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Jun 14 2009

I thought we were rid of Palin

Published by japadamus under politics, Bob Loblaw

If you’ve watched TV at all this week you’ve probably heard of the big controversy over David Letterman’s comments about Sarah Palin’s daughter. The line in question: "There was one awkward moment during the seventh inning stretch. Her (Palin’s) daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."

The problem was, Palin was at the Yankee’s game with her 14 year old daughter.

Palin immediately went on the offensive, calling on Letterman to apologize to women across the country, pointing to Letterman as a contributor to sexual offenses in the United States, and even implying that her 14 year old daughter is not safe around Letterman.

Letterman to his credit, issued an apology on his show (below). He also clarified that he was talking about Palin’s older daughter Bristol, not the 14 year old Willow.

Still, Palin has milked this controversy for all it’s worth, participating in several interviews where she bashed Letterman. Although Dave apologized and is trying to make this issue go away…to, you know, protect Palin’s children…Palin continues to push the issue. To me it’s clear that this whole controversy is just another way for her to stretch her 15 minutes of fame…and no surprise, she’s doing it again by exploiting her kids.

But lets get a few things clear here first:

1. Letterman has already said he was talking about Bristol, not Willow. Sure, Palin was at the game with Willow, but guess what, no one looks that closely. It makes perfect sense to me that Letterman assumed that Palin was with Bristol, the daughter Palin has been dragging across the country ever since she was announced as the GOP VP candidate. Letterman clarified his point, and that should be that. Further arguments by Palin suggesting that Letterman was talking about Willow are just an attempt to stretch this whole thing out longer.

2. Palin pushed Bristol into the media to begin with, so she shouldn’t be surprised that she’s taking hits. It’s sickening to me how Palin uses her family for PR points. She marched Bristol on stage for teen pregnancy campaigns, and she milked her retarded kid for all it was worth. But the truth is that Bristol conveniently broke up her with fiancée after the campaign, making her just another irresponsible teenage whore. That’s what the joke was about, and that’s what Bristol deserves – she gotta take the bad with the good, that’s how the media works. If you can’t handle it THEN KEEP YOUR FUCKING KIDS OFF STAGE.

3. This whole episode highlights how Palin is not qualified at all to be the VP, much less the President. Palin threw fuel into the fire, even after Letterman apologized, then rudely snubbed his offer to appear on the Late Show – even suggesting that Letterman is himself a danger to kids. That is not what a political figure should do in times of controversy. Imagine if Palin threw a bitch fest like this in the time of a foreign relations crisis?

4. The better line would be, “There was one awkward moment during the seventh inning stretch when A-Rod fucked Trig Pallin. We all know A-Rod loves to fuck retards.”

Quite frankly this whole situation really irks me bad. I get why Letterman apologized, but I don’t think he needs to. He made a funny joke about Palin’s adult daughter getting irresponsibly fucked because Bristol was irresponsibly fucking someone in high school and didn’t have the brains to use any protection. End of story.

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Mar 21 2009

Obama hates retarded kids

Published by japadamus under politics

So, a sitting president on the tonight show? Not such a good idea afterall. I mean, late night TV is just not really a great forum for such a high profile public figure. On one hand you have to explain serious stuff like the economy…but on the other you feel kind of obligated to be funny and interesting – something you wouldn’t have to be on say, MSNBC.

President Obama appeared on the Tonight Show w/ Leno on Thursday, and he…well…fucked up. Referring to his poor bowling, Obama said, ‘”It was like special olympics or something.”

Well, first of all, the analogy makes sense. I imagine retarded kids being a mess at a bowling alley. Like, just sliding all over the slick floor and throwing the ball in the wrong lane. I mean, Obama is actually painting a pretty good picture there for me.

But although the analogy works, it was a tough one for Obama to use. And I don’t know why he did it. Maybe he was trying too hard to be funny. Maybe he got caught up in the banter. The best part is where Jay realizes what the president just said, then breaks his laugh-at-the-president’s-bad-bowling shtick, stutters a couple times and for a split second he stares and the president while his face goes blank.

