Video at Newsbusters, if you can hack it. Quote:

What would we be saying if Hillary Clinton [sic] had said this: that Ann Romney has never, has not worked for pay outside the home a day in her life? That's my understanding that's an accurate statement, and that raises the exact issue that Hilary Rosen was trying to get to, which is do Mr. & Mrs. Romney have the kind of life experience and if not, the imagination, to really understand what most American families are going through right now?

There are two kinds of appeal.

First, an intellect-based appeal that one's policies will favor targeted voters. And rival policies will hurt targeted voters. I don't agree that NOW's policies will favor anyone, but they can make the argument.

The second appeal is emotional/empathetic and claims "I'm just like you. I understand your problems. Without even getting into policy details, you know you can trust me, because I'm just like you and I understand you."

Right?

The attacks on Ann Romney are largely being made on that second basis -- she "hasn't worked a day in her life." (She's different! Don't you hate her?!) She lacks "life experience." (She's not a full woman like us! Don't you hate her?!) She lacks "imagination." (Her choice to be a dumb stay at home mom has cramped her mind! Don't you hate her!?)

This second line of attack is even weaker than the intellectual one, though. Because, I ask you:

What does the president of NOW, a media gadfly making (spitballing) over a half a million dollars per year, know about the "struggles of average families just trying to get by?"

If this woman was ever struggling -- and I doubt she was; these organizations tend to be headed by the idle rich or at least those so comfortable they can volunteer for years without a salary -- it's been a very long time since she's struggled.

So what does she know of "the struggles of average families"? Did she read a White Paper on it?

Diane Sawyer was asking on Twitter what questions she ought to ask Mitt and Ann Romney.

I was annoyed, because Diane Sawyer is the Queen of Soap Opera Acting Empathy. It annoys me to no end that these Morning "News" Women employ the cheapest and most obvious of soap opera acting techniques -- the heroically squinted eyes, the weary low voice, the sad shake of the head, as they ask their "empathy" questions, like "Mrs. Romney, do you get it? Do you understand that women are hurting?"

Squint, weary whisper, shake of the head.

What does Diane Sawyer know of it? When's the last time she "struggled"? She is a millionaire in her own right (and has been forever) and is furthermore married to a Hollywood director (Mike Nichols).

Mrs. Romney, do you understand the struggles of an average housewife like myself when her husband's film Regarding Henry receives poor critical reception and underperforms at the box office?

A long time ago I read some media critic -- in TVGuide, of all places; this was literally 30+ years ago -- noting that newsmen (they were once all men) attempted two different types of personas: The Hero persona, in which the newsman attempted to project empathy and a common touch and, well, a heroic commitment to fighting, and the AntiHero persona, which is not well-named at all, but was basically a persona in which the newsman kept emotional distance from the news and just read it straight.

Although there are plenty of male "Hero" anchors and reporters, this tendency is especially pronounced in these Morning Personalities.

And it's a deception. It's false. These are soap opera tricks of the crudest sort engineered to up one's Q Rating (likability) and thus one's Nielsen ratings.

Diane Sawyer is a fraudulent woman.

When she goes through her soap opera routine of the head shake, the squint, and the weary voice, I wish to God someone had the balls to ask her how much her apartment cost, and if she paid cash for it. (Guess-- Over $3 or $4 million, and yes, she almost certainly did.)

Diane, what do you know of struggling? Are we supposed to believe that because you squint, shake your head, and use a stagey low weary voice that you've suddenly transformed into Luka (I live on the second floor)?

It's just patently dishonest, and they shouldn't be allowed to get away with it.

$10 Million? A commenter says her apartment is valued at $10 million, and she bought it from... Robert Redford.

And he's right.

So yeah, let me see that friggin' head-shake and weary squint, Diane.

Posted by: Ace at 08:14 AM | Comments (304)
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Just worked out that way.

He earned just under $800,000 in 2011, so he wouldn't be affected by the million-plus rule.

But...

The president did earn over $1 million in previous years--$1.7 million in 2010 and $5.5 million in 2009.

The Bidens, meanwhile, paragons of Middle Class Values, made just shy of $380,000, and managed, in this election year, to donate $5,540 to charity.

That's a marked improvement over the Bidens' previous record.

The Bidens reported giving $995 in charitable donations last year — about 0.3% of their income and the highest amount in the past decade. The low was $120 in 1999, about 0.1% of yearly income.

Over the decade, the Bidens reported a total of $3,690 in charitable donations, or 0.2% of their income.

Biden says he gives his time, man.

Biden spokesman David Wade said in an e-mail that the Bidens "also contribute to their favorite causes with their time as well as their checkbooks."

