Politico: McCain, Bush Might Skip Convention

Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin of Politico are reporting tonight that President George Bush and Sen. John McCain are unlikely to attend the Republican Convention in St. Paul because of Hurricane Gustav and the devastation it might cause in New Orleans almost three years to the date after Katrina.

Their report opened with this:

President Bush is unlikely to make it to the Republican National Convention and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) may deliver his acceptance speech by satellite because of the historically huge hurricane threatening New Orleans, top officials said.

But officials insisted that the convention, scheduled to open here on Monday, will go on—albeit in a more limited and sedate form — even if Hurricane Gustav stays on its projected path. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered a mandatory evacuation beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday after federal officials said Gustav could grow to a catastrophic Category 5 and hit Monday afternoon somewhere between eastern Texas and western Mississippi.

In other news concerning Hurricane Gustav tonight:

Gustav slammed into Cuba's Isla de Juventud as a Category 4 hurricane today, causing havoc on that Caribbean island, evacuations in New Orleans, and political issues in St. Paul, Minn. Forecasters expected that the storm would grow into s Category 5 hurricane, but weaken somewhat before striking the U.S. coastline near New Orleans sometime Monday. The hurricane was expected to impact oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday. At least 81 have died in the storm so far.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin late tonight described Gustav as the "mother of all storms" and ordered a mandatory evacuation of the west bank of New Orleans for 8 a.m. Sunday and the east bank for noon.

Category 4 Gustav's Impact on GOP Convention

Gustav slammed into Cuba's Isla de Juventud as a Category 4 hurricane today, causing havoc in that Caribbean island, evacuations in New Orleans, and political issues in St. Paul, Minn. Forecasters expected that the storm would grow into s Category 5 hurricane, but weaken somewhat before striking the U.S. coastline near New Orleans sometime Monday. The hurricane was expected to impact oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday. At least 81 have died in the storm so far.

There is much speculation tonight on how Hurricane Gustav will affect the Republican Convention in St. Paul, which is scheduled to open on Monday in St. Paul, Minn. As of Saturday night, it looks like there will be a scaled-down convention. But John McCain told Chris Wallace today during an interview for "FOX News Sunday" that he is watching the situation and is open to the idea of postponing the convention.

From a public relations standpoint, and a humanitarian consideration, putting the convention on hold would be a good idea. Nobody, even hard-core Republican conservatives and other party faithful, would be interested in political speeches, confetti and balloons while millions suffer in New Orleans in a replay of a national nightmare.

Here is FOX News' report:

With the Republican National Convention set to open Monday in St. Paul, the threat posed by Hurricane Gustav has already prevented prominent GOP officials from attending and has John McCain on edge about whether the event should be postponed.

Convention planners insist the week-long celebration is going forward as scheduled.

But the presumptive GOP nominee told FOX News, in an interview to air on “FOX News Sunday,” that holding the convention while Gulf Coast residents suffer would be insensitive.

“I’m afraid … that we may have to look at that situation and we’ll try to monitor it,” McCain said. “But you know it just wouldn’t be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near-tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster. So we’re monitoring it from day to day and I’m saying a few prayers too.”

McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin will travel to Mississippi on Sunday to check on people getting prepared for Gustav. The two are expected to receive a briefing at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

Nagin: Flee the 'Mother of All Storms'

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin late tonight ordered a mandatory evacuation of the west bank of New Orleans for 8 a.m. Sunday and the east bank for noon.

Leslie Williams of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:

Warning that Gustav is the "mother of all storms," Mayor Ray Nagin late Saturday ordered a mandatory evacuation of the West Bank of New Orleans for 8 a.m. Sunday and the east bank for noon.

"We want 100 percent evacuation," Nagin said. "It has the potential to impact every area of this metropolitan area."

Katrina had a footprint of about 400 miles, he said. Gustav is about 900 miles and growing, Nagin said.

"This is worse than a Betsy, worse than a Katrina," he said.

The mayor speculated that Gustav is so fierce Baton Rouge likely will experience 100 mph winds.

"You need to be scared and you need to get your butts out of New Orleans right now," Nagin said.

Nagin said he expects Gustav to "punch holes in the Harvey Canal," which could cause the West Bank to become a bathtub.

The West Bank has 8-foot-high to 10-foot-high protection, he said. Gustav's storm surge may be 15 to 24 feet high.

Anyone who opts to remain in New Orleans "will be on your own," Nagin warned, adding that services will not be available.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the airport in New Orleans will shut down for commercial flights at 6 p.m. Sunday.

The American Red Cross is getting ready. See its press release here.

Gustav, Now a Category 3, Eyes Cuba

Hurricane Gustav is now a Category 3 storm, and it is expected to move over the western tip of Cuba late tonight and early Sunday morning. Right now the track puts it on the Louisiana coast Tuesday morning. Weather officials say the Gulf waters are cooler than normal, and this might help weaken Gustav as it approaches the U.S. coastline. But they warn that this is still a major hurricane.

UPDATE, 11 a.m., Eastern, Aug. 30: Gustav is getting even stronger, as per the 11 a.m. udated advisory by the National Hurricane Center:

...GUSTAV EVEN A LITTLE STRONGER AS IT CLOSES IN ON WESTERN CUBA...

AT 1100 AM EDT...1500 UTC...THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS HAS
DISCONTINUED THE HURRICANE WARNING FOR THE CAYMAN ISLANDS.

AT 1100 AM EDT...A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE LOWER
FLORIDA KEYS WEST OF THE SEVEN MILE BRIDGE TO DRY TORTUGAS. A
TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

AT 1100 AM EDT...1500Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE GUSTAV WAS LOCATED
NEAR LATITUDE 21.2 NORTH...LONGITUDE 82.1 WEST OR ABOUT 55 MILES...
85 KM...EAST-SOUTHEAST OF THE ISLE OF YOUTH AND ABOUT 185 MILES...
295 KM...EAST OF THE WESTERN TIP OF CUBA.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 60 MILES...95 KM...FROM
THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 160
MILES...260 KM.

THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE BASED ON RECENT REPORTS FROM AIR FORCE
AND NOAA RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT IS 954 MB...28.17 INCHES.


This was the National Hurricane Center warning eariler this morning:

BY 48 HOURS...ALMOST ALL OF THE GLOBAL MODELS SHOW AN
INCREASE IN VERTICAL WIND SHEAR NEAR GUSTAV. IN ADDITION...SINCE
THE LOOP CURRENT IS SOUTH OF ITS TYPICAL LOCATION...THE HURRICANE
WILL BE MOVING OVER WATERS THAT ARE NOT NEARLY AS CONDUCIVE FOR
STRENGTHENING AS THEY COULD BE. THESE TWO FACTORS WILL HOPEFULLY
WEAKEN THE STORM PRIOR TO U.S. LANDFALL. HOWEVER...GUSTAV IS
EXPECTED TO BE A LARGE AND DANGEROUS HURRICANE AND THE NHC FORECAST
CONTINUES TO SHOW GUSTAV AS A MAJOR HURRICANE AT LANDFALL."

