Comments on: Obama nominated by acclimation after all

Obama nominated by acclimation after all

FlyingMonkey — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:14:17 -0800

In Historic Vote, Obama Officially Claims Democratic Nomination (Washington Post) With a theatrical flourish, the roll call vote was rushed to allow Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to suspend the vote and "in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory," declare Obama the nominee by aclaimation. "Let's declare with one voice that Barack Obama is our candidate," Clinton said to thunderous applause.

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:16:58 -0800

Well done Hillary! That woman should be President or something...

By: redbeard

redbeard — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:17:53 -0800

Oh, come on. What is so historic about all of this? Maybe that, rather than waiting until the last second (or not even then) she gave him her support months ago? *sigh* If you're going to call something historic, Washington Post, look at history, first.

By: dhammond

dhammond — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:18:03 -0800

Thanks for posting this. I somehow missed the news.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:20:36 -0800

Cspan is carrying it live... often returning to a shot of an older African American woman with tears running down her cheeks.

By: palidor

palidor — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:21:09 -0800

VOTE MR CLEAN 2008 -- CLEAN AND WELL-SPARKLIN`

By: interrobang

interrobang — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:21:13 -0800

You people with televisions sure are critical.

By: codswallop

codswallop — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:22:45 -0800

My carbon footprint has shrank, scientists can now divide by zero and I'm already pooping cookie dough. Truly, he is the chosen one.

By: gyc

gyc — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:24:29 -0800

What suspense! Up until Hillary suspended the roll call, I had no idea who was going to win the nomination!

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:24:45 -0800

By: Fuzzy Skinner

Fuzzy Skinner — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:25:44 -0800

I'm watching on CNN. Unfortunately, Wolf Blitzer and company are not even onscreen. The entire CNN staff fell all over themselves trying to one-up each other's fawning superlatives. So, they now lay in a heap on the convention floor.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:27:10 -0800

Wait until they find out he's half-black. Yeah, you heard me.

By: sciurus

sciurus — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:29:01 -0800

Obama was nominated by people getting used to him, or by his ability to get used to things; not by acclaim, apparently.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:30:12 -0800

"Let's declare with one voice that Barack Obama is our candidate," Clinton said to thunderous applause. Yeah, but according to the direction her navel was pointing, she was faking it. And you know what men think of women who fake it.

By: Fuzzy Skinner

Fuzzy Skinner — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:30:34 -0800

Obama was nominated by people getting used to him, or by his ability to get used to things; not by acclaim, apparently. posted by sciurus Oooo, good call!

By: misskaz

misskaz — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:30:48 -0800

I agree with TPS. The state roll calls were fascinating. I, from the great adjective state of x, land of y, insert state motto here, home of politician or historical figure z... It made me want to put on a funny hat and wave flags. And I'm not even a registered Democrat.

By: billysumday

billysumday — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:31:06 -0800

I was watching the live feed at CNN.com, it was a blast to see. Although cutting off the state-by-state roll call means we don't get to hear the rest of the states brag about themselves, a pageant I found oddly enjoyable. I had the same thought! It was great to hear how Idaho how adopted Obama as their native son, and Nebraska loves college football. I was really into it.

By: SeizeTheDay

SeizeTheDay — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:33:46 -0800

And you know what men think of women who fake it. Point me to even one man who can tell the difference. Or cares.

By: DU

DU — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:33:57 -0800

What's with all the negativity here? It's an historic moment and only a preliminary to the to the next one. I think it's awesome.

By: gimonca

gimonca — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:35:02 -0800

a pageant I found oddly enjoyable I remember one year David Brinkley saying laconically at the beginning of the roll call, "You know, the representative of the great state of Idaho will probably say something about potatoes." He did.

By: Dumsnill

Dumsnill — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:37:10 -0800

In a historical comment, Dumsnill says meh.

By: billysumday

billysumday — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:38:25 -0800

Maybe the roll call pageantry only appeals to geography buffs. Still, I thought it was sweet. The fiance tried to pull me away from the screen to go to the store, but I was like, "but Indiana is up next! The Hoosier state!" I'm a dork.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:39:03 -0800

What's with all the negativity here? It's an historic moment and only a preliminary to the next one. I think it's the fact that this post is only a preliminary to the next one that's griping people's asses.

By: billysumday

billysumday — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:41:30 -0800

I think it's the fact that this post is only a preliminary to the next one that's griping people's asses. Preliminary to what next post? The "OMIGOD Rep. Paul Robinson of Wisconsin speaks LIVE to the Democratic Party!" post? I don't get it.

By: Orange Pamplemousse

Orange Pamplemousse — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:42:06 -0800

With the weight of history hanging over them, Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Democratic Party formally chose I like how Clinton is mentioned first, as if she somehow possessed more nominating power than the entire rest of the party, or perhaps played a large (positive) part in his nomination.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:43:16 -0800

Preliminary to what next post? I believe that would be the "Obama makes the best motherfucking acceptance speech in the history of the spoken word!!!11" post.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:43:39 -0800

Point me to even one man who can tell the difference. Or cares. Tiresias

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:45:26 -0800

So what do y'all think of the whole election brinkmanship thing? Do you think there will be a fall election? I'm not sure if it will happen. As useless as the current parliament is I think Harper stands to lose a few MPs from Ontario and points east if he tries to get too pushy about it. Oh, wait, which election are we talking about?

By: Marisa Stole the Precious Thing

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:48:03 -0800

I think this is pretty cool, and I feel priveleged to see it happen in my lifetime. The year I was born, Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education was decided. We were busing African-American kids into schools across town to promote integration. And tonight, this has happened. I'm not trying to establish that busing led to this country's first African-American presidential nominee, but I think the two events, within the span of not even four decades, is a fair indication of how far we've come. Sorry if this sounds all maudlin and sappy. I'm a little emotional right now.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:48:25 -0800

What's with all the negativity here? I suspect it is because the post has nothing to do with Star Wars.

By: nola

nola — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:54:21 -0800

Lets leave Ronald Reagan out of this R.Mutt.

By: ten pounds of inedita

ten pounds of inedita — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:56:39 -0800

From the AP story:

Earlier in the day, Clinton formally released her delegates amid shouts of "no," by disappointed supporters. "She doesn't have the right to release us," said Massachusetts delegate Nancy Saboori. "We're not little kids to be told what to do in a half-hour."

This kind of attitude is why I worry for the Dems. She doesn't have the right to release her delegates? Are you kidding me? And even if that laughable assertion held any water, your whiny petulance is strong evidence that you're a kid to be told what to do. At least Saboori and her ilk did find the stones to nominate Obama by acclamation. But you still have clowns like those at hillaryis44 who maintain that they won't vote for Obama and will, in fact, vote for McCain. Too self-interested to see the bigger picture. She's gonna be A-G, you clowns.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:56:57 -0800

Classy move by Senator Clinton. And frankly, some states are only so-so. "From the middlin' state of Missouri..."

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:57:59 -0800

She doesn't have the right to release us They're like the Ellen James Society in The World According to Garp.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:58:56 -0800

"From the middlin' state of Missouri..." How many other people knew it was pronounced "miz-EW-ruh"? I always thought it was "miz-ERR-ree"?

By: Dumsnill

Dumsnill — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:01:47 -0800

What's with all the negativity here? I think it's because this post (and its comments) isn't telling us anything that isn't already getting wall-to-wall coverage in the MSM. I'm all for Obama getting the official stamp of approval. He was my favorite from the get-go. But this is just a boring combination of chatfilter/politicalfilter.

By: lekvar

lekvar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:03:43 -0800

It's a pretty good bit of theatre, I'll give them that, but I'm a little irritated that NPR is referring to this as a surprise since they were saying yesterday (and probably the day before) that it was scripted and scheduled.

By: Class Goat

Class Goat — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:04:22 -0800

What's with all the negativity here? It's because this is a lousy post for Metafilter.

By: DU

DU — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:05:35 -0800

Classy move by Senator Clinton. I have to agree. I know the entire thing was planned in minute detail long before. I know she's doing it at least in part to keep her brand alive. But she still did it and did it well. Bravo, Ms Clinton!

By: netbros

netbros — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:09:27 -0800

So what are the opinions here? Was last night's speech Hillary's swan song, or are her largest achievements still in the future? And does Obama believe she can be more helpful in the Senate, or will he offer her a prime cabinet post?

By: Donnie VandenBos

Donnie VandenBos — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:10:43 -0800

Although cutting off the state-by-state roll call means we don't get to hear the rest of the states brag about themselves, a pageant I found oddly enjoyable. I found it tedious, but maybe that's just because my state, Montana, decided to draaaaaaaag it ouuuuuuut. Oh, and there was an obligatory Stupid Hat.

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:10:47 -0800

She would kick ass on the Supreme Court.

By: DU

DU — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:11:21 -0800

But this is just a boring combination of chatfilter/politicalfilter The First Really Serious Female Candidate just stepped aside for the First Really Serious Black Candidate, both of whom had (and one still has) a very decent shot at becoming the real, actual President of These United States. MeFi has documented other historic civil rights moments, but only in retrospect and few so large.

