Greg Mitchell | The Nation
How the Media Created a Monster: Sarah Palin
It's often said these days that Sarah Palin is a "media creation." That is, the media promote and elevate her as one of America's most popular and influential leaders, even though her approval ratings remain in the tank, by covering every appearance and statement (whether speech or tweet) as if she is the Junior President from Alaska.
But the "creation" part goes well beyond what's happened since the 2008 campaign to keep her constantly in the public eye. It's my view that she was created by the media even before John McCain picked her as his Veep candidate.
It fact, it was exactly two years ago this week that a true (if rarely recognized) turning point in the 2008 race for the White House arrived. It came at the Democratic convention in Denver. No, it was not the good vibes about Obama, the ringing speeches by Teddy Kennedy, Michelle Obama, Bill and Hill, or by the candidate himself.
Rather, it was the electronic media's overblown coverage of the allegedly widespread threat by female Hillary delegates, and other Clinton fans, to bolt Obama in favor of McCain that November.
As you may recall, the dissidents, known as "PUMAs," got massive face time on TV and, it was claimed by many in the media, represented just the tip of the iceberg. And it was also said (by commentators, not just by the new, pro-Hillary media stars) that women, particularly older ones and suburban/blue-collar types who had voted for Hillary in the primaries, would likely abandon the Democrats in November.
There was no firm evidence for this, of course, and few pundits, on TV or in print, seemed to notice that the same handful of disgruntled Hillary delegates appeared on all of the shows. No matter. Obama's possible defeat because of the possible defections was widely predicted.
Why did this end up making any difference, since the mass female defections never happened?
Because John McCain and his people bought it, hook, line and sinker. This explains the sudden (though often ill-explained) rise of Sarah Palin to the top of their VP list. The McCainites saw an opening, which really wasn't there, and went completely overboard. Not only did a female VP suddenly look like a great idea, but she would have extra appeal to the particular type of Hillary primary voters so hyped by the media.
The preposterous media coverage of the (few) unhappy Hillaryites at the Dem convention—which was aimed not at helping Obama but maintaining interest in the affair and the coming campaign—inspired McCain to select as his running mate someone who would virtually destroy his campaign.
Recall that after months of trailing, McCain came out of his convention with a bump that led to at least a tie with Obama in the polls—then he plummeted very quickly as the truth about Palin seeped out. In addition, he had lost his chief calling card: an edge in experience on Obama. A week after the GOP convention ended, polls were already showing that, if anything, women thought less of Palin than did men. CNN's survey, for example, gave Obama a 50% to 36% edge over McCain, with only 13% of women saying they were more likely to vote for him because of Palin -- and 11% reporting they were now less likely.
And surveys later showed that while she drew crowds she actually drove more people away from the GOP than toward it. In fact, it's a myth that Palin was broadly "popular."
Imagine if McCain had picked even a neutral figure such as a Pawlenty or, say, Kay Bailey Hutchison. Yes, Obama still would have won (he ran a fine campaign and the economy collapsed). But if McCain hadn't picked Palin, it might have been a real nail biter.
Also: Sarah Palin would still be a little-known political figure probably completing her first term as governor and with no boomlet for her as a candidate for president in 2012. And Tina Fey would have missed out on another career boost.
[For my new piece looking back at my first political convention--Chicago '68--go here.]
Greg Mitchell's book on the 2008 campaign is titled "Why Obama Won."
Friday DAYBOOK: Removing the 'Mosque,' Colbert vs. Carell, Phil Ochs Declares War Over, More
WELCOME TO DAYBOOK, our daily collection of media and politics hits/misses from a wide variety of sources plus fun videos and (and at the bottom) musical picks. Return for updates all day. Keep up with fresh items via @gregmitch at Twitter. E-mail me at: epic1934@aol.com. To increase type size hit the middle "A" above right.
T.G.I. FRIDAY SPECIALS
HIllary Clinton expected to announce today that Israelis and Palestinians to resume direct talks after 20 month lag, seen as victory for Obama team.... Meanwhile, U.S. may have convinced Israel that it will take at least a year for Iran to build a nuclear weapon (assuming it is doing this) -- Obama administration feels it has halted Israel move to maybe pre-emptively bomb.
