I can only wonder how many times in a given day this conversation from Dinosaur Comics is repeated around Washington, DC or New York City…
Category: Funny Stuff
Sunday Funnies: Winners don’t sit with losers
Co-stanza!
To follow up on the trend of politicians seeking to avoid YouTube, some – like Florida State Rep Mike Weinstein – have gone the other direction with a video Mediaite’s Steven Jessop has (rightfully) called the “Cheesiest Campaign Video Ever”:
Cringe-worthy, isn’t it? Jessop compares it to Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark video. It took me back to syndicated Saturday-morning kids shows on independent stations like WPIX in the early 1990s, where kids dressed like stunt doubles for Screech would bop around on stage in neon orange t-shirts and denim overalls. And, it turns out, the company that produced the video makes educational programming for kids, so that’s probably what they were going for.
So it’s a bad campaign tactic, right? Not so fast. I thought so at first, too, but then I sat down to make fun of it, and the song stuck in my head. Jessop pointed it out in his post, and by gum he’s right: the song is pretty catchy. Like a commercial jingle, it’s annoying at first, then you hear it a few times and you’re humming it in the shower.
Weinstein is an incumbent, so though it may make him seem a little out of touch with younger voters it probably won’t hurt – though they’ll probably lose Kenny Loggins’ vote.
John Kerry back on the campaign trail
Sen. John Kerry emailed his campaign supporters yesterday imploring them to get to the polls… and cast their vote for Kevin Youkilis in MLB’s All Star Game Final Vote. The senior Senator from Massachusetts used the occasion to take a swipe at the Yankees:
Youk deserves to be in the All-Star Game — while the team has grinded [sic] it out in spite of injury after injury, he’s been a rock. But now he needs to win a fan vote to make it to Anaheim next week.
“The stakes are also just a little personal: in the fan voting, currently Nick Swisher of the Yankees is in first place. Swisher’s having a fine year, but Youk is better in just about every category, batting average, slugging, home runs, everything, and he plays Gold Glove defense to boot. Please don’t let anyone say that Swisher beat Youkilis because Sox fans have gone a little soft after ’04 and ’07. Let’s show we’re still the most ravenous fans in baseball.
Give Kerry points for acknowledging Swisher’s year so far. That’s the closest thing to real bipartisanship we’ve heard from Washington this year. However, he may be a little insensitive – that “ravenous” fan base has caused problems in the past.
The fan voting has drawn some attention to MLB’s strides in advanced media (they wisely don’t call it “new media”). Swisher has been active on Twitter for a while, and his 1.2 million followers offer a ready-made network for an online vote. The voting by text message feature is available only to Sprint customers, making cell phone coverage maps an issue – which looks like a drawback for Texas’s Michael Young and Minnesota’s Delmon Young.
However, anyone handicapping the race must acknowledge that the excitable Red Sox Nation Kerry references is a study in how offline enthusiasm can turn into online action. The tech-savvy city of Boston has done well in online All-Star balloting since Nomar Garciaparra edged out Derek Jeter in the fan vote to start the 1999 game.
But of course, like so many of the other pressing issues that face our nation, John Kerry is wrong (if only because Swish’s endorsement deals are more wholesome than Youk’s). You can answer by casting your vote for Swisher – and like some Boston elections of yore, you can vote as many times as you like.
In fairness, State and Justice are completely different departments
From the home page of Google news earlier this afternoon, circa lunchtime:
Sunday Funnies: Daily print media gets to know their audience
It’s still better than WGN
Looking to keep stories about the White House’s dabbling in primary elections alive, the RNC launched the “Obama Chicago Network” in an email to supporters this afternoon.
The site boasts four “shows” that deal with various negative stories surrounding the Sestak/Romanoff could-have-been-bribery affairs, plus Rod Blagojevich thrown in for fun:
Even if it is somewhat dated in the pop culture references (some of the shows they are spoofing are past their prime or canceled), it’s pretty funny, makes good use of news clips, and has a poll to collect people’s contact information. With Blagojevich in the news, it does a good job of tying the administration As a lead generator, the site is good, but it’s missing something that could make it a really useful tool for Republican messaging: a section where users could “pitch” their own shows. Not only is audience participation a good thing, but it might make for some must-see TV.
Tell me, who the #$%& are you?
Politics in the Carolinas has been good for comedians over the last few weeks, and Congressman Bob Etheridge was able to keep it going with this now-famous video:
“Who are you?”?!? He’s a guy with a camera, genius.
That’s what makes this so hilarious: Etheridge had all the cards and lost the hand.
Option A: Some scrubby little schmuck with a camera and a blue blazer comes pointing a camera in his face, and apparently asks if he supports “the Obama Agenda.” A smile, a polite question back (“Well, what do you think the ‘Obama Agenda’ is, sir?”), and a re-framing of the issue (“I support policies that will help my constituents, and I’ll work with anyone who wants to help – yes, if they’re the President of the United States.”) and this go away. Congressman Etheridge walks away laughing, and the kid with his face blurred out has no good footage. Or, if he’s feeling especially saucy, he stays and has a civil discussion – after all, he has to have an intellectual foundation for what he believes in. If camera boy doesn’t want to be civil, chuckle and invite him to your office sometime for coffee to talk further.
Option B: Grab his arm, bear hug him like you’re posing for a picture, and ask him who he is. Gain internet fame.
Etheridge, who has obviously never heard the phrase, “Don’t lose your temper except on purpose,” chose B. He chose poorly.
The fallout could go beyond Etheridge’s own district, too. The video offers another example of Congressional egotism and entitlement. News media outlets like to talk about an anti-incumbent sentiment among the electorate, but that can’t exist without folks like Congressman Etheridge stoking the flame.
Photo finished?
This picture is not good for our President:
Earlier this week, I talked with Matt Lewis about how the lack of a Bush-esque, detached, looking-down-from-an-airplane-at-disaster picture or video would help save President Obama from the derision and scorn his predecessor received after reacting to a Gulf coast crisis.
More likely to hurt Obama is the perception that he is at once corrupt and incompetent. Politico details the frustration many Democrats have with the White House’s failed meddling in Democratic primaries – but it’s the accompanying hilarious picture which cuts the administration’s political shop deepest.
Sunday Funnies: Maybe we shouldn’t give Google any ideas…
Facebook got all the press this week answering privacy questions, but isn’t this just a matter of time?
Jim Eltringham 