Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Obama’s Big Diss. Not a Classy Move
[W]hat does the annointed one do after chalking up yet another decisive win? Does he show any humility? No. Right smack in the middle of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s concession speech he decides it’s time to hijack the airwaves and pre-empt her with his victory speech. Buh-bye Hillary…it’s ObamaTime. C’mon, Barack, show some class.
When does the unity part kick in?  This is a man in a hurry.  This is a man who shoved his first political mentor off the ballot in his first political race.  I saw a comment on another side that said Obama only interrupted Clinton’s speech because she refused to concede.  I don’t know if that’s true, but even if it is, it doesn’t excuse this kind of discourtesy.

McCain’s Wisconsin Victory Speech Remarks (thanks to Taylor Marsh)
“I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change that promises no more than a holiday from history and a return to the false promises and failed policies of a tired philosophy that trusts in government more than people. Our purpose is to keep this blessed country free, safe, prosperous and proud. And the changes we offer to the institutions and policies of government will reflect and rely upon the strength, industry, aspirations and decency of the people we serve.”
And when he said proud, do you think he might have been referring to a rather injudicious statement by Mrs. Obama?  See below.

McCain vs Obama…Cindy vs Michelle, That Is
It started innocuously enough. Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic candidate Barack Obama, D-Ill., was talking about her husband’s message of hope. “What we have learned over this year is that hope is making a comeback,” she said at a rally Monday in Milwaukee. “It is making a comeback and let me tell you something,” she continued, “for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country.”… It got some mention on political blogs, but not much more than that. Until another political wife – Cindy McCain – put in her two cents. “I’m proud of my country,” McCain said Tuesday, during an introduction of her husband, the Arizona senator and soon-to-be nominee of the Republican party, John McCain. “I don’t know about you, if you heard those words earlier, I’m very proud of my country.”
Which of those statements do you think will “resignate” in the hearts of American voters?

Bit in His Teeth (by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo)
Some time a week or so ago I read an article about the Obama-McCain relationship (send me the link?). And the gist was that the antagonism between these two men (at least from McCain’s side) isn’t something cooked up to order for this campaign. This goes all the way back to when Obama showed up in the senate. And it seems to come down to a sense of ‘I’ve been working at this my whole life and who the f–k is this Obama kid?’

A McCain cabinet could bear shades of Teddy Roosevelt
Democrats already are regularly attacking John McCain for offering what they characterize as a third George W. Bush term. But a new Theodore Roosevelt presidency might be closer to the mark.
Never mind that Teddy Roosevelt was a progressive.  Never mind that he QUIT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!  But against a guy who looks like a kid, anything is possible.

RNC donor event outlines Obama attack plan
Focusing on Barack Obama’s “inexperience” and “undisciplined messaging” are two ways to ensure that the senator from Illinois doesn’t get to be president, according to honchos at the Republican National Committee.

Judging Hillary’s Experience (by Marie Coco, Washington Post Writers’ Group)
Fresh-face-for-the-future versus failed-policies-of-the-past is an easy, if not automatic, choice for these times, the thinking goes. The prescription may well involve a large dose of wishful thinking. It ignores, in particular, the difficulty that Obama has had attracting support from older Democrats, who have routinely supported Clinton… [M]any of them tend to fit the profile of the original Reagan Democrats. Some of them, in fact, were Reagan Democrats who have since returned to the fold. The men, especially, have little discomfort in switching parties in the general election, particularly when national security issues come to the fore. Many of them are military veterans, and they may instinctively trust McCain on national security, even if they have soured on the Iraq War.
And they will not hesitate to vote Republican again, as Froma Harrop told us yesterday, when they compare the resumes of McCain and Obama.

Obama’s White Men: Do They Hear Something Blacks Don’t? (by Glen Ford at the Black Agenda Report)
The corporate media and most Blacks with access to a mass public never seem to seriously examine the meaning of the most dramatic, history-shaking statistic in Barack Obama’s march to the White House: he’s picking up strong majorities of white men. That’s unheard of in the annals of electoral activity in the United States. White men have always been the most reactionary, racially-bonded voting group, the deepest well of anti-Black hostility in the country. So, what makes them flock to Obama’s banner? The answer is simple: Obama has based his entire strategy on sending messages to white males, assuring them he will take race and sex privilege off the table of American discourse. They got the message, and vote accordingly.
Most of the white males I know who are gaga over Obama hate Hillary Clinton with a passion.  And they call themselves progressives.  As I’ve said, Obama is an expert dog whistler—he also indicates to corporate America that he won’t rock the boat.

Barack Obama & the “End” of Racism (by Juan Santos, writing at Cyrano’s Journal Online)
Obama doesn’t represent peace – he represents an expansion of war and the power of Empire. He’s even more extreme on this than Bush himself, except in his public rhetoric. He doesn’t represent the real and legitimate needs, desires and hopes of Black people – he refuses to speak openly of the most fundamental issues affecting Black people. He doesn’t represent the “end of racism,” but the perpetuation of oppression in a new guise. He represents a system that is fundamentally rooted in exploitation, oppression and destruction on a global scale, and he is living proof that no fundamental change for the better can – or will – come about under the system he represents and upholds. It doesn’t work that way. To tell the truth is to betray the system, and he can’t bring himself to do it, even though he is far too conscious not to know it.
This author is far more radical than I, but he makes some very good points.