Andy Borowitz on U.S. troop pullout this week: "The withdrawal from Iraq is a withdrawal in the sense that Cher's first farewell tour was a farewell."
Roger, Over and Out: The politics of Roger Clemens getting indicted on charges of false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. Remember? GOPers on panel fawned over Clemens while Dems were critical. Now Clemens hammered as we were heading for extra innings.
AP fact check debunks falsehoods about proposed NYC Islamic center. Powerline blog guy mad that AP reported as fact that Obama is not a Muslim. AP memo advises staff against using "Ground Zero mosque." .... Howard Dean tries to defend his call to move "mosque," pressed by Keith Olbermann.
CNN: Muslims pray in Pentagon chapel built less than 100 feet from where 9/11 plane hit....Florida church vows to burn copies of Koran on 9/11, despite fire department objection.
Big piece in this Sunday's NYT Magazine: Why won't today's 20-somethings grow up or at least move out of parents' house or something? (Yeah, tell me about it.)
Sarah Palin continues to defend Laura Schlesinger over "N-word" uproar.
Note to fans: No afternoon updates today, and no Saturday Daybook. Hey, guy needs a break once in awhile.
AS OBAMA ARRIVES AT VINEYARD Mark Knoller of CBS tallies the vacation days at same point in terms: Obama 70, Bush 223.
TALKIN' NEW YORKER BLUES? Ace New Yorker music guy Alex Ross chats with historian Sean Wilentz about his new Bob Dylan book.
OFF TARGET MSNBC rejects MoveOn.org ad calling for protest of Target in campaign funding protest.
THOSE WERE THE DAYS, MY FRIEND? Time complies a list of the ten things today's kids will never experience, including camera film, the glory days of Nick At Nite, and music videos on MTV. What about reading a hardcover book? Or magazine in print?
PAT ANSWERS AT LAST My new piece on Pat Tillman film opening today, with trailer, interview and round-up of rave reviews.
ANOTHER TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE Coming Sept. 7 on HBO: "My Trip to al-Qaeda", project of New Yorker's Lawrence Wright and Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney.
BITS & PIECES Haaretz: The ongoing saga of the U.S. Navy "swastika" building.
TODAY's LAFF
With the latest hype over U.S. troop "pullout" in Iraq, seems apt to re-play the classic Colbert and Carell "Even Stephen/Steven" episode when they pretended a debate before the war.
TODAY's MUSIC
With partial U.S. troop pullout in Iraq, time for Phil Ochs' "The War Is Over." It really wasn't really when he sang it either -- U.S. was still in Vietnam. Why he called it "surreal" and "futuristic."
UPDATE: Much-Awaited Pat Tillman Film Opens Friday—Critics Rave
It's received favorable media attention and early reviews for quite some time—and we carried a story and trailer here long ago—and now the Tillman Story is finally arriving in theaters Friday. The Pat Tillman family has done Larry King this week and you may have already read about its shocking and honest revelations, and treatment of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and others.
The first reviews are in, almost all favorable, including one from Stephen Holden, just posted by the New York Times before publication in print on Friday. It calls it a "sorrowful, devastating documentary…clearsighted, emotionally steady," and it "persuasively" portrays Tillman's family "as finer, more morally sturdy people than the cynical chain of command that lied to them and used their son as a propaganda tool."
Kenneth Turan of the LA Times open his review: "The Tillman Story is a story that won't go away, won't leave you alone, won't let you feel at ease. Intensely dramatic, filled with elevated heroism, crass self-interest and blatant stupidity, it's a paradigmatic narrative of our tendentious, turbulent times." And another veteran reviewer, Richard Corliss, in TIME magazine: "Meticulous in its amassing of interviews, news footage and Army documents, The Tillman Story plays like a mystery of epic proportions and awful implications."
Now here's a lengthy and excellent Q&A with director Amir Bar-Lev just up at the Tribeca Film Festival site. Here's an excerpt and a new trailer below. Also see my article from 2005 shortly after the full story started to break.
Tribeca: What was the biggest challenge in making this film? Were there roadblocks from the military?
Amir Bar-Lev: There’s really nothing in the film that another journalist couldn’t have reported on. And it was shocking to us to see—I mean, there is some investigative journalist involved in what we did, but not much—we couldn’t believe that it hadn’t been reported on! I’m not a big media critic or anything, but it does speak to how thin hard journalists are spread these days....
