Obama Lends Voice To Chicago Olympic Bid

Today the Chicago 2016 delegation made their case to the European Olympic Committees General Assembly, which is taking place in Istanbul. President-elect Obama's contributed to their efforts with this video.

According to the AP report on the meeting, the Chicago 2016 folks see Obama as a big potential draw to the Windy City:

Photos of Obama were sprinkled throughout Chicago's 20-minute presentation, including a shot of him delivering his acceptance speech in Grant Park. His taped message was introduced by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who said they share a goal of inspiring young people to participate in sports.

-- Evie Stone

2:31 PM ET | 11-21-2008 | permalink

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McCain Emails Supporters

John McCain sends this message to supporters, thanking them and calling for unity:

Cindy and I would like to take a moment to thank you for your loyal and steadfast support during the course of this campaign. Governor Palin, her husband Todd, our families, friends and campaign staff extend our deep appreciation for your tireless dedication, support and friendship.

It is the end of a long journey and your support through the ups and downs has meant more to us than you may ever know.

Although we were disappointed with the results, we must move beyond this campaign and work together to get our country moving again.

It is our sincere hope that you will join us in putting our country first and continue to work to keep our nation safe, free and prosperous.

We urge you to join us in not just congratulating Senator Obama, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together as a nation. Whatever our differences may be, we are all fellow Americans.

We are truly blessed to live in this great country and call ourselves Americans, and we will forever be her loyal servants.

Today, let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

With warm gratitude,

Cindy and John McCain

-- Evie Stone

11:40 AM ET | 11- 7-2008 | permalink

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Own A Piece Of History

Today's newspapers with Obama victory headlines are becoming instant collectibles as they rapidly sell out at newsstands. Ebay entrepreneurs are already putting the papers up for auction in hopes of cashing in.

One mint-condition Washington Post has been bid up to $26.00 as of 2pm today. From the description:

This is the November 5th 2008 edition of the Washington Post with the Obama family on the cover.

This newspaper is unread and in excellent condition. It has a 22 page special section on the historic election.

This is a collectible item that you will keep for years and pass on to generations.

A New York Times has reached $45 in the bidding as of this writing (though you can "buy now" an alternate copy for $19.99), and there's a Chicago Tribune at $13.50.

-- Evie Stone

2:00 PM ET | 11- 5-2008 | permalink

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Newsweek's Notebook Dump

Newsweek presents a festival of juicy campaign gossip in a web piece published this morning. All anonymously sourced and reported...but it's news-hound crack on this sleep-deprived day.

Among the tidbits, a report that Sarah Palin's sartorial spending spree was even bigger than the $150k previously reported:

While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family--clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

The piece says Palin wanted to speak during McCain's concession event last night, but strategist Steve Schmidt said no. Newsweek also reports that Palin's "palling around" comments about William Ayers occurred before the campaign had signed off on a strategy on how to raise Obama's relationship with the former Weather Undergrounder. And the story outlines some of the attack arguments McCain refused to use against his opponent:

The Republican had set firm boundaries: no Jeremiah Wright; no attacking Michelle Obama; no attacking Obama for not serving in the military. McCain balked at an ad using images of children that suggested that Obama might not protect them from terrorism. Schmidt vetoed ads suggesting that Obama was soft on crime (no Willie Hortons). And before word even got to McCain, Schmidt and Salter scuttled a "celebrity" ad of Obama dancing with talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres (the sight of a black man dancing with a lesbian was deemed too provocative).

-- Evie Stone

1:18 PM ET | 11- 5-2008 | permalink

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Obama Election Night Rally Tickets: Price Negotiable

Barack Obama's election night rally next week seems to have illuminated an essential, unavoidable American truth: when tickets are in demand, tickets will be scalped.

On Tuesday afternoon, the campaign sent an email to Illinois supporters, directing them to a website where they could register on a first-come-first-served basis for tickets to Obama's rally in Chicago's Grant Park. The Obama camp has said the event will accommodate 65,000 "spectators," though it's unknown how many of those slots were offered to the general public.

