Pancake City

This new Obama ad is a little too “in your face” for my tastes.

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I feel self-conscious about how often I’ve been writing about politics. I hope I can get back to writing comedy regularly after the election.

Soem random thoughts:

* How many nails in the coffin can one campaign have?

* It must suck to introduce Obama or McCain at a rally and then have to stand next to them the whole time until they finish. What if you doze off or yawn? I’d be fidgeting the whole time.

I had the half-hour Obama infomercial on in the background. I heard it all before, so I found it well-done but boring. Presumably, the target audience was undecided voters who will find most of what Obama said new. 

What I found most notable about the infomercial wasn’t the content but the meta-message behind it.

The buildup and execution of the segment followed almost the same pattern as previously hyped events in the campaign, like his trip overseas or his convention speech at Invesco field.

Pre-media chatter that Obama may be over-reaching. (Remember the Greek columns?) Supporters worry about the potential pitfalls. Republican opponent helps feed the media narrative of a mistake waiting to occur. Then the actual event happens, it goes off near flawlessly and exceeds most people’s expectations (based on the Internet chatter so far).

The meta-message is strong and clear: the Obama campaign is good at navigating tricky situations.

His speech on race, his overseas trip, the convention, the debates, the financial crisis–this infomercial is just another data point for that meta-message. A well-run campaign doesn’t guarantee a well-run Presidency, but it’s the closest thing we have to meaningful data. For that reason, the meta-message may end up being more important than the message in this case.

Even the robots are coming out for Obama.

The Wire for Obama. Here is my question: WHERE IS MCNULTY? I don’t care if he’s really British and can’t even vote in the election. Sober his fake American ass up, toss him in a car with The Bunk and get them over there.

I went to Costa Rica in August for my sister’s wedding, and finally got around to uploading some photos. I didn’t take my camera to the wedding (I wanted to enjoy it) so a big part of the trip is absent.

Robocop on a Unicorn is here.

Robocop/Unicorn 08!

If there is a way to straddle heartfeltess and irony at the same time, this video does it.

(There is a town in Japan called Obama. Vid from Politico.)

Twitter is the closest thing we have to a hive mind. Well, a hive mind for people who can afford IPhones and unlimited texting plans. There are third-party sites where you can search for a keyword and read everyone’s 140-character thoughts on it.  Some comments on Ashley Todd:

“Enough Ashley Todd already. Hope she either has money for plastic surgery or her new BF’s name will start with a B.”

“Opinions: Ashley Todd: Covert ACORN Operative?”

“Oh, jeez. Black guy who attacked Ashley Todd same black guy who stole Susan Smith’s kids:”

“Read that Ashley Todd had “prior mental problems”. In unrelated news, she used to be a Ron Paul volunteer. That is all.”

“Thanks Ashley Todd — cheaper Halloween costume option than Sarah Palin.”

“if you’re going to race bait, at least practice your B’s on a pumpkin or something first.”

There are reports of long lines in many early voting locations. An hour in line is the low end. I’ve heard accounts of people waiting 2-3 hours to vote.

If we are having this trouble now, when an estimated 1/3 of the electorate is voting over a period of days, and in some places weeks, what is it going to be like on election day when the other 2/3 of the country is voting, all on a single day, and often in the same time period because they work 9-5?

Part of the problem is probably that only a fraction of the voting centers are open in the early voting period because of staffing and location concerns, like not being able to use schools as voting centers.

But I suspect that the congestion and registration problems we had in 2000 and 2004 are still around, and we are looking at yet another messy election day. Why hasn’t “the greatest democracy in the world” nailed down the most basic part of democracy yet?

Why do we have 50 voter registration systems instead of one? Why are we voting on Tuesday instead of Saturday & Sunday? Why isn’t early voting implemented in every state?

I like Oregon’s system: voting by mail. But even if we don’t adpot it nationally, there are some simple changes we can make to improve the system. I’m not sure why there isn’t more public demand for things like weekend voting. Maybe because we vote so infrequently that it’s easier to put up with the hassle than work to change it.

Inspired.

The Obama campaign announced it raised $150 million dollars today. 

These guys are good at keeping a secret. No one guessed it would be that much.

