American Elections Like American Idol

John Cole offers example of bottom-up* YouTube videos for the Clinton and Obama campaigns that have gone viral and quips, "Someone is lucky elections don’t work like American Idol." He's got an open thread on the subject but my initial response was, They don't? Turns out that there are two posts in the OTB archives, one from 2006 and another from 2007, ...

McCain 10,000 Years Music Video

This parody commercial, putting John McCain's speeches about the war in Iraq into a song a'la the Barack Obama "Yes We Can" video, is pretty funny. It's already going viral, with quite a number of bloggers in my Google Reader list posting it today. Josh Marshall terms it "Genuinely Hilarious." Hilzoy and Matt Yglesias merely give it a "Funny" rating. ...

Huckabee Endorses McCain in New Ad

The McCain Campaign has put out an amusing new ad called "Trust Huckabee," which takes excerpts of Mike Huckabee saying nice things about McCain, many presumably out of context. CHYRON: Supporters of Mike Huckabee are attacking John McCain. CHYRON: What does Mike Huckabee say about John McCain? GOVERNOR MIKE HUCKABEE: Senator McCain, no matter what anyone may say, is a genuine conservative. HUCKABEE: John ...

Dan Fogelberg Dead at 56

Dan Fogelberg has died after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was only 56. Here's a video of Fogelberg performing his signature hit, "Same Auld Lang Syne," along with a voiceover reflecting on its impact:

Let George Do It!

Dave Schuler wins Line of the Day honors for this comment on Alex Knapp's post about the differences between the Clinton and Obama foreign policies: There's a razor's edge between greater reliance on international institutions and “let George do it”. I'm personally and professionally committed to the use of international institutions, particularly NATO and various international trade regimes, as a vehicle ...

Clemens, Bonds, Tejada Named in Mitchell Report

The Mitchell Report is out and it names some of the biggest names in baseball as steroids users. Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte were named in the long-awaited Mitchell Report on Thursday, an All-Star roster linked to steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs that put a question mark — if not an asterisk — next to some of baseball's ...

TSA Packing Tips Video Cost $10,000

Granting that it's not much money in the grand scheme of things, I was nonetheless rather bemused by a report that the Transportation Security Administration spent $10,000 producing a 60-second video demonstrating tips for packing a suitcase. Among the insightful hints: -Have boarding pass and identification out when in line. -Take off shoes and outerwear. -Put any loose metal items, like coins, in ...

McCain ‘How Do We Beat the Bitch’ Video

Senator John McCain was asked on a campaign stop in South Carolina, "How do we beat the bitch?" "How do we beat the bitch?" a supporter asked Republican presidential hopeful John McCain during an intimate campaign gathering in Hilton Head, South Carolina Monday. The "bitch" -of course- being Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner. The question immediately drew laughter, and a noticeable blush from ...

Mitt Romney ‘Five Brothers’ Video

I gather this Mitt Romney parody video has been making the rounds but this is the first I've seen it: Classic. For background, see Romney Sons Join Campaign, Not Army. via Soren Dayton

Student Tasered at Kerry Speech

A University of Florida student was tasered for asking John Kerry a long question. U.S. Sen. John Kerry's speech at the University of Florida came to a dramatic close Monday, shortly after a vocal audience member was hauled off by police and shot with a Taser gun. The audience member was preliminarily identified by UF officials as Andrew Meyer, a UF ...

John Nagl on ‘Daily Show’

LTC John Nagl, author of How to Eat Soup With a Knife appears on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart explaining Counterinsurgency doctrine. Stewart's reaction to "Be polite - Be professional - Be prepared to Kill" is priceless. via Bruce McQuain

Late Night OTB - Tori Amos

I've always been a huge fan of Tori Amos's voice and piano playing. I'm not always a fan of her songwriting, but off the top of my head I can't think of a single cover she's ever done that I haven't enormously enjoyed. This cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" is a great case in point: Lyrics:Hey little ...

YouTube Debate

I was apparently the only political blogger who didn't watch the YouTube debates last night. My conscience is clear, though, in that I'm exceedingly unlikely to vote in the Democratic primaries, Virginia doesn't hold primaries for six and a half months (February 12), transcripts would be available online in short order, and I found the whole "have journalists choose ...

Welcome Back, Potter (Video)

Harry Potter meets "Welcome Back, Kotter." Pretty good.

Dark Forces Behind Internet Videos

Mary Lu Carnevale, the blogger for the WSJ's Washington Wire, has broken the lid open on a scandal that threatens to upend the blogosphere: Hot Air Network’s Web ad … urged “conservatives fed up with Republican scheming on this bill, [to] do something about it. If you gave to the party in the past year, you can demand your money back. ...