Within hours, all available tickets were gone. Seekers were soon being relegated en masse to a waiting list. Those who signed up in time got an email letting them know that they and a guest would be admitted to the election night. In an attempt to prevent ticket swapping, the email stressed that the ticket holder would have present ID to verify they were, in fact, the person who got the ticket.

But the email said nothing about the identity of the guest, which is where things soon got interesting. Soon the slots were up for auction on Craigslist. The first ad went up at 6:19pm on Tuesday, -- an innocent posting from a woman named Melissa in California, who offered a straightforward plea:

I have supported Obama since 2004 and have been volunteering and calling for the campaign all year... I was very excited about attending the election night rally and even bought my plane tickets and prepaid for my hotel room in Chicago. Then today, as soon as I saw how to sign up for tickets, I tried to, only to find that I'm relegated to the waiting list with probably very little hope of getting a ticket.

It wasn't long until the classified website was playing host to small but lively scalping scene -- an awkward dance of the haves and have-nots. As the listings multiplied, the have-nots grew increasingly desperate, and the haves increasingly merciless.

Continue reading "Obama Election Night Rally Tickets: Price Negotiable" »

1:25 PM ET | 10-30-2008 | permalink

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The Clintons' GOTV Plea

Hillary and Bill Clinton urge Obama supporters to get out the vote in a remarkably uncomfortable video.

Is the tiny, crooked cardboard Obama sign in the background really better than no sign at all?

-- Evie Stone

3:03 PM ET | 10-29-2008 | permalink

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Obama Campaign: Don't Be That Guy

The Obama camp urges supporters not to get complacent:

I'd add this alternate sporty parable for the benefit of Dems who are not just declaring early victory, but doing so with an egregious flourish. The commentary is especially instructive.

-- Evie Stone

10:45 AM ET | 10-29-2008 | permalink

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Step Aside, Fonzie -- It's Cliff Clavin's Turn To Get Political

The NRSC has a Minnesota video featuring an array of Hollywood...well, "stars" seems like too strong a word...distancing themselves from showbiz-guy-turned-Democratic-Senate-candidate Al Franken. Oddly, the ad takes the time to plug the Minnesota Vikings but does not mention Franken's opponent Norm Coleman -- its ostensible beneficiary -- by name. (The NRSC is allowed to promote Coleman, though campaign finance rules prevent the committee from coordinating its activities with his campaign.)

I watched this twice in a row, mostly because the Pat Boone part seemed too good to be true.

As Ben Smith points out, one of the spokespeople used here -- 80s SNL cast member Victoria Jackson -- has written some outside-the-mainstream things about Barack Obama resembling the Antichrist on her personal website...which is currently unavailable.

-- Evie Stone

2:40 PM ET | 10-28-2008 | permalink

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Wassup Revisited

A pro-Obama update to an old fave. Same cast as the original.

-- Evie Stone

6:19 PM ET | 10-27-2008 | permalink

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Blame Overby

Over at our sister blog, the Secret Money Project, NPR's Peter Overby has the lowdown on MoveOn.org's viral vid effort to get out the vote. If you haven't seen it, they've created a fake news report set in a mythical future where John McCain wins the Presidency by one vote -- sparking an international outcry against one person who didn't show up on Nov. 4th. You can insert a friend's name (or, heck, an enemy's name) as the pariah and have the video emailed to him/her in hopes that it will pre-emptively shame that person into getting his or her tuches to the polls.

More from Peter about how The Onion, Yale University, and the good people of Michigan figure into the strategy at the SMP Blog.

-- Evie Stone

5:51 PM ET | 10-27-2008 | permalink

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Williams-Sonoma's Subversive Democratic Agenda

Acorn Cakelet Baking Pan, $36 at williams-sonoma.com

 

Just in time for election day, the perfect way to provide some quick bread for the community organizer in your life. Dallas Cowboys roster not included.

-- Evie Stone

6:19 PM ET | 10-23-2008 | permalink

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Vote For Obama. Ayyyyyyyyyy.

Via Funny or Die, Little Opie Cunningham enlists his TV friends for Obama.

Sorry, Ron Howard -- we only take voting advice from Ralph Malph.