By: SeizeTheDay

SeizeTheDay — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:12:24 -0800

But you still have clowns like those at hillaryis44 who maintain that they won't vote for Obama and will, in fact, vote for McCain. Or maybe these are exactly the kinds of "clowns" that the press likes to report on, since the reality of the situation, "Obama gets completely expected nomination, just like every other candidate for decades" isn't as sexy and won't bring any page views. Keeping Clinton in the news all Spring was a newspaper's wet dream. Somehow keeping her in the news all Summer and her "plot to steal the nomination" was just fucking genius.

By: Artw

Artw — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:14:16 -0800

Unfortunately, Wolf Blitzer and company are not even onscreen. That would be a rare 30 seconds. Oh, and congratulations to Clinton on the lack of dick moves. I guess she won't be booted out to join the Leiberman party.

By: brain cloud

brain cloud — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:17:41 -0800

She would kick ass on the Supreme Court. Hillary 4 Lyfe on SCOTUS!

By: brain cloud

brain cloud — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:18:12 -0800

PS you forgot the "fuckyeah!" tag.

By: bhnyc

bhnyc — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:18:39 -0800

is aclaimation a word?

By: Marisa Stole the Precious Thing

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:18:40 -0800

But you still have clowns like those at hillaryis44 who maintain that they won't vote for Obama and will, in fact, vote for McCain. Too self-interested to see the bigger picture. Gawd, I know you're right. My aunt is one of these people. It is hair-pullingly maddening talking to her at times. She absolutely refuses to reconcile McCain's policies with her hurt feelings about Hilary. Somehow, though, I get the feeling wounds will be licked and sores healed by November though.

By: Brian B.

Brian B. — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:19:50 -0800

Classy move by Senator Clinton. Classier than this?

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:24:44 -0800

Never saw that coming, wow.

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:25:15 -0800

But this is just a boring combination of chatfilter/politicalfilter Second that.

By: Marisa Stole the Precious Thing

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:26:29 -0800

Classier than this? Posting a cheap, misinterpretted, out-of-context YouTube trollwar clip? Yes, much classier.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:27:01 -0800

And you know what men think of women who fake it. We're quietly grateful that they help conceal our secret shame even from ourselves, so we can stumble forward through the next day with a delusion of near-adequacy?

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:27:10 -0800

Phew, so that's over for another four years. What? November? Nah... can't be.

By: bhnyc

bhnyc — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:27:36 -0800

acclimation/aclaimation? we've become acclimated to him?

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:27:57 -0800

But this is just a boring combination of chatfilter/politicalfilter. Not quite.

By: Brian B.

Brian B. — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:28:19 -0800

Posting a cheap, misinterpretted, out-of-context YouTube trollwar clip? Yes, much classier. Let the viewer decide much?

By: bhnyc

bhnyc — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:30:19 -0800

ah Acclamation

By: Snyder

Snyder — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:32:42 -0800

Let the viewer decide much? As the viewer, yes, your comment was not classy.

By: Dumsnill

Dumsnill — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:36:41 -0800

MeFi has documented other historic civil rights moments, but only in retrospect and few so large. I know what you mean, and I agree. But in this case the only noteworthy thing would have been if Obama didn't get the official approval. It was a given several weeks ago that he would. But, okay, I think this is good. I also think it would have been good if Hillary had been nominated. But there are six gazziliontrillion political blogs out there where I could express this wildly unoriginal thought an infinite number of times.

By: Zambrano

Zambrano — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:37:00 -0800

How many other people knew it was pronounced "miz-EW-ruh"? I always thought it was "miz-ERR-ree"? It is "miz-ERR-ree". But for some reason the people who live there always seem to mispronounce it.

By: Brian B.

Brian B. — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:38:52 -0800

As the viewer, yes, your comment was not classy. My comment wasn't in the race.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:39:35 -0800

How many other people knew it was pronounced "miz-EW-ruh"? I always thought it was "miz-ERR-ree"? Some say it one way, some say it the other. My grandfather pronounced it "MIZ-err-ree."

By: nola

nola — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:41:58 -0800

What the hell do you know about it Zambrano?

By: netbros

netbros — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:42:35 -0800

Let's call the whole thing off.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:43:31 -0800

I'm interested to see how Bill Clinton's speech goes. I think it's going to be a barnburner. After Hillary's grand slam last night, he's not going to want to go out looking petulant. He needs to do what he does best: tear the Republicans a new asshole.

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:43:36 -0800

Wake me up when the change actually starts. No, not the "black nominee" type of change. The actual "our lives are better" change.

By: bjork24

bjork24 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:47:42 -0800

TPS: How many other people knew it was pronounced "miz-EW-ruh"? I always thought it was "miz-ERR-ree"? You had it right the first time. The only people who pronounce it miz-EW-ruh are politicians trying to look "down home." I've never met an actual Missouri native who pronounced it like that, and I've lived all over the state for my entire life.

By: Lentrohamsanin

Lentrohamsanin — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:51:27 -0800

Cynthia McKinney's acceptance speech for the Green Party nomination (excerpt)

By: orthogonality

orthogonality — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:55:20 -0800

nola writes "What the hell do you know about it Zambrano?" Relax, Zambrano made a joke.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:58:18 -0800

Watching the CNN.com live feed now- "Chain of Fools" as a pre-Clinton song? Maybe not the best choice.

By: inigo2

inigo2 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:58:25 -0800

Is this the thread where I come in and say "Barack Obama is a huge dick! Man that guy sucks! Look at my youtube!" ? Cause I can do that, if you want.

By: Rhaomi

Rhaomi — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:00:33 -0800

Anybody catch the segment with CNN's John King trying to tutor Montana Gov. Schweitzer in The Way of the Magic Touchy Screen? Because he was all like "No you stupid fuck, double tap the state to change the color" before ushering him away in barely-concealed rage. Also: Creepy wide-eyed bald guy/girl with no eyebrows staring over the shoulder of Rep. Clyburn and directly into CNN's camera creeped me out. Also also: Chee, I wonder what insight Karl Rove will have on the substance of Bill Clinton's speech. I wait with baited breath. ThePinkSuperhero: "How many other people knew it was pronounced "miz-EW-ruh"? I always thought it was "miz-ERR-ree"?" "Missouri". "Misery". I only just now noticed that. ten pounds of inedita: "But you still have clowns like those at hillaryis44 who maintain that they won't vote for Obama and will, in fact, vote for McCain. Too self-interested to see the bigger picture." Hillaryis44.com member Idunn sez: So…Hillary gives an impassioned speech urging me to put a democrat in the white house, one who will fight for the things I and other democrats care about. I’d love to be able to do that. But I can’t. OBAMA CAN NOT BE TRUSTED. And for me, that’s the bottom line. Now, I can vote for McCain and hope for the best. Will I do that? I honestly don’t know if I can. 4 more years of Bush economics might kill us. I can write in Hillary’s name, and feel morally “right” when I walk out of the polling site. But what will that accomplish BEYOND allowing me to feel I made the right choice? Not much. Or, I can go into that polling site and choose to give a boost to a third party, in the hopes that it will create a fertile environment for something OTHER than the 2 mediocre party choices we are now given. The democrats have already lost me…I am now an Independent voter, and I won’t ever look back. But I’m an Independent voter set adrift in a huge, overwhelming sea. I don’t know where I will end up now. And that makes me incredibly sad. Funny, Clinton supporters who admit that protest votes are useless and McCain votes are dangerous and yet still can't bring themselves to vote Obama make me incredibly sad.

By: middleclasstool

middleclasstool — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:05:10 -0800

I've never met an actual Missouri native who pronounced it like that, and I've lived all over the state for my entire life. Oh, they're around. My dad does, born and bred and never left. So does his dad, etc. Grates my effing nerves every time I hear it, but they still exist.

By: Rhaomi

Rhaomi — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:05:18 -0800

And I got a kick out of CNN's on-screen schedule just now: NOW: Former President Bill clinton NEXT: Stay-At-Home Mom LATER: Joe Biden Accepts V.P. Nomination What a tough act to follow. How will Biden manage?

