Bill Press is, as usual, the smartest guy in the room:
Of all the famous celebrities they could have compared Obama to, why not Tom Cruise? Or Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Donald Trump, or Oprah Winfrey? Why Britney Spears and Paris Hilton? Why two white blond bimbos?
Only one reason. It’s a somewhat tamer version of the white bimbo ad used so successfully against Harold Ford in Tennessee. In juxtaposing Barack Obama with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, the McCain campaign is simply trying to plant the old racist seed of black man hitting on young white woman. Not directly, but subliminally and disgracefully.
Why Britney Spears and not those four? Um, let’s see, because the point of the advertisement is that Barack Obama’s candidacy is vacuous — and, given that Arnold Schwarzenegger is the governor of a state, Oprah Winfrey is one of the most respected women in the country, and Donald Trump is a highly successful businessman, it wouldn’t make sense to use them as analogies? Even Tom Cruise, beneath his batty Scientologist beliefs, is a respected actor.
Bill Press is clearly a racist for comparing Oprah Winfrey to Paris Hilton.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:15 pm
The very fact that this election can be turned on its head by merely putting Paris Hilton and Spears in an ad just proves the plasticity of Obama’s entire campaign.
Bill tried to point it out by calling Obama a fairy tale. Hillary tried to do it with her 3am girl. Neither worked. The only person more irate about Obama=Spears is Terry Mcauliffe because he didn’t think of it himself.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:24 pm
The 3AM ad didn’t work?? It worked great. It stopped Obama’s momentum and won OH and TX for Hillary. It kept her in the race another 3 months. If she had aired it earlier, she probably would be the nominee.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Heh, called it on the Ford thing.
Black man + White woman = Racism
July 31st, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Obama and McCain are both very interesting, as neither really wants to talk about the things that voters want them to talk about.
Obama is currently ahead in the polls. He doesn’t need to attack John McCain as a closet racist. If Obama were to spend the next three months running on a payroll tax cut for the middle class, a surge in Afghanistan, and promising a new type of Democratic SCOTUS Justice who will uphold both reproductive and gun rights, he’d be nearly impossible to stop.
But instead, Mr. Obama wants to talk about race. Like every other lefty professor that’s ever existed.
Now, Mr. McCain has his own problems. If he went all Dole ’88/Perot ’92 on us and connected our current economic problems with long-term structural problems that nobody wants to address, such as entitlements that are ready to explode and the return of budget deficits, he could sound like the economic grown up in the room. But all Mr. McCain wants to talk about is foreign policy.
Mr. McCain is very lucky that Mr. Obama is substantively such a poor candidate.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Hey Alex, McCain is watching you. From the WAPO; “His staff has recently helped McCain learn how to read news online and political blogs”.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:52 pm
I know we’re all just bloggers here and I certainly don’t claim to know more than Steve Schmidt or any others running McCain’s campaign.
Look at if from their pov. We know everything that is going against McCain. We know everything that is going for Obama. And yet, as of Aug 1, they’re pretty much tied in the national polls, McCain is on the upswing in key states, polls show voters moving to his side on Iraq and gas prices, Obama has made a number of unforced errors and hasn’t really gained at all from numerous big events that the media all said whe would(winning the nomination, the Hillary endorsement, the huge money in June, the foreign tour). Right now his support is roughly to equal to what Kerry’s was in 2004 and what Gore’s was in 2000.
If I had told any of you back on say May 1, that this would be the state of play 3 months from now, I think you would all have signed up immediately.
McCain is used to playing from behind. In 2000 and in 2008 he wasn’t even a blip on the radar during the summer. He was given up and buried this time last year.
So, that’s the glass half full look. All thing considered, McCain is in pretty good shape, and depending on the VP selections, could be in even better shape.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:55 pm
#4 Obama can’t do what he needs to do, i.e. erase his leftist past and he is delusional is thinking that his leftism is a negative.
