Oh brother...what next?

A couple of days ago, Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson said that he didn't expect that much of a challenge from Chelsea this year because the core of their squad was getting old, which is true...they are.  Even the players the blues have recently signed are in the twilight of their careers.

But it seems that Fergie has upset the good folks at the charity 'Help the Aged'. This is from The Sun:

Help The Aged spokesperson Kate Jopling has now hit out at the Scot, who has been in charge at Old Trafford for a whopping 22 years.

She rapped: “In 2008, age is no longer an acceptable yardstick to measure a person’s worth or potential. There’s a lot to be said for experience.“But all too often when it comes to age, this is overlooked.

“People should never be written off because of their age. Ageist attitudes and comments such as this should always be handed a red card.”

Oh Lord, is this what we've come too? Are we really saying that in one of the most physically draining sports you can play, that the age (and thus physical capabilities) of the players should be ignored because of fear of discrimination? Is it really realistic in football to ignore a person's age to help measure someone's "worth or potential"? So does that mean a 36 year old should be given a seven year contract even although he's no longer good enough to play at the top flight. It's a world gone mad.

Obama the faker

Sadly, the world isn't interested in this type of story...which is precisely why people like Maggie Gallagher need to keep writing it:

Obama has a problem: What do you do when you're a lightly accomplished one-term senator, a former state legislator from Illinois, a Harvard law graduate who has no substantive record of accomplishments, and you are running against a war hero whom polls show that Americans overwhelmingly view as far more fit to be commander in chief?

Pose, of course.

What else can a guy like Obama do?

So the man who would be president of the United States of America flies around the world in the middle of a political campaign, enlisting the U.S. military and the Berlin Wall as free campaign commercial backdrops, to lend him the emotional weight and substance -- the aura as a commander -- that he hasn't yet earned on his own.

NBC's Andrea Mitchell was the one journalist with the courage to name what she was actually seeing happen: Obama faking even being interviewed by the press."

Let me say something about the message management. He didn't have reporters with him, he didn't have a press pool, he didn't do a press conference," either in Afghanistan or Iraq, noted Mitchell on the air. Instead Obama manufactured "what some would call 'fake interviews,' because they are not interviews from a journalist," Mitchell went on.

My amazement never ends. How can someone like this be thought of with such unadulterated adoration?

UPDATE: According to Drudge, the latest prop to be used by Obama is the Wailing wall. This tour may actually end up hurting Obama--each new photo-op makes him look less like a commander-in Chief with foreign policy experience and more and more like your average tourist.

The Media loves McCain more than Obama?

Gasp. Yes, indeed, you know you are reading the Washington Post. The Post's latest hit-job on McCain basically copies the Politico article I wrote about (here) with the added madness of the ludicrous suggestion that, if Obama had committed the gaffes that McCain had, he'd be out of the race already:

But there is a counter-narrative, which has taken root on the left, that McCain is the one being treated with journalistic kid gloves. In this view, Obama's every utterance is scrutinized, while McCain, who enjoyed warm relations with reporters during his 2000 White House campaign, pays little price for blunders.

Dan Abrams, the host of MSNBC's "Verdict," told viewers Monday that "gaffe after gaffe after gaffe come from John McCain, and they are forgotten. . . . There is no way Barack Obama would be able to get away with something like this."

I'm almost lost for wards. What absolutely cracks me up is that the MSM have become so obsessed with a candidate that they're actually no longer ignoring someone's mistakes but rather they're just no longer seeing them. The Post and MSNBC have literally become delusional over Obama. There is no more gaffe-prone candidate than Barack Obama (despite having the most tightly guarded message in the biz) and yet they think that the media is cutting McCain too much slack, and that obviously it really is because he's getting too old. You've got to be kidding me.