By: nola

nola — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:06:09 -0800

Relax, Zambrano made a joke. *takes his RLax pill*

By: DaShiv

DaShiv — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:06:10 -0800

The roll call was great, well-executed political theater. The disputed Florida and Michigan delegations were given crucial opportunities to cast their full votes, New Mexico honored the Illinois delegation by yielding the floor to them that allowed them to symbolically yield to New York in turn, and Sen. Clinton made the motion herself to nominate Obama by acclamation as expected. I'm certain that for more than a few supporters of Sen. Clinton, the way the ending was choreographed made the whole nomination process bittersweet instead of simply bitter. This was a story with many, many hands involved in the writing. The drama is not in the what will happen, but the how, and the nuts and bolts of how things came to be says a lot about the Obama team handles negotiations, diplomacy, and staging behind the scenes. It's all in the details. For instance, California was persuaded to pass on its voting to allow many more smaller states to participate without pushing Obama over the threshold -- and also to save themselves the embarrassment of presenting an inaccurate/incomplete delegate count due to almost all of their state lawmakers/superdelegates being currently in California trying to hammer out a budget deal, a process that will likely keep Schwarzenegger out of the GOP convention next week as well. As part of whatever negotiations happened behind the scenes, the states that voted unanimously for Obama also delivered ringing praise on the floor for Sen. Clinton: for instance, Arkansas noted how beloved the Clintons were in their adopted home state and that Sen. Clinton had won the state by a larger margin than in any other contest, and New Hampshire emphasized the Sen. Clinton's historic win of the first statewide presidential primary by a female candidate -- but those crucial Clinton states then went on to cast their votes unanimously for Obama as a sign of unity. The numbers tell a different story than what cable news has been saying all week. In fact, you only have to look for the change in delegate counts to measure the combined effect of Obama team's negotiations and Sen. Clinton's big speech last night: so many of her delegates switched their votes for Obama that by the time the roll call was ended, the 1549.5-341.5 tally meant you'd never guess it was the most closely contested Democratic nomination in modern primary history. Which it was, of course. And it was Sen. Clinton herself assigned the role of the heroine to bring things to an end, and this entire convention has burnished her reputation within the party tremendously (and deservedly so, IMO). The Obama and Clinton teams were working out of the same office in Denver this week to make things end this way. The other drama of the roll call had everything to do with that old bugbear again -- media expectations. Quite frankly, given the nefarious picture of the Clintons that the MSM had been painting, many people were expecting her and her supporters to be ready to cause trouble on the floor during the roll call, and thus tensions between the factions had been deliberately fanned. In fact, historically speaking Sen. Clinton has given Obama by far the strongest support of any losing candidate (who didn't wind up on the ticket) in a contested nomination process, made all the more remarkable by how much closer the contests were this year than in previous years. I would say that a full 95% of the coverage of the his-and-her Clintons drama of this convention so far has been pure fabricated controversy. And it illustrates probably the biggest (but not only) reason why she could've have been his VP pick: the resulting media circus would have completely prevented the Democrats from shaping their own campaign narrative, with every day bringing new breathless pseudo-news to sink the ticket. For instance: Obama/Clinton campaigning in different states -- do they need more distance from each other now and can they govern together? Clinton campaigning in a state Obama won in the primaries -- how will his supporters feel about her as his VP pick after she said his Iraq policy was "just a speech in 2002"? A photo of Bill Clinton with his arms around Michelle Obama -- is his hand touching her buttocks? Etc etc etc. For all of Sen. Clinton's strengths, the Obama campaign probably took one look at her and decided it would've been impossible to run the campaign it wanted with her on the ticket, especially given their famed smoothly and very tightly-run operations with its attendant no-drama policy. In other words, the fact that even the procedural roll call became a source of drama is precisely why Clinton couldn't have been the VP pick. Clinton's greatest obstacle to the nomination was never Obama -- it was the media all along. But all this makes for great watching by political buffs. The catharsis from both camps on the convention floor after the nomination was completely palpable. Pelosi even had to repeat Obama's procedural acceptance of the nomination again, since her first announcement was lost in the swell of the crowd. After the two conventions though, the rest of the campaign will likely devolve into insipid attacks that will result in yet another close and hotly contested election, despite how utterly stark the wrong-track polling numbers have been for years now. It's hard to maintain faith in the American electorate given our recent electoral history.

By: DU

DU — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:06:16 -0800

How many other people knew it was pronounced "miz-EW-ruh"? I always thought it was "miz-ERR-ree"? Having lived in both states, I can tell you that this (terrible rendition) applies equally well.

By: Snyder

Snyder — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:06:40 -0800

My comment wasn't in the race. Yeah, I know that, not sure why you bring that up. But you did ask if your Clinton was classier then your comment, so I answered. No worries!

By: homunculus

homunculus — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:09:00 -0800

The Dog That Isn’t Barking

By: effwerd

effwerd — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:13:24 -0800

Neither race nor gender was an issue for me in deciding which candidate I wanted to support but now that the nomination is official, I can really appreciate the dramatic poetry of having the female runner up in the nomination process stop the roll call and ask to declare the African American candidate the nominee by acclamation. Now, I just hope this memory isn't tainted with a loss in November. And since I live in Utah, that's about all I've got, fifty state strategy or not. I've talked to few folks and it's really easy to get them to express a lot of venom at not only this administration but at McCain as well. They hate McCain, and it isn't some vague unspecified hatred; they have lists of issues. They think Bush has been an unmitigated disaster. They think the Iraq War was a terrible mistake. Katrina, domestic spying, the creeping police state, undue religious influence in politics, corporate fealty, pretty much every major issue makes them angry at Bush and the Republicans in general. And then it gets worse. We talk about what needs to be done to correct these problems and I can get them agreeing on pretty much every single position on the Obama campaign site, as long as I never mention Obama or the Democratic Party. As soon as I mention Obama or Democrats, the wall comes up and never comes down. It's an odd polarity. They feel Republicans have the right mindset and are effective in getting things done, they just don't like what they're doing with all the corruption, government bloat, war mongering, and so forth. On the other hand, they feel Democrats are nothing but lying sons of bitches who are probably gay and can't ever get anything done and who are only in it for the money, prestige, and sex. So they basically are willing to deal with the party that "gets things done" despite the fact that they hate what they're doing, rather than dealing with the ineffectual lying bastards of the other party who advocate positions they appreciate. It's difficult to understand until we talk about foreign policy. Then it becomes clear how effective this administration and its myriad mouthpieces have been in scaring the populace and painting the Democrats as impotent on these matters. They talk about how important it is to be able to "handle it" in world affairs. They talk about how dangerous the world is and they list the usual suspects. They pretty much believe a war with Iran is inevitable. They think North Korea is a very serious situation. They feel Russia is a very serious situation. And they basically see Europe as the Democratic Party on a larger, more foreign, scale. And all of this is framed with the underlying premise that Democrats can't handle it while Republicans can. It's pretty exasperating.

By: lukemeister

lukemeister — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:15:25 -0800

I wait with baited breath. Bated breath, I hope. Unless you're trolling deep waters.

By: BitterOldPunk

BitterOldPunk — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:16:30 -0800

"Missouri". "Misery". I only just now noticed that. I guess they had to show you.

By: Rhaomi

Rhaomi — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:28:23 -0800

lukemeister: "Bated breath, I hope. Unless you're trolling deep waters." Yes, that was my standard one typo per post that I seem determined to make nowadays... BitterOldPunk: "I guess they had to show you." In my defense, I noticed the "connect I cut" in "Connecticut" when I was only EIGHT YEARS OLD.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:45:29 -0800

Wow. Kerry's had a pair of balls installed since the last election. I wish this guy had been running four years ago.

By: the_bone

the_bone — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:48:18 -0800

Wow, I liked Bill's speech (and I'm not particularly a fan). It'll be interesting to see how pundits spin an unequivocal expression of support into more fuel for the PUMA drama: HILLARY CLINTON, TUESDAY NIGHT: "Obama must be our president." PUNDITS, WEDNESDAY MORNING: "But, but, but... Hillary didn't expressly say that Obama was ready to be President!" BILL CLINTON, WEDNESDAY NIGHT: "Barack Obama is ready to be President of the United States!" PUNDITS, THURSDAY MORNING: "But, but but... Bill didn't offer to give Obama a handjob!"

By: vito90

vito90 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:50:21 -0800

For fuck sake will somebody PLEASE give DaShiv his own news show? He knows more about this shit than any talking head on any channel, anywhere. America needs you to have a bigger megaphone than just Metafilter.

By: Damn That Television

Damn That Television — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:51:18 -0800

Fantastic-historical-moment-filter, flagged.

By: Ky

Ky — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:54:18 -0800

It would be funny in a hysterical-half-chuckle way if the Democrats still lose. On the plus side, I think the ol' print newspapers should do well in sales shortly after election day.

By: John of Michigan

John of Michigan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:07:13 -0800

It would be funny in a hysterical-half-chuckle way if the Democrats still lose. Do you own stocks in defense companies? Oil companies?

By: Perplexity

Perplexity — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:09:00 -0800

I suggest a long digression into whether one should write "a historic vote" or "an historic vote". Bonus points for analysis of whether or not avoiding this issue was a factor in the headline writer's decision to drop the article entirely.

By: xorry

xorry — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:10:10 -0800

i can has timeline?

By: AwkwardPause

AwkwardPause — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:14:55 -0800

Bill Clinton: "Barack Obama is the right man for the job as next president of the U.S.A." Smooth...

By: yellowbinder

yellowbinder — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:16:00 -0800

I just finished reading Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, (schlocky fiction spoiler alert) and one character is elected pope by acclamation when all the cardinals cheer his name. So it was jarring to me watching a clip of this, and seeing Hillary's call for an acclamation met by cheers of "Hillary! Hillary!"

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:22:10 -0800

I own stock in oil companies and I hope the Dems win.

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:23:04 -0800

Wait until they find out he's half-black. Which half?

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:23:05 -0800

Wait until they find out he's half-black. Which half?

By: Fuzzy Skinner

Fuzzy Skinner — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:31:06 -0800

In my defense, I noticed the "connect I cut" in "Connecticut" when I was only EIGHT YEARS OLD o/~ "In Connecticut you can connect or cut; we hope that you connect." (Jonathan Colton)

By: matty

matty — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:37:24 -0800

Wake me up when the change actually starts. No, not the "black nominee" type of change. The actual "our lives are better" change. posted by Eideteker at 5:43 PM on August 27 [3 favorites +] [!] Somebody's glass if half-empty!!!

By: Solon and Thanks

Solon and Thanks — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:42:14 -0800

ah, good old Connecticutians. Connecticuters. Connecticutioners.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:57:50 -0800

Connecticuties, of course.