The average donation was under $100. I have to say, I didn’t like it when right after David Plouffe (Obama campaign manager) announced they raised $150 million, he asked…for more donations. Even I thought “You got to be fucking kidding me.”  It would have been just as effective to say “The election can change in an instant. We need to stay focused. Please continue your support.”

Also, Colin Powell full-throatedly announced on Meet The Press that he was supporting Barack Obama for President. A lot of pundits are saying this is a big endorsement and it will control the news cycle for the next 2-3 days.

In today’s media environment, can any endoresement generate that much media attetion? It’s wonderful for the Obama camapign is Powell’s endoresement does, but the media’s appetite for anything new has become so voracious that I wonder if any endorsement can still have a lasting effect. I think it would have to be a truly shocking endoresement, like Bill Clinton endorsing McCain, or George Bush 41 endorsing Obama, to leave a lasting imprint, at least in the media landscape.

Update:

Video link. It’s a meaty endorsement. Every sentence has a purpose. The best part isn’t about what he says about Obama, but his comment on the efforts to label Obama is Muslim, and the implication that there is something wrong with being a Muslim. It starts at 4:25

The View and David Letterman: asking the tough questions professional reporters are afraid to raise.

No, I am unfortunately not being sarcastic.

I saw the video of Obama talking to “Joe the Plumber” yesterday, before the debate. It was obvious he didn’t agree with Obama, but Obama spoke to him for several minutes and came off personable and engaged. A lot more people are going to see that video now, and that won’t help McCain.

I watched the debate. General thoughts first:

1. It felt like a draw to me, which helps Obama. McCain was more aggressive in this debate than the past two, but Obama did a great job rebutting him. I won’t argue with anyone who gives McCain or Obama a slight edge tactically, but focusing on tactics exclusively misses the point.

For most of this election, the McCain campaign has been overly focused on tactics, things like winning the daily news cycle and scoring debate points. The Obama campaign has been focused on strategy, long term issues such as repeating a consistent message, appearing presidential and reassuring swing voters that he is a sound choice.

It is frustrating for Obama fans who want him to attack McCain during these debates, but things like being courteous while disagreeing, and occasionally saying “I agree with John on that point” helps Obama in the long term. It makes him look calm and self-confident, traits people look for in leaders.

McCain interrupted Obama several times during the debate, and even the moderator once. Did it make McCain look tough by interrupting so often? Perhaps. But it didn’t make him look presidential.

2. Bob Schieffer did a better job than I expected. Not as good as Jim Lehrer, but better than Brokaw and Ifill.

3. I took a lot of notes the first half-hour, some the second half, and almost no notes the third half. I wonder if people’s interest level followed mine.

9:02 Oooh! Chairs. What a twist.

9:03 McCain: Which person in the hospital should I mention this debate? Dick Cheney? Too unpopular. Ted Kennedy? Already mentioned him. Oh, I know: Nancy Reagan!

9:04 McCain: People are angry. I understand that. And here is the source of all your troubles: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

9:04 Shorter McCain: I’m going to repeat what Obama said in the 1st and 2nd debates because it seemed to work for him.

9:05 Shorter Obama: I’m going to repeat what I said in the 1st and 2nd debates because it seemed to work for me.

9:09 Obama: I call your plumber, and raise you a firefighter, nurse, and a teacher.

9:11 Note to McCain: “Joe the Plumber” is not a magic mantra that automatically convinces people you care about the middle class.

9:13 McCain has interrupted Obama a couple of times. He is coming off as rude.

9:17 McCain: I’m going to use a hatched, then a scalpel. John, do you know what a hatchet is?

9:23 Obama: “Even FOX News disputes it.” HA!

9:24 McCain: President Bush? I hate President Bush. If I weren’t against torture, I would personally waterboard him.

9:26 Part of McCain strategy is to toss out 10 lies in one response, knowing Obama only has time to swat five of them down in his response.

9:35 I have NO idea what McCain is talking about. He’s stumbling on some of his words and rambling a bit.

9:39 McCain: My campaign is about the economy.
Obama: [laughs]

9:59 John McCain LOVES Joe the Plumber.

10:01 Obama’s response was so good that McCain looked like he was about to cry.

10:03 Joe the Plumber is feeling very self-conscious right about now from McCain’s attention. He better hope he doesn’t have a hot wife.

10:15 McCain: I will adopt all unwanted children in America. I have eight houses. I have the room.