Sarah Palin

Obama vs. McCain in video games

Ed Mazza — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:16:01 +0100

By now, most people following the US election know that Democratic candidate Barack Obama purchased ads inside video games last month. But what if the election itself was taking place inside the world of gamers?

Comic Rich Kuras went into the World of Warcraft for the website Machinima to find out how the campaign is playing out in the imaginary realm of Azeroth:

As Kuras points out, Warcraft's 11 million players would make Azeroth larger than 42 states, population-wise. But so far, no candidate has been accused of pandering to trolls, orcs or elves.

Similarly, digital versions of Obama and Sarah Palin are being worked into the rough and tough game world of "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames." Check out what happens when the candidates really "go rogue:"

Oddly enough, the one candidate with actual combat experience - John McCain - appears to have been left out of this battle.

Dirty politics?

Julien — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:20:52 +0100

Election literature sent to a voter's house two weeks before the election. The "Obsession" DVD, and a brochure from the Virginia GOP linking Obama and former radical William Ayers. Photo posted on Flickr.

Linking McCain to a financial scandal in the 1980s, accusing Obama of lying and “palling around” with former radicals, distributing fliers in an attempt to suppress the vote in a key state – politics is a dirty game and this campaign is no different. As Election Day draws closer, the race is getting dirtier, with more mudslinging, smear campaigns and negative adverts. Read what our Observers have to say…

Obama vs McCain: kids take both sides

Ed Mazza — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:49:47 +0100

There's a new political video burning up the Internet, but it's very different from what you usually see this late in the election cycle. It doesn't contain an explosive new charge against a politician - in fact, it doesn't criticize or praise either candidate.

The video features the seventh-grade students of the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta performing a song called "You Can Vote However You Like." The kids came up with the lyrics, and set them to the tune of T.I.'s "Whatever You Like."

Half the kids sing from John McCain's perspective, while half sing to the tune of Barack Obama. Here's how it looks:

The Ron Clark Academy teaches low-income middle school kids (grades 5-8), and has been up and running for just over a year. Ron Clark himself is a teacher and author famous for his work with inner-city kids in New York and Washington. He was the subject of a made-for-TV movie in 2006.

The buzz got the kids a spot on CNN:

Add up the different versions of this clip online, and some 500,000 people have seen these kids. So who are they? CNN also did an interview with them... followed by one more performance:

Sarah Palin: redneck woman?

Ed Mazza — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:53:22 +0100

Critics of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin dismiss her as a redneck. But that's one area where she might agree with her detractors.

At a rally last night, Palin asked country singer Gretchen Wilson to sing her hit song "Redneck Woman." During the song, Palin can be seen clapping and singing along:

A much better quality version of the event can be found at the NECN Web site. Palin appears to be singing along with particular gusto with the line:

Let me get a big "Hell Yeah" from the redneck girls like me
Hell Yeah

While some people consider the word "redneck" to be derogatory, others - in particular fans of country music - use it as a badge of honor. Count Palin in that crowd, as she once told a group of supporters:

Palin even once acquired a business license (now expired) to operate under the company name "Rouge Cou."

"It's a classy way of saying redneck," she told a reporter at the time.

Obama vs McCain on the dance floor

Ed Mazza — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:08:23 +0200

For all of you who think the political process is nothing but a song-and-dance routine, this one's for you.

A new video on the Web takes the US presidential candidates and puts them into the heart of a dance-off. Watch what happens when Barack Obama and John McCain engage in a different kind of battle:

Earlier this morning, the video had around 20,000 views. As this is being written in the afternoon on the US East Coast, it's approaching 400,000 views over at Break.com, and approaching 100,000 more over at MiniMovie, where it appears to have originated.

What makes this video so great is how well the heads match the bodies and the movements. Usually, these spoof videos are a little on the cartoony side, and JibJab has used this over the years with great success.