As far as the military putting up roadblocks, they really didn’t; they didn’t feel like we were a threat to them. They didn’t help us at all, but they didn’t hinder us. I think that’s because they don’t operate the way the films depict them operating—like putting a bullet in my mailbox or saying, “You better not go down that road…” That’s another case of people mistaking movies for reality.
In actuality, they have a team of very good publicists that makes sure that their spin gets disseminated through the mainstream press, and they are wildly successful at it. And they think that a small documentary isn’t going to have an impact on public sentiment.
The scene in the Congressional hearing where those generals basically say the equivalent of, “The dog ate my homework”—that worked. That was how it was reported. The reporting that night was, “Generals apologize to Tillmans for errors in bungling the Tillman case…” It takes a wide berth around the fact that they’ve never admitted to anything deliberate, even to this moment.
Tribeca: What do you want audiences to take away from the film? What do you want to happen?
Amir Bar-Lev: The story is not over. Nobody has really been held accountable. The guys who actually shot at Pat were given the same punishment as if they had forgotten to clean their weapons. Personally, though, my ire is directed to the people who continue to cover it up to this day.
DAYBOOK for Thursday: Poll Finds More Americans Than Ever Think Obama is a Muslim
WELCOME TO DAYBOOK, our daily collection of media and politics hits/misses from a wide variety of sources plus fun videos and (and at the bottom) musical picks. Return for updates all day. Keep up with fresh items via @gregmitch at Twitter. E-mail me at: epic1934@aol.com. To increase type size hit the middle "A" above right.
AFTERNOON UPDATES
If 1 in 5 (in new Pew poll) think Obama is a Muslim I bet 4 in 5 think we have no troops left in Iraq, thanks to yesterday's and today's media angle. E.g. Michael Gordon, who wrote bad NYT pieces on Iraq WMD with Judy Miller, waits until 12th paragraph today to reveal 50,000 U.S. troops remain.....Mission Accomplished: Halliburton gets big contract to help develop new oil field in Iraq.
Andy Borowitz: "The withdrawal from Iraq is a withdrawal in the sense that Cher's first farewell tour was a farewell."
AP fact check debunks falsehoods about proposed NYC Islamic center. Powerline blog guy mad that AP reported as fact that Obama is not a Muslim. AP memo advises staff against using "Ground Zero mosque." Good reason: not true.... Howard Dean on Countdown tonight defending his views on moving non-Ground Zero non-mosque.
High, hard one: Roger Clemens to be indicted on charges of false statements about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. And about time, as we were heading for extra innings.
Man, those were the days? Time complies a list of the ten things today's kids will never experience, including camera film, the glory days of Nick At Nite, and music videos on MTV. What about reading a hardcover book? Or magazine in print?
THURSDAY's TOPPERS
New Pew survey confirms other recent polls, finds 1 in 5 Americans believe Obama is a Muslim, and among GOP conservatives it's 1 in 3 -- and the numbers are rising, not falling, nearly two years after his election. Among those who hold the false Muslim view some 60% say they learned about it from (wait for it)....the media.
New applications for jobless benefits in US jump to 500,000, highest level since November.
NBC and MSNBC offer massive coverage of pullout of U.S. combat troops from Iraq--although we are leaving 50,000 "trainers" and "advisers" in place. Just 7 years or so since Dexter Filkins opened his NYT piece, May 2, 2003: "The war in Iraq has officially ended." .... Waiting for Baghdad Bob to announce: "We have driven the American troops out! Victory is ours!"
Jon Stewart last night with another of his Glenn Beck impersonations in discussing the News Corp. $1 million donation to GOP:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| News Corp. Gives Money to Republicans | ||||
|
||||
Glenn Greenwald has response to Howard Dean's call for moving the non-ground zero non-mosque.... I guess Twitter told Howard Dean to follow Harry Reid... TPM: Famed attorney and 9/11 widower Ted Olson: Obama Was Right On 'Mosque...34% say they'd oppose construction of a mosque two blocks from their home.
Pallin' around with racists? Sarah Palin defends Dr. Laura via Twitter: 'Don't retreat...reload!'
PAT ANSWERS AT LAST My new piece on Pat Tillman film opening Friday, with trailer, interview.