By: Caduceus

Caduceus — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:04:49 -0800

OBAMA CAN NOT BE TRUSTED. And for me, that’s the bottom line. What's that you said, lady from another blog? Please repeat that, because I swear I heard "I AM AN ENORMOUS RACIST."

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:07:18 -0800

I'm choosing to believe she was referring to his vote on that telecom bill. choosing/hoping. Whatever.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:10:59 -0800

We talk about what needs to be done to correct these problems and I can get them agreeing on pretty much every single position on the Obama campaign site, as long as I never mention Obama or the Democratic Party. Your average American voter is dumber than retarded. My Down's Syndrome uncle could be presented the fundamental policies and choose the one that is more fair and compassionate. "This candidate is promising a hundred more years of war; this one wants to end the war. Which one is better?" "This candidate will try to make the country richer; this one is going to make the country broke-ass poor. Which one is better?" I can not fathom how your average American voter, presented the candidate's goals, can possibly be so unthinking and short-sighted to choose another four years of flushing the country down the toilet.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:13:37 -0800

OBAMA CAN NOT BE TRUSTED. And for me, that’s the bottom line. What's that you said, lady from another blog? Please repeat that, because I swear I heard "I AM AN ENORMOUS RACIST." see, she says she can not trust obama, and you hear "I AM AN ENORMOUS RACIST". that's the kind of shit that makes people think liberal folk are slightly unhinged. that's the kind of shit that can lose this election.

By: Caduceus

Caduceus — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:26:15 -0800

that's the kind of shit that makes people think liberal folk are slightly unhinged. that's the kind of shit that can lose this election. Seriously? You say I sound unhinged, even after what I was quoting? Have you heard from any non-white Hilary supporters talk about how they'd rather not vote or vote for McCain than vote for Obama? Here. That formulates it better than I can.

By: Caduceus

Caduceus — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:28:49 -0800

(And how was my comment worse, or more likely to lose this election, than the one immediately above yours saying that the average American voter is dumber than retarded?)

By: cashman

cashman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:35:13 -0800

The lady may or may not be a racist, but her behavior and comment definitely inspire further investigation. Why so vehemently against the democratic nominee that shares 95% of the platform that the other democratic nominee possible shares? I could understand if people said they weren't particularly fond of him. But the whole idea that he is a sekrit muslim or somehow is just not to be trusted - well shit that's the clearest dog whistle to the dangerous colored fella birth of a nation cross the street and guard your purse get off the elevator.. i'm going to bed I dont' have time for this.

By: cashman

cashman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:36:32 -0800

Again, with feeling - how to tell someone they sound racist.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:39:06 -0800

Do you own stocks in defense companies? Oil companies? Invest now!

By: tellurian

tellurian — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:44:39 -0800

Now that I've read the comment by DaShiv, I'd like to take my flag back. This post is now excellent.

By: caddis

caddis — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:48:48 -0800

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:51:18 -0800

We talk about what needs to be done to correct these problems and I can get them agreeing on pretty much every single position on the Obama campaign site, as long as I never mention Obama or the Democratic Party. Lord knows I find Maureen Dowd, if entertaining, a little light on substance. But she does have insights. My mom did not approve of men who cheated on their wives. She called them “long-tailed rats.” During the 2000 race, she listened to news reports about John McCain confessing to dalliances that caused his first marriage to fall apart after he came back from his stint as a P.O.W. in Vietnam. I figured, given her stringent moral standards, that her great affection for McCain would be dimmed. “So,” I asked her, “what do you think of that?” “A man who lives in a box for five years can do whatever he wants,” she replied matter-of-factly. Yes, it's cliche, but people do vote with their "gut". This means stereotyping. This means racism, sexism, ageism. And massive amounts of rationalization. And hell, people on "my side" are guilty of it, too. It's just that we seldom ask those who agree with us why they think our guy is right and the other guy is wrong. I don't recommend it. It's depressing.

By: krinklyfig

krinklyfig — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:58:12 -0800

Bill Clinton made one of his best speeches in years. It was the best speech of the convention so far. It came early so many may not have seen it, yet it was so filled with sound bites, but still taught and powerful, such that it will be replayed again and again in the news tomorrow. Bill still has it. The whole night went off pretty well and contrasts nicely to the tepid performance of the first two nights. I think Hillary Clinton gave one of her best speeches last night, if not her best. Bill was really good, but he usually is. He's more relaxed than Hillary, but she was on fire. There were moments when Bill had the whole crowd in his hand, and there were moments when Hillary threw lightning bolts around. I mean, it's such a dog and pony show, but you gotta do it right, and I think they are getting it right this time, so far. The first night was less exciting, but it was supposed to be the introduction to Michelle and their family. The next night is Hillary's concession, the next is Bill's endorsement, and finally the VP and the main acceptance speech. If Obama really rocks tomorrow night, it will get them on the right path, though certainly will be no guarantee of success.

By: Ms. Saint

Ms. Saint — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:02:53 -0800

My favorite line from the convention is still, "Bush started on third base, and then stole second!" But Clinton certainly gave the pundits plenty of worthwhile soundbites to chatter about.

By: enn

enn — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:05:40 -0800

Wow. Kerry's had a pair of balls installed since the last election. I wish this guy had been running four years ago. That was really something else. John Kerry as firebrand — who knew? I urge anyone who didn't catch the speech to watch it — Talking Points Memo is calling it "the best one I've heard at this convention."

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:12:28 -0800

(And how was my comment worse, or more likely to lose this election, than the one immediately above yours saying that the average American voter is dumber than retarded?) Your comment was rather subjective. The one above it could likely be proven.

By: enn

enn — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:16:51 -0800

(In re my previous comment: here's Kerry's speech.)

By: saulgoodman

saulgoodman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:44:37 -0800

contrasts nicely to the tepid performance of the first two nights. Really? The first night was less exciting, but it was supposed to be the introduction to Michelle and their family. Really?!? Even random coworkers at my office who don't particularly care for the Democrats or for talking politics couldn't stop talking about how moving and inspiring Kennedy's speech was. And everyone was blown away by Michelle Obama's speech, too. I don't know how anybody could have viewed either of the previous nights as "tepid" or "less exciting." Kennedy's appearance--his first since his diagnosis with brain cancer--was an historic moment all by itself! All around this has been one of the most exciting party conventions I've ever seen (hell, the fact that I've seen it at all is evidence of how exciting it is).

By: krinklyfig

krinklyfig — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:56:28 -0800

Even random coworkers at my office who don't particularly care for the Democrats or for talking politics couldn't stop talking about how moving and inspiring Kennedy's speech was. And everyone was blown away by Michelle Obama's speech, too. I don't know how anybody could have viewed either of the previous nights as "tepid" or "less exciting." I'm not trying to diminish Michelle Obama's performance. I found it more inspiring than exciting, but not to say there's anything wrong with it. Kennedy, yes, definitely exciting.

By: krinklyfig

krinklyfig — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:58:45 -0800

The point I was clumsily trying to get across is that there is a deliberate timing to this sort of event, and if they pull it off, it will build up to the final acceptance speech. The first night's not supposed to upstage the last night.

By: Daddy-O

Daddy-O — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:04:00 -0800

Here is Dennis Kucinich' POWERFUL speech at the DNC in case you missed it. He really tears up GWB and the Republicans.

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:04:16 -0800

clowns like those at hillaryis44 who maintain that they won't vote for Obama and will, in fact, vote for McCain: "I’d love to be able to do that. But I can’t. OBAMA CAN NOT BE TRUSTED. And for me, that’s the bottom line. Now, I can vote for McCain and hope for the best. Will I do that? I honestly don’t know if I can. 4 more years of Bush economics might kill us." I wouldn't sweat it: 2000: "Oh yes, we are considering moving to Canada." 2004: "Seriously, we have things packed and everything, and we've sent out so many resumes to Toronto and the Outer-Toronto part of Canada, and Brooklyn and Kodi are already studying their metric system flashcards..." 2008: "Oh yes, we are considering voting for McCain."

By: peeedro

peeedro — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:05:53 -0800

Kerry really did hit a home run. Thanks for posting that enn, I wouldn't have seen it otherwise. I'm happy to see he has not lost his mojo.

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:10:20 -0800

I wouldn't sweat it That makes me sweat, I'll admit.

By: AwkwardPause

AwkwardPause — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:12:38 -0800

Re the racism discussion: anyone else see the clip with the black women talking about how she'd voted in every. single. election. -- helped get the vote out and what not -- and now, with Hillary not getting the nomination, wasn't sure she'd vote at all. Scary stuff. Those sentiments make me *so* nervous...

By: onlyconnect

onlyconnect — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:24:25 -0800

Bill Clinton made one of his best speeches in years. It was the best speech of the convention so far. Honestly I'm with krinklyfig in thinking that Hillary's speech was better. Hillary made me cry, and she made me proud to be a Democrat who believes in helping all the people who this administration made to feel "invisible." I thought Bill Clinton's speech was great and was grateful to him for sucking it up and saying lovely things about Obama to inspire other people to do so, but it didn't hit all the same notes of immediacy for me. They were both great, but like krinklyfig said, I just felt like Hillary was on fire.

By: kid ichorous

kid ichorous — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:26:20 -0800

Here is Dennis Kucinich' POWERFUL speech at the DNC in case you missed it. He really tears up GWB and the Republicans. I choose to hear that... jaunty tune they're playing on introduction not as a cruel mismatch, but rather a badass Kucinich leitmotif, like the Darth Vader march: yes, he can pocket constitution you from this range.