Michael Moore: Gustav Proves There Is a God

In just one weird moment, Michael Moore, appearing on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," says Hurricane Gustav's projected landfall on New Orleans during the GOP convention is proof that there is a God because it would disrupt McCain's plans. Olbermann's response is just a grin of approval. Moore and Olbermann seem to delight in New Orleans plight because of its political implications.

What's in the soul of a person who can find joy in such a disaster?



Jeff Poor of the Business and Media Institute writes:

Sometime you really have wonder at what cost some are willing to see their political ideology advanced.

To liberal documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, the bounds are seemingly endless. Moore has made a recent career out of attacking President George W. Bush, bashing conservatives and criticizing business. His latest outrage occurred on MSNBC’s August 29 “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” and when he commented about the coincidental timing of an unfortunate disaster – the potential for Hurricane Gustav to make landfall at the beginning of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

“I was just thinking, this Gustav is proof that there is a God in heaven,” Moore said, laughing. “To have it planned at the same time – that it would actually be on its way to New Orleans for day one of the Republican Convention, up in the Twin Cities – at the top of the Mississippi River.”

After that comment, Moore backed off a bit and did say he hoped nobody got hurt and he hoped everybody is taking cover. However, he failed to make note of the $43.625 billion in damage the last hurricane to strike New Orleans caused – Hurricane Katrina in 2005 – and the billions of dollars the storm cost taxpayers.

I spent three years as an executive with Habitat for Humanity. I was in New Orleans a month after Katrina working on the ground in the relief effort. I've never seen such mass destruction in my life. Power was out, roads were still flooded, garbage was everywhere. My team was driving along to our work site one day, and a large boat was blocking the road. We were three miles from the lake!

A lot went wrong with FEMA and President Bush's response, and they deserve all the criticism they received and more. But the proof that there is a God isn't from natural disasters disrupting any political opponent's plans. The proof there is a God is in witnessing the goodwill of thousands of people who reached out to help countless victims whose lives were so devastated. I saw that proof in New Orleans when so many people did what they could to help that community when it needed it the most.

My hope today is that federal, state and local officials have learned their lessons, so if Gustav does land as a Category 3, the people of New Oreleans will not suffer as much as they did three years ago.

Chief Fired by Palin Talks to Washington Post

UPDATE, 7:37 a.m. Eastern, Aug. 30: Here is the Washington Post story on the Palin investigation. It was published on page 11A this morning and is bylined by James V. Grimaldi and Kimberly Kindy.

Monegan, 57, a former chief of the Anchorage Police Department, said in an interview Friday that during his 19 months on the job the governor repeatedly mentioned [Palin's former brother-in-law and state trooper Mike] Wooten but "never directly asked me to fire him."

"I've tried to explain to him," Monegan said, " 'You can't head-hunt like this. What you need to do is back off, because if the trooper does make a mistake, and it is a terminable offense, it can look like political interference.'

"I think he's emotionally committed in trying to see that his former brother-in-law is punished."

Monegan said he was also contacted by three other Palin-appointed officials, including the attorney general, regarding the trooper. Each time, he said, he told the administration officials that he would keep an eye on the trooper, but that unless he violated a rule, nothing could be done.

The Washington Post's James V. Grimaldi caught up with Walter Monegan, the Alaska public safety commissioner who was fired by Gov. Sarah Palin. The dismissal has led to an ethics investigation. Here is a blog post by the editors:

The July firing of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan by Gov. Sarah Palin, who was announced as John McCain's running mate on Friday, has unearthed a stream of soap-opera-like details about Palin, her husband, her family and top state appointees. The controversy has also cut against Palin's reputation for holding an ethical line and standing up to colleagues in the Republican Party over matters of principle.

Monegan, 57, a respected former chief of the Anchorage Police Department, said in an interview with The Washington Post's James V. Grimaldi on Friday that the governor repeatedly brought up the topic of her ex-brother-in-law, Michael Wooten, after Monegan became the state's commissioner of public safety in December 2006. Palin's husband, Todd, met with Monegan and presented a dossier of information about Wooten, who was going through a bitter custody battle with Palin's sister, Molly. Monegan also said Sarah Palin sent him e-mails on the subject, but Monegan declined to disclose them, saying he planned to give them to a legislative investigator looking into the matter.

Palin initially denied that she or anyone in her administration had ever pressured Monegan to fire the trooper, but this summer acknowledged more than a half a dozen contacts over the matter, including one phone call from a Palin administration official to a state police lieutenant. The call was recorded and was released by Palin's office this month. Todd Palin told a television reporter in Alaska that he did meet with Monegan, but said he was just "informing" Monegan about the issue, not exerting pressure.

"She never directly asked me to fire him," Monegan said.

But he said Todd Palin told him Wooten "shouldn't be a trooper. I've tried to explain to him, you can't head hunt like this. What you need to do is back off, because if the trooper does make a mistake, and it is a terminable offense, it can look like political interference.

"I think he's emotionally committed in trying to see that his former brother-in-law is punished."

The allegation against Palin, "undercuts one of the points they are making that she is an ethical reformer," said Democratic state Sen. Hollis French, who is managing a $100,000 investigation into the firing of Walter Monegan.

Daily Kos Blogger: Stop the Palin Sexism!

Even at the Daily Kos, the sexist remarks have gotten out of hand. So much so one blogger asked if it could stop. They can't stand Palin, but remarks like what we have been seeing really need to stop. They have no place in the blogs or in the mainstream media.

Please can the sexist comments about Palin
by SaucyIntruder
Fri Aug 29, 2008 at 10:34:58 AM PDT
Come on, we're better than that.

Considering how John McCain treats his wife, we don't need to stoop to his level. The beauty queen nonsense is unnecessary.

Sarah Palin is Spiro Agnew, Dan Quayle and Geraldine Ferraro rolled up into one. McCain's judgment was that bad. This is like shooting fish in a barrel. So cut the sexist crap already.

LA Times, Olbermann, Maddow''s Sexist Reaction to Palin

Keith Olbermann's first word of note in his comment tonight concerning Sarah Palin was that she was a beauty pageant queen. Rachel Maddow chimes in that "John McCain's mate - Cindy McCain - and his running mate - Sarah Palin - are beauty pageant ladies, which may tell us something that we didn't know before about what John McCain likes in women."

Would they make the same comments about a liberal who backs Obama? This is where the double-standard in today's media is so troublesome. Can you imagine the howls from MSNBC if Rush Limbaugh had said something like this about Michelle Obama?

On the other hand, in her defense, Maddow talks about how from what we know about the ethics investigation concerning Palin's firing of a state official in Alaska does not seem to be something that will be politicized because of the events surrounding the case.

Also, is there any more evidence of MSNBC's lack of professionalism when someone put up the graphic: "How many houses does Palin bring to the Republicans?" under the Breaking News banner?

