Ground Game

How McCain is Like Goldwater

2008-09-23T15:06:43Z

For more than a decade John McCain has been a darling of the national political press, even up through his victory in the Republican primary. Much of that has changed, in part because the media has somewhat moved on from the McCain narrative and at least equally because of the McCain campaign's animosity toward the press corp. Townhall's Matt Lewis says the following passage describes the evolution quite well:

"He loved the Senate, he loved Arizona, he loved his wife, and he hated being told what to do ... He may have also sensed that his popularity, which was considerable, would change once he became a candidate for president. As many people have discovered, a politician can go to long way in Washington until he becomes a serious presidential candidate. At that precise moment the Washington press corps digs in, and reputations are destroyed in no time."

However, Lewis points out:

The author goes on to write that prior to running for president, this person wrote a popular book, was subject of numerous positive magazine articles, and was a fixture on national television.

... I should probably point out that this quote is not in reference to John McCain. It actually comes from Alfred Regnery's book, "Upstream," and refers to Barry Goldwater's 1964 race.

The only difference here I'd point out is that the media's positive treatment of Obama actually accelerated when he announced his run for president. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy aside, a "digging in" by the press corps didn't really begin until after Obama had defeated Hillary Clinton for the nomination.

The SNL Palin Video

2008-09-23T14:50:31Z

As expected, Tina Fey returned to Saturday Night Live this past weekend to perform her impression of Sarah Palin. The skit, which also featured Amy Pohler as Hillary Clinton, didn't cut either woman much slack. But even if Fey doesn't care much for Palin or her politics, the vice presidential nominee's star power is even trickling down to their online videos. It already has more than five million views. SNL creator Lorne Michaels is no doubt glad he convinced Fey to do the impression, despite her reservations.

Women "Like," and "Admire" Palin, but...

2008-09-12T17:31:10Z

The website Betty Confidential has released a survey of 500 women voters. Survey says:

The survey showed that 60 percent of women "like" Sarah Palin and 60 percent "admire" her. An overwhelming majority (83 percent) said they will not vote for McCain/Palin just because she's a woman.

Now, I wouldn't expect too many women (or any other specific identity group) to admit they would vote for someone in their same identity group based solely on that commonality. So, I do think the "like" and "admire" numbers are more significant here. The survey also found that 65 percent of women say they have become "more interested" in the campaign since Palin was added to McCain's ticket.

"We were amazed at how many women wanted to weigh in and share their very strong views on her," said Betty Confidential editor-at-large Julie Ryan Evans. "But despite even strong disagreements with her politics, women tend to like and admire Palin as person."

Also worth noting, the survey results were taken before Palin's very mixed performance yesterday during her interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson. The already difficult argument for conservatives that Palin is prepared to be president should something happen to John McCain probably just got considerably more challenging.

Note to Readers

2008-09-12T16:35:35Z

I'm on vacation today through September 21st. Ground Game will still be updated periodically.

Why Both Sides are Wrong About "Lipstick" Debate

2008-09-10T19:39:01Z

To read the blogs today, you'd be led to believe that Barack Obama is either a malignant sexist, or an endearing saint who would never use language to attack his political opponents. Why is it so hard to grasp what most likely happened?

1. Sarah Palin's "What's the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom? One wears lipstick," joke was one of the more memorable from the Republican convention.

2. Barack Obama and his advisers wanted to answer that joke with a pun arguing that while Palin may be a new figure on the political scene, she still represents the unpopular/failed policies of the Bush administration.

Yes, others have used the phrase, including McCain. But it's hard to believe Obama just randomly decided to use the phrase for the first time, unaware of what would be a perceived proximity to Palin's convention joke. The Obama audience certainly seemed to get the joke.

Obama cannot be simultaneously heraled as the greatest political orator since JFK, while also not having to take responsibility when he says something unartful. In other words, he tried to say something witty and has now had his own joke flipped against him.

Of course, he wasn't calling her a pig. But I do think it's fair to ask if he was making a subtle jab at John McCain's age when he followed up the lipstick remark with, "You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink."

Again, I think Obama was only talking about the McCain/Palin policies, but to deny he was making any kind of verbal jab is the kind of blind allegiance that calls into question the intellectual honesty of Obama supporters. Instead, they should own it. He made a fair point, even a strong point. This should, and so easily could, be a day in which Obama was putting McCain on the defensive for this unethical ad.

