Halloween parades are always interesting political events.  The best one I've ever attended was the 1987 parade in Greenwich Village when, among hundreds of witty costumes, Ronald Reagan was continually mocked and pilloried for his silence about AIDS.

That seems a lifetime ago.  In a very different place, I attended an elementary school parade this afternoon.  Among the witches, ball players, Harry Potters, and goth cheerleaders, one 5th grade girl dressed up as Sarah Palin.  Everyone laughed and high-fived.

A mom was trying to take the girl's picture and she kept yelling out to a group of kids, "Hey John McCain, get in the picture. Hey John McCain, get in the picture with Sarah Palin."  The kids turned round and round, the other parents looked confused, The teacher came over and said, "I don't think any of my kids are dressed up as John McCain."  The photographer/ mom yelled for McCain once again and then, frustrated, walked over to the kid who had been ignoring her command and placed him next to Sarah Palin.  The kid wasn't dressed up as John McCain.  He was dressed up as Yoda. 

 

 

This morning Dan Rather appeared on MSNBC to add some perspective to the latest news cycle.  As The Washington Post was reporting on sickening threats and hatred being expressed at Sarah Palin's rallies, Rather told Joe and Mika that he thought she had a real political career in front of her.  If she can't turn the McCain campaign around, he said, watch for her in 2012.  She has proven ability to really connect with people, Rather opined, oblivious to the evidence that her connections were mired in race-baiting and xenophobia.

But old Dan Rather, he wasn't through with the election yet.  When the talk turned to the sleaziness in yesterday's campaign events, Rather scolded both sides for talking about people from decades ago rather than confronting the fiscal crisis.  Wall Street is plunging, and the candidates are bickering about people they used to know.  The Obama camp, Rather added, may very well say McCain started it, but just as two kids in a school yard, both should be in trouble.

Of course, Dan forgot to point out that the Keating 5 is quite relevant to the current fiscal crisis.  And he forgot to point out that while Obama gave a lengthy speech on the economy yesterday, places like MSNBC focused their attention on the Keating 5 comments.  And finally, in the midst of his scold, old Dan forgot to mention that four years ago he was chasing a story about Bush and several weeks of undocumented military leave during the Vietnam War rather than sifting through Iraq and the quixotic search for WMDs.

Katie Couric never looked so good, and she's been looking awfully good lately.

As the economy grabs the headlines and Palin begins her nosedive, I'd like to see Team Obama announce their agenda for the first 100 Days.  In a major policy speech, that can then be condensed for the stump, Obama should weave together his various proposals into a clear-cut plan for how he will address the weaknesses in our economy and energy policy.  I'd like to see a bulleted list of legislation and a timetable for its passage  (Give me a truly democratic congress, he could add, and we will push this through.) 

Hitting McCain over the head is only good in so far as it softens up the electorate to hear what Obama wants to do.  He needs to "own" change by establishing a plan of action.
 
Get everyone talking about Obama's plans.  Let them see his mind at work.  Week 1 -- Financial Regulation; Week 2 Job Creation; Week 3 -- Funding Green Sources of Energy and on and on.

As long as I'm dreaming (and maybe the campaign is waiting for October to unleash their comprehensive plan), why not give this package of change-themed legislation a name so that even the most evolution-denying, intellectual-hating, Dobson-loving voters out there will know what Obama stands for? 

Seeing as the New Deal and Great Society have already been taken, does anyone have suggestions?

Check out my piece at the Huffington Post re: the celebrity of captivity that John McCain has built around himself:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-haven-blake/pow-stories-create-cadets_b_125459.html

We here at TPM have been talking about Howard Fineman a lot lately.  Aided by Josh's videos, we've all noticed Fineman's refusal to believe that McCain has anything to do with the low road campaign.

Fineman appears tomorrow on a Philadelphia radio show -- Radio Times with Mary Moss-Coane - from 9-10 EDT.  (WHYY 91FM)

This is an intelligent call-in show that gives listeners the opportunity to ask tough questions of the guests.