He was always going to lose big, and will.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Hey Alex, McCain is watching you. From the WAPO; “His staff has recently helped McCain learn how to read news online and political blogs”.
“OK, Senator, so this is called a ‘URL.’”
“Is that one of those YouTubes I keep hearing about on CBS?!”
August 1st, 2008 at 12:06 am
#8, I just sent Johnny an iPod for his upcoming birthday.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:09 am
I mean, this is the worst year for the GOP since 1976, possibly earlier. We’re trying for a 3rd term which is very difficult to win. We’re facing a bad economy, an unpopular war, a hugely unpopular incumbent, a party that just lost the Congress in the midterms, high gas prices, a 10-15 pt deficit in party ID, and you all know the rest of the litany.
We’re up against a candidate who has raised and spent more than anyone in history and who has been embraced by the media like no other, who took down his own party’s king and queen and and won one of the most surprising wins in history, and who has been all but annointed President in waiting.
And with all that we’re tied. I doubt Bush and Rove themselves could do any better and may well be doing worse.
Ford trailed Carter by 30 during the summer, Bush trailed the Duke by close to 20, Dole trailed Clinton by more than 20, even Bush 43 was down during the summer against both Gore and Kerry.
For all the talk of how bad McCain’s campaign is going, he’s actually not doing that badly if you look at the big picture.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:17 am
#10, the McCain campaign is in full gear. They have a message and they are gaining ground, thanks to Senator McCain and Steve Schmidt.
His campaign is ready and have resolved their issues.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:22 am
Barack can be called many things, but he’s hardly vacuous. I checked it in the dictionary and it says “lacking in intelligence”.
Hello! The guy is clearly intelligent.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:24 am
#10, Was Bush 43 down in the summer against Gore? I thought Gore was well behind but came back. Whatever, if it did it was a rarity. Republicans generally improve from July to November.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:26 am
I was watching CNN tonight – a rarity for me, but Greta was on Fox with her “Law & Order/Enquiring Minds Want To Know” stuff, and they were talking about Obama and McCain and race.
One of the strategists was actually saying that McCain had started the race-baiting. How they got that twisted around I don’t know. It was amazing.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:35 am
Kristofer,
He just might be. McCain recently told the New York Times that, now that he knows how to go online, he reads Drudge, Politico and RealClearPolitics each day; where Race 4 2008 is frequently highlighted in the Best of the Blogs.
As for Obama, it seems the campaign is once again sending out mixed signals. The Washington Post is reporting that Obama apparently sees nothing wrong with playing the race card, since the choir to whom he’s preaching, after all, heaped praise upon the words of their messiah.
Obama aides said the candidate’s remarks were no different from applause lines he has used for months. At a mid-June fundraiser in Jacksonville, Fla., for instance, Obama said: “They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?’”
And yet, from the other side of the campaign’s mouth, comes this half-assed concession, acknowleding that McCain hasn’t resorted to the use of race as a scare tactic against Obama.
Obama strategist Robert Gibbs said separately, “Barack Obama in no way believes that the McCain campaign is using race as an issue, but he does believe they’re using the same old low-road politics to distract voters from the real issues in this campaign, and those are the issues he’ll continue to talk about.”
August 1st, 2008 at 12:40 am
Aron, I haven’t seen the full quote. Who is the ‘they’ he refers to.
If its not specified, he could argue that the ‘they’ is referring to unofficial efforst (e.g. 527′s) not the official campaign.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:43 am
Obama and the Racism Card
by Rich Lowry
August 1st, 2008 at 12:44 am
Aron, Obama does not want to talk about race. This is bad news for him.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:51 am
JayPe,
Watch it for yourself and decide.
“We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run. They’re going to try to make you afraid. They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. They’re gonna say, you know what, he’s young, inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?’”
August 1st, 2008 at 12:57 am
Aron, cheers.
