Strategery?

Given the state of today's economy, it's ironic that Obama's selection for commerce secretary would be the toughest sell.

Obama's decision to nominate Republican Judd Gregg to the position today is causing a ruckus because it could possibly give the Democrats a super-majority in the Senate.

The Democrats currently have a 58-41 advantage in the Senate. Whenever they can seat Al Franken of Minnesota, that will push their advantage up to 59-41. The Gregg appointment will take away a seat from the GOP, and given that New Hampshire's governor is a Democrat, its highly likely that a Democrat would be appointed to Gregg's vacant slot.

That would give the Democrats a filibuster-proof 60-40 advantage, which means that the GOP wouldn't be able to do anything to stop the Democrats from pushing whatever legislation they wanted through Congress.

According to Fox News, Gregg struck a deal with the governor to appoint a Republican in his seat, which is drawing some heat from the Democrats.

How this situation plays out could greatly affect legislation over the next couple years.

Must See TV: Boogie Man-The Lee Atwater Story

Lee Atwater with George Bush Sr. in 1988.


I don't know if it will play all month, but check your local listings for the documentary called Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story on Frontline on PBS.

This is a great documentary about Lee Atwater, a man who rose from obscurity in South Carolina to be come one of the most polarizing figures in modern politics before dying from a brain tumor at 40 years old in 1991.

Atwater is called the "architect of the negative campaign," using tactics like push polls, "independent" negative ads and anonymous stories in the media to help the Republican Party win several campaigns in the 80s (including Regan in 84 and Bush in 88).

To put it in simpler terms, he was Karl Rove before Karl Rove (who is Atwater's protege coincidentally).

If you want to know how things like Rev. Wright and "Swiftboat politics" became the norm in campaigns, this is a must see.

The Scramble to Ride Shotgun

Who's good enough to be Second Best?


The campaign train rolls into the campus of Washington University in St. Louis tomorrow with the long-awaited VP debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.

Gwen Ifill of PBS will ask the candidates questions pertaining to foreign and domestic issues over the 90-minute debate to see who is worthy of being the person we won't care about in a few months.

Questions are aplenty leading up to this square-off:

~Will Biden have to be gagged in order to stop him from contradicting Obama's campaign?

~Will the Republicans trot Sarah Palin out in a teacher outfit complete with a ruler and textbooks to distract the audience?

~Can Palin answer any question with a straight answer?

~Can Biden restrain himself from answering any question with a straight answer?

~Will either candidate know who shot JR?

You can count me tuned in.

Bizarre memo from McCain camp about MET-RX, arugula

Apparently, this is arugula

From Politico, a memo sent out by McCain campaign manager Rick Davis attempts to paint Barack Obama as the ever-hated elitist.

Take a gander

Only a celebrity of Barack Obama's magnitude could attract 200,000 fans in Berlin who gathered for the mere opportunity to be in his presence. These are not supporters or even voters, but fans fawning over The One. Only celebrities like Barack Obama go to the gym three times a day, demand "MET-RX chocolate roasted-peanut protein bars and bottles of a hard-to-find organic brew -- Black Forest Berry Honest Tea" and worry about the price of arugula.

I'm really at a loss here. I don't understand the McCain strategy at all. I'm aware that knocking the other guy as "out of touch" with the average voter is a staple of politics, but is this the way you want to do it? The first two sentences read like someone who's just mad they're being styled on. I mean, shouldn't they be trying to downplay how popular Obama is, not admit they're jealous of it? As for the last sentence, "only celebrities go to the gym three times a day . . ." really? Mentioning his tea choice? Is that what we're doing now?

This from a guy who wears $520 loafers and is married to an heiress, of course.

Just once I'd like to see a campaign from either side stop trying to paint the other guy as an elitist who's out of touch with voters. Of course they're out of touch with average people, they're politicians. From the moment they step into public service, they're doing something fundamentally different than your average Joe in a cubicle or plant. Stop pretending otherwise.