The Los Angeles Times didn't do much better. Its headline on a feature story about the sitting governor read: "Palin a gun-toting former beauty queen known for ambition and grit."

The question is, would the paper run a headline about a male governor just named as a vice presidential candidate in the same way? Would the paper write a headline about a liberal office-holder running for national office in such a snide manner? I don't think so. On Aug. 24, the Joe Biden sidebar in the Los Angeles Times was headlined "In his home state, Biden is a regular Joe."

Obama Stumbles in Reaction to Palin

The Obama campaign gave mixed reactions to the announcement today that Sarah Palin will be John McCain's running mate, signalling that they may have been caught off guard by the choice.

"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement released by the campaign soon after the announcement. "Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe vs. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies. That's not the change we need, it's just more of the same," he said.

Hours later in Pennsylvania, Barack Obama had to distance himself from his own spokesman by saying this, as reported by Ben Smith of Politico:

"I think that, uh, you know, campaigns start getting these, uh, hair triggers and, uh, the statement that Joe and I put out reflects our sentiments," he said, according to the pool report, apparently criticizing his staff for going overboard, as he did occasionally in the primary.

He was referring to a more gracious statement of congratulations he issued later with Biden, which he then reiterated.

"I haven't met her before. She seems like a compelling person ... with a terrific personal story."

This is one of the few moments in Obama's campaign where we saw headlights in their eyes.

McCain Introduces Palin as VP Pick

Here is McCain's introduction of Sarah Palin today in Dayton, Ohio. It's almost a half-hour long.



The Washington Post has a Q and A with Gregg Erickson
columnist and reporter for the Anchorage Daily News and editor at large for Alaska Budget Report taking questions from readers about Palin and her impact on the race.

One interesting sample:

Washington, D.C.: I was an apathetic McCain supporter until this. Now, I am energized. She does not have much experience but she is VP not POTUS. She seems smart, tenacious and just what McCain needs to beat the rap of "more of the same." This is definitely not "more of the same."

Gregg Erickson: You are right: smart and tenacious are good words to describe our governor. She was in Texas this spring when her water broke. Rateher than staying there to have the baby, she jumped on a plan for an 11-hour flight back to Alaska, so her baby would be a "Alaskan-born."

It will be interesting to see what happens when she confronts the national media regarding her positions on Roe v. Wade, airborne wolf hunting, etc.

Putin Take Notes From Olbermann, Maddow

Are Vladimir Putin and Keith Olbermann on the same page?

Putin said in an interview with CNN on Thursday that "The suspicion would arise that someone in the United States created this conflict on purpose to stir up the situation and to create an advantage for one of the candidates in the competitive race for the presidency in the United States. ... They needed a small victorious war."



Olbermann on Aug. 12 offered his thoughts on why he believes the McCain camp needs a war to help win this fall. In this clip, Rachel Maddow says McCain "sees war as the answer to everything":

Gustav Could Postpone GOP Convention

It what should have been a good day for John McCain and his staff, now party leaders have to deal with a storm brewing. And it's not about an ethics investigation involving McCain's vice presidential pick.

There are reports that the Republican Party may postpone its convention in St. Paul next week because of the possibility of Hurricane Gustav hitting New Orleans almost three years to the date after Hurricane Katrina devastated that city. Nobody in the GOP wants reminders of Katrina and FEMA's response.

Maeve Reston of the Los Angeles Times writes:

Party officials are discussing the possibility of postponing convention proceedings if the threat to New Orleans and other Gulf Coast areas grows. If there is serious damage in the Gulf Coast, images of Republicans partying in Minneapolis-St. Paul could be an embarrassing reminder of the Bush administration's delayed response to Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

Forecasters predicted that the storm could come ashore Tuesday morning as a Category 3 hurricane, with winds in the 113- to 130-mph range. That would be in the middle of the Republican convention, which runs from Monday through Thursday.

There is perhaps no issue over which McCain has been more critical of the Bush administration than its handling of the 2005 storm, which the Arizona Republican has called "disgraceful."

In New Orleans, authorities and citizens are bracing themselves and preparing the best they can:



And it that wasn't enough, Hanna is forming in the Atlantic and heading west toward Bermunda. Here is its forecast track.

Palin Investigation Spells Trouble for McCain

The investigation into whether Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her staff were unethical in their use of power in the firing of the state's public safety commissioner for not firing her former brother-in-law just went from a local story to a national one.



The trooper was her former brother-in-law who went through a messy divorce from Palin's sister. Domenico Montanaro writes about the choice on MSNBC's site:

The potential to grab some of those women voters is perhaps the best asset Palin brings to a McCain ticket. She also reinforces McCain's maverick image. She bucked her own party, launching an ethics investigation into the state party chairman with regard to his dealings with oil companies in the state. And being from Alaska, she's the ultimate outsider. She also also reinforces McCain's drilling message -- though she's for drilling in ANWR; McCain is not. She also represents the next generation of Republican leaders -- she's a fresh face.

But there are some potential pitfalls as well. Palin is currently under legislative investigation herself, accused of firing the state's public safety commissioner for not firing her former brother-in-law.

"A legislative panel has launched a $100,000 investigation to determine if Palin dismissed Alaska's public safety commissioner because he would not fire the trooper, Mike Wooten," the AP wrote earlier this month. "Wooten went through a messy divorce from Palin's sister. Palin has denied the commissioner's dismissal had anything to do with her former brother-in-law. And she denied orchestrating the dozens of telephone calls made by her husband and members of her administration to Wooten's bosses. Palin said she welcomes the investigation: 'Hold me accountable.'"

This must have been vetted by the McCain staff, right? It will be interesting to see what the McCain answer is on all this. But the last thing any presidential candidate wants to do within 24 hours of picking a running mate is to explain his decision.

Today, McCain has two explanations to make. First, he has to tell America why he picked a governor with about a year's experience after he has been pounding his opponent for his lack of experience. That's easy. He wants a fresh face, out-of-the-beltway conservative as his No. 2. But what will be harder, and more embarrassing, will be why did he pick someone who is currently under an ethics investigation?

She and her staff could be completely innocent of all charges. And, she might even be the best person for the job. Conservatives are jumping for joy over the pick because of her anti-abortion stance. But from a media standpoint, opening a national campaign with an unknown personality who is under an ethics probe is not a good way to start.

Palin's Firing of Staffer Under Ethics Probe

Kyle Hopkins of The Anchorage Daily News earlier this month wrote about an investigation that has centered on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's staff:

The investigation stems from Palin's July firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. Monegan later said he felt pressured by the governor's office to fire Palin's ex-brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, a trooper who had been locked in a child-custody battle with Palin's sister.

Palin had placed an aide on paid leave until the investigator completed his work in examining whether ethics or personnel guidelines were violated.

ABC News: Palin is McCain's Surprise VP Choice

ABC News says Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska and a staunch conservative, is John McCain's surprise choice as his vice presidential running mate:

John McCain has made his vice presidential pick: the Republican contender will tap first-term Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

The 44-year-old Palin brings working class roots and appeal to female voters, becoming only the second female vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket and a first for the GOP.

