The Pummeling

There needs to more of this stuff -- both politically and, frankly, because Obama's daughters just need him to be a regular dad sometimes. And it's really refreshing to just see a couple, um, like each other.



As Slate's Christopher Beam wrote on TrailHead, "Watch to the end, where Michelle pummels Barack. Will the slap fight be the new fist bump?"

Let's hope.

Well, that was enjoyable

Just got back from doing the Indie Talk radio show on Sirius. Hosted by Joe Salzone, the show was a real blast. I spent lots of time talking about things I am far from expert in (Iraq, Afghanistan, God). It made me feel like a real pundit!

Unfortunately, due to a very self-defeating Sirius policy, I will not be able to post an mp3 or embed player of the show. In fact, I can't even listen to an mp3 myself. You'd think this massive satellite media company would be on board with, ya know, technology.

That said, it was a great time. I spent the past couple days listening to the Indie Talk station in the background at work. It is some of the more enjoyable political talk out there....and you never have any idea where the hosts or callers are going to come from politically. A lot better than the echo-chamber nonsense of Hewitt or Air America. Check it out if you can.

No, Siriusly

For anyone who has Sirius Satellite radio, tune to Channel 110 at 5:30 pm tomorrow (Wednesday) and you can hear yours truly being interviewed on their Indie Talk political station.

Not sure what the topics will be yet, but I suspect I will be given ample time to disparage John McCain's military service, Barack Obama's religion and Ralph Nader's old man balls.

So, check it out if you can!

Willful Ignorance is Bliss!

Do we have the power? Do we have the strength? Do we have the fortitude to ignore the digital divide? I sure as hell hope so.

In honor of the run-up to OneWebDay -- a global celebration of online life on Sept. 22 -- I say we must be able to blind ourselves the dramatic disparities in online access and usage by income and race. Join with me in the name of willful ignorance!!!

For years, some of the nation's most well-meaning and socially responsible innovators have been searching for a way to bridge the digital divide. There has been some progress since 2000, though the results are decidedly mixed, according to an exhaustive report by the Public Policy Institute of California last year.

Percent of adults who use the Internet
________________2000________2007
White............................70……............83
Black............................60……............75
Latino...........................47……............51
Asian............................84....................89
Under $40,000.............47....................51
$40k-80k......................76...................83
More than $80k............89...................95
Born in US...................69....................82
Naturalized...................61...................68
Not a Citizen................34....................41
No college....................40...................49
Some college...............70....................81
College grad................82....................91


Still, the digitial divide has become as much a psychological obstacle as a tangible one. I have sat in on dozens of meetings of poverty advocates that begin with a flood of amazing ideas for using Web 2.0 technology to mobilize and inform low-income communities and communities of color. Facebook groups for to promote affordable housing policy. Google map applications to track health concerns in low-income neighborhoods. YouTube contests for youth of color to tell their stories.

Then, from somewhere in the room, someone will pipe up with, "Well, what about the digital divide? Many of the people we want to reach don't have or use the Internet. Lets think more tactile and leave this web stuff behind."

Yes, not everyone in these targeted communities will be reached by web-only outreach. But even in the sky-is-falling digital divide studies released in recent years, a MAJORITY of nearly every demographic permutation -- even very poor people of color -- are online. To ignore the mobilizing power and reach of Web 2.0 technology is a major mistake -- a missed opportunity in the name of phony inclusion.

Web 2.0 (and beyond) has been proven to be a tremendous force for democracy and political advocacy. Sadly, a lack of imagination on the part of too many US advocates has prevented that power from being unleashed where it could do the most good -- in low-income communities and communities of color.

Hopefully, OneWebDay will help spread this vision of the active, advocative web right here in the States to the on-the-ground forces who need it most. And if you've seen Web 2.0 technology put to good use in mobilizing low-income communities, please let me know. I'd love to be able to highlight some folks doing good work!

Thanks to MattCoop for helping bring me into the OneWebDay fold. Please visit OneWebDay.org for continuing updates and exciting blog posts from a variety of interesting and innovative writers.

Seeping into the Culture

I know I'm just an out-of-touch elitist living on the East Coast, but I've been shocked to the extent that Obamania has inculcated itself in everyday culture. Wherever I go in NYC, I see folks wearing big buttons with Obama's smiling mug -- the kind of sweetly hokey campaign pin you associate more with FDR or "I Like Ike" than any modern-era president.



