Campaigning on Foreign Soil

I have been trying to figure out why I find Obama's trip to Berlin so unsettling. My conclusion is that I don't have one big complaint, but a bunch of smaller ones.

• I generally don't like meddling by elected reps outside the executive branch. Fact finding missions I can endorse, but the (sometimes implied?) commitments made on behalf of the nation are rather presumptuous. It sounds like Obama crossed this line in Iraq, but perhaps the fact he is talking about a time during which he might be President excuses it somewhat?
• I don't like absentee voting, which otherwise provides a valid reason for campaigning wherever ex-patriots live. If you are ordered out of the country during an election (like a soldier), sure, that's fine. But people that have chosen to live outside a country probably have differently aligned interests. Yes, I am an absentee voter (depending on the whims of Oregon officials) - but I fully support the stripping of that right. I think the fact that the States have full control over who can vote in their elections probably complicates that issue though.
• Speeches to foreigners (like, say, throngs of Germans) seem to imply one of two things:
  
  • "I am willing to throw US interests under the bus to improve relations with you"
  • "Start getting used to taking your marching orders from me"
  Neither of those sound very good to me.

McCain is certainly doing his fair share of foreign visits as well, but they haven't stood out to me as being particularly offensive.

JibJab Does McCain and Obama

The Bush/Kerry one was hilarious - this one is pretty good too.



Via Double Blind.

Unlikely 2008 Election Prediction

If by some miracle Obama wins the Democratic nomination, I predict that Hillary Clinton will end up as McCain's running mate.

Think about it for minute. Can you see Obama tossing out all his "agent of change" baloney and ignoring Bill's slandering of him around the country? And somehow Hillary helping Obama after being trounced doesn't seem all that like her.

On the other side of the aisle, McCain is not making/has not made a lot of friends. He also hates for his beliefs to be challenged. So he is going to want someone that will mostly kiss his ass and do what they are told. Giuliani (who stands behind McCain at every speech now, his shiny teeth blinding the audience...) seems like a pretty good fit, but frankly doesn't have much to offer against Hillary who would claim to bring 50% of the Democratic Party votes with her. I don't recall any particular McCain/Clinton animosity, and their political positions aren't that far apart.

I imagine her pitch would be something along the lines of "Who do you trust more than yourself to handle Iraq? No one. How would you like to be able to forget about this election and focus on the important stuff? All I ask for is a big say in domestic policy."

The final result would be something like 30% Obama, 55% McCain/Clinton, and 15% inevitable right wing 3rd party candidate.

I suspect McCain will beat Clinton and/or Obama straight up anyway, but it will be a tough fight.

Mitt Romney Runs A Pretty Sketchy Campaign

First, there's this story on how one of Romney's top guys is under investigation for encouraging campaign staffers to illegally pretend to be cops to get special treatment. You can tell a lot about a guy by the company he keeps, and this doesn't look good. Shades of Bill Clinton using the Secret Service and Arkansas state trooper as his pimps...

Second, the Romney campaign is trying to look pious by attacking Barack Obama with claims that he advocates teaching kindergarteners how to have sex. This is of course not anything like what Obama really suggested, and this line of attack is reminiscent of George Allen's weasely last ditch (and ultimately futile) attempt to scuttle the Jim Webb campaign.

So long, buddy.

Hat tips to Bruce Schneier and The Tradesports Political Maven.

Is Hillary's 2008 Campaign Over?

Over on Powerline, a former New York Times photographer accuses Time Magazine of doctoring a photo of Hillary Clinton to make her look older than she normally appears.

Secondly, the gold jewelry and glasses are all the same heightened tone which is achieved by the "saturation" tool that ramps up the apparent color. In this case it also brings the brooch into play in the image. But it does even more to make an unflattering image by emphasizing the "gold" glasses and jewelry of a stereotypical "older" lady. Hollywood uses the technique all the time to "age" an actress. Interestingly, they used the "blur" tool to take out the folds under her eyes. Also, they didn't make the lipstick more garish with "saturation" as happened in the case of Katherine Harris, though Hillary's hair has been softly streaked with the same gold as in the brooch.

The photographer goes on to speculate that Time has decided to try to push Clinton out in favor of Barack Obama. Even if that is true, I would bet any amount of money that if she were to succeed in taking the nomination Time would fall into line behind her. So it's a primary hurdle at worst.

Ah Photoshop, what ever did we do before you?