A new documentary about White House reporting legend Helen Thomas was screened this week at the National Press Club in D.C., and will air on HBO in mid-August.  It is titled: "Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House," and was directed by Rory Kennedy, daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy.

Thomas, 87, missed the showing on Wednesday night because she is still recovering from an illness that has sidelined her since May -- and is likely to keep her off the job until at least Labor Day.

"The movie is a fantastic narrative of Helen's fantastic career," Charles Lewis, Washington bureau chief for Hearst Newspapers, where Thomas has written a column since 2000, told my E&P colleague Joe Strupp today. "It is rich in history, rich in humor and the press's relationship with the White House."
*
Greg Mitchell's new book is So Wrong for So Long:  How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President  -- Failed on Iraq.  He is editor of Editor & Publisher.

Soon Obama will be back on American soil.  Clearly his overseas trip has been a great success.  Many Americans are learning what we already know--Obama will make a great President and has the judgment necessary to be a great Commander and Chief.  Now what?

No doubt the Obama campaign will shift focus quickly back to domestic issues.  I look forward to seeing Obama discussing energy, healthcare, et cetera.  It would be great to see him with leaders from the party on focusing on these issues.  

I for one think that this would be a great time for him to one of the big guns---Bill Clinton.  I would love to see Bill and Obama on a stage at a rally in a swing state showing with great potential, like Virginia or Indiana (my original thought was actually New Mexico--but no doubt that would lead to press discussions of Richardson and the Judas comment, which would just be a distraction for the talking heads).  I think this needs to happen before the convention, and possibly before Obama announces his VP (Bill probably doesn't want to share the stage with anyone).

more
 

Summary: A recipe for revelation...

First:
Yesterday afternoon, I watch as Cenk Uygur lays out his theory about how, for John McCain, the invasion of Afghanistan practically never happened.

Next:
Yesterday evening, I watch as Keith Olbermann tries to wrap his mind around John McCain's claim that George Bush basically lied about the Surge and began it before asking for it to even be considered by Congress and the American people.

Finally:
Yesterday night, I make the mistake of thinking about politics while I'm trying to go to sleep, which is one of the few subjects that makes my mind more, not less, hyperactive at night.

The combination of these factors has produced a theory about not only John McCain, but the Bush Administration and some of its higher profile supporters...

...a theory I call, "Bullshistory."

Barack Obama began his speech saying he's an American citizen and a citizen of the world (his first applause line)  The McCain camp highlighted that phrase in its dismissal of Obama. Too, the dismissal spreads through the Meme-o-sphere.

But John McCain himself has used the phrase "Citizen of the World" in a speech on May 27th of this year at the University of Denver. [source]

There is such a thing as good international citizenship, and America must be a good citizen of the world—leading the way to address the danger of global warming and preserve our environment, strengthening existing international institutions and helping to build new ones, and engaging the world in a broad dialogue on the threat of violent extremists, who would, if they could, use weapons of mass destruction to attack us and our allies.

Many past Presidents (and the current one, too!) used  "citizen of the world" in their remarks. Here's a collection of them....

Spending $1 Billion to Restore Fiscal Sanity

by John Harwood

"Peter G. Peterson wants people to focus on what he considers real news: the nation is going broke. Because he wasn't born yesterday, Mr. Peterson, co-founders of the Blackstone Group and a secretary of commerce under President Richard M. Nixon, will spend $1 billion in an effort to get the public's attention. The money, which comes from the windfall Mr. Peterson received when Blackstone went public last year, will finance a media blitz, starting with a documentary, "I.O.U.S.A.". The film aims to startle voters and politicians alike, and summon them to the task of closing the long-term imbalance between what the government".

Look at this picture of Obama (from a diary on the Rec List) and you will understand why  Republicans are scared shit-less by him:

Obama looks like he  already is President. The snarky caption  by the Right wing rag is not what catches your eye.  Or even the odd  expressions on his fellow Senator's faces. Obama understands the power of visuals and rhetoric  like no Presidential candidate since Reagan. He exudes a cool confidence not seen since  Reagan. Obama is the anti-Reagan.

And it is driving Reagan's acolytes up the wall. They can't oppose Obama effectively because he is using all of Reagan's tactics against them. At the same time, McCain is channeling Dukakis and Sen. Clinton, two of the worst campaigners in recent  history.

My Senator, Norm Coleman, was sworn in on January 7, 2003, just before the start of the Iraq War, when the price of oil was $31.08 per barrel. On July 21, 2008 the price of oil had risen to $131.04 a barrel, $100 higher. That's an increase of 320% in five and a half years. My Congressman, John Kline, began his career in congress at the same time, and like Norm, he still serves.

Nobody should blame any politician for normal market forces working on commodity prices. Most politicians rightly keep their hands off a well-regulated market. But there is one exception to this rule: if a currency is considered a commodity, then we must remind ourselves that politicians control the economics that underlie the currency of a nation.

McCain has found a line of attack against Obama with which he's very comfortable: he used it repeatedly against Bill Clinton. Here it is, as expressed on Jul. 20 by advisor Randy Scheunemann:

Barack Obama says he wants a 'safe and responsible' withdrawal from Iraq, but is stubbornly adhering to an unconditional withdrawal that places politics above the advice of our military commanders, the success of our troops, and the security of the American people.