PROBAMA: Obama's favorability rating higher than any GOP presidential contender.
NO TRUTHS OUTSIDE New indie comedy "Gates of Eden." Relationships of ownership they whisper in the wings: Does Dylan get a cut?
MORE ON "MOSQUE" Amy Goodman titles new column: "Mosque-issipi Burning." ... Nancy Pelosi not only took a side on the Islamic Center debate on a local California radio station KCBS, but she also questioned the motives of those who opposed the mosque. "I join those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded? How is this being ginned up?" ... Republican strategists are now finally saying that there is now a danger in pushing the "Ground Zero mosque" issue too forcefully. Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie told the Washington Post, "One of the biggest dangers in politics is to overplay an issue."
ANOTHER TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE Coming Sept. 7 on HBO: "My Trip to al-Qaeda", project of New Yorker's Lawrence Wright and Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney.
GRASS GREENER DEPT. Alternet features an excerpt from Thomas Geoghegan's book, Were You Born on the Wrong Continent? How the European Model Can Help You Get a Life., which explains how Europe makes people's everyday life much more pleasant to live in.
BLAGO DOWN THE DRAIN Did one juror scuttle more Blago convictions? Some say yes, foreman says no.
LIVE AND LET DYE Anderson Cooper offered $1 miilion to get the grey out.... Fareed Zakaria jumping from Newsweek to Time...
TODAY's LAFF
"Tom Brokaw" interviews singer "Aaron Neville" about the cocoa butter solution to our energy problems--plus the N. Korean nuclear bomb.
TODAY's MUSIC
With U.S. combat operations wound down in Iraq, a return to (even) more perilous days, via the great Richard Thompson's "Baghdad's Gonna Kill Me." As he sang, "At least we're winning on the Fox Evening News."
Wednesday DAYBOOK: Colbert on FOX-GOP Wedding, Dr. Laura Quits, Tom Waits, More
WELCOME TO DAYBOOK, our daily collection of media and politics hits/misses from a wide variety of sources plus fun videos and (and at the bottom) musical picks. Return for updates all day. Keep up with fresh items via @gregmitch at Twitter. E-mail me at: epic1934@aol.com. To increase type size hit the middle "A" above right.
AFTERNOON UPDATES
TPM: Famed attorney and 9/11 widower Ted Olson: Obama Was Right On 'Mosque'
Nancy Pelosi not only took a side on the Islamic Center debate on a local California radio station KCBS, but she also questioned the motives of those who opposed the mosque. "I join those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded? How is this being ginned up?"
Republican strategists are now finally saying that there is now a danger in pushing the "Ground Zero mosque" issue too forcefully. Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie told the Washington Post, "One of the biggest dangers in politics is to overplay an issue."
Alternet features an excerpt from Thomas Geoghegan's book, Were You Born on the Wrong Continent? How the European Model Can Help You Get a Life., which explains how Europe makes people's everyday life much more pleasant to live in.
Did one juror scuttle more Blago convictions? Some say yes, foreman says no.
WEDNESDAY ON THE LINKS
Dr. Laura Schlesigner quitting her radio show (she announced on Larry King's show, natch) in wake of N-word flap -- says it's so she retains her "First Amendment" rights and doesn't have to worry about offending some "special interest group."
Media this month: Mosque of the Cred Death. Amy Goodman titles new column: "Mosque-issipi Burning."
Maureen Dowd, who just backed Gibbs in attacking lefties, slams Obama on mosque timidity, calls on Dubya, of all people, to weigh in.... Rainn Wilson tweets: "They better not build a church anywhere near where Timothy McVeigh bombed Oklahoma City! Sacrilege."
News Corp (Fox News's and Wall Street Journal's daddy company) donated $1 million to the Republican Governors Association in June. Howie Kurtz weighs in here as Dems attack. Eric Boehlert tweets: "Logically, shouldn't the GOP be giving $1M to Fox News, not the other way around?".... Stephen Colbert's take last night on the "wedding." It's now "Fox Friends With Benefits."
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Fox News and Republican Party Make it Official | ||||
|
||||
Dick Armey on Daily Show warns Jon Stewart that if they get stuck on a desert island together "I'll have a gun." Jon: "I'll have a boat." Armey: "And I'll shoot your boat with my gun."
