The problem with exit poll data that shows that Clinton voters won't back Obama in November (or vice versa) is that the voters are being polled seconds after voting for someone some pollster tells them is a loser. So it should always be taken with a grain of salt. Except in West Virginia, obviously, where we're pretty sure everyone willing to vote for Obama did so yesterday.
West Virginia just keeps outdoing itself! The state—which is separate from regular Virginia because they used to like black people—is expected to overwhelmingly support Hillary Clinton in tonight's primary. Because Senator Clinton has been quite effective in drumming up support among older, blue-collar voters, yes, but also because Barack Obama is a Muslim and a terrorist who will enslave the white race and probably suicide bomb the White House. In the clip above, a voter explains that she can't support a Muslim. The reporter half-assedly attempts to correct her. Our voter will have none of it. Doesn't anyone remember Barack Obama's crazy black Christian preacher? There's more!
Local politicians say it will take more than a well-decorated storefront for Obama, the Illinois senator, to make headway. "He's going to have to visit," says Bob Pasley, who adds that Obama should come prepared to answer "tough questions," including some about his religion.
"Is he Islamic or is he not?" Pasley says of Obama, who is Christian. "I know he's tried to talk about it but he hasn't looked anybody in Wayne in the eye and told them."
Declared-dead Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton seems intent on nailing shut her campaign's coffin. Here's what she just told a USA Today reporter: "'I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on.' ...As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article 'that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.'" UPDATE: There's a recording of Clinton saying this to the reporter, after the jump
Congratulations go out this morning to Paste Magazine, winners of the race to reclaim Scarlett Johansson as the precocious nubile muse we knew and loved prior to this week's grim news of her engagement to marry... never mind. What's important here are her "Five Dads" pervily cited in the magazine's new cover story — Woody Allen, Bill Murray, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and, ahem, Barack Obama. After the jump, if you have the stomach for it, see if you can match the pop culture father figure to Scarlett's eyelash-batting, daughterrific praise. (Bonus points if you can accurately guess which one will give her away! It's even harder than Mamma Mia!)
Barack Obama is like Kermit the Frog: Someone else may be your personal favorite, but he's the one that gets the most attention, so he's the one who ends up in all the parodies. Obama can be mashed up with any meme, because anyone can assign him any qualities: like Kermit, his everyman status makes him ripe for satire. To demonstrate, in no particular order but numbered anyway, here are the top twelve memes that have carried Obama to the nomination.
This clip is a couple of days old, but it's quick and amusing: Barack Obama is being interviewed by Matt Lauer of NBC's Today Show, but keeps calling Lauer "Tim." He's probably thinking of Tim Russert, anchor of NBC's Meet the Press, because Lauer mentioned Russert early in the interview. Obama managed to get Lauer's name correct twice, but then kept screwing it up again, so Lauer eventually corrected him. Very, very gently, almost like one of those obsequious Obama interviewers on Saturday Night Live. Obama was probably just having a hard time keeping track of which media jackal was pelting him with nonstop questions about his former RACIST, traitor (etc.) pastor this hour. Points to the Democratic presidential candidate for working more middle-aged white ladies into his camera shot. Clip after the jump.
Here's George McGovern on CNN explaining why he repealed his October endorsement of Hillary Clinton and now favors her Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama. "I don't want to see a repeat of what happened to me in 1972," when Democrat McGovern was defeated by Republican Richard Nixon in a landslide. Just — wow. Harsh.
For some reason, CBS called Indiana for Hillary Clinton at 8 p.m. or so last night, hours before anyone else dared. Katie Couric interrupted whatever nonsense they had on at the time and the CBS news website dutifully posted their story. They even got a Drudge link! So there's a lesson for you: better to be first than right. Maybe as a network without a cable news station CBS just decided to let their election coverage team go home early? Because everyone else had to stay up until 1 a.m., when the hanky panky in Lake County, Indiana finally ended and Clinton won her tiny, tiny victory. A tiny vicory that was immediately stomped upon by everyone from Drudge to Tim Russert. It's over, all the pundits said. You can go to bed! But America can't go to bed, because Hil's still staying up for that 3 a.m. call. The death march continues!
So it seems the Barack Obama campaign has replaced those three annoying young men in Abercrombie & Fitch shirts with a creepy collection of older white ladies in pastels, as though he were a polygamist cult leader or something. Dashing CNN anchor Anderson Cooper does not seem thrilled about this change, for some reason. His colleagues instinctively felt his displeasure at trading pumped-up college dudes in tight, trendy t-shirts for middle-aged housewives, so they started giggling. Coop-style journalism is contagious! Clip after the jump.