Of course now you have public outrage, while Obama backtracks like crazy. Although things will blow over in a couple weeks, this was really a dumb situation for Obama to get into…and it was totally unnecessary too. I mean, only a couple million people watch the Tonight Show every night…but now tens of millions know Obama hates retarded kids.

The video is below.

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Feb 12 2009

Obama more Bammer ?

Published by japadamus under Barack Obama

Is it just me or does it appear that Obama is beginning to be what Republicans predicted all along: an inexperienced politico that does not have the ability to execute? Yes he speaks so well. Yes he’s willing to admit his mistakes publicly unlike his predecessor. But ultimately, he’s failing as a leader. 1. Health care reform took a big hit with Daschle dropping out of the race for HHS secretary 2. Geithner didn’t pay his taxes. 3. TARP 2 has already been panned by wall street, and the stock market sell off has begun. 4. Democrats are starting to get uppidty in congress ignoring Obama’s pledge for bipartisanship.Nothing is working. Its all talk and speeches with no action. Furthermore, what is Obama doing hanging out at Camp David already? He’s barely been in office. I thought he was all about working until the job is finished.What does this all mean? I means that although I’m still rooting for the team, I’m thinking he’s looking more bammer than bama
“We won? What did we win? Where is my OJ prize” -Chris Rock

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Jan 22 2009

The punahou president

Published by japadamus under politics

Well it’s over! The first Hawaii born president was sworn into office yesterday and now America holds it’s breath waiting for Obama to do something to stop the current economic tailspin. Are expections for Obama too high? Probably, but I guess when you run on the platform of Hope no one can blame you when things don’t end up as planned. It’s a sign of a bad economy when 2/3 writers for this blog have recently been laid off.

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Dec 17 2008

Obama Man of the Year

Published by japadamus under politics

Not surprisingly, Time Magazine selected president-elect Barack Obama as its Man of the Year for 2008. The magazine has an interesting article online that includes a number of college pictures of Obama like the one above. Check it out.

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Nov 08 2008

Secrets of the 2008 Campaign

Published by japadamus under politics

Yesterday TKFKAK pointed me towards a great newsweek series called Secrets of the 2008 Campaign. It’s a seven part series that gives you an in-depth look at the 2008 campaign for Obama, McCain and even Hillary.

The series is based on research from reporters embedded in the campaigns. The reporters had comprehensive access to the candidates, and weren’t allowed to publish their reports until after the election.

The series is unique because you get a behind-the-scenes view of the candidates. You also get insight into how decisions were made throughout the campaign.

Obama comes off pretty well in the series. Of all the candidates, Obama’s campaign seems to have been run the best. His team mostly avoided infighting, and they used technology like text messages and email to drive voting and donations.

Hillary’s campaign, on the other hand, planned poorly for the Iowa caucus, and their front runner status made them lazy. They never expected that Obama would put up the fight that he did, and this meant that they were poorly prepared for a long primary battle. More than that, Hillary’s various campaign managers didn’t get a long, and Hillary often couldn’t broker a common ground.

The series also gives some insight into the final days of the primary. Obama’s campaign refused to call on Hillary to call it quits, and Hillary was determined to make a final push for superdelegates. Even on the day of the DNC convention the Obama team wasn’t completely sure that Hillary wouldn’t make a call for a vote on the convention floor.

The background on McCain was also very interesting, particularly with regards to the selection of Sarah Pallin. This was a hail mary pass on the part of the McCain campaign, although it appears that McCain really did buy the whole Palin shtick.

What’s interesting though, is how Palin changed after she was chosen. She sent over $150k on clothes for herself and her family. One of the campaign staffers remarked about how she hit up Saks and Nieman Marcus in every city where she campaigned. She even used the credit card of a junior staffer, spending five figures on clothes in one day.

