by James M. Wall
In his New York Times magazine profile of Barack Obama, political writer Matt Bai explains the Obama “50-state” campaign strategy.
It was a highly succesful strategy that led the candidate to spend “considerable time and money in more culturally conservative parts of the country where Democrats rarely, if ever, venture, from Elko [Nevada} and Appalachia to [...]
Entries from October 2008
October 29, 2008
Why McCain Will Lose: “Us Versus Them” Is a Dying Brand
October 26, 2008
It’s Over Folks: Anchorage Daily News Endorses Obama
By James M. Wall
I found this picture on Mudflats, an Anchorage, Alaska web site. It was taken during a Barack Obama rally in Anchorage.
This handsome dog bears a striking resemblance to Darby, who was, until her recent passing, a much beloved member of my extended family in Alaska,
It was Mudflats, which I check [...]
October 23, 2008
A Response to an Obama Victory: “What an Amazing Country”
by James M. Wall
Maybe you have to be a Boomer to really appreciate this clip. But anyone is welcome to watch.
Ron Howard started as a kid fishing with the sheriff. Now he is a famous movie director. The other day he took time off to make a short movie.
Listen for the theme music. Ron’s little [...]
October 21, 2008
Obama Flies to Hawaii To Visit His Gravely Ill Grandmother
Obama with his grandparents after his 1979 high school graduation
by James M. Wall
Barack Obama’s maternal grandparents, Stanley Armour Dunham and Madelyn Dunham, celebrated with Obama (photo above) when he graduated from high school in Hawaii.
Obama often speaks of his Kansas background. He traces those family roots to his grandmother, [...]
October 18, 2008
TV Showdown: Sarah Palin Against Colin Powell (Updated)
(Updated Sunday, October 19)
by James M. Wall
This weekend will be remembered as the time when Sarah Palin and Colin Powell gave the nation a final televised chance to choose between the past and the future.
In separate appearances on the NBC television network this weekend, Palin and Powell squared off in what may prove to be [...]
October 16, 2008
Batman Whips Penguin’s “You Know What” in Third Debate
by James M. Wall
John McCain came into the third debate with a determination and a faulty use of language, both slang and formal. He proclaimed that he would “whip Obama’s ‘you-know-what’ in the debate.”
That school yard talk set the tone for the pre-debate [...]
October 11, 2008
Obama: “Now is Not the Time for Fear”
Time magazine photo by Callie Shell
By James M. Wall
Speaking at a rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, on [...]
October 9, 2008
Sarah Silverman Rides to the Rescue
by James M. Wall
I was reluctant to post Sarah Silverman’s clip. But John McCain leaves me no choice. Silverman is a Jewish comedian who hangs out on the HBO network where she can use, shall we say, strong language.
I am willing to cut her some slack with the naughty words because this little clip about her preferred candidate, [...]
October 8, 2008
“How Low Can You Go” After You Have Said “That One”?
By James M. Wall
A special note to readers of this blog who do not have immediate access to American television: This posting is for you.
Faithful readers in the U.S. are also encouraged to read along and click on the links, especially if you missed the 90 minute Obama-McCain debate Tuesday night. You Tube has even [...]
October 6, 2008
Now More Than Ever You Need Rachel Maddow
By James M. Wall
Rachel Maddow is quite simply the best thing to happen to American political journalism in my lifetime. And that covers at least seven decades.
Maddow has just been given her own hour-long show in MSNBC-TV’s evening lineup, Monday-Friday at 9 p.m. EST.
She is funny and passionate about life. She started her career as [...]
