Fred Thompson Returning To Showbiz

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson has apparently decided not to run for chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Thompson's former finance chair, B.C. "Scooter" Clippard, tells the Associated Press that the lawyer-turned-actor-turned-Senator-turned-actor-turned Presidential candidate-turned-guy with a PAC has decided to return his career attentions to the business they call show:

"He has some wonderful opportunities back in the television market that probably financially far outweigh being chair of the RNC," Clippard said.

-- Evie Stone

3:05 PM ET | 11-21-2008 | permalink

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Inside Source Exposed As Hoax

The NYT writes up fake insider "Martin Eisenstadt" -- a made-up gentleman who claimed to be a McCain policy adviser and a senior fellow at the (pretend) Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy. He is responsible for such remarkable debunked leaks as "Sarah Palin thinks Africa is a country" and "Joe the Plumber is Charles Keating's son-in-law." (Though, in the defense of the folks who bought Eisenstadt's bill of goods...doesn't naming a think tank after Warren Harding seem too amazing to be fake? One can only imagine the commemorative teapots they might send out to members of Congress at Christmastime.)

But it turns out Eisenstadt was a fabrication of filmmakers Eitan Gorlin and Dan Mirvish, who delighted in getting their faux-insider info onto MNSBC and Fox News and into the web real estate of the LA Times and The New Republic. Some internet truth-squadders were onto the hoax early, but nonetheless a string of venerable news orgs allowed themselves to get punk'd.

Despite the now-widespread debunking of his identity, Eisenstadt's blog is keeping up the ruse, telling readers that "for anyone using inexact technology like Google, perhaps one reason you keep seeing the word 'hoax' next to my name is because I have used this very blog to uncover several hoaxes."

-- Evie Stone

3:03 PM ET | 11-13-2008 | permalink

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The Obamas...They're Just Like Us!

A highlight of this cover-profile of the First Family-elect (pull quote: "I think I'm a pretty cool dad"): the fact that Us Weekly scored an interview with famed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. Plus..."family album"!

Politico has the full spread from People magazine's post-election Obama-stravaganza. To-do list item #5: Become leader of the free world.*

-- Evie Stone

*UPDATED -- linked items are from People, not Us.

12:58 PM ET | 11-12-2008 | permalink

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Obama's First Visit to the Oval Office: Check

Six days after winning the election, President-elect Obama visited the White House to meet with the current president. Hundreds of people gathered outside the presidential residence, straining for a glimpse of the meeting. Obama and his wife arrived 11 minutes earlier than expected and were greeted by President Bush and the First Lady on the South Portico. Mrs. Bush escorted Mrs. Obama into the house for a tour of the family's living quarters. The senator and president strolled down the Colonnade together -- patting backs and posing for pictures -- on their way to Oval Office for a private meeting.

We don't know what they discussed behind closed doors, but if we had to guess, we'd probably guess a) the economy, b) the economy or c) the economy.

According to his staff, this was Obama's first time in the Oval Office. He's now on his way back to Chicago. Reportedly, Michelle Obama is sticking around DC a bit longer to check out schools for the girls.

-- Thomas Pierce

UPDATE: A statement from the Obama Transition Team and from White House Press Secretary Dana Perino about today's meeting after the jump...

Continue reading "Obama's First Visit to the Oval Office: Check" »

4:03 PM ET | 11-10-2008 | permalink

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Coin Toss Decides Mayor's Race In MN Town

AP reports:

GOODRIDGE, MINN. - A coin toss has determined the winner of the mayor's race in the tiny northwestern Minnesota town of Goodridge.

Incumbent Bob Homme and former Mayor Dave Brown each got 22 votes. Instead of finding the ballots and recounting the 44 votes, they agreed to decide the winner with a coin toss.

It already was a strange race in Goodridge -- population 98 -- with no one filing to run for mayor. Brown and Homme were both write-ins.

To break the tie, each tossed his own coin. If it was even, meaning two heads or two tails, Homme would win the two-year term. If it was odd, meaning a head and a tail, Brown would win.

It was a head and a tail. Brown won.

-- Evie Stone

10:16 AM ET | 11- 7-2008 | permalink

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Dog Bites Reporter

Barney, one of the President's two Scotties, bit a member of the White House press corps today. Reuters reporter John Decker was reportedly reaching down to pet Barney when he received a nip to the finger that broke the skin. According to Shenanigans, the White House physician will administer a tetanus shot tomorrow.

Was Barney jealous of all the media coverage surrounding the Obamas' puppy plans?

-- Evie Stone

1:59 PM ET | 11- 6-2008 | permalink

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The People Want Papers

A nod to the lingering importance of good old-fashioned dead tree newspapers as copies evaporated from newsstands yesterday. As the New York Times put it, "For a day, at least, newspapers were cool again."

Esteemed NPR Reference Librarian Kee Malesky sends along this roundup of extra print runs, as posted to the news librarians' listserv.

We reprinted 3,000 yesterday afternoon and have decided to do another 10,000 this morning.

-- Savannah Morning News

We printed an extra 50,000 yesterday afternoon. They were distributed to over 3,000 locations and are being sold in front of our building.
People are walking away with bundles, not just one or two copies.
-- Detroit Free Press

The News had plans to run another 15,000 copies to be sold beginning tomorrow
--Buffalo News

We printed 30,000 extra first run, and sold out, then printed 65,000 more of a 'special edition' yesterday afternoon.
--St Louis Post-Disptach

An extra 15,000.
-- Palm Beach Post

The Observer turned the presses back on yesterday morning and printed 20,000 more. This on top of an increased run of 16,000.
People are still coming in for extra copies today!
-- Charlotte Observer

10,000 copies of a commemorative election edition are available today.
-- Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA)

We ran out of papers Wed., this was with an extra 4000 or 5000 papers printed statewide.
We printed an extra 5000 this morning for sale today.
-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

We ran about 25% more in the initial run and another 5,000 last night.
-- Tuscaloosa News

The Trib kept presses working yesterday and published an additional 410,000 copies of the paper.
-- Chicago Tribune

The paper prints 267,000 copies on a typical Wednesday morning run. But by the end of the day, 417,000 copies had been printed.
-- Atlanta Journal Constitution

Up to 100,000 extras were printed
-- Los Angeles Times

And according to E&P, the Washington Post has printed an additional 600,000. Washingtonians waited in line for hours yesterday afternoon on the promise of additional deliveries. At the Safeway near NPR, would-be collectors were limited to one copy per person.

-- Evie Stone

UPDATE: One more.

We are printing around 200,000 copies including an expanded run of our paper on Wednesday and a special commemorative "Extra" printed later that day and another press run of that Extra today.

-- San Francisco Chronicle

11:50 AM ET | 11- 6-2008 | permalink

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NJ Town Votes For New Identity

Where would you rather live, West Paterson or Woodland Park?

Voters of West Paterson, NJ, voted yesterday -- not with their feet, but at the ballot box. They're changing the name of the town.

A quick lesson in history and geography: Paterson, NJ, is old, industrial and grim. Alexander Hamilton helped establish it as the nation's first center of manufacturing. It's birthed the Colt revolver, more steam locomotives than you could count, acres of silk fabric, the poetry of William Carlos Williams and bloody labor strikes. Since World War II, Paterson has been defined by poverty, crime, drugs -- and its opportunities for immigrants to get a toehold in America. It's where boxer Hurricane Carter was busted and tried for murder.

And West Paterson? It's the middle-class suburb across the highway and up the hill from the city.

You see the logic here. And in fact, West Paterson is slow in making the move. It was 1972 when East Paterson changed its name to Elmwood Park.

Word then was that they wanted the new name to keep the E-P initials, an economy move to save money re-doing the borough's logo on police cars and stationery.

-- Peter Overby

9:24 AM ET | 11- 5-2008 | permalink

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Madelyn Dunham, Oct 26, 1922 - Nov 3, 2008

Barack Obama's grandmother Madelyn Dunham has died, one day before her grandson appears likely to be elected President of the United States.

The Democratic nominee recently took a break from campaigning to visit Mrs. Dunham, who he called Toot, after she broke her hip and it became clear her condition was dire. She turned 86 last month.

Obama and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, have released this statement:

It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer. She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure.

Our family wants to thank all of those who sent flowers, cards, well-wishes, and prayers during this difficult time. It brought our grandmother and us great comfort. Our grandmother was a private woman, and we will respect her wish for a small private ceremony to be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to any worthy organization in search of a cure for cancer.

-- Evie Stone

UPDATE: John and Cindy McCain have issued the following statement:

We offer our deepest condolences to Barack Obama and his family as they grieve the loss of their beloved grandmother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them as they remember and celebrate the life of someone who had such a profound impact in their lives.

4:37 PM ET | 11- 3-2008 | permalink

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Before You Go: Night of the Living Nader and a Hard-Earned Lesson

It's Halloween so let's face it, you probably left the office at noon. But don't accept any unwrapped candy tonight, wear glow-in-the-dark strips on your sneakers, and please share these news items with anyone who answers the door:

Make 'em laugh: not just a costume.
Make (small children) cry: Ralph Nader's Halloween message.
Make 'em think: filibust this.
Make 'em drink: less tricking, more treating = happier press.

-- Thomas Pierce

4:45 PM ET | 10-31-2008 | permalink

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Before You Go: More Yard Sign Woes and Nasty Ads

I'm a little late today, but perhaps you're playing on your Blackberry while you wait on the first round of spinach dip. If so, please enjoy today's conversation starters:

Make 'em laugh: oooh baby, he doesn't love your ways.
Make 'em cry: the cost of celebrity.
Make 'em think: jockeying for influence.
Make 'em drink: an ad lawsuit.

-- Thomas Pierce

5:50 PM ET | 10-30-2008 | permalink

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Zzzzzzzt.

The Raleigh News & Observer reports on a Chapel Hill man who has taken elaborate measures to prevent any more of his McCain yard signs from disappearing.

On Monday, he ran wires from his house and hooked the signs into a power source for an electric pet fence. Then he mounted a surveillance camera in a nearby tree and wired it to a digital recorder.

Tuesday afternoon, the camera saw this: A neighbor trotting up with an Obama-Biden sign, grabbing a handful of volts as he touched a McCain-Palin sign, then fleeing at top 9-year-old boy speed.

The boy's parents complained to the local authorities, but the sheriff tells the N&O he does not plan to file charges.

h/t Russell Lewis

11:13 AM ET | 10-30-2008 | permalink

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Before You Go: the Undecideds and a Voting Time Machine

If you leave work now, you might still have time to walk the dog, pay the bills, reheat last night's leftovers, and do a load of laundry.

