one incident (that isn't Watergate), and now they're the ones grasping onto those straws, not us.

It's interesting.

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by: texas dem @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 14:23:46 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Agreed, but ... (0.00 / 0)

 ... one difference is that the GOP at least has Faux News to run Joe the Plumber on continuous loop.  We (the party of the elite liberal news media, of course) didn't even have that.

Republicans can't fix our country; they're too busy saddlebacking.

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by: Ms Bluezone @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 15:49:00 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Re $28.5K contributions (0.00 / 0)

Ted Kennedy came to Chicago's North Shore a few years ago and this was the donation requested for attending a dinner in a private home. Last spring, Chris Van Hollen held a fundraiser for Bill Foster that asked for really large amounts to attend, more so than his event for Dan Seals.

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by: Books Alive @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 08:07:09 AM CDT

Goddard (4.00 / 1)

That commercial really tries to hitch his wagon to the "change" tide, and subconsciously even to Obama. And this is in one of the most conservative Southern districts held by a Democrat. He doesn't once mention that he's a Republican, it never says it anywhere on the screen. He hits a few conservative hobby horses like "family values", but that's about it.

Conduct your own interview of Sarah Palin!

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by: fwiffo @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 08:07:24 AM CDT

Hopefomercial Soft Sell (4.00 / 1)

Last night was all about narrative and archetype. Obama and Axelrod understand the power of narrative. The 30-minute program was all about big picture connections with undecideds. Of course, we all liked it because we have sipped (gulped) the Kool-Aid. But the tone was something much bigger than education, health care and the economy. It was about trust and the belief that things can get better. Excuse the comparison, but it was Reaganesque - rife with images of Americana. There were flags, fields, pick-ups, Wal-Mart and even a "common man's" oval office set.

Most of all, undecideds who watched last night saw a person they could believe in.

Note the locations covered: New Mexico, Penn., Virginia, Colorado, Florida. This list look familiar?

BTW - Mentions of John McCain? Na-da. Like Palin, Obama has subtly pushed the narrative past next Tuesday.  

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by: bcb @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 08:27:33 AM CDT

Mentions of McCain (4.00 / 1)

Imagine how long McCain could go without mentioning Obama. Doe he even have 30 minutes of affirmative pro-McCain material?

I thought the ad was great, except the somewhat disconcerting transition from the woman with arthritis into the energy plan. I wanted to hear about the health care plan at that point, and was left high and dry.

But overall, superb. And I was pleased that they included the bit from the convention about 'big solutions.'  

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by: JoelN @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 08:38:08 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yeah (0.00 / 0)

That part bugged me to. It's like "OK, great, energy plan good, but what are you gonna do about that poor woman's arthritis?" I guess he talked about his health care plan briefly later, but in less detail that I would have liked... And I'm somebody whose eyes glaze over at any talk of health care, so it's saying a lot that I didn't hear enough about it.

Conduct your own interview of Sarah Palin!

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by: fwiffo @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 08:50:57 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thirded (0.00 / 0)

That "transition" was jarring, but otherwise excellent.

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by: illissius @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 09:13:50 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

money (4.00 / 2)

Yes, money can buy a nicely polished prime time ad, but does nobody notice (or care about) the damage that setting this kind of precedent does to the democratic process?  On top of that, Obama reiterated today that he will have Republicans in his cabinet.  With the kind of mandate that he is being given, is it really the time to willing share power with the opposition?  Last night was a victory for money and centrism.

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by: md @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 08:56:22 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

um... while it's true that obama's fundraising sets a ridiculously high bar (0.00 / 0)

for the future, i don't really see how this particular choice is qualitatively different from the other choices he has made about how to spend his huge sums of money.  i mean, his field operation sets an impossible bar for future challengers as well, and it would be hard to call field operations inherently 'centrist' or 'anti-democratic.'

agree about the repugs in the cabinet.  

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by: seabrook @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 10:13:42 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Promising to put Republicans in the Cabinet is what? (0.00 / 0)

Moving to the left? I think you may be "balancing" the events differently than md.

Where are his promises to put progressives in the cabinet?


"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."

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by: SpitBall @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 10:45:25 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Not only belive in, but trust (0.00 / 0)

and the retiree who had to go back to work at Wal Mart?  Masterful.  Black, retired working class couple.  Subtext to the Reagan Dems: Wow honey, they're just like you and me. Nice house, hard workers,  Our medical bills are killing us too.  

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by: northcountry @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 09:20:34 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

The bailout has failed? (0.00 / 0)

It was designed to first and foremost loosen up credit flows. The TED spread on 10/3 was 3.86 and yesterday it had dropped down to 2.86. This seems like a pretty good sign that it has largely worked in its primary objective. There's still a lot of room for improvement.