Coming Sept. 7 on HBO: "My Trip to al-Qaeda", project of New Yorker's Lawrence Wright and Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange: U.S. Army willing to discuss request for help in reviewing Afghan war documents.
NEW LOOK AT ALS Great NYT sports story today played on front page by Alan Schwarz, who should have been Pulitzer finalist last year for his concussion stories. New evidence suggests that head trauma can lead to what has been diagnosed as ALS-- but is really not. Even Lou Gehrig himself may have been a victim, as he was hit in head by several balls and knocked out.
DIM LIGHT SONATA Most U.S. students think Beethoven is a dog.
GOP: WEATHER VAIN Republican candidates decide there are votes in attacking "myth" of global warming and are stepping up foolish assault . Politico: “Republicans running for the House, Senate and governor’s mansions have gotten bolder in stating their doubts over the well-established link between man-made greenhouse gas emissions and global warming."
FOX FIGHT? Greta Van Susteren: Glenn Beck 'should move' this month's rally from Martin Luther King spot.
BITS & PIECES Most memorable fictional depiction of the late Bobby Thomson's famous 1951 HR: DeLillo's long and brilliant opening chapter in "Underworld."... NOLA culinary icon Susan Spicer leads restaurant owners suing BP over leak's effect on local-seafood biz.... The Onion reports, "Candidate to Accuse Opponent of Racism Just to See What Happens."
OUT OF FOOD Where's my food? Democrats propose cuts to future food stamp funding in order to save $14.1 billion over 10 years and reduce the national budget deficit.
TODAY's LAFF
TODAY's MUSIC
Yeah, you read it right, newly posted live version of Tom Waits doing James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag."
DAYBOOK for Tuesday: Jon Stewart Mocks 'Mosque' Opponents, Bob Herbert Hits War, 'Mad Men' Meets Dylan
WELCOME TO DAYBOOK, our daily collection of media and politics hits/misses from a wide variety of sources plus fun videos and (and at the bottom) musical picks. Return for updates all day. Keep up with fresh items via @gregmitch at Twitter. E-mail me at: epic1934@aol.com. To increase type size hit the middle "A" above right.
TUESDAY's TOPS
Bob Herbert with maybe his 10th column on need for Afghan pullout so we can do nation building at home. Also points to passage in Jonathan Alter book where Gen. Petraeus last year promised Obama he will not oppose 2011 troop pullout--which he has now hinted he might do. ... icasualties.org reports 575 U.S. soldiers have died in Afghanistan since Obama took office--same # that died under Bush.
John Oliver on The Daily Show: Catholics CAN build church next to a playground, but SHOULD they -- or is it "too soon"? Earlier in same segment on the "ground zero mosque" Jon Stewart caught Glenn Beck in (surprise) hypocrisy:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Mosque-Erade | ||||
|
||||
Meanwhile, Yahoo's Mike Calderone on blatant errors in coverage of non-mosque not at Ground Zero..... Glenn Greenwald: CNN's Don Lemon expresses the ugly, bigoted core of the anti-"mosque" argument. ... Olbermann special comment and photo tour of Ground Zero area. .... TPM hits Harry Reid caving and opposing mosque, while Jacob Heilbrunn at Huff Post slams his "moral cowardice" .... NYT op-ed: How the mosque fight may alienate our moderate Muslim allies, the Sufis.
Important Annie Lowrey piece in Wash Independent on suicides among the long-term unemployed.
Poll shows only 34% correctly say TARP enacted by Bush; 47% believe TARP passed under Obama. 19% say they dunno. (h/t Barbara Bedway)
IS THAT A WEEKLY OR A WIKI COLUMN? WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to write weekly column for left-leaning Swedish newspaper.
SLY AND THE FAMILY MOAN Today's America: Sylvester Stallone #1 again and millions applaud Jet Blue guy as "hero," now gets own reality show.
WILL POWER AND BOMB POWER My new piece marking the death 75 years ago of one of greatest Americans ever: Will Rogers. A true "progressive" whose comments on FDR, the economic crisis and weak Democrats resonate today.... Plus: My two interview segments on atomic bomb coverups-- in the military and in Hollywood-- aired on NPR's "On the Media" this weekend but now also up on online, with transcripts later today.
