If Obama Had 2 Days Like This

In the past 48 hours the following has happened.

1.  John McCain spoke at a company which unlawfully and intentionally failed to pay its workers the prevailing minimum wage.

2.  John McCain admits he doesn't know the price of gas.

3.  John McCain puts up an ad which has a price almost $2 a gallon below the national average.

4.  One of McCain's top fundraisers, John Lindner, supports unrepentant terrorists.

5.  John McCain's camp swiftboats Wesley Clark by claiming Clark said things he never said all while having his surrogates and talk radio show minions attack Clark's service.

But where's are the networks and major newspapers?

David Broder of the Washington Post writes, "Throughout the primary Obama had trouble with white, rural, blue collar voters yet today he speaks at the anti-union, anti-worker, Worth Company.  This was a major tactical error by the Obama campaign, indicative of naivity that questions his experience and readiness as president."

Rupert Murdoch's NY Post's headline reads "Obama Gives Middle Finger To Workers."

Sean Hannity - Barack Obama is associated with an unrepetant terrorist John Lindner.  He's a phony, he lacks judgment, he can't be trusted.  (Repeat some version thereof for next 3 hours)

Charlie Gibson - Obama and elitism.  A major presidential candidate doesn't know the price of gas.  Good evening, I'm Charlie Gibson.  We begin tonight with a major blunder by the Obama campaign and I bring in George Stephanopolous.  George, Doesn't Obama's failure to know the price of gas play into the elitism charges?

Katie Couric - Another Obama scandal, another lobbyist, and terrorism.  Welcome to the Evening News with Katie Couric.

Bill Schneider - Obama not knowing the price of gas is really going to hurt him with working class voters, voters he had trouble winning in the primaries.

New York Times - "Gas Price Gate"  Obama doesn't know the price of gas.  Page 2 - "Obama and the Terrorist, An Inside Look."

Rush Limbaugh - You know uh this guy just, doesn't have a clue.  Doesn't know the price of gas?

Brian Williams - Obama and workers.  More trouble for Obama.  We begin tonight in Pipersville, Pennsylvania ...

But what will the corporate shills talk about today?  Probably anything but the truth on McCain.

•  and more people get their news from the internet

  because??????

  by davefromqueens on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:17:09 AM PDT

  •  I know. I know. Call me

    More people get their news from the internet because they're dizzy from shaking their heads after watching TV news and saying, "WTF?".  They're tired of feeling like they walked into the last 15 minutes of a 3 hour movie and everyone else can make sense of the ending because they know more then you do.  Their tired of watching reports about events that they actually have some knowledge of and not seeing anything that is true, as opposed to an approximation of truth, being reported.

    How am I doing so far?

    by real world chick on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:35:48 AM PDT

  •  Perhaps that is why

    so many people are on the internet blogging, trying their damnedest to report the real NEWS. After watching all the filth and bile the pundits spin for our consumption. I cannot drink that smoothie.

    by KingmanActivist on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:38:56 AM PDT

  •  Now I know you watch the news.

    Because sounds exactly like Brian Williams.
    I even heard his voice doing it.

    Brian Williams - Obama and workers.  More trouble for Obama.  We begin tonight in Pipersville, Pennsylvania ...

    And, here we go!
    Our stoopid press in action.
    But at least people would rather butter their corn with Barack.
    BUT, as you you see, Barack has a problem with white barbequers.
    I'm sure you'll be hearing about that any moment now.
    Seriously. You will.

    Barack eats all the salsa dip when no one is looking.

    In a contest of who would be the more popular guest at a summer barbecue, Barack Obama beats John McCain by 52 percent to 45 percent, according to an Associated Press/Yahoo! News poll just released.

    As the AP puts it in their report today, "People would rather barbecue burgers with Barack than munch meats with McCain."

    Obama was the more popular candidate for a barbecue invitation among women, minorities and younger voters. Men were divided between the candidates. McCain was the more popular choice among white voters and older voters.

    by Christin on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:42:56 AM PDT

    •  Yes I confess

      that in the past I have watched them all.

      I have a knack for impersonations (some are good, I do a perfect GW Bush Sr., a slightly better than avg. Dubya,)

      So I simply remember their lines and styles and  adjusted accordingly.