-- Evie Stone

3:55 PM ET | 10-23-2008 | permalink

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Self-Proclaimed Joes Speak Out

The results of McCain's (as Thomas put it) "Joe-nitiative" asking supporters to submit videos explaining how they are Joe the Plumber.

Evie the Radio Producer is growing weary of all the Joe-viating.

-- Evie Stone

12:00 PM ET | 10-23-2008 | permalink

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Who's Running, Anyway?

Via FAIL Blog

-- Evie Stone

1:46 PM ET | 10-22-2008 | permalink

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Christopher Buckley Leaves National Review After Endorsing Obama

In a new post on The Daily Beast, Christopher Buckley (son of conservative hero William F.) describes the drubbing he's taken from National Review readers since he published an endorsement of Barack Obama on The Beast last week. Buckley had been writing the back-page column in the National Review but chose to publish his endorsement elsewhere after observing the abuse ("12,000 livid emails") directed at Kathleen Parker after her NRO column criticizing Sarah Palin. But he writes that the change in venue didn't soften the conservative outrage:

One editor at National Review--a friend of 30 years--emailed me that he thought my opinions "cretinous." One thoughtful correspondent, who feels that I have "betrayed"--the b-word has been much used in all this--my father and the conservative movement generally, said he plans to devote the rest of his life to getting people to cancel their subscriptions to National Review. But there was one bright spot: To those who wrote me to demand, "Cancel my subscription," I was able to quote the title of my father's last book, a delicious compendium of his NR "Notes and Asides": Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription.

Buckley and National Review's senior management swiftly decided it would be best to sever his ties with the magazine his father founded. But Buckley insists that it's not his ideology that's changed -- it's the conservative movement:

While I regret this development, I am not in mourning, for I no longer have any clear idea what, exactly, the modern conservative movement stands for. Eight years of "conservative" government has brought us a doubled national debt, ruinous expansion of entitlement programs, bridges to nowhere, poster boy Jack Abramoff and an ill-premised, ill-waged war conducted by politicians of breathtaking arrogance. As a sideshow, it brought us a truly obscene attempt at federal intervention in the Terry Schiavo case.

So, to paraphrase a real conservative, Ronald Reagan: I haven't left the Republican Party. It left me.

National Review Editor Rich Lowry has a different take on how it all went down, and suggests that Buckley is blowing the dustup out of proportion. He writes:

Over the weekend, Chris wrote us a jaunty e-mail with the subject line "A Sincere Offer," in which he offered to resign his column on NR's back page and said that if we accepted, there "would be no hard feelings, only warmest regards and understanding." We took the offer sincerely. Chris had done us the favor of writing the column beginning seven issues ago on a "trial basis" (his words), while our regular back-page columnist, Mark Steyn, was on hiatus. Now, Mark is back to writing again, and--I'm delighted to say--will be on NR's back-page in the new issue.

Lowry adds that NRO has gotten only 100 or so emails responding to Buckley's Obama endorsement -- a "tiny amount" compared to the usual feedback volume.

-- Evie Stone

5:59 PM ET | 10-14-2008 | permalink

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A Little Town Called Crawford

It's just about lame-duck time (though some would argue we're there already), and the moviemakers have had eight years to work on their retrospectives.

There's been a lot of talk and billboards about Oliver Stone's W., but the one that has my eye is called Crawford. The documentary focuses on what happens to folks in the little Central Texas ranch town when George W. Bush, governor and candidate for president, decides to move in next door. The town becomes a battleground for rhetoric and protest as Bush wins the presidency and designates his home there as the Western White House, complete with official seal.

You can watch the film in full on Hulu, where it debuted today as the first festival film to have a major online premiere.

--Laurel Wamsley

12:58 PM ET | 10- 7-2008 | permalink

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Quick-Turnaround Adifying

Before the sun was up in Chicago (or DC) this morning, the Obama campaign had already emailed reporters this ad (slated to air on "national cable" per the campaign). It uses footage from last night's debate of the VP candidates sparring on McCain's health care plan.

