Sideshow Countdown

Which of these stories will be promoted from manic blogospheric obsession to the traditional media daily rundown?

1. 75-year-old Rep. John Murtha, a supporter of Hillary Clinton's, says that John McCain is a good guy but is just too darn aged to be president. Clinton disagrees with his comments.

2. One of those disgruntled Pennsylvanians featured in Hillary Clinton's ad on Barack Obama's fundraiser comments is registered to vote in New Jersey.

3. In good company: Michelle Obama riffs on how all of their -- meaning her and husbands' friends -- are lawyers.

Comments

That's a no brainer. It's #3 because it fits perfectly into the media's developing theme that Obama is an out of touch elitist.

Posted by Ron | April 16, 2008 11:51 AM

I am curious...why is Obama's wife fair game for sideshows, but McCain's wife is not.

Everything Michelle Obama says is parsed and criticized.

But a beer heiress who stole a husband, had a drug problem, and lifted recipes from the food network gets a fraction of the critical coverage of Michelle Obama.

Why is that, Media?

I am not saying we should be dragging Cindy McCain through the gutter, but why is it ok to drag Michelle Obama through it, but not Cindy?

Posted by RKA | April 16, 2008 11:59 AM

I doubt it will gain traction, but #2 is actually kinda' funny.

Posted by LFC | April 16, 2008 11:59 AM

so the point of the video is that if you are truly working class you can't later become a lawyer? is that your point Marc? She did grow up in the south side of Chicago to working class parents and then she became a lawyer. I guess that makes her 'out of touch'. You pundits keep flogging this story even if it went nowhere.

Posted by lfo | April 16, 2008 12:02 PM

It could get traction if they play it right. Something like, "Senator Clinton was going to hire a Pennsylvanian for it, but decided to ship that job out of state."

Posted by Tel | April 16, 2008 12:04 PM

I don't even understand #3.
The first part (95%) of the video, she says "We have been succesful but I am not forgetting where I come from"
Second part - way super edited btw - says "We are lawyers".
How is that contradictory ?

And I agree on Cindy McCain. I am totally OK with respecting her privacy but then Michelle should be off-limits too. It goes both ways and they won't win that comparison. GUARANTEE you

Posted by Benjamin | April 16, 2008 12:04 PM

1. Already on MSNBC

2. Probably will get a mention on Countdown or Abrams

3. So what? I bet all your friends are media people, all the Clintons friends seem to be billionaires and the McCains own 8 (or more) homes. I wonder who their friends are.

Marc, you continue to make yourself look like a tool. So I am beginning to think that there is probably an underlying truth there.

Posted by bubba | April 16, 2008 12:12 PM

If you are out campaigning, you are essentially a spokesperson for your spouse. That goes for Michelle, Bill, and Cindy. And to some degree, that makes you fair game, particularly for anything you say or do during the campaign.

Posted by LFC | April 16, 2008 12:13 PM

1. Already on MSNBC

2. Probably will get a mention on Countdown or Abrams

3. So what? I bet all your friends are media people, all the Clintons friends seem to be billionaires and the McCains own 8 (or more) homes. I wonder who their friends are.

Marc, you continue to make yourself look like a tool. So I am beginning to think that there is probably an underlying truth there. You talk about "sideshows" like you are not a participant in it at all.

Posted by bubba | April 16, 2008 12:14 PM

I'm a lawyer who grew up on the south side of Chicago and who was raised by a single-mom. Most of my friends work in my field. I'm not sure why that's a problem.

However, as spouses are fair game I want to see that elitist, drug theif, mistress then wife, Cindy McCain, dragged around the blogosphere and TV.

Or will she get donuts and a standing ovation too?

Posted by Jay | April 16, 2008 12:26 PM

I'm a lawyer who grew up on the south side of Chicago and who was raised by a single-mom. Most of my friends work in my field. I'm not sure why that's a problem.

However, as spouses are fair game I want to see that elitist, drug thief, mistress then wife, Cindy McCain, dragged around the blogosphere and TV.

Or will she get donuts and a standing ovation too?

Posted by Jay | April 16, 2008 12:26 PM

#3 has VIDEO! so that will get play on Cable because its VIDEO!

