LOLection

From pedestrian to pompous.

From an unscheduled trip to a Pennsylvania supermarket and discussing counterinsurgency strategy (at least delights is not spelled de-lites):

And this one reminds me of a funeral Mass card:

Can this campaign hire some media-savvy people?

The lunatics over at 23/6 have compiled a video of our favorite campaign gaffes. Included are the Dean Scream, "sweetie", Macaca, "sniper fire" and many more. Take a look and tell us in comments what gaffes you think they missed.

Watch their first election parody since 2004:

Was it worth the wait? React in comments below.

As The Nation magazine's Max Blumental says, "(McCain financial advisor Phil) Gramm was an accident waiting to happen."

In an exposé of Gramm, in part motiviated by the now famous "whiners" comment, Blumenthal recounts Gramm's less-than-stellar career including his disasterous 1996 presidential bid, close ties to Ken Lay and Enron and the funnest fact of all - his financing of a softcore porn flick pictured at the left - Truck Stop Women.

Who could have known that this loser career politician had financed a movie back in 1973 that had a tagline that read "No Rig Was Too Big For Them To Handle"? Phil's brother-in-law George Caton (why is it always the BIL?) came to Gramm with a great offer - invest $15K in a sure winner.

The Washington Post is reporting tonight:

The Bush administration will send a senior envoy to international talks this weekend with Iran about its nuclear program, in what U.S. officials described as a "one-time deal," designed to demonstrate a serious desire to resolve the impasse over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

In a significant departure from longstanding policy, Undersecretary of State William J. Burns will join a scheduled meeting in Geneva between European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and top Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, according to a senior State Department official.

The article quotes the high-level anonymous administration source as saying that Burns would not negotiate nor hold seperate meetings.

Administration officials have long insisted that U.S. representatives would not join even preliminary discussions with Tehran until it suspends its enrichment of uranium, a distinction that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has called counterproductive.

Indeed.

If Barack Obama loses the November election, his campaign will face a number of tough questions having to do with age, experience, business relationships and low-interest loans. But, according to a new report from the AP, there's an even more devastating bombshell about to surface:

Obama Does Not Own a Pet & John McCain Does

Results of an AP-Yahoo! News poll show that pet owners (and especially dog owners) prefer Sen. John McCain 42 percent to Obama's 37 percent.

McCain knew this moment was coming. During his decades-long quest for the Oval Office, the former aviator has methodically acquired a mini-army of more than a dozen cuddly creatures including Coco the mutt, Sam the English springer spaniel, Oreo the black & white cat, a ferret, three parakeets, two turtles and a tank of saltwater fish.

Obama, meanwhile, doesn't even have a chinchilla. Not even a dwarf hamster. Not even a gecko.

Yet all is not lost for the Illinois Senator. People who don't own pets, it turns out, support Obama 48 percent to McCain's 34 percent. However, with 88 million cats and 75 million dogs spreading joy, companionship and drool throughout 63 percent of American households, we're talking landslide territory for McCain.

If I'm Obama, I'm making a pit stop at the next Petco.

B. Brandon Barker is the author of the novel Operation EMU.

Or he was against it before he was for it. Or something.

JohnnyMac, speaking at a town hall meeting touts the new educational benefits in the new GI Bill championed by Senator Jim Webb (D-VA). The bill passed the Senate in May by a vote of 75-22. Senator McCain skipped that vote (ostensibly because his own counter bill went nowhere), but not before slamming those who supported it:

Republican John McCain said Thursday that Democrat Barack Obama had no right to criticize McCain's position on military scholarships because the Illinois senator did not serve in uniform.

"And I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did," the Arizona senator said in a harshly worded statement issued Thursday.

But now I guess it's all good...

Terrorist fist jabs and now Obama Baby Mama?

Fox News Channel's "Fair and Balanced" moniker has always been open to interpretation. It's widely recognized that they have a decidedly right tilt since it's inception - a antidote to the left-wing media. And they have a huge audience...

Fox's coverage of the Democratic primary campaign was a study in funny. Hillary Clinton, the most hated female in Democratic politics since Eleanor Roosevelt, became a conservative darling while Barack Obama was consistently portrayed in the worst light possible. Every scurrilous rumor and chain email was duly reported 24/7. Hillary supporters flocked to Fox in droves. Sean Hannity inadvertently became the Clinton campaign's best friend.

Just this past week or so, we could see that the general election coverage will be going in roughly the same direction. Fox's E.D. Hill, in reaction to the fist bump that Barack and Michelle Obama shared before his victory speech last Tuesday, came out with this teaser, "A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab? The gesture everyone seems to interpret differently. We'll show you some interesting body communication and find out what it really says."

Liberal media watchdog group, Media Matters, issued a "Call to Action" to write, call and sign a petition. Hill later apologized. Interestingly enough, this came on the heels of E.D.'s show being canceled. She'll continue with Fox "in a capacity to be determined".

After the jump, Fox News tries to talk "street" and get it all wrong..

Not since Rutherford B. Hayes vetoed four bottles of sarsaparilla passed by the 45th U.S. Congress in 1877 has a president (or presidential candidate) threatened a popular beverage's natural course through the legislative process. But now, Senator John McCain has taken an intrepid stand against another beloved drink.

On Tuesday, while speaking at D.C'.s National Small Business Summit about excessive earmarks, the presumed Republican presidential nominee--holding aloft an ominous black Sharpie--promised to veto "every single beer" that comes to his desk. Check it:



Now, before we belittle Senator McCain for his overzealous and reactionary agenda, we should realize that the current Democratic Congress--out of all the Congresses in recent memory--is likely to send some beer, if not copious amounts of it, to the Oval Office for approval. If you have strong feelings about your president signing various lagers, stouts and Hefeweizens with permanent ink, now is the time to make your vote count.

B. Brandon Barker is the author of the novel Operation EMU.

Today, Dunkin' Donuts announced that it will pull a new ad featuring Rachel Ray based on complaints from conservative Fox News pundit Michelle Malkin, who accused Ms. Ray of promoting a symbol of the "murderous Palestinian jihad." Glazed peanut-topped crullers? No, a keffiyeh.

A keffiyeh, for those who don't know, is a traditional Middle Eastern scarf popularized by the late Yasser Arafat. It has also been associated with terrorists, kidnappers and people who dance through the streets with burning T-shirts. Since the late 1980s, however, this scarf has been a popular fashion accessory. Last checked, you could still pick one up at Urban Outfitters.

Now, it's under attack by conservatives as being a symbol of the reckless and Godless liberal contingent. But, maybe not for long.

A savvy Gawker tipster surfing through the official McCain family blog has found pictures of the presidential candidate's daughter Meghan (pictured above) on the campaign trail wearing a keffiyeh. In front of her mom!

B. Brandon Barker is the author of the novel Operation EMU.