NPR's very own Julie Rovner fact-checked that Biden claim for us last night and found it to be only true-ish:

McCain's plan WOULD tax the value of health benefits -- but for most people, the tax credit would offset that tax increase. The 20 million is the number of people who would be dropped by their employers according to a critique of the plan published in the policy journal Health Affairs.

You can listen to Julie's assessments of the candidates' health care plans, which aired earlier this week on Morning Edition, here and here. Highly recommended listening...no one knows this stuff better than J. Ro.

-- Evie Stone

UPDATE: The McCain-Palin campaign has released their own debate clip-tacular. It's a web video entitled "Lies and Sighs"

11:46 AM ET | 10- 3-2008 | permalink

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McCain's Testy Sitdown With the DMR

The Des Moines Register editorial board has posted several video clips from their interview with John McCain yesterday.

McCain seems to get irritable a times, especially when challenged on the veracity of his campaign ads (in the video titled "Straight Talk"). One board member refers to a McCain spot that says Obama advocated sex-ed for kindergartners and another that says Obama was insulting Sarah Palin when he used the expression "lipstick on a pig." She asks how McCain can restore public trust in Washington when his own ads aren't completely honest. McCain's response:

I've always had 100% absolute truth. And that's been my life of putting my country first. And I'll match that record against anyone's, and I'm proud of it. And an assertion that I've ever done otherwise I take strong exception to...I respect your opinion, but it's not the facts that changes my positions and my honorable service to this country. So I respect your opinion. I strongly disagree with your assertion.

McCain also strenuously defends his running-mate Sarah Palin (in the "Gov Sarah Palin's Experience" video), comparing her experience level to that of former governors Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton when they were elected to the presidency. Asked about the anti-Palin stirrings among some conservatives, McCain responds with a sarcastic "Really?" and says he hasn't detected that sentiment in the polls or among the base.

-- Evie Stone

11:59 AM ET | 10- 1-2008 | permalink

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Expectations Game Wayback Machine

On the subject of expectations-setting, Swampland reminds us of this Daily Show gem from 2004:

-- Evie Stone

5:02 PM ET | 09-26-2008 | permalink

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Couric Questions Palin on Russia and Foreign Policy

CBS has released a teaser for the second installment of Katie Couric's interview with Sarah Palin, which will air on tonight's Evening News. In it, Couric asks Palin about the Alaska Governor's much-derided assertion that her state's proximity to Russia bolsters her foreign policy credentials. Palin explains:

Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there...

Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It's very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state.

The video of the excerpt is after the jump.

-- Evie Stone

UPDATE: Context that's worth noting -- Fort Greely in Alaska is the hub of the U.S.'s missile defense system, and it is manned by the Alaska National Guard. But even though Palin is the commander-in-chief of the Alaska Guard, she doesn't oversee operations at Ft. Greely -- that responsibility lies with the U.S. military. In any case, NPR's Mike Shuster had a fascinating report on the controversial interceptors -- which are "designed to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads" -- earlier this week on Morning Edition.

Continue reading "Couric Questions Palin on Russia and Foreign Policy" »

4:20 PM ET | 09-25-2008 | permalink

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Candidates Offer Joint Statement on Economic Crisis

Shortly before the President's address last night, Barack Obama and John McCain released this joint statement:

The American people are facing a moment of economic crisis. No matter how this began, we all have a responsibility to work through it and restore confidence in our economy. The jobs, savings, and prosperity of the American people are at stake.

Now is a time to come together -- Democrats and Republicans -- in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of the American people. The plan that has been submitted to Congress by the Bush Administration is flawed, but the effort to protect the American economy must not fail.

This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country.

The show of unity came after a long afternoon of both candidates playing politics over who was playing more politics with the economic crisis.

Both campaigns circulated the statement to reporters, but the Obama version came with an addendum (pasted after the jump) listing "core principles" for the embattled bailout package that he is calling on John McCain to join him in supporting. McCain outlined his own (rather similar) set of principles for the legislation earlier this week. Compare & contrast in the comments...

-- Evie Stone

Continue reading "Candidates Offer Joint Statement on Economic Crisis" »

7:38 AM ET | 09-25-2008 | permalink

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It Would Be Most Profitable To You

This familiar-sounding email is apparently making the rounds...