#2 should be ho-hum: New Jersey and Pennsylvania are right next to each other, in the same media market, so that's not that big a deal, imho.

#1 is the most significant in terms of actually meaning something about the Presidency. Murtha is refreshing in his opinions, and I disagree with many of them (d.g., his Clinton endorsement), but his opinions matter to a bunch of people and for him to mention age as a legitimate concern is telling.

Posted by Beth in VA | April 16, 2008 12:43 PM

All Michelle Obama said was that she and Obama are lawyers. This doesn't take away the fact that they grew up in a working-class neighborhood, only later to become lawyers. And why can't lawyers be working-class? Most lawyers make around the median-income and work very long hours.

Posted by michael | April 16, 2008 12:57 PM

I'm not sure why #1 is supposed to be scandalous or not a fair topic.

Anyone who works in the cognitive sciences will tell you that after 60-65, most people's cognitive functioning becomes impaired when compared to people who are younger. It is not a myth or an untrue stereotype.

Can anyone say, specifically, that John McCain suffers from cognitive decline? - No. There are older adults who do not experience cognitive decline. That does not change the fact that the vast majority do.

I am less concerned with John McCain's heart and blood pressure than I am with his frontal lobe functioning.

Posted by John B. | April 16, 2008 12:57 PM

The third video doesn't have much of a punchline. The hillary supporter thing is not a big deal. The McCain thing is something lots of people think and McCain seems like he's not at the height of his powers.

Posted by Michael Foody | April 16, 2008 1:12 PM

The third video doesn't have much of a punchline. The hillary supporter thing is not a big deal. The McCain thing is something lots of people think and McCain seems like he's not at the height of his powers.

Posted by Michael Foody | April 16, 2008 1:13 PM

I'm gonna have to go with #3, because it's video. Though there's video of Murtha too I imagine.

Posted by neil | April 16, 2008 1:14 PM

I suspect that Ordinary Voters, not being the retards the media takes them for, will have little trouble understanding that Michelle Obama's statement is not literally accurate or intended to be.

Posted by Brendan | April 16, 2008 1:24 PM

Shame on you Marc, you cut off Michelle in mid sentence when she was joking about her and Barack being a lawyer because the salary could pay off their student loans. And this was after she was talking about college kids who cant afford to become teachers or nurses because their college debts are too high. You are still trying to tag Obama with being elite. That dog don't hunt and this is the most deplorable of yellow journalism. Let the woman finish her sentence. No one can have a thoughtful conversation in America anymore with out the media slicing and dicing to make them fit the narrative they are pushing. If you want to continue this go to fantasy land Hollywood and become a film editior. Because I thought journalism is supposed to have some semblance of truth in it.

Posted by sonya | April 16, 2008 1:51 PM

However, as spouses are fair game I want to see that elitist, drug thief, mistress then wife, Cindy McCain, dragged around the blogosphere and TV.

Democratic spouses are fair game, not all spouses. Hillary Clinton, Theresa Kerry and Michelle Obama are fair game. Cindy McCain, who began an affair with a married John McCain, who is many years her senior, was addicted to drugs and stole money from a charity to support her habit.

The media? Not a friggin' word about it. Think they'd talk about it if Michelle Obama had stolen money from a charity to buy drugs?

Posted by Pug | April 16, 2008 1:52 PM

I, too, am interested in why #3 is of such interest to you, while McCain's embezzling, pill popping, other woman who became the trophy wife, gets no play from you.

They're digging into Michelle Obama's college thesis, but why no stories about Mrs. McCain's stealing of drugs?

Huh?

Posted by rikyrah | April 16, 2008 1:53 PM

#4: Bill Clinton dissing younger voters when he says older voters are wise enough to see through Obama...

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/04/bill_clinton_ol.html

Yeah, like the media's really gonna pick up on that one....

Posted by DairyStateDad | April 16, 2008 2:02 PM

Can anyone say, specifically, that John McCain suffers from cognitive decline? - No.

Yes. Just look at his "grasp" on Iraq, THE topic that he is supposed to know inside and out and better than just about anybody. He blew the Sunni vs. Shiite issues 3 times. He was publicly corrected by Lieberman. And his campaign took hits over it. So how did he react? He screwed it up a FOURTH TIME at the Petraeus hearing! (Yes, he did correct himself this time, but he should be looooong past this problem.)

