Bad Theater, Bad Politics (Very Bad)

Lots of fiction from Rick Barber, Angry Guy, in this campaign ad. As Dave Weigel from the Washington Post points out:

"President Washington presided over, and approved, the first tax levied by the federal government -- the 1791 whiskey tax," points out David Weigel. "When the tax met resistance, he approved the assembling of militias to enforce the law and mobilization of agents to collect the revenue."

So, turns out Rick, the Angry Guy, owns poolhalls in Alabama and hosts Tea Party meetings at his poolhalls. See for yourself.

Now THIS is a race I will be following.

Of Dumb Blondes and Perception

It's not about policy, it's not about what's actually happening, it's all about perception and optics. So, if that is the case, my "perception" of Gretchen Carlson is that she's not very bright.



Of course, Jon Stewart schooled us about Ms. Carlson and reminded us she is just ACTING like she's not very bright:

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And the Tension Builds

From the AP on the Prop 8 trial timeline:

The veteran jurist, a Republican appointee, has indicated he does not plan to rule from the bench. Lawyers say they are preparing for him to hand down his ruling within weeks after the closing arguments.

Politicians Off Script and Off Stage

For the full rogue's gallery, go to The Daily Beast.

The Power of Theater?

Dan Froomkin from The Huffington Post on seeing Thurgood at the Kennedy Center, one night after President Obama.

The real message of "Thurgood" is a celebration of courage -- Marshall's, mostly, but also LBJ's, for nominating such a controversial figure to the bench and then twisting the requisite arms in the Senate to get him confirmed.

And that's where it gets a bit double-edged. Because the play reminds us that there was a time when courage was not necessarily disqualifying from public service.

Marshall, in his time, was a radical -- and I gather there was some talk of his drinking and carousing, too, for good measure. But Johnson picked him and stuck by him.

By contrast, rather than nominate a modern-day radical -- say, an outspoken gay rights activist -- or even someone dramatically on the left side of the legal spectrum, Obama recently picked Elena Kagan, whose most significant qualification appears to have been that she successfully avoided doing anything the least bit controversial -- or courageous -- over the course of her long legal career.

And --

I wonder what Obama took away from his night at the theater. I know he must have been impressed by Fishburne's tour-de-force performance, if nothing else. Maybe he could take a lesson there: Even if you're not Thurgood Marshall, act like you are.

The Best Media Show of All? A Catfight

Carly Fiorina shows her claws in an "off camera" moment (that is surprisingly on camera) as she discusses Barbara Boxer's hair. Yes, her hair.



For reference, here is a recent photo of Senator Boxer's hair.



Carly then apologized. Sort of.

"I regret this whole situation. I gave people the opportunity to talk about something petty and superficial," she said, during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday." "This is a very serious election year about serious issues."

I don't know if that qualifies as an apology. She then seem to make matters worse, or even more junior-high-school girlish with this:

But during an interview Wednesday night on the Fox News Channel with Greta Van Susteren, Fiorina claimed she was actually quoting a friend. Fiorina added that her own hair has been "talked about by a million people."

So, she is getting back at the million people who talked about her hair by talking about her opponent's hair? She's saying she didn't mean it by saying it came from a friend?

Jamie Stiehm in US News and World Report looks back at Fiorina's history of contempt for women.
And all of this right before Ross Douthat's ridiculous New York Times column called "The New Feminism."

And right after Sarah Palin gave a speech embracing this new "feminism" as she talked about conservative women candidates being "mama grizzlies". Uh, Sarah? Feminists don't typically like being compared to animals.

New feminism? Or same old patriarchy that reduces female candidates to snarking about hair styles?

Another critique of Fiorina and her feminism at The Daily Beast.

Again, the Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Judge Walker bars cameras from the Prop 8 trial closing arguments.

The schedule on Wednesday is as follows:

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Plaintiffs (argued by Ted Olson and David Boies)

11:30 AM – 11:45 AM City and County of San Francisco

11:45 AM – 12:00 PM Governor, Attorney General and county defendants

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch

1:00 PM – 3:15 PM Proponents (argued by Charles Cooper)

3:15 PM – 3:45 PM Plaintiffs’ rebuttal

For live-blogging of the closing arguments you can go here and here.

I will also be posting updates throughout the day.

Icon Appropriation

Amnesty International France "weaponizes" Russian nesting dolls:

"Commie Theater" Relevant Again

A New York Times review of the play, "Can You Hear Their Voices?" Adapted by Hallie Flanagan, director of the Federal Theatre Project, from a short story by Whitaker Chambers, avowed Communist and then a witness against Communists.

The Bipartisan Side Show of Prop 8 Trial

An interview with Ted Olson and David Boies on the eve of their final arguments in the Prop 8 case in federal court.