Politirazzi

By Kim

In the spirit of the celebration of Pride Week here in NY, I leave you with this submission to Steven Colbert’s “Make McCain Exciting” contest, Vogue Edition! (Though I must admit my favorite submission is “Super McCain Bros.” Dude, he totally knows where all the secret 1 ups are!)

By Kimberly

Donatella Versace has dedicated her latest spring/summer 2009 collection featured in Milan, Italy, this weekend to Barack Obama, citing that he is "a relaxed man who doesn't need to flex muscles to show he has power." She went on to recommend that Obama "get rid of the tie and jazz up the shirt.” Perhaps Obama should loosen up and sport the silk tank top seen below — that is if he wants to lock up the voting bloc of Fire Island!

But in all seriousness, this news story underscored just how much Obama has influenced a renaissance of art and creativity while also encouraging political engagement. Through these images and works, Obama is already an icon. I’ve rounded up a few of my faves for your enjoyment.

The “your new bicycle” Web site started by Mathew Honan as a joke to describe Obama in warm and fuzzy, young love situations to give him a softer side. Just refresh the Web site barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com or click the text to get the next giggle. Some of my favorites: BO baked you a pie, BO smiled when he heard me mention your name and BO helped you move a sofa.

http://obeygiant.com/post/obama

(continued)

By Kim

Obama has launched his first general election campaign ad “Country I love” in 18 key states this Friday. The 60-second spot, see above, is based on his connections to the American foundations of “strong families and strong values.” However, what may be a first for any general election ad EVER is that upfront Obama points out that he was raised by a single mother. But hell, I was too — he’s just like me! But for such a family-centric ad message, I’d like to point out Michelle and his daughters are no where to be seen.

The cynic, or advertising major, in me also notices the call out of the Kansas values his grandparent’s raised him on, namely accountability, self reliance, love of country, Golden rule, etc. Plus, as Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post points out, “images of Obama's mother and grandparents — all of whom are white — are featured prominently in the ad.” Don’t forget the little white-haired lady pulling him close to whisper something in his ear.

(continued)

(AP)

By Kim

I don’t even know if I am allowed to report on this story that has buzzed around the blogosphere for a few months, but I figure this is the wild card that can at the very least sting McCain in the behind — that is, if little old ladies ever got wind of it.

The story goes that in 1992 while McCain was campaigning for his Senate seat, three anonymous reporters witnessed a testy exchange between Mac and his wife while she poked fun at his thinning hair. He responded, flustered, with:

(continued)

By Kim

And with a knock of the knuckles, Michelle and Barack gaze lovingly into each others’ eyes silently acknowledging the long overdue triumph of Obama’s victory as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Here’s the pic that’s been getting attention in the blogosphere with oohs and aahs about just how cute and truly in love the prospective first couple appears to be. To me, though, it signifies that we must never underestimate Michelle’s influence over her husband as she appears to be a buddy/confidant, refusing to be merely a trophy wife.

This may even further get Anderson Cooper up to speed on hip colloquialisms of the 21st century! Punch it in!

By Kimberly

Glued to C-SPAN on this rainy Saturday, I witnessed the contentious spectacle that was the DNC RBC meeting in our nation’s capital. Hearing hecklers (totally a New Yorker, see below!) and partisan cheering abound, I almost felt cool witnessing this carnage first hand, though the real meat would have been to be in the closed door three-hour meetings that transpired over “lunch.”

In the end, the committee voted for compromise by seating half votes from Florida and Michigan, but if it were up to me, I would have motioned for full seated delegates from Florida, and maybe half or none in Michigan. I would figure that it is at least a bit more fair if both frontrunners were at least on the ballot as was the case in Florida, but not in Michigan.

(continued)

(AP)

By Kim

I would just like to be the first to welcome former White House press secretary Scott McClellan to the "sick of the Bush administration" fold! And though he's just doing the press rounds for his new book "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," it's about time he came out of the proverbial closet! Though I will not be buying his book, the snippets do sound quite intriguing regarding the delusions of grandeur of Bush (possibly a side effect of coke binges that he doesn't remember?) and how Ms. Secretary of State Condi Rice may be pulling more strings than we ever thought while flying under the radar!