She was also very stubborn and resistant to the advice of McCain staffers. She would not appear on stage with pro-choice republicans, for example, or when she did, she wouldn’t acknowledge them. McCain staffers were also surprised at how little she knew about politics. This led to an over-prepping of Palin, which confused her. This was the case with the Couric interview.

Also, Palin was very aggressive on the road. She brought up the Ayers stuff against the advice of the McCain campaign, and engaged in rather crass attacks on Obama. Although this worked for the RNC Convention, it appears that as the campaign went on these attacks alienated undecides.

The story gives a really fascinating and exclusive view of the 2008 election. It’s lengthy – about 70 pages or so, but a good read. Check it out.

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Nov 07 2008

Punahou: 1 Every other school in Hawaii: Zero

Published by japadamus under politics, Hawaii, Punahou

Now that we all know Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States, I feel it’d be irresponsible if I forgot to mention that Obama went to none other than Punahou school – clearly the best school in the state…if not the entire world.

I mean, Punahou has a lot of things. Like, our multi-million dollar carnival every year. Did I mention we make our own mango chutney? It’s world famous chutney, by the way.

Or how about our prom. That’s yet another million dollar event, in case you’re counting. I don’t think too many schools on the island can say that.

But really, the school of the first black president of the United States of America?

Luckily Jak has already left the islands, otherwise he’d be surely be overrun with invites to ‘Punahou is better than your school’ parties. Not to mention the casual conversation with his law school friends that would inevitably end up with, “can you believe the president of the United States went to Punahou!?”

Seriously though, Obama’s Hawaii connection is kind of insane. It is hard to imagine that a kid that grew up in Hawaii actually made it to…well…the top.

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Nov 05 2008

landslide

Published by japadamus under politics

At the end, it wasn’t even close. Obama crossed the 200 electoral vote threshold before West Coast polls closed and the election was called in Obama’s favor slightly after 8pm Pacific. He will win in a landslide.

I have to say it was incredible to see Obama’s victory announcement splashed across the TV screen. It was one of those historic moments that gives you the chills.

Well, it’s been a long and very well run campaign. When Obama announced his candidacy in February 2007 he was far behind Hillary. And at many points it appeared that Hillary would pull ahead in the primary.

Even tonight as I watched Obama’s electoral votes slowly grow, it still seemed like a fluke. In fact, even when I saw the vote go past 270 votes I thought was seeing the numbers wrong on the TV at the gym.

But tonight, a huge victory for Obama that really elevates the guy into a new level of historical significance. Congrats!

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Nov 04 2008

Election eve

Published by japadamus under politics

Well folks, it’s election eve. By this time tomorrow we’ll probably know who the next president of the United States will be.

Obama looks like he’s in good shape. He has a lead of between 3 to 9%, depending on what poll you’re looking at. The undecideds, it appears, will determine who wins.

Personally, I don’t usually vote…and I’m not going to vote this time around either. Sure, it’s your right to vote, blah blah blah, but in california it doesn’t matter. Obama needs another vote in california like he needs another muslim sounding middle name.

The reality is that there are only a handful of states that are really going to come into play this election. And that’s quite depressing. You hear these assholes talking all day about politics, spouting knowledge of various policies and point/counterpoints…but guess what, the vote of someone who thinks Obama is a muslim terrorist counts just as much as the vote of a political science major. Actually, that’s not true…the vote of anyone in, say, Ohio, matters way more than the vote of someone in California - regardless about their knowledge of politics.

I’m also somewhat miffed at the push towards getting everyone to vote in this country. Look, I would venture to say many, if not most people really have a very limited knowledge of politics and political issues.

In 2000, there was much debate over people who didn’t know how to properly use a punch card voting machine. Now, I’ve used these machines since I was six and my mom would take me into the voting booth. They’re not hard to use - in fact, they’re incredibly simple.