That's an average of $369 (yes, just three digits) per year for the last ten years.

Obama's also increased his giving for this election year -- knowing Romney gave away an awful lot, the Obamas now report giving 22% to charity.

However, the Obamas have made a lot more money in the past -- and gave just 5.7% to charity in 2007, an election year.

Correction: I screwed up my math. In 2010, paying their 2009 taxes, they gave 18% or so.

Posted by: Ace at 07:34 AM | Comments (193)
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Happy Friday.

Mad scientists in France are teaching baboons to recognize words. The end of our civilization cannot be far behind.

Republicans AND Democrats panned Gov. Deval Patrick's clumsy attempt to insert himself into the presidential election yesterday. He held a hasty "anniversary party" for MassCare and failed to invite that law's key authors. It really was just an opportunity for Patrick to go on TV and audition for a Cabinet role in the next Obama term.

The Justice Department is beefing up its trial team in the Roger Clemens steroid perjury retrial. In other words, the retrial of the failed prosecution will cost taxpayers even more than the first bullshit trial. FLASHBACK: "U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton declared a mistrial last July on only the second day of testimony, after prosecutors showed jurors evidence that had been ruled inadmissible." If it were really illegal to lie to Congress, the President would be in jail by now.

The Obama campaign folks must be ready to scream. The plan for this week was to hit the GOP hard on the Buffett Rule and "fairness." It was going to be the drum beat all week long. Obama had a speech scheduled every day for it---sometimes more than one. But you wouldn't know it from most media coverage. Obama's blather was pushed aside every day. Zimmerman took up two days. Santorum took another. Yesterday was Rosen. And now Obama's big Buffett Rule blitz is officially "old news." The Obama camp really won't like the Third Way poll that Allah wrote about yesterday.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:49 AM | Comments (660)
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Since I'm travelling and kinda sick you're gonna get a hodgepodge of Le Suc. And like it.

A Beginning

This is the story of the great war that Rikki-tikki-tavi fought single-handed, through the bath-rooms of the big bungalow in Segowlee cantonment. Darzee, the Tailorbird, helped him, and Chuchundra, the musk-rat, who never comes out into the middle of the floor, but always creeps round by the wall, gave him advice, but Rikki-tikki did the real fighting.

He was a mongoose, rather like a little cat in his fur and his tail, but quite like a weasel in his head and his habits. His eyes and the end of his restless nose were pink. He could scratch himself anywhere he pleased with any leg, front or back, that he chose to use. He could fluff up his tail till it looked like a bottle brush, and his war cry as he scuttled through the long grass was: "Rikk-tikk-tikki-tikki-tchk!"

And Some Other Beginnings

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything truly wrong, he was arrested.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

He was one hundred and seventy days dying and not yet dead. He fought for survival with the passion of a beast in a trap. He was delirious and rotting, but occasionally his primitive mind emerged from the burning nightmare of survival into something resembling sanity. Then he lifted his mute face to Eternity and muttered: "What's a matter, me? Help, you goddamn gods! Help, is all."

Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.

Everybody with a gun has a check-point in Lebanon. And in Lebanon you'd be crazy not to have a gun. Though, I assure you, all the crazy people have guns, too.

On the morning the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide - it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese - the two paramedics arrived at the house knowing exactly where the knife drawer was, and the gas oven, and the beam in the basement from which it was possible to tie a rope

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 04:57 PM | Comments (989)
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Don't call it a comeback. It's baked in the cake.

Look, at the end of the day, people can say whatever they gonna say. (Just went a little street on ya.)

But Dick Morris is right -- Obama can make this micro-issue the "Issue of the Media Day," and that diversion the Meme of the Week.

But when it comes down to it-- these are illusory victories.

The real issue that all voters will face in November is this: Do I want to sign up for a repeat of the last four years or do I want a chance at something different?

The Reagan-Carter race was, according to the polls, fairly close until the end, when people finally stopped thinking about mere politics and started thinking about the real question: Do the last four years represent the best I think I can do? Am I getting full service on my checks?

The answer was no then, and it will be "no" again.

As with every Romney-Obama matchup in the past six months, the race is so tight that it is within the pollÂ’s margin of sampling error. This, however, is only the second time the Fox News poll shows Romney on top. The first time was November 2011, when he was also up by 2 percentage points.

...

More Republicans (42 percent) than Democrats (32 percent) or independents (34 percent) say they are “extremely” interested in the upcoming presidential election.

...