Or you could meet up with friends to celebrate the evening and discuss one or more of the following topics:

Make 'em laugh: a very special voting machine tour.
Make 'em cry: hate-mail.
Make 'em think: the undecideds.
Make 'em drink: rockin the vote.

-- Thomas Pierce

5:00 PM ET | 10-29-2008 | permalink

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Before You Go

Only a few more minutes to go before you pretend to leave your desk for a soda from the machine so you can duck into an elevator bound for the lobby. But first, prepare for the evening with these political conversation-starters:

Make 'em laugh: an internship.
Make 'em cry: yard sign desperation.
Make 'em think: health care criticisms.
Make 'em drink: election rap.

-- Thomas Pierce

5:30 PM ET | 10-28-2008 | permalink

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Before You Go

It's cold and windy in DC this evening. But maybe the weather's so nice where you are that you can't wait to get out the office door. Don't forget to check out these conversation-starters first:

Make 'em laugh: a blank tape.
Make 'em cry: things that could go wrong.
Make 'em think: Teddy-love.
Make 'em drink: a history of comebacks.

-- Thomas Pierce

5:05 PM ET | 10-27-2008 | permalink

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Plot Uncovered

Via the AP (and confirmed by NPR):

The ATF says it has broken up a plot to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and shoot or decapitate 102 black people in a Tennessee murder spree.

In court records unsealed Monday, agents said they disrupted plans to rob a gun store and target an unnamed but predominantly African-American high school by two neo-Nazi skinheads.

Read an excerpt from the US Department of Justice press release after the jump.

-- Sean Bowditch

Continue reading "Plot Uncovered" »

4:36 PM ET | 10-27-2008 | permalink

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Before You Go

It's Friday. And that means you've probably already left the office. But just in case you haven't, here are a few things to talk about this weekend:

Make 'em laugh: retail sector boom.*
Make 'em cry: a very unfunny hoax.
Make 'em think: year of the woman.
Make 'em drink: just a field goal.

-- Thomas Pierce

*For the record, this is satire.

4:55 PM ET | 10-24-2008 | permalink

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Joe The Congressman?

Responding to an online grassroots effort (slogan: "Plunge the Crap Out of Washington") Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham today that he would be "up for" throwing his plunger into the proverbial ring in the 2010 midterm elections. He would likely be challenging Marcy Kaptur, who has represented Ohio's 9th congressional district since 1982 and is considered safe in this year's contest.

Ingraham offered to help Wurzelbacher with his PR. Audio here, via The Hill.

-- Evie Stone

3:04 PM ET | 10-24-2008 | permalink

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White House Clarification

Following a note to the White House press corps saying that the President and Mrs. Bush mailed their early ballots to Texas today, press secretary Dana Perino found it necessary to follow up:

Sent: Fri Oct 24 14:28:07 2008

Subject: I find this hard to believe...

But so many reporters have asked just who the president voted for, I guess I have to make it clear -- for months the president has said he supports John McCain for president and of course he voted for him.

-- Evie Stone

h/t David Greene

2:39 PM ET | 10-24-2008 | permalink

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McCain Slams Bush Policies In Interview

This made the rounds this morning, but if you haven't seen it yet...in a fascinating interview in today's Washington Times, John McCain cheerfully skewers the Bush administration's policies.

"Spending, the conduct of the war in Iraq for years, growth in the size of government, larger than any time since the Great Society, laying a $10 trillion debt on future generations of America, owing $500 billion to China, obviously, failure to both enforce and modernize the [financial] regulatory agencies that were designed for the 1930s and certainly not for the 21st century, failure to address the issue of climate change seriously," Mr. McCain said in an interview with The Washington Times aboard his campaign plane en route from New Hampshire to Ohio.

"Those are just some of them," he said with a laugh, chomping into a peanut butter sandwich as a few campaign aides in his midair office joined in the laughter.

The Obama campaign has sought to portray a potential McCain presidency as a third Bush term (our Ken Rudin, speculating on what's next for the GOP, respectfully disagrees). This is, to our ears, McCain's strongest language yet distancing himself from the President.

-- Evie Stone

5:14 PM ET | 10-23-2008 | permalink

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Before You Go

Nobody will see you leave the office early if you take the side-door, right? Grab your coat, pack your bag, but don't forget to check out these conversation starters first:

Make 'em laugh: fake cinematic campaign ads. (Note: skip to 2:20 for the fake Wes Anderson ad.)
Make 'em cry: robo call wars.
Make 'em think: defining pro-Americanism.
Make 'em drink: a vote for history.

-- Thomas Pierce

4:50 PM ET | 10-23-2008 | permalink

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Before You Go

Sneaking out of the office at 5pm today? Keep your friends entertained as you wait on those appetizers:

Make 'em laugh: pink handcuffs.
Make 'em cry: voting day anxiety.
Make 'em think: Palin's contingency plan.
Make 'em drink: the Pennsylvania head fake.

-- Thomas Pierce

4:50 PM ET | 10-22-2008 | permalink

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This Paint Job Was Not Approved

US Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) awoke this morning to discover his garage had been unexpectedly re-decorated, according to the Star-Tribune. Overnight, someone had spray-painted "U R A CRIMINAL RESIGN OR ELSE! PSALM 2" on the wooden siding. The word "SCUM" was painted on another exterior wall.

Coleman wasn't alone. Fellow US Senator Amy Klobuchar (D) was also targeted, as were US Representatives Keith Ellison (D), John Kline (R), Michele Bachmann (R), and Jim Ramstad (R). Ellison received a slight variation on the message: "TRAITOR. RESIGN NOW. PSALM 2." Same for Ramstad: "U R A SELLOUT!!! PSALM 2".

No one has claimed responsibility. Local authorities are looking into it.

I'll save you the Google search... The text of Psalm 2 is after the jump.

-- Sean Bowditch

Continue reading "This Paint Job Was Not Approved" »

3:40 PM ET | 10-22-2008 | permalink

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Election Night Blogger Meetup At NPR

It's hard to believe, but November 4 is now less than two weeks away. That night, NPR HQ will be sheer chaos -- wonderful, wonkish chaos -- as we reach the culmination of yet another four-year election cycle. It's the perfect excuse for a blogger meetup.

On election night, NPR will convert its conference facility into a filing center for broadcasters from around the world, and we're hoping to include around two dozen bloggers in the mix. We'd like to get bloggers from across the political spectrum to join us for the entire night (read: 6pm to as late as 4am). We'll provide them with a workspace, wifi access, live news feeds and plenty of food and caffeine to keep them up all night. We'll even give tours of the election studio throughout the evening.

Space is extremely limited, so we're only able to accommodate bloggers in the DC area or who are able to get to DC on their own dime. If you're interested in applying for the event, please fill out the election night blogger meetup form no later that 5pm ET this Friday, October 22, and we'll get back to you before the end of next week.

-- Andy Carvin

12:07 PM ET | 10-22-2008 | permalink

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Before You Go

It's time to leave work. Impress your friends as you gather for that happiest of hours...

Make 'em laugh: make-up artistry.
Make 'em cry: a dead bear.
Make 'em think: anti-Americanism on the trail.
Make 'em drink: proud grandmothers.

-- Thomas Pierce

6:26 PM ET | 10-21-2008 | permalink

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Rep. Hayes Denies, Then Acknowledges Comments

The story goes something like this:

At a McCain rally on Saturday in North Carolina, Republican Rep. Robin Hayes warms up McCain supporters (before McCain has arrived) by telling them that, "liberals hate Americans that work and accomplish and achieve and believe in God."

A spokesman for the congressman denies -- twice -- that Hayes ever made the comment.

An audio recording of the comment surfaces, courtesy of The Crypt.

Hayes then acknowledges the remarks in a statement to The Charlotte Observer: "There is no doubt that it came out completely the wrong way."

David Greene was at the rally and has provided this recording of the comment (which occurs at 1:57):

David was there to do a story on the anatomy of a McCain rally -- from start to finish. Tomorrow morning, he'll give an Obama rally the same treatment.

-- Thomas Pierce

3:22 PM ET | 10-21-2008 | permalink

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Obama's Election Night: Grant Park, It Is

It's official: what began on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois will end on November 4th in Chicago's Grant Park. Will it be a celebration or a concession? Nobody knows. (Many claim to know.)

The announcement came with some bad news for the media. The best positions at the site for reporters, cameras, and crew will cost an arm and a leg (and the other arm and the other leg). Lynn Sweet writes that if a reporter wants access to the press filing center, it might cost $935. And as she puts it, "This is an outrageous pay to play plan that caters to national elite outlets with deep pockets."

No word yet on the McCain event site (or press filing center price tag), though word is he'll be in Phoenix.

-- Thomas Pierce

2:22 PM ET | 10-21-2008 | permalink

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The Other Tim Mahoney

The Crypt has a post about the unfortunate political situation of one Tim Mahoney... that is, Pennsylvania State Rep. Tim Mahoney:

The lawmaker took the unusual step of issuing a press release recently clarifying that he did not, in fact, cheat on his wife, after the story broke that Florida Democratic Rep. Tim Mahoney paid off a former aide who was his ex-lover.

While both are Democrats and both are in their early fifties, the state lawmaker's Uniontown, Pa. district is roughly 910 miles from Palm Beach, Fla., according to Google Maps.

Any local politicians out there named Vito Fossella, Mark Foley, or Larry Craig?

-- Thomas Pierce

(h/t) Evie Stone

11:53 AM ET | 10-21-2008 | permalink

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All About Joe Biden

This week in Joe Biden:

The Democratic VP hopeful released medical records today that prove he's in excellent health for a 65-year-old man. He doesn't show symptoms that put him at risk for a future aneurysm, though he hasn't had a brain scan to completely rule it out.

In other Biden news, while fundraising in Seattle yesterday he provided the McCain campaign with all new fodder for advertisements and emails. He warned that the race would tighten before Election Day -- and, more controversially, that Obama would be tested by some international crisis in his first six months as president:

Remember I said it standing here. if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy. And he's gonna have to make some really tough -- I don't know what the decision's gonna be, but I promise you it will occur.

Biden does not suggest that McCain would be any more qualified for such a crisis, but he does seem to imply that an Obama presidency would invite this test.

I think it's safe to assume we'll see this quote quite a few more times before November 4th. Whether or not it will have much impact -- with most voters concerned more about the fledgling economy -- is unclear. But it does give McCain the opportunity to resurrect questions about Obama's experience.

The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza has a profile of Joe Biden this week that, in addition to detailing his selection as VP, offers a timely take on his propensity to not attract any news... until he says the wrong thing:

Biden's time on the trail has been defined more by a series of supposed gaffes--morsels of content that are perfect for a Drudge Report headline, or a YouTube clip. His style does not play well in the modern media environment, and coverage of his gaffes has sometimes overshadowed the substance in his speeches, such as the moment when, at a rally in Missouri, he asked a state senator in a wheelchair to stand up.