I hope this kind of thing backfires on the press and gives McCain the sympathy vote. Yesterday, I said I thought it was risky to take on the media, but maybe, just maybe, if they pummel him enough, some of the more reasonable dems and (certainly...okay, hopefully) the independents will start to replace apathy with sympathy for McCain's honorable fight against the all-powerful media and the infallible Obama. McCain as the underdog is a nice fit.

Pawlenty? Romney? Anyone...

Yeah...I'm pretty indifferent to this ticket, but that's purely a Romney thing. I think Mitt's the best guy. Pawlenty is a decent choice but it doesn't get me enthused in any way about November.

From CNN's Political Ticker:

It's VP tea leaf reading season, and a Republican source who attended a small private meeting with John McCain Tuesday in New Hampshire tells CNN that the GOP candidate dropped a serious hint about Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

The Republican source said "out of the blue" McCain told the gathering that he thinks they are "really going to like" Pawlenty.

One thing I think we can all be certain of is that there's never any certainty with McCain. It really is a crapshoot. Who, seriously, would be surprised if McCain ignored all the politics and electoral implications and picked somebody he just 'really liked'?

Meanwhile, the Boston Herald are excited that Romney is still near the top of the Veep list. They refer to a source close to the Romney campaign (and also Jeff Beatty's letter to Sen. McCain):

Amid increasing buzz John McCain will pick a candidate for vice president this week, a source close to former Bay State Gov. Mitt Romney say he is “near the top of a very short list” of Big Mac’s choices.

The Republican presidential contender whipped up speculation about an impending VP decision but declined to give a straight answer during his New Hampshire visit yesterday.

“We’ll announce when we’re ready to announce,” McCain said when asked at a stop in Epping, N.H., if he had decided who would share his ticket. He had grinned coyly when asked about a vice presidential announcement in an earlier media scrum.

I really do hope an announcement comes this week, although obviously it won't. The politicos seem to think that it's perfect timing with Obama fever sweeping the globe, but I actually disagree, I'd make the announcement the day after Obama's back in town; that way they might just be able to curtail the plethora of post-tour worshipping. One thing the McCain campaign also has to be wary of is that they don't overplay this kind of publicity stunt. You don't want to turn into the candidate with the incessant (and thus really annoying) head-fake that everyone stops paying attention to--I think there's an old story about it...something about a wolf with a really annoying head-fake? Anyway, if he continues to tease the public in this way, unless he unveils Hillary (or maybe Lincoln) as his running mate, the announcement is going to be met with a gigantic, story-stealing sigh...a 'this-is-what-we've-been-waiting-for?' kind of a sigh.

McCain-Romney '08 like Kerry-Edwards '04?

If you want to laugh at how ridiculous MSNBC have become, checkout the commentary to go along with their NCAA style Veepstakes knockout tournament (which, incidentally, had Joe Biden winning for the Dems and Mitt Romney winning for the GOP).

Chuck Todd & Mark Murray seem to think that a McCain-Romney ticket was just like the Kerry-Edwards ticket except that Edwards is a much better campaigner that Romney. Excuse me! These guys are just living on a different planet. If it weren't so frequent it'd be painful, but as it is a daily occurrence it's really more of a dull ache.

McCain takes on the MSM

Hmmm. I'm not sure this is a great idea. Sure, I think it's something that needs said but this is going to have repercussions. Although he's already a target, this is just going to make it seem fair game...like he's the one that took off the gloves. It's one thing fighting a candidate supported by the MSM, it's another thing to take on the media itself. This could turn out to be one of those defining moments...where the media finally 'comes out', if you will, in full support of the person they've been supporting (though pretending not to) the whole time.  Or, they might remember that they're supposed to be neutral journalists and start acting like it.

Anyway, here's the new ad (from RCP):

I think the Obama trip and the NY Times rejection were the two straws that broke the camel's back.

Politico attacks McCain's age

You see, John, this is what happens when you attack the MSM for their shameless Obama love -- you get a story about your declining mental acuity...all because you said 'Iraq' when you meant 'Afghanistan'. Honestly, the boys at Politico should be ashamed of themselves. This is pretty low.

