They Want Their MTV, Vacation Time, and A True Manly Man! 131 Days to Go!

Hey all, sorry about the less-than-daily posting lately; I've been quite busy, and because the level of news every day is inconsistent, I can't guarantee that there will be enough to write about every day. That being said, there's plenty to discuss here.

--> Obama campaign manager Plouffe revealed their top secret strategy today: let Bob Barr beat John McCain. Apparently, the Dems believe (and rightly so) that Barr can suck enough support from McCain in reddish states like Alaska and Georgia that Obama could make a strong play for them. They're not wrong, as I mentioned this about 2 weeks ago. Just another example of why I should be managing presidential campaigns ;-).

--> The Democratic National Convention planning is apparently not going smoothly, largely because of their efforts to make the convention the "greenest ever." Making the event green means that, among other things, the celebratory balloons will be biodegradable. Just a thought, maybe we should protect the earth by just not dropping balloons at all. Then again, I'm sure the lack of excitement at the GOP convention will do that job for us.

--> MTV, reversing its policy that has stood since its creation in 1981, has decided to accept political advertising on its stations. Obama is already planning a major buy, because we all know that what he really needs to focus on is the youth vote. Seriously, he should be running ads on TV Land, Lifetime, and CBS, not MTV and Nickelodeon - he already has the Rugrats vote in the bag.

--> Republican Senator Gordon Smith (OR), in a tough re-election fight with Jeff Merkley, decided to take the only course available to a responsible, loyal party member: pretend that John McCain doesn't exist and that he is closely aligned with Barack Obama His new TV ad demonstrates that he and Barack Obama are best friends, go fishing on weekends, and gave each other friendship bracelets with their initials on them. When McCain heard that Smith was ignoring him, he ran to his best friend and gave him a big hug (see below). If the best strategy that a Republican can come up with this year is to pretend that he's a Democrat...well... Obama fixed the situation, by releasing a statement that he actually supports Merkley.

--> Actually, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) came up with a better strategy in his new ad. In this one, Cornyn demonstrates that he should be re-elected because he drinks beer, works hard, and could probably wrestle a bear. Being completely out of sensible policy ideas, we're not surprised that Cornyn has decided to make this election a testosterone contest, trying to make Texas focus on how good his impression of a cowboy is (George Bush does a good one, too). He better thank his lucky stars that Rudy Giuliani wasn't the Republican nominee.

--> Robert Novak reports that former Secretary of State Colin Powell (R) may very well end up in Barack Obama's camp. Still bitter about his exit from the Bush Administration, and sensitive to attacks on Obama's race, Powell seems to be entertaining the idea, if not seriously considering it. That would be a huge endorsement, as there's pretty much no one with greater military credentials than Powell.

--> Senator John McCain (R-AZ), despite being immersed in the intensity of a full scale presidential race, has found the time to relax: the weekend. In fact, he has had a grand total of ONE weekend event since February 7th. Of course, we're not surprised that a 72 year-old man needs time to rest during the week. In fact, McCain has already informed reporters that, when elected, he plans on taking frequent naps during the day. He will also call the leaders of hostile nations, such as Iran and North Korea (although he will NEVER, EVER MEET WITH THEM), and urge them not to bomb us on Saturdays. Much like Monroe and Roosevelt issued official doctrines on foreign policy, the McCain Doctrine will dictate that Saturdays are "McCain's personal time." Also, the Situation Room will now be outfitted with a massage chair (thanks, Brookstone).

--> Political strategist Stephen Baldwin, while being interviewed by Fox News, stated bluntly that calling John McCain another term of George Bush is "the most stupidest thing he's ever heard." I guess Bush's grammar is infectious.