      I was going to be cuter with Broder but didn't have a thesaurus handy like he does when he pretends he has a bigger vocabulary than he actually does.

      by davefromqueens on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:45:30 AM PDT

      •  They should hire you as the MC at the

        netroots thing then.
        or as the entertainment.

        by Christin on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:48:44 AM PDT

        •  Everytime I hear

          the dubya "hehehe" I cannot help but laugh.

          by KingmanActivist on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:50:49 AM PDT

          •  you now - McCain's is not that much

            different.
            If anything, it sounds even more painful.
            it looks like his face is going to break in half.
            dubya is such a confused paper clip, that he's really laughing.
            at his own joke.
            McCain looks and sounds like he's utterly constipated.

            by Christin on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:53:44 AM PDT

    •  OMG - I thought you made this up!

      Wouldn't McCain be the more popular invitee because he'd bring all the free beer?

      by eXtina on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 08:34:05 PM PDT

•  They know who butters their bread

  and it's not their audiences.

  by oldjohnbrown on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:18:30 AM PDT

•  The netroots has dropped

  it's media vetting fuction and is gazing lovingly in the mirror.  Four months out from an election.  You just can't make this stuff up.

  by GN1927 on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:23:45 AM PDT

  •  We used to be on this shit

    like flies to sandpaper.  Hopefully, within the next few days we can snap out of this navel-gazing funk.

    by HariSeldon on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:41:49 AM PDT

    •  We used to be on it better.

      Because we were smaller.
      Now every PUMA, deadender, Republican, Obama hating troll found it's way here and is dragging down  the site with billions upon billions of pixals that pollute the water around here.  

      by Christin on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:45:18 AM PDT

      •  And they're taking it to his site too

        With people angry over FISA unwittingly giving an opening to all manner of saboteur.  This is really disappointing.

        by GN1927 on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:46:05 AM PDT

        •  It's been a long long long long eight

          months, don't you think GN?
          just loooooonnnnnnngggg.
          then again, I feel like that Iowa primary was two days ago.
          but you know what i mean by looooooonnnnnnng.

          by Christin on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:51:41 AM PDT

          •  And I have a feeling these

            next four months are going to be off the chain.  The GOP knows how to play the left like a fiddle.  It's about to get ugly because the Obama campaign are no chumps!  :-)  

            by GN1927 on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:01:03 AM PDT

            •  yeah. (insert sigh here please)

              my nephews seem to smoke a lot of some green leafy looking stuff.
              i'm this close to reliving my yewts and asking them for a kilo and a half.
              this way, i can laugh and post comments like this:

              dfu dfuweurgj adiui s99ub *948398@@??
              WTF? us9r8 u 9wwewyrtgt dfiabb;ejiutu&&**#*@ ?

              from now until November and be all relaxed about it.

              by Christin on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:19:56 AM PDT

              •  LOL, Christin you are always a trip! n/t

                by GN1927 on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:20:28 AM PDT

                •  p.s. I will send you some too. you will need it.

                  by Christin on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:29:17 AM PDT

    •  Seriously, we used to be all over it

      Blogs are never better than when cynically critiquing the traditional media.  These days, several bloggers are more interested in becoming the story than analyzing it.  I want to give a collective "snap out of it."

      by GN1927 on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:45:20 AM PDT

•  Price of gas story is false.

  John McCain was asked how much he paid the last time he bought gas, and didn't know how much he paid at the time.

  He didn't say that he doesn't know how much gas costs now.

  by Eric J in MN on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:26:11 AM PDT

  •  On

    Countdown last night, Keith had a current screenshot from McCain's website showing a sale with a price of about $2.55.  Just sayin...

    by tcdup on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:41:08 AM PDT

    •  1.9 gallons for $480 or something

      McCain couldn't do the division.

      by davefromqueens on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:42:02 AM PDT

      •  1.9 gallons for $480 is

        about where we're heading.  I give it another couple months.

        by Ex Real Republican on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:49:31 AM PDT

      •  Limbaugh

        dave, hate to go off topic here, but I'm genuinely interested in your reaction to the Limbaugh news posted on Drudge today:

        LIMBAUGH SIGNS THROUGH 2016; $400 MILLION DEAL SHATTERS BROADCAST RECORDS

        Wed Jul 02 2008 09:02:18 ET
        **Exclusive**

        The American broadcast industry is rocked, realigned and blasted into a new orbit, yet again, by Rush Limbaugh, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

        In what is being described as an unprecedented radio contract, Limbaugh will keep his syndicated show on-the-air and e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e through 2016 with CLEAR CHANNEL and PREMIERE RADIO.

        Already host of the most lucrative hours since radio's inception, Limbaugh's total package is valued north of $400 million, according to media insiders.

        The NEW YORK TIMES will claim this weekend that Limbaugh, marking 20 years this summer as a national host, has secured a 9-figure signing bonus for the new deal, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE.

