Press

Hi Mark,

Love the mention of me in the Jan/Feb 2009 edition of The American Prospect (p. 4):

"And on tapped, the Prospect's staff blog, commenter Leo wrote, "I didn't even have to know the guy's background to know he was a vegetarian." Sorry to disappoint, but Adler is, in fact, a meat-eater."

Mark, sorry to disappoint, but I wasn't referring to Ben Adler, whose proclivities I have no idea of. The post I was commenting on was about Rajendra Pachauri whose "proposal" was being "mocked" and "excoriated".

Here's my comment:

"Why was his proposal so unpalatable?"

See, this is the thing. I didn't even have to know the guy's background to know he was a vegetarian.

You wonder why people make fun of him? It's like the Rabbi recommending a reduction in pork products....

It's rather difficult to consider this a comment on Adler since it wasn't his "proposal" and no one, as far as I know, was making "fun of him".

Thanks in advance for the correction in your next issue.

Sincerely,

LEO

So Barack Obama is Time Magazine's 'Person of the Year'. Most people, even his detractors, would probably agree.

'Top 10' lists are common at this time of year. It's a moment to reflect on the people and events that significantly affected our lives. In this sense, Barack Obama is a chart-buster but there is no reason to limit the recognition just to him. After all, it was the people who supported him and succeeded in putting him into office who share a lot of the credit.

How many times throughout the campaign did Barack say, 'it's not about me, it's about you'? But to be even more expansive, surely the environment where such a movement could operate and not only operate but succeed, surely such an environment must be given its due.

For 8 years, we witnessed a deterioration in absolutely every aspect of America as a country. Our economy was trashed, our military was over-extended, rightwing religious and economic fanatics ruled the day; worst of all, the reputation of our country was at an all time low.

And then Obama won. Obviously his election goes beyond the accomplishment of a single individual. It validates what we cherish most about this country, namely, that the system works, that American democracy is self-correcting and that given enough time, it's sure ultimately to choose the right path.

While things don't look so rosy at the moment, there's a lot about this broader picture that ought to fill us with an immense sense of pride and optimism. It feels good to be an American again.

What's wrong with this picture?

On Election Day 2008, this was the front page of the Tribune's knockoff tabloid called the 'RedEye'. It sported the none-too-original headline 'It's in Your Hands' with five hands in front of an American flag, each hand showing one of the following issues:

• Iraq
• Economy
• Vote
• Health Care
• Abortion

My question is, what does it say about this tabloid, that 'Abortion' makes it into its Top Five? This would be before -- oh, I dunno -- 'Education' or the 'Environment', just to take two things off the top of my head.

What kind of values are these?

The Chicago Tribune is channeling the Weekly Standard:

Having made hay of Barack Obama's relative youth and his foreign-sounding name, his opponents are now homing in on his neighborhood.

For his critics, the presumptive Democratic nominee's home turf offers a tempting opportunity to paint him as an elitist and, perhaps more damaging, an egghead.

It gets better:

Obama left himself open to this line of political attack when the media discovered he'd had some sort of relationship with Bill Ayers, an unrepentant 1960s radical, and Obama shrugged it off, saying Ayers was just a "guy who lives in my neighborhood."

His response permitted The Weekly Standard to wonder: "Wow, what kind of neighborhood does Barack live in?"

See, this is how the game is played: instead of automatically identifying this as pure rubbish, the Chicago Tribune uses it as a jumping off point -- literally the context -- of a brief look at life in Hyde Park and U. of C.

What's next? Call Obama a drug-addict -- no, rather say his "critics" call him a drug-addict -- and then look at how easy it is to score some weed in Washington Park?

This is how a GOP smear campaign gains traction. It's happening before our very eyes.

P.S. "...some sort of relationship with Bill Ayers..." Can you get any sloppier?

So on my way to Saloon Democrats, I stop by the Walgreens on Clark and Lake. And what do I see just inside the entry? A woman with a bunch of baseball hats and tee-shirts trying to sell subscriptions to the Chicago Tribune.

The deal is, if you sign up for the Chicago Tribune at one dollar a week, you can get one of the hats or teeshirts for free. And what's on the teeshirt? Why "Obama" of course. It wasn't the official campaign logo but it was his name splashed across the white cotton fabric. The only reason I noticed is because the woman called out to everyone entering the store saying they could get a free "Obama" teeshirt if they signed up for the Tribune.

Now, I have nothing against the Chicago Tribune trying to cash in on the success of Barack Obama. Truth is, this is a candidate that makes all of us from the state of Illinois proud.