August 1st, 2008 at 1:05 am
Everyone saying McCain’s in a good position read this.
Obama can easily pick up 6-8 states! I mean he’s even up in Florida! He only needs one to win, or 2/3 if McCain is smart and picks Romney and they pull out Michigan.
Look the polls look ok but this is not a year where polls are going to be all over the place. Obama is around 45-50, McCain is around 40-45. These days 5% IS a lot to make up – especially as Obamas VP pick is likely to be better than McCains (unless he picks Mitt and hey even Mitt somehow lost the primary) AND his convention is likely to be bigger and better than McCains.
In this day and age there are about 10 “swing” states – not the 25 or so 20 years ago. And McCain need to win them all!
Then you have the economy going south. It’s going to be the main issue in the last 6 weeks of the campaign and Obama wins on it – sorry.
So enough of the optimism already!
Good news is that if Obama wins 2012 will be very exciting!
August 1st, 2008 at 1:07 am
Unfortunately they start the quote with those words. Hard to be determinate. If that’s where it started then its hard to pin him down. Typical politician, you can’t quite pin them down.
August 1st, 2008 at 1:12 am
Heath, that is a very pessimistic prediction (pessimistic from a GOP perspective).
Why is Obama’s VP going to be definitely better?
What are the 10 swing states where McCain needs to win 10/10?
August 1st, 2008 at 1:13 am
Then you have the economy going south.
Paulson Says Stimulus to Ensure 2nd-Half U.S. Growth
August 1st, 2008 at 1:14 am
Paulson sees US economy still growing this year
August 1st, 2008 at 1:16 am
Video: Paulson Says Stimulus to Ensure 2nd-Half U.S. Growth
http://www.bloomberg.com/avp/avp.htm?clipSRC=mms://media2.bloomberg.com/cache/vIFZBYxlxL28.asf
August 1st, 2008 at 1:18 am
The one point I will agree with Heath on is that if Obama wins 2012 could be very exciting. There’s a host of talent that could (if they keep up the good work they’ve shown so far in their careers) make for a great GOP primary.
Jindal, Palin, NY Gov Rudy, Crist would all be potential winners.
FWIW, Jindal vs Obama would be awesome.
August 1st, 2008 at 1:25 am
JayPe,
From the Washington Post article I cited above:
But Obama did appear to expand upon the theme by linking the attacks to McCain by name. Asked what specifically Obama was referring to, campaign manager David Plouffe avoided the question, saying, “What we’re seeing out of the McCain campaign, the Republican Party and some of their allies have been some very aggressive charges.”
August 1st, 2008 at 1:31 am
Plouffe said McCain had the racist vote. (that just can’t be said enough)
August 1st, 2008 at 2:44 am
JP from Nevada to Indiana – heaps out there.
Because it’s probably T/Paw and he brings nothing!!!!!!!
August 1st, 2008 at 5:19 am
JayPe, if Sen Obama wins, Myr Giuliani fades completely from national politics (unless, of course, he wins the NY Govship). His entire reason for being (9-11) will have faded to the point where most people will ask “who?”
August 1st, 2008 at 5:26 am
Heath, using any one poll to determine where a particular state may be at the time is a sure way to get the wrong picture of the race. Saying “Sen McCain’s down in X state because Y poll says so” could have led to you predicting Pres Bush winning 2000 by around 350+ EV (I did it, but there were a variety of other factors I didn’t know at the time). Sen Obama’s not winning Montana, Florida, North Dakota, and several other states mentioned as tossups. If he does really well, Sen Obama MIGHT win Ohio and a handful of the western states and the election. I wouldn’t bet on that happening, though.
August 1st, 2008 at 5:54 am
His entire reason for being (9-11) will have faded to the point where most people will ask “who?”
Yeah, it’s not like he turned around a city or anything.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:03 am
“Heh, called it on the Ford thing.
