Category: politics

Change we can believe in: Charge the media to cover your events

As if spending your tax cut early wasn’t enough cash for Mr. Obama, he is charging the news media big bucks to cover his hoped-for victory celebration.
The richest campaign in history will begin to educate the nation in how Chicago rolls on election night as follows:

FishbowlLA links to a memo sent to news organizations informing them they would have to pay for credentials to Sen. Barack Obama’s Election Night celebration.
It’s not cheap, either. According to the memo, “credentials will cost $715 to $1,815,” and campaign officials “will be available only in the ‘press file’ tent, to which an additional admission fee of $935 per person is being imposed.”
Maybe they’re trying to keep out the Mayhill Fowler’s of the world? Although we’re guessing at this point Huffington Post can easily foot that bill. Regardless, charging the media to cover election night? It certainly doesn’t seem like a smart PR move.
The negative headlines are already starting to pile up. Writes Chicago Business, “The best-funded political campaign in American history says news organizations will have to pay – in some cases almost $2,000 each – if they want to cover Barack Obama’s election-night celebration in Chicago.”

You gotta pay to play, babay.

Forget designer clothes, get an Obama magnet for $10

The LA Time Blog today put voice to something I was thinking. Barack Obama broke all fundraising records in September, raising $150 million dollars and yet his campaign is still collecting $10 or more so you can get your official Obama-Biden car magnet.
Here is the email request:

Friend —
We’re facing an urgent deadline at midnight tonight.
Final decisions about our ground operation will be based on the financial resources we have on hand.
We’re too close to the finish line to fall short, and we can’t afford to look back and wish that we had done more.
Make a donation of $10 or more to own a piece of this movement before the final deadline.
Get an official Obama-Biden car magnet
car magnet
You can also choose to receive an Obama-Biden T-shirt with a donation of $30 or more:
https://donate.barackobama.com/deadlinetshirt
The race is tight, and we simply can’t slow down.
We need to keep fighting right up until the end, and your donation today will strengthen this campaign in the final push.
Thanks so much,
David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Dude, spend your tax cut now, buy a magnet or get crazy and buy a tee-shirt.

Michelle Obama likes upscale clothes too

UPDATE: 11/6/08 – Tiffany Wilson has the scoop on Michelle Obama’s election night outfit; prob about 12k. Bet the MSM are preparing stories about it right now.
Actually the whole clothing ruckus involving Sarah Palin is silly and being driven for political purposes. One of the media arms of the Obama campaign, Huffington Post admits as much here:

Beyond the political tit-for-tat, however, the revelation of the clothing expenditures offers what some Democrats see as a chance not just to win several news cycles during the campaign’s waning days but to severely damage Palin’s image as a small-town, ‘Joe Six-Pack’ American.
“It shows that Palin ain’t like the rest of us,” Tom Matzzie, a Democratic strategist told the Huffington Post, when asked how the party would or could use the issue. “It can help deflate her cultural populism with the Republican base. The plumber’s wife doesn’t go to Nieman’s or Saks.”

The footnote to this story that is not being widely reported is the clothes do not belong to Palin and will be given to charity who will probably get thousands in post-election auctions. Furthermore, some news reports suggest that hair styling and make up may be a part of the tab. Palin is under constant scrutiny and probably had little in the way of stylish clothes prior to taking on the VP nomination.
It turns out that Michelle Obama likes pricey clothes as well and has her own favorite designer. One of the dresses Mrs. Obama wore during the Democratic National Convention listed for around $900 and another for about $1500. And of course, Cindy McCain gets the prize with six-figure outfits.
I am aware that Michelle Obama has worn dresses during the campaign costing about $150, but then again Sarah Palin used to shop second-hand.
With dresses costing over $1000 a pop, with accessories and makeup and all that, a six-figure budget might in the ball park for Mrs. O. Where is the big time press scrutiny over that vital tidbit of information?
And I can’t believe this is even relevant to the national press.
If we are going to get into fitness for office based on money spent for appearances and stagecraft, let’s talk how much it cost to rent those Greek columns, etc. for the Obama’s acceptance speech.

CNN refuses to acknowledge mistake in Palin interview

Big media deal today; CNN’s Drew Griffin misquoted a National Review article as follows:

He seems to have misinterpreted Byron York’s statements on Palin. York said:

Watching press coverage of the Republican candidate for vice president, it’s sometimes hard to decide whether Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt, backward or – well, all of the above.

York was referring to press coverage of Palin and not offering a negative assessment.
Watching Greta Van Susteren tonight, I see that CNN has not offered a correction. O’Reilly says he asked CNN how they were going to handle it and he got nothing from them. Van Susteren was pretty miffed about it and said so on her blog.