I just wonder whether it's a bit ironic for a newspaper that in its entire 161 years has always backed the Republican candidate for president -- to now push its wares under the moniker literally of the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Being a liberal and therefore a believer in the ultimate redemptive nature of human beings, I can only hope that this marketing scheme is a sign that the Chicago Tribune will finally come clean, do the responsible thing, and endorse Barack Obama for President of the United States.

Screwed-up war, screwed-up economy - should anyone be surprised?

Americans are more dissatisfied with the country’s direction than at any time since the New York Times/CBS News poll began asking about the subject in the early 1990s, according to the latest poll. [NY Times]

We don't have weekly or monthly elections in Illinois for obvious reasons. In between, our preferred method for getting rid of bad apples, as Larry points out, is through a process called impeachment.

But none of this is good enough for the revolutionaries at the Chicago Tribune. They'd rather have a California-style Recall:

Legislators need to give Illinois voters the option of adding to the constitution a way to recall officials in the executive, judicial and legislative branches.

Of course when contemplating recall, we always imagine it'll eliminate the guy we don't like -- rather than the guy we do.

The truth is, recall is profoundly undemocratic. It undermines the ability of democratically elected officials to act effectively. Whenever there's a dip in the polls, those with the wherewithal can mount a challenge. The challenge needn't even be successful (or legitimate) to have effect.

You can imagine who this would be used against -- and by whom. The timing is interesting.

Frankly, I’d rather take my lessons in democracy from some other source than the Editorial Board of the Chicago Tribune.

Judging by this picture in the Chicago Sun-Times [online], you'd assume Obama figured prominently in yesterday's proceedings in the Tony Rezko Trial. I mean, it's his picture along with that of defendant Tony Rezko and "star witness" Stuart Levine.

Once you read the accompanying article however, you'll find that there's absolutely nothing about Obama except for this tidbit at the very end:

Also Monday, Sen. Barack Obama's name again surfaced in the trial as Obama was mentioned in a memo about legislation that downsized the planning board in 2003. Rezko's lawyers sought to show that others besides Rezko were recommending candidates for the planning board, but the memo's reference to Obama focused solely on Obama's role in crafting the legislation.

Rezko once was a fund-raiser for Obama, who is not implicated in any of Rezko's alleged wrongdoing.

So the mere mention of Obama in a list of names from an unrelated email that has absolutely nothing to do with any of the alleged shenanigans, nevertheless guarantees a place at the top for Obama's picture.

I dread to think if someone should suffer a fatal calamity while wearing an Obama sticker or be in a car crash where the other driver has an Obama sticker on his bumper. We all know what the lede would be -- at least in the Chicago Sun-Times.

I agree with there being a conflict of interest in U.S. Presidents setting up their own libraries. It's just ironic to see the point being made in a newspaper that has its own "Freedom Museum":

The problem with presidential libraries is that there is often tension between what presidents want -- whitewashed memorials that attempt to enhance their reputations through propaganda -- and what historians and the public want -- accessible archives and good history museums. [Benjamin Hufbauer, "Commentary: Presidential Libraries have Historical Problem" (3/3/2008).]

See the trick is, find some lunatic who'll do the dirty work for you. AP's Nedra Pickler does dumpster-diving for the following:

Obama's comments led conservatives and media commentators to question his patriotism.

"First he kicked his American flag pin to the curb. Now Barack Obama has a new round of patriotism problems. Wait until you hear what the White House hopeful didn't do during the singing of the national anthem," said Steve Doocy, co-host of "Fox and Friends" on the Fox News Channel. [Nedra Pickler, "Obama May Face Grilling on Patriotism", 2/23/08]

"Fox and Friends"? How's that for a source! Pickler's other sources include a swift-boater from DC and a "dirty-trickster" from New York. Apparently when you want to impugn the patriotism of a Democrat running for President, the threshold isn't very high. [h/t Josh Marshall]

UPDATE: New links on the Chain of Scum: CNN & the New York Times. Bingo -- the mighty Wurlitzer works!

UPDATE II: Obama responds:

Asked how he would fight the image of being unpatriotic, Obama said, "There's always some nonsense going on in general elections. Right? If it wasn't this, it would be something else. If you recall, first it was my name. Right? That was a problem. And then there was the Muslim e-mail thing and that hasn't worked out so well, and now it's the patriotism thing.

"The way I will respond to it is with the truth: that I owe everything I am to this country," he said.

PS: Why not tell the AP what you think of their "journalism":

Paul Colford
Director of Media Relations
212.621.1720
pcolford@ap.org

Jack Stokes
Manager of Media Relations
212.621.1720
jstokes@ap.org

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