You may know that Bob Barr has arrived at Netroots Nation.  He bought a one-day pass and decided to mingle with the assembled conventioneers.  And he drew a crowd.  I first spied him when Kate Sheppard of Grist was interviewing him about his environmental policies (a lot of "we don't know if man is causing global warming, we need further study, etc).  All of us wanted to talk to him, but we didn't quite know what to ask.  But after a couple of minutes it hit me, and my good buddy clammyc lent me his voice recorder and I sidled up to Barr to ask my first question.

Me: Rep. Barr, do you believe the impeachment of President Clinton was a good deterrent to the expansion of executive power and the establishment of the rule of law for the executive branch?

answer on the flip...

In the NSN article listing McCain's foreign policy errors there was this one quote from 1996 that caught my attention.

"Motivated by romantic, anachronistic notions of Irish republicanism, some prominent Irish-Americans persuaded the president (over the objection of the State Department) to jump headfirst into the Northern Ireland problem, severely straining our relations with London." McCain that by President Clinton's "mistaken involvement in the Northern Ireland problem, President Clinton has deepened the risk to his credibility and further damaged relations with our British allies." [Foreign Policy, Summer 1996]

Okay, so I wasn't as consistent in my Clinton support during the primaries as some others. But I consider that I was a fairly strong Hillary supporter. I initially liked both Clinton and Obama, and it basically stayed that way. In the real world, most of my Clinton-supporting friends have switched over to Obama. Doesn't that make sense? The two are mostly different on stylistic issues. Neither one ran a perfect campaign, but there have been more negative primaries than this. Who cares, Clinton or Obama? Or for that matter, Romney or McCain? The political parties have become so well defined on the issues across the whole spectrum that you know that no matter which candidate emerges, their Presidency will be influenced most strongly by the ideas they run on which are in turn based on the ideas that their party espouses.

(This is actually a repost from some months ago, but I put so much time into hunting down the appropriate photos, I decided to repost it; besides, I'm depressed about not being able to make it to NN this year, so I wanted to post something light to cheer myself--and perhaps others--up a bit)

Several months back, Canadian Noise posted an Oscar-themed diary which speculated on the casting for a filmed version of the 2008 Presidential race.

Unfortunately, the diary didn’t get much notice, but I thought it was such a fun idea that I ran with it, and came up with the following. The only rule I made for myself is to take it seriously—no cartoon characters, no dead actors; all of the choices have to be current, professional film or TV actors. Feel free to toss your own ideas into the ring; I know that I’m way off on at least some of my choices, but what the hell...

A lot of us have lost the 'warm and fuzzy' for Bill Clinton as a result of his actions during the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. I'm not here to rehash history, or debate the legitimacy of those feelings. Among the many reasons why, the best in my mind is; it's about to change. Bill Clinton says he's eager to campaign for Obama. While this might make a number of you cringe, I'm excited. Follow me over the flipbow.

The Anal Protectorate is reporting that Bill Clinton has had discussions with Sen. Obama about campaigning for him, and that he's willing to do so.

"I told him that whenever he wanted me to do it, I was ready, and so it's basically on their timetable," Clinton said. "He's got a lot of things to do between now and the convention, of which this is simply one, so I'll do whatever I'm asked to do, whenever I can do it."

On this anniversary of the storming of the Bastille in France to begin the French Revolution, please don't be sending me to the chopping block for not bringing Keith back with me tonight! Please??!! ;) I'm here; I'm back on my bed with my laptop and my kitties helping me!

I've got round 1 of trip pictures to share! These pictures are from Madison, Indiana, a town in southeast Indiana on the Ohio River (the body of water you'll see); Kentucky is on the other side of the river. I need to explain the significance of the pigs you'll see. Every year, a big BBQ festival is held in Madison. Businesses in town can decorate cement pigs as part of a fun contest in conjunction with the festival. So, the pigs you'll see were in front of a store where you could buy hospital scrubs, a chocolate shop, and I can't remember where the law enforcement pig was:

http://www.dropshots.com/...

http://www.dropshots.com/...

Here's a teaser about tomorrow's pictures. I was literally & figuratively in bat country!

Now, on to tonight's Countdown diary.

The test: Are you better off than you were eight years ago?

Most voters will score a solid F for John McCain based on his current, albiet shifting, set of policy positions, as well as personal experiences spanning the last 16 years that mirror my own.

President Clinton:

I have always been a fan of yours; you inspired me from an early age to get involved in politics. You made me realize that being a Democrat was the correct choice. You got me excited about politics and made me realize that I wanted to be in politics someday. In short you were my political idol. I thought you were a great President and realized that triangulation was something that was done because it was needed. We had a very hostile, conservative Congress for you to deal with and you did the best you could with them, and did beautifully. I really only disagreed with a handful if your decisions and it was a very odd feeling when you left office because in a sense you were the only president I knew, the only one that I could remember.

Person 1: "Of the two candidates, A and B, I thought A would make a much better president. In just about every aspect, he appeared to be the better of the two. However, I voted for candidate B."

Person 2: "What in hell made you do that?"

Person 1: "Well, I have never voted before, and I wanted to fit in, so I did the American thing and voted for the worst of the two candidates."

I was recently in Singapore visiting a friend. One day our conversation strayed to the current U.S. elections. I commented on how Bush’s current approval ratings are hovering somewhere between 27-30%. She wasn’t surprised that it was that low, but that it was that high. Then she asked the most puzzling question of all – "why did they vote for him in the first place?" The Ultimate Question.