Being first is nothing to new to Palin (pronounced PALE-IN). She is the first female governor of the Last Frontier, the 49th state to join the Union in 1959 and the 48th most populous state.

Palin is also the youngest governor in Alaska's short statehood history, taking office in 2006 amidst attempts by Democrats to turn the reliably Republican state to their column.

Gov. Palin is married with five children, a staunch opponent of abortion rights, and a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.

While she is unknown to most Americans, the choice will play well with the conservative base. For instance, take a look at Justin Quinn's blog written in June.

The more I learned, the more I was amazed by this spitfire from the tundra. I checked with a friend who works on The Hill in DC, and sure enough, she was everything the Internet machine said she was and then some. My friend called Palin the GOP's "secret weapon," and said she's got the presence, the substance and the panache to change the election for McCain ... if only he'd consider her.

Is Palin of Alaska McCain's Surprise Pick?

Michael Cooper of The New York Times just posted this blog pointing to Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin as the most likely choice by John McCain as his running mate. If true, it would be a surprise to just about everyone:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota said in a radio interview on Friday morning that he planned to be at the Minnesota state fair on Friday, not here in Dayton with Senator John McCain, who has an event planned for noon, Eastern.

When he was asked if that means he would not be Mr. McCain’s running mate, Mr. Pawlenty told WCCO radio that “I think that’s a fair assumption.’’

Also this morning, The Times’s Michael Luo reports that Mitt Romney, who had long been perceived as one of the final candidates for the slot, has been ruled out. A source close to Mr. Romney said he is not going to be in Dayton today.

So who does that leave? The Times’s Elisabeth Bumiller sends the following:

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska? As reports circulated on television and cable networks on Friday morning that Senator John McCain might have selected Ms. Palin as his running mate, McCain advisers expressed bewilderment. One adviser said that while Mr. McCain thinks highly of Ms. Palin, who is opposed to abortion rights and would be welcomed by Christian conservatives, her less than two years in office would undercut one of the McCain campaign’s central criticisms of Senator Barack Obama — that he is too inexperienced to be commander-in-chief.

“While it’s a dramatic and interesting choice, it would make the argument he’s making difficult to make,” said one McCain adviser.

Should Olbermann Find New Work?

Keith Olbermann considers himself in charge of all editorial content at MSNBC. If reporters, commentators and guest pundits do not align themselves with him on all ideological matters, they either lose their shows (Dan Abrams), find themselves banned from appearing on the network (Dana Milbank), or are just plain out of work (exactly where is Tucker Carlson these days?).

Now, Olbermann wants to expand his influence to other news organization. Associated Press writer Charles Babington wrote this analysis criticizing Barack Obama for not being specific in his speech last night. On excerpt is this:

But instead of dwelling on specifics, he laced the crowning speech of his long campaign with the type of rhetorical flourishes that Republicans mock and the attacks on John McCain that Democrats cheer. The country saw a candidate confident in his existing campaign formula: tie McCain tightly to President Bush, and remind voters why they are unhappy with the incumbent.

Olbermann's rants have a chilling effect on all journalists. Maybe not so much on a veteran writer such as Babington, but especially so on his colleagues at MSNBC. What if down the road you're a Chuck Todd or an Andrea Mitchell, and you have a legitimate news item that is either negative for Obama or positive for McCain. What do you do if you are appearing on Countdown (or any other MSNBC show for that matter)? If you report your news, and Olbermann's anywhere near a microphone, you risk being insulted on air (ask Joe Scarborough about that). If you keep your mouth shut and toe the Olbermann/Party line, you are a failure as a journalist.

People like Todd, Mitchell, Babington would most likely report any negative news about Obama, as long as it was a legitimate story, and take what might come. They are professionals and are among the best in the feild. But human nature is what it is. Nobody likes to be publicly scolded for doing their jobs (and doing them well). It would be an emotionally difficult decision for anybody.

What Olbermann is doing is forcing hard-working journalists to set an agenda -- his agenda. He's become nothing more than being MSNBC's ideological bully. If you don't play ball his way, you're banished from the schoolyard.

This is chilling for any news organization, especially one such as NBC, which has long prided itself on its fair-minded but hard-nose journalism. Olbermann is single handily tearing apart the network's reputation that was built by Huntley, Brinkley, Brokaw and Russert. As long as he can use his MSNBC microphone to advance his political agenda, viewers will see the network for what it has become: a bullhorn for Daily Kos.

Keith, maybe it's time you found new work.

AP: Obama Lacked Details

Not everyone in the media gave Obama an A+.

Charles Babington of The Associated Press wanted more details:

Barack Obama, whose campaign theme is "change we can believe in," promised Thursday to "spell out exactly what that change would mean."

But instead of dwelling on specifics, he laced the crowning speech of his long campaign with the type of rhetorical flourishes that Republicans mock and the attacks on John McCain that Democrats cheer. The country saw a candidate confident in his existing campaign formula: tie McCain tightly to President Bush, and remind voters why they are unhappy with the incumbent.

Of course, no candidate can outline every initiative in a 44-minute speech - especially one that also must inspire voters, acknowledge key friends, and toss in some autobiography for the newly-interested. And Obama did touch on nitty-gritty subjects, such as the capital gains tax and biofuel investments.

He said he would "find ways to safely harness nuclear power," a somewhat more receptive phrase than he typically uses for that subject.

But most of his address echoed and amplified the theme that dominated the four-day Democratic nominating convention here: George Bush.

Keith Olbermann, not the least pleased with an opposing view, made this rebuttal as posted by Daily Kos:

Mr. Babington got the length of the speech wrong by at least 7 minutes. And this is analysis that will be printed in many, many newspapers, hundreds of them around the country. It is analysis that strikes me as having born no resemblance to the speech you and I just watch. None whatsoever. And for it to be distributed by the lone national news organization in terms of wire copy to newspapers around the country and websites is a remarkable failure of that news organization.

Charles Babington. Find. New. Work.

Obama Scores Big at Invesco

There's a lot of high praise for Obama and his speech tonight. It was well delivered, as we all knew it would.

The Associated Press' Nedra Pickler wrote the copy that will appear in most newspapers in America tomorrow morning:

An enthusiastic crowd of 84,000 — unprecedented for a political convention — literally shook the stadium at Invesco Field at Mile High with their stomping feet, every participant equipped by organizers with an American flag. More important was the audience of millions of Americans watching on television, a tougher crowd, as Obama spoke before a backdrop of columns reminiscent of the White House portico.

Carl P. Leubsdorf of the Dallas Morning News had this opinion in his blog tonight about the use of patriotism in the campaign:

Barack Obama challenged John McCain's efforts to corner the political market on patriotism. But he made clear he won't echo his Republican rival by accusing him of taking position for political purposes.

"Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and their patriotism," he said.

