Team Obama has started on a final push to GOTV (Get Out the Vote), using targeted “urban” ( black!) artists, interviews and media campaigns. Here’s a DNC/OFA (Obama for America) radio announcement by John Legend. (h/t theroot.com) Interesting the NY Post (kind of a shaky source given their Murdoch / Fox News ties) has an article featuring the influence that Jay-Z will have on the 2012 elections.

I’m doubtful that these last minute targeted work will have that much of an affect..we will see.

Here’s a great flashback to 2009…

NPR has more than 400 reporters, editors, producers and analysts on its news team, and none is more of a lightning rod than Juan Williams. But it’s usually not for anything he says on NPR.
…
Last year, 378 listeners emailed me complaints and frustrations about things Williams said on Fox. The listener themes are similar: Williams “dishonors NPR.” He’s an “embarrassment to NPR.” “NPR should sever their relationship with him.”

The latest flap involves Williams’ comment on Fox about First Lady Michelle Obama. To date, I’ve received 56 angry emails. For comparison, this year so far, listeners sent 13 emails about Steve Inskeep, 8 about Mara Liasson and 6 about Cokie Roberts — other NPR personalities who I often get emails about.

…

His “Stokely Carmichael” comment got the attention of NPR’s top managers. They are in a bind because Williams is no longer a staff employee but an independent contractor. As a contract news analyst, NPR doesn’t exercise control over what Williams says outside of NPR.

[emphasis added] Read More at NPR

Long-time National Public Radio contributor Juan Williams was fired after the latest of many gaffes, that “Look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.” h/t NPR.org

Interestingly, rather than avoid directly writing about the issue, NPR’s David Fokenfilk wrote a story about the National Public Radio decision. Here’s a bit from the Folkenflik piece:

Late Wednesday night, NPR issued a statement praising Williams as a valuable contributor but saying it had given him notice that it is severing his contract. “His remarks on The O’Reilly Factor this past Monday were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR,” the statement read.

NPR

It’s likely that Juan Williams knew he was on incredibly thin ice with NPR — NPR had already told him to refrain from using the NPR brand when on Fox News. So, I don’t think this is a “one and done” sort of comment, like CNN firing Rick Sanchez over his comments about “Jewish control of media,” rather Mr. Williams had simply used up all his chances.

For example, many people remember Mr. Williams slander of Michelle Obama as “stokely carmichael in a dress..” There’s only so often you can carry water for folks on Fox News, and continue to hold yourself out as a credible “analyst.”

Mr. Williams isn’t the only African American who straddles a divide between Fox News “contributor” and a policy / analyst / professorial position in a completely different sphere. Interestingly, Fox News Contributor / Host Mike Huckabee called on congress to cut NPR’s funding in response (and politician — nice how so many Republican politicians who are out of office work for Fox News).

Rachel Maddow shows an excellent piece about the consistency of Fox News use of the “Southern Strategy” in an attempt to scare white voters by depicting blacks (and in particular POTUS Barack Obama’s administration) as somehow being “out to get them.”

General McChrystal is relieved of command it’s fascinating…

Here is the amazing Rolling Stone article about the “Runaway General”

So, I’m basically live blogging the relief of command by General McChrystal.

I don’t think that any General, (non-founder) CEO or worker should ever be so central to a company or service that they can not be replaced.

It seems like an awful lot of mission “rah rah.” Nothing major.

This is hilarious, Obama should avoid trying to sound tough and definitely stick to calm, cool and reserved. Take a listen to this hilarious auto-tuned song based on the Matt Lauer “ass kick” interview.

Glenn Beck reaches a new low by attacking 11 year old Malia Obama — to make matters worse for Beck, this is after he had a little on air tea pity party with Sarah Palin. during the little discussion Palin complained about the “mainstream media,” which employs both herself and Mr. Beck and say that “families were off limits.”

Yet, it’s clear Beck like Limbaugh before him, are willing to attack Democrats families no matter how young, whenever convienent.

Hear Beck’s idiocy here.

One of the most annoying commentators on the right Republican, b/c he consistently engages in pseudo analytical analysis (I’ll give an example below), and worse makes ridiculous claims:

“However, I have doubts about President Barack Obama. I have been deeply concerned since March, 2008 that he lacked the proper perspective, experience, and temperament to be President. I hope and pray that my fears will ultimately be found to be incorrect, but they have only grown since his Inauguration. I also wish the Democrats in Congress had chosen their party leaders in Congress in a way that reflected the diversity of their caucus – which is undoubtedly the party’s greatest electoral strength – rather than dole out the leadership positions to the most senior, and most liberal members of the caucus.”

Jay Cost’s Biography as written by himself

Consider this for a few moments — if someone is so certain about “proper perspective, experience and temperament,” shouldn’t they do a better job of articulating what level of these three items they would find acceptable — if only to make it clear what their threshold would be. In my opinion, rather than simply say I disagree with the individual b/c I disagree with their world view and thus the choices they will make, folks like Jay Cost will create an arbitrary threshold — moving the goal posts based on their affinity for a candidate.

So, on to todays helping of B.S. by Mr. Jay Cost: Obama the Polarizer

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/2010/05/obama_the_polarizer.html

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