Just this morning, on the busy corner of 38th St. and 6th Ave in Midtown, I saw a grizzled older guy sitting behind a crappy card table. Atop the table was the ripped-off side of a cardboard box with a couple dozen Obama pins stuck in it. He was selling them for a buck a piece. From what I hear, the famous DVD-fake handbag-"pashmina" sellers downtown are now stocking Obama pins, too.

It is truly stunning to see the cultural connection to this man that's developing. His message and his persona are resonating far beyond the politically attuned. Via Politico's Ben Smith, check out this ad for a car dealership in Plano, TX:



If Obama's shtick sells cars in Plano, for chrissake, he's really got something.

The Country I Love is, apparently, Very White

There's a decent amount of hub-hub surrounding Obama's "first general election ad." He released it today with a multi-state ad buy -- Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Virginia, according to Politico's Ben Smith -- that some folks say could cost him $3 million a week. Whoa.

The first reviews of the 60-second ad seem to be positive. And, indeed, it is a strong, forthright and oh-so-patriotic ad -- aimed right at what Team Obama seems to think is its greatest electoral soft spot, his "otherness." (see: Hussein, flag pins, Indonesia, Muslim, et al). The ad is even helpfully titled, "Country I Love."

But, I've got a question. When did America get so damn white? Seriously, watch the ad. There are a few grainy black faces off in the distance of one shot, but it is All-Caucasian-All-the-Time for the rest of the video.



Here's the complete rundown of the ad's visuals:

0:00 -- Obama stares into the camera
0:09 -- Photo of Obama and his white mother
0:12 -- Photo of Obama bookended by his white grandparents
0:16 -- Photo of Obama and his white grandfather
0:24 -- Video of elderly white woman touching and talking to Obama
0:28 -- That great photo of Obama in a leather jacket
0:35 -- Obama organizing in Chicago, entire foreground made up of white faces (not exactly representative of the South Side neighborhoods he was organizing)
0:41 -- Obama talks to a white man with gray hair
0:43 -- Obama at the kitchen table of a white family
0:45 -- Obama talks with red-headed white woman
0:47 -- Obama pats shoulder of white soldier
0:49 -- Obama two-shot again, fade to black at 60-second mark

There is not one foreground shot of a black or brown face. I won't pretend that Obama's ad designers have an easy job striking the ridiculous political balance between "too black" and "not black enough." But I was struck particularly by the rapid succession of white faces toward the end of the ad. IT may be what he has to do to reintroduce himself, but it was visually jarring.

"An Elderly, Cancer-Ridden Loon"

I just came across an email I sent late last year to my friend Paul -- before Iowa, at a time when Obama still hadn't consolidated a national base and it was unclear if he would even make it past the first caucus. Paul, a Chicagoan, asked if I thought Barack could actually win the general election. I don't think my analysis has changed much at all in the intervening months -- though I may now refrain from calling the distinguished senator from Arizona such vile, truthful names. For posterity's sake:

I don't entirely understand the "he can't win" argument. Are there going to be Americans who won't vote for him because he's black? Sure. But how many of them would vote for a Dem anyway? I think you're losing very few, if any, votes there. He's also not "so black" (in a policy/political sense) that he would inspire non-voting racists to come out to the polls (like Jesse and Sharpton would).

Also, I think that there is a huge swathe of Americans who are only moderately disconnected from the political system, but usually stay home from the polls because nobody excites them. I don't think he'll inspire 80 percent turnout or anything, but even a few percentage points increase translates to millions of voters. Add to that the ENORMOUS turnout among African-Americans, and you've got a pretty clear and realistic electoral strategy. I even think he may put some heavily black Southern states like Mississippi and South Carolina into play. Just making the GOP defend those states leaves places like Ohio and Florida as relatively easy pickups.

Frankly, there is no more electable candidate on either side. Hillary is a non-starter for 45 percent of America and would inspire more "anti" votes than "I Love Her" votes. Edwards' current rhetoric -- as much as I love it -- is way too far left and anti-corporate to survive a long general election campaign. He's also a damn phony, which won't help. And except for McCain, the entire GOP slate is a clusterfuck. And McCain is an elderly, cancer-ridden loon.

I'm very excited about this race. I'm still nervous, but getting pretty happy.

Seems relatively prescient....optimistic, yes, but not unrealistic.