Support NeoGAF

[SRG01]

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0708/The_Obamas_as_celebrities.html#comments



wat?

What's wrong with the Cobert Report?

 

[Tamanon]

It really can't be considered a mass-media vehicle or that the Obama camp has really even utilized them. In that list it doesn't belong at all.:lol

 

[PhoenixDark]

Yet you still argue against verifiable facts, lols...troll-total.

Your arguements are getting weaker and weaker, King Media, your Highness.

I don't see how that article refutes anything. Obama isn't getting a free ride from anyone - that doesn't mean the media isn't predominantly left leaning

 

[Mumei]

Interesting, but I'm not sure it really demonstrates anything particularly useful, since BOR is paid to provide entertainment + commentary, not objective news reporting.

Agreed, but while you might be aware of the fact that he is there to give his opinion and little more, apparently the pubic isn't so good at discerning which people are journalists and which people are talking heads who sometimes have an axe to grind.

 

[ViperVisor]

It really can't be considered a mass-media vehicle or that the Obama camp has really even utilized them. In that list it doesn't belong at all.:lol

Michelle was on in-person. Barack via satellite.

 

[APF]

I don't see how that article refutes anything. Obama isn't getting a free ride from anyone - that doesn't mean the media isn't predominantly left leaning

He's just trolling, PD; don't waste your breath.

Agreed, but while you might be aware of the fact that he is there to give his opinion and little more, apparently the pubic isn't so good at discerning which people are journalists and which people are talking heads who sometimes have an axe to grind.

Again, interesting, but not sure what we can take away from that. Should interviewers and commentators therefore alter their job descriptions to mirror what a portion of the public chooses to call them, while at the same time this same public does not necessarily expect these interviewers and commentators to behave as objective journalists? I don't expect a layman to be able to use correct terms, but your article does not show me a large portion of his viewers expect him to be impartial (or at least, to the extent that if it were revealed he was giving his opinion, they would be scandalized).

 

[Instigator]

APF was right; Obama in damage control!!!!

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,568532,00.html

Barack Obama's encounter with a German reporter while working out in a Berlin gym last week has become an issue in the US, where bloggers are calling the story embarrassing. Now Obama has given his version of events: "She hustled us."

Barack Obama knows how to handle the media. His appearances are strictly choreographed, as if they were held on movie sets, and you only get access to the star if you fit the marketing concept. During his visit to Berlin, for example, he only allowed hand-picked journalist to interview him -- with one exception.

"Bild Reporter with Obama in the Gym," was the banner headline of the Friday edition of the German tabloid Bild published the day after Obama's visit to the German capital. "While thousands waited for him at the Victory Column," wrote Judith Bonesky," I, the Bild reporter, met Barack Obama alone -- in the gym!"

The story contained a florid description of Obama's physical attributes, praising his "well-trained arms," "his tight rear view," and how he lifted the masculine 32-kilogram (70-pound) dumbbells "first 10 times with his right arm, then 10 times with his left." And then there was the culmination: "Barack put his arm around my shoulders. I held him round the waist. Wow! He isn't even sweating!" And, lastly, there was Bonesky's conclusion: "What a man!"

Obama Says He Didn't Know She Was a Reporter

Now Obama has revealed how he experienced the encounter. "She hustled us," he told New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.

"We walk into the gym," Obama told Dowd. "She's already on the treadmill. She looks like just an ordinary German girl. She smiles and sort of waves, shyly, but doesn't go out of her way to say anything. As I'm walking out, she says: 'Oh, can I have a picture? I'm a big fan.' Reggie takes the picture.” Reggie Love is Obama's personal assistant.

So, according to Obama, he didn't know she was a reporter.

By contrast, here's Bonesky's version: "The door opens. It's really HIM! At 1.87 meters (6.14 feet), he's much taller than I'd imagined. He is wearing a gray T-shirt and black sweatpants, both from Nike, with white jogging shoes from Asics. And a dazzling smile! 'Hallo, how are you?,' he asks in English in his strong , very masculine voice. I reply: 'Very good. And how are you?' He responds: 'Very well, thanks!'"

