The other day my Popdose colleague Ted Asredagoo posed the question of how President-Elect Obama — once he is wrapped up in the business of actually, you know, governing — will manage to carry forward the inspirational themes that enlivened his campaign. There’s no doubt that he created an enormous movement toward renewed activism, both in governing and in citizenship – and that he did so mostly through the power of lofty speeches and iconic imagery. Ted closed his essay with an entreaty to Obama: that “as the presidential bubble forms around him and his day-to-day is taken up with the prose of meeting after meeting, as President he must take great care not to forget his poet’s heart displayed on the campaign.”

I couldn’t agree more with that analysis, but I would take it a step further: Obama must also take great care to ensure that we don’t forget his poet’s heart. Americans face tough times over the next few years, despite our newfound optimism in the wake of Obama’s election; chances are pretty good that, no matter what new policies he implements after his inauguration, our downward economic spiral will continue well into his term. Chances are excellent, meanwhile, that as Obama chooses his battles and launches his new initiatives, critics on the left will ask why he’s not doing even more, while critics on the right will simply dismiss everything he’s doing as pointless and misguided (if not Socialist and anti-American).

That’s their job. In times like these, however, Obama’s job must not be simply to sit behind his desk and make the decisions that (hopefully) will steer us out of this mess over a period of years. He must remember that he is his own best salesman, and that many millions of us supported him precisely because of his ability to inspire … to bring out the best and most hopeful in himself and in us. The rockiest moments of his campaign came at precisely those times when he was momentarily cowed by his opponents’ criticism of his lofty rhetoric and huge crowds: in early March, when Hillary Clinton decided to take Saturday Night Live seriously, and in August, when John McCain responded to Obama’s Berlin speech with the “Celebrity” ads.

The phrase “bread and circuses” traditionally has a negative connotation. Coined by the Roman poet Juvenal, it suggests that the masses will ignore their long-term needs and their highest aspirations in favor of any politician who can provide immediate gratification. Hillary’s “just words” argument and McCain’s “celebrity” dismissals attempted to convince us that “bread and circuses” were all Obama was offering in response to the challenges we face; remember all the news articles from last winter fretting about the rise of an “Obama cult”? (more…)

Jon: Our frequent commenter “Elaine” is eager for us to objectify Hillary tonight. Are we “up” for it?

Ted: I’m game…

Jon: So, Mark Warner looks pretty good. I keep remembering the picture of him on the cover of the New York Times Magazine, which I think singlehandedly forced him out of the presidential race because he looked like a space alien.

Ted: I gotta say, he looks like a Vulcan … who’s also a motivational speaker (if that’s possible). (Pause) He is a Vulcan! His speech is called “The Race for the Future,” and we all know that in the future Zefram Cochrane develops the first Warp engine and the Vulcans are there after the first launch. I think Mark has been sent back in time by the Vulcans to push humanity toward the Star Trek future.

Jon: Well, I dunno … Warner’s got rounded ears. It’s been a looooong time since I could make a Star Trek reference, so I’m just gonna stick with “space alien.” You can get as specific as you like. I still think Warner will be president in 2016. Did you see those daughters of his? They look like future first-daughter material.

Ted: Chris Matthews is drunk. Keith Olbermann looks like he just did a line of coke before they went live.

Jon: Speaking of drunk, is there a dumber human being alive than Ed Rendell? What major Democrat in his right mind would dare say in public that his own nominee is “like Adlai Stevenson”?

Ted: I lived in Philly when Eddie was mayor, and he was really popular. But for him to make a comment like that probably resonates with 2% of the U.S. population. So, yeah, he probably was drunk. (more…)

It’s the end of the road for Hillary Clinton’s campaign. A few signs lately have pointed towards Hillary finally packing it in, and after Barack Obama sweeps up enough of the black vote in the urban strongholds of Montana and South Dakota today to claim victory in these final two primary states, it’s likely that Clinton’s campaign will offer a formal concession. Hillary’s last-ditch effort to convince the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee to seat Michigan and Florida’s entire slates of delegates with full voting status (and award all of said delegates to her) failed, and her pitch to undecided superdelegates over the last month has mostly been falling on deaf ears. By the end, her surrogates’ statements about the which states “mattered” and specific, irrelevant ways the popular vote could be tallied to produce a slim lead for Hillary were beginning to insult everyone’s intelligence.

The nomination is decided by delegates. In the primary process, the total popular vote is no more critical to the outcome of the contest than passing yardage is to the outcome of a football game. Having Hillary attract superdelegates based on an absurdly subjective interpretation of which votes to count would be like seeing Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy persuade the NFL that his team should represent their conference in the Superbowl because, even though his team had a lower number of points than the Giants in the NFC championship game, they forced more fumbles and had a higher field goal kicking percentage and would be a stronger matchup against the Patriots.