By: dirigibleman

dirigibleman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:29:31 -0800

"Oh yes, we are considering voting for McCain." On the other hand, voting for McCain doesn't require knowing French. I think it's an anti-requirement, actually.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:41:00 -0800

Scary stuff. Those sentiments make me *so* nervous... The Daily Show did a great little piece on these people. They're lunatics. I mean, seriously, are there that many people who would ultimately decide that they're going to flush the country down the drain instead of giving up a bit of pride in the secrecy of the voting booth? They're a minority but they make a really great media soundbite. The new media wants to portray this election as exciting. They sure as hell are never, ever going to go with something close to the truth: "Entire country fed the fuck up with Republican failures and corruption, won't tolerate another four years of it." Presented the facts, only an idiot would insist on voting party lines instead of for once choosing the guy who's least likely to fuck everything up. I don't know if Obama is going to be great for your country, but there's no doubt whatsoever that a McCain government will be a disaster. The media is showing you the freakshow. Do not believe the freakshow.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:47:02 -0800

What's that you said, lady from another blog? Please repeat that, because I swear I heard "I AM AN ENORMOUS RACIST." Interestingly, that particular Hillaryis44.org poster, Idunn, claims to be African American herself. I used to read the threads on there every once in a while during the primary and I remember her posts (IIRC), she was a very active member. That site has gotten very weird since the end the actual primaries, during the election as Hillary's "zombie campaign" was sliding to defeat was funny but it's just become disturbing. I think for many of those women it's not racism, but sexism that drives them, they are female chauvinists who feel like they've been passed over in life by men not because those men were more talented but because they were slicker, which parallels so closely with what happened in the primary. I think that's what motivates a lot of the PUMAS, plus, they have been reading all sorts of crazy propaganda for months, if you read day after day about wright, rezko, the 'whitey tape', etc, and spend lots and lots of time with people who validate and feed off eachother's fears it's going to cause those kinds of feelings.

By: scody

scody — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:54:46 -0800

But, but but... Bill didn't offer to give Obama a handjob! BILL CLINTON, WED. NIGHT: I will now give Barack Obama a handjob! POUTING PUMAs, THURS.MORNING: But... but... he didn't invite me to prom and feel me up in the back of my dad's Chevy! I CAN'T VOTE FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL LIKE A PRETTY, PRETTY PRINCESS!

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:28:30 -0800

I think that's what motivates a lot of the PUMAS The PUMAS are largely a manufactured Rovian dirty trick on the level of swiftboating. The truth about the PUMA Conference 08 Puma PAC’s founder Darragh Murphy (hearts) John McCain Don't believe the PUMA hype Are there are any Clinton diehards? Of course, but totally overplayed to a point of hysteria by the media because they prefer gossip rag level coverage to substantive coverage of issues. They love throwing out that red meat. Did any of the overblown media predictions about a convention hijacking happen? Massive protests? Hillary or Bill sabotage? This convention had less dissension than most Democratic conventions - it was so unified and cohesive, it almost looked republican! Who stands to gain the most from overstating dissension in the Democratic party? The unholy triumvirate: John McCain, the Republican party, and the irresponsible media. quoted for truth: fff: The media is showing you the freakshow. Do not believe the freakshow.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:44:58 -0800

The freakshow was 2004. People are hoping there's no encore.

By: brain cloud

brain cloud — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:51:20 -0800

WOW...mjjj, that PUMA conference blog post really brought the crazy. I had no idea wtf a PUMA was before today, and now I'm kinda glad I never knew. Because, CRAZY. PS to future crazy PUMA people: double-bill your next conference as being for Furries/PUMA and you can pretty much guarantee ten times as much attendance. That's assuming furries would wanna hang out with wacked motherfuckers such as yourselves, o'course.

By: Rumple

Rumple — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:54:42 -0800

I think I adore you, madam of jujiving ju

By: joedan

joedan — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:13:09 -0800

Holy shit, Kerry's speech was really good. Thanks for linking to it, enn.

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:36:19 -0800

Dear America: please sort your media out. Signed, The Rest of the World kthxbye

By: platinum

platinum — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:38:14 -0800

fresh five fish: The media is showing you the freakshow. Do not believe the freakshow. I am totally stealing this for my sig line over at Daily Kos!

By: snwod

snwod — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:01:50 -0800

Jesus H. Christmas, I love that little man. What a barn-burner that was!

By: sixswitch

sixswitch — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:03:37 -0800

I need to know exactly when These speeches start and when they end The talking heads who fear dead air Are merely substrates for their hair While NBC's are pea-brained cocks There's cunning neocons on Fox And ABC's see even less Than the lazy eyes at CBS Want ticker shock? Try CNN They show what's happening right then While summarizing just below What happened not ten seconds ago Here's what I want: the speech, shown bare For all the rest, I'll watch Colbert

By: Balonious Assault

Balonious Assault — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:43:40 -0800

CSPAN is your friend. Every speech, and no talking heads. From this blog: "...both the left and the right claim the MSM is a tool of the other side. This should be a clue, people! The media isn't as interested in reporting the news as it is in fomenting controversy around the news. So it has a vested interest in polarizing debates, granting publicity to wingnuts & zealots, and elevating opinion to the same stature as facts. The MSM is not a tool of the left or the right, it's a tool to distract, and to keep Americans locked into a no-win battle of perceptions with each other."

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:53:57 -0800

Awkward TIME interview with Sen. McCain

By: ericb

ericb — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:57:16 -0800

The PUMAS are largely a manufactured Rovian dirty trick on the level of swiftboating. Yep, just as the entire purpose of Rush Limbaugh's Operation Chaos was/has been to manufacture dissent in the Democratic Party. And just last month -- Rush Limbaugh Begins Second Phase of 'Operation Chaos'

"Rush Limbaugh, opening the second phase of his 'Operation Chaos' campaign to make mischief within the Democratic Party, called on his millions of listeners Wednesday to take part in the Sen. Barack Obama campaign’s effort to democratize the party platform. ...Limbaugh, who is now referring to the presumptive Democratic nominee as 'the Most Merciful Messiah, Lord Obama,' urged his audience to attend open meetings at which the Democratic platform will be discussed. ...'In coming days, we will tell you exactly how you can participate in writing the Democrat party platform, at the request of the Most Merciful Lord Barack Obama.' During the first phase of the talk host’s 'Operation Chaos,' Limbaugh called on fans to vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in open Democratic primaries, to belabor the process and leave both Clinton and Obama bloodied. While no empirical evidence exists to back up his claims, Limbaugh maintains the effort was a success."

By: chuckdarwin

chuckdarwin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:02:09 -0800

It's hard to maintain faith in the American electorate given our recent electoral history. Repeated for emphasis. It seems DaShiv is good at more than just photography. *** I think Mr Stewart and Co summed this up extremely well this week: Republicans love America - They just hate half of the people in it.

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:03:47 -0800

Awesome photo of VA Sen. Henry Marsh and Gov. Tim Kaine as Sen. Clinton suspends the roll call. (skip to photo 25)

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:15:51 -0800

Stewart got it wrong. They hate 95% of the people in it.

By: SteveInMaine

SteveInMaine — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:19:12 -0800

CSPAN is your friend. Every speech, and no talking heads. YES! The "no talking heads" is the best part. From time to time last night I'd flip to one of the other cable networks just for snicks, and was "rewarded" with tweedy on MSNBC, a commercial on Fox, and some goofus on CNN telling the audience what to think.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:21:28 -0800

In my defense, I noticed the "connect I cut" in "Connecticut" when I was only EIGHT YEARS OLD. Ah, but did you see that manslaughter is man's laughter? That one threw me the first time I saw it.

By: Ms. Saint

Ms. Saint — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:40:17 -0800

Photo #7 in goodnewsfortheinsane's link is also quite stunning.

By: shiu mai baby

shiu mai baby — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:49:54 -0800

Yes, yes, but nothing tops Tobias Fünke, professional Analrapist.

By: brain cloud

brain cloud — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:53:33 -0800

In my defense, I noticed the "connect I cut" in "Connecticut" when I was only EIGHT YEARS OLD. Ah, but did you see that manslaughter is man's laughter? That one threw me the first time I saw it. Here's another -- "psychotherapist" is "psycho the rapist."

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:59:12 -0800

Am I just taking a turn into the utterly paranoid here or is it kind of weird that a movies release date has been changed so that just about every site I visit at the moment has an ad with a black mans face and the word “Traitor” above it?

By: An Infinity Of Monkeys

An Infinity Of Monkeys — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:10:53 -0800

"A photo of Bill Clinton with his arms around Michelle Obama -- is his hand touching her buttocks?" Surely this isn't even a question.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:26:55 -0800

...#6: McCain bumpersticker slogan now reads GET OFF MY LAWNS!!!

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:27:44 -0800

If we catch Bill doing that awkward back of the hand slap against the lower back thing then it’s all over.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:00:30 -0800

ABC Reporter Arrested in Denver Taking Pictures of Senators, Big Donors

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:23:13 -0800

ABC Reporter Arrested in Denver Taking Pictures of Senators, Big Donors What's Disney's beef with the DNC?