Perkins Says Palin a "Purely Political" Pick

2008-09-10T17:19:32Z

Here's my full write-up from this morning's breakfast chat with Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. The two points that stood out to me were Perkins on the actual Palin selection:

While the McCain campaign has argued in favor of Palin's executive experience as a qualification to be vice president, Perkins surprised reporters in the room by acknowledging that he believes her selection was "purely a political pick." "Yeah, I think so," he said.

Also, Perkins' nuanced take on how reporters have been covering Palin so far:

Perkins also said that while he and other evangelical leaders are enthusiastic about Palin's stance on social issues, he encouraged reporters to comb through her legislative record to see if those beliefs translated into conservative policies.

"Look at her record as governor, that's what social conservatives are going to be doing," he said. "I don't think those questions have been answered yet."

Tony Perkins: Blogs are Like Beauty Shops

2008-09-10T15:28:45Z

At a meeting with reporters this morning, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins answered a lot of questions about Sarah Palin. I'll have a write-up on that for the CQ Politics site later this morning. But he also said a few things about blogs.

One reporter repeatedly pressed Perkins on rumors that have circulated about Barack Obama on the Internet, specifically that he is a "secret Muslim." It was strange, because the reporter clearly was interjecting her personal opinion that it was somehow the fault of Perkins and other evangelical Christians that these rumors exist and therefore his responsibility to refuse them.

Instead, Perkins said he did not support the spreading of rumors, but that his focus is on socially conservative issues. However, he mentioned the rumors and allegatios that have also been spread about Sarah Palin and her family.

"Blogs don't hold themselves to a standard of accuracy that most reporters do," he said. "My mother worked in a beauty shop when I was growing up. And the Internet is like a huge beauty shop," where rumors are spread.

Everyone's a Hypocrite on Earmarks

2008-09-09T20:49:08Z

Liberal bloggers and the mainstream media have been reporting on Sarah Palin's complicated history on The Bridge to Nowhere pork project. Think Progress says Palin is "lying" about her role, while the media is more accurately pointing out that she supported the project before later opposing it, and refused to send the money back to Washington afterwards.

AMERICAblog's John Aravosis echoes the "she lied" meme and adds:

How many days in a row do McCain and Palin have to lie about her position on earmarks - she was for the Bridge to Nowhere, but every single day on the stump she outright lies and says she was against it - how many days in a row do Palin and McCain have to treat the media and the voters like chumps before someone in the media calls her on this?

I don't know if that rises to the level of a "lie," but Barack Obama has been on the stump saying Palin switched her position for political gain, not principle. The Club for Growth has hit back today, pointing out that Obama voted for the Bridge to Nowhere funding and has yet to formally change his position:

"Barack Obama spent the better portion of yesterday attacking Sarah Palin for supporting the Bridge to Nowhere once upon a time even though she had the courage to get rid of it as governor. Yet, when Barack Obama had a chance to kill Alaska's Bridge to Nowhere and spend the money on Katrina victims, he voted -- drum roll please -- No."

"And over the last three years, Barack Obama hasn't changed his tune one bit. He has not disavowed his 2005 vote in favor of the Bridge to Nowhere. And he continues to vote to save specific, egregious earmarks. In 2007, Obama was given the opportunity to vote for an amendment to transfer money earmarked for bicycle paths to fixing America's bridges. He voted against the amendment. He was given the opportunity to vote for an amendment to eliminate earmarks for a Peace Garden in North Dakota and a baseball field in Montana. Barack Obama voted against teh amendment."

Cantor Credits Bloggers for Palin Nomination

2008-09-09T19:15:55Z

Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor was also at today's Heritage Foundation blogger briefing, where he was scheduled to discuss the conservative blogosphere's role in supporting Republican efforts to end the offshore drilling ban.

But Cantor spent a good portion of his time talking about the story for conservatives these days: Sarah Palin.

"All that you did in pushing an alternative VP pick, outside the mainstream, made that happen," Cantor said to the bloggers in attendance.

On Palin's ability to manger her family life with a career, he said, "There is something so ordinary about that, it's extraordinary." Cantor also talked about how Palin helps Republicans with middle class voters. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have made a point of critiquing the Republican speakers for not discussing economic issues in detail during their convention. Cantor countered that Palin's background is so authentically middle class, she doesn't have to make direct economic pitches to emphathize with voters.

"The consensus for some time has been that Democrats own the middle class, and that only they can somehow spell out prescriptions for the middle class to relieve their woes," he said. "Sarah Palin didn't have to speak to the middle class because she is the middle class."

