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The Super Bowl is televised advertising’s equivalent of the Cannes Film Festival, so White House political strategists must have been smiling when what’s generally being hailed as this year’s best spot -- the Chrysler "Halftime in America" commercial -- subtly echoed the themes of President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign.(snip)Just to ice the cake, the gritty two-minute spot featured actor/director Clint Eastwood, whose politics usually put him on the Republican side of the aisle. In the spot, Eastwood’s voice narrates an account of Detroit’s comeback and, then, when his unmistakably craggy face appears on screen, U.S. closes Syria Embassy,

It came to prominence when demonstrators vowing to represent the 99 percent condemned corporate malfeasance, lopsided executive salaries and the distribution of wealth from the middle to the top. Four months later, the grievances of Occupy Wall Street have become a pillar of campaigns from Washington, D.C., to San Diego. The amalgamation of deepening distrust in the American institutions of Washington and Wall Street, the sluggish job and housing markets and the growing prospect that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney may become the Republican presidential nominee has helped thrust tenets of the Occupy movement into the political sphere. On Thursday,...

Comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany are becoming increasingly common anti-Semitic conspiracies are used more freely in conversation. LONDON – A report published by a Jewish community organization on Thursday highlights how old anti-Semitic themes to depict Israel and Zionism have become more widespread in mainstream British circles during the past year. Comparisons of Israel and its supporters to Nazi Germany have become increasingly common among the public, and anti-Semitic conspiracy themes are being used more freely in conversation, the “Anti-Semitic Discourse in Britain in 2009” indicated. The 57-page report was published by the Community Security Trust, which monitors anti-...

A new analysis of political signs displayed at a tea party rally in Washington last month reveals that the vast majority of activists expressed narrow concerns about the government's economic and spending policies and steered clear of the racially charged anti-Obama messages that have helped define some media coverage of such events. Emily Ekins, a graduate student at UCLA, conducted the survey at the 9/12 Taxpayer March on Washington last month by scouring the crowd, row by row and hour by hour, and taking a picture of every sign she passed. Ekins photographed about 250 signs, and more than half...

WASHINGTON – For all the primaries testing tea party clout and veteran senators' ability to survive, a special House election in southwestern Pennsylvania is the multimillion-dollar battleground of choice Tuesday for the two political parties, previewing themes for a fall campaign shadowed by recession and voter discontent. Competing economic prescriptions, the appeal of President Barack Obama's health care legislation, the Republicans' ability to woo crossover support from independents and Democrats all are at issue, according to officials in both parties, in a race that also features a struggle for the political high ground as Washington outsider. The House race features...

Effective for the 2010-2011 awards year, the Main Title Theme category will be eliminated and replaced with a new category, “Music Composition for a Nonfiction Program.” Details about the placement of main title theme achievements are still being discussed by the Music PGEC. This change was made due to the decreasing number or traditional television main title theme music. Please note the following additional information regarding the music category: While the Board of Governors has formally approved the intent to make the change in 2010, it has given the music branch time to come back with its final decision. Pending...

Obama Speech to Hit on Familiar Themes By David M. Drucker Roll Call Staff Sept. 3, 2009, 4:10 p.m. When President Barack Obama addresses a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, he will try to resuscitate a health care reform effort that’s been badly bruised and battered over the August recess. But according to talking points being circulated in the Senate by the White House in advance of Obama’s prime-time speech, at least some of the president’s message will remain the same: Obama will frame the health care debate as one that pits those who want to improve the system...

Unrepentant after a week of controversy over his inflammatory remarks, Democratic Chairman Howard Dean told party leaders yesterday that casting traditionally liberal issues in moral terms is a key to breaking Republicans' eight-year hold on the White House. Dean acknowledged that he sees his party's national campaign apparatus as being "30 years behind" the one fielded in November by the Bush-Cheney campaign, and said the solution is for Democrats to be tough, describe themselves boldly and get organized in all 50 states. "People want us to fight, and we are here to fight," Dean said during a quarterly meeting of...

A radical left-wing professor will now exert even more influence upon students at Brooklyn College in New York. According to the Christian news outfit, Agape Press, Dr. Timothy Shortell was recently elected by his colleagues to chair Brooklyn College’s Sociology Department. Why should his promotion concern you? Professor Shortell, a raging social-Marxist, refers to religious people as “an ugly, violent lot,” “moral retards,” and compares faith to “a child-like rationality.” These statements were written by the professor and appeared on a website called Anti-Naturals.org. On Dr. Shortell’s own website he says, “I am proud to be among a group of...

All the “sure signs” for a Kerry victory were there. The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl. The Boston Red Sox exorcised the “Curse of the Bambino.” The Washington Redskins – longtime predictors of presidential races – lost last Sunday, which has meant a loss for the incumbent since 1936. And to add to that trifecta, the stock market was skittish, surely a sign of an incumbent’s defeat at the polls. But ... Congratulations, America! You have done us proud! And congratulations, President Bush! Your decisive victory insures that Americans know and appreciate a good man and a strong...

October 15, 2004 Bush vs. Kerry -- It's a Debate Knock Out George C. Landrith In 1946, then-heavyweight champion Joe Louis was asked how he would do against the lighter and faster challenger, Bill Conn. Lewis said, “He can run, but he can’t hide.” Lewis was right. In the eighth round Lewis knocked out the more nimble Conn, leaving him sprawled on the canvas. President George W. Bush has been saying John Kerry can run from his 20-year liberal Senate record, but he cannot hide. In the final debate, Bush bore down on his verbally nimble challenger and knocked Kerry...

What Is There To Debate? Posted September 30, 2004 By J.B. Williams Let's face it, Presidential debates rarely provide any real insight into the hearts and minds of the candidates. Debate rules and guidelines are designed so that handlers can script the appropriate responses in advance, the moderators are never moderates, and consequently, the American people would rather watch their favorite (scripted) realty TV show, which is far more real. We seldom need a debate to know what any sitting President thinks. In Bush's case, does anyone really wonder where he stands on anything? Whether you agree with him or...

By Edward L. Daley On September 23, 2004, Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress. Below are some excerpts from that speech, and the hurried and predictably pessimistic response to it by John F. Kerry from a firehouse in Columbus Ohio. I am also including a few other recent statements by Senator Kerry concerning the Iraq War, the alternative positions of President Bush, and my own comments (preceded by the * symbol) regarding the issues raised. Furthermore, flecked throughout this article are quotes from several historical figures, added for the purpose of sharpening...