28 « August « 2008 « Pop + Politics

P+P@The DNC: Liveblogging Obama at Invesco Field

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Our P+P team is inside Invesco Field.

They are sending text messages and emails and updates.

Here’s a sampling:

Chris Nelson, 5:10:

Coachella, Lollapalooza.. anything you’ve been to where humans do their best cattle impersonation does not compare to the sight of the line to get in right now.

Brooke-Sidney Gavins, 5:16 p.m.:

Observation:

Udall likes the Bill Clinton thumbs up.

Kaine speaking Spanish…Latino Vote??

Kaine’s move the mountain reminded Torey of the little engine that could

Bill Richardson should lose the beard

Kaine’s speech made me excited Obama chose Biden

Chris Nelson, 5: 19:

P.S. Bill Richardson, aka The Hamburglar is still a tool, even with 40,000 people watching him.

Brooke-Sidney, 5:22 p.m:

Richardson’s speech is really strong on int’l relations. Is he trying out for the secretary of state spot?

Chris Nelson, 5:23

This is insane. The man is a rock star. Doesn’t matter how much the delegates or civilians here espouse specific policies, this has the exact vibe of a show.

Brooke-Sidney, 5:32 p.m.

Somehow Stevie Wonder is always moving and inspiring … Perfect match for Dems msg .. Yes u can.

Max Zimbert, 6:03 p.m.

Is this the first wave in convention history?

Max Zimbert, 6:08 p.m.

Michael Mcdonald????

What’s that line from 40 year old virgin when paul rudd walks in threatening to kill everyone unless the change the michael mcdonald dvd??

with progressives like obama, dean and pelosi as leaders, you’d think we would have such stiff acts. Michael mcdonald YUCK

But I guess its better than whatever toothless bumpkin anthems the GOP will offer in MN

Brooke-Sidney, 6:41 p.m.

The crowd loved the Republican’s testimony who is now voting for Obama.

Clearly, Obama campaign is highlighting stories from swing states – OH, MI, FL, NC, NM and IN

Max Zimbert, 6:41 p.m.:

Just was instructed: volunteers will pass out signs. And we are not to hold them up until we are told.

Brooke-Sidney, 6:50 p.m.:

There is a lot of anticipation…. You can feel it in the air. Everyone’s on bated breath waiting to catch a glimpse of obama or michelle

Chris Nelson, 7:12 p.m.:

Elvis is in the building. (more…)

Tags: liveblogging
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Class Struggle: The Media Struggles To Understand Regular Joes

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Most pundits agreed that Hillary Clinton delivered a big speech on Tuesday night, but what impressed the liberal punditry the most-including the likes of Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann, was her “sock to the face” of John McCain, 71. The chattering classes agreed that the Dems need to take the gloves off, because that’s the only way they can win “blue collar, working class” votes. Really what they want to say is: “Those Union guys want to see a brawl.”

If you believe the pundits, city people, (who have a peculiar resemblance to everyone on the upper west side of Manhattan), choose their candidates based on healthcare plans, energy solutions, foreign policy credentials, and Washington experience. Good luck explaining that stuff to the country folk in places like West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and Scranton, Pennsylvania. We all know they don’t care about that political gibberish unless it has to do with things that go bang.

The “country folk” are so busy filling up gas tanks, paying mortgages, driving tractors and drinking moonshine that all they really care to see is them fightin’ words—words like the ones Hillary used about halfway through her speech last night.

Like many of the pundits and politicos, I have always lived near a big city. But I can imagine that voters who live outside the top ten media markets choose their candidates based on the same methods of rationalization and deductive reasoning as I do. They probably ask themselves where they stand on Washington-related matters, and then they ask which candidate stands with them, behind them, or in front of them.

These people, who, throughout 2008, have been branded things like “beer-drinking voters,” “tractor-driving voters,” and “low-info voters,” ultimately want the same things from their government as “the upper west side of Manhattan.”

But then again I could be wrong. Both Hillary and Barack seemed to successfully bolster their images by walking into rural bars and knockin’ back the sauce for the cameras. If his base starts to slip, maybe Barack should try walking through a museum while stroking his chin and reading a dictionary. That’s what those city people do, right?

Tags: blue collar workers, chris matthews, hillary clinton
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The World Watches As America Makes Its Big Decision

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

There isn’t a man, woman or child in America who doesn’t know that there is an election looming. But with the Internet and cell phones coursing with information, escaping presidential politics requires more than keeping the television set unplugged for two years. But like America, the rest of the world has been watching, reading and listening too, wondering all the while what fate lies in store for them when a Western Super Power changes hands. For Britain, it’s the hope of saving a little face.

In December 2001, The Daily Telegraph captured the beginning of a battle of wills between the British public and its government. The headline said it all: “Blair’s Shiver of Fear as Bush Sets his Sights on Iraq.”

“What to do about Saddam Hussein’s Iraq is now an embarrassing disagreement at the heart of the special relationship between America and Britain,” wrote The Telegraph’s journalists. “It has led to a palpable cooling in the hitherto warm discussions held by the White House and 10 Downing Street.”

The pressure had been building in the three months after 9/11, and Tony Blair had to decide if Britain would be friend or for to the Iraq war and consequently, America. (more…)

Tags: britain, john blair, u.s.
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