"I call out: 'Mr Obama, sorry, could I take a picture?' He smiles: 'Of course!' Obama asks me my name. I reply: My name is Judith.' He says: 'I'm Barack Obama. Nice to meet you, Judith!'"

A spokesman for Bild told SPIEGEL ONLINE that the newspaper "doesn't want to make any further comments on its own reporting."

Everything is subjective. Bild even published a video on its Web site with the introduction: "Bonesky can hardly believe her luck." The reporter describes Obama as "very cute," and says, "I'm still in a dream."

Obama saw the newspaper and the headline that same evening, at 10:45 p.m., while he was eating dinner at a Berlin restaurant. While there, Bild editor-in-chief Kai Diekmann presented him in person with a copy of the next day's paper and had his picture taken while he was doing it. This photo was also published on the Internet.


In his conversation with Dowd, Obama likened his experience in the Berlin gym with a scene from the movie "The Color of Money."

"Do you remember 'The Color of Money' with Paul Newman?" Obama asked Dowd. "And Forest Whitaker is sort of sitting there, acting like he doesn't know how to play pool. And then he hustles the hustler."

"Let's Enjoy her Sexytime Memories"

Obama wasn't the only one to comment on Bonesky's antics. Center-left German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote: "This report -- that much can already be said -- is like a match point won, like a journalistic landing on the moon, for Miss or Mrs. Bonesky."

The translated Bild report was rapidly picked up by US blogs, where it became the subject of endless derision.

Blogger Warner Todd Huston wrote: "Apparently, Bild, a newspaper in Germany, hires 14-year-old, starry-eyed, fan-girls as reporters instead of serious grown-ups. Or, at least one would be excused in thinking this reporter was a rock-star struck teeny bopper upon reading her gushingly immature account of having an exercise workout with Barack Obama on the German leg of his trip."

Bonesky is actually 27. "Let's enjoy her sexytime memories, together," the Washington blog Wonkette said, recalling the encounter in a wooden translation of the Bild report that evokes fictional reporter Borat in his comedy "Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

What does this story teach us? Even Obama -- with his amazing people skills -- still has lessons to learn. “I'm just realizing what I've got to become accustomed to," he told Dowd.

 

[mckmas8808]

So looks like Joe Scars said the study was straight BS and that there was no way 72% of the remarks about Obama were negative.

Mika took a stand for the research but Joe walked all over her ass and called her an Obama press security worker.

 

[The Librarian]

APF was right; Obama in damage control!!!!

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,568532,00.html

This is what happens when you don't have enough experience, people.

 

[APF]

Wait, so she was a reporter? But you guys said...

 

[SouthernDragon]

Wait, so she was a reporter? But you guys said...

That her credibility was low or non-existent and her writing was not representative of the media as a whole.

 

[Keylime]

What the fuck is up with this reporter taking a picture with Obama and why is it a big deal?

And why is APF posting 24/7 in this thread again after vowing never to return?

Shit's gone crazy!

 

[SouthernDragon]

German tabloid reporter sneaks into a gym where Obama is going to work out.
Doesn't tell Obama she's a reporter, hangs around him.
Writes an embarrassingly gushing piece on him that sounds like a teenage fangirl describing a teen idol.
U.S. bloggers go "lol"
Obama later declares that he had no idea she was a reporter.
Some take this as evidence that the media in general loves Obama this much.

 

[Link648099]

What the fuck is up with this reporter taking a picture with Obama and why is it a big deal?

And why is APF posting 24/7 in this thread again after vowing never to return?

Shit's gone crazy!

He probably considers this election to be the most important of our lifetimes, as it probably is. Could you stay away?

 

[Keylime]

He probably considers this election to be the most important of our lifetimes, as it probably is. Could you stay away?

If my word was as important to me as it was to him, I'd pretty much have to in order to have any credibility, right?

 

[WickedAngel]

Wait, so she was a reporter? But you guys said...

Is being intellectually dishonest an acquired skill or an innate ability?

 

[APF]

That her credibility was low or non-existent and her writing was not representative of the media as a whole.