Here's a chance, TPM-ers, to ask Fineman why he works so hard to excuse Senator Low Road from his gutter campaign.

The call in number is 1-888-477-WHYY (1-888-477-9499).

For more info, see http://www.whyy.org/91FM/rtcaller.html

Please Recommend so this does not disappear by tomorrow morning

This post disappeared overnight on August 3, but because the McCain camp is stuck on the celebrity theme, I thought I'd try it again.  Apologies to those who read it the first time.
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If celebrity is the smear word of this election campaign, Hollywood McCain has a lot to answer for.  Obama may be getting lots of press attention (an astonishingly high percentage of which is negative), but Hollywood McCain is the candidate who was able to slip into American popular culture unchallenged.  The dude has appeared alongside Tony Danza and Lewis Black; he's bowed to the altar of Regis and Kathy Lee; he's sold the official Pat Tillman story on ESPN, and he's repeatedly hosted Saturday Night Live and shined his mug on WWF.

There's Hollywood McCain on "24!"  There he is in "The Wedding Crashers!"  Comedy Central could release a commemorative DVD of all of John McCain's appearances on its network.  I swear I saw him on "Love Boat" sometime in the 70s .

If there's a camera to smile for, he's there.  If there's a strapless shoulder to bump against, he's there.  The dude is a celebrity-super hero, able to fly from DC to LA in record time.

For ten years, Hollywood McCain has been one of Washington's biggest media whores, and it is time  Americans start to recognize him with a fitting nickname.  Hollywood McCain, we haven't forgotten you!  Hollywood McCain, can I have your autograph?  Hollywood McCain, we're ready for a close-up with you and your aging starlet wife.

Interested in the (incomplete) details? http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564587/

If celebrity is the smear word of this election campaign, Hollywood McCain has a lot to answer for.  Obama may be getting lots of press attention (an astonishingly high percentage of which is negative), but Hollywood McCain is the candidate who was able to slip into American popular culture unchallenged.  The dude has appeared alongside Tony Danza and Lewis Black; he's bowed to the altar of Regis and Kathy Lee; he's sold the official Pat Tillman story on ESPN, and he's repeatedly hosted Saturday Night Live and shined his mug on WWF.

There's Hollywood McCain on "24!"  There he is in "The Wedding Crashers!"  Comedy Central could release a commemorative DVD of all of John McCain's appearances on its network.  I swear I saw him on "Love Boat" sometime in the 70s .

If there's a camera to smile for, he's there.  If there's a strapless shoulder to bump against, he's there.  The dude is a celebrity-super hero, able to fly from DC to LA in record time.

For ten years, Hollywood McCain has been one of Washington's biggest media whores, and it is time  Americans start to recognize him with a fitting nickname.  Hollywood McCain, we haven't forgotten you!  Hollywood McCain, can I have your autograph?  Hollywood McCain, we're ready for a close-up with you and your aging starlet wife.

Interested in the (incomplete) details? http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564587/

And, one aside: Seen flying today all along the Jersey shore, an airplane dragging the advertisement: "John McCain wants to drill for oil here . . ."

Anyone care to comment on the McCain advertisement that periodically appears at the top of this page?  Kudos to TPM for scoring some more revenue, but does anyone here think this is an effective place to advertise?  Are they trolling for disaffected Clinton supporters?  Will they get any?

MSNBC declared for Obama at 7:32 and then immediately began to contemplate what would happen if Clinton wrested the nomination away from him.  "Would African-American voters feel disenfranchised?  Would they vote for her in the Fall?"

What's up with this bullshit?!?  (though the victory is very good)

Does anyone know why Obama's many supporters aren't out there holding meetings and rallies for him?  (Or perhaps they are?)

