We don't quite get this. If you go to JohnMcCain.com you can order a tire pressure guage that is inscribed "Obama Energy Plan" for $25. We understand that John McCain spent last week trying to mock the suggestion of checking your tire pressure that Barack Obama made to one of his supporters at a campaign event. So he's mocking Obama by asking all of his supporters to buy a tire pressure gauge. A tire pressure gauge with Obama's name on it. Touting Obama's Energy Plan.
Ralph Nader went off on Barack Obama back in the June, and today he added the following:
"People who have fought the civil rights battle - politically, economically, legally - as we have since the 50's would often talk about, 'Look what would happen if we had an African-American president or chairpersons of major congressional committees. It doesn't look like it's going to be what we all thought it would be."
"I lost respect for him, when I saw him over a year ago on C-SPAN vigorously opposed to the impeachment of Bush and Cheney -- vigorously opposed. He said it would be 'divisive'. That is a cop out word. We have the most multiply impeachable presidency in American history."
As for me, I don't remember when I lost respect for Ralph Nader, and suspect I never had any. I will only point out that Ralph wasn't using the word "African-American" back in the '50s.
Ralph Nader made his bones taking on General Motors by pillorying its Chevrolet Corvair with his 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed. The Corvair was a beautiful automobile with a minor engineering flaw that was fixed in the production runs for later model years. I once met one of the production engineers who set up the Corvair assembly line at a party in the Detroit suburbs, and he was still proud of it 35 years later. I prefer the Ford Mustang.
Paris Hilton has now thrown her hat in the Presidential race with the taunt, "I'll see you at the debates, bitches":
You probably saw excerpts on TV, but what you probably didn't see was Paris Hilton’s energy policy, which reads pretty centrist to us:
"Barack wants to focus on new technologies to cut foreign oil dependency and McCain wants offshore drilling. Well, why don't we do a hybrid of both candidates’ ideas? We can do limited offshore drilling with strict environmental oversight while creating tax incentives to get Detroit making hybrid and electric cars. That way the offshore drilling carries us until the new technologies kick in which will then create new jobs and energy independence. Energy crisis solved."
We are surprised that John McCain would go after Paris Hilton after his experience at the Hanoi Hilton. All that McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds could offer was a me too:
"It sounds like Paris Hilton supports John McCain’s 'all of the above' approach to America's energy crisis - -including both alternatives and drilling. In reality, Paris Hilton may have a more substantive energy policy than Barack Obama."We did note that Paris knocked not just John McCain but also Barack Obama:"I'm not from the olden days and I'm not promising change like that other guy."
That sounds a lot like Paris might support our mantra, "what was wrong with the status quo?" So we're ready to consider giving her the Left Bank of the Charles endorsement. But wait, Paris is only 27 years old, so she won't be eligible to run for President until 2016. As we have previously noted, that's the same year Chelsea Clinton and Barbara and Jenna Bush become eligible.
We saw the Wild Sea at the Lizard Lounge on Friday, August 1. This six person band, formerly known as Ruth and formerly known as Amusia, really rocked the small basement space with its concrete floor and low ceilings. We thought they were great but can’t really recall the tunes (Amusia does that to you) so we’ll have to go back for more.
They will be playing Toad on Thursday, September 4. As I told my friends, "I can be a Toad on September 4." Better get there early, as we’re afraid the band and all its trappings will fill the place.
Aaron Lippert, formerly of Expanding Man and Godboxer, opened. Aaron's style just seemed to sing out “if there’s a rebound girl here tonight, you’re going home with me.” Maybe not our taste, but perfect for the Lizard Lounge. We didn’t stay to closing, so we can’t say how good he is.
Our old friend Ann Coulter is at it again. Earlier in the campaign she said she’d campaign for Hillary Clinton over John McCain. Now she’s accusing John McCain’s Celeb ad featuring Paris Hilton and Britney Spears as being insulting to blondes by playing on the stereotype that blondes are stupid. We didn’t notice that she put up a new anti-McCain web site a month ago, Get Drunk and Vote 4 McCain. At the same time, Ann claims credit on behalf of her new web site for Obama dipping in the polls. We noticed that Barack dipped below 300 expected electoral votes this week on our two tracking sites (see left column). Don’t panic or celebrate yet, only 270 are needed to win.
On that subject, I saw a senior McCain staffer on Fox saying, "If we have to give up humor, we may have to turn to hard alcohol."
Did John McCain forget that Britney and Pairs have mothers? Angry mother Kathy Hilton has responded as follows:
"I've been asked again and again for my response to the now infamous McCain celebrity ad. I actually have three responses. It is a complete waste of the money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next President of the United States."
Kathy and her husband had previously donated $4,600 to the McCain campaign. Oops. Apparently the Republican Party needs a new Twelfth Commandant,
"Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican's troubled daughter."
Ronald Reagan must be rolling over in his grave. By the way, Britney Spears said she was willing to give George W. Bush the benefit of the doubt in an exchange with Tucker Carlson on CNN on Wednesday, September 3, 2003:
Carlson: A lot of entertainers have come out against the war in Iraq. Have you?
Spears: Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens.
Barack Obama spoke to the recent McCain ad in Cedar Rapids, Iowa yesterday (July 31, 2008):
"Given the seriousness of the issues, you’d think we could have a serious debate. But so far, all we've been hearing about is Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. I mean, I do have to ask my opponent, is that the best you can come up with? Is that really what this election is about? Is that what is worthy of the American people?"
That sounds like a challenge to bring it on. I will note that the ad in question didn't actually say anything about Paris or Britney, it just displayed their images in a segment talking about Barack's celebrity. So we weren't "hearing about" just "seeing about" Paris and Britney.