HITTING TARGET That protest of Target stories for company's "buying" election of rightwinger in Minnesota inspires a fun "flash mob" musical demo:
ON THE CAN-PAIN TRAIL Alvin Greene, now facing obscenity charges, howls and wails ..... Huff Post: As the midterm elections get closer, it is becoming increasingly clear that this political season won't be any different when it comes to political insults. With the Senate race as a choice between a "mob banker" and a "serial liar" (or a new Republican Senate candidate, Linda "Crotch-Kicker" McMahon), the name-calling is sure to get much worse before November.
BYTES & PIECES: Wash Post on counter-marches to Glenn Beck's upcoming D.C. extravaganza ... CIA tapes of terrorist interrogation found -- under desk.... Suddenly emerging out of the closed society of North Korea: tweeting and posting videos on YouTube hitting rivals in the south and U.S. figures, such as Hillary Clinton.... U.S. to ease curbs on travel to Cuba....
BRAND NUKE WORLD The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy announced that it was suing the Department of Energy for failure to comply with FOIA in a meaningful way over nuclear power subsidies. The Obama administration said in February it would provide $8.3 billion in taxpayer-financed loan guarantees to the Southern Company to build two new nuclear reactors at its Plant Vogtle in Georgia.
TODAY's LAFF
As we noted yesterday, numerous fun videos have quickly appeared to spoof the trailer for upcoming Hollywood flick on the founding of Facebook. We brought you the Twitter version, now here's the YouTube story:
TODAY's MUSIC
In Mad Men episode this week, young Peggy attends a hipster party south of 14th Street in Manhattan, takes a hit of pot and endures flirting from a lesbian--before the cops arrive. Meanwhile, across town in the Village, Bob Dylan was filming what some might call the first music video (with Allen Ginsberg, no less), warning Peggy "they must bust in early May" and urging her to watch those "users, cheaters, six-time losers." Also: Watch those parkin' meters, girl.
Monday DAYBOOK: Krugman Defends Social Security, Petraeus Backs War, Elizabeth Warren Rap Video, More
WELCOME TO DAYBOOK, our daily collection of media and politics hits/misses from a wide variety of sources plus fun videos and (and at the bottom) musical picks. Return for updates all day. Keep up with fresh items via @gregmitch at Twitter. E-mail me at: epic1934@aol.com. To increase type size hit the middle "A" above right.
AFTERNOON UPDATES
Newt Gingrich: Building Islamic center not far from Ground Zero like posting a Nazi sign next to Holocaust memorial. Yet he will still receive endless face time on Fox and elsewhere.
Robert Gates says he's quitting as Pentagon chief next year. Maybe he's angling for Steve Carell's job at "The Office"?
Huff Post: As the midterm elections get closer, it is becoming increasingly clear that this political season won't be any different when it comes to political insults. With the Senate race as a choice between a "mob banker" and a "serial liar" (or a new Republican Senate candidate, Linda "crotch-kicker" McMahon), the name-calling is sure to get much worse before November.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy announced that it was suing the Department of Energy for failure to comply with FOIA in a meaningful way over nuclear power subsidies. The Obama administration said in February it would provide $8.3 billion in taxpayer-financed loan guarantees to the Southern Company to build two new nuclear reactors at its Plant Vogtle in Georgia.
MONDAY ON THE LINKS
Paul Krugman blasts critics of Social Security at its 75th birthday--numbers and arguments don't add up, and then there's the "ignorance."
New Yorker site with chapter from Sean Wilentz's forthcoming book on Bob Dylan in America, this excerpt covering Dylan, Allen Ginsberg and the Beats.
David and Goliath: Gen. Petraeus on "Meet the Press" says U.S. military leaders inherited faulty strategy for Afghan war at end of Bush era. Opposes fast pullout and says he didn't sign on just for a "graceful exit." .... Gen. McChrystal reportedly getting new gig -- teaching at Yale.
Rap video "Got a New Sheriff" backs Eliz Warren for that appointment.
My new piece marking the death 75 years ago of one of greatest Americans ever: Will Rogers. A true "progressive" whose comments on FDR, the economic crisis and weak Democrats resonate today.... Plus: My two interview segments on atomic bomb coverups-- in the military and in Hollywood-- aired on NPR's "On the Media" this weekend but now also up on online, with transcripts later today.