-- Thomas Pierce

5:37 PM ET | 10-20-2008 | permalink

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At Rally, Muslim McCain Supporters Meet Intolerance

What happens when Muslim McCain supporters go to a rally and encounter other McCain fans making anti-Muslim comments and handing out modified Obama bumper stickers with an Islamic crescent? And what happens when a McCain staffer intervenes in said encounter?

The American News Project found out at a McCain rally in northern Virginia. And they filmed the whole thing:

-- Thomas Pierce

(h/t Andy Carvin)

4:15 PM ET | 10-20-2008 | permalink

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Calling All Joes

Team McCain rolled out a new Joe-nitiative today that asks supporters to submit videos, explaning how they're like "Joe the plumber:"

In these tough economic times, there is no doubt that John McCain and Sarah Palin stand firmly on the side of hardworking "everyday Joes" who understand the value of honest work and the American Dream.

That's why we want to hear from you and share your story with the American public.

Winning videos may be used in campaign ads. So for all you aspiring Joes out there, learn from your predecessor: before you submit a video and subject yourself to all that media scrutiny, be sure that you're up to date on your taxes and are licensed for whatever it is you do.

-- Thomas Pierce

12:55 PM ET | 10-20-2008 | permalink

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Powell Endorses Obama

Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama during an appearance on Meet The Press this morning. A retired U.S. Army general, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Bush 41, and former Secretary of State under Bush 43, Powell may be the biggest endorser to cross party lines this year. He called Obama a "transformational figure" and said that McCain's pick of Sarah Palin raised "some questions in my mind" about the Republican candidate's judgment. Check it out:

Other good news for the Democratic nominee: the campaign is reporting they raised a whopping $150 million in September. Obama's previous fundraising record was $66 million in August. The Democrat's haul dwarfs the $84 million in public funds that John McCain is allotted for the entire general election period (which for funding purposes lasts from the convention through election day).

-- Thomas Pierce

10:02 AM ET | 10-19-2008 | permalink

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Cindy McCain Releases 2007 Tax Return

The McCain campaign emailed Cindy McCain's most recent tax return to reporters (in classic Friday night doc-drop fashion) slightly after 6pm yesterday, after a day of campaigning in which John McCain railed against Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

Mrs. McCain made more than $4 million last year and paid $1.1 million in taxes.

The bulk of Cindy McCain's income last year -- nearly $3 million -- came from real estate holdings and her stake in partnerships and the family business. She owns a beer distributorship in Arizona that was started by her late father.

She also received $746,000 in capital gains last year and $88,000 dollars in dividends. Her husband has proposed cutting tax rates on both dividends and capital gains.

John McCain filed a separate tax return, which was made public earlier this year.

-- Scott Horsley

12:41 PM ET | 10-18-2008 | permalink

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Freedom Of Information Isn't Always Free

MSNBC reports that news organizations that want to obtain Sarah Palin's state emails will have to pony up a cool $15 million for the information.

Here's the math:

How did the cost reach $15 million? Let's look at a typical request. When the Associated Press asked for all state e-mails sent to the governor's husband, Todd Palin, her office said it would take up to six hours of a programmer's time to assemble the e-mail of just a single state employee, then another two hours for "security" checks, and finally five hours to search the e-mail for whatever word or topic the requestor is seeking. At $73.87 an hour, that's $960.31 for a single e-mail account. And there are 16,000 full-time state employees. The cost quoted to the AP: $15,364,960.

And that's not including the copying costs.

The state says the documents have to be distributed in paper (rather than digital) form because they aren't equipped to redact sensitive information electronically.

MSNBC adds that even with the hefty price tag, the documents won't be available for individual legal review until mid-November -- and there's no saying how long that process could take.

-- Evie Stone

5:25 PM ET | 10-17-2008 | permalink

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InTrader Skews McCain's Odds

CQ Politics reports that purchases by an "institutional investor" on InTrade drove up the site's odds that John McCain would be elected.

An internal investigation by the popular online market Intrade has revealed that a single investor's purchases prompted "unusual" price swings that significantly boosted the prediction that Sen. John McCain will become president.

Over the past several weeks, the investor has pushed hundreds of thousands of dollars into one of Intrade's predictive markets for the presidential election, the company said, resulting in repeated monetary losses through a strategy that belies any financial motive.

The investor doesn't appear to have violated any of InTrade's rules. But because of the investor's actions, McCain "stock" was trading higher on InTrade than on similar predictive market sites. InTrade is often more accurate than polling or punditry at predicting electoral results.

InTrade's CEO told CQ he has spoken with members of the firm that holds that institutional investment account. He declined to discuss whether the investor has political ties.

-- Evie Stone

3:32 PM ET | 10-17-2008 | permalink

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LA Times Endorses Obama

The Los Angeles Times has announced it will endorse Barack Obama in an editorial that will appear in Sunday's paper. The endorsement, which calls Obama "educated and eloquent, sober and exciting, steady and mature" is already available on the paper's website.

This is the LAT's first presidential endorsement since the paper supported Richard Nixon's re-election in 1972. In fact, Obama is the first Democrat ever to receive the LA Times nod for president. (The paper endorsed Obama and McCain in California's February 5th primary.)

The LAT joins the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and The Toledo Blade -- among others -- in endorsing Obama. McCain's nods include the New York Post, the Boston Herald, and the Manchester Union Leader. Overall, according to Editor & Publisher's tally, Obama has about a 3:1 newspaper endorsement advantage over McCain..

-- Evie Stone

UPDATE: The Chicago Tribune throws its green eyeshade into the ring with its own Obama endorsement -- it's the Trib's first Democratic nod as well. (In Wednesday's debate, Obama described the Tribune as a "Republican-leaning newspaper" in his discussion of the Annenberg Challenge and Bill Ayers; the Trib's president sat on the now-famed Annenberg board with Obama, Ayers, and others.)

2:53 PM ET | 10-17-2008 | permalink

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Ugliness in Scranton

The Scranton Times-Tribune says the US Secret Service is investigating a threatening remark made yesterday at a Sarah Palin rally in Scranton, PA. When Republican congressional candidate Chris Hackett mentioned Obama by name during his introduction of Palin, someone in the crowd yelled "Kill him!". Employees from the Times-Tribune were interviewed by the Secret Service after the story posted on the newspaper's website.

h/t TPM

-- Sean Bowditch

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with Darrin Blackford, a Secret Service spokesperson. He says they have not launched a formal investigation at this point. Rather, they are "following up in an abundance of caution." The follow-up comes in response to a Times-Tribune reporter who says he heard the comment while covering the event. But according to Blackford, the Secret Service has yet to corroborate the account. They are now in the process of contacting personnel who were at the event as well as canvassing local authorities. He added that such matters are taken "very seriously".

2:36 PM ET | 10-15-2008 | permalink

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I'm Oliver Stone and I Approve this Message.

As of today one week remains before Oliver Stone's self-described "Shakespearean" biopic of the current Commander-in-Chief W., invades silver screens across the country. Josh Brolin--who is already practiced in the art of acting presidential and a Texan by birth--takes on the role of the leader of the free world and its most infamous brush-clearer as he journeys from wayward, troubled first born son to Oval Office inhabitant.

According to Stone, the movie is a serious re-telling of the events of Bush's life, spanning from the early years of drunken fights with his father in Texas until the days leading up to the Iraq war. In other words, think more Biography Channel and less extended SNL skit, as he told the London Times last week.

"It's a comedy only in the sense of tragic comedy," he winces. "You laugh in your mind, because Bush is a goof-ball, because he's awkward, but at the same time he has a stubborn-ness, a John Wayne ethos, an anger, an impatience, that make him fascinating. You may hate Wayne's politics, but you may well enjoy his company on screen."

Even though Stone swears no actual malice went into the making of the movie, you can imagine that Republicans might be less than thrilled about the October release of a film that that harshly depicts their party's leadership over the last eight years. In fact, Stone pushed the release date of the movie up so that it would be in theaters for the last weeks of the election. And in an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in May his producers said they hoped to run TV spots for the film opposite McCain ads in the Fall. Targeting McCain ads specifically appears to be a partisan move against the party of Stone's former Yale classmate.

Still you can't help but wonder if it's easier for Obama to land the "four more years" blow against McCain with voters who just spent two hours in the dark with George Bush.

If you haven't seen the trailer take a look and weigh in on Stone's sometimes inspired casting choices:

--Kyle Gassiott

6:27 PM ET | 10-10-2008 | permalink

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Not Tonight, Honey, The NSA Is Listening

Ok, so this isn't directly related to the campaign...but ABC reports that the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program may have been more widespread than has been previously indicated. According to whistleblower Adrienne Kinne, when she was working as an intercept officer, "US military officers, American journalists and American aid workers were routinely intercepted and 'collected on' as they called their offices or homes in the United States." Kinne said the eavesdropping included hundreds of personal calls that had nothing to do with terrorism.

Another intercept officer, David Murfee Faulk, spoke to ABC as well. He corroborated Kinne's story, saying the officers passed around the audio files like so many Perez Hilton links.

Faulk says he and others in his section of the NSA facility at Fort Gordon routinely shared salacious or tantalizing phone calls that had been intercepted, alerting office mates to certain time codes of "cuts" that were available on each operator's computer.

"Hey, check this out," Faulk says he would be told, "there's good phone sex or there's some pillow talk, pull up this call, it's really funny, go check it out. It would be some colonel making pillow talk and we would say, 'Wow, this was crazy'," Faulk told ABC News.

The whistleblowers told ABC that the wiretapping program does gather useful information that has prevented potential attacks. But Kinne also said monitoring calls home from the likes of the International Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders workers makes "the haystack bigger" so that actionable information becomes harder to pinpoint.

Both Kinne and Faulk first spoke about the matter with journalist James Bamford for The Shadow Factory, his upcoming book on the NSA.

-- Evie Stone

1:35 PM ET | 10-10-2008 | permalink

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Voters on the NC-SC Fence

Question: where do these people vote?

View Larger Map

Undeniably, North Carolina voters stand to play a larger role in choosing the next president. So if you're a homeowner living in a sub-development like this one near Charlotte, with land in both states, do you get to choose where to send your kids to school, where to pay taxes -- and where to vote? And if you fall on the South Carolina side, are you jealous that your neighbor's vote might count just a little bit more this year? I would be. (Full disclosure: I'm from South Carolina... but not from anywhere near this neighborhood.)

Perhaps there are other examples out there... on the Ohio-Kentucky or Pennsylvania-New York border maybe?