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson

-- Evie Stone

(h/t Overby)

2:55 PM ET | 09-23-2008 | permalink

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Palin's Personal Email Hacked

At least one of Sarah Palin's Yahoo! email accounts appears to have been hacked, reportedly by people with ties to the anti-Scientology activist group that goes by the name "anonymous."

The McCain campaign calls it "a shocking invasion of the Governor's privacy and a violation of law" and says that the "appropriate authorities" are investigating.

There's nothing especially newsworthy (i.e. related to Troopergate) in the few emails and family photos that have been leaked thusfar. (The story first appeared on Wikileaks, but that site appears to be down now. )

The accounts were rapidly taken offline after they began making the internet rounds. That raised questions in some quarters about destruction of evidence because of recent reports that Palin conducted some state business using her personal email. But seriously. If the whole world were suddenly reading your emails, wouldn't you take down your accounts? And you're not even running for national office while trying to fight abuse-of-power allegations. (Are you?) Maybe you should change your password anyway.

More to the point, this episode is a scary reminder of how little secrecy there really is out there on the tubes, if someone wants badly enough to get into your business. And, as Jonathan Martin writes, it also provides more evidence for the GOP argument that Palin is a "smear victim."

-- Evie Stone

3:57 PM ET | 09-17-2008 | permalink

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McCain Talks Tough On Economy, Dems Keep Up Attacks

John McCain, on offense to prove he's taking the economic meltdown seriously after yesterday's misfire, released a new ad this afternoon that uses the word "crisis" three times in 30 seconds. In it, McCain promises to tackle the situation "head on" and to protect Americans' jobs and savings. A female voiceover adds that McCain will bring "experience and leadership in a time of crisis". (And here we thought "experience" was SO August 28th...)

But the Democrats are not going to let McCain retake control of his economic narrative that easily. Four minutes after that ad hit my inbox, I received a video from the DNC montaging 10 instances from this year of McCain saying some version of "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" (the most recent example, of course, was from yesterday), along with quotes from McCain advisers downplaying the country's economic problems.

-- Evie Stone

5:24 PM ET | 09-16-2008 | permalink

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Lonely Nader Pours Heart Out To Parrot

In a darkened room, Ralph Nader complains to a parrot that no one pays attention to him any more.

Leaving aside the depressing and generally weird nature of this video, we have two major complaints to lodge:

1) Over the course of a nearly three-minute monologue, Nader gives no good argument for why anyone should be paying attention to him. He just whinges that they aren't. Not very convincing.

2) He repeatedly threatens to dress as a panda and go to the National Zoo to drum up some news coverage, but -- in total defiance of the Chekhov's Gun Principle -- never does it. We say: if there's a loaded panda costume in the drawer in the first act, it had better get worn to the National Zoo by the end of the video.

-- Evie Stone

12:26 PM ET | 09-16-2008 | permalink

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Flip, Flop, Flip?

For months, John McCain has been renouncing his earlier legislation for comprehensive immigration reform, and -- like his opponent Barack Obama -- generally avoiding the hot-button topic on the campaign trail. Now, McCain has two new videos aimed at Hispanic and other immigrant voters.

The first is a Spanish-language TV ad that claims that it was really Democrats, including Obama, who sabotaged last year's bipartisan immigration overhaul by voting for 'poison pill' amendments. Immigrant advocates say the McCain ad is misleading; yes, the convoluted bill was drawing fire from the left by the bitter end, but they blame overwhelming Republican opposition for its demise.

The second video will air during tonight's Alma Awards broadcast. The video starts with a gauzy montage of black and white photos of earlier immigrants, and laments that they are too often "objects of fear" instead of "symbols of hope." While giving no details, McCain says he will make immigration a "priority" by addressing it in a way that's "practical and fair."

Why the switch? It's hard to see these ads as much more than grasping at straws given the dismal standing polls give McCain among Latino voters.

On the other hand, maybe 'immigration' isn't quite the dirty word it's been thought to be in politics. NDN (formerly the New Democrat Network) just came out with a poll of voters in the battleground states of Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico, all with large -- though varied -- Latino populations. It finds solid support for a 'path to citizenship' for undocumented immigrants, something you'd never guess from hearing most stump speeches over the past year.

