Alaska?

Via Jake Tapper at Political Punch, I came across this hilarious little ditty from, well, Diddy! Diddy certainly has a unique presentation for his vlog (isn't he dizzy spinning around like that!?!) but he actually hits a number of salient points. Look, I've never been to Alaska. However, the pictures I've seen of it are spectacular. I'm sure Alaska is an absolutely lovely state and an amazing place to call your home. That being said, does the governor of Alaska really have a good grip of the complex social issues that ordinary Americans deal with on a regular basis? Diddy is right to ask, are there any black people in Alaska? Now, I'm sure there are, and it shold be noted that Alaska has a history of racial conflict between whites and Native Americans. However, Sarah Palin just does not look like a woman that would be comfortable campaigning in Detroit or Philadelphia.

Michael Tomasky's excellent post on Palin directed me to this revealing article by the New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller. It turns out that Palin essentially was not vetted at all. McCain really wanted either Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge but his aides shot them down because they were pro-choice. A pro-choice running mate would be DOA on the convention floor. So in recognition that he wouldn't get what he wanted, he shot from the hip and picked Sarah Palin. My theory behind this is that the McCain campaign thinks that women are stupid. No really, that's my theory. Let me elaborate. I'm theorizing that McCain is betting everything on disaffected Hillary voters. Without carefully thinking it through, McCain believes that if he puts a woman on the GOP ticket as his running mate, women won't be able to help themselves and they'll vote for him. Why else would Sarah Palin be praising Hillary Clinton with every opportunity? Also, this prevents the Democrats from monopolizing the "history making" market, by having a woman on the ticket. Nevermind the fact that Palin's beliefs are completely anithetical to those of most of Hillary Clinton's supporters. Palin believes that Creationism should be taught alongside evolution in public schools and she opposes abortion in all circumstances, including rape and incest. In other words, McCain thinks women, and Hillary Clinton supporters in particular, are stupid.

Geek Alert

I'm not sure how I feel about this. The Max Payne games, are in no small way some of the best video games ever conceived. However, the word on the street is that this movie will be PG-13. Look, Max Payne can't be PG-13. It's not that I'm a sadist that enjoys watching people get blown up, but when it comes to movies, I'm a sadist that enjoys watching people get blown up. Ok, I'll be serious now. Max Payne is like Batman in sense that both stories are EXTREMELY dark and nihilistic. A PG-13 rating worked with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, because Batman doesn't kill anyone. It's the one line he will never cross. The same cannot be said of Max Payne. Max Payne's wife and baby were murdered by drug dealers. This essentially ends Max's life, and he is reborn as a creature of vengeance. He kills people. He kills them violently. A PG-13 movie just can't convey that. Also, what the fuck is with the demon thingys? Valkyries? In the first game, there's mention of the Valkyrie Project, but it's a military industrial project. It's not some kind of occult summoning of demons. I've read that in Max Payne 2, if you beat the game on the hardest level (which I will never be able to do) a new playable level gets unlocked that includes demons. I'm hoping this is just some sort of dream sequence. However, I fear that it's not considering that these things are featured so prominently in the trailer.

On the other hand, the trailer is fairly well put together. It certainly peeks interest in the viewer. I could make some kind of half assed excuse, but the truth is, I'll probably see this movie right away since I'm such a fan of the games. I think it sucks that the movie is PG-13, but since 20th Century Fox is running the show, I'm not all that surprised. Anyways, this has been way too long of post, especially since it's about a video game movie. I should be talking about Sarah Palin. Oh well!

A Night to Remember

Wow. What a speech! I've seen some great speeches in my 24 years, but I think that this might just take the cake. Obama was brilliant last night. I think I feel the need to try and match that speech by writing a very insightful commentary post. Why even try. I'll just note a few highlights that really struck me. In my opinion, Obama did a great job of defusing the "celebrity" and "elitist" critique that the McCain campaign has been so desperately trying to link him with. By highlighting his struggles growing up as the child of a single mother on welfare, I think it's pretty much impossible to call Obama an "elitist." I was particularly struck by the line, "I don't know how John McCain thinks a celebrity lives, but that's how I grew up." In the words of John Madden, Boom. However, it's really up to the media whether or not they will keep covering this line of attack. Since they know it's BS, they should leave it alone. Another highlight for me, as I sure it was for everyone watching the speech, was the bit on Osama bin Laden. As I'm sure you're all aware, McCain has said that he will follow Osama Bin Laden to "the gates of hell." Now, that plays really well in a cheesy 80's action flick, but in the real world such macho nonsense should be dismissed as utter inanity. Obama said "John McCain wants to chase Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives!" This, of course, is in reference to McCain's puzzling refusal to go after bin Laden in Pakistan. In fact he's accused Obama of wanting to "invade Pakistan." Of course, Obama has never said anything even close to that. I think that line was a watershed moment in this election; as it cuts to the very core of John McCain's perceived national security bonfides.