By: staggering termagant

staggering termagant — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:49:22 -0800

Ha ha, "substrate for my hair." Some questions: Is PUMA an acronym? If so, for what? Petty, Unkempt Matrons Anonymous? How have I missed this? What is a PUMA? Is that like those "cougars" everyone was talking about a while back? Maybe cougar is also an acronym? Ow, pop culture makes my brain hurt. Also, I was watching ABC last night and they had Giuliani on? I didn't hear what he was saying because, well, I just don't care, but I did notice that he was in front of a backdrop that read "A Mile High, An Inch Deep." I theorized that maybe he was speaking from the Republican "War Room" at the convention, and obviously the "Mile High" reference was to Denver's being called the Mile High City. And I guess the slogan was meant to say that the convention was shallow and substanceless. But what really struck me was the hamfisted way this insult was made. Instead of insulting the Democrats, let's just imply that the CITY itself sucks. Yeah, that's a good idea. That'd be like, if the Republican convention were in NYC, having Democrats parading around with signs saying "The Big Apple. Rotten to the Core!" Way to piss off a bunch of innocent bystanders, Republicans. Oh well, collateral damage, I guess. Ha ha, "substrate for my hair."

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:54:43 -0800

So is CNN going to be doing it’s fair and balanced give-the-opposition-50%-of-the-airtime thing during the RNC?

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:13:18 -0800

Is PUMA an acronym? If so, for what? "Party Unity, My Ass"

By: Rhaomi

Rhaomi — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:17:28 -0800

staggering termagant: "Some questions: Is PUMA an acronym? If so, for what? Petty, Unkempt Matrons Anonymous? How have I missed this? What is a PUMA? Is that like those "cougars" everyone was talking about a while back? Maybe cougar is also an acronym? Ow, pop culture makes my brain hurt." It's supposed to stand for "Party Unity, My Ass." Charming lot, they are. And yeah, "puma" is another word for cougar. You can see one in their Totally Awesome Logo.

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:19:58 -0800

To weigh in on the ever-so-important Miss-our-y, Miss-ooh-rah debate, I've always said the former, but my father says the latter. Also, the cheer for the University of Missouri ends in a rousing Miss-ooh-RAH! Miss-ooh-RAH! Okay, carry on.

By: Marisa Stole the Precious Thing

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:23:33 -0800

While no empirical evidence exists to back up his claims, Limbaugh maintains the effort was a success. Rush Limbaugh always has been and always will be a troll. He's been a troll since long before he was shilling Pizza Hut, long before he told a television audience that the best thing about a tree is what you can make out of it, even long before he opened his festering gob to ask for another helping of banana pudding. His listeners are comprised of those who find his overblown idiocy side-splittingly funny, and a few twisted, bitter individuals who take him seriously. "Operation Chaos" is this troll going into meltdown mode - making unsubstantiated and laughable claims of grandeur and puppeteering - in a last-ditch effort to cobble together a little credibility after his many embarrassing gaffs and failures. And when Obama takes the White House, I'd put my money on a time window of at least two months before Limbaugh implodes spectacularly, probably arrested in a Motel 6 where he was found naked and disoriented, snorting lines of crushed Xanax off the stomach of an underaged Mexian girl.

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:32:37 -0800

And yeah, "puma" is another word for cougar. You can see one in their Totally Awesome Logo. Cool, it's the Marsupilami!

By: staggering termagant

staggering termagant — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:34:08 -0800

Seriously? Party Unity, My Ass? Wow. How classy. Thanks, everybody.

By: enn

enn — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:00:18 -0800

So when the New York Times writes, "Ms. Murphy founded Party Unity Means Authority, or PUMA, a pro-Clinton group," they're basically just making shit up to protect our delicate sensibilities? I thought so.

By: jonp72

jonp72 — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:01:23 -0800

It's supposed to stand for "Party Unity, My Ass." Charming lot, they are. Yes, it's quite indicative of the mean-spirited frat-boy humor that drives GOP ratfucking operations.

By: hambone

hambone — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:06:13 -0800

Awesome photo of VA Sen. Henry Marsh and Gov. Tim Kaine as Sen. Clinton suspends the roll call. (skip to photo 25) posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 10:03 AM on August 28 [+] [!] Looking through these other photos, check this one. Notice the caption: A convention-goer claps for former President Bill Clinton, who delivered remarks at the Pepsi Center in the early evening.... "A convention-goer", really? It's Chevy Chase... I mean, come on... a convention-goer? There's a reason there's a group of at least 7 people around him with cameras...

By: jonp72

jonp72 — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:08:48 -0800

I can not fathom how your average American voter, presented the candidate's goals, can possibly be so unthinking and short-sighted to choose another four years of flushing the country down the toilet. You underestimate the power of sheer spite in motivating people's actions. Nixon certainly didn't.

By: scody

scody — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:26:27 -0800

You underestimate the power of sheer spite Not to mention fear and resentment. This, ladies and gentlemen, was called the "southern strategy," and we've been paying for it for 40 years.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:41:37 -0800

Godwin!

By: Daddy-O

Daddy-O — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:42:00 -0800

Look at # 9 of the DNC photos. Is that Chevy Chase?

By: Daddy-O

Daddy-O — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:44:41 -0800

Perhaps I need to refresh more often.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:46:07 -0800

This is a neat little tool--it estimates how much you'll save under Obama's plan vs. McCain's.

By: gompa

gompa — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:16:43 -0800

Nice find, homunculus. One of the more entertaining media-junkie spectator sports of the last couple years has been watching thoroughly discredited and increasingly irrelevant right-wing-wing-nut pundits try to find some new sort of traction. Peggy Noonan, Reagan's self-appointed literary Riefenstahl, making Nuremberg allusions about America's first black presidential candidate with no trace of irony whatsoever? Like she might actually be stupid enough to have not even paused for a second to think about what sort of racial politics fueled those rallies? That's a fine addition to the highlight reel. These losers can smell the blood in the water, but they're too plug dumb and/or wilfully ignorant to realize it's their own.

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:28:02 -0800

McCain ad tonight: "Senator Obama, this is truly a good day for America. Too often the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed. So I wanted to stop and say, congratulations. How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day. Tomorrow, we'll be back at it. But tonight Senator, job well done."

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:36:16 -0800

"Senator Obama, this is truly a good day for America. Too often the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed. So I wanted to stop and say, congratulations. How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day. Tomorrow, we'll be back at it. But tonight Senator, job well done." A classy gesture that McCain didn't have to make, it should be said.

By: scody

scody — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:38:14 -0800

In the meantime, good news! Turns out that McCain's advisers have discovered that everyone in America has health insurance after all!

By: Snyder

Snyder — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:39:17 -0800

I agree. It's a shame that his campaign can't always be as classy, but the ad is above and beyond what he needed to do, and its good to see it.

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:43:20 -0800

Video.

By: scody

scody — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:44:30 -0800

Oh, and McCain's ad may be a classy gesture, but it also functions as a ploy to ease the consciences of disgruntled Hillary supporters (and I mean Hillraisers more than ratfucker PUMAs) disguised as a classy gesture. As in, "why yes, it is a historic event, and look! Even the opposition went out of his way to congratulate Obama on those grounds, so now I'm feeling better about voting for McCain."

By: Bookhouse

Bookhouse — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:54:10 -0800

That sneaky bastard!!!

By: sour cream

sour cream — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:27:28 -0800

I agree. It's a shame that his campaign can't always be as classy, but the ad is above and beyond what he needed to do, and its good to see it. Fast-forward 6 weeks and tons of baseless accusations by 'unaffiliated organizations': "What do you mean, 'smear campaign'? John McCain even paid for ads congratulating Obama on his nomination! How can you possibly call this a smear campaign?"

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:28:25 -0800

sour cream has it, IMHO.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:35:38 -0800

What's wrong with the Denver police?

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:57:34 -0800

Wait, these are the people "recreating 68" that are asking this question?

By: emelenjr

emelenjr — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:02:22 -0800

In 1983, when I was brand-new in the Congress, I voted against the recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King. That was a mistake, OK? And later I had the chance to … help fight for … the recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King as a holiday in my state. You stay classy, Sen. McCain.

By: chuq

chuq — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:16:24 -0800

I agree. It's a shame that his campaign can't always be as classy, but the ad is above and beyond what he needed to do, and its good to see it. Given the lies, smears and distortions of the rest of his campaign and its ads, one can't help but find this ad to be disingenuous at best. "Back at it" is apparently a euphemism for blatant lying about who Obama is and what he stands for, and pathetic attacks on his and his wife's "patriotism."

By: brain cloud

brain cloud — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:21:57 -0800

sour cream, if I may amend: Fast-forward 6 weeks and tons of baseless accusations by 'unaffiliated organizations': "What do you mean, 'smear campaign'? A former POW who spent 5 years in a box, John McCain, even paid for ads congratulating Obama on his nomination! How can you possibly call this a smear campaign?"

By: ericb

ericb — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:30:43 -0800

sour cream has it, IMHO. Yep. Exactly. A Rovian move. Oh, wait, what? Rove heavily involved in McCain's campaign. "...[I]n a new article, Time magazine highlights how 'dialed in' Rove is with McCain’s campaign efforts:

'In private, Rove speaks regularly with the McCain campaign, where his former protégé Steve Schmidt is now the manager. He’s also dialed in at the Republican National Committee, run by Mike Duncan, another former aide. And he still lunches two or three times a month with President Bush.'"^*

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:38:17 -0800

Why is it "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day"? He opposed it, then lied about opposing it, then claimed he was for it all along. Seems simple enough. (Note that his excuse for saying that MLK and Bobby Kennedy getting shot didn't count as "meaningful" was because he was a POW.)