-- Jennifer Ludden

5:40 PM ET | 09-12-2008 | permalink

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Where's Bush?

Visitors to the Republican National Convention website Wednesday morning might have noticed that President Bush was nowhere to be seen on the "Convention Videos" page. While there are pictures of Sen. Joe Lieberman and former presidential candidate Fred Thompson linking to their speeches, President Bush's video is represented only by a photo of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, VA. President Bush chose to not attend the Republican Convention because of Hurricane Gustav. A screen grab of the Republican National Convention's video page:

gopconvention2008.com

-- Avie Schneider

UPDATE: The RNC website has now posted Bush's picture.

12:23 PM ET | 09- 3-2008 | permalink

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New Video From Biden's Bunker

At least three-minutes of Biden's off-the-trail time this week was spent recording a message to reach out to supporters online.

He just released this video on Obama's website -- wooing the folks who have not necessarily supported Obama in the past, including Catholics, Clintonites and blue collar workers.

In the video, Biden emphasizes that he was the co-author of the "Violence Against Women Act" and says that he will fight for the middle class.

-- Nancy Cook

2:50 PM ET | 08-24-2008 | permalink

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Baracky II

This needs no introduction:

-- Evie Stone

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

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Winds of Change?

There are a few more signs out there that voters may be growing weary of "Obamamania"...

Anti-Obama books are flying off the virtual shelves, according to a recent Wall Street Journal story. It speculates that the recent uptick in sales may be a response to the media's apparent infatuation with Obama. Among Amazon's top-selling nonfiction books are Jerome Corsi's The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality (#1), David Fredosso's The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate (#2), and Dick Morris' Fleeced: How Barack Obama, Media Mockery of Terrorist Threats, Liberals Who Want to Kill Talk Radio, the Do-Nothing Congress, Companies That Help Iran, and Washington Lobbyists for Foreign Governments Are Scamming Us... and What to Do About It (#9). At Barnes & Noble, the list is almost identical: Corsi (#1), Fredosso (#3), and Morris (#5). Interestingly, not one of the recently published anti-McCain books even cracks the top 100.

And McCain recently passed Obama in another key political arena: YouTube popularity. In the last month, McCain's YouTube channel has amassed more hits (4.9 million) than that of Obama (2.2 million). Among politicians, the next closest are "Kucinich2008" with 200,000 hits and "BobBarr2008" with 135,000. But when it comes to overall hits, it's no contest: Obama trounces McCain, 51 million versus 8 million. Republican Congressman Ron Paul, whose unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign attracted a huge internet following, remains in second with 15 million.

-- Sean Bowditch

2:07 PM ET | 08-12-2008 | permalink

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More Celebubarbs

Another shot fired in the Great Celeb War of 2008.

This new McCain web ad, called "Fan Club" compares Obama to Elvis, the Beatles, and Bono, then calls Obama "dreamy" and quotes a fan saying he has "soft eyes." It also states declaratively that "we know he...isn't ready to lead." (Usually we get that as an ominous question: "but is he ready to lead?")

Is it just us, or is the fame war thing getting pretty tired?

-- Evie Stone

4:49 PM ET | 08-11-2008 | permalink

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Paris Hilton: Like, Totally Ready To Lead

Celeb heiress Paris Hilton has responded to her un-sanctioned appearance in an anti-Obama ad with a web video of her own.

After flashing images of John McCain (whom she refers to as "that wrinkly white-haired guy") interspersed with shots of the Golden Girls, Larry King, and Yoda, the video cuts to Paris lounging in a skimpy leopard-print bathing suit and talking about her energy plan: "limited offshore drilling with strict environmental oversight, while creating tax incentives to get Detroit making hybrid and electric cars."

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds: "It sounds like Paris Hilton supports John McCain's 'all of the above' approach to America's energy crisis - including both alternatives and drilling. Paris Hilton might not be as big a celebrity as Barack Obama, but she obviously has a better energy plan."

Obama spokesman Bill Burton: "Whatever."