Oh, so lets go over this again: 1. she's a reporter; 2. she did meet Obama; 3. she did gush over him; 4. mainstream media outlet CNN picked up the report and used it in a piece reviewing German media's reaction to Obama's visit.

So what exactly was the objection to my posting it again?

 

[Mumei]

Oh, so lets go over this again: 1. she's a reporter; 2. she did meet Obama; 3. she did gush over him; 4. mainstream media outlet CNN picked up the report and used it in a piece reviewing German media's reaction to Obama's visit.

So what exactly was the objection to my posting it again?

The fact that you pretend to believe that the fact that an American media outlet picked up the story without realizing that it came from a tabloid somehow validates the story as being relevant... or something like that.

Oh, and the fact that you note that no individual person is representative of the media as a whole, yet you continually repost the same story as "proof" of something.

You do better when you stick to studies.

 

[Dyno]

Obama getting lambasted with non-issues left, right, and centre just show that he is running a tight and professional campaign thus far.

Funniest of all, for doing this he was labelled as being 'too presumptuous' last week, that being he was coming off 'too presidential.'

All of this shit is pundit-fuelled. They're making up news issues like this photograph because really there isn't enough going on in the race day-to-day to fill up the news cycle.

 

[SouthernDragon]

Oh, so lets go over this again: 1. she's a reporter; 2. she did meet Obama; 3. she did gush over him; 4. mainstream media outlet CNN picked up the report and used it in a piece reviewing German media's reaction to Obama's visit.

So what exactly was the objection to my posting it again?

Counter-point:
1)She's the reporter of a tabloid. Credibility and/or gravitas on anything she reports is automatically low.

2)She met Obama under deceptive terms, further undermining the credibility of her report.

3)Gushing over him is rendered unimportant because of the previous two points.

4)CNN made a mistake in taking a tabloid piece and using it as a representative of German media as a whole.

The objection, I believe, is because you posted it in a reaction to "Is the media biased for or against Obama?"

 

[APF]

The fact that you pretend to believe that the fact that an American media outlet picked up the story without realizing that it came from a tabloid somehow validates the story as being relevant... or something like that.

Huh? What did I pretend? I just posted it because I thought it was funny and relevant to the post I was replying to. You guys are a hoot.

Oh, and the fact that you note that no individual person is representative of the media as a whole, yet you continually repost the same story as "proof" of something.

You do better when you stick to studies.

Wait, how many times did I post that snippet? You do better when you don't make shit up.


FlightOfHeaven: As I noted earlier, just because something is a "tabloid" doesn't mean they're reporting "bat boy" nonsense. And as you can see, this event actually did happen (though I dispute the details in the piece); so the argument about "credibility" seems irrelevant (they didn't make up the encounter, and even then, it's still gushing). You're missing a step here, where you link the idea that even though this is a media report, it shouldn't be considered a media report, and therefore it's inaccurate to talk about it in the already limited context I did, even though many mainstream media outlets, both in the US and in Germany, are obviously doing so in broader contexts.

 

[masud]

WTF guys lay off APF (for this one). It was funny and somewhat relevant to the conversation.

 

[kkaabboomm]

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27726

Robert Novak was admitted yesterday to a Boston hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In a written statement given to his publisher, Novak said:

“On Sunday, July 27, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I have been admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where doctors will soon begin appropriate treatment.

“I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period.”

Novak is the long-time editor of the influential newsletter, Evans-Novak Political Report, published by Human Events’ parent company, Eagle Publishing. Novak is also a well-known columnist for the Chicago Sun Times and more recently a Fox News Channel contributor. The 77-year-old Novak recently celebrated his 50th year as a Washington-based journalist.

dude hits someone with a car because he didnt see him, thinks something may be amiss, gets checked out - BAM, brain tumor.

 

[scorcho]

APF has become the Obama of this thread!

edit: about that Novak piece above, while i'm usually loathe to be joyous about someone with cancer, the just desserts of this diagnosis is, well, i'll stop at that.

 

[The Librarian]

WTF guys lay off APF (for this one). It was funny and somewhat relevant to the conversation.

Yeah. We're all friends here.