The secondary objective was to buck up the stock market. On this count, it hasn't worked, at least not yet. On 10/3 the Dow was at about 10.3 K and right now it's at about 9.2K.

Of course we don't know where we'd be on either count had we waited until the next administration, as was counciled here. And the Fed wouldn't be cutting rates if the bailout had worked very well. But I think "fail" is way too strong a word for what has happened thus far.

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by: Matt H @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 09:16:16 AM CDT

TED Spread under 2.7 at the moment FWIW (0.00 / 0)

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by: Matt H @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 09:18:07 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

That's an improvement (0.00 / 0)

That's still nowhere near where it should be. Anything over 1.00 is a problem.

The bailout has failed to get credit back to normal. Banks may be a little less paranoid, but they are still extremely reluctant to lend, even to each other.

Forgotten Countries - a foreign policy-focused blog

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by: Englishlefty @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 20:55:28 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I can't speak for Matt .. (0.00 / 0)

but it's failed for many reasons ... first among them .. now everyone has turned Socialist .. look at all the companies wanting a bailout now .. second .. what companies have changed their behavior because of it? ... AIG isn't ... I think you get the point ... also .. have you seen the explosion in the deficit because of all the money "B-52" Ben is printing? .. We should hopefully get most of it back .. but I am skeptical

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 09:26:24 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I admit (0.00 / 0)

the whole thing looks messy and many of the details, such as those you mention, at least look pretty ominous. I am not making the argument that the bailout is going to succeed. But that's very far removed from arguing that it has failed.

The main goal was to loosen up credit immediately -- the first place to look on that count is the TED spread.

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by: Matt H @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 09:33:46 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I am sure Bowers knows .. (4.00 / 1)

David Cohen, Comcast's executive vice president, cited "budget constraints and new challenges" as the reason for the staff shake-up, according to a company release.

That Cohen used to be Ed Rendell's chief of staff when he was Philly's mayor ... funny thing is .. I think Cohen just left Comcast to be the local Chamber of Commerce head(I am not 100% sure about the leaving Comcast part .. he could be wearing both hats now)

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 09:23:15 AM CDT

Wearing both hats. (0.00 / 0)

And Cohen is no "bureaucrat"; he is a workaholic, heavy-hitter Dem.  

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by: Adam B. @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 11:50:38 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Except Comcast .. (0.00 / 0)

isn't exactly Progressive friendly .. I am sure Cohen falls under the DLC banner(as Rendell does)

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 16:55:54 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Well, they're wrong on Net Neutrality. nt (0.00 / 0)

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by: Adam B. @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 19:43:42 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Fukuyama Endorses Obama (4.00 / 1)

Francis Fukuyama, is a prominent academic and nonconservative:

I'm voting for Barack Obama this November for a very simple reason. It is hard to imagine a more disastrous presidency than that of George W. Bush. It was bad enough that he launched an unnecessary war and undermined the standing of the United States throughout the world in his first term. But in the waning days of his administration, he is presiding over a collapse of the American financial system and broader economy that will have consequences for years to come. As a general rule, democracies don't work well if voters do not hold political parties accountable for failure. While John McCain is trying desperately to pretend that he never had anything to do with the Republican Party, I think it would a travesty to reward the Republicans for failure on such a grand scale.

The worms turn...

The American Conservative

PS today is the 40th anniversary of Nixon's Silent Majority speech.  This Tuesday the new Silent Majority will have its say.

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by: steve katz @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 09:49:07 AM CDT

The Obamamercial was slick (0.00 / 0)

and inoffensive. So it was pretty much what they were aiming for, I think.

Overall, it didn't change anything in the GE.  Obama got little "bang" for all those bucks.  But he really doesn't need a "bang", anyway, so its basically irrelevant.


"It sounds wrong...
     ...but its right."

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by: SpitBall @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 10:49:35 AM CDT

I'm very susceptible to Hope (0.00 / 0)

I'm glad the infomercial got to you some, Matt. I know that I'm very susceptible to the hope message, as I have been since before the primaries. I know that next year there will be huge messes to be cleaned up and big legislative fights to be had and hope will get pretty dirty and beat up, but I'm hopeful that hope will emerge from those fights to soldier on.

Regarding the Bellevue Reporter endorsement of Reichert in WA-08, what a surprise (not). I've been reading those and other papers for Darcy's campaign (looking for references and such) and know John Carlson (the opinion writer there) as the right-wing hack he is. This resume crap against Darcy is killing me. Reichert is desperate. Let's hope the voters in the 8th see thru that B.S. (or is it a B.A.) and vote Darcy in!

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by: dgb @ Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 13:16:53 PM CDT