Here's their spin on the relationship between McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin - with the pair inserted into a "High School Musical" video:

Don't worry - they took a bipartisan approach. Here's the same video, with Obama and his one-time Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, playing the lead roles:

For those keeping track, the "High School Musical" film opens in US theaters this week.

Protest group tries to "arrest" Karl Rove

Ed Mazza — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:31:33 +0200

One of the favorite targets of the left in recent years has been Karl Rove, mastermind of the George W. Bush election machine. While his role in helping Bush to the White House earned him nicknames like "The Brain" and "The Architect" among supporters, on the other side of the aisle, some of his nicknames aren't printable.

This week, the liberal women's protest group Code Pink repeatedly disrupted an event he was attending. The biggest moment came when a Code Pink member approached him on stage - and tried to arrest him:

As you can see, Rove would not make eye contact with the woman, and when she brought her hand to his, he slapped it away as she was taken off the stage by security.

The organization identified the woman as Janine Boneparth, and said she was trying to perform a citizen's arrest on Rove for ''treason.'' Five Code Pink members were removed from the hall, but the group says none of them were charged.

Rove has been trying to remake himself as an observer/analyst for the campaign of John McCain, and one no longer tied to the White House, at least not directly. Ironically, he and some of his opponents seem to have two things in common: he thinks Obama is winning by landslide margins and doesn't seem to like Sarah Palin much, at least as a candidate.

Right now, Rove is giving Obama 313 electoral votes based on his analysis of current polls. That's far more than the 270 needed to win the presidency. What's more, he gives Obama a slim lead in every state he considers a toss-up right - 54 more electoral votes.

Rove also apparently worked behind the scenes against Sarah Palin as McCain made his choice for the vice presidency. He believed McCain's former rival, Mitt Romney, would have been a better pick, according to reports.

Rove has been an especially favorite target of Code Pink. While the group has disrupted many functions, they've gone after Rove repeatedly. Here they are shouting at him as he enters a CNN building earlier this year:

And here they are just last week, protesting outside an event where Rove was a guest:

So what's next for the anti-war group? Whatever it is, it will probably be disruptive... and probably also be on TV soon.

Going to Extremes for McCain & Obama

Ed Mazza — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:06:07 +0200

As we get closer to Election Day, both Republicans and Democrats are accusing the other side of going too far. And some of the worst behavior has been not from the candidates or their campaigns, but their supporters.

This week, a group of liberal protesters tried to disrupt Sarah Palin's motorcade in Grand Junction, Colorado, and had to be dragged out of the street by police. It was captured by local TV and rebroadcast on CNN:

And in Fairfield, Ohio, a man hung Barack Obama in effigy as part of a Halloween display. He wouldn't appear on camera, but told a local reporter that the U.S. is a white Christian nation, and only white Christians should be in power:

John McCain said during the final debate that such incidents represent the behavior of only the fringe on both sides, and that fringe will do inappropriate things. And at one of his rallies in Woodbridge, Virginia over the weekend, McCain's supporters took on that fringe directly.

A man who would not give his name was shouting accusations about Obama and the Muslim religion. He called Obama "a socialist with Islamic background." As he explained his views, a number of McCain supporters, including some Muslims, confronted him, a scene that was captured by Davin Hutchins of the American News Project:

But not everyone is siding with the crowd on this one. Over at the conservative Hot Air Web site, there's a robust debate going on in the comments section.

"Pretty much played straight down the middle. No quibbles," writes a user named LimeyGeek. "He is a socialist, and he does have an Islamic background. It's possible to derive an array of inferences from those two simple facts, some rational, some not so."

But others worry that this fringe element is hurting McCain's chances.

"They only serve to undermine the campaign, and they're annoyingly wrong to boot," writes MadisonConservative. "They're cretins who latched onto a mass email and never let go despite the fact that it was disproven."

