Presidential Politics

I don't have nor ever have had cable/dish/pay tv. Even if I did, I think it's very different to stand NEXT to the POTUS and say those things.
It does paint our country in the great light of liberty and freedom to be able to do that, though. Try that in any other country. Not only is it nervously funny, at times, it's nice to see it CAN be exercised.
Now, I have since heard that POTUS himself had some good zingers, as well. (Via BBC world service news while I have been out raking mulch) Also funny.

You can see everything on the internet. Yeah, that was all good. Daring for the president to joking about eating dog. Disarming.

Yeah, though I've mixed feelings about the "boy eat dog" joke, knowing that he's being forced to make light of what was a (certainly relatively) rough childhood.

It wasn't bad! I was fixated on how the structure was so "1950s standup", where it's one zinger after another -- the comics I watch today all, I realized, have added so much more narrative.

The mention at the end of Tony Shadid and other murdered journalists was really classy and touching, and not talked about nearly enough.

The puppy video was fun, though the gold standard is still the Clinton "Final Days": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi39UO57LHw

ddt

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/30/stephen-king-tax-me-for-f-s-sake.html

Après moi le déluge.

Gay marriage? Yes we can...

Wow. I guess Obama's realised all the Christians already think he's the great satan so he may as well shore up the rainbow vote instead.

There was a beautiful rainbow here today. Not sure about it's preferences.

DPBD!

Yo, ddt.

It's not just republicans that are rednecks in the south apparently...

Oh, Tony, you have no idea how wild and insular some parts of West Virginia have always been. There were pockets of people living there who didn't know of electricity until recent decades. If someone says they're from West Virginia, it's almost expected to ask about their inbreeding.

ddt

Ah, much like northern Queensland then...

Oh, is _that_ where you live? (rimshot)

ddt

So that John Denver "Country Road" song has some double entendres then?

"West Virginia, mountain mama..." ??

More on West Virginia from people who'd know (maybe not about WV specifically, but about elections).

And in other news:

"Democrats countered that throwing billions of dollars at a missile defense system plagued by failures made no sense, especially when the threat from the two nations is highly uncertain and many in Washington are demanding fiscal discipline.

This "would be spending up to $5 billion in the next three years on a missile defense system that doesn't work," said Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., who offered an amendment to eliminate the project from the GOP-backed bill.

The chief proponent of constructing the site, Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, said, "We need to proceed with missile defense whether this president wants to or not."" -- from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57431781/house-panel-oks-more-defense-money-than-requested/

Ladies and gentlemen, your party of fiscal responsibility and deficit cutting!

ddt

DPBD:

This turned into a larger chart than I'd anticipated! And I'm sure it's not at all comprehensive. On the other hand, it doesn't show scale (that is, this is out of how many advisors there are in total).

ddt

Is that different from any other administration? Panetta, Emanuel, Hilary, Podesta, Daley, Orszag, etc.

Well -- I admit that there sounds like 10% troll to 90% serious question there -- there is some case to be made that many administrations want to have some continuity aside from the permanent government structure, true (though your examples are picked from over a few years, not from the "brain trust" forming incoming policies).

The point is that the presence of George W. has been shot down the memory hole in this election cycle so far, with even the right proclaiming that he was awful, terrible, nogood. But how, in the absence of actual policy discussion, take an informed guess as to what policies would be in place in a putative Romney administration? The best fact-based evidence is looking at who is setting it, who is advising it. So, if you want to know what kind of policies Romney would have in place -- that's where you look.

In other news, A equals A... equals death!

ddt

This is very trivial, but I just can't imagine Dubya saying this line:

Quote

"He is tough. It is a rare man who can be that tough on the field and also have his own line of underwear. David Beckham is that man," Obama joked.

[edit] If you watch ddt's youtube link, make sure you watch to the end for the thriller parody/tribute...

Quote
ddt
But how, in the absence of actual policy discussion, take an informed guess as to what policies would be in place in a putative Romney administration?

By following the money trail.

Nice to see the GOP focus on the policies...

Swiftboat, anyone?

Now that corporations can contribute as much as they want anonymously to Super PAC's, there are going to be some massive smear campaigns; mostly against "anti-free enterprise" candidates. Since the PAC's are prohibited from coordinating with the candidates, the candidate they support can't pull them even if he wants to. He can voice displeasure with them, and try to distance himself, as Romney seems to be doing now, but if the PAC wants to keep the campaign running it will. The only hope for their target is if they overstep what the public will accept.

I seriously believe that our presidents will be chosen by Wall Street going forward. Big money, big religion, and big defense can now field campaigns with virtually unlimited funding. And not be on record for having done so.

Corporations are not only people but, by and large, they're assholes.