Black man + White woman = Racism”
Thomas, i don’t know how could that be, Barack is the son of a black man and a white woman.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:08 am
Johnathan Martin of Politico says [i'm paraphrasing] that Obama’s team handled this stupidly and that the Republicans are coming off better for it.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:20 am
I think this ad caught the Obama camp unprepared, and we got the knee-jerk response by Obama – that this is all about race. Yeah, whatever… Conservative voters don’t give a flying rat’s behind about race, but we do care about competency for office – something that this ad nails nicely.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:30 am
Read this article from Rasmussen. It explains everything we have been talking about with regards to polling, polters and days of the week.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/little_day_of_week_bias_in_presidential_tracking_poll
BTW, Obama’s fav rating have gone down a bit from yesterday.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:44 am
Hi Guys,
A very interesting article overlooked by many from yesterday on health care and the results in Massachusetts is http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_froma_harrop/could_a_vp_romney_be_health_care_tsar
Check it out.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:21 am
Nice article craig. Perhaps Gov Romney should just spend the next 4 years promoting the RomneyCare from the private sector. That, along with his economic credentials, will keep him steadily in the public’s eye until 2012 or 2016.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:28 am
#34
Here’s the link.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/12224.html
August 1st, 2008 at 9:34 am
#39, Rich Lowry should be recognized for predicting this last month.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:36 am
Richard I respect you my man but if Indiana (and some say even Georgia and NC) is in play I can find you 10 states Mac has to defend.
Not saying Obama will win them all.
My whole point is that he only needs one!
August 1st, 2008 at 9:38 am
Alex, if you had said this about Romney, this thread would have 300 comments and you would be labeled a bigot.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:59 am
#42, WHAT??? Scientologist have every right to follow their beliefs, but they believe;
“In the materials for OT III (Operating Thetan level 3), L. Ron Hubbard writes that, 75 million years ago, the head of the Galactic Federation, made up of 76 planets, was a being named Xenu. Faced with an overpopulation problem, he brought beings to this planet, blew them up with hydrogen bombs, and packaged them. Their spirits now infest our bodies: he says “One’s body is a mass of individual thetans stuck to oneself or to the body.” Scientologists at this level try to rid themselves of these thetans (spirits) by helping each one to remember the painful experiences of being blown up like that.”
August 1st, 2008 at 10:02 am
CBL you need to see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4StAeqnwN_s
August 1st, 2008 at 10:09 am
The daily kos nutjobs came up with this, not Bill Press. He’s just being their mouthpiece.
And how dare he judge them! How dare he call them “blonde bimbos!” Oh, I forgot he’s a liberal and it is OK for them to say such things..
August 1st, 2008 at 10:09 am
#42, I would be offended too if I were Alex, Tom Cruise basically believes you can “brain-wash” homosexuals, to become hetrosexual.
At least evangelicals try to convert through prayer and guidance.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:19 am
I heard a good comment regarding the ad on the Hugh Hewitt radio show yesterday. I can’t remember her name but she viewed this ad as a strategy to discredit the big show Obama will have in Denver. I hadn’t looked at it that way but it makes the ad a little more…uh brilliant.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:22 am
Heath,
I live in Georgia and I read the tea leaves in the local papers,etc. Georgia is really only in play if the traditional Republican / conservative base stays home or is apathetic about the ticket. Stay Home occurs with a Ridge or Lieberman or other Pro-Choice candidate. Apathetic occurs with a Pawlenty or Portman or Crist. Palin would probably play well, if McCain had enough time to introduce her. He doesn’t. Same can be said of S. Carolina, N.Carolina and Mississippi. McCain can win this election if he let’s Obama self destruct. He can easily lose it before it starts, if HE self destructs with a foolish VP choice..
August 1st, 2008 at 10:23 am
Heath,
By the way, Barr, at best , gets 2-3 % of vote unless the ” Stay Homes” activate negatively against a Ridge, Lieberman pick.
August 1st, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I love this post.