By Kim

Tensions rise at the Asylum as vice presidential hopefuls Gov. Bobby Jindal, Gov. Charlie Crist and Mitt Romney fight to look the least Democratic while eating calamari. “Your sweatshirt is a nice shade of green, senator,” remarks Romney, “Brooks Brothers?” McCain lets out a sigh at Mitt’s unabashed pandering that makes even him cringe.

“So, Bobby,” McCain turns to his left, “I can’t believe they had steak on the kids' menu!” Jindal rolls his eyes and turns up his iPod. Forty years of a generation gap will not be filled so easily.

McCain looks awkwardly around and meets the gaze of Crist. He holds out his plate and asks, “Charlie, can you serve me Florida?”

By Kimberly

In a time when we should be zooming around in jet packs and wearing shiny clothing, we sure are seeing every kind of “–ism” rear its ugly head in 2008. After Kerry’s loss in 2004, nearly all Dems shook their fists in ire and vowed that next time around we would put up someone electable, unlike Kerry who was pegged as the Starbucks-drinking, windsurfing, French-speaking, New England liberal elite.

But only four years later, both the Dems and Republicans have an unprecedented line up of alternative nominees: a woman, an African-American man and a senior citizen. Frankly, I am excited about these options because it shows progression in the American mindset of who should lead our country. I remember people citing voting for Bush because they’d like to have a beer with him, but time has shown that people realized you should never put your drinking buddy, wing-man into office, he’ll just run up your tab and pick some fights.

In Clinton’s case, she’s been under fire for getting “vechlempt” and for not graciously bowing out like a good girl should. From what I’ve seen, however, the sexist remarks haven’t been directed at her, but rather at those who haven’t supported her like Sen. Ted Kennedy. Also, Obama himself has been labeled as sexist recently when he brushed off a young woman’s question while calling her “sweetie,” see below, (an admitted bad habit of his). Ummm ... is anyone else concerned about this habit?

(continued)

By Kimberly

An intriguing segment on ABC News discussed the differences between the front-runner presidential candidates’ official logo fonts and how they support campaign themes.


For example, Obama uses the font Gotham, a relatively young sans serif, based on the Port Authority sign — perhaps in homage to his liberal elite reputation? Collins, a branding consultant, describes this font as “blunt, friendly, new, yet familiar.” A dead on subliminal choice representing change!

Hillary, on the other hand, features Baskerville (need I bring up the hound pun?) created in 18th century England which is described as “warm, classic, and traditional,” again an excellent choice for a campaign based on experience.

But the best by far is McCain’s choice of Optima, a font not typically used by designers because it seemingly “can’t make up its mind.” This “bold yet elegant” typeface may perfectly represent McCain for his pandering and flip-floppy ways as seen this past week when he speaks of Global Warming on Tuesday, and then addresses the NRA on Friday. By the way, Optima was created by world renowned designer Hermann Zapf, who happens to be 90 and still cranking out work. Reach for that star, McCain!

By Kimberly

First the "American Idol" finale, and now Sen. John McCain “goes green” by rolling out his new line of eco-friendly campaign apparel mostly made of bamboo, a renewable resource, and cotton blends, as seen on Drudge. Many pundits rebuff this and other recent acts as a ploy to woo environmentalists from the left to reconsider McCain as their presidential candidate.

(continued)

By Kimberly

Are these symptoms of an immanent Democratic Administration interfering with your life?

• Not involved with family and friends the way you used to be?
• Low energy, fatigue?
• Not motivated to do the things you once looked forward to doing?
• Not feeling as good as you used to?

The National Republican Congressional Committee yesterday announced its new “change you deserve” initiative that smacks of plagiarism from the Obama handbook, but in reality was just copped from the antidepressant Effexor’s marketing slogan. And as Jason Linkins ironically points out, Wyeth was reprimanded by the FDA for its slogan for making “unsubstantiated superiority claims […] and minimiz[ing] the risks associated with the use!”