If you missed Christoper Hitchens on Charlie Rose on Friday night:
AMERICA KEEPS ITS MOSQUE ON? GOP thinks it can make hay over the "not Ground Zero not a Mosque" issue but Nate Silver at 538.com has polls that show otherwise. Meanwhile NYT's Ross Douthat naturally says it's correct for "ground zero" mosque critics to put Muslims on defensive in debate, suggesting there is much worth in both tolerant and intolerant America.
OBAMA KEEPS HIS SHIRT ON White House makes sure photogs don't snap shirtless Obama on vacaton on the beach. Well, not quite like ban on pictures of FDR in wheelchair or getting helped from car.
CALL IT GERIZON, OR VOOGLE? The Google-Verizon plans for Internet raising real privacy concerns.
BITS & PIECES NYT Co. paper in Mass. to charge for online content.... Richard Clarke on Colbert tonite, while Daily Show gets Emma Thompson..... More YouTube spoofs of that trailer for Hollywood's Facebook movie appear.
TODAY's LAFF
You've no doubt read about Dan Quayle's son Ben running for office and in the process calling Obama "the worst president ever" among other cracks. So Andy Cobb of Second City fame has announced he is now running against young Quayle -- shooting Quayle, so to speak.
TODAY's MUSIC
Richie Hayward, great drummer for Little Feat since 1970, has passed at age 64. Richie once wrote me a letter thanking me for saving their career in 1971--by writing rave reviews of their first album for four separate magazines. Apparently Warner Bros. didn't pay any attention to bylines--but who did? Here he is with Lowell George and the rest of the gang in one of the great songs of the 1970s. Rumor at the time had it that the subject of this song was Brian Wilson in his recluse phase.
TRIBUTE: To Will Rogers, One of the Greatest Americans, on His Passing 75 Years Ago
One of the most tragic accidental deaths of an American in the past century occurred 75 years ago today when a light plane helmed by famed pilot Wiley Post crashed in Alaska killing him -- and the man often described as "the most popular" American of his time, Will Rogers. The phrase "nation mourned" is often tossed about carelessly but in this case it was true. Historians claimed it was greatest outpouring of genuine affection since Lincoln passed away. NBC and CBS radio went off the air for 30 minutes in mourning and movie screens all over the country darkened their screens for awhile.
Rogers was simultaneously the country's most popular radio personality and newspaper columnist and one of the top three movie stars.
In the wreckage of the plane in Alaska was found in his typewriter a sheet of paper with the beginning of one last column: "Now I must get back to advising my Democrats."
Roosevelt
Greg Mitchell studied Rogers' papers, visited his home and interviewed his son for his book on Upton Sinclair's race for governor of California in 1934, "The Campaign of the Century."
NPR Highlights Atomic Bomb Cover-ups Probed by 'The Nation'
In the past 10 days I've written several articles for The Nation, marking the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Japan, all of them detailingwith some form of suppression or "cover-up" of certain facts, truths or images about the attacks and the aftermath. Two of those articles are explored in separate but connected segments of NPR's popular weekly "On the Media" program.
The segments, with Brooke Gladstone as narrator and interviewer, have been posted online, even as they begin to air on public radio stations all over the country this weekend. You can listen now.
The first segment concerns the outright censorship of the first articles written from Nagasaki by an American reporter, carried out by the U.S. military, under the direction of Douglas MacArthur. The articles, warning of "Disease X," by a well-regarded war correspondent George Weller, did not see the light of day for 60 years. And see my article here.
The second segment probes the little-known story of the first Hollywood movie about the making, and using, of the first bomb, The Beginning or The End -- and how it started as a cautionery tale about a future arms race and other dangers and ended up as a glorification of The Bomb and its use against Japanese civilians. President Truman himself played a key role in editing the final script. The actor who played the president in the early takes was bounced after writing a critical letter to Truman. See article here.
Much more about all of this can be found in the book I wrote with fellow Nation veteran Robert Jay Lifton, Hiroshima in America.