Bloomberg's Kristin Jensen and Julianna Goldman touched on the fact that it is the anniversary of another famous speech:

Obama spoke 45 years to the day after Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his ``I Have a Dream'' speech, and he drew on that historic legacy. His parents, a Kenyan and a white woman from Kansas, ``shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to,'' Obama said.

Democrats had high expectations for tonight's speech; it was Obama's keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in 2004 that propelled him to national prominence. He used the address to tell Americans more about himself, while arguing that he is a better candidate to lead the country than presumed Republican nominee John McCain.

And John Farmer of the Newark Star-Ledger had this thought about what's next:

Secondly, [the Obama campaign] had to move beyond the party's internal problems. Important as unity might be, it matters little to most rank-and-file voters -- especially members of the middle class, hard-pressed by rising consumer and education costs, job losses, stagnant wages and out-of-reach health care. They want answers to these troubles.

That was the task Obama took on last night in formally accepting the nomination at an outdoor speech (a la John F. Kennedy in 1960) at Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos football team. He planned to go beyond generalizations about "change" to talk about bread-and-butter issues, like how to create jobs and end the nation's dependence on oil.

It was a pitch to the army of miffed middle-class voters, mostly white, blue-collar workers, many of them in small towns and rural areas. They resisted Obama's appeal during the long primary campaign and are considered a key to victory in such major battleground states as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia.

Winning them over is the second part of the Obama camp's two-horse parlay.

McCain Congratulates Obama on Historic Night

It's great to see at least 30 seconds of class in the presidential campaign.
Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor of the Boston Globe, writes in a blog:

The much-hyped John McCain TV ad airing tonight is unprecedented only in the sense that it congratulates Democratic rival Barack Obama instead of attacking him.

"Senator Obama, this is truly a good day for America," McCain says. "Too often the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed. So I wanted to stop and say, congratulations.

"How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day," the presumptive Republican nominee says, referring to the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" address in Washington. "Tomorrow, we'll be back at it. But tonight senator, job well done."

The 30-second spot, which will air on national cable TV before, during, and after Obama's acceptance speech tonight from Denver, is a marked departure from the withering series of ads McCain and Republicans have been running to question Obama's readiness to be president.

Advance Excerpts of Obama's Speech Released

Excerpts of Barack Obama's speech tonight, from DemConWatch:

“Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story – of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren’t well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.

“It is that promise that has always set this country apart – that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

“It is why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women – students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.

“We meet at one of those defining moments – a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.

“Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can’t afford to drive, credit card bills you can’t afford to pay and tuition that is beyond your reach.

“These challenges are not all of government’s making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed presidency of George W. Bush.

“America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.”
***
“This moment – this election – is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look just like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: “Eight is enough.”

“Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we’ll also hear about those occasions when he’s broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.

“But the record’s clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than ninety percent of the time? I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.”
***
“You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.

“We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put away a little extra money at the end of each month so that you can someday watch your child receive her diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President – when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.

“We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job – an economy that honors the dignity of work.

“The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great – a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.”
***
“That’s the promise we need to keep. That’s the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.

“Change means a tax code that doesn’t reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.

“Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship our jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.

“I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.

“I will cut taxes – cut taxes – for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.

“And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

“Washington has been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he’s said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.

“Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.

“As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I’ll invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy – wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.”
***
“We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don’t tell me that Democrats won’t defend this country. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans – have built, and we are to restore that legacy.

“As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm’s way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.

“I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing so that America is once more the last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.”

Steve Jobs Is Alive, No Exaggeration!

Steve Jobs had a W.C. Fields moment today as reports of his death are exaggerated. Bloomberg prematurely (and quickly deleted) his obituary while a reporter was writing a routine update. Gawker.com has the obit, and the retraction.

The Bloomberg financial newswire decided to update its 17-page Steve Jobs obituary today — and inadvertently published it in the process. Some investors were undoubtedly rattled to see, as our tipster did late this afternoon, the Apple CEO's obit cross the wire and then suddenly disappear. Jobs's battle with pancreatic cancer, and speculation over his health, jarred Wall Street earlier this year and continues to be the subject of speculation.

Obama Tours the Stage at Invesco

Here is raw footage from ABC News of Barack Obama touring the stage at Invesco Field last night.

Rumors Abound Over McCain's VP Pick

Alexander Burns of Politico examines all the rumors surrounding John McCain's possible selection of a vice presidential running mate, which may or may not be leaked today.

Some of the highlights:

Last night and earlier today it looked like Sen. John McCain had settled on a running mate, with word leaking to Politico that the veep-to-be would get the call from McCain today.

Then McCain decided to make things complicated.

In a morning interview McCain told Pittsburgh radio station KDKA that he hasn’t made up his mind, though he will be bringing Mitt Romney and Tom Ridge to his rally in Pennsylvania this weekend.

KDKA: “McCain said in an early morning radio interview that he was bringing along to that event both former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, two of the leading names on his short list. But he cautioned against assuming that meant either one would be the pick.”

And Burns also writes:

CBS affiliate WCCO is reporting that Tim Pawlenty has wiped his Friday schedule clean. A sign that he’ll be otherwise engaged? Like everything else he does this week: it could be.

There's much more. Jump over there to get the full rundown.

Denver's 15,000 Journalists

More than 15,000 journalists are in Denver covering the Democratic Convention. Just what are they doing? Justin Peters ponders that question for the Columbia Journalism Review.

I'll give you a hint, 14,000 are poorly dressed, and many are drunk and/or confused!

Obama's Temple Transformed Overnight

Well, Obama is the candidate of change. The Greek temple backdrop at Invesco Field has suddenly become the White House.

Corky Siemasko of the New York Daily News has this report:

Barack Obama will deliver his acceptance speech Thursday from a stage that symbolically spans the ages.

By day it harkens back to the temples of ancient Greece, the birthplace of democracy, with columns made of plywood painted off-white.

Illuminated at night, the stage evokes the White House, with ten steps leading up to the top of a raised platform from which Obama will make his historic address to some 80,000 supporters.

Obama's Gamble at Invesco

Tonight's speech by Barack Obama in front of more than 80,000 people in Invesco Field is not without risks, and the major media is writing from the same play book. First, Jim Rutenberg and Jeff Zeleny of The New York Times explore:

When Senator Barack Obama announced in early July that he would give his nomination address in an outdoor stadium in front of 75,000 people, he wowed members of both parties who saw it as an inspired stroke of campaign image making.

But as he landed here on Wednesday and prepared to become the first presidential candidate in nearly 50 years to accept his party’s nomination on such a big stage, the plan seemed as much risky as bold.

With daunting challenges of logistics, style and substance, the plan was hatched before the Republicans began a concerted drive to paint Mr. Obama as a media sensation lacking the résumé to be president. Now Obama aides are feeling all the more pressure to bring a lofty candidacy to ground level, showing that Mr. Obama grasps the concerns of everyday Americans.