By Kimberly

The writing is on the wall for Hillary, which I find a shame because, though I’ve been judgmental of her, I was actually leaning towards her proposed solutions. It’s not her major loss in North Carolina that sealed the deal, but the last nail in the coffin is the story that broke on Friday that Rasmussen Reports will stop polling people regarding Hillary’s campaign.

(continued)

By Kimberly

By far, the biggest side show of them all has been all the hullabaloo about the superdelegates: Who they are, where they live and who they’ll vote for. This is the sideshow that spawned the pimping out of Chelsea Clinton and the idea that again the decision of president would be taken out of the “peoples’ ” hands and decided by a select elite (?) few. Enter the embarrassing Facebook picture below of 21-year-old superdelegate Jason Rae who was wined and dined by the Clintons, makes one mean chocolate chip cookie (literally!), and who accidentally outed himself during an interview with The Advocate. Aren’t you comforted by those whose hands hold the fate of the free world?

Facebook

(continued)

By Kimberly

I have recently been accepted into the MIT Sloan School of Management and with a yearly tuition of nearly $50K a year for a two-year program (not including living expenses, rent and supplies), college tuition relief has my No. 1 concern going into this election!

The candidates’ stances on higher education relief are quite similar. Hillary’s is probably the most fleshed out calling for a $3.5K tax credit, increasing Pell grant limits and AmeriCorps scholarships, and private collage tuition transparency measures. Obama’s plan consists simply of a $4K tax credit and turning the FAFSA form into a check box on income tax returns.

McCain’s Web site doesn’t even deal with higher education issues and, instead, focuses on pitting K-12 public schools against each other to attract their clientele (the kids) in hopes that standards will be raised through competition. This lack of platform for college is astounding considering his strong words last week when refusing to vote for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which tries to fill the gap between the 77 cents a woman makes to every man’s dollar. “They need the education and training,” says McCain of the disparity. Way to not have a plan to help both men and women afford it!

In short, I think Hillary’s proposals are actually the best, though they really deal with undergraduate issues. In the meantime, I’ll be socking that stimulus check away in a high-yield online savings account.

(AP)

By Kimberly

pri·ma·ry fa·tigue [prahy-mer-ee fuh-teeg] (n.):

1. weariness from mental exertion from listening to Obama’s motivational speaker voice one more time.

2. exhausted of Hillary’s comebacks rivaling those of Sylvester Stallone.

3. thinking that McCain isn’t that bad of a guy after all. Hey, it’s only four years …

4. when Hannah Montana now surpasses candidates on Google trends.

5. when people credit crackpots like Rush Limbaugh and “Operation Chaos” for the split choice within the Democratic party.

This just took up a good 20 minutes of my time at work. Time well spent I think. Kudos to the Post for being low brow enough to spend money on developing this!

2008 Democratic Fight Night

— Kimberly

I wanted to share this contest put on by moveon.org called Obama in 30 Seconds where people can enter a homemade 30 second spot in favor of Obama with the chance to have it aired nationally and also win a camera and editing equipment. But if you're more of a voyeur, you can simply go to the website and vote on your favorite ad.

This one is by far my favorite.

Which is yours?
— Kim

OK, here is what will happen on Tuesday’s primary in Pennsylvania: Hillary will be the pronounced winner (if one can be determined), but the margins will be so slim (I say 48 percent Clinton/45 percent Obama) that the margin of error will not make this a landslide win for Clinton by any means.