-- Thomas Pierce

3:36 PM ET | 10- 9-2008 | permalink

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Planetarium President Defends Funding Request

In Wednesday night's debate, John McCain hammered Barack Obama for pork barrel spending, including his $3 million congressional earmark request "for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Illinois." McCain then added, "My friends, do we need to spend that kind of money?"

The folks at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago want to clarify what it is that's being portrayed as wasteful spending. This is not, after all, the typical overhead projector that you might find at the front of a classroom or in an office conference room.

The money would be used to overhaul the projection system in the Adler Planetarium's Sky Theater; it projects an image of the night sky, the stars and planets, on the theater's dome ceiling. Planetarium President Paul Knappenberger says it is the quintessential planetarium experience:

An overhead projector is what classroom teachers use to put a page from a book up onto a screen in a classroom. They might cost $300, if that. You could probably find one on ebay for $10. What we've requested was a planetarium projection system. The current one we have in the theater was installed in 1970. It's wearing out. It's on it's last legs. We're starting to lose shows.

Projector vs Projector

Left: iStockphoto. Right: courtesy of the Adler Planetarium

 

The German optical company Zeiss, which made the current projector, no longer provides parts or service to fix it when it breaks down. A new system would be all digital, and the total replacement/upgrade cost is close to $10 million. The earmark request, which was made by a bi-partisan group of the Illinois delegation and not just Sen. Obama, would cover just $3 million. Knappenberger says they are seeking private funds to make up the difference.

Knappenberger says the Sky Theater is not only the most popular attraction at the planetarium, but the best educational tool, too. He considers it a critical investment at a time when science education in the U.S. Is lagging behind other countries.

-- David Schaper

7:01 PM ET | 10- 8-2008 | permalink

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And the Password is "maverick."

At least it might have been until September 16th.

This morning David C. Kernell a twenty-year old University of Tennessee student was indicted by a federal grand jury for accessing VP Candidate Sarah Palin's email account.

Kernell--whose father Mike Kernell is a democrat in the Tennessee House of Representatives--successfully reset the password to Govenor Palin's Yahoo email account. No high level hacking skills were required in this instance as Kernell answered security questions about the candidate's birthdate, ZIP code, and used the phrase 'Wasilla High' (where she met her spouse) to gain entry.

Once inside the account, Kernell reset the password to 'popcorn' took screenshots of some e-mail messages and other public information and posted them and the password on his personal website. Kernell voluntarily turned himself into federal authorities for arrest and faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Palin has already come under fire for using a non-governmental email account to conduct state business while on the road during the campaign. Some lawyers in Alaska believe that Palin's e-mails about public business should be treated like any other record even if they're in a private account.

Having been hacked once, we're pretty certain that Governor Palin's password is much more secure these days. We're also willing to bet it contains none of the following words or phrases: future-pres2016, all-of-them, dog-gone-it, hockey-mom, lipstick, pitbull115, 4mr_beauty_queen, gunslinger, gosh_darn, or gov_moosehunter01.

--Kyle Gassiott

1:01 PM ET | 10- 8-2008 | permalink

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Forget Main Street And Wall Street -- What About Fifth Avenue?

While feverishly reading through today's post-VP debate coverage and analyzing each candidate's message, don't forget the most crucial statement is often made without saying a word. Even though both Palin and Biden may have wrapped themselves well in political rhetoric, according to New York stylist Robert Verdi their attire left a little something to be desired.

In the spirit of true bi-partisanship, both candidates received fashion smack-downs. Palin's "crazy prom hair" and "carnival style make-up" made Verdi wonder if Alaska's fashionable still live in the '90s. But her earrings--which could have been made from "hanging chads from Florida"--did earn her some fashion cred.

We wonder if she isn't already a "fashion maverick" for opting not to wear the obligatory Hillary Clinton-Style pants suit?

Meanwhile, Verdi writes, her opponent Senator Biden looked "tired", "botoxed", and should work on trying to hide his hair plugs. If you haven't already please do read this recent investigation into congressional hair.

Even moderator Gwen Ifill's choice of turquoise jacket was compared to a "mattress cover"...ouch! (NOTE: Vox Politics thought the jacket was classy.)

However across across the pond, the designers of the Yves Saint Laurent's show in Paris this week think Palin's (and Obama's) style is tres magnifique.

Political pundits have certainly had a field-day with candidate's debate appearances ever since the first televised presidential debate in 1960, when on-screen Richard Nixon (without the benefit of make-up) looked pale and sickly next to a tan and confident John F. Kennedy. In the post-debate polls radio listeners gave the edge in the debate to Nixon, while TV watchers claimed Kennedy as the victor.

So here's the question: do you get more from the debates by watching them or listening to them?

-- Kyle Gassiott

2:54 PM ET | 10- 3-2008 | permalink

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Were In Ur Facebook Page, Reading Ur Status

Bridging a new frontier in flack-reporter relations, the White House, wringing its hands about the bailout rescue plan vote in the Senate tonight, took issue with a reporter's Facebook status language yesterday. AFP correspondent Olivier Knox writes up his online exchange with WH deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel.

[A]t 10 am today, after doing research for a piece on the embattled economic rescue package, I posted: "Olivier just counted, and President Bush has pushed the bailout in 12 of the past 13 days."

Stanzel, one of the most technology-savvy spokespeople I have ever worked with, noticed my count, decided to double-check it, and left the following comment on my personal page objecting to the term "bailout," which the White House intensely dislikes: "Rescue plan, Mr. Knox. Your count is accurate. The only time the word 'bailout' appears, however, in any if those transcripts/statements is when a reporter used it in the Uribe avail."

No, Scott doesn't call me "Mr Knox" in real life. And his point was very light-hearted, something that can be easily missed in electronic communication. And he was right that the president had not used the world bailout. And it was his first time interacting with a reporter this way on Facebook, which means we may have made a little Washington media history.

At 10:30 am, tongue firmly planted in cheek, I updated my status to: "Olivier (UPDATES; CHANGES LANGUAGE) Just counted, and President Bush has pushed the economic rescue package in 12 of the past 13 days."

The all-caps message is something like what AFP puts in its invisible "trash line" that can be read by clients when we make changes to stories.

You'll note I didn't say "corrects language." And the B-word is still in my copy on the wire.

I'm sure Scott isn't giving up either. In fact, I'll be on the lookout for a blog comment signed "WHSPOXGUY."

-- Evie Stone

(h/t Shenanigans)

11:10 AM ET | 10- 1-2008 | permalink

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DOJ Report on Fired US Attorneys

Hey, remember all those US Attorneys who were fired for political reasons, ultimately (combined with controversies over warrantless wiretapping and habeas corpus for terror suspects) leading to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last year? Well, this morning the DOJ released a very detailed report of its internal investigation into the matter. The whole thing is close to 400 pages -- so if you've got awhile, here 'tis.

For those of you who don't have the time or attention span to sift through the the full blow-by-blow of each US Attorney's case, here's the heart of the investigators' findings:

We believe the primary responsibility for these serious failures rest with senior Department leaders -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty -- who abdicated their responsibility to adequately oversee the process and to ensure that the reasons for removal of each U.S. Attorney were supportable and not improper. These removals were not a minor personnel matter -- they were an unprecedented removal of a group of high-level Department officials that was certain to raise concerns if not handled properly. Yet, neither the Attorney General nor the Deputy Attorney General provided adequate oversight or supervision of this process. We also concluded that Sampson bears significant responsibility for the flawed and arbitrary removal process. Moreover, they and other Department officials are responsible for failing to provide accurate and truthful statements about the removals and their role in the process.

(snip)

The Department's removal of the U.S. Attorneys and the controversy it created severely damaged the credibility of the Department and raised doubts about the integrity of Department prosecutive decisions. We believe that this investigation, and final resolution of the issues raised in this report, can help restore confidence in the Department by fully describing the serious failures in the process used to remove the U.S. Attorneys and by providing lessons for the Department in how to avoid such failures in the future.

Following the report's recommendation, current Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed a prosecutor this morning to investigate whether criminal charges should be filed against some of the officials involved in the firings.

You can hear more about this on today's All Things Considered from NPR's man on the Justice scene, Ari Shapiro.

-- Evie Stone

12:22 PM ET | 09-29-2008 | permalink

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Sen. Kennedy Taken to Hospital

The AP is reporting that Senator Ted Kennedy has been taken to the hospital from his home in Hyannis Port, MA.

Kennedy had surgery for a malignant brain tumor in June. He has been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, and was strong enough last month for a surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

-- Evie Stone

UPDATE: Kennedy's office says in a statement that the senator had a mild seizure, possibly brought on by a change in medication. He will return home tonight.

7:20 PM ET | 09-26-2008 | permalink

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Politics Can Be a Little Corny

As proof, we direct you to this likeness of Sarah Palin in an Ohio cornfield:

Palin of the Corn.

Courtesy of www.whitehousecornmaze.com

 

And in case you missed it: Obama, McCain, Kerry, Bush, Gerald Ford, and Julia Child.

(h/t Sean Bowditch)

-- Thomas Pierce

5:17 PM ET | 09-26-2008 | permalink

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Senator Beer vs. the Palin Syrah

Much has been made of Kenyans unofficially renaming their Senator beer, Obama beer.

But what about the Palin Syrah -- an organic wine from Chile? According to SeriousEats (via Wonkette), it was once a best-seller for at least one wine bar:

But after Sen. John McCain tagged Sarah Palin as his running mate, sales of the wine with the conservative's inverted name plummeted--not surprising in famously liberal San Francisco.

Obama's popular in Kenya. Palin's not popular in San Francisco. No big news there. However that wine bar's description of the syrah (supposedly penned before Palin was tapped as the VP pick) is amusing:

...white pepper, madrone, dry. Incidentally, a madrone is an evergreen found primarily in the Pacific Northwest that bears red berries in the fall. When the berries dry up, they are replaced by hooked barbs that latch onto large animals for migration.

-- Thomas Pierce

1:04 PM ET | 09-22-2008 | permalink

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What She Would Have Said About Iran

Sarah Palin was scheduled to attend a rally today to protest President Ahmadinejad's visit to the United Nations. However, her invite was rescinded by the organizers when they decided they'd rather not have any political candidates. (Hillary Clinton reportedly dropped out of the rally when she learned Palin was slated to attend.)

So Palin published the speech she would have delivered as an op-ed in today's New York Sun. She offers harsh words for the Iranian president, saying he "threatens all who seek a safer and freer world" and that we must "thwart him."

She also praises Hillary Clinton for her stance on Iran, agreeing that a "response must include stronger sanctions, including the designation of the IRGC [the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps] as a terrorist organization."

