Voters around the country haven't forgotten about the time, in February of 2007, when Joe Biden complemented his future running mate, Barack Obama, by using the racially charged word "articulate." I don't have to explain the significance of the term in its backhanded, racist context; my question is, under what circumstances is it OK to call a black person "articulate"?
Lots of speculation yesterday on whether or not Bill O'Reilly was going to make Barack Obama cry when he finally got him into the No Spin Zone. Seeing that O'Reilly went easy on Hillary Clinton once he got face time with her was a mark in the "pro" column; that Obama agreed to be on a show that was basically a ratings lead-in to John McCain's nomination speech was a mark in the "con" column.
So how did the deathmatch between Nas-hating O'Reilly and Lil Wayne-loving Obama turn out? So good:
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'An Associated Press analysis of Barack Obama's widely praised (across the political spectrum) speech last Thursday drew much criticism from liberals and media critics last week for its dour tone. Would the AP offer the same kind of muted response to Sarah Palin's big address on Wednesday night? Not exactly. The article by Tom Raum and Liz Sidoti opened: "Sarah Palin delivered. An embattled vice presidential candidate, a novice on the national stage, the head of a family suffering its 'ups and downs,' the first-term Alaska governor rocked the GOP convention with a star-turning performance."' [E&P]
This week's Us Weekly took aim at Sarah Palin, turning her maybe-controversies into full-blown scandals. The questioning over whether her fifth child is actually her grandchild; her husband's DUI; the investigation about the attempted firing of her former brother-in-law — all wrapped together it became Janice Min's "Babies, Lies & Scandal" cover. And taken with Us' prO-bama cover, as well as owner Jann Wenner's donations to the Obama campaign and his repeatedly putting the Democratic candidate on the cover of Rolling Stone, it's easy to see this week's Us as yet another Wenner-orchestrated hit job on the GOP. Except it sooooo wasn't, Min insists. CONTINUED »
Barack Obama acquiesced and agreed to appear on The O'Reilly Factor, after much taunting and mashing of teeth from Billbo himself — and a little intervention with Roger Ailes.
Trap? Perhaps. But Obama's visit to the Fox newsroom for the first time will happen tonight, as O'Reilly teased during much of last night's show.
That's tonight, as in the final night of the RNC, when John McCain will be making his nomination speech. Watching beady-eyed Bill lob cheap shots at Obama is definitely preferable to watching beady-eyed McCain make some lame jokes at the podium.
Though viewers tuning in to the loaded question segment may be disappointed: O'Reilly has this tendency to go all sincere once he's finally finagled candidates onto the program and has to deal with them face-to-face. (See: Hillary Clinton.) Cutting off Barack's microphone, however, is remains an option.
You already knew that Barack Obama was outpacing John McCain's magazine covers 20:1. What you didn't know, however, is that Barack Obama's tie is outpacing John McCain 20,000:1. (Scroll to the 1:00 mark.) This, from a guy who was on the cover of Men's Vogue — where at least he was wearing a slightly different tie.
During an interview about Hurricane Gustov with Barack Obama, CNN cut away to a picture of a rat on one of the levees. No big deal, that sort of B-roll whoopsie happens all the time when you're in the field of breaking news.
Except……didn't this also happen in 2000 when Bush ran against Gore? That scenario involved the word "rat," which stayed on the screen longer than the rest of the title (democ-rat), while showing pictures of Al.
You have to think that both times were a fluke, because as far as subliminal messages go, these aren't quite as subtle as the "hang" signs in McCain's ad against Obama.
John McCain's campaign supposedly broke news of Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy to ease attacks from the liberal blogs, which drummed up a conspiracy theory that Palin's fifth child was actually her granddaughter. But now McCain — seen here in an intentionally cropped photo — is turning on his "base," saying it's more than the blogs causing him migraines, but the mainstream media as well. And taking a misguided cue from Hillary Clinton, he's gone on the attack against the press. Again. CONTINUED »
It's … refreshing(?) to see Keith Olbermann aim his ire at somebody other than a MSNBC colleague. But last night's trantrum didn't stray far — he spat it at one of his own. That is, a member of the press.
Just after Barack Obama got done bringing Oprah to tears, the Associated Press fired off an arguably pre-written report from Charles Babington that countered what most of the pundits had agreed: that Obama's speech was powerful, formidable, and would make life harder for John McCain.
Babington, however, said "instead of dwelling on specifics, [Obama] laced the crowning speech of his long campaign with the type of rhetorical flourishes that Republicans mock and the attacks on John McCain that Democrats cheer. The country saw a candidate confident in his existing campaign formula: tie McCain tightly to President Bush, and remind voters why they are unhappy with the incumbent."
Of course Olbermann's attack might better be suited not at Babington, but at his boss Ron Fournier, the wire's Washington bureau chief who wants more analysis — some say "slant" — in his reporters' copy. Keith is particularly upset because the AP's version of events because its article will run in possibly hundreds of newspapers, while Olbermann's rant will run on only thousands of political blogs.
Entertainment Tonight last night sent its blackest reporter out to interview every African American celebrity he could find. Lucky for him, many of them had converged on Denver's football stadium to watch Obama's speech.
Did you know celebrities are all friends? They are! Oprah was hugging Mary J Blige! Kanye was answering questions for Oprah! And then Forest Whitaker came out of nowhere to use words like "pride," "humanity," "beautiful," "core" and "destiny."
In the just-announced news, John McCain has selected Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate. So shocking was the official word, it may have even crashed Drudge Report. (Even a certain website thinks so.) But the McCain campaign's announcement is more than just about who might be the second-in-command of the U.S. come January, but about the mechanics behind these type of announcements. First, he chose a woman. Also, he announced the news today, on a Friday, before a long holiday weekend. Is this man crazy?
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In what was described as the most important moment of his life, Barack Obama officially accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination last night.
While some people were seeking one of Obama's soaring, rhetoric-filled speeches, last night's showing spelled out his presidential plans as he told the roaring crowd he would "restore America's promise." And, yes, it was inspiring.
During last night's DNC coverage, MSNBC's Chris Matthews begged Jesse Jackson's ear, telling the reverend, "You have been so generous and kind to this young man, and so giving to something even more hopeful than yourself, that I salute you, sir." If only that were the case.
It felt like history was being made last night with Barack Obama delivering his acceptance speech as the Democratic nominee. It helped that the man spoke from the center of the Gladiator arena and had the attendance of a NASCAR rally.
But after thirty minutes of being riveted to the screen, taking a shot whenever the words "change," "hope" or "yes we can" were uttered, you may have missed the best part of the whole evening.
Joe Biden as Jack Bauer, ladies and gentlemen:
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