-- Evie Stone

7:58 AM ET | 08- 6-2008 | permalink

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Media-Bashing Takes A New Turn

A McCain blogger has fired another salvo in the fight over who played what "race card" ----- and his target, this time, is not just Barack Obama but the financial viability of the New York Times. The incident suggests the McCain camp intends to keep making the media an explicit issue in this year's presidential race -- even though the Arizona Senator has enjoyed a warm relationship with the Washington press corps for years.

As Evie observed this morning, in an online commentary yesterday the Times editorial board denounced perceived racial overtones in McCain's "Celeb" ad. In repsonse, Michael Goldfarb wrote in the official McCain campaign blog "The McCain Report" that the Times editorialists "have all the intelligence and reason of the average Daily Kos diarist sitting at home in his mother's basement and ranting into the ether between games of dungeons and dragons." Goldfarb also linked to a hilarious Slate.com spoof of a feverish YouTuber's defense of Britney Spears -- only redubbed to defend Barack Obama.

But Goldfarb went another step, writing: "If the shareholders of The New York Times ever wonder why the paper's ad revenue is plummeting and its share price tanking, they need look no further than the hysterical reaction of the paper's editors to any slight, real or imagined, against their preferred candidate."

Now, I've covered the newspaper industry for years. I'm well aware of the plight of such papers as the San Francisco Chronicle, the Boston Globe (owned by the New York Times Co.) and the Newark Star-Ledger, all of which are currently losing money. I've covered the woes of the Tribune newspaper company, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Dallas Morning News and the Philadelphia Inquirer, which all appear to be in precarious financial circumstances -- and I can safely say that the ideological slant of their respective editorial boards is relatively far down the list of causes. Newer sources of news and information, including cable channels and websites, have siphoned off readers and advertising dollars.

Goldfarb's remarks should be taken as the kind of hyperbole not unknown to campaign officials of all stripes -- or opinionated bloggers. Such as Goldfarb himself, who was the well-regarded online editor of the conservative publication The Weekly Standard until he joined the McCain camp. His posting suggests a new twist on a time-honored Republican theme: Target the Media.

-- David Folkenflik

5:14 PM ET | 08- 1-2008 | permalink

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The One

Now going viral: a McCain web video called "The One" that portrays Barack Obama as a self-styled messiah:

The video is certainly entertaining enough to make the rounds, and stays on the McCain campaign's recent message that Obama is getting too big for his britches. But the kicker -- "is he ready to lead?" -- really has but one answer: God only knows.

-- Evie Stone

2:42 PM ET | 08- 1-2008 | permalink

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BarackBook

The GOP has launched a mock-Facebook site called BarackBook, complete with faux-profile pages for Obama's controversial associates (William Ayres and Tony Rezko make the list -- though curiously there's no Jeremiah Wright page....yet). There are also links to donate to the Republican National Committee and an opportunity to create a "myGOP" account.

BarackBook is also available as an application on the real Facebook. Suffice it to say, so far it has not been a big hit. Discussion threads as of 1:15 pm included "We should blow this site up"; "Leaders lead, this just sucks"; and the pithy "This site is lame"...along with a few more topic titles that aren't appropriate for a family blog.

But perhaps the best evidence that the site isn't attracting the crowd the GOP might have hoped for? The targeted ad on the Facebook discussion page: free Obama bumper stickers, courtesy of moveon.org.

-- Evie Stone

1:14 PM ET | 07-29-2008 | permalink

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The Summer of Love

The media has a high-school crush on Barack Obama. So says John McCain. And he doesn't care. Not one bit. I swear. But he is doing the campaign equivalent of passing notes in class. McCain's web site is showing two versions of a video documenting the press and the punditocracy, and asking the rest of the kids to check their favorite.

The first choice is set to Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You". The second -- same footage, same singer, different song, "My Eyes Adore You."

We here at NPR are scrupulously objective on such matters --- though objectively I have to say the "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" is by far the punchier pick. And it was leading at about 85 percent of the vote when last checked.

Continue reading "The Summer of Love" »

1:29 PM ET | 07-22-2008 | permalink

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