The riveting “Big Sister” YouTube ad, a take off of the ad that launched the Macintosh, attack Hillary Rodham Clinton — produced by an anonymous creator to benefit Barack Obama — launches a new chapter in presidential campaigning. “This will be the political phenomena of 2008,” said Democratic consultant Steve Jarding.
The Hillary spot is a produced piece — a takeoff on George Orwell’s “Big Brother” 1984 theme used in an Apple ad — complete with zombies rescued by a woman running in a tank top with the Obama logo who smashes a screen where Hillary is droning on. The graphic at the end directs traffic to Obama’s presidential campaign Web address.
Obama said on CNN’s “Larry King Live” that “people generate all kinds of stuff” on the Internet. “In some ways, it’s the democratization of the campaign process, but it’s not something that we had anything to do with or were aware of, and that frankly, given what it looks like, we don’t have the technical capacity to create something like this.”
The past two presidents have spoiled Americans with their boomer-era energy and (relative) youth. We expect to see our president’s out jogging or biking or clearing the endless quantities of photo-op-ready brush on their ranch. As JFK knew well enough four decades ago to hide his own infirmities, we like a president with vigor.
Complicating McCain’s quest, he’s facing competitors in both the primary and the general election that positively ooze health and youth. On the Democratic side, Barack Obama and John Edwards both qualify as eye candy. As for Republicans, Giuliani, while not exactly centerfold material, is still a reasonably youthful guy with a carefully cultivated tough-guy persona. And Mitt Romney? Dear god, if the man’s hair were any bigger or his teeth any more gleaming he’d be Tony Robbins.
Republicans:
6/4 Rudolph Guiliani
3-1 John McCain
6-1 Mitt Romney
21-1 Tommy Thompson
26-1 Sam Brownback
34-1 Chuck Hagel
34-1 George Pataki
34-1 Condoleeza Rice
With the announcement this morning that Barak Obama is forming a presidential exploratory committee, I figured it was time to put together a list of who’s running with odds on each (let’s not pretend it isn’t a horse race):
Democrats:
Hillary Clinton - 9:5 odds
Barak Obama - 5:2 odds
John Edwards - 12:1
Al Gore - 50:1
Chris Dodd - 60:1
Joseph R. Biden - 75:1
Bill Richardson - 75:1
Tom Vilsack - 75:1
Wesley Clark - 100:1
John Kerry - 120:1
Dennis Kucinich - 250:1 Republicans:
John McCain - 8:5 odds
Mitt Romney - 3:1 odds
Rudy Giuliani - 6:1
Newt Gingrich - 80:1
Jim Gilmore - 99:1
Tommy G. Thompson - 99:1
Chuck Hagel - 100:1
Mike Huckabee - 100:1
Tom Tancredo - 100:1
Sam Brownback - 120:1
Duncan Hunter - 150:1
Update - 3/2/2007:
No real change on the democatic side. Republican odds have shifted drastically at the top with McCain slipping and Giuliani pulling even / slightly ahead. Duncan Hunter has gained as well with a strong showing in a recent SC straw poll. It’s hard to handicap without an obvious conservative candidate. Without further delay:
Republicans:
Rudy Giuliani - 3:1
John McCain - 3:1 odds
Mitt Romney - 4:1 odds
Duncan Hunter - 50:1
Newt Gingrich - 50:1
Jim Gilmore - 75:1
Chuck Hagel - 100:1
Mike Huckabee - 100:1
Tommy G. Thompson - 120:1
Tom Tancredo - 150:1
Sam Brownback - 150:1
Good guy chml srucnoc 1 (can he get #2?) received a big push today when Ambassador Srucnoc mentioned his rival campaign during a speech. “That BlogSpot character… he’s got style I tell you. Real Chutzpah.” It’s possible that Ambassador Blackwell might have been drugged by the pirate VP, but there’s no real way to know.
Ambassador Srucnoc, in a stunning move, suggested that he’s considering dropping “Pirate VP” and fundraising king Whitey Blackwell and asking Barak Obama to join his team. “I mean, nothing against Whitey, but hey, he’s a pirate”, said Srucnoc. “BarakObama has charisma… he has buzz… he has the mo-minimum!”. Recent stories suggest that he’s an unstoppable force, not unlike JFK to reinvigorate American politics. In related news, souces say that hours before deciding to court Senator Obama, Srucnoc asked Blackwell to change his name to Barak Obama and he refused.
Barak Obama was one of 60 speakers invited to “share his views on AIDS, not abortion or any other issue,” the Warrens said in a statement issued by their Saddleback Valley Community Church. They added that Obama and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) will “present two different political perspectives” at the weekend “Summit on AIDS and the Church.” Chml Srucnoc fully supports Mr. Warren’s decision and believes that those critical of the decision, “are simply misinformed”. Ambasador Srucnoc is quoted as saying, “The evangelical community cannot find even two among its ranks who agree on every issue. To expect every speaker at a summit on AIDS and poverty to be so unified shows that (those expressing criticism) are out to lunch.”
According to a chml-srucnoc blog post today, Chml Srucnoc has decided to get himself a new Zune, complete with FM Transmitter and other accessories. there were rumors of him later dancing in the streets, but as of this morning they were all unsubstantiated.
Srucnoc has made a campaign issue by defending Google’s one-sided political contributions and content policies. Google, one of the world’s most valuable companies and a bellwether for the Internet revolution, continues to reject anti-conservative ads while accepting more liberal ones. Google has chosen to honor such important dates as Picasso’s birthday with a special front page logo while rejecting Veterans Day year after year.
When asked about his support of a company that would likely reject his ads in support of a more liberal candidate Srucnoc was unabashed. “If our country were to limit a private company’s speech we would cease to be free”. As of press time, Google had no comment.
Chml Srucnoc has finally commented on last month’s elections. It was an overall loss he said, though many libertarians and limited-government supporters were hopeful that government mistrust might chalk up gains for the party.
Libertarian activists pegged 2006 as an anti-government revolution, but they got only one piece of what they wanted: a handful of initiatives that limit government power to condemn private property. Broader property rights proposals, state spending caps and limits on politicians’ time in office all fizzled in last week’s election.
But limited-government advocates might run into a skeptical audience in 2008, public opinion experts say. Although voters are unhappy with politicians, last week they agreed to pay for more services and elected many Democrats.