October Surprise - HuffPost Live

Well, this is interesting. I was on HuffPost Live again this week.

This time we were talking about politics, which if you read my blog a bit you'll know I'm pretty passionate about and, at times, quite active.

The topic was about the "October Surprise" theory. I'm not exactly sure it's just a theory because there always seems to be something that comes up right before an election. However, is it intentional spin?
There is such big money in American politics now that I have to say I think the spin is intentional.

For what it's worth though, I also hope that voters are just as cynical as I am and take surprises with a grain of salt. It would have to be a pretty significant one for me to go, "okay, I'm switching my vote". I think that's the same on both ends of the spectrum. Of course, those in the middle and those who've not decided are the ones they're trying to reach.

You can watch the video below. You can also find it here on the HuffPost Live site.


BTW, I really like the HuffPost Live segments I've seen and have been on. They've managed to get some pretty good hosts.

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Diva Is Code For Bitch - HuffPost Live

Indeed my SEO is strong. (Thanks to Stuart Tracte, a dear friend, for that wonderful quote which totally applies here.)

The HuffPost Live folks found an old blog post of mine from 2006 where I commented at length on the negative stereotypes that come at you when you're a black woman: "I Got a Woman" - Black Women and Negative Stereotypes.

I, along with true blue experts, discussed the implications of the current "feud" between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minjai on the HuffPost Live site today: Diva Is Code For Bitch.

My opinion?  Yes, they're fighting for real BUT the producers knew there was tension and they intentionally let it escalate.  It's not unheard of that shows do this to get press mentions and, hopefully, increase their ratings.

The deeper implications, however, is the dehumanization of black women.  As I wrote in 2006, we're always cast in this role.  That's why there have been many times I've been justifiably mad but I've held back.  Why?  Because black women get mad at every little thing, right?  We're horrible to deal with and will pop off at the slightest provocation, right?  Well, wrong, but with that being the perception it's something you keep in mind when you are upset.  I don't let it silence me to the point that I don't stand up for myself, but the blow back I get is way more intense than what women of other races get.  (Maybe one exception would be the fiery Latina stereotype and how that impacts Latinas.) 

As I brought up during the discussion, you've got tons of examples of women of all races feuding.  Shows like Mob Wives has an all white cast as do some of the Real Housewives shows.  You don't see anyone generalizing from those shows that all white women are argumentative bitches.

Anyway, you can check out the segment below or here at the link.  Enjoy and let's hope my SEO continues to be strong for years to come.

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The HuffPo Strikes Again: "Hope" Is Not a Buzz Word by John Mayer

Another Huffington Post coup!

John Mayer speaks and, let me tell you, when it comes to politics he plays his hand pretty close. Outside of a some jokes exchanged about Ron Paul or Ru Paul with friends outside of a NYC hot spot last year and the inclusion of his hit single "Waiting on the World to Change" on Voices of a Grassroots Movement, which is the Obama campaign CD, John Mayer hasn't said much on the upcoming election.

However today, I woke to see an RSS link on my iGoogle page to a Huffington Post blog that John had written.

Here is is, in full:

"Hope" Is Not a Buzz Word

I was 23 years old when the nation was attacked on September 11, 2001. I can remember hearing pundits say "this changes everything" and "things will never be the same." Obviously it was a tragic and traumatic event, but that sentiment has carried on through the better part of my twenties. If you were 43 years old on that day, I would imagine it was a difficult concept to get your head around as well, but if you were a young adult just entering his or her individual life, there was an added twist; how can you process the idea of everything changing and things never being the same when you have no point of reference for what "everything" and "the same" is? I was just beginning to put my hands on the world around me, to interact and engage with it, and to actualize the dream of being an adult in a free society. To wait in line for 23 years only to have the "sorry, future canceled" sign flipped in my face was depressing, to say the least.

The social and political narrative of the last eight years, if you're a young adult, has been "you are the first generation of the second half of the rest of human existence." That's a huge psychological undertaking, and I believe it's one that will someday be diagnosed on a massive scale as having led to a kind of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (Something has to explain away our premature obsession with 1980s nostalgia.) My generation has come to know itself as the generation that should have seen the good days, my, were they spectacular, now take off your shoes and place them on the belt.

What Barack Obama says to me is these days are good for something. Just when I'd thought my only role as an adult was to help shoulder the nation through its darkest days (known to us as "the rest of them"), Obama gives me the feeling that I could be alive to witness one of the most brilliant upturns in a country's history. Imagine that -- a young adult in this day and age being given something to someday brag to his children about having being alive to witness. What a concept.