Next, when asked about moving troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, he said he'd listen to the advice of Gen. Petraeus. Just one little problem. Petraeus ISN'T THE COMMANDER IN CHARGE OF THAT! He's only in charge of troops in Iraq. Petraeus would not give advice on that matter. You'd think a supposed military expert would know the difference.

Let's not forget his famous walk through the Baghdad market, which he proclaimed as "safe" after touring it with 100 armed troops and 5 helicopters providing air cover. (Over 20 people were murdered there the next day in reprisal, but he kept saying it was "safe".)

Finally, I watched McCain give an interview. He blinked like a blinded owl the whole time. He snickered at the wrong times, like when asked about American casualties in Iraq.

So I'll say it. John McCain suffers from cognitive decline. Badly.

Posted by LFC | April 16, 2008 2:02 PM

Considering the manic obsession the traditional media has had with "bittergate", as against its almost-complete blackout of the story that President Bush and high-level officials held detailed WH meetings planning and authorizing systematic torture in violation of the Constitution and international law, I think it's absurd to call a story that has made it from the blogosphere to the traditional media as being "promoted".

Posted by south side | April 16, 2008 2:07 PM

#2 should be ho-hum: New Jersey and Pennsylvania are right next to each other, in the same media market, so that's not that big a deal, imho.

Well, he has lived his entire life in Somerville, NJ (which is a NYC bedroom community). He was not living in Camden or something. So that takes out the whole media market theory. Particularly since the only shared media market is the Philly-Camden market which is in eastern PA. The whole "bittergate" thing is a potential problem for western PA.

Here is a bit more info about this guy.

Clyde Thomas, who sports a goatee in the ad and says, “the good people of Pennsylvania deserve a lot better than what Barack Obama said,” is actually registered in New Jersey. He voted there for Clinton Feb. 5. He only recently moved to Bethlehem, Pa.

“It shouldn’t be a big deal. I explained it to the campaign,” Thomas said in an interview.

Link

Posted by Bubba | April 16, 2008 3:15 PM

And I agree on Cindy McCain. I am totally OK with respecting her privacy but then Michelle should be off-limits too. It goes both ways and they won't win that comparison. GUARANTEE you
Posted by Benjamin

There is a pack of assholes, that you and Jay typify, that want to attack candidates through univolved family members. You fail to see, or pretend to fail to see the distinction between kids and spouses left in a traditional family role and spouses like Hillary, Theresa, Michelle Obama, and Elisabeth Edwards that are active senior campaign officials. Romneys 5 sons actively campaigned and were scrutinized by the press. But his wife Ann kept the traditional spouses role and was given the traditional "hands odd". Same with Huckabee's wife. But, I'd add Chelsea Clinton and her campus rallies to someone that is now outside the "Leave my univolved family members outside criticizing ME!" agreement the politicians and media generally follow.

In MIchelle Obama's case, she is listed as senior campaign policy advisor, holds her own policy rallies in front of crowds. She is on TV regularly as spinmeister and advocate for Barack Obama's positions. She has authority over staff. Elisabeth Edwards served as Campaign Manager. Richardson's wife, on the other hand, was in the background and voluntarily limited, as Cindy McCain and McCains grown sons have been - to applause and statements of support for her man.

They're digging into Michelle Obama's college thesis, but why no stories about Mrs. McCain's stealing of drugs?
Huh?
Posted by rikyrah

Because assholes cannot make the distinction between a family member who has not joined the fray - and someone serving as a high official and official senior advisor and registered fundraiser in the Barack Obama campaign??

Posted by Chris Ford | April 16, 2008 5:10 PM

Hey obama crybabies,
The reason cindy mac Cain is not under a microscope right now is because her husband sewed up his nomination.
Our democrats are still actively contesting theirs.
And you never tire of saying that bill is an issue, that bill's work and involvement must be more closely examined so it is hysterically contrary of you to whine that barack's spouse is getting listened to.
Plus as much as I hate macCain and his wife, she hasn't said and done the dumb things obama's wife has said into a microphone so far.
another choice you have is to grow up and stop whining.

Posted by Michael C. | April 16, 2008 6:09 PM