Cantor also said conservative online activists played a key role in helping convention organizers make the most out of their abbreviated schedule after Hurricane Gustav.
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John Fund Predicts Election Debacle

2008-09-09T18:29:57Z

Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund met with a group of conservative bloggers today at the Heritage Foundation to promote his forthcoming book: Stealing Elections. The actual text of the book is apparently embargoed until the 15th, but I can relay Fund's thoughts from the meeting today where he predicted that election day 2008 will be a lot like election day 2000, only possibly worse.

"In a very close race, people have an incentive to do things they might not ordinarily do," he said, alluding to voter fraud issues. Fund said he is most concerned about newly instated provisional ballots and the more than 14,000 lawyers being deployed by the Obama and McCain campaigns (9k for Obama, 5k for McCain). "Fourteen thousand lawyers in an election can't be a good thing."

Fund said to look to states like Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and New Mexico as potential targets to force their own lawsuit-driven recounts, which he says would, "damage the legitimacy of this election, damage the legitimacy of the winner."

Fund used most of his harshest words on Democratic allies like ACORN, but said he includes plenty of examples of Republican-driven voter fraud in his book as well. Two of his suggestions for avoiding an "election month" disaster include increasing the number of independent, non-litigating election monitors and to raise public awareness about the possibility of forthcoming, frivilous lawsuits from both campaigns.

What Constitutes a Gaffe? An Obama/Palin Comparison

2008-09-08T20:26:11Z

Two online, liberal publications today provide us with examples of items intended to portray Sarah Palin in a negative light. One is substantive, the other reaching. The Huffington Post's Sam Stein offers the "reaching" entry, saying Palin has made a "potentially major gaffe," after stating the following at a campaign event:

Speaking before voters in Colorado Springs, the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed that lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." The companies, as McClatchy reported, "aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies. The takeover may result in a taxpayer bailout during reorganization."

Stein follows that with anti-Palin quotes from liberal policy tanks and the libertarian Cato Institute, which is incorrectly identified as "conservative."

Compare that to this piece from Ari Melber in the Washington Independent. Melber has tracked down a photo of Palin wearing a t-shirt during her 2006 gubernatorial campaign that appears to endorse the "bridge to nowhere" pork barrel project that Palin has since taken credit for opposing. There's already been evidence that Palin's reformer role in this story has been exaggereated, and Melber does a fine job of adding something to that narrative:

Meanwhile, Christina Bellantoni has an article on an Obama verbal slip in the Washington Times, a paper viewed by some as leaning toward the political right:

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Sen. Barack Obama's foes seized Sunday upon a brief slip of the tongue, when the Democratic presidential nominee was outlining his Christianity but accidentally said, "my Muslim faith."

However, while Bellantoni details how Obama's critics are attempting to use the comment against him, she puts it in its proper context. Comparatively, if this were McCain or Palin making the same utterance, I'd assume Stein would also call it "major," or perhaps "evidence" of their actual inclinations.

The New Palin Blogs

2008-09-08T19:08:36Z

Sarah Palin is leading the Google search trends over Barack Obama and John McCain by 3-to-1. So, it's of little surprise that a number of new Palin-themed blogs and websites have begun popping up. Here's a short review of a few of the better ones.

Sarah Palin Facts: A genuine internet phenomenon, driven by Twitter posts and drawing inspriation from the earlier Chuck Norris Facts website. A similar site exists for MSNBC guru Chuck Todd. There are at least 24 "Sarah Palin" themed twitter accounts runnning now.

No Oprah: Let Sarah Speak: Launched after Oprah Winfrey confirmed she would not have Palin on her show until after the election. Winfrey has already endorsed Barack Obama and had him on her show twice, both times before he was officially running.

Sarah Palin Sexism Watch: Launched by a woman in Wisconsin to track what she feels are unfair press accounts and political shots taken at Palin based on her gender.

Palin Drome: A humorous blog that presents itself as being written by Palin, and occasionally, by her son Track.

Also, Adam Brickley, creator and author of the Draft Sarah Palin blog, appeared on the Colbert Report last Friday. You can watch that video here:

Is CNN Launching a Twitter TV Show?

2008-09-08T17:09:16Z

While C-SPAN dominated the DNC and RNC Twitter coverage, CNN was heads and shoulders above the other cable news networks when it came to making use of Twitter. As with many using Twitter for the first time during the conventions, it was a learning experience.

In one of my own convention tweets from a week ago:

#RNC08 CNN assistant to Wolf Blitzer: "You should mention we're live Twittering on air." Blitzer: "I don't even know what that means."