Hey, look, Matt Drudge did something nice for the entire country: He ended the Democratic primary, even though it was supposed to continue until eternity. See the picture and headline at left, which ran atop Drudge Report tonight. Drudge's link went to a video of Meet The Press anchor Tim Russert calmly explaining to America that "we now know who the Democratic nominee is going to be" and that Hillary Clinton is probably about to quit (she cancelled her TV appearances and everything!). Then David Gergen, the Bill Clinton aide turned talking head, said on CNN the election is over, partly because Chelsea looked sad during Hillary's last speech. "You could see the anguish on her face," Gergen said. "I think the Clinton people know the game is almost up." Remaining voters, politely thank your media overlords for deciding the election on your behalf. Clips of Russert and Gergen, and a bigger pic of the Drudge page, after the jump.
It was a tight 51-49 percent with 95 percent of precincts reporting, and now the Associated Press projects Hillary Clinton as the winner in Indiana. More in the Times. Clinton said she'll keep fighting, but with only a 23,000-vote margin and reports she dipped into her own funds, her options are "dwindling."
We've all heard Barack Obama's Message of Hope a thousand times, and probably already voted this primary season, so let's all just keep an eye out for the most insane supporter standing behind the Democratic presidential candidate whenever he gives a victory or concession speech. A couple of weeks ago it was three hyperactive tools in Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts. In February it was a woman in some kind of emotional rhapsody. Now, in the background of Obama's North Carolina victory speech, it's this wahoo in a pastel blue shirt, in the upper left corner, behind CNN's "Raleigh, NC" logo. Oddly, he's surrounded entirely by women and other white people in pastels, except for a lone black face. Watch him go crazy over shouts out to minor dignitaries and every other thing Obama says in the video after the jump. Also dig Obama's new southern accent.
Ouch, Hillary! Hollywood nice guy and Oscar collector Tom Hanks just released a video endorsing Senator Barack Obama for President.
It's obvious why Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama want to go on Fox News all of a sudden. They're trying to reach white male swing voters, and those voters tend to watch Fox. But why is the conservative cable news network so eager to cede airtime to these bleeding heart lefties? That would be because of ratings. For some strange reason, Fox News viewers are suddenly very interested in the Democratic primaries, even though they shouldn't care because Republican candidate John McCain has already promised to continue many of the glorious Bush Administration policies they've heard so much about on Fox News. This has led to some, uh, changes:
Barack Obama had himself a little pickup game with the University of North Carolina basketball team, and the media was there to videotape the proceedings for our judgment! Overall he looks pretty good for an old guy. Although I don't support wearing sweatpants instead of shorts. He has a decent handle, fair passing game, and he even took it to the hole once, with the UNC players being nice enough not to swat his layup attempt away. He could definitely take Hillary out in a 1-on-1 game, and I will be voting for him for just that reason. Video of his skills, after the jump.
Obama just went on TV to basically THROW HIS PASTOR UNDER A BUS. A remarkable press conference. One that is maybe a terrible idea? We don't even know anymore. Obama says he complained before that "sound bytes" turned a complicated man into a caricature. This weekend, according to Obama, Reverend Wright became that caricature. Jeez. This is a pretty unequivocal rebuke. Maybe it will please Mickey Kaus. (Though it does seem quite apparent that Obama's doing this because he's fucking pissed and not necessarily just to please the pundit assholes who'll be thrilled that he caved to them.) More later if it warrants it. (First question to Chris Matthews: "did he do enough to separate himself from Reverend Wright?" Ugh.) [AP]
Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's controversial former preacher, spent the weekend on media blitz, and the end result is that the press doesn't really like him. Except where before they were just harping on him because it was a great, easy story, now it's personal, because Wright expressed deep disdain for the entire journalistic class during each of last weekend's appearances. NOT DONE, REVEREND. You're supposed to be all penitent and you're expected to curtsy to whichever 60 Minutes dinosaur they unfreeze to drag out your meek apology. But Errol Louis in the Daily News—alarmed though he is that Wright acted at the Press Club "as if nobody in the room was learned enough to ask him a question"—did discover that Wright was actually invited to the Press Club by an enthusiastic Hillary Clinton supporter. Barbara Reynolds voted for Clinton in Maryland, criticizes Obama on her blog, and "organized" the Wright event at the Press Club. Hah. Well, if Obama's "scary" black preacher actually dooms his candidacy, we'll happily join the "god damn America" bandwagon, but that will probably surprise no one. After the jump, the Daily Show's bit on Wright's weekend performance. Stewart's "I'm scared of the black man" routine gets less funny every time he employs it but the clips are decidedly enjoyable.