        This was leaked as part of the New York Times profile of Limbaugh this week.  Say what you will about Rush, but he's spot on (and hilarious) in commenting about O'Reilly in the interview:

        At dinner the night before, Bill O’Reilly’s name came up, and Limbaugh expressed his opinion of the Fox cable king. He hadn’t been sure at the time that he wanted it on the record. But on second thought, "somebody’s got to say it," he told me. "The man is Ted Baxter."

        You might be interested to know that Limbaugh is also quite critical of Sean Hannity.

        Genuinely interested in your thoughts on all this, considering your interest in RW radio figures. A diary perhaps?

        by BraveheartDC on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:14:13 AM PDT

        •  No diary but general comment

          Talk radio can at times be entertaining.

          There are bands that get tens of millions of fans to see their concerts.  Authors who get millions of people to read their books.  Tv talk show hosts (Oprah) who attract millions.

          As for the genre of conservative talk radio/entertainment,  Rush Limbaugh, despite my political differences with him, is very good at what he does and attracts an audience.

          It's about markets and if he can get 2-3% of the people in a market to listen to his show, his show will make money.  (Same with Hannity)

          Maybe the 2016 is a subconscious concession that Limbaugh expects Obama to be President the next 8 years and conservative talk show hosts tend to do better when a Democrat is in the office.  Then again, maybe I am overreading the date and it has nothing to do with it.

          by davefromqueens on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 01:25:50 PM PDT

          •  Fair Analysis

            As I've told you before, I'm no fan of O'Reilly or Hannity.  O'Reilly is indeed just a Ted Baxter, and the few times I've heard Hannity's show I just found it to be repetitive.  I don't think either of them (particularly Hannity) are "evil", I just find them kind of boring.

            Limbaugh, who I have listened to on and off over the years, is in class by himself, and is the best at what he does (I respect anyone who excels at their profession, whatever it may be).   I also think Limbaugh is more of a "conservative" and Hannity is more of a "Republican" if that makes sense.  Most liberals I know who can's stand Hannity, O'Reilly, Savage, Beck or Levin actually enjoy listening to Rush, and despite thier political differences actually...gasp...like him.

            I'm curious as to what you think of this phenomenon?

            You really should write a comprehensive diary on the state of talk radio...I'd be interested in reading it.

            by BraveheartDC on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 01:45:43 PM PDT

            •  analyzing further

              I'd say about 10% of Limbaugh's audience is liberal.

              It is not uncommon to like something which on the surface goes against what a person should or should not like.

              For example, I have read over 35 books between the late Robert Ludlum and the very Republican Tom Clancy.  There's very little that is liberal about a Tom Clancy novel; however I enjoy those kinds of books.

              I think it's possible to just like things because of its entertainment value.  Ronald Reagan was a big fan of the Cosby show.  There were conservatives who loved All In The Family even though that show did a lot to make our cultural more liberal.

              I also will not listen to a talk radio show if it's not interesting or entertaining.  I love Al Franken as a person but his show was unlistenable to me so if I was in the mood for talk radio and had the choice btw Franken and Limbaugh, I actually turned on LImbaugh. (Rarely was I in the car btw. 12 and 3 but there were times I were.)

              As for Hannity and O'Reilly, I find them helpful in that both of them in the end turn people off from their ideology b/c of how they come across.

              by davefromqueens on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 03:40:36 PM PDT

    •  The picture on the website must be a month old nt

      by eXtina on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 08:40:56 PM PDT

•  McCain's media barbecues are paying off.

  Even I wouldn't be trashing a guy if I had attended his barbecue last weekend.  Bad manners.

  by Greasy Grant on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:28:07 AM PDT

•  when did Obama say he didn't know price of gas?

  he talked about high gas prices at the event here in Michigan.  Is this snark, WTF

  by gaspare on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:29:57 AM PDT

  •  If Obama Had 2 Days Like This /

    by Junah on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:31:36 AM PDT

  •  Yes, this is news to me. Link?

    by Dave G on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:45:05 AM PDT

    •  Topic of diary is

      IF Obama had done what McCain has, and what the media reaction would be.

      by Ted Falconi on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:08:04 AM PDT

•  McCain can do no wrong

  according to FNC, and CNN follows suit. MSNBC is only slightly better, where Keith O. asks some real questions of the McCain campaign, but most of the others refuse to read the NEWS. Cable news has become the daily pundit TALK SHOW circuit. Journalism is twitching in the last of it's death throws. Research is dead, rumors be praised.
   

  by KingmanActivist on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:34:49 AM PDT

  •  What surprises me is how open they are ...

