Ben Smith in the Bag

We should have seen this one coming. Politico’s Ben Smith was coaching Hillary on how to exit the race with grace pretty early and now he’s given us another example of how much of  Team Obama supporter he is.

Ben Smith: Obama Brings a Gun to a Knife Fight

Obama doesn’t actually use the phrase “new politics” a lot, and this is a box that the Clinton campaign tried, and failed, to keep him in last year, when it emerged early that he was happy to throw punches, and even to start fistfights, sending, for instance, the first negative mail to hit in Iowa last fall.
…
Obama never paid much of a price for his willingness to go negative. He also, to be fair, never promised that he wouldn’t attack, and indeed often promised to be tougher than past Democrats, and bragged of his Chicago training. He disavowed nasty character attacks, but then everybody disavows nasty character attacks.
…
What’s left of course, is to speculate on what form of political change Obama promises: It’s not some sort of disarmament; it’s not any large deviation from traditional Democratic policy; it’s more a vaguer — and harder to control, and deliver — promise to lead the country past the deep cultural divisions around race, religion and even Vietnam that have dominated national politics for decades.

Who signs his checks?

McCain’s Brain

John McCain: I have wicked smart campaign surrogates.

From the Trail [Dear Obama, Dump Jay-Z]

As loyal FamousDC readers have probably figured out, we have several contributors here who regularly analyze the daily beltway grind with a little snark and lots of Red Bull.*Believe it or not, we also have contributors [ALMOST] that actually offer good political insight.
- - FDC

5 Rules of Engagement for Tonight (Must Read for Obama supporters)

Anyone who has ever worked on or supported a campaign (everyone in this town) understands the joy you feel when your candidate wins. When they lose, however, it’s not quite the same.

Here are 5 Rules of Engagement for supporters as they head off to victory parties tonight:

1) Wait for it. It is easy to get caught up in the hype, and try to anticipate what will happen. Unfortunately, if things don’t go as planned, this can lead to an embarrassing moment. It is much better to just play it cool until the actual election results are in and the candidates take the podium.

2) Keep it classy. In this toxic election cycle, where supporters have hurled the worst accusations at each other, it is important that revelers be mindful of what they say about the opposing camp. At this crucial moment, an off-hand comment could be justification for not getting behind the winner, so be sure to praise your opponent at every chance this evening.

3) Attack the other Political Party. The one thing that all party loyalists can agree on is that the other party sucks. If you find yourself in an awkward situation with someone who was for the losing candidate, use the opportunity to dump on the other side.

4) Equally Praise the Speeches. Unless your candidate pulls off the Gettysburg Address Part II, don’t go overboard with congratulating them on something they have been practicing for months. The supporters for the losing candidate will be watching, and looking for any reason to withhold their support tomorrow. Also, be on the lookout for news reporters and cameras. You don’t want to end up on the news as an example of why your political party won’t come together in November.

5) Beware of Jay-Z. Music by the self-proclaimed “best rapper alive,” Jay-Z, has popped up on a few occasions throughout this campaign. We saw one candidate “brush his shoulders off,” and at least one campaign stop where “99 Problems” was playing in the background. Don’t go there. Sure, it’s cool to your fellow supporters who get it, but it’s extremely offensive for those who support the other candidate. It’s best to just steer clear of Jay-Z all together tonight.

If you follow these rules, it will increase your chances of having an incident free election return night, and a good start on the general election campaign.

From the Trail

Sen. John McCain Confronts Race Issues

John McCain recently sat down with ESSENCE magazine, to talk about his plan to address African-American concerns as the Republican nominee for president. McCain announces plans to attend the NAACP convention and to include African-Americans and Latinos in his cabinet. Even if you don’t agree with McCain’s political views, you must give him some credit for this.

ESSENCE: Republican Newt Gingrich said the Republicans should not ignore the African-American and Latino community, but this election year Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani didn’t bother to address the Black community. As the Republican nominee, how will you reach out to the Black community, not only in this election, but afterward?
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McCain: Go to places and venues that would allow me to continue a dialogue with the African-American community. I will go to the NAACP convention.
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ESSENCE: You will?
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McCain: Oh, yeah. I don’t know any reason why not. I went to Selma and stood at the Edmund Pettus Bridge and talked about the need to include “forgotten Americans.” I will never as long as I live forget the beautiful women of Gees Bend, Alabama, with the quilts. They were singing spirituals. On the first occasion I could find in the White House I would have them sing again. It was so moving. There was a woman there who was 91 years old. Can you imagine the environment she lived in when she was 21? And yet, this woman was full of hope, compassion and forgiveness. But does that mean in my campaign I am going to get a majority of the African-American vote? Probably not. But what it does mean, what I’ve committed to, is assuring and promising all Americans whether they vote for me or not, I am going to be their president. Americans are sick and tired of partisanship and divisions along party lines that cause gridlock and frustration and lack of addressing the issues that confront America.
…

ESSENCE: If you were our next president, what would your cabinet look like? Would you consider African-Americans and Latinos at top positions?
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McCain: Absolutely. Also I would include Democrats because we have to ask the best of America to serve our country at these difficult times.