When a stranger calls – and wants to talk politics

Ed Mazza — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:37:42 +0200

In the final weeks of the US presidential campaign, both candidates are using every tool in the box to help boost their support. And one of those tools can be a double-edged sword: robocalls.

It's the political equivalent of telemarketing. These automated phone calls are cheaper than TV ads and can reach thousands of targeted people in key states. But politicians also risk annoying potential voters, because few people enjoy unsollicited phone calls - especially around dinner time.

Here's one robocall, sent out recently on behalf of John McCain and posted by a user on YouTube who wants to end the practice:

McCain's use of robocalls has come under extra scrutiny, in large part because it was the same tactic that helped undo him in his 2000 primary battle with George W. Bush. He denounced the tactic earlier this year when it was used against him. And now, his own running mate is saying she's not a fan of the calls.

"If I called all the shots, and if I could wave a magic wand, I would be sitting at a kitchen table with more and more Americans, talking to them about our plan to get the economy back on track and winning the war and not having to rely on the old conventional ways of campaigning that includes those robocalls and includes spending so much money on the television ads that I think is kinda draining out there in terms of Americans' attention span, they get a bit irritated with just being inundated, and you're seeing a lot of that of course with the huge amounts of money that Barack Obama is able to spend on his ads and his robocalls also," Palin told reporters in Colorado Sunday night.

She also said that she would not ask her campaign to stop using robocalls.

Barack Obama has also used robocalls. With all the attention last week on "Joe the Plumber" from Ohio, his campaign went and found a different Joe the Plumber - from another swing state, Colorado.

The Huffington Post says Obama is now using this "other Joe the Plumber" in his robocalls. You can listen to audio from it here.

And some of the calls are just a little odd. Like this one made during the Democratic primaries, which features a recording of Stevie Wonder talking - and singing - about his support for Obama, which also found its way onto YouTube:

Obama scores key endorsement: Colin Powell

Ed Mazza — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:34:35 +0200

In a move that didn't exactly surprise many observers, a staple of three Republican administrations has endorsed Barack Obama for president.

Colin Powell was national security advisor for Ronald Reagan, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H.W. Bush, and secretary of state under George W. Bush. He was the first African-American to hold each of those positions, and was also the first black four-star general. However, he said race had nothing to do with his endorsement.

"It was only in the last couple of months that I settled on this. And I can't deny that it will be a historic event for an African-American to become president," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "And should that happen, all Americans should be proud - not just African-Americans, but all Americans - that we have reached this point in our national history where such a thing could happen. It will also not only electrify our country; I think it'll electrify the world."

But conservative talk radio show host Rush Limbaugh quickly fired off an e-mail suggesting race indeed played a role. According to Politico, Limbaugh wrote, "I am now researching his past endorsements to see if I can find all the inexperienced, very liberal, white candidates he has endorsed. I'll let you know what I come up with."

On the conservative Wizbang blog, Lorie Byrd writes, "I wonder if all those lefty bloggers who have referred to Colin Powell as an Uncle Tom for all these years will call him that anymore. Probably not. Count on this endorsement by a Republican In Name Only to receive much more media attention than that of former Democratic Party Vice Presidential nominee Joe Lieberman or numerous high profile Hillary Clinton supporters of John McCain did."

"Republican In Name Only," or "RINO," is a disdainful title given to party members who don't support its key positions or candidates. However, Powell has been a faithful donor to Republican candidates and even gave the maximum $2,300 last year to John McCain's presidential campaign:

Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin is also downplaying the significance of the endorsement. She writes, "The orgy of Obamedia attention Powell will receive the next 24 hours is disproportionate to its importance. The press only loves maverick Republicans when they jump in bed with Democrats. Just ask John McCain."

But liberal bloggers say the endorsement only helps to erase doubts about their candidate.

"With eloquence and humility, former Secretary of State and retired General Colin Powell just provided a ringing endosement of Barack Obama as President for the United States," writes DarkSyde at the Daily Kos.

