We have a no-Pat Buchanan rule in our house. He is an unrepentant criminal and racist (Too harsh, you say? Remember this: as a member of the Nixon White House, he advocated that the president burn the famous Watergate audio tapes and just a few months ago, wrote a column claiming that slavery was just about the best dern thing that ever happened to Blacks).
In our house, we are fond of calling Buchanan names out loud -- dinosaur, being among the most tame (and the most printable here). Recently, after the umpteenth time hearing Pat bellyache about how Barack Obama is so weak or arrogant, or "not one of us," I decided: "No more Buchanan." Switch the channel if I come in the room. Note to self: Hit the mute button or watch 3 minutes of The Weather Channel just to get past his on-air segment.
One of the best speeches on Tuesday night was Governor Schweitzer of Montana, who immediately followed the keynote speaker and preceded Hillary. In addition to stirring the crowd and bloodying John McCain, the occasion was politically significant because Schweitzer is a Democratic governor in a red state - in a region that is critical to Obama's strategy.
As promised, I continue my diary as an attending PA Delegate to the convention, with tidbits, video and pics of my experience. As the days have continued, I will share some of my thoughts on being new to this nut house and my Q/A responses from a brief encounter with Ted Koppel.
Rachel Maddow does not hold her tongue and when she does let go, it's intelligent and painfully precise and somewhat personal. If you were watching the coverage of the first night of the Democratic Convention on MSNBC and witnessed this comment, then you know what I'm talking about (around the 2 minute mark and if you can't stand Pat, go on to 3:40).
In case you have no idea what DOT I'm talking about, here: educate yourself
So, I'm pretty sure that whole "Olympics" excuse was bullshit (excuse my language). I know this because I watched the olympics (okay, women's beach volleyball, but whatever, it's olympics) and I didn't see the dot. Before olympics, Dot. During olympics, NO Dot. After Olympics, guess what? Yep. Dot.
The Place for Politics? Sure, if you mean the on-air pissing matches and office politics that have been on full embarrassing display in MSNBC’s "coverage" of the Democratic National Convention.
If you actually want to WATCH some of the convention, like Kucinich’s important speech, for example, you’ll have to tune away to a station that actually believes this convention is a little more important than King Olberman’s pontifications, plugging the soon-to-debut Rachel Maddow Show, Chris Matthews and his unruly 'do, and setting up Pat Buchannan as the piñata (as he cashes those checks laughing all the way to the bank).
Hillary nailed it. If this was a routine on the balance beam, she's get the gold without any questions asked regardless of the performance of underage Chinese gymnasts.
When future generations look back on this moment, they will shake their heads in disbelief at the fact that the first African-American nominee faced such blatant bias and hostility from a corrupt media establishment. While Americans should be focusing on this great progressive achievement and the Democrats' vision for the future, the media has used a small group of internet conspiracy theorists to distract the country with a petty red herring. Their goal is simple: to deny Barack Obama the traditional privilege of a convention where he and his supporters can speak directly to the American people. Instead, the pundits and producers have drowned out the actual story in Denver to carry water for John McCain and demoralize Democrats.
Well, if you're in Denver, you can fight back. The media is desperate for controversy, and there is no reason we should not be using this against them. Follow me below the fold to find out how you can help.
Summary: Given her recent rise at MSNBC, Howard Kurtz at the Washington Post decided to do a very interesting piece on Rachel Maddow. If you're interested, I'll have some quotes and some notes below the fold.
It's a good thing we have the corporate media to keep us from seeing the Democratic Convention. The last thing I would want to do is see an amazing speech by Brian Schweitzer when I could listen to Pat Buchanan and Candy Crowley blabber on about their biased right-wing opinions, and I certainly wouldn't want to get caught up in the unity and optimism that is palpable in the convention hall when there are crazy internet conspiracy theorists to be dragged onto the set for an interview bookended by gratuitous, free replays of McCain's latest attack ad. And if there wasn't breathless coverage of the fact that there are a few weird people who really hate Barack Obama, I might have to be informed about health care or, worse yet, hear someone say something bad about John McCain... and I know as well as anyone that we have a corporate media just to keep that very sort of thing from happening.
But after two days of watching the media wage all-out war against the Democratic Party, I have to wonder what storylines they have in store for next week's Republican Convention. How will our fair and unbiased, if not liberal, media match the exhilarating drama of Wolf Blitzer and David Gregory trying to demoralize Democrats? This recently leaked CNN memo may give us a hint:
As a huge fan of both Countdown and MSNBC’s political coverage generally I am disappointed with how few actual convention speeches MSNBC’s supposed "Convention Coverage" actually has shown. I initially started my convention watching at MSNBC, but then switched to CSPAN because major speakers were being completely skipped. During watching the speeches of Arizona Governor Napolitano, Kansas Governor Sebelius, Ohio Governor Strickland, Massachusetts Governor Patrick, and Montana Governor Schweitzer I checked if MSNBC was broadcasting these speeches and it was not. I am saddened on how poor the MSNBC coverage has been. You missed some great speeches and in this group probably missed giving the country a chance to see some of the 2016 Democratic Presidential candidates. Please pass on my disappointment to others at MSNBC and provide better coverage the next two nights.
I just watched every single special comment he has done on his show. Razor sharp insight and intense intellectual rhetoric would definitely make a campaign a walk in the park. If politicians were more like him maybe this government would actually run again. The intelligence that lubricates the gears of government has been in short supply for years.
Lots of us discuss whether McCain's "Celeb" ad, and his Obama-the-celebrity meme in general, has one effect or another on voters and viewers.
But in truth, it was never aimed at us. Or at swing state voters who view it during a commercial break. Or at the TV viewing audience at all. That was a decoy, and an extremely effective one.
It used to be that the convention for a major party was their big chance to outline their platform and to state their goals. It was a chance for them to make their case to the American people for their candidate and policy agenda to lead the party into the election. To say I'm disgusted by the majority of media's handling of the DNC is to severely understate the case. It's not just painful and pathetic, it's downright criminal.
