By: Suzanne Rosenberg In today's edition we bring you celebrities and the GOP, Obama and O?Reilly and Jamie Lynn and Bristol. Links to the political campaign blogs are below.
Voight for McCain!Top of the Ticket
Los Angeles Times
Andrew Malcolm of the Top of the Ticket pointed out Wednesday evening that Jon Voight, a rare Hollywood conservative, ? is outspoken in his support of McCain,? calling him ?an amazing guy.? Other celeb conservatives are Tom Selleck, his wife, Jillie Mack, Jerry Bruckheimer and Patricia Heaton.
Finally, James Hohmann, also from the Top of the Ticket, reveals that Arnold Schwarzenegger is MIA at the current GOP convention. Arnold supports the McCain-Palin presidential ticket but says he needs to be in California citing wrangling over the state budget as his top priority. Assuming that conventioneers in Minneapolis might be suffering from ?possible Arnold withdrawal,? state party officials handed out free DVDs compliments of the Motion Picture Association of America and Schwarzenegger -- among them, ?Conan the Barbarian,? ?Terminator 3,? ?Junior, ?and ?Kindergarten Cop.?
Harriet Miers and Sarah Palin?The Swamp
Chicago Times
By James Oliphant
Is McCain?s choice of Sarah Palin as Vice Presidential nominee similar to George W. Bush?s 2005 pick of Harriet Miers for Supreme Court? James Oliphant suggests that although Democrats were critical of the Miers choice, the harshest critique of the Miers appointment came from intellectuals and others within the Republican Party who were concerned that she was unqualified and that the pick trivialized the institution of the Court. Oliphant suggests that Palin also has elicited shock from some Republican faithful in spite of her reliable Christian conservative credentials.
According to Oliphant, ?like Miers, every aspect of her life is being examined. Miers was childless, but had dated a Texas Supreme Court justice (who become her unofficial spokesman during the tumult). Palin has an entire brood along for the wild ride, one of whom has become a story in her own right. But the intelligentsia within the Republican Party is keeping quiet this time, even some who may object to Palin's lack of expertise on national security and foreign policy. The Huffington Post Wednesday called it an
omerta -- the Mafia's vow of silence. The party has closed ranks. And editors at conservative standard bearers such as the Weekly Standard and National Review, the same publications that buried Miers, praised the selection and are backing her to the hilt. (One lonely Bush administration source was quoted, anonymously, saying the McCain had trivialized the office of vice president, which is true irony, not simply the Alanis Morrisette kind.) The question will be whether Palin can see it through, or like Harriet Miers, will have leave the stage and simply go home?"
Convention ratingsWashington Wire
Wall Street Journal
By Amy Schatz
Amy Schatz points out ?that viewing numbers for the second night of the Republican convention in St. Paul, MI. are out and it?s not particularly good news for the party. 21.5 million people watched the Republican National Convention Tuesday night, down slightly from the 22.1 million who watched second night coverage four years ago, according to Nieslen Co.? Democrats on the other hand, scored their highest ratings in history last week due to increased African-American and Hispanic viewers of the Democratic convention.
Talk Show BookingsPolitical Intelligence
Boston Globe
Foon Rhee
In other television news, Foon Rhee from Political Intelligence announced that Barack Obama will appear with Bill O?Reilly on Fox News Channel?s ?The O?Reilly Factor.? Rhee points out that this will be Obama?s first appearance on the show, which is typically unfriendly to Democrats. On Monday however, Obama will appear with Olbermann on MSNBC?s ?Countdown with Keith Olberman,? his first time on the ?Obama-friendly and anti President Bush show, since March."
The Spears-Palin ConnectionThe Trail
Washington Post
Roxanne Roberts
Roxanne Roberts reveals that although ?we?re skating the fine line between fact and satire: Jamie Lynn Spears ? the 17 year old lil? sis of Britney who had a daughter in June ? has sent a baby gift to 17 year old Bristol Palin, because she, like, totally KNOWS what?s it?s like to be a celebrity unwed mother. Spears (actually her mother Lynne) called Beverly Hills baby boutique Petit Tresor looking for something nice (but not THAT nice; $100 or less) and settled on white burp cloths with pink writing, a spokesman for the store confirmed today. The package, with a note reading, 'Dear Bristol: Hang in there......xoxo, Jamie Lynn' was shipped off to the Alaska Capitol building.?
Roberts points out that, The McCain campaign put Britney Spears and Paris Hilton in the infamous "Celebrity" ad, now the Spears family has interjected itself into the mix. What's next? A double wedding? Off-white for the brides?
The best news: Saturday Night Live (where I worked for many years) writers already have enough material for the entire season.
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Trail Mix's Featured Blogs:Chicago Tribune:
The SwampLos Angeles Times:
Top of the TicketThe Boston Globe:
Political IntelligenceThe Denver Post:
Politics WestThe New York Times:
The CaucusThe Wall Street Journal:
The Washington WireThe Washington Post:
The Trail and
The FixUSA Today:
On Politics
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