The Media Cynic: Independent Political Blog
Coverage of politics, entertainment and current events.
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- Eliot Spitzer Caught in Prostitution Sting
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is in big trouble: he was caught on a federal wiretap planning an assignation with a high-priced call girl. There was a sting going on that resembled the kind the crusading Spitzer used to run back in the day. The New York Times broke the story:
The wiretap captured a man identified as Client 9 on a telephone call confirming plans to have a woman travel from New York to Washington, where he had reserved a hotel room, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Manhattan. The person briefed on the case and the law enforcement official identified Mr. Spitzer as Client 9.
Spitzer has a wife and three children, so it's pretty much a nightmare for his family. His wife stood by him at the press conference and looked miserable, but resolute. Will he resign? Fox News reports he will resign tonight, but his words today at the press conference held no hint of that.
Mr. Spitzer, a first term Democrat, today made a brief public appearance during which he apologized for his behavior, and described it as a "private matter." He did not address his political future. "I have acted in a way that violates my obligation to my family and violates my or any sense of right or wrong," said Mr. Spitzer, who appeared with his wife Silda at his Manhattan office. "I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public to whom I promised better."
"I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family." Before speaking, Mr. Spitzer stood with his arm around his wife; the two nodded and then strode forward together to face more than 100 reporters. Both had glassy, tear-filled eyes, but they did not cry. As he went to leave, three reporters called out, "Are you resigning? Are you resigning?", and Mr. Spitzer charged out of the room, slamming the door. The governor learned that he had been implicated in the prostitution inquiry when a federal official contacted his staff Friday, according to the person briefed on the case.
The governor informed his top aides Sunday night and this morning of his involvement. He canceled his public events today and scheduled the announcement for this afternoon after inquiries from The Times. The governor's aides appeared shaken before he spoke, and one of them began to weep as they waited for him to make his statement at his Manhattan office.
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Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:41:00 EST - Saturday Night Live: Hillary's 3:00 a.m. Phone Call From President Obama
Saturday Night Live dove into the fray once again last night. Amy Poehler plays Senator Hillary Clinton receiving yet another 3:00 a.m. phone call from President Obama, who needs some advice on foreign policy and how to turn on the heater at the White House. The meta frame is that the skit is an attack ad from Clinton, but still...Obama takes more hits from this one than she does. Priceless: Hillary wearing cold cream, curlers and a 1950s housecoat while coolly rattling off detailed foreign policy advice.
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Sun, 9 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST - Hillary Wins Texas, Gets the Big Mo
Well, she actually did it: Hillary Clinton won the Texas primary. Her victory speech in Ohio came before she knew she won Texas, but she sounded upbeat and reenergized. This is a major win for her: she's really turned her campaign around.
Bill Clinton was in Austin at a victory party and he seemed really happy, as did the boisterous, really young crowd. Exit polls show that Hillary won women, white voters, Hispanic voters and older voters. Her coalition has come back together.
So what does it all mean? It means that the Democratic primary race is back on in a big way. Neither candidate can get to the magic number of 2024 delegates (Howard Dean told Wolf Blitzer that it's 2024 not 2025 as has been reported elsewhere) so under the DNC rules, the superdelegates will select who wins. The superdelegates are going to go with whoever has the momentum, and right now Hillary can claim that she's won every big state she's run in but Illinois (Obama's home state). One thing's for sure: this is the best reality show on TV right now.
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Wed, 5 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST - McCain Seals Nomination: Clinton Wins Ohio
Super Tuesday Part II has been a wild night so far. On the Republican side, John McCain sealed the nomination; Mike Huckabee conceded the race tonight and endorsed McCain. They were both able to go to bed early. By 11:45 p.m. Eastern time, Hillary Clinton has won Rhode Island and Ohio by big margins. Barack Obama won Vermont by a big margin. Texas is still too close to call, but it's looking like Hillary will pull out a victory here tonight, which would be a major upset. Currently, Hillary Clinton is leading by around 55,000 votes.
Hillary made it clear in her victory speech that she is in the race to win it. Flanked by Governor Strickland, Senator John Glenn and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Senator Clinton gave an energetic speech to a happy crowd in Ohio.
Barack Obama seems a bit subdued as he talks to supporters in San Antonio, but is rallying the crowd with "Si, se puede". One thing's for sure. The Democratic primary is far from over. Next up is Wyoming, Mississippi and then in April: Pennsylvania.
Posted in 2008 Elections
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Tue, 4 Mar 2008 22:30:00 EST - Clinton Press Corps Banished to Men's Room
Last night Hillary Clinton was in Austin, Texas for a "Texas sized townhall" and the traveling press corps had to be put somewhere. So the Clinton campaign found a space in the Burger Activity Center that could house them all: the men's locker room. But the campaign didn't know beforehand that there were actually urinals in the room. The press set up their laptops after discovering that the space did, at least, have Wi-Fi access. When the reality of the space was conveyed to the Clinton campaign, spokesman Doug Hattaway quipped: "These accommodations should in no way be taken as a comment on the quality of our media coverage." Ha!
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Tue, 4 Mar 2008 18:00:00 EST - Hillary Clinton's Surprise Appearance on Saturday Night Live
Hillary Clinton made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. The opening skit recreated the debate from last week in Ohio. Questioners Tim Russert (Daryl Hammond) and Brian Williams (Will Forte) repeatedly hector Hillary Clinton (Amy Poehler), at one point subjecting her to a Law and Order-type grilling. Barack Obama (Fred Armisen) meanwhile praises the moderators for "just doing their job" as he fields softballs from Russert.
