Posted by Jed Lewison on Tue Sep 23, 2008 at 3:26 AM Pacific

Local TV Coverage (And Other Items)

I've got a few related things I was planning on saying, so I'll just shoehorn them all in here:

First: I thought you might find it interesting to get some perspective on how both the economic news and political news is playing on local TV in a swing state, so here's video from the top of the 11PM broadcast of the Las Vegas CBS affiliate. On balance, I think it was very positive for Obama and Democrats in general (with one caveat, below). It's a pretty clear demonstration that when Democrats decide to put up a fight, the world doesn't collapse around them -- in fact they look and sound stronger and more trustworthy.

Second: The one thing in the news coverage that I think worked well for McCain was his totally false claim that Obama does not have a plan. Now I know and you know that Obama does have a plan (and so does CNN, in a video I posted in the vodpod and at HuffPost), but there are probably a lot of undecided voters who don't. My gut tells me that Obama should respond forcefully to McCain's misrepresentation, perhaps throwing it back in his face with Austan Goolsbee's Fruit Loops joke (that the list of ingredients on Fruit Loops box is longer than McCain's plan).

Third: This is related to the second point. Not only does McCain not have much of (if any) plan on the financial crisis, but his plan is totally all over the map. He endorsed the bailout when it first came out, but now he's trying to run away from it. We shouldn't let him get away with that. Attacking someone as a flip-flopper isn't the strongest argument in the world, but this isn't about flip-flopping -- this is about McCain's herky jerky, shoot-from-the-hip style. He jumps up on a moments notice, starts pounding his fist about how we must do "A" and then the next day he says he was for "B" all along. This is not the temperament we want in a president.

Fourth (and almost finally): My first edited video with Huffington Post should be published sometime this morning, probably while I am asleep. I'll post it here when I wake up (assuming that it's already up there), but if you want to look for it over there the current working title is "John McCain: The Fundamental Deregulator." It basically is a video montage of McCain talking (over the last seven months) about his support for deregulation. Also, unlike the "breaking news" clips at HuffPost, this one will be on a new YouTube channel to make it easier to share.

Okay, this is my last thought, I promise: I know the "Stuff I should have blogged" is out-of-date. I'll have it back up-to-date soon, hopefully in the morning. The issue is simply that I'm adjusting to new routines now that I'm doing the HuffPost gig.

Local TV Coverage (And Other Items)

I've got a few related things I was planning on saying, so I'll just shoehorn them all in here:

First: I thought you might find it interesting to get some perspective on how both the economic news and political news is playing on local TV in a swing state, so here's video from the top of the 11PM broadcast of the Las Vegas CBS affiliate. On balance, I think it was very positive for Obama and Democrats in general (with one caveat, below). It's a pretty clear demonstration that when Democrats decide to put up a fight, the world doesn't collapse around them -- in fact they look and sound stronger and more trustworthy.

Second: The one thing in the news coverage that I think worked well for McCain was his totally false claim that Obama does not have a plan. Now I know and you know that Obama does have a plan (and so does CNN, in a video I posted in the vodpod and at HuffPost), but there are probably a lot of undecided voters who don't. My gut tells me that Obama should respond forcefully to McCain's misrepresentation, perhaps throwing it back in his face with Austan Goolsbee's Fruit Loops joke (that the list of ingredients on Fruit Loops box is longer than McCain's plan).

Third: This is related to the second point. Not only does McCain not have much of (if any) plan on the financial crisis, but his plan is totally all over the map. He endorsed the bailout when it first came out, but now he's trying to run away from it. We shouldn't let him get away with that. Attacking someone as a flip-flopper isn't the strongest argument in the world, but this isn't about flip-flopping -- this is about McCain's herky jerky, shoot-from-the-hip style. He jumps up on a moments notice, starts pounding his fist about how we must do "A" and then the next day he says he was for "B" all along. This is not the temperament we want in a president.

Fourth (and almost finally): My first edited video with Huffington Post should be published sometime this morning, probably while I am asleep. I'll post it here when I wake up (assuming that it's already up there), but if you want to look for it over there the current working title is "John McCain: The Fundamental Deregulator." It basically is a video montage of McCain talking (over the last seven months) about his support for deregulation. Also, unlike the "breaking news" clips at HuffPost, this one will be on a new YouTube channel to make it easier to share.

Okay, this is my last thought, I promise: I know the "Stuff I should have blogged" is out-of-date. I'll have it back up-to-date soon, hopefully in the morning. The issue is simply that I'm adjusting to new routines now that I'm doing the HuffPost gig.

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