They take a slip of the tongue on Good Morning America and produce a nice followup list of every other mistake (the obviously ailing) McCain has made over the duration of the campaign:

Unfortunately for McCain, that wasn’t an isolated slip. Among the other lapses:

• “Somalia” for “Sudan”: As recounted in a reporter’s pool report from McCain’s Straight Talk Express bus on June 30, the senator said while discussing Darfur, a region of Sudan: "How can we bring pressure on the government of Somalia?"  Senior adviser Mark Salter corrected him: “Sudan.”

• “Germany” for “Russia”: A YouTube clip from last year memorializes McCain referring to Vladimir Putin of Russia — following a trip to Germany — as “President Putin of Germany.”

• This spring, McCain said troops in Iraq were “down to pre-surge levels” when in fact there were 20,000 more troops than when the surge policy began.

• Also this spring, McCain twice appeared to mistake Sunnis and Shiites, two branches of Islam that split violently. 

• In Phoenix earlier this month, McCain referred to Czechoslovakia, which has been divided since Jan. 1, 1993, into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He also referred to Czechoslovakia during a debate in November and a radio show in April. 

• In perhaps the most curious incident, McCain said earlier this month that as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he had tried to confuse his captors by giving the names of Pittsburgh Steelers starting players when asked to identify his squadron mates. McCain has told the story many times over the years — but always correctly referred to the names he gave as members of the Green Bay Packers.

Seriously, this is journalism? What's a better story: 'McCain gaffes pile up, critics pile on'; or, 'Obama gaffes pile up, critics stay silent'?

Beatty supports McCain-Romney ticket

From the Beatty Campaign:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                

Tuesday July 22, 2008

US Senate Nominee Jeff Beatty to Sen. John McCain:

“Governor Mitt Romney is Your Best Choice for  V.P Slot”

In recommendation letter, cites Romney’s experience leading through tough economic times as crucial for challenges faced by Americans today.

Boston, MA – Citing the wealth of economic experience and a stellar record as governor of the Commonwealth, Jeff Beatty recommended Mitt Romney as the right Vice Presidential running mate to help McCain guide the country through these tough economic times. In a letter to Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, Beatty wrote that Gov. Romney has the kind of economic experience Americans are craving right now and is a key to victory in November.

In Monday’s letter to McCain Beatty wrote: “Our country faces two great challenges: a National Security challenge and a challenge to our National Economy. I believe that your leadership as our President and the economic experience of a Vice President Mitt Romney is the combination that will ensure America meets those twin challenges successfully.”

Beatty, a small business man and a national security expert, says “America right now needs leaders with the relevant experience. A McCain-Romney ticket offers Americans the best possible Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates with the relevant experience to meet our two top challenges.”

Beatty citied Romney’s leadership taking a scandal plagued Winter Olympics in Utah and turning it into one of the most successful in history. As Governor, Romney confronted an economic deficit and avoided new taxes for Massachusetts, while providing a $2 Billion surplus in revenue. Beatty also points to an ineffective Democratic Congress, including John Kerry, who presided over a 50% increase in the price of gasoline, a collapse of our housing market and now a growing list of bank failures. All these pressures are seriously affecting working families.

“There is no one better to help John McCain lead America out of a tough economy than Gov. Romney.” said Beatty, who became the Republican nominee for Senate in Massachusetts in June. “Americans are tired of career politicians who are out of touch. For many it’s all about politics, but for us it’s personal. A McCain-Romney ticket is the bold leadership needed to protect our families, our jobs and our country.”

###

Couldn't agree more! Let's hope McCain listens.  I think the last line really captures the strength of a McCain-Romney ticket.  Actually, guest-poster Ryan said early on in the primary season that a nuts and bolts guy like Romney would make a great VP--though we both pretty much discounted that option after McCain won the nomination. I think we, like most people, thought things were just a little too sour for Mac to give Romney the job...let's hope we were all wrong!