So, why is it that people who can’t use a simple punch card voting machine should have their votes counted? You have a right to drive a car, but you still need a license to do so. Shouldn’t voters have to pass some kind of minimal knowledge test before they’re actually allowed to vote for the leader of the most powerful country in the world?

And sure, that may seem arrogant, and I am admittedly not very knowledgeable about politics. But I know a little, and if I really wanted to vote I would study the issues to the point that I would be able to make an educated choice.

Otherwise, you have people that can be easily targeted by propaganda that is clearly not accurate. Like ads that connect Obama to terrorism, for example. These are clearly not factually accurate, but if you don’t know any better and see these ads on TV, and don’t bother to educate yourself about politics, then hey, you may believe this stuff. And that is not how a democracy should work.

I mean, you hear people complain about the state of the country and how such and such candidate will harm the world and negatively influence the lives of their children, and then what do they do? What is their solution? They vote.

That’s bullshit. One vote means nothing, and if you truly believe a certain candidate will have an effect on the lives of your children then you should be doing everything within your power to change the outcome of the election. The American voting system is brilliant in that it gives people a false sense of importance, but horrible in that it allows people to think that voting itself is a means to make a difference.

It’s not.

Who do I want to win? Well, Obama of course. And although I don’t vote I donated a little money to his campaign…which in my opinion is much more valuable than a vote in california. He can use that cash in any one of the battleground states that actually matter, whereas a vote in califonia does nothing.

But I’ve heard so many interviews with anti-Obama folks that I really don’t know how unifying a figure he will be. I heard lots of ignorant, racist jokes, ‘facts’ that are clearly produced in an anti-Obama rumor mill, and just basic hate. And I won’t be surprised if that wins.

I mean, remember 2000 and then 2004? The funny thing about liberals is they will vote, and when they lose they’ll bitch about this and that. But most of them won’t really do what it takes to make a difference. I’ve heard tons of people that bitch all day about Bush, but when the election rolls around all they do is go out and vote.

Take people who believe the 2000 and 2004 elections were rigged, for example. You lose, then you claim that someone cheated, then you go out and vote again the next year. If you truly believe that the voting system is fixed then move out of the country. Or do something that will have an impact.

In any case, we’ll find out tomorrow. Good luck, Barack!

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Oct 25 2008

McCain staffer faked it

Published by japadamus under politics

Yesterday a staffer for John McCain’s campaign reported being assaulted by an Obama supporter. The girl, who is still in college, claimed a black Obama supporter also carved a ‘B’ into her face…presumably standing for ‘Barak’.

Well, the girl admitted that the whole story was a fake today. What gave it away? Well, for one, the ‘b’ written on the girl’s face was backwards…like, if you were cutting a ‘b’ into your own face while looking into the mirror.

That kind of gave it away for police, and eventually the girl caved and gave up her story. She should have just stuck with the story and said the black guy who assaulted her didn’t know the ‘b’ was backwards.

Clearly, this girl wasn’t the smartest of staffers. I wonder how she got her eyes black and blue.

McCain and Palin both called the girl to give their support. Now, well, it looks bad.

She should have just stuck with ‘o’ for obama. Even this girl couldn’t get that one backwards.

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Oct 20 2008

The real Palin on SNL

Published by japadamus under politics

For the past several weeks Tina Fey has been absolutely hilarious with her dead-on impersonations of Sarah Palin on SNL. Well, this week the real Sarah Plain actually came on the show and did a couple of skits of her own.

I’ve heard mixed reactions to Palin…most opinions I think really reflect political viewpoints that an objective dissection of her performance. One thing, I have to give her credit for showing up. I mean, SNL has been brutal to Palin over the past few weeks and it’s impressive that she actually responded by doing the show.

I suppose that is kind of McCain’s style as well. But for Palin, it’s ballsy. She’s really making the most of her 15 minutes…assuming at least, McCain loses in November. As much as I think she’s an idiot or ridiculously right wingy, I gotta give her props for showing up.

So how did she do?