-- Thomas Pierce

11:08 AM ET | 09-22-2008 | permalink

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Break Away

There have been a handful of political defections this past week that are worth noting. Yesterday, the McCain campaign held a conference call with Miguel D. Lausell, senior political advisor to Hillary Clinton, and Lucy Secaira, an at-large Clinton delegate. They both announced their support for John McCain, citing his experience, record of fairness, and leadership.

Also shifting her allegiance to McCain is so-called Clinton "Hillraiser" Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a member of the DNC Platform Committee. She called Obama an "elitist" during a recent interview with CNN, prompting one blogger to point out Forester's personal wealth and status.

Across the aisle, Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) endorsed Barack Obama. Gilchrest, who has served in the House since 1991, was defeated for renomination in the GOP primary to state Senator Andrew Harris -- and promptly endorsed the Democratic nominee vying for the seat. Gilchrest's endorsement of Obama is not a total surprise. He's shown an independent streak throughout his career, reports WYPR in Baltimore. In particular, he opposed the Iraq war and supported a timetable for withdrawal.

Then there's former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, a nominal Republican. He, too, has thrown his support to Obama. And this, too, is not terribly surprising. The Los Angeles Times reports that, in both 2001 and 2005, he endorsed current L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat in what is officially a non-partisan race.

-- Sean Bowditch

12:16 PM ET | 09-20-2008 | permalink

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Mysterious E-mail

Everyday reporters' inboxes are flooded with email from both campaigns. They contain schedule updates, speech transcripts -- and favorable press clippings. And today we were forwarded a Joe Klein blog post that referred to McCain's campaign of "non-stop sleaze."

Strangely enough, the email came FROM the McCain campaign. True, Klein's post doesn't look good for Obama either, but is it worth smearing yourself a lot just to smear the other guy a little?

I've pasted it below. Any ideas?

-- Thomas Pierce

_______________________________

From: xxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 1:22 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: Time: Take It Down, Barack

You know an Obama ad really needs to come down when you see something like this...

Take It Down, Barack
By Joe Klein
Time's Swampland Blog
September 19, 2008 12:05
http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/09/take_it_down_barack.html

The New York Times editorial board--once again calling a lie a lie--slams both McCain and Obama for their Spanish-language ads about immigration policy. I've given up any hope of McCain running an honest campaign, but if Obama really wants to present an honorable alternative to McCain's non-stop sleaze, he should take down his immigration ad immediately.

__________________________________

2:47 PM ET | 09-19-2008 | permalink

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Foley Not Expected to Face Charges

With news of the biggest bailout of all time dominating the headlines, I somehow missed this story:

After an exhaustive two-year investigation, former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley isn't expected to face charges for sending salacious messages to underage pages, two federal law enforcement officials have told The Associated Press.

And why won't he face charges? Well...

Florida authorities were hampered in their investigation because neither Foley nor the House would let investigators examine his congressional computers.

In a letter to the FDLE obtained by The Associated Press, House Deputy General Counsel Kerry Kircher wrote that because the data "may contain legislative information that is constitutionally privileged ... and because Mr. Foley has not waived that privilege ... we cannot simply give you access."

I suspect we'll be hearing more about this... at some point.

-- Thomas Pierce

1:15 PM ET | 09-19-2008 | permalink

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Trailin' + Flailin' + Wailin' = Palin

With all this talk of economic Armegeddon, it's hard to find anything to laugh about lately. But, regardless of where on the political spectrum you call home, this folksy tune should force a smile. The song, called "I'm A Sarah-ist", is the work of Bob Miller, a musician and TV news anchor from Fairbanks, AK.

Here are a few verses to whet your appetite...

She sits up front at the PTA
She's a big hit with the NRA
And believes the Big Bang is the sound of a .308...

Click to hear the whole song:

It turns out Miller just wrapped up a one-man show called "Moose Nuggets and Other Alaskan Gems". A tip-of-the-hat to Kyle Hopkins at the Anchorage Daily News for digging this one up.

-- Sean Bowditch

9:32 AM ET | 09-19-2008 | permalink

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McCain Would Give SEC Chairman a Pink Slip

Another interesting nugget from McCain's stump speech today in Iowa:

"The Chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and in my view has betrayed the public's trust...If I were president today, I would fire him."

President Bush appointed Christopher Cox as Chairman of the SEC in 2005. Reuters reports that the Bush Administration still has faith in their pick.

-- Thomas Pierce

UPDATE: Commenter f is correct. Should McCain become president, he would not have the power to literally fire the SEC Chairman. However, as the folks over at ABC are reporting, he could "attempt to exert political pressure to force the resignations of commissioners" of such agencies.

But I have a feeling we're not going to hear McCain say, If I were president today, I would lean on him until he resigns.

UPDATE: Speaking in New Mexico this afternoon, Obama looked to one-up McCain's promise to fire the SEC Chairman:

I think that's all fine and good, but here's what I say. In the next 47 days, you can fire the whole trickle-down, on-your-own, look-the-other-way crowd...

2:17 PM ET | 09-18-2008 | permalink

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Biden: Time To Be Patriotic (By Paying Taxes)

This morning Joe Biden uttered something that will, in all probability, pop up in every Republican stump speech between now and Election Day.

When it comes to taxes, Biden said, "it's time to be patriotic." This happened on ABC's Good Morning America, and he was referring to Obama's push to increase taxes only for those making more than $250,000 a year -- a point that will surely be lost in translation.

Game on. The line already got two mentions this afternoon in Iowa, where McCain and Palin appeared together. She used it first, saying taxes aren't about patriotism but about "killing jobs and hurting small businesses and making things worse." McCain also harped on the Biden line, saying "Raising taxes in a tough economy isn't patriotic. It isn't a badge of honor. It's just plain dumb."

-- Thomas Pierce

1:11 PM ET | 09-18-2008 | permalink

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Who Invented the Blackberry?

This morning Doug Holtz-Eakin, a top McCain policy adviser, brandished a BlackBerry for reporters and said, "You're looking at the miracle that John McCain helped create."

Okay, cue the laughter. McCain isn't exactly known as the most tech-savvy candidate on the trail. He's admitted in the past to not knowing how to operate a computer or send e-mail. So why did Holtz-Eakin, on McCain's behalf, risk pulling an Al Gore (who, as we all remember, sort of took credit for the internet in 2000)?

Well, facing questions from reporters about what McCain did as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee that would help him to understand and deal with the current economic crisis, Holtz-Eakin pointed to his BlackBerry, the little communications device so addictive that you can never put it down -- not on the train-ride home, not at dinner with your significant other, and not even, it seems, at an important press conference.

Holtz-Eakin was trying to make a larger point, of course, that McCain's leadership on the committee in regulating (and deregulating) the telecommunications industry qualifies him to deal with financial markets. However as the folks over at The Trail note, even that point isn't especially effective since the Commerce Committee has no oversight whatsoever of banks or financial institutions.

The Obama campaign quickly jumped on the BlackBerry claim, peddling the Politico and AP versions of the story to reporters.

McCain, for his part, has already dismissed the blackBerry comment via an aide, saying it was "a boneheaded joke by a staffer."

For the record, the BlackBerry was invented by a Canadian wireless device company called Research in Motion.

Also, time for a shameless plug: Doug Holtz-Eakin was on Morning Edition today. If you missed the interview, don't worry: you can download NPR mobile on your BlackBerry and listen whenever you'd like.

-- Thomas Pierce

12:40 PM ET | 09-16-2008 | permalink

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Truth Squad vs. Mythbusters (vs. the Press)

Yesterday the McCain campaign launched the Palin Truth Squad to combat false rumors about Palin's personal life and policy decisions that have been circulating on the internet. Today the Obama folks respond with Alaska Mythbusters, a group of AK Democrats tasked with refuting overstretched Republican claims about Palin's record, most prominently her exaggerations about opposing earmarks for the Bridge to Nowhere project.

The Truth Squad and the Mythbusters have nominally the same goal: to tell the truth about Sarah Palin. It all sounds so upstanding! But clearly they have competing agendas: the GOP forces aim to quash falsehoods that make Palin look bad; the Dem forces aim to quash falsehoods that make her look good. (And there are plenty of both to go around.)

The Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman took a timely look this morning at how quickly those squishy rumors calcify into generally-accepted "facts." But unfortunately for the hardworking Truth Squad and Mythbusters interns, the article quotes Republican strategist John Feehery saying not only are the actual facts not terribly important, but Palin actually benefits from relentless press fact-checking of her record -- even if the stories are critical -- because it looks like antagonism from (as we heard so many times at last week's Republican Convention) the reviled "eastern media elite":

"The more the New York Times and The Washington Post go after Sarah Palin, the better off she is, because there's a bigger truth out there and the bigger truths are she's new, she's popular in Alaska and she is an insurgent," Feehery said. "As long as those are out there, these little facts don't really matter."

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis seems to agree. He recently told WP editors, "This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."

In other words, maybe the very effort to combat smears is more important to Palin's candidate persona than the actual rumor-debunking.

-- Evie Stone

12:28 PM ET | 09-10-2008 | permalink

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Meanwhile, Back In The Capital City

Downtown, official D.C. is practically empty this week. But in the blocks east of the White House, evening traffic is a mess.

Pennsylvania Avenue, a main thoroughfare, has been shut down every night for repaving, leaving downtown full of detours.

Why the big project now? Maybe because it's the last bit of calm before January's inaugural parade, which of course goes straight down Pennsylvania Ave. Nobody wants any presidents (outgoing or incoming) getting jarred by a pothole.

-- Peter Overby

7:04 PM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink

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What Palin Can Learn From Cheney About Fashion

It was inevitable. Select a woman as your running-mate and you are inviting an F-word firestorm: Fashion. Yes indeed, blogs and "serious" news sites are alike already picking apart Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's hemlines and collars -- offering strategic suggestions for how to best spin her eyeglass frames.

Where should Palin turn for style cues? Well, if current VP Dick Cheney learned one style lesson while in office, it was not to wear a fur-lined parka and hiking boots to Holocaust remembrance ceremonies. Washington Post fashion writer Robin Givhan has his "snow-blower" style outfit to thank for her Pulitzer. Ms. Palin, we know you like fur -- and activities that require sturdy boots -- but be careful where you wear them.

Palin also might want to reflect on the fashion lessons learned by the United States' First Ladies. Sure, their role is wholly different than VP's, but they know the ins and out of sartorial scrutiny better than perhaps anyone.

With that in mind, we invite you to peruse this narrated gallery of First Lady fashion through the ages. See why it's not a good idea to recycle a gown or get too experimental with bangs when your husband is the president. See what Cindy McCain looked like long before she was doing the glam-leather thing (it's startling). Enjoy...and do not try these outfits at home.