6 Different Women Faint For Obama Compilation (video)
Obama is the winner, hands down, in the hysteria primary.

Deval Patrick’s Timeline Doesn’t Mesh with Reality (by Jake Tapper at Political Punch, ABC News)
Obama was quoted using Patrick’s language before the Summer of 2007. “‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, all men are created equal.’ Those are just words,” Obama was quoted as saying in a March 19, 2007 New Republic story. ” ‘I have a dream.’ Just words.” So….the claim that Patrick an Obama “first” discussed this last Summer does not make sense. It should also be noted that in addition to the “Yes We Can” slogan that Obama used in 2004, Patrick used in 2006, and Obama uses today, other language from the two clients of political guru David Axelrod has come from both men’s mouths.
And another client of Axelrod’s has used the same language, too.  See below.

That’s what he said (by Adam Reilly at The Phoenix)
Here’s John Edwards after Iowa in 2004: “I came here a year ago with a belief that we could change this country, with a belief that the politics of what was possible — the politics of hope — could overcome the politics of cynicism. . . . [T]onight we started a movement to change this country that will sweep across America.”… Obama’s message is undeniably powerful. But that power diminishes a bit when you realize it isn’t his alone. Whether, after this realization becomes widespread, it will still pack enough political punch to get him to the White House is an open question.
Aw, gee, and I thought all those inspiring words came straight from Obama’s heart.  Looks like they come straight from Axelrod’s focus groups.  Now THAT’s inspiring.

What Will We Tell the Children Dept.: Barack Obama And Why It Matters That He Plagiarized A Speech (At Least One That We Know Of) (by Sylvia Welsh, clinical psychologist, writing at the Huffington Post)
It doesn’t matter, actually, what Mr. Patrick said or did not say to Mr. Obama. What matters is that Mr. Obama passed this speech off as his own, adding only his by now customary flourishes of tone and inflection. That the man who has presented himself to this country as the man of integrity and change turns out to be a fraud — and that is what we call people who pretend that someone else’s words are their own — must be a profound disappointment for his supporters, if they can be honest enough with themselves to admit it.

Obama’s Voice, Edwards’ Message (by Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect)
By introducing himself as a candidate of ideals and generational change, Obama attracted wide support — and still left himself plenty of room to fill in the details later. He’s borrowed those details from John Edwards.

Kirk Watson v. Chris Matthews (by Jake Bernstein, the Texas Observer)
Ouch. Austin Sen. Kirk Watson just got ambushed by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews. It was not pretty… Watson was there to extol Barack Obama who he has endorsed. It should have been easy work since Obama romped in Wisconsin [Tuesday night]. “What’s the unique selling point of Barack Obama to Texans?,” Matthews asked. Watson responded with hope, excitement, building coalitions, etc… “Name some of his legislative accomplishments,” Matthews asked. Watson demurred. “Sir, you have to give me his legislative accomplishments,” Matthews pressed. “You support him for president. You are on national television. Name his legislative accomplishments, sir. Can you name anything he has accomplished, SIR?” Watson stammered. “List Barack Obama’s accomplishments as a senator now. NOW.” Mathews commanded. Watson couldn’t. Time up.

Politico’s Roger Simon Defends Story On Hillary And Pledged Delegates (by Greg Sargent at TPM Horse’s Mouth)
The most-debated story of the day in political circles is … one in The Politico by Roger Simon reporting that the Hillary campaign is plotting to flip Obama’s pledged delegates to her side… The Hillary campaign is adamantly denying the story. But in several emails to me, Simon defended his reporting. On the face of it, the story’s sourcing looks pretty thin.
Click through to see the evidence and judge for yourself.  In my book, it’s another instance of the Clinton rules being applied, as obviously the Clintons are mean and vile and would do anything to get elected.  But what if this story comes from the Obama campaign?  Why, he’s still the great and wonderful savior who would never do anything wrong.

Obama: I toured home with Rezko (Chicago Tribune)
Before he bought his South Side mansion in 2005, Sen. Barack Obama took his friend and fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko on a tour of the premises to make sure it was a good deal, Obama’s campaign revealed Monday. Weeks after saying he’d answered all questions about his controversial dealings with the now-indicted Rezko, Obama released new details about their purchase of adjacent lots from the same seller on the same day. But the disclosures by Obama’s presidential campaign left unanswered questions and raised new ones. Obama was able to buy the house for $300,000 less than the listed price while Rezko, in his wife’s name, paid the full $625,000 asking price for an undeveloped side lot.
My understanding is that the Rezkos can’t build on their part of the lot because of neighborhood restrictions.  Why would anyone buy a lot they can’t build on?  It’s obviously a $625,000 gift.