That's why hope is a worthwhile commodity. To those who question whether hope is a tangible product worth building a campaign around, I'd say take a look at despair and how powerful that has been in reshaping how people think and live. I believe the definition of the "hope" that Barack Obama enthuses operates on the unspoken thesis that there has to be a polar opposite to the despair of 9/11. Because if we accept that there's not, the will to live becomes forever altered. To adults who will vote for him, Barack Obama represents a return to prosperity. To the youth, he represents an introduction to it.

So, John, for what it's worth, thanks for letting people know it's okay to have hope.

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Who Won The Debate? Reviews Go To Obama

Zero:



My blog is so overwhelmingly partisan right now and I'm loving it. This does relate to Korea because I viewed the debate at the Starbucks in the Itaewon district of Seoul with a bunch of Obama supporters ;)

Anyway, here is the report card re polls about whether Obama or McSame won the first presidential debate.

Who Won The Debate? Reviews Go To Obama

Several positive reviews for Obama. A CBS News instant poll finds:

40% of uncommitted voters who watched the debate tonight thought Barack Obama was the winner. 22% thought John McCain won. 38% saw it as a draw.

68% of these voters think Obama would make the right decision
about the economy. 41% think McCain would.

49% of these voters think Obama would make the right decisions about Iraq. 55% think McCain would.

Watch:

Two focus groups, one by GOP pollster Frank Luntz and another by Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg, both declared Obama the winner. Here's video of Luntz, some pretty powerful stuff:



Independents in the MediaCurves focus group "gave the debate to Obama 61-39. They also think he won every individual segment. Republicans gave the debate to McCain 90-10, Democrats to Obama 93-7."

And even Time's Mark Halperin weighs in with his grades: Obama A-, McCain B-.

Update: CNN's poll has all Obama winning overall, on the economy and on Iraq:

Who Did the Best Job In the Debate?

Obama 51%
McCain 38%

Who Would Better Handle Economy?
Obama 58%
McCain 37%

Who Would Better Handle Iraq?
Obama 52%
McCain 47%

CNN confirms it too: Poll: Obama wins first debate
Oh this is a gem.

Before McSame confirmed that he would actually show up for the debate, his campaign released this:

McCain Wins Debate

Although the fate of tonight's presidential debate in Mississippi remains very much up in the air, John McCain has apparently already won it -- if you believe an Internet ad an astute reader spotted next to this piece in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal this morning.

"McCain Wins Debate!" declares the ad which features a headshot of a smiling McCain with an American flag background. Another ad spotted by our eagle-eyed observer featured a quote from McCain campaign manager Rick Davis declaring: "McCain won the debate-- hands down."

Here's the screenshot.

The CNN link to the same story. And here is the screenshot:


Hilarious! I thought McSame "suspended" his campaign? I guess someone in his camp didn't get that memo since this managed to get released BEFORE the debate. Instead, that person was hard at work spinning the result of a debate his candidate said he wouldn't take part in.

Reuters on this too: McCain to attend debate, Web ad claims victory already

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Arianna Jumps Into the Fray, Part II (this just might become a series)

I just got another update from the Huffington Post and this one is good too.

Check it: McCain is Running on the Amnesia Platform, But It's Democrats Who Need to Forget Sarah Palin

During his acceptance speech, John McCain had some very strong criticism of his opponent. I'm not talking about Barack Obama; I'm talking about George Bush. After rushing headlong into the embrace of Bush and the Rovian wing of the GOP, McCain has now decided that he desperately needs to distance himself and try to reclaim the maverick mantel. Not an easy thing to do when you have sided with Bush 90 percent of the time. But McCain gave it his best shot, claiming: "We need to change the way government does almost everything." Listening to the speech, you'd think it was the Democrats who occupied the White House the last seven-plus years and it was time to throw the bastards out.

That's a big, yeah...because I'm like wait a minute? How can he be for change when he supported Bush 90% of the time? 90%!

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Arianna Jumps Into the Fray

I get daily emails on what's being written on the Huffington Post. I usually delete the emails unless I know the writer, am interested in what the writer has to say or if, in this case, the writing is on point.

This is what pulled me into this title. There has been no lack of criticism leveled at McSame's, that's code for McCain for you slow folks, choice for VP. However, it's to be expected. I know I don't care to read much on Palin. The woman's views are virtually from the stone age.

However, what Huffington wrote is funny:

Saving the GOP and The Unbearable Lightness of Being Sarah Palin

Minneapolis-St. Paul -- Even without George Bush in the Twin Cities, the GOP cannot escape its miserable record over the last eight years. (Indeed, trying to spot a recognizable Republican in town has become a favorite early-convention game.)

So you can see why Sarah Palin was such an appealing pick for John McCain. Along with all the things she brings to the table -- fresh face, mother of five, hockey mom -- Palin is notable for what she doesn't bring: a track record.

The Democrats can level the same lack of experience argument at the GOP ticket now.

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