Completely Unnecessary

I’m still mystified by the Palin choice.

But at least it’s clear what the Republican line is going to be.

Both Kristol and Dean Barnett out of the Standard have columns about how the left is going to try to ‘diminish’ Palin. They’re trying to get out in front of what are the obvious criticisms of Palin so they can say, “See? We knew the Left would do this!”

They’re also setting expectations low - both have comments about how she’s bound to screw up on the campaign trail - in the hopes that all she’ll have to do is turn up and bring in the Clintonistas.

Kind of reaffirms my point about her just being ‘another vagina’ when die-hard Republicans are promising stuff ups on day one.

It’d be nice to think that the Clinton holdouts are too smart for that. But given the fact that some pro-Clinton women appear set to cut off their abortion rights to spite Obama (otherwise known as cutting off your fallopian tubes to spite your face), I’m not so sure about that.

John McCain will screw you nearly as fast as you’re screwing yourselves, ladies…

Anyway, this post is supposed to be about some vice-presidential history.

Dan Savage pointed out last week that the choice of Biden vaguely resembles the selection of Lloyd Bentson for Michael Dukakis’s 1988 run against G.H.W. Bush. Bentson was a witty, Washtgton insider - a choice designed to prop up the young, dashing man at the top of the ticket.

And, wow, what a depressing electoral map that produced. (Eclipsed only by 1984’s abysmal results…)

Here’s hoping Obama doesn’t get into any tanks in the next two months.

I think Biden’s a bit better than that - again, I can’t wait to see that debate. (Bentson’s opponent in the veep debate was, of course, Dan Quayle, to whom Palin is already being compared.)

Biden is ridiculously charismatic in a way that I think Bentson was not. (Truth be told, I’m not based that on much aside from my complete lack of knowledge about Lloyd Bentson. I looked up that election because I couldn’t remember who was on the ticket with Dukakis.)

Biden also lives in the YouTube era, where videos like these exist:

And I have to back up Ezra Klein’s support for Biden for this gem alone (this is Klein’s quote followed by the clip video he posted):

Giuliani, of course, took umbrage, and said Biden lacked foreign policy experience. This led to my favorite YouTube of the campaign, in which Biden dismantles Giuliani, live on television, while walking to his car. [emphasis original]

I laugh out loud every time I see Biden’s face at the end of that.

I’m coming around on the Biden choice, especially versus Palin.

Anyway, this is mostly a post to get rid of some of the links I’ve had hanging around in my browser. [Going to finish the clean up job with some hysteria/sexing up over at The Age tomorrow morning - and then I can close Firefox!]

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They consist of capers, Bacardi Gold (god love you, Shawn), Michael Clayton (maybe, haven’t watched it yet), and George Orwell. They are all I’m doing tonight, and for a good portion of tomorrow.

And sleep.

Everyone always jokes about the grad school lifestyle - we’re always so tired, ha ha ha. It’s funny because it’s not really true. Grad school isn’t that hard. Mostly we drink at the Corkman a lot.

But for the last two weeks, I have lived the dream. Violeta had a question while we were coding today, and I laid down on the floor while we rehashed whether or not ‘boat people’ counted as members of the public (or some such thing). I fell asleep and missed half the question. Then I fell asleep at the desk timing John Howard speaking, stopwatch in hand.

So then I did that for about six more hours and then worked on things that were due yesterday for another four. One drink at the bar pretty much sufficed.

This weekend = no study, no gender, and certainly no goddamn media theory. My students are suffering - they have essays due on Monday - but I am taking the weekend off on their behalf. My bear blanket has never looked so good.

I’m a history loser, so my free time will be spent rereading Homage to Catalonia (which, if you haven’t read, is amazing - George Orwell fought in the Spanish Civil War), but I plan on doing nothing productive.

Nothing.

For those of you who read this blog for news - and I seriously question your judgment - here’s a remake of Clinton’s 3am ad at which my spiteful and mean sense of humor (or perhaps fatigue) had me crying with laughter today:

I still really like the ’something’s happening in the world,’ but also wonder who on Earth at MSNBC taped her for so long?

Video via Wonkette

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• Russian TV Explains the Pennsylvania Primary

This clip has everything!

• American voters condescendingly explaining to a foreigner that both Democratic nominees can’t win the nomination! (0:11)
• The Russian reporter implying that our country might devolve into a second Civil War! (0:30)
• Voters calling Clinton a bitch and imitaing that horrible face the press is always publishing her making! (1:00)
• Voters having trouble negotiating the voting booth drapery! (1:20)
• A grumpy lady in a loud blazer who just. can’t. walk. away… (1:30)
• Political kitch collecting in your basement (just like my uncle)! (1:48)
• A white woman and a black man described as ‘unusual people!’ (2:10)
• The Bill Clinton memorabilia you’d hoped never to see (2:19)
• Clinton writhing going on and on and on (2:30)

Enjoy (except the last bit, which might make your eyes bleed…) :

Via GoogleNews

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I was sure this headline on TPM was going to be a joke:

Hillary Unveils Another 3 A.M. Ad, This One On The Economy

I mean, after the last one got raked over the coals, the Clinton campaign wouldn’t pull that out again. The video clearly linked to some SNL sketch. Right?

Right?

Erlgegh.

Firstly, how many homes are foreclosing at 3am? An economic crisis usually builds over time (see: American economy for the last number of years). If Clinton is only called after the straw breaks the camel’s back, that’s not a good sign.

But let’s not leave out the bad production values! The shots of the worried parents are clearly blue-hued stock footage of daytime scenes. And check out the older man in the middle shot; he doesn’t even look perturbed, let alone exhausted because he’s been at this for hours.