After the skit, the real Hillary gives an Editorial Response. She's a good sport, appearing in the same brown tweed suit that her lookalike Amy Poehler is wearing. She takes the ribbing in stride, revealing warmth and and a great sense of humor. Take a look:
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Mon, 3 Mar 2008 16:40:00 EST - Saturday Night Live Explores The Obama Files
This really was the funniest bit on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. It's a short animated film by Robert Smigel called "The Obama Files" and it goes deeper into the mystery of why Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are never allowed to campaign for Barack Obama.
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Mon, 3 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST - Jack Nicholson's Video In Support of Hillary Clinton
Jack Nicholson made this video himself and released it on YouTube. The video is in support of Hillary Clinton and it is absolutely hilarious. The last line is the best. This is one of the most effective viral political videos I've seen yet -- too bad it can't be released on tv.
Posted in 2008 Elections
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Sat, 1 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST - Chart With March 4th State Polls
Here is a handy chart that shows the delegates up for grabs on March 4th. The chart also contains links to sources that will show you the latest polls for each state.Democratic March 4th State Polls
State Delegates Poll Resources Ohio 141 Pollster | Real Clear Politics Rhode Island 21 Pollster | Real Clear Politics Texas 193 Pollster | Real Clear Politics Vermont 15 Pollster | Real Clear Politics
Republican March 4th State Polls
State Delegates Poll Resources Ohio 88 Pollster | Real Clear Politics Rhode Island 20 Pollster Texas 140 Pollster | Real Clear Politics Vermont 17* Pollster
W* = Winner take all state.
Posted in 2008 Elections
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Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:00:00 EST - The Ohio Debate: Will Life Imitate Art?
Tonight is the debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in Ohio. After the last debate in Austin, Saturday Night Live did a hilarious spoof of the debate which illustrates the media bias against Senator Clinton.
In the beginning Campbell Brown explains the rules of the debate, and admits that they're all "in the tank for Obama." The moderators ask Hillary difficult questions, interrupt her and generally insult her while asking Obama if he's comfortable enough and if there's anything they could get him. Best moment: after Hillary's three point answer to Obama Girl's question from the audience, Campbell Brown demands that Hillary give Obama Girl and the entire country an "Obamapology". Will the MSNBC team learn anything from this spoof? We'll see tonight.
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Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:00:00 EST - Turbangate is Much Ado About Nothing
Over the weekend some conservative blogs pointed out this photo of Barack Obama in traditional Somali apparel, which he wore while visiting Kenya. The blogs said that someone should send it over to Matt Drudge, which someone eventually did. Drudge ran the photo all day, claiming a Clinton aid sent it. But the Clinton camp said they didn't send it, and what was the big deal anyway? That senators and presidents have to wear all kinds of unusual outfits when they visit other countries. Clinton's campaign manager said the whole thing was ridiculous, that Senator Clinton has had to don native dress herself many times.
The Obama camp freaked out, the press dithered and then eventually most people came to their senses. Obama himself then said it sounded like a lower level staff dispute to him. Turbangate was a non-starter. There's also a picture of Obama with a camel, but he's wearing sunglasses and a red shirt in that one, so it wasn't as exciting to the tabloids.
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Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:00:00 EST - Hillary's Debate Knockout
The Democratic debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton was held at the University of Texas tonight in front of a very enthusiastic crowd. Overall, the tone was very civil and friendly. But there were a couple of heated moments on healthcare and on the Obama plagiarism issue.
Barack Obama lapsed into his rambling professorial mode. He was sort of phoning it in. Hillary was excellent as she always is in debates. But she really shone on the foreign policy issues: her command of the issues in Cuba, Kosovo and around the world was obvious. She definitely won the healthcare exchange about universal healthcare. Obama always does better with a Democratic crowd when he says he opposed the war on Iraq. Clinton wisely didn't rehash her vote to authorize force back in 2001 -- we've been through that debate so many times I could recite each politician's argument just about verbatim. She clearly looked more like a commander in chief: she seemed cool and in charge.
She didn't bring up the plagiarism controversy but, surprisingly, CNN did. Best zinger of the night went to Clinton: "I just think that if your campaign is about words, they should be your words...Copying whole sections of speeches is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox." The Obamamaniacs hated the line, but it certainly resonated with Frank Luntz's Democratic focus group on Fox -- they thought she should "really go after him" for his borrowing from Deval Patrick's speeches. In fact, they were pretty steamed about Obama's lifting of lines, which they thought was "unethical".
Obama was rattled and it showed: he began stuttering. He did better on the commander in chief question, but I was distracted by the apparent gale force winds that were whipping through the studio -- his notepad was flapping in the breeze like it was going to fly away. Another tactical error he made was to mention that some people think that his supporters are "delusional." For those who haven't been following the "Obamamania is a Cult" stories in the press, it brought it to their attention. It was not smart to bring it up. Hillary just smiled.
Overall, Hillary won the debate on substance and in the very last question, she knocked it out of the park. The question was "Describe the moment in your life when you were tested the most." Obama answered that it was hard to be raised by a single mother. But Hillary's answer brought the crowd to its feet. It really was a transcendent moment for her in which she really connected with her listeners. Here's the video:
Posted in 2008 Election
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Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:28:00 EST - David Axelrod Sends in the Clones, Part 2
Not again. Barack Obama 2.0 lifts some more rhetoric from Barack Obama 1.0, better known as Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick. Does political guru to both candidates David Axelrod have a factory where he clones Hope and Change candidates upon demand? Video is below.
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Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:00:00 EST