    ... about their bias for McCain. In the past several days, I've seen, heard, or read at least three MSM reporters flat-out admit that most journalists are in the tank for the Rethuglican candidate and must struggle daily to cover him with the same skepticism that they automatically use WRT Obama.

    That by itself is fairly astonishing. And then they wonder why their readers/viewers tune them out.

    Somewhere, A.J. Liebling weeps ... because the press really did used to be more about afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted.

    by philimus on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:41:44 AM PDT

•  At some point the media will realize

  that Obama's gonna win, AND that they're gonna want access to him during his presidency.

  At that point they're gonna have to make a ginormous pivot in their coverage, the comedy value of which alone will be priceless.

  I can't wait.

  by Clyde the Cat on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:38:11 AM PDT

  •  I'm not so sure. The MSM never gave Clinton ...

    ... a honeymoon, even after he was re-elected. Somehow, power only matters to them if it's in the hands of Rethuglicans. Dems are the Rodney Dangerfields of politics. They can't get no respect even when they're elected president.

    Oh well, screw the press corps(e). When we start governing for the people again, instead of just the corporations, most Americans will believe the evidence of their own lying eyes before they do Katie Couric and company.

    by philimus on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:45:31 AM PDT

•  This was unexpected?

  Al Gore never had two days like this in the whole 2000 election cycle. Ditto Kerry, 2004. Bill Clinton never had two days like this in 16 years.

  This is not news. But we are so much better off these days. We have numerous watchdog groups like mediamatters and thinkprogress, relatively friendly outlets like AAR and MSNBC, an incredibly well-funded candidate.

  And for once, our candidate WILL have days like this. Has had. But of course, that was before he was for certain our candidate. Now they can't be nice any more.

  by brainiacamor on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:39:23 AM PDT

  •  Thanks to Obama's fundraising, the campaign's ads

    will reach a much broader audience than the dwindling numbers that still watch the nightly "news".

    Keep contributing people.  It matters.

    by Clyde the Cat on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:56:52 AM PDT

    •  the importance of the TV news is that

      It permeates the general consciousness. The Web is pull; TV, because of its ubiquity, is push. And Fox sets the agenda and the other kids follow suit. So that's how we get Findlay OH and places like it.

      However, here's a little trick I've been doing since the Clinton impeachment days. When I'm out getting lunch, getting my hair cut, in a store, whatever, and I see Fox on, then when I'm at the cash register forking over my money I ask them if they will change the channel. In a bar, I'll ask for ESPN; if ESPN is on, I'll ask for ESPN2 (or ESPNX+1, whatever). If in a restaurant or retail I'll ask for MSNBC (it used to be CNN, but now MSNBC might actually have Olbermann or Abrams on). If in a place like Best Buy you might actually have to explain that Fox offends you. Hell, if they watch the Simpsons, TDS, or Letterman, they'll understand.

      I've had people refuse me and depending on the circumstances I've said, "I understand", shrugged, or walked out. This happens very rarely.

      Try it.

      by brainiacamor on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:04:10 AM PDT

•  you are so 'wright'!

  by wuod kwatch on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 09:50:40 AM PDT

•  So what if McCain didn't pay property taxes

  in SD for the past 4 years!  We will be hearing for several weeks about how Barack Obama got a shady deal on his opulent elitist mansion - REZKO REZKO REZKO!  The omission of the facts that Obama's deal was a mere .3% below the average rate, and completely ordinary under the circumstances, will be fairly balanced by not a single mention of McCain's teeny tiny property tax blooper on only one of his many, many homes.

  by Ted Falconi on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:05:34 AM PDT

  •  Indeed

    Obama's corrupt California real estate agent

    special deals

    can't be trusted

    an elitist with 7 homes

    aloof

    liberal snob

    But with McCain, not a peep.

    by davefromqueens on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:47:28 AM PDT

•  Obama is interesting. McCain isn't.

  So the MSM continues to manufacture 'controversies' about Obama, because they SELL. Obama can appear in public with the top shirt button undone, and it's news. McCain could dance naked on the roof of his Straight Talk Express, and no one would care.

  by AxmxZ on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:11:01 AM PDT

•  Hell, I don't know the price of gas

  until I pass by a station.One day it is higher, next day it goes down pennies, then goes back up a dime the next day. Guess that makes me an elitist too.

  We are trying to elect a president, not Cliff Claven.

  by pwrmac5 on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:41:45 AM PDT

  •  a ballpark figure

    Yes it changes everyday but you would think given the circumstances he would have a clue.

    8 homes McCain is an elitist.

    I have no reason to call you such.

    by davefromqueens on Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 10:48:32 AM PDT