Stephen Colbert on Election '08 and Shakespeare

I'm a fan of the Colbert Report. I also love great literature. At first glance, the two don't seem to go together. Did Shakespeare know a thing or two about modern politics?

Here's a six-minute clip (thanks to Hulu video) from The Colbert Report on October 9th featuring an interview with Shakespeare expert Stephen Greenblatt. 

What Shakespearean character is McCain most like? How about Obama? Watch the clip and see if you agree.

If Sarah Palin Meets Woody Allen

Sarah. Funny, crazy Sarah. We only have a few more days to get to know you before the big election. 

You were a star on Saturday Night Live last weekend. Is there a movie part in your future?

Maybe....Check out the Vimeo video by Radar below.

Sarah Palin Meets Woody Allen from RADAR on Vimeo.

Sarah Palin on SNL

I have been clear about my support for Obama, but you have to admit McCain's running mate at least proved she had a sense of humor. The Saturday Night Live skit was humorous. I would imagine working with the crew at SNL would be both fun and also a bit risky because the jokes could backfire.  Appearing alongside her impersonator Tina Fey, Palin helped bring the highest ratings for SNL in 14 years.

If Palin can handle performing in a major comedy show, I still can't figure out why she hasn't held a formal news conference.

A President for All of Us, Not Just the Top 10 Percent

Yes, We Can!

Hope for change.

Change that matters.

Gloves Off

Tune in tonight to watch the second debate between McCain and Obama beginning 9 p.m. Eastern. The format will be a town-hall style meeting with 80 uncommitted voters on stage with the candidates. 

Will this style help McCain? He seems to love talking before a live audience. It might be his best forum. The media has hyped his success in this format so much that you wonder just how Obama can keep up.

Oh yeah, there's a little financial crisis on Wall Street, and the credit crisis is spreading. Maybe voters will remember MCain's involvement in the Keating Five savings-and-loan scandal.

Even though Obama doesn't have the same folksy manner of McCain, Obama knows how to inspire a crowd too. I expect Obama to stay focused on the issues. I don't expect to hear smear tactics from Obama, he knows voters are more concerned about the economy.

Thanks to a tip from NYTimes.com, check out the YouTube clip below about McCain and his beloved town hall format.

SNL: VP Debate Spoof

She Winks, She Smiles, She Flirts, She Plans to Change the Constitution

Things that made me wonder during the VP debate...

• In the past Gov. Sarah Palin has been criticized for repeatedly commenting that she can see Russia from her house in Alaska (see The New Yorker cover above) so I would think she would really want to get her foreign policy stuff right. Does she know that the top American commander in Afghanistan is Gen. David D. McKiernan and is not "McClellan" as she says in the debate?
• Palin likes to wink a lot. Does Palin suffer from an eye twitch?
• Palin ignored the questions moderator Gwen Ifill asks and instead looks directly into the camera and delivers one canned line after another. 
  
• When Palin says over and over "darn right" or "you betcha" I wondered if this is really how she learned to talk in a debate? At this week's debate camp was she coached on folksy expressions?
• Where exactly is "Eye-ran?"
• She has said that Iran must not even be allowed to have nuclear energy. But isn't Iran a member of the IAEA and a signatory to the NPT? 
• She called Iran's President Ahmadinejad "insane." Why did she also repeated mispronounce his name? (She says it incorrectly with a K sound exactly like McCain says it too.)
• Did she ever answer the questions moderator Gwen Ifill asked. Oh yeah, I asked that before.
• Why did Palin say Biden's college teacher wife will "get her reward in heaven" when she knows that Biden's first wife died tragically in a car accident.
• Palin was well-rehearsed. She avoided the use of "um" or "uh." But she didn't seem to be thinking on her feet and responding to a question.
• Does the McCain energy plan really just boil down to "Drill, Baby, drill?" 
• Is Palin too power hungry for the VP slot? Palin mentioned that she wanted to take a new look at the US Constitution and make some revisions specifically in Articles I and II that are explicit in enumerating and limiting the powers of the Executive, including the Vice President.

There She Goes Again

I'm old enough to remember the debate when President Carter offered a long list of statistics and with perfect timing Ronald Reagan commented, "There he goes again." I'm not a fan of Reagan, but his ability to charm the audience was impressive.

Will Sarah Six-Pack Palin be able to charm voters in her debate tonight with Joe Biden? I expect tonight's debate will have a few surprises. It won't be as scripted as debates in the past. Each candidate has the potential to make blunders. In my opinion, no one really wins the debate, but someone always loses.

Will Biden be able to control his long winded banter? Will Palin provide more material for SNL writers? 

Biden will be able answer any question. No worries there. He knows his stuff--even the political and personal trivia Palin struggled with such as financial regulation, Supreme Court decisions and favorite newspapers. I am more concerned that he will be too nice. You know, that whole gender issue. Even with the best intentions, Biden will have to balance being tough on Palin and not taking a patronizing attitude.

Not so sure about one moose-hunting hockey mom from Alaska. She's full of surprises. And based on her many gaffes in recent interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric. I'm guessing instead answering questions she'll just offer generalities. Call it flip flop journalism. Palin benefits when instead of answering the question asked, she answers a question she wants to answer. And she'll be praying for divine intervention in her favor. 

If Palin keeps that sunny smile going, you might be tempted to excuse her biting comments. The same comments made by Hillary would be unfairly called "bitchy," but somehow Palin keeps the sun shining even in a thunderstorm.

Will this hockey mom win the game? With all her previous mistakes made so publicly on the network news, our expectations are pretty low. Oh yeah. She is a hockey mom and hockey moms don't like to lose.