Hillary's got Bill and Chelsea working overtime (which may not be helpful), but wouldn't this be a good time for Ted Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, Caroline Kennedy, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Reich, Bill Richardson, Maria Shriver, John Kerry, Bill Bradley, Stevie Wonder, etc to fan out across North Carolina and Indiana?

After Wright, it made sense to have Barack and Michele campaign together in small settings.  But Hillary does seem to have the advantage of holding more events, and I suspect that helps her. 

Or would too many surrogate events suggest that he's panicked and putting all his chips on the table (as she has to do every time)?

I've been struggling to make sense of Rev Wright's remarks at the National Press Club yesterday.  In one sense Wright was performing as the clown prince of theology, the Dizzy Gillespie of activist Christianity.  Great performance, Reverend, but this wasn't really a be-bop audience.

Just who was the Rev Wright trying to portray? 

The spectacle of a father-figure publicly calling out and embarrassing his son seems as old and profound as the Greek myths and Hebrew scripture.  Was Rev Wright the titan Chronos intent on devouring his children?  Was he Abraham willing to sacrifice Isaac to express his faith? 

Or maybe we should turn to Shakespeare in which Wright is Falstaff and Obama is Henry IV, the prince who must ultimately give up his pals in order to take office.  But in this case, of course, Falstaff does not retire to the pub; he heads into the spotlight to deliberately disrupt Henry's royal campaign: "I know thee not, old man: fall to thy prayers;/
How ill white hairs become a fool and jester!"

While each of these stories can be illuminating, there seemed to be more to the story, another act of betrayal that kept eluding me.  (Not the Judas analogy, Jimbo!)

This morning it came to me.  Perhaps what we saw yesterday was Elija Mohammed taking down Malcolm X after he committed himself to a world beyond the pastor that had done so much for him. 

The analogy is incomplete, and in no way do I suggest that Wright is a racist who believes in white devils and the like.  As revealed in Friday night's interview with Bill Moyers, Rev Wright is smart, learned, committed, engaging, and dead serious about many things.  (Dead wrong, too.) 

But yesterday he seemed like an assassin hoping to terminate the next generation's revolutionary change. 

He's got the organization.  He's got the money.  He's got the votes.  It is now up to Obama to make sure the revolution continues regardless of what the old men do, say, or think.

While many  of you probably get over to the Huffington Post, I'm including a link for those of you who don't.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/is-hillary-clinton-push-p_b_98446.html

This is a recording of an actual push poll call that the Clinton campaign is using in North Carolina.  As with all push polls, the caller tends to offer long, erroneous information about Obama to the voter, then follows with a question about electability.

The calls come from the firm of Geoff Grain, the new head of Hillary's campaign.

I've been interested to follow the candidate schedules on the right of the TPM page.  Does anyone notice that Obama seems to be doing only one or two events a day?  Hillary seems like she's putting in twice as many appearances, and of course, when you factor in Bill and Chelsea, that's a lot more contact time.

Can anyone explain (away) what looks like a softer schedule?  Is Obama doing lots of small group sessions and factory visits that don't register on the TPM board?  Is he earnestly developing a new stump speech or policy proposal? 

Lots of people expected Clinton to do well in rural counties, but I am dismayed by how well she did in Bucks County, a relatively affluent county north of Philadelphia that traditionally votes liberal.

These numbers give me serious pause:

Obama 42,869  37.7%
Clinton 71,830  62.6%

Compare to the numbers in the past two presidential elections:

2004
Kerry 163,438  51.1%
Bush 154,469  48.3%

2000
Gore 132,914 50.46%
Bush 121,927  46.29%
Nader 6,294  2.39%

Obama should have done much better in this affluent county, a place where guns and religion don't have untoward significance.

Running, in effect, as a republican, Hillary really beat Obama up.

Any explanations?

There's been a lot of press about George Stephanopoulos's defense of Wednesday night's debate.  He has dubiously claimed that the questions were fair and foremost in the minds of voters.  But the former key member of President Clinton's team was less than partial in his questioning.