From the Trail

Bet on black? [NYTimes]

The sharp surge in black turnout that Senator Barack Obama has helped to generate in recent primaries and Congressional races could signal a threat this fall to the longtime Republican dominance of the South, according to politicians and voting experts.

Some analysts suggest that North Carolina and Virginia may even be within reach for the Democratic nominee, and they point to the surprising result in a Congressional special election in Mississippi this week as an indicator of things to come.

The revolution will be televised. [The Root]

Indeed, Obama’s campaign has used the Web to stunning effect, whether in terms of fundraising or get-out-the-vote operations like the recently launched Vote for Change, a social networking/registration tool that raises the prospect that, as The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder put it, “[o]n election day, Obama might have more than a million individuals volunteering on his behalf. That should scare the beejeesus out of the McCain campaign and the RNC.”

Check out the latest Obama video.

This is real and not for play
I’ma vote Obama way
We hood, We votin’ and throwin’ it up.

Dear Barack Obama, It worked - Love, A&F

If Republicans think Obama isn’t good for the economy, that might change after they read this post.

Abercrombie Posts Slight Rise in Net

“Despite a tough selling environment, we produced bottom-line growth while still remaining true to the aspirational positioning of our brands,” Chief Executive Mike Jeffries said. “We continue to focus on improving the quality of our product and the emotional store experience, which gives us our competitive advantage and is critical to our long-term sustainability.” Last week, the company said revenue climbed 8% to $800.2 million, while same-store sales — considered a key indicator of a retailer’s strength — dropped 3%.

And all of this due to a perfectly executed product placement scheme orchestrated by Camp Obama.

Genius.

The movie is sure to be terrific.

[Inspiration provided by, Last Call] •Obama’s strategy for getting the white vote come November: Abercrombie’s fall catalogue.

Sam Graves lets kindergarteners cut his TV ads

Warning:  The ad you’re about to watch is awful and the production value, appalling - BUT, the concept is groovy - in a Midwest rave sort of a way.

Rep Sam Graves, from the middle of nowhere Missouri, is scared that “Big City” Kay Barnes is gonna knock him out of congress - so scared that he cut an ad featuring two hookers and a gay black guy. 

Take a look for yourself … it’s like an accident scene, you know you shouldn’t look, but you just can’t seem to turn away.

Clinton supporters throw in the towel, for free

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  [craigslist]

Text reads:  “Bumper stickers, yard sign, pins, mugs, folders, letterhead and a large banner. Won’t be needing them.”

Dear Ron Paul Flack, It’s over

Back in early March, Ron Paul told his rabid army of supporters, through a web video, [appropriate] that he knew he was no longer in the running for the presidency - not to mention some of his aides even alluded his campaign would be shutting down. [Never give up on your dreams]

Well… apparently Ron Paul’s press secretary, Jesse Benton, didn’t get the memo, or refuses to accept reality.

Benton: “People in the press reported that as him dropping out when he was not dropping out.”

Although two seconds later, Benton reveals that Paul’s campaign has shrunk from 150 staffers to 15.  A clear sign that his campaign is in full swing.

So why all of a sudden the plea for relevance?  

Perhaps it has something to do with Ron Paul’s newest book, “The Revolution: A Manifesto.”  [not linking it]

And in case you were wondering what Jesse is doing these days, besides begging for earned media - well, he’s trolling Wikipedia and has already updated the “manifesto” wiki page to reflect Paul’s latest manuscript.

Keep plugging, team.

From the Trail [5/02/08]

McCain deals with classy questioners.
Clinton creepin’.
Obama pulls in an endorsement every two seconds.

From the Trail [5/01/08]

Superdelegate switcheroo at the Obama camp.
McCain camp not movin’ on
Clinton dubs herself Goldilocks.

From the Trail [4/30/08]

Barack Obama goes Blockbuster and starts selling DVDs [no late fee]

“On Monday of this week — timed, purposely or coincidentally, within mere hours of Rev. Wright’s speech to the National Press Club — the Obama campaign sent an email to supporters in which they offered, in exchange for a small donation, a “limited-edition DVD and print” of Mr. Obama’s March speech (entitled “A More Perfect Union”) addressing Rev. Wright, Trinity Church, and race in America.”

McCain goes live with his Healthcare Town Hall [riveting]

And Hillary wants you to “double down” [insurance please]