The spin afterwards will be dizzying with talk of “Oh smack! Hilary couldn’t even break away in a state where her great granddad worked in a lace factory in the 1800’s!” Then you’ll have Hannity with his, “See I told you Obama is out of touch with the common man! Cling to this [lose], sucker!” Strategists like Geoff Garin will be all over the media yaking on about Obama’s new “negative ads” didn’t play well with the common man while Obama’s strategist David Axelrod will say that Obama is unfairly held to a double standard by losing popularity points when he gets down and dirty like Clinton. And of course, Anderson Cooper will come up with some irrelevant question between reading lines off the teleprompter.
— Kimberly

Bill Clinton eloquently coined the phrase “fall in love, then fall in line” at the 2003 Harkin Steak Fry describing how people should choose their political candidate. It’s simple, yet hints at what is wrong with the current state of the Democratic Party. Trouble is, they haven’t gotten past the infatuation stage. Therefore, Democratic voters are all googley-eyed over Obama or smitten over Clinton. I hope kind of hope Pennsylvania, Indiana and North Carolina come in and act as the chaperones to break up this lovefest by making a clear choice in presidential candidate.

Don’t take your time -- hurry up already! Only then can Dems get in lock step with a unified message. How else could McCain catch up in the polls?
-- Kimberly responds to Adrian

By Kimberly

The saying goes that you can’t choose your family, but you can choose your friends. Inevitably, though, when you’re running for president of the free world, there is that embarrassing friend you just can’t shake.

Let’s not, however, discount the effect that certain star power has on political candidates. Take, for example, the effectiveness of Will.i.am’s endorsement of Obama setting his spoken speeches to music in the tear jerker of a video “Yes we can.” But contrast that to the achingly embarrassing video “Hillary 4 U and Me,” below, more of a mash up of the Jackson 5 and Disco Tex & His Sex-O-Lettes, produced and written by dot com wonderboy Gene Wang.

(continued)

Radio host Randi Rhodes has been suspended for allegedly using derogatory language to describe Clinton and Ferraro.

By Kimberly

Radio is a funny kind of medium. It’s very personal and makes you feel like you have a rapport with the speaker or host. Gags are in the forms of sound effects, and regular callers seem like old friends. I’ve made it clear that one of my few personal enjoyments is listening to political radio, Air America Radio being one of the vehicles I choose for over 4 years. To me, it’s just a different form of topical entertainment, like watching Colbert or Stewart.

Surprisingly, AAR announced Thursday that they have suspended their highest billed host Randi Rhodes, aka Randi Robertson, native of Brooklyn. According to the New York Times political blog, Randi repeatedly likened Sen. Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro to prostitutes by calling them whores. Oddly enough, this is not the first time she has come out and made these types of jokes, but apparently the Chair of AAR doesn’t listen to the station’s own broadcasts and will freak out when something comes up on YouTube.

(continued)

Rapper 50 Cent hasn't made up his mind.

By Kimberly

The story broke during last week’s waning news cycle that accomplished multi-platinum selling rapper and actor 50 Cent no longer takes a stance on who to support to be the Democratic frontrunner and next president of the United States. If Curtis Jackson can’t even decide who to put his weight behind, I don’t feel so bad that I’m still listening, too.

Early in February, Fiddy declared his endorsement of Sen. Hillary Clinton for President because he thought she’d “do a good job,” stirring up some controversy by frankly sharing that he didn’t think America was ready to have a black President. But after hearing Obama's speech on race in present day America given on March 18, 50 felt in Obama that “just-got-done-watching ‘Malcolm X,’ ” feeling and decided to support Obama “to the end.” On that day, Obama touched 50 and Bill Richardson alike.

(continued)

By Kimberly

Technically speaking, I am assuming that one of “the three main presidential candidates” we are to comment on would have to be Ralph Nader, but for the sake of entertainment purposes I’ll pretend that we are talking Mac, Barack and Hil. Of this universe to choose from, I would vote McCain off the proverbial island.

“But what do you have against McCain and the Straight Talk Express — what a maverick!?” you might ask. First, I want to acknowledge John McCain’s service as more than admirable and he seems like the kind of loving grandpa who would give a kid a shiny roll of Arizona quarters and candy dots. Aside from the obvious quips about senior moments, a speculative run with Lieberman or Romney, keeping us in Iraq for 100 more years, his poor choice in karaoke humor, and lack of any support for national homeowners insurance reform, I want to focus on the rampant hypocrisy already appearing in campaign when it is convenient and beneficial to him.

(continued)