(more…)

As the Democratic primary campaign slogs onward to Indiana and North Carolina this week, Hillary Clinton – despite her still-overwhelming deficits in votes, delegates and cash – is reveling in the one success she can truly claim: The bloom has been plucked off Barack Obama’s rose. Making Obama appear unelectable has been her strategy ever since he reeled off 11 straight victories in February, and it became clear that her only hope is to convince the superdelegates to overturn his certain pledged-delegate advantage. Obama’s life story and recent statements certainly have provided grist for the opposition-research mill; still, being forced to traverse his recent controversies under withering assault from a fellow Democrat, rather than in the partisan context of the general-election campaign, has at least partially drained the reservoir of goodwill Obama had established at the beginning of the year.

With gracious assists from the national media and Obama himself, Hillary has raised two key questions about Obama that voters weren’t asking themselves as they fawned over his January speeches: Who is this guy? and Can we trust him? Implicit in these questions is the assumption that voters already know everything they need to know about Hillary, and have already decided whether they trust her or not. (In this she is, however unintentionally, parroting George Bush’s 2004 line, “You may not always agree with me, but at least you know where I stand.”) She has effectively re-positioned Obama as The Unknown Quantity – or, as the survivors of Oceanic 815 would put it, as The Other.

The extent to which race in general, or the complicated nature of Obama’s heritage in particular, plays a role in this positioning is up for debate. But it’s clear that Obama, who so recently emerged as a vessel for so many Americans’ hopes to change the country, is now viewed with rising suspicion by citizens who feel they don’t know him and can’t trust him – at least not yet.

(It’s also clear, by the way, that Obama’s oft-proclaimed efforts to “turn the page on the battles of the ’60s” are doomed to failure, at least until November. His attempts to remain forward-looking have been skillfully undercut by the brouhahas over Rev. Wright, who reminds boomers and seniors of the radicalism that took over the Civil Rights movement in the late ’60s, and William Ayers, who has the potential to drag Vietnam-era debates into this election just as the Swift Boaters did in 2004.)

My brother-in-law is one of those Democratic-leaning boomers who now thinks he’ll vote for John McCain if Hillary isn’t the nominee. He couldn’t identify an issue on which Obama differs so much from Hillary that he can be dismissed on policy grounds; his distaste was more ephemeral. “I don’t think [Obama] believes half of what he’s saying, and I don’t think he’s very smart. All he can do is talk,” he told me over the weekend.

I told him what I tell every Democrat who questions Obama’s goodwill or character: Go read the books. Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope are available at your local bookstore or library; they’re also available on CD or cassette. Through them, Obama serves up more insight into his personal history and his political philosophy than any presidential candidate in generations. Rev. Wright is mentioned prominently — as is Obama’s personal rejection of Black Nationalism. So set aside what you think you know, I told my brother-in-law, and go find out what he really thinks. And then decide for yourself how you feel about him. (more…)

We’re at a point in the presidential election when reporters, news directors, anchors, and all the other media powers who help frame election issues are getting weary. Weary of the back and forth, the up and down, and the he said/she said of the Democratic race for the nomination. Feeling like there is very little to talk about, Old Media have, by and large, resorted to promoting the cheapest form of news programming, the Freak Show. If you’ve had a chance to read The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008 by John Harris and Mark Halperin, you’ll know what I mean by Freak Show. However, you don’t even have to open Harris and Halperin’s book to know what it is. All you have to do is channel-surf between the three 24-hour cable news channels to see it for yourself. Every now and then there are actual debates over political issues. Nowadays, however, it’s an endless variation of the Freak Show — which elevates trivial political matters into the only issues that matter by shouting, gossip mongering, spewing half-truths and bald-faced lies with a blurring rapidity. Matt Drudge, 24-hour cable news, talk radio, and political blogs are purveyors of the Freak Show, and it would be easy to dismiss if the Freak Show’s formula for getting people to pay attention if it weren’t so effective. Old Media outlets are now eager to jump on the bandwagon. Why? Because if they can get ratings by serving up trash, then why not serve up a steaming pile of it and see if the piggies will come to feed.

The Freak Show is only part of the story, though. Another part is how our esteemed media (Old and New) quickly crown the new prince/President before people have had a chance to vote in the general election. If you’re in the media’s good graces, they will shower you with love — even if you’re routinely making gaffes and saying things that are patently false. Sure, political gaffes will make the news, but it will usually be relegated to middle of the newspaper, programmed deeply in a nightly newscast, or briefly mentioned as a headline news piece. Case in point: John McCain. Those in the press who travel with McCain generally like the guy. They like his humor, they like the fact that he invited the press corp to his house for a BBQ, they admire his bravery during the Vietnam war, and they the see him as our next president. When he makes a gaffe like the one below, it’s reported, and then quickly forgotten.

However, if you’re Howard Dean, an odd victory yell plays over and over for weeks - if not months: (more…)

In an election year, candidates often want to talk about “the issues,” but more often than not, campaigns will ditch the boring talk for talking smack about each other. It’s a game of misdirection based on a good reading of what captures the imagination of the typical voter. Like many political watchers, I’m atypical when it comes to TV news, reading the paper, or which sites I regularly read for what I consider good political analysis. Yes, I read the New York Times almost every day, and yes I would rather watch The Newshour with Jim Lehrer than my local TV news or the nightly news from the Big Three. And yes, I read academic journals for the really geeky stuff. However, staying too long in the realm of political junkies comes at a cost: alienation from the political mainstream, and frustration with the way people are easily manipulated.