Overall, I thought the speech was very inspiring. Those were two little highlights that struck me amongst numerous others. I mentioned those two because they marked Obama's response to McCain's two main lines of attack: 1) Barack Obama is an "elitist celebrity" obessesed with his own image; and 2) Barack Obama does not have the experience and national security bonafides that would enable him to be an effective comander-in-cheif. There were many other tidbits that stuck me. In order to go over those, I will outsource any additional commentary and analysis to Michael Tomasky and Ezra Klein.

McCain's Celebrity

Over at the TIME groupblog Swampland, Ana Marie Cox has a post noting John McCain's 13th appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. That's the same amount of appearances as such celebrity heavy weights as Pamela Anderson and Simon Cowell. Just in case your wondering, Barack Obama that "elitist celebrity" has only appeared on the show once.

Via Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo.

Thoughts on Biden

I realize that this is coming 4 days late, but I really think that Joe Biden is a solid pick for Barack Obama's running mate. Biden is a very endearing Senator and I have no doubt that he will convince many voters that were on the fence in regards to Obama to fall fully into his camp. His personal story about commuting home every night to be with his sons after the tragic accident that killed his wife and daughter will resonate with American voters. Joe Biden truly is a blue-collar guy, an Irish Catholic from Scranton (yeah Dunder-Mifflin!!!) that grew up with absolutely nothing. Just like Barack Obama, the son of a single mother on welfare. Hopefully this pick will help combat the "elitist" and "celebrity" narrative. However, I think the Democrats could nominate a homeless 12 year old for President and the GOP would still call them an elitist. Mark Schmitt has a great mini-profile of Joe Biden over at the American Prospect. It's a short read that I highly recommend.

As for the convention last night, I thought the tribute to Teddy Kennedy was very moving. I thought considering the circumstance he looked good. His speech conveyed the fire and passion he still possesses, especially for lifting up ordinary Americans. Also, his vow to be on the Senate floor in January 2009 was very touching, and reassuring for that matter. His voice is a crucial one, and if Obama hopes to enact progressive change through the Senate, Kennedy's skills will be vital. I thought that Michelle Obama was electrifying. I had high expectations for this speech, but she absolutely knocked it out of the park. Her speech exhibited how normal she is. Personally, I find it abhorrent that millions of Americans still need to be convinced of that. It shows just how far our country has to go. However, her presence on that stage also demonstrated how far our country has progressed.

Photo used courtesy of Flickr user IowaPolitics.com July, 17 2007

Kicking it McCain Style

Via my coworker Taylor, via Daily Kos.

Bush Flip-Flops on Timetables

It's official. Condoleezza Rice has negotiated a draft agreement towards a timetable for withdrawl of US forces from Iraq. The draft calls for the removal of combat forces from cities by the end of June 2009, with all combat forces out by December 2011. Unfortunately, this agreement does leave a little room for so-called "residual" forces. Nevertheless, this is very encouraging news, as it will be good to have the majority of our troops home where they belong. This is, of course, a huge flip-flop for Bush. The administration has long made it clear that they view timetables for withdrawl as tantamount to surrender. Considering McCain thinks we need to stay in Iraq anywhere between 100 and 10,000 years I can only guess that he must've spontaneously combusted when he heard of this news.

It should be noted that the Bush administration has made a wise move here, so I will give credit where credit is due. However, it should be clear that this is a draft agreement so nothing is set in stone. In other words, in the unfortunate event of a McCain victory in November, he could throw this agreement out the window. Moreover, the Times article makes clear that the Americans and Iraqis have somewhat different interpretations of this agreement. In the end though, this is good news and it hopefully means that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the troops over in Iraq.

This ADORABLE photo was used courtesy of Flickr user soldiersmediacenter April 23, 2007