Finally, listen to the horns over the ‘approval’ message. Is that the Olympics theme?

When did this start the slide into farce? I really don’t remember anymore…

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Kind of speaks for itself. Video and text below:

Full transcript [NYT]

After the jump, some screenshots of CNN’s ticker missing the point: (more…)

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That’s the title I’m going with, since I already used interwebs speak earlier today.

I totally failed this test; see how you do:

via SLOG

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And he responded in just about the best possible (and worst for her) fashion.

Not only did he do the ‘…but I’m in first place’ line, but he also asked why Clinton would want him as veep if she feels he’s inexperienced:

Now, they have been spending the last two, three weeks — you remember that advertisement with the phone call, telling everybody, getting all the generals to say well we’re not sure he’s ready, “I’m ready on day one, he may not be ready yet.”

But I don’t understand. If I’m not ready, how is it that you think I should be such a great vice president? Do you understand that?

TPM Election Central has the full transcript, as well as the video, which I’m posting below. It’s worth a watch - the man is good.

In other news: Oh, Spitzy…

Update: The Swamp is reporting that Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson has told reporters that Clinton views Obama as unqualified to be veep:

Later, Wolfson added that what Clinton views as Obama’s failure to pass that test would disqualify him as a vice presidential pick, since a vice president must be prepared to step into the presidency at a moment’s notice.

“Sen. Clinton will not choose any candidate who has not at the time of choosing passed the national security threshold, period,” Wolfson said.

But, he added, she wouldn’t rule it out if Obama picks up enough readiness between now and the Convention.

To recap:

Hillary Clinton, 5 March: a joint ticket ‘may be where this headed.’

Bill Clinton, 8 March: a Clinton-Obama ticket would be ‘an almost unstoppable force.’

Barack Obama, 10 March: If I’m so unqualified, why do you want me as veep?

Howard Wolfson, 10 March: Obama is unqualified and is not being considered. (Unless, of course, he crests some undefined readiness threshold in the next four-odd months.)

What? If everyone from the Clinton camp could just stop talking and take a day to regroup that’d be awesome.

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I don’t know, but I can tell you that it appears black America is ready for a not-Bush president:

A recent CBS News poll showed 83 percent of African-American respondents said the Iraq invasion was a mistake. In addition, the president’s approval rating has hit rock-bottom with black voters at about 9 percent, according to a 2006 Pew Research Center poll.

Nine percent. Ouch. Good thing George Bush doesn’t care about black people.

Aww, the search for that link brought up a YouTube link to the clip. I have to post it - Mike Myers’ face followed by the cut to the unprepared Chris Tucker were two of my favorite things that happened in 2005.

Katrina, of course, being my least favorite.

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I have mixed feelings about the recent spate of Brian Williams-related comedy on television. There’s the ‘Giant Head of Brian Williams’ that’s been featured on The Daily Show; he participated in Steven Colbert’s ‘Wrist Strong’; he was on Conan recently.

Williams seems like a funny, personable guy, so it’s a shame to see him stuck behind the newscaster desk all the time. And our standard of actual gravitas versus Stone Phillips has kind of fallen by the wayside anyway, so… what’s the harm? Well, I think there is some harm in it - a kind of acceptance of the infotainment character our news has taken on, but… look, I have an interview in 20 minutes so we’ll have to leave my issues behind and move to the meat. Or as fake Joe Biden would say on this week’s SNL - the ‘beef’.

Stuck as I am in the antipodes, we no gets the Saturday Night Live. It’s Sunday afternoon by then anyway. So what I saw of Williams’ appearance is based solely on these soon-to-be-removed YouTube clips.

Firstly, I actually really like the Bond-style Nightly News intro, especially the part where he punches the Earth.

There were, unsurprisingly, a number of primary/debate sketches (including an appearance by Obama). I was actually really happy with the line SNL took on the media’s coverage of the debates. Here’s the video, but I’ve transcribed the parts I like below, as well:

Williams: Incidentally, this arrangement was all determined by the drawing of lots except for Senator Clinton who we’re deliberately placing in the center since all of us in the media want her to be the nominee.
…
Now gentlemen, I’m afraid I have to run. I have a 15-minute pre-debate interview with Senator Clinton. We’re going to ask her about her plans for her first 100 days in office. I wish you all good luck tonight, although we, again, in the media have pretty much made up our minds to go with Senator Clinton. See you in a few minutes.

Funny and true. Credit to Williams for being willing to participate so heavily in self-deprecation regarding… well, his entire profession.

Vaguely Related

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So my rant just below about the hubbub surrounding the Moveon/Limbaugh thing got picked up by two sites yesterday - The Moderate Voice and a right wing site that thinks Muslims have a 20-year plan to take over America.

To both of them I say: Huh?

While I’m flattered, the only reason why any readers you directed my way yesterday didn’t get a youtube link to John Cusack holding a Peter Gabriel-spewing boombox was because I was too lazy to post last night.

I presume that since I’m generally awake late enough in Oz to read and write about early morning US news, I got bumped early into the technorati queue. I have no other explanation for not one, but two sources noting my writing as of interest. The right wing site had me listed just after ThinkProgress. Okay!

To celebrate my impending blogosphere-wide notoriety, I am going to provide you with what you all missed last night.

This clip comes with a very special note to every heterosexual male on Earth: if she grew up in the 80s, any woman you’ve ever dated wants this to happen at some point in her life.

Finally, to any readers conservative enough to believe that Muslims will take over America, please enjoy this link my previous post about full moon sex dreams.

Confidential to Spree - I deleted your comment because I initially thought it was spam. While I think you missed the point of my post (among other things), in the interest of free speech, I’ll approve it if you re-submit.

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