Charles Mahtesian of Politico writes on the same theme:

From the elaborate stagecraft to the teeming crowd of 80,000 cheering partisans, the vagaries of the weather to the unpredictable audience reaction, the optics surrounding the stadium event have heightened worries that the Obama campaign is engaging in a high-risk endeavor in an uncontrollable environment.

A common concern: that the stadium appearance plays against Obama’s convention goal of lowering his star wattage and connecting with average Americans and that it gives Republicans a chance to drive home their message that the Democratic nominee is a narcissistic celebrity candidate.

Eli Saslow of The Washington Post did not want to be left out of the crowd:

His campaign has gambled on the historic moment by creating a stage that will magnify his performance. Succeed here, in front of the largest Democratic National Convention crowd in nearly 50 years, and Obama's speech will be remembered as one of the most powerful moments in modern politics, a perfect launch into the final stage of the general election. Fail, and Obama risks fueling Republicans' criticism that he is an aloof celebrity, fond of speaking to big crowds but incapable of forming genuine connections.

When Does MSNBC Pull the Plug on Olbermann?

At what point does Keith Olbermann's power play at MSNBC and his snide comments to guests and colleagues overshadow what Barack Obama is trying to achieve this week in Denver?

Olbermann has provided such a powerful counter punch to the Democratic Party as it tries to show America how united liberals are that liberal websites are wondering what the heck is going on.

The Huffington Post has this blog entry (from David Hauslaib's Jossip) this afternoon titled "Nobody Can Believe How Much Keith Olbermann Is Getting Away With"

Meanwhile, in the past few hours we've spoke to a number of 30 Rock staffers in Denver, New York, and Washington -- some of whom thought it more productive to speak to us than attend to the on-going live DNC coverage -- and the common wisdom is: 1) Nobody can believe how much Keith Olbermann is getting away with, even if he does draw ratings; 2) As an Olbermann protege, Rachel Maddow is attracting negative feelings from staffers, since she stays mum on many of these catfights, but "there's still time" to represent; 3) MSNBC head Phil Griffin is alienating staffers by publicly defending Olbermann while privately bashing him, and it's left many wondering when that will leak (oops); 4) MSNBC publicist Jeremy Gaines appears increasing stressed out and can be seen "shaking" with a phone attached to his ear dealing with reporters; 5) You don't want to run into Chris Matthews anytime soon, especially en route to the bathroom, because he has zero pleasant things to say right now; 6) Joe Scarborough is definitely stressed, but he's managed to calm down a bit today and can be seen laughing and gabbing; 7) None of this is helping ratings, with MSNBC scoring the lowest numbers against Fox News and CNN in convention coverage.

Olbermann has quickly become the main story in Denver, and that's not good news for Obama as it overshadows his message on the very network that should be promoting it. It's even worse for MSNBC. It would be one thing if it were a ratings gold mine. But MSNBC has been in last place every night. America is getting weary of watching cat fights, and his colleagues are growing more irritable every day.

At some point, the chiefs at GE and NBC may have to cut their loses and send him packing. Maybe then he could get a job as an assistant for Bill O'Reilly.

Olbermann: Lets Wrap Him Up, All Right?

Every day I go to my office and I occasionally see some bickering and backstabbing. It happens everywhere. I'm sure it happens at your workplace as well. The great advantage we have is that our offices don't have cameras broadcasting the in-fighting to America. MSNBC doesn't have that luxury. All week long we have been witnessing unprofessionalism at its best.

Once again, the internal politics of MSNBC spilled over to the set last night, and watching it unfold makes everyone feel good that we don't work there.

Keith Olbermann had another moment of indignation for a guest on MSNBC. Republican pundit Mike Murphy was being interviewed by Chris Matthews on his belief that Hillary and Bill Clinton would campaign for Obama, but when they got into the voting booth, they would pull the lever for John McCain. Olbermann's reaction, which once again may have been off microphone, was "Let’s wrap him up, all right?”



Another new target of Olbermann's wrath could be, of all people, Tom Brokaw, one of the most trusted journalists in history. Page Six of the New York Post reported Wednesday that Olbermann wants Brokaw banned from MSNBC. Brokaw has expressed concerns that by allowing partisans Matthews and Olbermann anchor MSNBC's convention coverage, NBC is sending the wrong jounralistic message for its news organization. MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines told Daily Variety in its report yesterday afternoon that "the claim that Page Six is making is completely and utterly ludicrous."

If the MSNBC folks get so unhinged so easily on their home turf at the Democratic convention, what the heck are we going to see in St. Paul when they are surrounded by thousands of Republicans?

Report: McCain to Announce Veep Pick Friday

Elisabeth Bumiller and Michael Cooper of the International Herald Tribune is reporting this morning that John McCain has made his vice presidential selection, and will announce who it is on Friday at a rally in Dayton, Ohio.

McCain's decision is known only to his small inner circle of advisers, no more than three or four people, who have refused all public discussion on the matter. Republicans close to the campaign said that the top contenders remained the same three men who have been the source of speculation for weeks: former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and, possibly, Senator Joseph Lieberman, independent of Connecticut.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, was also mentioned as a possibility on Wednesday, but veteran Republicans quickly discounted her because of what is described as her cool relationship with McCain.

"It's meshugeneh," said Kenneth Duberstein, who was President Ronald Reagan's last chief of staff, using the Yiddish word for crazy.

Obama Surprises DNC With Appearance

Some highlights from the Pepsi Center in Denver on Wednesday night.

The big moment of the night? Barack Obama made a surprise appearance for the party faithful in Denver after Joe Biden's speech.

The night started with Hillary Clinton moving to have the roll call be offered by acclamation:



Bill Clinton says that Barack Obama is ready for the Oval Office. This is 22 minutes long:



Joe Biden in his speech "slips" when referring to John McCain as "George":

ABC Producer Arrested in Denver

ABC producer Asa Eslocker was arrested Wednesday while he and his camera crew were trying to take pictures of Democratic senators and heavy-hitting donors who were leaving a private meeting. Eslocker was on the public sidewalk when the incident occurred.

Here is video of the arrest:

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5670682

This is as bad as some of the stuff we saw in Beijing. Eslocker was in a public area doing his job. The Denver police should be ashamed.

Eye on Gustav

All of a sudden there is concern that tropical storm Gustav (satellite image above) could develop into a hurricane and make landfall near New Orleans. Reuters reports that officials in New Orleans will consider an evacuation if there are indications that it could become a Category 3 storm:

Not since Katrina and Hurricane Rita, which followed in its wake, have residents faced government orders to evacuate their homes and businesses. Many are still struggling to rebuild their lives in a city famed for its jazz clubs and Mardi Gras festival.

On Wednesday, two days before the third anniversary of Katrina's Aug. 29, 2005, landfall, Gustav drifted away from Haiti and the Dominican Republic after killing 22 people. It could hit the U.S. Gulf Coast around Monday.

Here is the National Hurricane Center's bulletin:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT2+shtml/271147.shtml

The storm has already affected our pocketbooks as the price of sweet crude oil edged up to $118.28 a barrel, settling there after reaching $120 during trading today. The storm is threatening U.S. oil platforms in the gulf, Bloomberg reports:.