-- Heather Murphy

5:00 PM ET | 09- 4-2008 | permalink

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From Africa With Love

Barack Obama has a growing fan base across the African continent, the AP reports. In Ghana, radio stations have been airing an increasing number of locally-produced hits that heap praise on Obama. University students in Uganda have launched what amounts to a 5,000-member Obama fan club. And the Nigerian group, "Blacks Unite for Obama 08", is trying to drum up support by encouraging people to send 75-cent text messages and possibly win a trip to the US. Other efforts are afoot in Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya.

Another group in Nigeria took it a step farther. Reuters reports that "Africans for Obama" recently threw a high-profile fundraiser, charging attendees $2,000 each to snack on gourmet snails, sip fancy champagne, and talk about all things Obama. US law prohibits political campaigns from accepting donations from foreign donors, so it's unclear how the money will be used. The Nigerian government seemed to be wondering the same thing. The anti-graft police promptly seized over $600,000 from the event organizers. No word on what local laws were broken.

-- Sean Bowditch

7:31 PM ET | 09- 1-2008 | permalink

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Wolfson's Road to Denver Conversion

Former Hillary Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson -- he of the ever-moving goalposts and sarcastic conference calls -- writes in this morning's WP that at Obama's Invesco speech last week he finally saw the magic...

During the campaign, we scoffed at events like this, mostly because we were not capable of producing them. A cross section of voters waited for hours to enter the stadium and take their seats. As one friend put it, it looked more like an American convention than the convention of any particular political party.

(snip)

The setting raised the bar for Obama's speech. The task before him: Explain what change meant and how it would be accomplished while weaving his own biography into the fabric of America's and laying out an appropriate contrast with John McCain.

No one in recent history had attempted this kind of a political conversation with 75,000 people. Barack Obama pulled it off.

For 18 months, I listened to Obama on television, sometimes intently, often just barely -- background noise to a running series of conference calls and meetings and e-mails.

In person, my attention undivided, I saw something of what so many others had seen for so long.

Sounds just like his former boss predicted back in February: "The sky will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect..."

-- Evie Stone

11:45 AM ET | 09- 1-2008 | permalink

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Obama On The Money

The chairwoman of the Snohomish County, WA Republican Party issued an apology yesterday after a party volunteer sold "$3 bills" at a state fair showing Obama wearing an Arab head covering. At the top of the bill, it reads: "Obamanation Note... The Concerned States of America... The Prince of Platitudes." It also shows a picture of a camel. Chairwoman Geri Modrell, who ordered the bills removed, told the Seattle Times: "I don't think it's funny. They were offensive. The volunteers are being told very clearly they must not do these sorts of things."

-- Sean Bowditch

1:37 PM ET | 08-28-2008 | permalink

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Veep Needling

McCain is having a little fun with Obama's Veepstakes. Hillary Clinton's dramatic entrance -- prancing down the back stairs -- is a nice touch. But what's up with the woman tending to the stove in the background?

-- Sean Bowditch

9:18 AM ET | 08-28-2008 | permalink

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Intertwining Paths in AK

NPR's Ken Rudin, the network's resident political junkie, just shared this fascinating bit of history with me. Call it the six degrees of separation in Alaska politics...

Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, now the Democratic nominee for US Senate, is the son of the late Congressman Nick Begich (D-AK).

In 1972, Republican Don Young challenged the elder Begich. Joining Begich on the campaign trail that year was House Majority Leader Hale Boggs (D-LA). While en route to a campaign event in Juneau, their plane crashed, killing everyone aboard. Begich, whose name remained on the ballot, went on to defeat Young. When the seat was officially declared vacant, a special election was called in January of 1973. Young won the seat and has held it ever since.

Here's the eerie parallel. Ted Stevens ran for US Senate for a second time in 1968, but lost in the Republican primary. Then in December of 1968, Alaska's other US Senator, E.L. Bob Bartlett, died following heart surgery. Alaska Governor Walter Hickel, a Republican, promptly appointed Stevens to fill the vacant seat and he's held it ever since.

Now, fast forward to today... Ted Stevens will defend his Senate seat against Mark Begich in November. Both won their respective primaries yesterday by significant margins. Meanwhile, Don Young holds a razor-thin lead over primary challenger Sean Parnell, the current Lieutenant Governor of Alaska. But, as I write, the race is too close to call.

-- Sean Bowditch

4:05 PM ET | 08-27-2008 | permalink

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Dukakis: Sorry, Y'all

In an interview with CBS's Katie Couric yesterday, '88 Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis took responsibility for the country's current state of affairs.

Katie: When you're here in Denver and you see all this hoopla do you ever wonder, gee, what if?

Dukakis: Look, I owe the American people an apology. If I had beaten the old man you'd of never heard of the kid and you wouldn't be in this mess. So it's all my fault and I feel that very, very strongly. So this is an important election for us. Let me tell 'ya.

While we're at it, just think if Alexander Hamilton had drawn his pistol in the duel with Aaron Burr...we might be spending this week blogging the Federalist National Convention.

h/t Folkenflik

-- Evie Stone

1:43 PM ET | 08-27-2008 | permalink

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The "Material World" Gets Hostile

More celebrity news to chew on... No, not that kind. This round comes courtesy of Madonna. Over the weekend, the Material Girl took a major swipe at John McCain during a kick-off concert to launch her new tour. During the song "Get Stupid", an on-stage video flashed a succession of shots of Adolf Hitler, Zimbabwe's embattled dictator Robert Mugabe, and John McCain, along with images of environmental destruction. The video ended with shots of John Lennon, Al Gore, Mahatma Gandhi and Barack Obama. Subtle contrast, right?

The McCain campaign shot back yesterday. Spokesman Tucker Bounds called the comparisons "outrageous, unacceptable and crudely divisive all at the same time." He continued: "It clearly shows that when it comes to supporting Barack Obama, his fellow worldwide celebrities refuse to consider any smear or attack off limits."

-- Sean Bowditch

8:30 AM ET | 08-26-2008 | permalink

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Gettin' Wily in Wolfeboro

Now that the Obama-Biden merger is official, there's some serious money to be made. The internet entrepreneurs among us are already hard at work peddling various domain names. This eBay auction says it all. If you can come up with the $100K, the guy will cover shipping. But my question is: of what? A thank you note? Complimentary steak knives?

-- Sean Bowditch

1:54 PM ET | 08-24-2008 | permalink

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The Other Bellwether?

If McCain and Obama were Madagascar cockroaches vying for president of, say, a filthy kitchen, odds are McCain would take it. Just such a showdown took place recently at the New Jersey Pest Management Association's annual trade show. No, for real. See for yourself...

Apparently, a similar race was run in 2000. The Al Gore roach won by an antenna.

-- Sean Bowditch

1:42 PM ET | 08-24-2008 | permalink

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Going Up?

NPR's Joanne Silberner was at McCain HQ in Arlington, VA recently speaking with one of his advisors about health policy. She returned with this unrelated gem...

It turns out McCain is a pretty superstitious guy. The proof: his campaign office. It technically starts on the 13th floor. But that floor is simply identified by the letter "M". After moving in, the campaign renamed the entire floor, including the elevator buttons. According to one staffer, McCain's #13-phobia is a hangover from his fighter-pilot days.

-- Sean Bowditch

2:08 PM ET | 08-21-2008 | permalink

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Gag Gifting All the Way to the White House

Not long ago, the Republican National Committee passed out tire pressure gauges, mocking Barack Obama's suggestion that properly inflating tires could save more oil than offshore drilling would produce.

Today, the Democratic National Committee is firing back with a gag gift of its own: the "Exxon-McCain '08 Campaign Kit," complete with buttons, bumper stickers, and a squeezable stress ball in the shape of an oil barrel.

The gifts were distributed today to reporters covering John McCain. They're meant to suggest that McCain's plan for increased offshore oil drilling--along with his opposition to increased taxes on oil companies--puts him in the pocket of Big Oil.

(Maybe it's just a coincidence, but the hotel where McCain's press corps is staying in New Orleans today is also hosting a meeting of Noble Drilling Services, Inc.)

-- Scott Horsley

2:11 PM ET | 08-19-2008 | permalink

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Obama, McCain React to Musharraf's Departure

Both campaigns issued statements today, weighing in on the resignation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. He quit office this morning to avoid impeachment charges. Here's what they had to say.

McCain:

The resignation of President Pervez Musharraf is a step toward moving Pakistan onto a more stable political footing. Pakistan is a critical theater in countering the threat of al Qaeda and violent Islamic extremism, and I look forward to the government increasing its future cooperation.

There are serious problems that must be addressed. The situation in Pakistan's frontier regions requires immediate and continued attention, and I hope that the elections for President Musharraf's successor will serve to reconcile the Pakistani people behind a leader who can solidify their government internally. It is critical that the United States continue to work in partnership with the Pakistani people and their democratically elected government to tackle the many challenges we both face.

Obama:

President Musharraf has made the right decision to step down as President of Pakistan. It is in the interests of his country and the Pakistani people to end the political crisis that has immobilized the coalition government for too long. I have long said that the central terrorist threat to the United States lies in northwest Pakistan and Afghanistan, and not Iraq. US policy must focus on assuring that all elements of Pakistan's government are resolute in shutting down the safe havens for al Qaeda and the Taliban. There can be no safehaven for terrorists who threaten the American people.

A year ago, I advocated that the US move from a 'Musharraf policy' to a 'Pakistan policy.' I hope all of Pakistan's friends will now seize the opportunity created by Musharraf's exit to focus on the urgent issues of today: confronting the threat of extremist violence, dealing with food and energy shortages, and helping the Pakistani people build a stable, secure, democratic future.

-- Sean Bowditch

5:04 PM ET | 08-18-2008 | permalink

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Cindy McCain's Half-Sister

Last week, NPR's Ted Robbins wrote a story about Cindy McCain's business and charity work, and in the story he referred to her as an only child. Robbins wasn't the first to call her that. News organizations from The New York Times to ABC have labeled her the same. Cindy McCain even called herself an only child on CNN last month.

But as it turns out, Cindy McCain has a half-sister. Her name is Kathleen Hensley Portalski, and she'd like to be acknowledged. After Robbins' story was broadcast, Portalski's son emailed NPR to set the record straight. Cindy McCain's father, Jim Hensley, had a child by a previous marriage. Robbins reports today:

Kathleen says she did see her father and her half sister Cindy from time to time.

"I saw him a few times a year," she says. "I saw him at Christmas and birthdays, and he provided money for school clothes, and he called occasionally."

Jim Hensley also provided credit cards and college tuition for his grandchildren, as well as $10,000 gifts to Kathleen and her husband, Stanley Portalski. That lasted a decade, they say. By then, Jim Hensley had built Hensley and Co. into one of the largest beer distributorships in the country. He was worth tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars.