"Obama not basing VP pick on geography"
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/12083.html

 

[bob_arctor]

McCain Sides With Ban On Affirmative Action

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Sunday that he favors a proposed referendum in Arizona that would ban affirmative action, reversing a position he took a decade ago.

It's the latest example of McCain changing positions that had once put him at odds with conservative Republicans, including his new proposals to extend President Bush's tax cuts and expand offshore oil drilling.

In 1998, McCain described an anti-affirmative action effort in his home state as "divisive." On Sunday, McCain backed a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution that would ban "preferential treatment" on the basis of "race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin."

Slightly more at the link. Obama's come out and said he's "disappointed" with McCain. Obama should have taken it further by stating that McCain was willing to lose all people of color in order to win an election but then I remembered he isn't an asshole.

 

[TDG]

APF has become the Obama of this thread!

:lol That's actually pretty true. APF is well-known in the thread, so whenever he posts something, even if it's not worth getting pissed about (like in this case, APF isn't actually attacking Obama ), everyone goes insane discussing/attacking his posts. Obama is the interesting story to the media, so they cover everything he does, while most of McCain's gaffes and speeches go un-noticed because nobody cares about him.

 

[WickedAngel]

McCain Sides With Ban On Affirmative Action







Slightly more at the link. Obama's come out and said he's "disappointed" with McCain. Obama should have taken it further by stating that McCain was willing to lose all people of color in order to win an election but then I remembered he isn't an asshole.

Affirmative Action needs reform, not abolishment.

 

[The Librarian]

:lol That's actually pretty true. APF is well-known in the thread, so whenever he posts something, even if it's not worth getting pissed about (like in this case, APF isn't actually attacking Obama ), everyone goes insane discussing/attacking his posts. Obama is the interesting story to the media, so they cover everything he does, while most of McCain's gaffes and speeches go un-noticed because nobody cares about him.

APF: Change we can believe in.

 

[Pimpwerx]

McCain Sides With Ban On Affirmative Action







Slightly more at the link. Obama's come out and said he's "disappointed" with McCain. Obama should have taken it further by stating that McCain was willing to lose all people of color in order to win an election but then I remembered he isn't an asshole.

I see McCain is interested in getting more support from the black community. uch It's ok though. Instead of getting 1% of the black vote, he'll get 0.7%. PEACE.

 

[maynerd]

Obama should have taken it further by stating that McCain was willing to lose all people of color in order to win an election but then I remembered he isn't an asshole.

He can't lose what he doesn't have. Not only that it probably strengthens his Racist White Demographic.

 

[GhaleonEB]

He can't lose what he doesn't have.

Pretty much. Might as well toss that last five percent or so over.

Also: Gallup has Obama up eight today.

 

[reilo]

Pretty much. Might as well toss that last five percent or so over.

Also: Gallup has Obama up eight today.

Can't wait for more Obama love-fest today when they ask "what's wrong with Obama?"

 

[The Librarian]

Pretty much. Might as well toss that last five percent or so over.

Also: Gallup has Obama up eight today.

Wasnt he up by nine yesterday?

 

[Keylime]

Wasnt he up by nine yesterday?

Dude...you can see yesterday's totals in that picture you just quoted :lol

 

[The Librarian]

Dude...you can see yesterday's totals in that picture you just quoted :lol

Oops.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Can't wait for more Obama love-fest today when they ask "what's wrong with Obama?"

Clearly, this is the beginning of the end of his bounce.

 

[StoOgE]

Wasnt he up by nine yesterday?

Yes, and 8 the day before. If you want to get technical, its within the "margin of error", but the whole poll is a joke.

It also means that todays numbers were lower than Wed. numbers, meaning the "spike" was due soley to Thur. and Friday numbers, and given the big bounce on Thursday, it means he was up by a ton on Thursdays numbers and slightly less of a lead Friday (even though the poll went up, that was due to Fridays numbers being bigger than Tues numbers, not bigger than Thur numbers). Which means unless he can be up 12 or so in tommorows numbers, his lead will shrink substantially and the MSM will have their story.

This poll is such a joke.