And now, we learn that CNN presenter Rick Sanchez is debuting his own show today at 3pm EST that may be driven by Sanchez's Twitter followers. It may sound a little crazy, but it's certainly workable. Have one or two of the show's producers watching the Twittter feed, pick out a select few before broadcast, and update during commercial breaks, etc. Sanchez already tweets during his regular broadcasts, so it's not a stretch. You could also have nice additions, like having guests answer live questions from people on Twitter.

Sanchez already has 9,000 followers and I tend to use the metric that 1,000 followers is "famous for Twitter." It's also worth noting that Sanchez and CNN used Twitter to cover things beyond politics, including Hurricane Gustav.

h/t Jay Rosen

Top 5 Liberal Blogger Responses to MSNBC/Oblermann

2008-09-08T15:49:34Z

MSNBC has had trouble getting people to pay attention to its network for years, usually trailing Fox and CNN in the ratings. But over the past year, as Keith Olbermann was allowed to take a more left-leaning, opinionated approach to the news, the network's ratings have begun to flourish. Now, MSNBC is pulling Olbermann and "Hardball" host Chris Matthews off of their breaking news coverage for the rest of the campaign, replaced by David Gregory. Is MSNBC making a mistake in giving in to conservative pressure? Olbermann really is a pundit and should be identified as such. Although he's a pundit who knows what his station's viewers want. Meanwhile, Chris Matthews has been an anchor of real reporting and analysis at the network for years, even as he's occasionally upset both those on the left and the right.

John Aravosis says the move was especially bad because conservatives don't watch MSNBC:

I'm sure that now that NBC/MSNBC has caved to the Republicans, the GOP will never say another mean thing about the network. Yeah, ask the Democrats how well the "cave just this once and they'll leave us alone" strategy has worked. Not to mention, how many people at the Republican convention do you honestly believe watch NBC or MSNBC? They watch FOX, you morons. We watch NBC and MSNBC. At least we did. You people are idiots.

Glen Greenwald says MSNBC is afraid of the political right:

That is extraordinary for a media company to publicly embarrass, diminish and tarnish its own principal asset. It is plainly doing so for ideological, not ratings-based, reasons: namely, it fears doing anything to anger the White House, the McCain campaign and the Right in this country.

The Moderate Voice's Jazz Shaw says Olbermann crossed the ideological line "far more than once too often," but says "he did add more spice to televised political coverage."

Transplanted Texan says the move could be good for Olbermann, but fears the looming presence of Gregory:

If Gregory does well, I imagine we'll see him take over the Meet the Press chair after the election. Shame, I was kind of hoping for Gwen Ifill out of all the realistic options. As for Olbermann, while my opinion of him hasn't fallen quite as far as most other MyDDers, I still applaud the move. Maybe this kick in the pants will help him return to his pre-primary, less pompous, totally awesome form? And Matthews... eh, wish they'd just fire him. "HA!"

Liberal Values' Ron Chusid captures the real dilemma of having pundits as anchors:

Having Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews anchor political coverage was often more interesting than the other networks, but it was, to be mild, journalistically flawed.

Celebrities vs. Sarah Palin

2008-09-08T14:40:49Z

It's not surprising that most of Hollywood backs Barack Obama in the general election. John McCain has been welcome for the occasional movie cameo, but at the end of the day, they're going to go with a Democrat. But how are celebrities, especially women, reacting to Sarah Palin's emergence on the national stage?

Lynne Spears, the mother of Britney and 16-year-old mother Jamie Lynn, had a care package sent to Palin daughter Bristol.

Robin Williams on David Letterman doing his best impersinations of reactions to Palin's debut from within the McCain/Bush camps.

Albert Brooks, a great comedic actor, puts on his concern troll mask:

Do we want a president who cannot communicate to their own child that possibly having a baby a year after you get your driver's license is not the smartest thing to do? Is this the new way for women to break the glass ceiling?

Rod Lurie, creator of the short-lived ABC sitcom, "Commander in Chief," about a female VP who ascends to the chief executive post, says Palin isn't qualified:

"Picking a woman is an absolute strategic idea from McCain's point of view. He's not talking about governing right now. The idea of this woman actually facing down [Vladimir] Putin and negotiating with [Dmitry] Medvedev is idiotic."

And finally, to the pinnacle of political thought. On her MySpace blog, Lindsay Lohan says it should be about the issues, not Bristol Palin's pregnancy:

I get Sarah Palin's views against abortion, but i would much prefer to hear more about what she can do for our country rather than how her daughter is going to have a child no matter what. Maybe focus on delivering some words and policy with stronger impact like Joe Biden.