The Morning Read: Thursday, September 4, 2008
Rudy Giuliani attacked Barack Obama for having no real leadership experience in his speech to the Republican National Convention last night. Sarah Palin did not win over some women. Roger Simon writes a sarcastic apology for the media's inquisitive behavior toward the virtually unvetted and copiously flawed Palin. New York City women are focusing on issues, not gender, says the Daily News. Palin’s nomination means a more important role for Hillary Clinton in Obama's campaign, according to Newsday. Palin s

Look, It’s The Not-Terribly-Wretched Palin Bio That Didn’t Air Last Night!
Here’s the four-minute biographical video of Sarah Palin that was supposed to air before her speech last night — had Rudy Giuliani not gone on smearing his rat shit an extra 900 hours more than planned. They should’ve shown this anyway. It seems like something made by actual, civil adults, as opposed to the airless Giuliani-Palin speech twofer that dried the skulls of anyone capable of constructive thought. [TPM Election Central]

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani Speech At The RNC! (Gets At Obama) [Full 27 Min]
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Liveblogging Rudy Giuliani, Ferret-Hater Extraordinare [Rnc Diaries]
The bitch is back, baby! The Secret Service has cleared all ferrets from a 10 block radius, the word "9/11" waits for its opportunity to shine and somewhere, Judith Nathan lies in wait to sink her claws back into her sugar daddy. Or mommy, whatever. 10:22 ET: Picking an old guy as VP was a bad thing, says Rudy, ignoring obvious ironies. 10:21 ET: Obama should call McCain for foreign policy advice and people shout shout shout. Man, is Rudy ever gonna shut up? 10:20 ET: Rudy makes fun of Obama's man

Video of the Day: Palin & the Ghosts of Candidates Past
After noting the St. Paul police's tactics with protesters, the Daily Show analyzed the third night of the Republican National Convention. That night featured Sarah Palin's speech, as well McCain's former rivals on the presidential campaign trail, so it's all rich material for Jon Stewart and the Daily Show writers. And if you missed it, check out this Daily Show video from Wednesday about the sexist media (below): By Jen Chung in News | Link | Comments (3) | Recommend this! | [ Share + ]

Liveblogging Rudy Giuliani, Ferret-Hater Extraordinaire [Rnc Diaries]
The bitch is back, baby! The Secret Service has cleared all ferrets from a 10 block radius, the word "9/11" waits for its opportunity to shine and somewhere, Judith Nathan lies in wait to sink her claws back into her sugar daddy. Or mommy, whatever. 10:27 ET: And he's out. 10:26 ET: Rudy talks sexism. The crowd cheers. 10:23 ET: Obama is too cosmopolitan and flashy. Rudy ought to know. Also, he's gone on so long he's about to bump Palin out of prime time, for real. 10:22 ET: Picking an old guy a

Giuliani: McCain, experienced, 'on top'
ST. PAUL - Unlike the Democrats, Rudy Giuliani says, Republicans Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin have got their ticket right: "The most experienced candidate on the top.'' Giuliani, the former New York mayor who sought the Republican Party's presidential nomination and was to serve as keynote speaker for the convention here before Hurricane Gustav upset the order, spoke about the vetting of McCain's running mate and more in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "Based on what I know, she was tho

Convention On A Stick [Republican National Convention]
Not to scare anyone, but I'll be back shortly after 8:00 ET to liveblog tonight's Republican Convention speeches, which include takes on Republicanism from Mel Martinez, Tim Pawlenty, "Snowflake" Brownback, the inventor of color-coded fear Tom Ridge and their main man, John McCain. Feel free to use this thread as an open forum until I get back. I know there's beer around here somewhere, and I'm going to find it. Read More: 1

McCain Can't Even Get Stock Photo Background Right [Ha Ha Ha]
While watching the McCain speech last night, we suddenly noticed the big video screen background (which only looked cool when it was neat rippling water behind Rudy Giuliani) suddenly shifted to what looked like a greenscreen. Oh wow what a stupid and terrible fuckup, we thought. Because everyone remembers what happened last time! It turns out the fuckup was so, so much bigger and more hilarious: it was not a greeenscreen. It was a lawn in front of a mansion-looking building. Which was a middle school, call

With 3 Albums Each, Who Is The Better MC 50 Cent or The Game?
I’m not asking who won the beef or who sold the most records. I am asking based on the music put out from each artist thus far in their careers who in your opinion is the better MC. 50 Cent: Get Rich Or Die Tryin (2003) The Massacre (2005) Curtis (2007) The Game: The Documentary (2005) Doctor’s Advocate (2006) L.A.X. (2008) Chat or leave a comment below. .mcrmeebo { display: block; background:url("http://widget.meebo.com/r.gif") no-repeat top right; } .mcrmeebo:hover { background

GOP's strawman: 'Community organizer'
ST. PAUL - The Republicans are giving community organizers a bad name here - that's their goal, anyway, for at least one former community organizer: Barack Obama. "Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown,''; vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said here last night. "And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor if sort of like a community orga

The Sarah Palin Intro Video the RNC Didn't Want You to See
What could possibly be the reason the RNC decided to pull this introductory video for Sarah Palin moments before her speech yesterday? Was it because Rudy Giuliani blabbered on too long? Or was it because only Democrats saw An Inconvenient Truth and found the "PowerPoint Presentation As A Movie" genre worth clapping for? Permalink | post a comment [...]