By: homunculus

homunculus — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:10:50 -0800

Avoiding A Long, Disappointing Fall: A thorough diagnosis of what's been ailing the Obama campaign. And suggestions for a cure.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:59:27 -0800

Repeated for emphasis. It seems DaShiv is good at more than just photography. Yes. He is quite a dab hand with a rocket launcher, as well.

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:21:12 -0800

I thought, what the hey, let's open up a thread at PoliticalFilter and get this thing going. Head over there if you want to discuss / liveblog this night.

By: WCityMike

WCityMike — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:25:14 -0800

> Classy move by Senator Clinton. Classier than this? It's pretty obvious he's scratching his face with both fingers. Pause the video at about 0:07 and you see one finger slightly curved behind the other. I love a candidate who has it so together that opponents can only find this sort of reaaaaaallllllllly-reaching-for-it-and-failing stuff and stuff like OMGOMGOMG DID YOU HEAR? OBAMA'S SET DESIGNER WORKED FOR BRITNEY SPEARS! HE SHOULDN'T BE PREZ, 'CAUSE HIS SET DESIGNER WORKED FOR BRITNEY SPEARS! ROFLROFLROFL OMGOMGOMG!

By: Caduceus

Caduceus — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:32:36 -0800

Having just caught up on this thread, I clearly need to apologize to someone for my earlier comments. I'm just not quite sure who. Quonsar, I guess.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:34:11 -0800

It's pretty obvious he's scratching his face with both fingers No, not really. He was definitely giving Sen. Clinton the finger. The audience didn't cheer because he scratched his face.

By: effwerd

effwerd — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:49:47 -0800

Al Gore is just so awesome. I wanted him to bring up that bullshit "there's no real difference between Gore and Bush" and point out how wrong it was. It was something like three sentences into the speech. He doesn't need to be in the cabinet. He doesn't need to have any official role, but let's keep Gore around and in the spotlight. Please.

By: micketymoc

micketymoc — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:00:49 -0800

No, not really. He was definitely giving Sen. Clinton the finger. The audience didn't cheer because he scratched his face. Well, sure, if you define "the finger" as two fingers. Exhibit A - same speech, different angle. OMGOMGOMG IF YOU REALLY LOOK AT HILLARY CLINTON'S BODY LANGUAGE SHE WASN'T ACTUALLY ENDORSING OBAMA!!! LOLROXORZZZ

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:04:24 -0800

I was sitting there watching when Obama supposedly flipped Clinton the bird. It was pretty obvious from where I was sitting that it was two fingers, but it was also obvious that a lot of people in the audience misinterpreted it as an obscene gesture. But it clearly wasn't.

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:09:02 -0800

WTF is with the “X totally flipped the bird while on stage” meme anyway? Seems like everyone gets it sooner or later. Do people really think that peoples who’s careers hang on not doing crazy shit on camera would do that, to the point where it's the most likely explanation of any hand-in-face-area action, over and above, say, the scratching of an itch?

By: Artw

Artw — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:09:32 -0800

Possibly he was flipping teh Vs though, now taht would have been cool. Sadly not plausible.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:15:43 -0800

It was pretty obvious from where I was sitting that it was two fingers, but it was also obvious that a lot of people in the audience misinterpreted it as an obscene gesture. If a lot of people saw him give her the middle finger, he did. To deny it is like saying, well you're not really happy, you just THINK you're happy. There's no difference.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:16:00 -0800

WTF is with the “X totally flipped the bird while on stage” meme anyway? People love drama.

By: Brian B.

Brian B. — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:19:56 -0800

Well, sure, if you define "the finger" as two fingers. Exhibit A - same speech, different angle. Here's a different angle on video (1:26).

By: Marisa Stole the Precious Thing

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:20:39 -0800

If a lot of people saw him give her the middle finger, he did. To deny it is like saying, well you're not really happy, you just THINK you're happy. There's no difference. Apart from, you know, empirical evidence. A lot of people believe the world is flat, too.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:21:34 -0800

If a lot of people saw him give her the middle finger, he did. What? A lot of people claim to have seen Bigfoot, too.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:25:16 -0800

Or, to use a more pertinent example, some of the dead-ender Hillary supporters are convinced that she didn't really endorse Obama because she wore an orange pantsuit Tuesday night, and the color was a secret signal to them. It doesn't matter how many of those nutjubs believe it, it doesn't make it so.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:28:10 -0800

I just don't believe anyone can watch that video and say, no, he's not giving her the middle finger. I see, with my own eyes, him giving her the finger. Are people watching the same videos, or are they just letting their love of Obama overtake their senses?

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:30:23 -0800

Have a look. Someone's seeing what they want to see, but it's not me.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:32:29 -0800

Really, TPS? An elegant, intelligent man using such a crude gesture on camera?

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:32:56 -0800

That freeze-frame picture is not a full representation of the movement. That's why we use video and not photos to make sports calls.

By: maudlin

maudlin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:35:23 -0800

What I get from that video: 1) Obama is a grownup. 2) Some of the people watching him aren't. That doesn't mean that the audience gets to warp reality. He didn't intend to give her the finger. The video and photo evidence shows that he didn't give her the finger. Deal.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:35:44 -0800

Or, if you want, here's a better-quality video and a picture. There's clearly two fingers.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:36:04 -0800

Really, TPS? An elegant, intelligent man using such a crude gesture on camera? THERE IT IS! Thank you! Finally, someone says what I think anyone who says he didn't do it is thinking. "Obama? He would never do that! He's so elegant and intelligent! I like him so much! I won't believe he could do such a thing, even if there's video that proves it." I feel better, thank you, Brandon Blatcher. I should say, of course, that it doesn't really matter in the end. I told my mother I hated her when I was 13, too, but that's not a full representation of our relationship, or of the way I treat people I love and respect (I hope!)

By: ten pounds of inedita

ten pounds of inedita — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:39:43 -0800

The people who think that Obama was flipping the bird (he obviously wasn't) strike me as being particularly shrill.

By: Rhaomi

Rhaomi — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:41:40 -0800

Here's the frame by frame. It's quite obviously two fingers. Looking at that image, some small part of me believes that a multicolored version of it will one day hang in a museum as a Warhol-esque pop-art statement on the utter inanity of early 21st-century American politics.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:43:56 -0800

It has nothing to do with my opinion of Obama, it has to do with the fact that I can see with my own two eyes that he's not flipping her off. I can appreciate that you don't like him, and you apparently need to believe that he's capable of something like this to justify your dislike of him, but it's just not true.

By: Brian B.

Brian B. — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:45:16 -0800

or are they just letting their love of Obama overtake their senses? Also known as denial (and often displayed by attacking the messenger).

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:47:38 -0800

Finally, someone says what I think anyone who says he didn't do it is thinking There's that and I saw the video too.

By: shiu mai baby

shiu mai baby — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:47:55 -0800

I'm so, so glad that an absent-minded hand gesture from a campaign stop four months ago merits such an intense debate, because these are the things that matter ever so much in the grand scheme of this election. Way to keep the focus on the crucial stuff, y'all.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:47:58 -0800

kkvkkkb,blkjb

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:48:13 -0800

oops

By: Marisa Stole the Precious Thing

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:48:58 -0800

Can we get some 9-11 Truthers in here to lend some even-handed, rational POV to this discussion?

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:49:09 -0800

Great, now we have Obamatards and Clintards infecting MeFi.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:49:34 -0800

Are people watching the same videos, or are they just letting their love of Obama overtake their senses? THERE IT IS! Thank you! Finally, someone says what I think anyone who says he didn't do it is thinking. Also known as denial (and often displayed by attacking the messenger). Noted without comment.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:54:07 -0800

kkvkkkb,blkjb How DARE you say that Obama!

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:54:28 -0800

um, about Obama.

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:55:29 -0800

Nice save. You almost outed him there.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:55:51 -0800

If a lot of people saw him give her the middle finger, he did. To deny it is like saying, well you're not really happy, you just THINK you're happy. There's no difference. Wow, that's completely insane.

By: Brian B.

Brian B. — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:57:43 -0800

Really, TPS? An elegant, intelligent man using such a crude gesture on camera? Maybe it was just a holdover gesture from his chainsmoking days.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:02:14 -0800

Avoiding A Long, Disappointing Fall: A thorough diagnosis of what's been ailing the Obama campaign. And suggestions for a cure. Yawn. Everyone online is whining about how Obama doesn't hit McCain hard enough, just like they whined about how he didn't hit Hillary hard enough. Well, he kicked Hillary's ass, and the purpose of the campaign isn't to answer each insult tit-for-tat and hurt the other guy's feelings, it's to win. Scoring points against McCain and pissing him off and making people dislike him -- with no regard to how much it makes them dislike you, is not actually what counts in the end.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:14:23 -0800

In this texty internet era, and particularly at places like Metafilter, people have developed the idea that words have a power of their own, some kind of sympathetic magic that gives them a life independant of who uses them and where, and this kind of totemistic thinking reigns out there in TV News land as well. The things you say reflect as much on who you are, what kind of person you are, as they have any autonomous power to slay dragons. It is very encouraging to me that the Obama campaign seems to be aware of this and, thus far, is making at least some attempt to cut through bullshit, and avoid the kind of simpleminded perversion of language into a thud-dullard utilitatian tool to achieve the goal at any cost. It's something we've clearly gotten very used to, and depends on the stupidity and short memories of the audience to be effective, and is an insult to both the listener and the speaker. The geedy idiot scum that runs CNN (and whatever other TV news outlet you want to name) wishes to avoid this kind of change at any cost, because they thrive on conflict, and manufacture it if it's not there. They fucking love stuff like swiftboating, and because that kind of thing and the language it requires feeds their voracious appetite for fake conflict and short-term thinking, they are destroying what's left of informed level-headed participation in the democratic process.