However when Jim Hensley died, Cindy McCain was the sole inheritor of his fortune.

-- Thomas Pierce

4:00 PM ET | 08-18-2008 | permalink

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Let's Dance!

Late last month, McCain and Obama disclosed their top ten songs to Blender Magazine. Frankly, the two lists couldn't be any more different. Since then, McCain has taken a rash of crap from the press over two of his selections: Dancing Queen and Take A Chance On Me, both by the Swedish group ABBA. He ranked them #1 and #3, respectively.

In an interview this week with Walter Isaacson, president of the Aspen Institute, McCain again found himself defending the Euro-pop icons and his fondness for their '70s-era cuts. According to a McCain campaign press release, the exchange went something like this:

Isaacson: "What were you thinking?"

McCain: "If there is anything I am lacking in, I've got to tell you, it is taste in music and art and other great things in life. I've got to say that a lot of my taste in music stopped about the time I impacted a surface-to-air missile with my own airplane and never caught up again. ... Now look, everybody says, 'I hate ABBA. Oh ABBA, how terrible! Blah blah blah. How come everybody goes to 'Mamma Mia?' Huh? I mean really, seriously, huh? 'I hate ABBA, they're no good, you know.' Well, everybody goes. They've been selling out for years. ... But I make no excuses for my taste in music."

In McCain's defense, he did enter an arena this week with Gonna Fly Now (of "Rocky" fame) blaring over the PA system. We're totally down with that.

-- Sean Bowditch

4:36 PM ET | 08-15-2008 | permalink

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Elizabeth Edwards Posts To Kos

Elizabeth Edwards has posted a statement on the blog Daily Kos. In part:

Our family has been through a lot. Some caused by nature, some caused by human weakness, and some -- most recently -- caused by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences. None of these has been easy. But we have stood with one another through them all. Although John believes he should stand alone and take the consequences of his action now, when the door closes behind him, he has his family waiting for him.

John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me. And we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter, and I frankly wanted it to be private because as painful as it was I did not want to have to play it out on a public stage as well. Because of a recent string of hurtful and absurd lies in a tabloid publication, because of a picture falsely suggesting that John was spending time with a child it wrongly alleged he had fathered outside our marriage, our private matter could no longer be wholly private.

-- Evie Stone

4:03 PM ET | 08- 9-2008 | permalink

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John Edwards Statement on Affair

John Edwards has released the following statement:

In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public. When a supermarket tabloid told a version of the story, I used the fact that the story contained many falsities to deny it. But being 99 percent honest is no longer enough.

I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices, and I had hoped that it would never become public. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006 and today I take full
responsibility publicly. But that misconduct took place for a short period in 2006. It ended then. I am and have been willing to take any test necessary to establish the fact that I am not the father of any baby, and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively established. I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the
baby. I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to or supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby.

It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say to the people who love me that I am sorry. In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up - feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help.

I have given a complete interview on this matter and having done so, will have nothing more to say.

-- Evie Stone

5:54 PM ET | 08- 8-2008 | permalink

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Bonior Reacts to Edwards Admission

From the AP:

David Bonior, Edwards' campaign manager for his 2008 presidential bid, said Friday he was disappointed and angry after hearing about Edwards' confession.

"Thousands of friends of the Senator's and his supporters have put their faith and confidence in him and he's let them down," said Bonior, a former congressman from Michigan. "They've been
betrayed by his action."

Asked whether the affair would damage Edwards' future aspirations in public service, Bonior replied: "You can't lie in politics and expect to have people's confidence."

-- Evie Stone

5:18 PM ET | 08- 8-2008 | permalink

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Edwards Admits Affair, Says He Didn't Father Child

In an interview that will air on Nightline tonight, former Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards tells ABC's Bob Woodruff that he did have an affair with Rielle Hunter, as was first alleged by the National Enquirer in October 2007. Edwards repeatedly denied the affair during his Presidential campaign.

In the Nightline interview, Edwards confirms that he was visiting Hunter at the Beverly Hilton when he was chased by Enquirer reporters last month. But he denies the further allegations that he fathered Hunter's daughter, saying the affair ended too soon for that to be possible. Former Edwards campaign aide Andrew Young has said he is the child's father.

Edwards emphasized to ABC that the affair began when his wife Elizabeth's cancer was in remission. He says Elizabeth has known about the affair since 2006.

It's safe to say this revelation ruins any chance of Edwards being selected as Barack Obama's running mate.

-- Evie Stone

UPDATE: You can read John Edwards' statement about the affair here.

3:07 PM ET | 08- 8-2008 | permalink

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Novak Retires After Cancer Diagnosis

From the Chicago Sun-Times website:

Robert Novak has announced his immediate retirement following the diagnosis of a brain tumor, a prognosis the Sun-Times' political columnist describes as "dire."

"The details are being worked out with the doctors this week, but the tentative plan is for radiation and chemotherapy," Novak said.

The Evans-Novak column was first distributed by Publishers Newspaper Syndicate on May 15, 1963, with the New York Herald-Tribune, the flagship newspaper. When the Herald-Tribune folded in 1966, the Chicago Sun-Times became their home newspaper.

Novak's former writing partner Rowland Evans died of esophageal cancer in 2001.

-- Evie Stone

3:04 PM ET | 08- 4-2008 | permalink

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New Ludacris Song Attacks Obama's Critics

Rapper and Obama supporter Ludacris (aka Christopher Bridges) has released a new song called "Politics: Obama Is Here."

The lyrics champion Obama's groundbreaking campaign in a way that seems designed to create controversy:

So get off your ass, black people, it's time to get out and vote! Paint the White House black and I'm sure that's got 'em terrified

Ludacris also attacks politicians who he thinks have "hated on" Obama -- including Hillary Clinton, whom he discribes as an "irrelevant b*tch" and John McCain ("McCain don't belong in any chair unless he's paralyzed"), as well as Jesse Jackson and President Bush.

To put it mildly: heads are exploding in Chicago and the right-wing blogs are having a field day.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton issued this rapid-fire response:

As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism, and degrading images that he doesn't want his daughters or any children exposed to. This song is not only outrageously offensive to Senator Clinton, Reverend Jackson, Senator McCain, and President Bush, it is offensive to all of us who are trying to raise our children with the values we hold dear. While Ludacris is a talented individual he should be ashamed of these lyrics.

Ludacris and Obama have a history. They met privately in 2006 to discuss AIDS awareness, and Obama recently told Rolling Stone that he has Ludacris songs on his iPod and considers the rapper a "great talent and businessman" -- a compliment Ludacris cites in the song.

Maybe he'll be Obama's next baggage-laden friend on the RNC's BarackBook.

-- Evie Stone

2:37 PM ET | 07-30-2008 | permalink

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McCain is Cancer-Free

The McCain campaign distributed this to reporters late Tuesday:

ARLINGTON, VA -- Michael Yardley, Chair of Public Affairs at the Mayo Clinic, today issued the following statement:

"Senator McCain visited the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, yesterday for a routine check of his dermatological health. The biopsy that was performed did not show any evidence of skin cancer. No further treatment is necessary."

-- Evie Stone

8:46 AM ET | 07-30-2008 | permalink

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McCain Has Spot Removed

John McCain has had a small, mole-like spot removed from his face. A campaign aide called the procedure "precautionary." McCain has a history of skin cancer. Since 1993, he's had four malignant melanomas removed -- the last from his left temple in 2000.

Speaking in front of reporters in Bakersfield, California this afternoon, McCain talked about the procedure, saying the spot would be biopsied -- just in case. He also urged Americans to have any mysterious spots and blemishes checked out. His remarks today echoed his address to a cancer summit last week sponsored by the Lance Armstrong Foundation in Columbus, OH. There, he said that his experience with skin cancer has made him very aware of the harmful effects of the hot, Arizona sun:

Because of his history, McCain has regular screenings every three months. His campaign released medical records two months ago that showed he was cancer-free.

-- Thomas Pierce

3:37 PM ET | 07-28-2008 | permalink

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Bob Novak Diagnosed with Brain Tumor

The Chicago Sun Times reports that columnist Robert Novak has been diagnosed with a brain Tumor.

Novak issued this statement:

"On Sunday, July 27, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I have been admitted to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where doctors will soon begin appropriate treatment. "I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period."

--Josh Figueira

1:23 PM ET | 07-28-2008 | permalink

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Secret Service Cash-Strapped by Historic Campaign Season

Forget the cost of running -- or in the media's case, of covering -- a protracted presidential campaign.

The Associated Press is reporting that even the Secret Service needs extra money to work the campaign trail -- $9.5 million to be exact. The extra cash would offset the added costs of overseas trips such as Sen. Obama's whirlwind adventure through Europe and the Middle East this week. Sen. McCain has also taken expensive international jaunts to Colombia, Mexico and Canada this campaign season.

The money would also go toward protecting Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where he will accept the nomination in an open-air stadium that seats roughly 76,000 people.

Obama picked up Secret Service protection in May 2007 -- earlier than any other presidential candidate in history (with the exception of Hillary Clinton, who as a former First Lady already had a detail in place when she launched her campaign). At the time, officials said it wasn't because of any threats -- although concerns remain about his safety as the first African-American presidential candidate.

This campaign season has lasted five months longer than any other in Secret Service history. In 2004, protecting the candidates cost $73.3 million. This year, they've budgeted $106.65 million...and counting.

-- Nancy Cook

10:33 AM ET | 07-25-2008 | permalink

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Novak Hits Pedestrian...While Listening to NPR

Columnist and talking head Robert Novak hit a pedestrian with his Corvette this morning in downtown Washington. The victim was a man in his 60s who was taken to George Washington Medical Center with minor injuries.

TMZ reports that Novak was listening to NPR's Morning Edition when he struck the pedestrian around 10 a.m. Presumably tuning to member station WAMU, Novak would have just heard the tale of a Chicago man seeking $30,000 in damages from a tattoo parlor that misspelled "tomorrow" when they inked his arm.

Call it a Drive-Off-The-Road Moment.

--Laurel Wamsley

3:03 PM ET | 07-23-2008 | permalink

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Paul Targets New Venue for Rally

Ron Paul expects as many as 15,000 supporters to attend a rally he's holding on day two of the Republican National Convention in September. Our friends at Minnesota Public Radio are reporting that, due to the anticipated turnout, Paul's moving his "Rally for the Republic" from an arena on the University of Minnesota campus to the Target Center in Minneapolis.