Among the highly sought after group of independents, the poll found 43 percent back Romney and 37 percent Obama. Nearly one in four independent voters (21 percent) is undecided or wonÂ’t vote for either of the major party candidates.

Prediction: Three quarters of that undecided vote goes for Romney.

If you're "undecided" on Obama after four years? Guess what. You don't like him. It's not getting any better.

And some of those independents are right-leaning independents who consider the GOP too liberal. Some of them will indeed vote third party, but most of them will be so physically repulsed at the thought of Four More Years -- a goddamned medium-length prison sentence -- they'll vote against Obama.

It's not in the bag. But people who think Obama is a lock, or even favored, are just wrong.

Posted by: Ace at 03:01 PM | Comments (481)
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Punks. Hey, guess The Q got that one right and CNN got it wrong.

It's a very brief document.

Among the "facts" it claims is that:

Zimmerman continued following Martin, though there is no evidence of that.

Zimmerman began the confrontation, though there is no evidence of that.

It is Trayvon Martin heard crying out for help in one 911 call, because Trayvon's mom says it's him. (Ignoring the witness who says it was Zimmerman, and also ignoring the strangeness of the guy on top crying out for help while the guy on the bottom stays heroically silent.)

The prosecution will need to prove these things, and I don't think they can.

The witness they'll be relying on, I assume, is Trayvon's girlfriend, who was on the phone with her shortly before the confrontation -- but previously statements by her reported by the press didn't seem to concern any of the central points (like who began the confrontation). Oh: Maybe not. This is all hearsay, of course. Not sure if there's an exception to cover this. None occurs to me, off the top of my head.

I'd like to see if her statements have, um, evolved into a state that is more helpful to the prosecution.

Full document here. It's very thin. No evidence, of course, and barely even any assertions.

I Have A Big Relevant Question: We know about the fatal gunshot to Trayvon.

Did he have any signs of being punched on his face or body?

If he didn't -- then that does suggest that either he threw the first punch or was so dominant in the struggle that George Zimmerman could not lay a lick on him.

Zimmerman has at least two injuries -- nose and back of head -- so we know he at least got hit.

Did Trayvon?

Relevant, isn't it?

Posted by: Ace at 02:05 PM | Comments (466)
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Maybe an open blog. Feeling under the weather.

Posted by: Ace at 01:41 PM | Comments (150)
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Of course he's French. And filled with ennui.

The first clip is old, but the sequel is new. I put them both below the fold because they're new to me. more...

Posted by: Ace at 12:35 PM | Comments (285)
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They told me if I voted for John McCain, we'd have a cretinous buffoon a heartbeat away from the presidency. And they were right!

"He has been one of the leading legal scholars," Biden said of Franken today, according to the pool report. He also said that Franken "is deadly serious" as a senator...

The Romney team is meanwhile "bracketing" Joe Biden's campaign appearances, dogging him with high-level surrogates to contradict him. But I don't see any pouncing on this farcical claim yet.

Posted by: Ace at 11:01 AM | Comments (387)
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But they're doing different work. The men are doing the "thinking work," and the women are doing the, you know, "helping the men do the thinking work."

So it's all good, bro.

I just read this piece noting, as we know, that Hilary Rosen's firm represents Sandra Fluke. She's a managing partner there, along with former White House communications director Anita Dunn. (I inaccurately called Dunn a "top adviser" earlier.)

That article reminded me that Anita Dunn herself had accused Obama's White House of being a "hostile workplace" for women.

I forgot about the story, as the media, of course, ignored it after a smattering of mentions.

But here's an actual War on Women, as charged by one of Obama's own top-level female staffers.

And not just Dunn-- Christina Roemer also sounded a similar complaint, as did an unnamed female source.

“This place would be in court for a hostile workplace,” former White House communications director Anita Dunn is quoted as saying. “Because it actually fit all of the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile workplace to women.”

...

“I felt like a piece of meat,” Christina Romer, former head of the Council of Economic Advisers, said of one meeting in which Suskind writes she was “boxed out” by Summers.

Dunn told Suskind that the problems began during the 2008 campaign. At one point she was viewing a television ad with other campaign officials and was shocked to see no women in the spot.

“There isn’t a single woman in this ad,” Dunn said. “I was dumbfounded. It wasn’t like they were being deliberately sexist. It’s just there was no one offering a female perspective.”

The ad was later reshot, with women included.

“The president has a real woman problem,” an unnamed high-ranking female official told Suskind. “ The idea of the boys’ club being just Larry and Rahm isn’t really fair. He [Obama] was just as responsible himself.”

This is coming from his own people.

Posted by: Ace at 10:11 AM | Comments (237)
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