By: stavrosthewonderchicken

stavrosthewonderchicken — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:14:56 -0800

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:23:22 -0800

"America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this."

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:39:27 -0800

What stravros said. I am Canadian and young enough to still remember what real news media was like. Radio like As It Happens, where a couple of tough broads¹ call up bad people in power and kick their asses over the telephone. I don't know how the hell they manage to get people to talk to them, but they do, and they ask direct, pressing questions, very candid. The internet can be rather like that, if one cares to look for less-biased media and reality-based online communities. One of the side-effects of pervasive public network communication is the expansion of the monkey tribe, not in size but in location. There are, for instance, people on MetaFilter who I feel I know and can trust who live in all Asia. People who are muslim, people who are freaky Christian, people who are wiser Christians, atheists, Buddhists. People who are of every skin colour. People who aren't homosexual, but omnisexual. And all of whom are living damn decent lives of minimally harming others. Good people. So it's pretty hard to reconcile what I know from "on the ground" with what I hear from the mass public media, the commercial media. When someone comes along who asks the blunt questions, ferrets out the real truth, demands accountability, then I'm suddenly all ears. I'm pretty sure I belone to a large and largely unserviced target market. ¹actually, and IMO, they sound like complete foxes. I heart the AIH duo. Sexy-voiced, tough women with pure hearts and powerful questions! They don't take shit from powerful men who are acting like assholes! Woot!

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:42:57 -0800

He's laying out a pretty ambitious agenda here. It's going to have the GOP shrieking about "tax-and-spend!" but I think it's a good idea to take a confident stance out of the gate.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:57:44 -0800

That retractable podium is pretty badass.

By: Rhaomi

Rhaomi — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:01:02 -0800

Less than a minute into Fox's post-speech reaction and already host Brit Hume has referred to him as "Barack Oba-- er, Barack Hussein Obama".

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:01:55 -0800

It's just not a proper party without a balloon drop :-(

By: yhbc

yhbc — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:02:36 -0800

Great speech. They really should have played Green Day's "American Idiot" at the end, though, instead of that country stuff. No, of course they couldn't have. But wouldn't it have been great?!? Almost as cool as surreptiously flipping off your opponent while scratching your cheek - which you also couldn't really do, because it would be childish and inappropriate.

By: Balonious Assault

Balonious Assault — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:04:10 -0800

I bet they wish those misfired streamers were retractable.

By: Rhaomi

Rhaomi — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:05:52 -0800

Also, what the hell was with that orchestra music? It kept alternating oddly between glorious triumph and creepy end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it foreboding.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:12:36 -0800

It kept alternating oddly between glorious triumph and creepy end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it foreboding. Obama is Senator Palpatine?

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:13:25 -0800

Also, what the hell was with that orchestra music? Seriously! Scared me half to death.

By: Rhaomi

Rhaomi — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:25:05 -0800

You keep hearing all this talk about late-night comedians being unable or just afraid to make fun of Obama effectively, but I just flipped over to the Daily Show and they nailed it. I won't spoil much -- you really should catch the full clip when it shows up on thedailyshow.com soon -- but let's just say that any fake Obama biopic that begins with a blazing African sunrise and "The Circle of Life" will be very, very good, indeed.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:27:25 -0800

The Daily Show nails everybody, god bless'em.

By: kliuless

kliuless — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:42:34 -0800

so this is it? this is the thread we've been waiting for? and it's us?

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:44:10 -0800

::waves flag::

By: Caduceus

Caduceus — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:45:29 -0800

so this is it? this is the thread we've been waiting for? and it's us? That, Time magazine's person of the year 2006, and soylent green.

By: the_bone

the_bone — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:47:55 -0800

I liked the orchestra music; it was like Aaron Copland meets Morten Lauridsen.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:58:48 -0800

GET OFF MY LAWNS!!!

By: EarBucket

EarBucket — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:05:44 -0800

Good lord. Even Pat Buchanan loved the speech.

By: lenny70

lenny70 — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:15:59 -0800

Pat Buchanan Loved Obama's Convention Speech [YouTube] Keith Olbermann: "We had to stop Pat Buchanan gushing over Obama's speech for the sake of time. Perhaps that will tell you the story better than anything else we can say."

By: saulgoodman

saulgoodman — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:52:44 -0800

Great speech. Holy shit was that a speech. It would be a shame if it doesn't end up with its own FPP. I know there have already been a lot of posts (like this one) on the various significant convention events, but DAMN! On the other hand, I can already imagine where the level of discourse would end up... I've never felt so fired up and--dammit, here's that tricky word again--inspired by a speech in my life. Whether Obama can deliver on the ideals he appeals to or not, he actually seems to believe in them. And he genuinely seems to want to deliver on those ideals. Maybe he's just an incredibly good actor/orator, but there were at least a few unmistakable moments of unguarded sincerity and real conviction in that speech. It's a sad statement, but it feels like a shock to the system to see even a moment of real conviction these days. And he touched on those particular ideals that to me have always seemed most fundamental--and yet (under Bush) most overlooked--in the American national character: That sense that America is a shared ideal that's both collectively and individually-oriented at the same time. These days, you'd think it's a law of nature that everyone's got to be either a radical, competition-fixated survivalist or a scheming pinko communist welfare queen. I've never seen any Republican, much less one among the current crop of clowns, deliver a speech like that. Not even close.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:57:51 -0800

That was one of the funniest TDSes in ages. I am so pleased that with the election of a more rational government¹, they won't run out of cynicism and spite. ¹I'm not counting chickens 'till they hatch. Obama seems like Christ Come Again, but I ain't gonna be convinced until he proves it. But at least he's a step in the right direction. wtf, mefi? Live preview shows a proper small subscript 1. Dead preview shows the entity name. I haven't teh foggiest notion what the website proper will show. Let's find out!

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:58:40 -0800

yah, it shows garbage. sigh.

By: kid ichorous

kid ichorous — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:10:08 -0800

I've never seen any Republican, much less one among the current crop of clowns, deliver a speech like that. Not even close. In case you missed it, Jim Leech's "Four Great Debates" speech from day one of the DNC.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:02:26 -0800

five fresh fish:¹ ¹You need to use angle brackets with your "sup" (just like with i, b, etc.).

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:57:13 -0800

That'd be <small><sup&gt, which is a PITA. ¹ is a character entity and should result in a superscript small 1 in most typefaces. ¹ displays correctly in live preview; try it out. I'm not sure why MeFi would be stripping character entities. What's the point?

By: languagehat

languagehat — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:15:02 -0800

That'd be <small><sup&gt, which is a PITA. No, just <sup> before and </sup> after. No "small" needed, and no big PITA.

By: ericb

ericb — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:43:10 -0800

I just flipped over to the Daily Show and they nailed it. Here's the clip.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:29:29 -0800

I was hoping he'd start his speech by saying 'My fellow Americans...pardon me whil I whip it out!' but it wasn't to be. I bet it's occured to him, though.

By: ericb

ericb — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:34:04 -0800

Obama's speech seen by 38 million viewers

"Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention was seen by more than 38 million people. Nielsen Media Research said more people watched Obama speak than watched the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final 'American Idol' or the Academy Awards this year. Obama talked before a live audience of 80,000 people in Denver. His TV audience nearly doubled the amount of people who watched John Kerry accept the Democratic nomination to run against President Bush four years ago. Kerry's speech was seen by just over 20 million people. Obama's audience might be higher, since Nielsen didn't have an estimate for how many people watched Obama on PBS or C-SPAN Thursday night."

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:41:13 -0800

38 million is only 1/10th the US population. But I guess since this is just the Democratic convention, and not the real election, that's okay.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:09:58 -0800

McCain’s Pick May Foster Bigger Campaign Role for Clinton

By: scody

scody — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:58:10 -0800

Howard Wolfson: A Clintonite in Denver:

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. Progress in America is never cheap, and even today history exacts a price for Obama's victory -- the dreams of electing the first female president, the dreams of so many who rushed toward Hillary Clinton on rope lines across America and refused to give up her hand and their hopes. Today these dreams are giving way to another kind of progress. For me, the presidential campaign began in a crowded Iowa hall, where I saw a man my age lift up a daughter around my daughter's age and tell her that one day she could be president. Last week things came nearly full circle, when I saw another man my age lift up another child and say the very same thing.

By: FlyingMonkey

FlyingMonkey — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:56:50 -0800

First, the population of the United States is believed to be only a bit over 305M, so 38M is roughly 1 in 8. In 2004, only a bit over 122M people voted for all candidates. 38M would be just under 1/3 this number, and is well over half the number of people who voted for either Kerry or Bush.