A Joke, You Would Hope

I honestly just laughed out loud when reading this "news story" from Politico. This has to be a joke, but its not. I tracked the article down after reading about it on HuffPo and MediaMatters.
Summarizing it for you would not even do it justice, take a look.

This is like reporting for middle-schoolers.

Party in the WH

With nearly 8,000 noncareer political jobs to fill, President-elect Obama says, he doesn't care about party affiliation.
Well, according to Politico, the online applciation is complete with the question, what party are you affiliated with?
Seems suspect, huh.
The site where the application is hosted reads,

“We ask this for reporting purposes and because some appointments require bipartisan representation,”

Perhaps...
So far there have been over 300,000 applicants, but experts say they will probably get passed over:

“Recommendations are coming from state party chairs and county party chairs and the truth of the matter is: they pick people out of those who supported them, who worked for them,” he said. Obama “was the Democratic candidate for president, so most of the people he appoints are going to be Democrats.”

It's only the beginning....

This pretty much sum's it up, from Politico:

Picking the people was the easy part.

President-elect Obama and his new national security team will now turn to a world full of vexing, linked problems on every continent, and tricky, early choices. From the speed of withdrawal from Iraq to the speed of investment in Afghanistan, from Kashmir to Moscow, Obama will make some of his most important choices early.

Obama chooses Body over Soul....

Politico's Jonathan Martin, is reporting on the unimaginable.....Gasp, Obama has not been to church, in not 1, not 2 but 3 weeks!

Why? He has been busy going to the gym instead. Is pumping Iron his new form of worship? Hmm, according to Politico the reason they have not attended church is...

Because they have a great deal of respect for places of worship, they do not want to draw unwelcome or inappropriate attention to a church not used to the attention their attendance would draw

08' Election: Radio Smears Not Solely Reserved for Obama

Media Matters is reporting on the nation's conservative radio hosts (aka Rush Limbaugh inc.. ) and their coverage during the 2008 election. From their study it appears they were equal opportunity smear spreaders going after groups such as women, minorities and even children with disabilities. MM says the "smear ran the gamut." Check out the full list of smears they have compiled.

Attacking politicians is one thing, but groups with little access to defend themselves or are unwillingly attacked (such as children with autism) provides little to intelligent public debate. Conservative radio hosts have a huge influence on millions of Americans and they should remember this as journalists and as public commentators.

Some Excerpts, as per MM :

Michael Savage:

[Y]ou turn on the cable news, they're covering again a missing child. Not a missing country but a missing child. ... We hear about the rape of a woman, but not about the rape of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is crying, she's been raped and disheveled -- raped and disheveled by illegal aliens.

Chris Baker:

While discussing Palin's assertion that Obama was "palling around with terrorists" on the October 6 broadcast of his radio show, Baker called Obama a "little bitch" who "won't even stand up to a smoking-hot chick from Alaska.

Is Axelrod the New Rove?

Politico's Kenneth Vogel takes a look at the prospect of Axelrod joining the Obama White House and what that will mean for his wallet. Axelrod's consulting firms are estimated to generate millions anually. A job for him in the White House would be a paltry $200k.

However buried half way through the article, RNC chairman Mike Duncan raises a curious question:

“People need to be looking at Axelrod the same way that they looked at Karl Rove,” Duncan said, a comparison likely to sound like fingernails on a chalkboard for many Democrats, for whom Rove was a favorite boogeyman. “The same kinds of questions that were asked about Rove need to be asked about Mr. Axelrod.”

I concur with Duncan, we must ask questions of Axelrod...but if they are asked in the same fashion they were with Rove, it looks like he will have a long political career.

Hey, and if all else fails you can always become a pundit

When Your to Blame...Blame Someone Else

Doing what he does best, fear mongering, here is what Limbaugh had to say about the current economic crisis and Obama:

"The Obama recession is in full swing, ladies and gentlemen," Limbaugh told his radio audience of 15 million to 20 million on Thursday. "Stocks are dying, which is a precursor of things to come. This is an Obama recession. Might turn into a depression."

Thats right Rush, President Bush, his endless war and woeful economic policies are not to blame.
He goes on to talk about how under Obama there will be greater government control including the takeover of 401(k) retirement plans.

I smell a sore loser.......

And a lier....

"So the Fox-man simply created a new persona for Emanuel as, you guessed it, "one of the hardest left-wing radicals on the left."

Eh, interesting because Rahm Emanuel is known to veer towards the center.