Since When Doesn’t Economic Growth Help Workers? (by Dean Baker)
The NYT told readers [Tuesday] that “ever since Mr. Clinton’s election as president in 1992, the Democratic Party has been divided over how to balance economic policy between initiatives intended to promote economic growth and those intended to help workers.” This one should have brought a big “huh” from careful readers. While it is possible to design policies that might increase growth but hurt most workers, for example trade agreements that put them into direct competition with low paid workers in the developing world, it is possible to design policies that both increase growth and help workers… It is also possible to help workers and increase growth by reducing barriers to trade in highly paid professional services, like physicians and lawyers services. In addition, developing more efficient mechanisms to finance pharmaceutical drug research would also hasten growth and aid workers. In short, there is no necessary trade-off between policies that benefit typical workers and policies that promote growth as the NYT article implied.

Media Matters for America headlines

On This Week, George Will falsely asserted that “in the primaries,” McCain “has achieved more independent voters than Obama”

Matthews: Bill Clinton’s campaign speech “so un-American”

CNN’S Glenn Beck: “[C]ongressional game-playing by Nancy Pelosi will end up killing Americans”

Hume, discussing Michelle Obama comment: “[T]here is this feeling” that Dems “are kind of embarrassed by patriotism”

Time’s Halperin on Mrs. McCain, Mrs. Obama: “Would-Be-First-Lady on Would-Be-First-Lady Action”

Novak falsely suggested House Dems allowed FISA to lapse

Cavuto: Clinton “trying to run away from this tough, kind of bitchy image”

CNN’s Foreman failed to keep McCain honest about his former opposition to the Bush tax cuts

Promoting segment on Obama, Hardball displayed a photo of bin Laden

Malaysia’s opposition mounts campaign in cyberspace
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysia goes to the polls next month and this time the campaign is going online, as opposition parties turn to blogs, SMS and YouTube to dodge a virtual blackout on mainstream media.

Delta Force: New Orleans Media Rebuilds, Reinvents (by Janet Stilson, MediaWeek)
Swing down a typical street in New Orleans these days, and you’ll still see Katrina tattoos on the houses—the painted circles with codes in them left by the emergency workers searching for dead bodies back in the fall of 2005. But the streetcars are up and running, Burger King is spending more ad dollars there than ever before and the Crescent City’s leading TV station, WWL, is actually booking spots in certain shows that are above the rates it charged “pre-K,” as people here refer to the period before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

For Publisher in Los Angeles, Cuts and Worse
Many at The Los Angeles Times are skeptical of David D. Hiller, saying he doesn’t understand journalism.

Media Work Force Sinks to 15-Year Low (by Bradley Johnson, Advertising Age)
Newspaper Slump and the Shift to Digital, Direct Take Toll on Employment
But you don’t have to worry if you’re a political pundit, no siree.  See below.

Political Pundits, Overpopulating the News Networks (by Paul Farhi , Washington Post)
It’s a great time for face time if you want to be a pundit on TV. With the cable news networks ramping up wall-to-wall political coverage, the demand for people to analyze, comment upon and speculate wildly about the presidential race has expanded accordingly. The nation’s economy might be coughing and wheezing, but there is no shortage of employment opportunities in Punditland.

Getting Ready for ‘The Endless Season’
After months of speculation, NBC confirmed on Tuesday that it would sidestep the annual star-studded “upfront” presentation for advertisers and hold a series of client meetings with media buyers instead.  Perhaps more important for television viewers, the network said it would embrace a year-round prime-time programming schedule, jettisoning the frequently criticized practice of saving most shows for the traditional September- to-May television season.
Actually, I like different series starting at different times.  There’s always something new.  But I do wish we had more new with fewer superpower heroes.

NBC to stream vintage content on Web sites
BURBANK, Calif., Feb. 19 (UPI) — Hollywood’s NBC Digital Entertainment and NBC Universal Cable Entertainment say they plan to stream vintage television content on their entertainment Web sites.

Microsoft Said to Plan Proxy Fight for Yahoo
In part of a hard-nosed takeover campaign that Microsoft began two weeks ago, the company has begun preparing for a proxy fight to oust Yahoo’s directors.

Japan: Google’s Real-Life Lab
Cutting-edge phones, discerning consumers, and speedy connections make for rich feedback

Disney Forms Games & Communities Online Unit (Paid Content)
Disney, through WDIG, has created a new team called Disney Online Studios, to focus on games, virtual worlds and online social communities…the unit will include the creators of Disney.com XD and the company’s Virtual Reality Studio group responsible for Disney’s Toontown Online and Pirates of the Caribbean Online.
Because what the world needs more of is less real reality and more pretend reality.

Cell Carriers in Price Battle
NEW YORK (AP) – Verizon Wireless introduced an unlimited calling plan $99.99 a month on Tuesday, a move that was quickly matched by AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA and weighed down stock prices for all U.S. mobile carriers.