Energy producers will evacuate ``several thousand'' employees from offshore rigs yesterday because of the storm, said Ted Falgout, the director of Louisiana's Port Fourchon. Almost 20,000 workers are on offshore platforms, about one-quarter of which are needed to maintain output, Falgout said in an interview.

CNN, NBC, O'Reilly Top Ratings

Hal Boedeker, writing for the Orlando Sentinel, has the TV numbers for Tuesday night in Denver. Once again, NBC, CNN and Bill O'Reilly are the winners:

NBC and CNN were the big winners Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, just as they were Monday.

NBC and Brian Williams were the choice of nearly 6 million viewers for the 10 p.m. hour, when Sen. Hillary Clinton addressed the convention. The Clinton coverage lasted almost to 11:15 p.m.

CNN ran second in that time frame with 4.9 million viewers. The rest: ABC with 4.8 million, CBS with 3.8 million, Fox News Channel with 3.6 million and MSNBC with 2.7 million.

The cable news networks had a tight race in prime time, from 8 to 11 p.m. CNN was the favorite with 3.4 million viewers, followed by Fox News with 3.3 million and MSNBC with 2 million.

CNN had a strong lead in the 25-to-54 age group, the demographic so dear to advertisers. CNN was the choice of 1.3 million viewers in that age category, followed by Fox News with 823,000 and MSNBC with 785,000.

The story was quite different at 8 p.m. "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News was the clear favorite with 3.3 million viewers. In that hour, CNN had 2.2 million viewers and MSNBC had 1.5 million.

I still find it amazing that MSNBC, the most liberal-leaning network in America, has consistently been in last place for the Democratic Convention. It should have a ton of followers as this is the shining moment for politically active liberals. In addition, MSNBC certainly has been the most entertaining network with all the on-screen fighting among its commentators. It's just plain fun to watch.

What Exactly Are You Watching?

Whose watching the Democratic Convention in Denver? About 22 million of you in 17 million households, according to Nielsen.

But are you really watching the convention, or your favorite pundit? Whether it 's Keith Olbermann trying to talk through the whistles of a locomotive, or an hour of Bill O'Reilly in the upper deck, most of the convention has come an gone without a clear picture of what's going on.

Sure, we all saw the big stars. Michelle Obama had wall-to-wall coverage, and so did Hillary Clinton's much-anticipated and well-delivered speech last night. But the real workings of the convention, such as the development of a party platform, has gone unnoticed by all the major media. If you want the meat of a convention, turn over to C-SPAN.

AP had this to say today:

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was addressing the convention Monday, drawing a contrast between Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly was in a booth far above the delegates interviewing a pollster. O'Reilly waved in the direction of Pelosi on stage with a dismissive hand.

"Now we have Nancy Pelosi bloviating, and I say that in an affectionate way, behind us," O'Reilly said. "It doesn't seem like the crowd is on the edge of their seats."

Katie Couric and Jeff Greenfield were talking on CBS when Craig Robinson was onstage talking about his sister, Michelle Obama. During a Jimmy Carter tribute, Fox aired clips of demonstrators outside the convention hall. Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill got little airtime.

"How can you cover a convention when you're talking while the main speakers are speaking?" asked PBS anchor Jim Lehrer, whose network lingered more on the speakers.

I'm sure things will be different tomorrow night as Barack Obama takes center stage at Invesco Field at Mile High. We'll see all of that. But wouldn't you just love the drama of a good old-fashioned floor fight followed by a tight roll call? Maybe a reporter being arrested on the convention floor? Ah, the good old days, when democracy would play out right before our eyes.

Jay Mariotti Quits Chicago Sun-Times

In non-convention media news, star Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Jay Mariotti has resigned, saying he sees the writing on the wall in the newspaper industry:

"I'm a competitor and I get the sense this marketplace doesn't compete," he told the competition, Jim Kirk of the Chicago Tribune. "Everyone is hanging on for dear life at both papers. I think probably the days of high-stakes competition in Chicago are over. To see what has happened in this business. ... I don't want to go down with it."

The resignation is just another blow for the Sun-Times. Its famous film critic, Roger Ebert, has been ill for years and its political columnist, Robert Novak, was recently diagnosed with brain cancer.

Mariotti says he made his decision in Beijing covering the Olympics where he saw most of the reporters writing for web sites. He said he would continue to appear on ESPN's "Around the Horn" but has not landed a new gig.

Reaction to Hillary's Speech Mixed

It seems that the media is giving mixed reviews to Hillary Clinton's speech last night in Denver. The party's faithful is on board, but others are not so sure.

The California Yankee, for instance, says:

Hillary gave a good speech, but it needed to be a great speech. It was a concession speech, perhaps the speech Hillary should have given in June.

Hillary's speech should have been the equivalent of a nomination speech. I didn't hear that. What I heard was a heartfelt thank you to Hillary's "sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits." There was no Obama-like oratorical knock them dead explanation of why Obama has to be president.

More important, Hillary didn't offer a rebuttal to defuse her devastating critique of Obama's lack of experience.

One blogger didn't see much other than "it's all about me":

The reasons that Hillary gave for supporting Obama were all ways of saying that Obama is a Democrat. She managed to say some nice “words” about Obama in her speech (she was proud to support him), but subsequently she immediately launched into a litany of the many important issues for which she’d fought and sang out with a paean to all the people who had placed their faith in her.

In the end, it came down to being all about her.

On the other hand, here's a news flash. Hold on to you hats. Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow loved it. Olbermann once again goes just a wee bit over the top (He couldn''t have written it better himself!):



Here is Clinton's speech. It's about 27 minutes long.



CNN talked to a DNC delegate who is a Hillary supporter immediately after Clinton's speech. In an emotional response to a question about who she is going to vote for, she could not give her support to Obama.



If someone like her was not convinced after seeing Hillary speak live, who did Hillary touch last night? Did anyone on the fence change their mind? Will the 18 million people who voted and campaigned for Hillary over the past 12 months switch gears and join the Obama camp? We won't know the answer to that until November.

All the Media Loves a Feeding Frenzy

David Folkenflik at NPR offers his thoughts on the media's current feeding frenzy on each other.

He talked to Joe Scarborough about his recent dust up with David Shuster:

"I get frustrated by people who have an obvious partisan bias that don't proclaim that bias," Scarborough told me. "I'm not uncomfortable with a guy like [Sean] Hannity, or [Bill] O'Reilly or [Keith] Olbermann, because anybody tuning in can tell they're not passing themselves off as objective journalists."

Scarborough says a lot of journalists who are registered as independent voters aren't being honest that they often have biases that affect their reporting. I asked him whether he included Shuster in that category, and Scarborough said no.

He also takes on Lou Dobbs at CNN:

Dobbs blasted away any notion of professional comity the night before. "My colleagues in the national media are absolutely biased, in the tank supporting the Obama candidacy while claiming the mantle of objectivity, whether they're on the front page of The Washington Post, New York Times or on any one of the newscasts," he told his viewers on Sunday evening. "I mean, it's ridiculous."

