September 2008

Regarding the recent statements by Howard Gutman, making the kinds of attacks that Barack Obama has personally disavowed, Obama broke his word. Typically, there has been no consequences. In fact, as Jim Geraghy notes, this has been a pattern:

No sign that Gutman has departed the Obama campaign. In fact, we’re getting a rerun of something we saw earlier this year. Whenever we saw an Obama surrogate — say, Wes Clark, George McGovern, Jay Rockefeller, Tom Harkin, Democratic congressional candidate Bill Gillespie, Ed Schultz or Tony McPeak — attacking John McCain’s war record, the response was always the same – a short, curt, pro forma "we disapprove" statement from a spokesman, with no real consequences for the surrogate who stepped out of line.

We really have to start pressuring this guy to keep his word on this stuff. There is something profoundly fraudulent about his claims of a new kind of politics, pre-emptively denouncing this stuff, and then doing nothing when it acually happens.

In the case of Gutman, the appropriate response is clear. Minimally, he should remove Gutman from the Finance Committee and from any formal role in the campaign. If he were serious about any of this, he would give back some or all of Gutman’s money.

But Obama isn’t serious about his commitments. So it won’t happen.

Their reporters are ashamed, so why aren’t they?

Yesterday, I noticed these very strange first two
paragraphs of a Politico story:

The liberal blogosphere was abuzz Friday with
news that a friend of Sarah and Todd Palin had tried to seal his
divorce records.

Surely, the Netroots speculated, that friend must be the
unnamed business partner whom this week’s edition of the National
Enquirer alleges — without proof so far — was romantically
linked to Palin. The McCain campaign’s characterization of the
story as a “vicious lie” seemed to only fuel more speculation.

The reporter makes explicit that he (or at least they. The they
of the media and the Politico) are being driven by the netroots. At
least the Politico is self-conscious enough (or post-modern enough)
to admit its role in the farce. He goes on to note:

Those who couldn’t make it to the Palmer courthouse in person
were out of luck for much of Friday, since the court’s website
crashed from all the traffic directed to it by a link on Andrew
Sullivan’s blog.

It couldn’t be clearer that the media is not being driven by the
responsible lefty news outlets like Talking Points Memo, but by the
delusional crazies like DailyKos and FireDogLake (and, now, sadly
Andrew Sullivan, once a serious person).

In that context, Diane
West quotes Steve Schmidt in the Washington Times

Mr. Schmidt said. “Many reporters have called the campaign and
have apologized for asking the questions and said, `Our editors are
making us do this, and I am ashamed.'”

These are the same editors that are signing off on stories, and
probably encouraging them, like Vogle’s. It is clear who to blame
both for the irresponsible coverage and the self-destruction of the
media’s credibility.

At this rate, they will continue to destroy themselves and elect
John McCain and Sarah Palin. In a twisted, way I think, “bless
their hearts.” They’ll defeat themselves and Barack Obama. Two
birds with one stone.

 Today, the a twist of fate delivered a great softball to John McCain. Jack Abramoff was sentenced to 4 years in prison. What do the speechwriters add to the speech?

"I brought change to Washington. I exposed the corrupt Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. I helped put a figure of the Washington establishment in prison. That’s change."

I just sat down with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell today. I asked him what the message coming out of the very short conclusion of Congressional action this fall. The key thing is that there will be two actions. The Democrats will abdicate their responsibility to pass appropriations bill and just pass a Continuing Resolution.

The second will be an energy bill. This is not a bad issue for Republicans. In fact, it is an outstanding issue. "Drill Here, Drill Now" seems to have hit a significant nerve for the American people. That will be the significant political fight of the month. That’s old news.

But consider this idea from Marc Ambinder:

Sarah Palin is, quite simply, the celebrity of September. Interest in her will be enormous. Just as Democrats painted on Barack Obama’s blank canvass in January and February of 2007, Republicans and independents will get the chance to fill in their view of Gov. Palin. She’s the new thing. The object of curiosity. The press and the larger media will obsess over her and her family and her life. 

 If Palin talks about energy for the next month, an area that she knows extremely well. So the dominant Congressional political issue happens to converge with her strongest issue both in terms of subject expertise and narrative.

And who will she be attacking? Congressional Democrats.

She will move the ball on the issue in Congress. She will move the ball on the politics surrounding Congress. And she will demonstrate expertise on an issue critical to her narrative.

Trifecta.

NYT: We don’t need no stinking balance

Today’s New York Times has a story about Sarah Palin’s critics
in Alaska. These are the “facts” that they use in the story:

• They quote the guy she beat for Mayor of Wasilia.
• They quote a Democratic city council member who says that Palin
  did something but doesn’t corroborate. The person who could have
  corroborated refused to comment.
• They note a guy who she fired and who sued and lost his lawsuit
  over wrongful termination.

In other words, they interview people she beat. Funny. They
don’t like her. Politics ain’t beanbag. I suspect that Barack Obama
knows that too.

The only person they quote who isn’t directly hostile because
they lost a political battle to her is her Deputy Mayor who just
seems to punt.

Now, this is a woman with astronomical approval ratings. Don’t
you think that the New York Times could find at least one person
who would defend her? I mean… She won a primary for Governor
based, in part, on her record in Wasilia. They could have tried, at
least, right?

Give me a break. This isn’t news. This isn’t honest. This is
just the New York Times in full attack mode. And the “newspaper of
record” should be ashamed of itself for publishing it. And William
Yardley should be ashamed for writing it.