DAYBOOK for Friday: War 'Debacle,' Ebert & Hitchens, Arcade Fire, More
WELCOME TO DAYBOOK, our daily collection of media and politics hits/misses from a wide variety of sources plus fun videos and (and at the bottom) musical picks. Return for updates all day. Keep up with fresh items via @gregmitch at Twitter. E-mail me at: epic1934@aol.com. To increase type size hit the middle "A" above right.
AFTERNOON UPDATES
The Thrilla in Vanilla, round 3: Jennifer Aniston strikes back at Bill O’Reilly.
List of White House reporters at Obama lunch boycotted by NYT because off-the-record.
Matt Taibbi comments on LA Times article about how the new financial regulations won't make a significant impact on Goldman Sachs.
Atlas shrugs, drops globe: Man scrawls world's biggest message, visible from space; "Read Ayn Rand."
Eliz Warren, "The New Sheriff": RC Productions has produced a new western-themed music video hailing Warren as "the new sheriff" of Wall Street.
T.G.I. FRIDAY ON THE LINKS
Massive NYT editorial on Afghan war tough-minded but mainly just wants better explanations from Obama. While same paper in news section: Showcase Afghan Army Mission Turns Into Debacle. Meanwhile, Army report on suicides reveals AWOLs up 234% since 2004.
Dr. Laura drops "N-word" a few times and suggests some people shouldn't marry outside their race.
Lawrence Lessig latest to smack Robert Gibbs for "professional Left vs. Obama" crack. Lessig says it's not that Obama is failing as a lefty--but as Obama. Warmed over "Clintonism" not enough.
Colbert tweets: "I was shocked Fox News had such old viewers considering all their young, hip ads for walk-in bathtubs and mesothelioma lawyers."
Glenn Greenwald hits James Fallows for defending Jeffrey Goldberg piece on Israel attacking Iran.
My latest piece here on the Great Hiroshima Film Cover Up -- how U.S. suppressed for decades the key footage shot in the atomic cities by our own military crews.
NYT declines Obama's off-the-record lunch invitation. A dozen reporters attended Thursday's session.
TIME OFF? Questions from feminist group about author’s vested interests & accuracy of that Time cover story on Afghan women. Writer's husband has business ties in Afghanistan, and more.
DEATH MOSQUE? Bryan Fischer, the "Director of Issues Analysis" for the American Family Association. Tells TPM that, "every single mosque is a potential terror training center or recruitment center for jihad," so therefore "you cannot claim first amendment protections if your religious organization is engaged in subversive activities."
THUMBS UP Roger Ebert on Hitchens, cancer, death and God. As pastor puts $1 million bounty on the soul of Hitchens.
PALIN JOKE Rep. Timothy Horrigan resigns from New Hampshire's House of Representatives due to joking remarks about Sarah Palin's death he made on Facebook.
NO BIG LOSS The usual: play by the rules and use your head --and suffer. NYT reports one of the great "paradoxes" of the recession: the more you borrowed foolishly the less likely you'll have to pay off much of it.
BYTES & PIECES Dan Ellsberg testifies at Iraq war protestor's trial.... Jonathan Franzen on cover of TIME this week, first living author in nearly a decade... Some doctors in Mass., to promote health and cut obesity, are handing patients coupons good to get apples at local farmers or orchards.
--TODAY's LAFF
Hey, they've made big Hollywood flick about the founding of Facebook--and nothing on Twitter? This takes care of it:
--TODA'Y's MUSIC
Arcade Fire, a surprising #1 on the charts, visits The Daily Show with "Ready to Start," as the show sent off a second tune from their album.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Arcade Fire - Ready to Start | ||||
|
||||
Latest
-
May 23, 2013 - 11:22 PM ET
-
May 23, 2013 - 6:21 PM ET
-
May 23, 2013 - 5:49 PM ET
Blogs
Blog Roll
- Alternet
- AmericaBlog
- Andy Borowitz
- CJR’s The Kicker
- David Corn
- Democracy Now
- Eschaton
- Ezra Klein
- FireDogLake
- FiveThirtyEight
- Funny or Die
- Glenn Greenwald
- Harry Shearer
- Jay Rosen, PressThink
- McClatchy D.C.
- Media Decoder/NYT
- Media Matters
- MediaIte
- Paul Krugman blog
- PolitiFact
- ProPublica
- Romenesko
- Talking Points Memo
- Tom Tomorrow