Did Sarah Palin Speech At The RNC Do What It Needed To Do?
Sarah Palin bursted onto the scene after an amazing couple speeches by Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Rudy Giuliani. It was quick and easy to see that Palin showed...... <a href="http://www.postchronicle.com/commentary/article_212169450.shtml"><b>More</b>

Rudy Attacks, Right Out of the Republican Convention Playbook
MINNEAPOLIS—In what may be a preview of his keynote speech tonight to the Republican National Convention, Rudy Giuliani spoke to the New York Republican delegation at a downtown Marriott this afternoon and attacked Barack Obama on matters of national security and experience. “At the top of the ticket they have someone who is the least experienced candidate for president in 100 years,” said Giuliani. Speaking about the war in Iraq and the surge, he said, “I can’t figure out for the life of me

Video: The Wackness Movie Trailer
At this year's Sundance Film Festival, The Wackness won both the Audience Award and the Empire's Damon Wise Really Quite Liked It Award. So you know it must be good. IGN has a red band trailer up for the movie, which you can watch here. Fear ye not, prudish ones, there's no nudies or blood, just Sir Ben Kingsley enjoying a large bong. Written and directed by Jonathan Levine, The Wackness tells the story of Luke Shapiro (played by Josh Peck of children's sitcom Drake and Josh, but don't let that put you o

The Disastrous RNC Protest Videos
"There may be no one better" to underscore John McCain's anti-terror credentials, wrote The Hill yesterday of RNC keynoter Rudy Giuliani. This morning, the convention tossed Giuliani to the curb... for Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman? Giuliani is even in St. Paul, and may speak on Wednesday. Somehow also the Republicans do not know if they'll be addressed by video by President Bush. This is sad! Meanwhile, there are protests, and they are not going well at all. Unless you consider getting beaten on the stre

George Bush: Name-dropping dropping
ST. PAUL -- A certain name is fading into the background here at the Republican National Convention, a name that played prominently at the Democratic conventioon: George W. Bush. At Countdown to Crawford, our colleague Johanna Neuman has been keeping count. "Democrats made frequent use of the president's name from Denver,'' she notes. On Tuesday, the first night of the Republican convention, the only mentions of the president's name -- five -- came from his wife, First Lady Laur

Rudy Giuliani Speech RNC 2008 video
“` Some observant person noted that Rudy Giuliani’s speech criticizing Obama was actually the same speech criticizing John McCain in 2007. (source) With the same speech, Rudy Giuliani endorses McCain. A name switcheroo did the job.

Rudy Giuliani, Attack Dog
And here is the bizarre spectacle of hired attack dog Rudy Giuliani, the thrice-married multimillionaire and former New York City mayor and current Chicago businessman sent to the RNC to decry the "cosmopolitan" tastes of Barack Obama while a picture of the New York City skyline waves behind him. Giuliani went to NYU Law School, but can safely mock Obama's "Ivy League education." His greatest moment: "The Democratic leader of the Senate said, and I quote, 'This war is lost.' Well, well, if America lost, who

Lingle Explains a G.O.P. Criticism of Obama
ST. PAUL—After Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin’s speeches last night, I saw Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii, who delivered a speech in praise of her fellownon-contiguous-state leader earlier in the program. I asked her what she thought of Giuliani’s criticism of Barack Obama for switching positions on issues, which is something Giuliani and most of the Republican presidential candidates were criticized for as wel. “I think that there are times when you do change your position in politics. I’ve

Making the Best of McCain's Night
The Obama campaign is using the Republican attacks against community organizers to raise money. Here is a letter that just went out from Barack Obama to his supporters.   Dear ---- Why would the Republicans spend a whole night of their convention attacking ordinary people? With the nation watching, the Republicans mocked, dismissed, and actually laughed out loud at Americans who engage in community service and organizing. Our convention was different. We gave the stage to everyday Americans who hung

Same Sharpton, Different Audience
MINNEAPOLIS--So Al Sharpton was talking to room full of Republicans at a panel on education, leading them in what he called a “non-partisan” prayer. At one point, he told them about a rambunctious Democrat who, he said, asked if he was really serious about going to the Republican National Convention. Then, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrinch sitting on stage nearby, Sharpton told the crowd that the rambunctious Democrat in that story was, in fact, him. It went over well. “It was hilarious. It br

Elsewhere: No Press for Palin
Marc Ambinder reports that Sarah Palin will not speak to the press until she's ready, which could take awhile. Although she may eventually appear on soft news shows before the election, Oprah won't be one of them. The Alaska Legislature is trying to speed up its investigation into Palin's Troopergate, which was originally scheduled to end on October 31, just days before the general election. John McCain is now just outright wrong about what Palin did with the gubernatorial plane. Not surprisingly

Rudy on Why Size Doesn't Matter; Rudy on Why Size Matters
In two separate speeches yesterday, Rudy Giuliani lauded the virtues of Sarah Palin’s small-town executive experience. During an address to the New York delegation at the Marriott hotel in Minneapolis, he said “Sorry Senator [Obama], if the city is not big enough for you--they are probably that group of people who cling to religion and guns.” And during his keynote address to introduce Sarah Palin at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul later that evening, he said “I’m sorry Barack Obama doesn’

9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11, 9/12
9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11 9/11, the end. 9:02 CT — What the hell was 9/11? We forgot. 9:04 — “Suppose you have two job applications,” he hypothesizes. That means that Rudy Giuliani’s has already been rejected? 9:05 — John McCain has always put country FIRTHT! 9:06 — John McCain has given his “blood” to the country. He