Once upon a time, NPR's Martin Kaste covered former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura for MPR. He has these fond memories of the rally's new venue:

The Target Center has a rich history of outsider politics. It used to be Governor Jesse Ventura's "house." That's where he held his rock-and-roll style inaugural ball, where he refereed (quite controversially) a WWF match, and where he -- perhaps most memorably -- rappelled down from the arena's rafters during an NBA playoff game.

The venue is the home of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Paul announced plans for his alternate convention in June when there was no indication that he'd be invited to speak at the main event (A.K.A the GOP Convention) down the street.

-- Thomas Pierce

4:30 PM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink

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More Oval Office Cartoonery

The New Yorker satirized Obama, and America couldn't decide if it was funny.

Then The Nation satirized The New Yorker's satirization of Obama.

Next The Seattle Post-Intelligencer imagined what it would look like if The National Review had satirized McCain the same way The New Yorker satirized Obama.

Now Vanity Fair has satirized McCain, again.

Surely someone's laughing by now?

-- Thomas Pierce

2:29 PM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink

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Megachurch Showdown

McCain and Obama have agreed to appear together before the conventions begin in August -- but not in one of the town hall meetings proposed by McCain last month. The New York Times is reporting that the Rev. Rick Warren has convinced the two presidential candidates to briefly appear together before back-to-back interviews at Saddleback Church, his megachurch in Lake Forest, California:

"I just got to thinking, you know what? These guys have never been together on the same stage, it would be a neat way to cap the primary season before they both go to the conventions and things go dark for a couple of weeks," he said. "I've known both the guys for a long time, they're both friends of mine, and I knew them before they ran for office, so I just called them up."

He said that both had readily agreed, perhaps reflecting how each candidate is courting the evangelical audience to whom Mr. Warren ministers.

I asked NPR's Religion Correspondent, Barbara Bradley Hagerty, for her take on this development. She says that if any evangelical leader could bring the candidates together, it's Warren -- mainly because of his appeal to both conservative and liberal factions of the evangelical movement. He's pro-life, for example, but he also believes that the church should play an active role in combating AIDS in Africa. As Pat Robertson and James Dobson lose influence, Warren is becoming America's pastor.

Two months before Obama announced he was seeking the Democratic nomination, Warren invited the Senator to speak at a global AIDS summit at this church in California. Obama accepted.

-- Thomas Pierce

11:21 AM ET | 07-21-2008 | permalink

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Obama's New Ride

NPR's Don Gonyea fills us in on the newly-remodeled Obama plane, which has been emblazoned with the slogan "Change We Can Believe In" and the rising-sun "O" logo on the tailfin. Don writes:

This 757 campaign plane is larger and features something the previous plane did not: a wall separating staff (and candidate) from the press corps. It's one of those partitions that separates 1st class from coach on commercial flights. The TV folks and photographers really dislike it because it will make it all but impossible for them to shoot casual pix of Obama interacting with staff.

I heard an unidentified member of the media say in a loud voice, "Mr. Obama, tear down this wall."

Likely we'll hear that again as we fly into Berlin.

-- Evie Stone

10:40 AM ET | 07-21-2008 | permalink

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A Little Bit Of Everything

Just a few random notes to close out the week...

* There are now multiple reports -- first broken by Marc Ambinder -- that a company connected to a member of Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign staff has purchased the web domain "HRC2012.com". Apparently, it is registered to a well-known Democratic operative from Florida.

* The Denver Post speculates that Bruce Springsteen will open for Obama at Invesco Field. Their proof: The Boss' tour takes a short breather between August 24 and August 30. Makes sense. Obama's love for the rocker is no secret.

* According to the Rocky Mountain News, the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless plans to distribute 500 movie, zoo and museum tickets to homeless people around Denver. The time frame: late August. Some are crying foul, saying it's simply a way of getting rid of them during convention time. The Coalition says it's a humane way to help folks out.

* The folks over at Patchwork Nation (a blog affiliated with the Christian Science Monitor) put together an interesting experiment to see how effective each campaign has been in using email as a promotional tool.

* !!Gaffe alert!! In an interview on MSNBC this morning, former CBS anchor Dan Rather mistakenly referred to Barack Obama as "Osama Bin Laden" when answering a question about Jesse Jackson's recent comments. Yes, he used the full name. And no one even flinched.

* Quote of the week, c/o Senator Larry Craig (R-ID): "Let America produce once again. And when we do, our economy will strengthen, the American family will fear less, our national security will be more assured, and we won't let the Venezuelas or the Nigerias or the Saudi Arabias or the Irans jerk us around by the gas nozzle the way they are doing it now."

-- Sean Bowditch

5:33 PM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink

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TexRootsNetKosCon

Today is the second day of Netroots Nation in Austin, the annual confab formerly known as YearlyKos. Once again they've pulled in some of the Dems' big dogs: Howard Dean, Wesley Clark, and Nancy Pelosi. Barack Obama is not on the schedule, though a "mystery guest" has been rumored for Saturday.

The organizers are offering a stunning number of panels and sessions, called "caucuses" (remember the two-stepping Obamakins!). Among the offerings today are sessions for rural bloggers, Latino bloggers, profane bloggers, a number of films, and a panel called "How the Media Learned to Bend Over Backward to Please the Right."

They have Obama Girl, too, who did about as well talking Democratic platform points as S.C. Governor Mark Sanford did for the Republicans a few days ago on CNN.

And just to keep Austin weird, Texas's conservatives decided to descend on Austin the same weekend with their own Defending the American Dream Summit. Organizers there have promised speeches from Barry Goldwater, Jr., Robert Novak, and Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr.

Perhaps responding to articles like this one from The Nation suggesting that Texas is in play, the DAD Summit implores supporters to "join us to defend Texas's honor and protect taxpayer interests!"

Fingers crossed for a Sunday night platform showdown at the Hat Tip Corral...

--Laurel Wamsley

4:47 PM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink

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Boogyin' With Barack

The satirists at The Onion send up pro-Obama media bias.

-- Evie Stone

3:24 PM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink

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Oppo for People With Long Attention Spans

Yesterday the McCain campaign released a nearly 8-minute video "documentary," complete with trippy background music, of Barack Obama's evolving positions on the Iraq war. Today Politico's Jonathan Martin writes that they've followed up with a 17-page PDF critiquing Obama's foreign policy positions, which they emailed to members of the press who will be on Obama's overseas trip.

In comparison, earlier this week the Obama campaign circulated its own video depicting McCain's changing Iraq rhetoric. It clocked in at a whopping 42 seconds.

While we appreciate the classy production values of the longer McCain vid, we suspect some of those watching at home will find Obama's effort a little more...digestible.

-- Evie Stone

2:34 PM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink

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Oppo for People With Long Attention Spans

Yesterday the McCain campaign released a nearly 8-minute video "documentary," complete with trippy background music, of Barack Obama's evolving positions on the Iraq war. Today Politico's Jonathan Martin writes that they've followed up with a 17-page PDF critiquing Obama's foreign policy positions, which they emailed to members of the press who will be on Obama's overseas trip.

In comparison, earlier this week the Obama campaign circulated its own video depicting McCain's changing Iraq rhetoric. It clocked in at a whopping 42 seconds.

While we appreciate the classy production values of the longer McCain vid, we suspect some of those watching at home will find Obama's effort a little more...digestible.

-- Evie Stone

2:34 PM ET | 07-18-2008 | permalink

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Baseline Politics

Bragging rights are on the line in tonight's Congressional baseball game, and this year's installment of the "mid-term classic" pits a confident Republican squad against a Democratic side that is looking to break out of a 7-year slump. On the other hand, a GOP victory tonight would give them a perfect 8-0 record during the Bush administration.

It will almost certainly be an up-hill (get it?) battle for the Dems, as the Republicans return starting pitcher Rep. John Shimkus (IL 19th), who is a perfect 6-0 in previous partisan pitching duels. The Democrats are expected to counter with Rep. Joe Baca (CA 43rd), a former semi-pro shortstop. It's technically a bicameral affair, but each party will only be fielding one Senator apiece: Sherrod Brown (OH) in the outfield for the Left, and John Ensign (NV) a shortstop/relief pitcher on the Right.

After a successful debut, GOP Skipper Rep. Joe Barton (TX-6th) returns for another go-round, while Democratic Boss Rep. Mike Doyle (PA-14th) looks to improve on his 0-2 record with the team.

This year's contest also comes hot on the heels of the Steroids in Baseball hearings, but with 4 members of the Oversight Committee participating, it's unlikely there will be any juicing from either side of the aisle.

--Josh Figueira

4:07 PM ET | 07-17-2008 | permalink

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The Foreign Policy Battleground

With his high-profile visit to Europe and the Middle East coming up, Obama sharpened his national security message during a speech this morning at the Reagan Building in Washington DC.

Drawing on the words of post-WWII guru George Marshall -- "What is needed? What can best be done? What must be done?" -- Obama chastised the Bush Administration for what was not done after 9/11 and for creating a "distraction" in Iraq. He then laid out what he called a "tough, smart, and principled national security strategy". His priorities: ending the war in Iraq responsibly; finishing the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban; securing all nuclear weapons and materials from terrorists and rogue states; achieving true energy security; and rebuilding alliances to meet the challenges of the 21st century. He concluded:

Our moment is now. This must be the moment when we answer the call of history. For eight years, we've paid the price for foreign policy that lectures without listening, that divides us from one another and the world, instead of calling us to a common purpose. A politics that focuses on our tactics in fighting a war without end in Iraq instead of forging a new strategy to face down the true threats we face. We cannot afford four more years of a strategy that is so out of balance and out of step with this defining moment. I recognize none of this will be easy. But we have faced great odds before.

Not to be outdone, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain also took on national security today. At an event in Albuquerque that was supposed to focus on the economy, he promptly refuted Obama's position that Iraq has been a distraction from the central front in Afghanistan:

Senator Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq. In fact, he has it exactly backwards. It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan. It is by applying the tried and true principles of counter-insurgency used in the surge -- which Senator Obama opposed -- that we will win in Afghanistan. With the right strategy and the right forces, we can succeed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I know how to win wars. And if I'm elected President, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory.

-- Sean Bowditch

5:05 PM ET | 07-15-2008 | permalink

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Google's Gift to This Election Unit

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Google, our job just got a little easier when it comes to tracking down video of the candidates.

On behalf of political producers everywhere: Google, I love you.

But this gadget isn't just for producers, of course. It's for anyone interested in digging through all the speeches and campaign ads. The videos posted to Youtube by the campaigns have been indexed and transcribed, so you can search a specific word or phrase. For example, has Barack Obama mentioned donuts at all while on the trail? The answer: yes, 11 minutes into a speech in South Carolina, if you're interested.

-- Thomas Pierce

1:47 PM ET | 07-15-2008 | permalink

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