Case in point: there’s quite a bit of hot air about the presidential race and how the lack of a presumptive nominee in the Democratic Party is hurting the chances of Hillary or Barack to become the next president. We’re at the beginning of April, the Republican and Democratic conventions haven’t even happened, yet there’s a lot of nervous nailbiting among Democrats who think the election is already lost.

McCain is many things, but he’s no idiot when it comes to politics. The hand-waving from Karl Rove after McCain reached the magic number of delegates to secure the nomination was a Three-Card Monte move to give Dems a false sense of security. What was it that Rove said (and was repeated in the echo chamber)? His view was that because McCain was now the frontrunner (sorry, Ron Paul supporters), his coverage in the media was going to wane as the American Idol competition between Barack and Hillary continued. Ha, bloody, ha. If anything, it has boosted McCain’s profile as many in the media have grown tired of writing the ongoing saga of “who’s up, who’s down” between B and N. Lately, there have been a number of “McCain as presidential” stories floating to the top of the political pages. McCain in Iraq … McCain talking about the economy … McCain talking about public service, and it all comes without much criticism from the press. Sure, Obama responded to McCain’s policy prescriptions to the economic recession we’re in, but what is happening right now is that many in the media are looking at McCain and framing a story that goes something like this: “Chapter 1. McCain is the 44th President of the United States.”

For Hillary or Barack to turn this story around, they are going to have to split their attack strategy and remind voters why another Republican administration is going to be a horrible thing for the country, hammer home the fact that the last 7 years under Bush have been a boon for everyone but vast majority of Americans, and then start talking about the following issues: (more…)

As presidential campaigns become longer, the media’s appetite grows for comments by anyone who has a connection — no matter how close or remote — to candidates who are in the running for the highest office in the land. Extreme views are important for 24 hour cable news, the Internet, or political talk shows who need this stuff to stay in business. When people say or do things that have a “jaw-dropping” effect, it’s like a gift from the gods for media outlets trying to keep their advertisers happy by capturing a good share of the audience. It also means they have programming fodder for a minimum of 24 hours. If it’s a good sex scandal (see Bill Clinton or Eliot Spitzer) all the better! It means people will be tuning in with mixture of outrage, curiosity, and titillation. For lack of a better term, let’s call the Pavlovian behavior to these stories “The Tune In Factor,” or TIF. When you have a story with a high TIF, it may be a boon for TV/radio ratings, hits to a website, or newspaper sales, but it can quickly frame a political campaign in ways that the candidates don’t expect. If the story is to the candidate’s favor, they try and get the most mileage out of the story. But if it’s not, then they quickly rush to nullify the story’s negative effect. Sometimes, however, one can just sit back and collect political chits from a story that has no direct connection to a campaign.

This week’s TIF examples center on two hot button issues: 1. Race politics. 2. Sexuality — or more specifically, homosexuality. In the U.S., we love our right to free speech — until someone says something that we disagree with. That’s when our friends in the media jump in an exploit the level of disagreement in culture. Case in point: Barack Obama. Hillary’s camp has been rightfully slamming the media for their love affair with Obama. SNL did a skit on said love affair and suddenly stories on an indicted businessman giving Obama money surfaced (yet again). More importantly, there’s Obama’s pastor saying things in church about Hillary, about race, about 9/11, about the incarceration of blacks, about a lot of things that, because he’s Obama’s pastor, Obama must address. (more…)

I knew I wasn’t voting Republican, that much was certain. No offense to our Republican readers, but eight years is enough. I am not better off than I was in 2000. John McCain is too busy being a war tactician. Mitt Romney personifies meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Rudolph Giuliani marginalized himself way too early as the 9/11 Mayor, insinuating a vote against him was a vote for American girls in burqas, American boys conscripted into jihad and death to the rest. Ron Paul presented some very good ideas and a visionary sense of Constitution-first governance… meaning he hadn’t a snowman’s Sunday in hell. Call that glib, but thus far he has been the poster child for un-electability.

But take heart, my friends of the Grand Old Party. Up until recently, I thought I was set on my candidate. I thought she could take us back to better days. I thought she had the experience to right political wrongs. I thought she was the solution to the problem of ‘how do we get out of this hole.’ Then I found out she was a he… Or a he/she. The point being, I was ready to pull the switch for Clinton before her name became Billary. Oh, I was moved like everyone else during her primary breakdown when, on the verge of tears, Hillary said, “It’s about our country. It’s about our kids’ futures. It’s really about all of us together. You know some of us put ourselves out there and do this against some pretty difficult odds. And we do it, each one of us, because we care about our country. But some of us are right and some of us are wrong. Some of us are ready and some of us are not.”

I thought that the emotions were real and that she had finally come down from her ivory tower, down here to where we’re scratching to get by, and was ready to try new things, banding together and not tearing apart. (more…)