Dobbs, of course, surged to great ratings success in recent years by explicitly abandoning the mantle of anchor objectivity. Interestingly, Obama, on one of his biggest issues — protecting American jobs by maintaining trade barriers — has sounded more sympathetic to Dobbs' positions than has Republican candidate John McCain.

I fear I can already hear Dobbs' new job platform: taking over the Media Circus.

There's more. It's a great read.

CNN Wins on Day One, Nielsen Says

The Associated Press reports that CNN won the day yesterday:

An estimated 21.4 million viewers watched Michelle Obama's speech about her husband during the 10 p.m. hour Monday on either ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel or MSNBC, Nielsen said. Add in BET and TV One, networks covering the convention for the first time, and the viewership reached 22.3 million. No immediate estimate was available for PBS or CNBC.

The six broadcast or news networks recorded 18.4 million viewers for the first night in 2004, Nielsen said.

NBC led the way this year with 4.9 million viewers, followed by CNN's 4.3 million. ABC had 3.8 million, CBS had 3.5 million, Fox News Channel had 2.9 million and MSNBC had 2.1 million.

What's odd is that MSNBC is in last place but NBC is in first, despite the multiple crossover in talent and reports.

Disunity in Denver for MSNBC

And now, lets look at the network that keeps on giving. Over at MSNBC, it sounds like some people have are having problems with the new regime. Now that Keith Olbermann has become the unofficial Director of Content and decides who gets face time, David Shuster felt free to take a whack at Joe Scarborough.



Here, Rachel Maddow hits McCain for playing the "POW Card" while appearing on Jay Leno. When asked by Leno about the houses gaffe, McCain mentioned his service. This is what he said on Leno last night:



Pat Buchanan, in response to Maddow, tries to make a point, but is pushed back by the adoring crowd nearby. (It's almost like being at a Big Ten football game at halftime). Here is the Maddow comment and reaction:



It is rather disturbing that someone might try to use a five-and-a-half-year stint at the Hanoi Hilton as a negative for her party's political opponent. In my book, McCain, and every other POW ever, gets huge praise for their sacrifice.

No, McCain did not give a good answer to his housing gaffe. He'd might have been better off saying that he had a "senior moment," or that he and his wife worked hard to get where they are, and that he wants to create an evironment where every American has the opportunity to succeed in life. McCain does try to put in a rebound during the Leno appearence to say that he wants to work on getting Americans into houses and keeping them in their homes.

But for Maddow to cry about McCain using the "POW Card" is as low as it gets. Does MSNBC really want to spin a former POW's service to our country as a negative? Don't you think that had Sen. Obama been a former POW that he would be using it as a central theme of his campaign as well? And, has Rachel Maddow ever spent a nanosecond in captivity in defense of our country? Does she knows what it's like to be separated from her family, tortured, and in doubt of whether she would survive such an ordeal? Her only qualification in this debate is that she is a favorite of MSNBC's new Director of Content.

Finally, here's this golden nugget. While Joe Scarborough, who really has had a tough 24 hours, talks about McCain's recent strength in the polls, Keith Olbermann, apparently thinking he is off the microphone, comments, "Jesus, Joe, why don't you get a shovel?"



Memo to Joe: Watch your back at MSNBC. Don't tick off the Director of Content, and start promoting the network/party line or you'll join Dan Abrams in some corner office in the basement.

Disunity in Denver for the Democrats

All is not well in Denver. Matter of fact, it's almost reminiscent of the Wild, Wild West.

The Democratic faithful is split into two camps. The Obama camp wants to control every visual, every word, and almost every thought at the convention, The Clinton camp is busy at work seeing a slight or being offended at anything.

Case in point: The Obama camp has been cooking up a deal where delegates would actually cast their votes from their hotel rooms tomorrow morning. This would put out the image Wednesday night that Unity does exist in the blue universe.

The problem is, a move like that would make Clinton supporters virtually disappear.

Chuck Plunkett, Allison Sherry and Kimberly Johnson of The Denver Post reported it this way this morning:

Supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton furiously circulated petitions on the floor of the Democratic National Convention last night, hoping to stave off a plan to hold the convention's roll call at breakfast Wednesday — out of the public eye — sources inside the delegations said.

Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, [pictured at right] a former state co-chair for Clinton said she knows the camps are in negotiations about what to do. "My view is we need to come together as a party," DeGette said. "I admire Hillary Clinton greatly, but I think it would be divisive to have a vote on the floor. We need to have a unanimous vote."

Divisive to have a floor vote? That doesn't sound like unity to me. It's more like the Obama camp is forcing a vision of unity on not only the American public, but its own party.

UPDATE at 6:35 p.m. Eastern: And the clock is still ticking on a decision. Don Frederick of the Los Angeles Times, in his blog, quotes an unnamed DNC member this afternoon:

"Whether or not there will be a roll call -- and. if so, under what conditions -- is entirely up to the Obama campaign. And they have not yet decided what the roll call is going to look like."

Gallup: McCain Leads After Biden Pick

While all the focus is on the convention in Denver, the Gallup Poll's daily national tracking number came out today, and it's John McCain, not Barack Obama, who has a two percentage-point lead.

This poll was taken during the first three days after the selection of Joe Biden as the Democratic vice presidential candidate. It's a national poll, so it's value is limited at best. But it is the first time Gallup has McCain on top.

An analysis of historical election poll trends by Gallup Poll Managing Editor Jeff Jones shows that recent presidential campaigns have enjoyed a small (though short-lived) bounce from the running mate announcement. This includes a four percentage point bounce for John Kerry in 2004 after selecting John Edwards, a 5-point bounce for Al Gore in 2000 with his announcement of Joe Lieberman, and a 3-point bounce for George W. Bush in 2000 upon choosing Dick Cheney. Bob Dole received an extraordinary 9-point bounce in 1996 after bringing Jack Kemp onto his ticket.

All of these bounces occurred before the respective party's convention began, and in most cases the candidates received an additional boost in the polls upon completion of the convention. Thus, any increase in Obama's support in the coming days would seem to be more the result of the star-studded and well publicized Democratic national convention than the apparently lackluster Biden selection.

Michelle Obama's Focus on Family

Michelle Obama was the highlight of the opening night of the Democratic convention in Denver, telling the party faithful of her strong family ties.

"I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend," Obama said. "And I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president. And I come here as a mom, as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world — they're the first things I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about before I go to bed at night.

"Their future – and all our children's future – is my stake in this election."



Frank James of The Chicago Tribune wondered if the speech, which was very good, would play well in Peoria:

It's difficult to tell how Michelle Obama's speech played out in flyover country. She obviously has a great personal story, this South Side Chicago girl.

But is it enough to overcome her earlier controversial comments and conservative attempts to make her seem like a radical who's far out of the mainstream? Hard to say.