Well, she didn’t really do a lot. Most of her lines were really just conversational dialogue…nothing that interesting…just really playing the ‘the actual sarah palin is here’ shtick. She also participated in a rap…well, she didn’t do any rapping herself, but she did do a bit of dancing.

It was decently funny.

You can argue that this is bad for the McCain campaign, but at the end of the day I don’t really think it’s gonna have any effect. She didn’t make any huge errors on the show, and she wasn’t sooo great that viewers would switch over to the right.

Check out the videos below:

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Oct 01 2008

Sorry Sarah

Published by japadamus under politics

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Sep 29 2008

Tina Fey returns

Published by japadamus under politics

This weekend Tina Fey reprised her role as Sarah Palin on SNL. You will remember that a couple weeks ago Fey returned to SNL with a dead on impersonation of Palin that was nothing short of absolutely hilarious. I have to say, this week’s skit was even better.

First of all, Tina Fey does a great Palin. I mean, she already looks like her and she has the voice down pat. I think it’s awesome that Fey came back to SNL for this…it actually looks like she’s really enjoying herself when she does it as well.

I have to think, though, that these skits will start to be a problem for Palin. She was flying high after her solid performance at the RNC convention. But her interview with Couric really hurt her. The interview really exposed her ignorance when it comes to US politics, and speaking in general.

I think this is a big error on McCain’s part. They have a volatile commodity with Palin, and they can’t let her get into these impromptu style interviews. Look, every network will bend over backwards to talk to Palin, so they should participate only if Palin is asked a series of softball questions that she can prepare for.

As Couric proved, Palin just doesn’t know enough to hold her own in a real interview. Her charm and charisma only go so far, after which her small town mannerisms, lack of political experience and questionable educational background are waaaay to apparent.

Which brings me back to Fey. I mean, she was brutal, but not far off the mark. When you look at some of the Bush skits that have been on SNL, most of them really exaggerate Bush’s stupidity. But I think Fey’s Palin really doesn’t deviate from reality by much…just an extra sentence here and there.

In any case, the video is below. This one is a must watch.

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Sep 27 2008

McCain vs. Obama

Published by japadamus under politics

Last night was the first presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. In anticipation I grabbed two fancy pizzas from Osteria Via Stato (Pepperoni & Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil and Fennel Pollen) and opened a bottle of Wine (Meridian Sauvignon Blanc.) My first impressions were that:

I was surprised at how lucid John McCain sounded at the beginning. He actually was able to keep up with the pace of the speeches and answered questions quickly and concisely.
I was surprised at how old Barack Obama looked. I didn’t notice it before but it seems that he has a lot more silver hair at the sides of his head. Could it be a strategy to make him look older by not dying his hair?
John McCain looked old, older than I previously remembered. His skin looked very pale and wrinkly. The combover was very apparent.

As the debate progressed some new impressions formed:

McCain really fails to answer direct questions and rebut specific statements brought up by Obama. One glaring example was when Obama declared that the McCain tax cut plan would eliminate 300MM of taxes for people in the highest income bracket and further increase taxes on Health care for everyone. McCain totally dropped Obama’s argument and again said that he wanted to eliminate 18BN of earmark spending.
Barack really doesn’t defend himself very well. McCain clearly was on the offensive several times during the debate and Barack choose to not to address the issue of his choice not to visit Afghanistan and Iraq.
Near the end of the debate McCain began to ramble like an old man. At times he was completely off topic and even started telling an anecdote about some energy bill that happened a while ago. I don’t think I was alone scratching my head trying to figure out how that story answered the moderators question.
I think the most poiniant comment Obama made was that McCain has voted for almost all of Bush’s failed policies except for a couple that McCain pointed out in his response. I think this clearly shows that while McCain was in congress he clearly towed the party line most of the time and this self titled “Maverick” images is nothing but window dressing on old Washington.

I think Barack probably won the first half of the debate, the second half that focused more on international affairs seemed more in McCain’s favor. I can’t wait to see further debates.

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Sep 14 2008