Both of Barack Obama's books are beating John McCain's one on Amazon's sale list this week. [Jossip]
Oh, come on! Radio host Lars Larson last Friday ran a faux commercial for gay Democrat Barney Frank's fictitious presidential campaign. Here's what "Frank" had to say for himself:
Hi, everybody. I'm Barney Frank and I'm running for president of the United States. Why? Well, because Nancy Pelosi pissed me off. Harry Reid pissed me off, and so did ol' Barack. Ol' Barack himself pissed me off too. I'm pissed at the Repubicans and the Democraps, and I'm going to run as an independent sort of fellow.Now remember, this Erection Day — Election Day, vote for Barney Frank for President. I'm Barney Fag — uh, Frank and I approve this massage — message.
Larson later reiterates the right's claim that Frank's relationship with former Fannie Mae executive Herb Moses clouded the politician's vision as head of the House Financial Services Committee.
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"Barack Obama came up a big winner in the presidential race in Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, N.H., where tradition of having the first Election Day ballots tallied lives on. Democrat Obama defeated Republican John McCain by a count of 15 to 6 in Dixville Notch, where a loud whoop accompanied the announcement in Tuesday's first minutes." [HuffPo]
We regret to inform you that Senator Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who helped raised the Senator since he was 10, has died after a long battle with cancer. She was 86-years old.
The Democratic presidential candidate released a short, sweet statement along with his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng today:
It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer. She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength and humility.She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure.
It's a crying shame Ms. Dunham couldn't see her grandson complete this election cycle. Not in person at least.
The family will have a small, private ceremony and ask that condolences be made in the form of a donation to a cancer-centric charity.
The Republican National Committee claims Democrat Barack Obama broke federal campaign laws by using his campaign plane to visit his sick grandmother in Hawaii. [HuffPo]
ElectPalin.com redirects to BarackObama.com. [Jossip]
Boy queen Chris Crocker, who's looking more and more like the haunting spectre of a Top Model reject, went against his promise to quit YouTube and on Friday uploaded to the video sharing site an endorsement for That One, Barack Obama.
The whole thing is more or less a grating disaster, but it is nice to see a Democratic voter fighting idiotic faux patriotism with idiotic faux patriotism: "Anyone that's not voting for Barack Obama does not care about our country and is not American."
Full video after the jump.
Social conservatives looking to overturn California's gay marriages are misappropriating Barack Obama's image to woo black voters.
The backers of a move to ban same-sex marriage in California are inaccurately suggesting they have Barack Obama's and Joe Biden's support in a mailing that appears targeted at black voters.The mailer is from ProtectMarriage.com, whose backers it says include the Knights of Columbus and Focus on the Family. It quotes Obama, Biden, and four African-American religious leaders who appear actually to support Proposition Eight, which is the subject of an expensive, hard-fought campaign in the state. The words from the religious leaders warn of "mandatory indoctrination" of school children and say it's "insulting that radical gay activists try to equate" the civil rights movement to the push for same-sex marriage.
The mailing quotes Obama and Biden — accurately — saying they oppose same-sex marriage. However, they also explicitly oppose Proposition Eight.
Many pundits claim black voters will play a key role in a possible Proposition 8 passage, although we seriously doubt many African-Americans are going to be fooled into taking away people's rights.
[via Politico]
John McCain may be a bit upset with Dick Cheney today.
Sure, the vice-president came out in support of McCain and running mate this weekend, telling the world he's "delighted" to back their candidacy, but that little sound byte has provided all sorts of fodder for Barack Obama's campaign, which has used Cheney's comment as the pivot point for a new attack ad on McCain's love for the Bush administration. The ad's called "Delighted." Ha!
Barack Obama's walking a fine, gay line.
The Democratic Presidential candidate appeared on MTV this weekend to come out against California's Proposition 8, which would overturn gay marriage in the Golden State. At the same time, however, Obama reiterated his belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. Said the Senator from Illinois:
I've stated my opposition to this. I think [Prop 8 is] unnecessary. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage. But when you start playing around with constitutions, just to prohibit somebody who cares about another person, it just seems to me that's not what America's about. Usually, our constitutions expand liberties, they don't contract them.
On a related note, the New York Times this Saturday ran an article highlighting the differences between Obama and rival John McCain's same-sex marriage opposition. While Obama's motivated more by religious elements, McCain's a victim of his time. Writes homo-journo Patrick Healy:
As a Christian — he is a member of the United Church of Christ — Mr. Obama believes that marriage is a sacred union, a blessing from God, and one that is intended for a man and a woman exclusively, according to these supporters and Obama campaign advisers. While he does not favor laws that ban same-sex marriage, and has said he is “open to the possibility” that his views may be “misguided,” he does not support it and is not inclined to fight for it, his advisers say.Senator John McCain also opposes same-sex marriage, but unlike Mr. Obama’s, his position is influenced by generational and cultural experiences rather than a religious conviction, McCain advisers say.
What's interesting, we think, is that Obama consistently frames his support opposition of Proposition 8 in terms of constitutionality, rather than whether or not gay marriage is right - a tactic that's quite popular among the center and conservative set. That helps explain Obama's later comments in which he says he believes in strong civil unions that provide marital rights, like hospital visitations. That believe, he insists, provides a great example of his style of governance:
If they've got benefits, they can make sure those benefits apply to their partners. I think that's the direction we need to go in. I think young people are ahead of the curve on this for the most part. Their attitude, generally, is that we should be respectful of all people, and that's the kind of politics I want to practice.
Watch the MTV Prop 8 video after the jump…
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The right hasn't given up on Barack Obama's controversial former preacher, Jeremiah Wright. The National Republican Trust PAC has been running this ad featuring Wright's "anti-American" rants in three battleground states, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida, and announced today that they're expanding their coverage to include the entire US of A.
And they're paying $2 million to do it. Think of all the hungry mouths that could feed…
"Paid for by Let Freedom Ring, a conservative 527, a new ad is trying to convince black people not to vote for Barack Obama because he's… black? And Martin Luther King, Jr., wouldn't want us to?" [SH]
Speaking of Rachel Maddow - the MSNBC newswoman and avowed lesbian interviewed Barack Obama last night.
We've included videos down below…
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Just to make sure he squeezed the most TV time he possibly could out of the day, Barack Obama made an appearance on last night's episode of The Daily Show.
It's fun watching politicians and journalists get interviewed by comedians — they never know how to respond to their jokes.