At the Daily Shocker, Christopher DeAngelus writes, "Personally, I expected Powell to distance himself from the McCain tactics, praise Obama, but never explicitly say who he is voting for. I was surprised."

Powell is one of the rare U.S. political figures to command wide respect from the mainstream on both sides of the aisle. His reputation took a hit after he made the case for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that were not verified after the invasion, something he himself called a "blot" on his record. (Read this 2005 interview)

In addition to Powell, Obama is racking up endorsements in the weeks leading up to the election. Many have been unsurprising, but some have made a little noise. Christopher Buckley, son of the late conservative thinker, writer and TV talk show host William F. Buckley Jr., last week came out in support of Obama. As a result of the controversy that followed, he resigned his position as a columnist at the right-leaning magazine founded by his father, the National Review.

Joe the Plumber: Day 2

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:34:50 +0200

After landing a surprise starring role in the final presidential debate, "Joe the Plumber" has found himself in the international spotlight. And at least one of the candidates is hoping his run at fame lasts just a little more than 15 minutes.

John McCain hit the stump the morning after the debate, and has already incorporated Joe Wurzelbacher into his stump speech in an attempt to hit at Barack Obama's tax plan:

"Joe's the man," said McCain in Pennsylvania on Thursday morning, at his first event after the debate. "He won and small businesses won across America. The American people are not going to let Senator Obama raise their taxes in a tough economy."

Wurzelbacher is suddenly a certified TV news star, giving interviews right after the debate and making the rounds of the morning news shows. In case you missed it, here is his encounter with Obama that turned him into a debate topic:

To some, Wurzelbacher represents a man on the cusp of the American Dream, ready to buy a business but worried about his taxes. To others, he's a possible plant, someone who just speaks too well, is too informed and seemingly too supportive of McCain for someone who says he's undecided.

At the Jed Report, Jed Lewison says it "seems odd that he just happens to be buying a business that would earn exactly the amount of money that would qualify it to be a McCain campaign talking point - $250,000."

Over at gather, Jerry M writes, "That man was obviously a plant with starkly right wing, conservative views. The only question is whether he was planted by the McCain campaign or by himself. But if you saw the interview, it was clear that he had an agenda."

On the other hand, Town Hall bloggers say Joe is turning into McCain's best friend yet.

"If there is any winner in tonight's debate it's Joe the Plumber and that should put McCain closer to the 'W' column than Barack Obama," writes blogger Amanda Carpenter. "By speaking directly to Plumber Joe, John McCain was able to explain why ‘Senator Government,' a welcome Freudian slip for Obama, is wrong for the economy during these turbulent economic times."

And Jonathan Garthwaite blogs: "My humble advice to Sen. McCain - talk about ‘Joe the Plumber' all the way to Nov. 4th. Whether it's taxes or health care or ACORN, explain to the voters how ‘Joe the Plumber' will be affected if Barack Obama is elected. Talk about government intrusions into ‘Joe the Plumber's' life. Talk about the hopes and dreams of ‘Joe the Plumber' and how Obama will get in the way. Talk about ‘Joe the Plumber's' family. Joe, Joe, Joe."

The election's other Joe, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, took to the airwaves to point out that not many "Joe the Plumbers" in his neighborhood make $250,000 or more per year:

Another topic under discussion today is McCain's mannerisms. When he wasn't speaking, he let his body do his talking for him, letting viewers know when he didn't like what Obama was saying:

McCain is generally very expessive with his face. But to some, this was comparable to Al Gore's body language during the 2000 debates with George W. Bush. Gore sighed heavily when Bush was speaking, which many considered rude. And at one point, while Bush was speaking, Gore walked uncomfortably close to him:

And finally, back in the present day, the most lasting image from the debate may end up being this one, which is already popping up just about everywhere:

McCain was apparently headed in the wrong direction after the debate, and made a comical face when he realized where he was going.