Newscoma

I didn’t post about last night’s debate because I was twittering, watching it, listening to the howls of Homer as she threw socks at the television and watched my niece create a Mr. Potatohead version of both candidates, which for the life of me, I cannot find this morning.

The oldest niece, well, her google fu is stronger than mine. The master has become the student here in Hoots.

I’m going to try to be fair in my observation of the debate.

• We actually had a debate. This is the first time.
• Bob Schieffer should moderate all debates in the future. I’ll tell you what I like about him. When he was on the nightly news, he didn’t act like a swaggering rock star like some anchors do. He was steady last night and finally, FINALLY, got the candidates to answer some questions. In my opinion, he was the winner more so than the candidates.
• John McCain did better in this debate although he looked very uncomfortable.
• Barack Obama was interesting responding to the Joe the Plumber reference, even though Joe isn’t going to vote for him. I thought this was compelling because does this mean that he’s willing to engage the topic and not the issue of one vote. I saw the video clip of Obama’s interaction with Joe and it was rational and a great exercise in agreeing to disagree. Score for both of Joe and Barack.
• On a down note, I’m sick of Joe the Plumber, Joe Six-Pack and other references. Don’t dumb down politics by these silly catchphrases.
• McCain rolled his eyes a lot and got crabbier as the debate went on but I give him the first 30 minutes. His body language was awkward to watch though and the youngest niece, who could give two flips about politics, asked if he was all right and asked if his neck was all right.
• Mabel, as I said last night on Twitter, will serve as Secretary of Steak if Obama gets the White House. She is willing and she is able.

The bottom line for me is I’m voting today so I can sit back on Election Day with a bag of popcorn and a Fresca to watch what happens.

Man, has advertising changed.

“I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout,” Holly Rockwood, director of corporate communications at Electronic Arts, the game’s publisher, told me via email, noting that EA regularly allows ad placements in their online games. “Like most television, radio and print outlets, we accept advertising from credible political candidates,” she continued. “Like political spots on the television networks, these ads do not reflect the political policies of EA or the opinions of its development teams.”

Obama is advertising on an X-Box racing video game.

That, my friends, is political marketing outside the box.

Congressman Steve Cohen has a reputation of saying what is ever on his mind and usually his words are laced with pop culture analogies, Memphis anecdotes as well as that he is Tennessee’s only liberal rep in Congress.

And he has mightily pissed off the Tennessee Guerilla Woman as well as others for this comment on Hillary Clinton.

This week, Obama-backing Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said on local television, when asked about Sen. Clinton, that “Glenn Close should have just stayed in the tub.”

[He was] referring to Close playing the insane, deluded Alex Forrest — the wronged “other woman” who refuses to accept her fate and just go away, and becomes suicidal and homicidal. . as the late great Pauline Kael wrote in The New Yorker at the time, the “film is about men seeing feminists as witches.”

Cohen issued an apology on the thread at TGW. Here’s a snippet:

I sincerely apologize for the comments I made about Senator Clinton’s campaign. I have great respect for Senator Clinton as a US Senator. She has waged an historic campaign which has done much to break the glass ceiling.

Braisted weighs in:

While I certainly think Obama is going to be the nominee, as he has been able to win a key demographic during this primary….voters; I don’t think it helps to go around comparing Clinton to psycho women in movies.

I agree with Braisted. I also think everyone, Clinton, Obama, **insert name here** has said some dumb things at different times. (Hillary and the Bosnia sniper fire thing was huge to many people I’ve spoken to who are not political pundits. She’s been talking unity. I’m glad for that one.)

One thing: during these last days before the Democratic Party has a nominee, Hillary supporters aren’t going to be happy if she doesn’t get the nomination and Obama supporters aren’t going to be happy if he doesn’t get the nomination.

Clinton is a formidable politician as is Obama. Clinton and Obama’s campaigns has collectively left many non-political people with a huge case of Election Fatigue Syndrome. Cohen shouldn’t have said what he did but on the other hand, he’s always said things and has had to take his foot out of his mouth on occasion.I’m not condoning his Glenn Close comment with that said.

And he did apologize.

I like Cohen. I didn’t like what he said but I also know that nine times out of ten, I like how he votes in Washington.

I’m just saying.

They (Cable News) are calling the presidential democrat’s race and there is 3 percent of the polls in citing that Barack Obama has won South Carolina and that Hillary Clinton placed 2nd with John Edwards coming in at third place.

Amazing.