They basically polled a bunch of people that like Obama on Thursday which created this giant spike that will sustain for three days because of the way the poll is conducted. So it looks more like a 3 day sustained "bump" vs a one day apparition.

 

[ZealousD]

Im not sure Huckabee passes my qualification of not mentally retarded. It cant be a super hard core evangelical, a more moderate one. Like one that doesnt think the world is 6K years old or that we should close the IRS for good.

There's no such thing as a moderate evangelical.

 

[Father_Brain]

There's no such thing as a moderate evangelical.

Not true. "Evangelical" is a broad term, and it's not synonymous with "fundamentalist" or "religious right."

 

[Hootie]

Pretty much. Might as well toss that last five percent or so over.

Also: Gallup has Obama up eight today.

http://media.gallup.com/poll/graphs/election2008_HP_1.gif[IMG][/QUOTE]

Can't wait for Matthews to ask why he isn't up by 25 :lol

 

[StoOgE]

Can't wait for Matthews to ask why he isn't up by 25 :lol

He is going to be up by 4-5 tommorow unless he see's good numbers for todays calls. Dont worry, they will get their "the bounce has died" story.

 

[Tamanon]

I believe the narrative will be "why can't he close the deal 3 months out?"

 

[tanod]

I believe the narrative will be "why can't he close the deal 3 months out?"

It's bad enough that there are still remnants of "Bubububut what about the 18 million that voted for Hilary" out there.

ALSO, TEH NARRATIVE!!11! CANNOT BE STOPPED!!!ZZ

 

[GhaleonEB]

He is going to be up by 4-5 tommorow unless he see's good numbers for todays calls. Dont worry, they will get their "the bounce has died" story.

It makes for such great daily drama. The Gallup poll has tended to show support well below other national polls from the same time period, so I'm interested to see if the bounce they show is reflected anywhere else. Ramussen has Obama back down to three over McCain - pretty much the same as the past month. If Obama holds by six or so at the end of the week, I'd call that a good result. But these day to day one point shifts don't mean anything, it's all about the trending.

And it's only one poll.

Also: I'm no fan of moveon.org, but this is hilarious: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/28/1228960.aspx

 

[perfectchaos007]

Obama and McCain both would be terrible presidents. And since my vote doesn't matter in Texas ( McCain will in this state win no matter what I vote ) I'm thinking about writing in Mickey Mouse.

 

[StoOgE]

It makes for such great daily drama. The Gallup poll has tended to show support well below other national polls from the same time period, so I'm interested to see if the bounce they show is reflected anywhere else. Ramussen has Obama back down to three over McCain - pretty much the same as the past month. If Obama holds by six or so at the end of the week, I'd call that a good result. But these day to day one point shifts don't mean anything, it's all about the trending.

And it's only one poll.

Also: I'm no fan of moveon.org, but this is hilarious: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/28/1228960.aspx

The problem is these daily tracking polls are horribly unscientific. We arent seeing trends, what we are seeing are changes amongst the different people they are polling. The idea is we see day to day changes over time, in reality we are seeing day to day changes from who they call/get in touch with to answer their questions.

 

[scorcho]

Obama and McCain both would be terrible presidents. And since my vote doesn't matter in Texas ( McCain will in this state win no matter what I vote ) I'm thinking about writing in Mickey Mouse.

thank you for your strong contribution to this thread.

 

[tanod]

Obama and McCain both would be terrible presidents. And since my vote doesn't matter in Texas ( McCain will in this state win no matter what I vote ) I'm thinking about writing in Mickey Mouse.

You sound bitter.

 

[Tamanon]

From First Read:

Obama departed Reagan-National Airport in DC 10 minutes ago en route to his economic event.

It's worth noting that campaign manager David Plouffe is traveling with the candidate today (which I understand has happened only a handful of times so far this campaign). He's joining David Axelrod and Robert Gibbs for the DC trip.


As I noted Friday, Caroline Kennedy is in Washington or a DNC Victory Fund event. Eric Holder, the other VP search team leader, is based in DC.

The convergence of all the senior staff here with that search committee only further signals that the process is at a critical stage. The campaign, of course, is not commenting on it.

HRM......