McCain campaign’s mixed bag

By Jennifer J. Foster

The last two days have been a mixed bag for the McCain campaign.

On the positive side, new polls show McCain either running dead even with Barack Obama or perhaps even slightly ahead of him going into the convention stretch. This means that McCain has managed to make up some ground—as much as 10 points in some polls—over the relatively slow summer period.

On the negative side, McCain had a Dukakis moment yesterday when a reporter asked him how many houses he owns and he was only able to say, “I’m not sure, I’ll have to check with my staff.“

It was a made-for-viral-video moment, and it wasn’t but just a few hours before Obama had turned it into a sound bite, VP prospect and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine was on the offensive and the Obama campaign had turned the awkward exchange into its newest ad.

This is the kind of careless, unnecessary gaffe that McCain simply cannot afford to make as the candidates round the corner out of the conventions and head into the heart of the general election campaign. There are going to be plenty of rough days when the candidates are going to be forced to deal with difficult issues; they can do themselves a favor by not creating for themselves any more problems than they will already face.

McCain’s campaign ended the day on a positive note when it announced that it would be setting up shop outside the Democratic National Convention to swat down and refute the positions advanced during the event. From Fox News:

There will be daily press conferences with key McCain supporters and advisers, tentatively including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele.

Plus the campaign intends to release a flurry of ads and Web videos throughout the week to compete with Democrats’ message.

The McCain campaign is rightly choosing to keep its candidate’s schedule light next week (it would be a bad move to have him at events and then have to answer questions about turnout if those events are sparsely attended). And by setting up camp outside the DNC and determining not to let the Democrats’ message go unchallenged, the Republicans will manage to find a way—every day—into the news cycle that would otherwise all but exclude them for at least five days.

Now, let’s get Obama a No. 2, get the happy coterie to Denver and let the festivities begin!

IOC reversal

By Jennifer J. Foster

Well, well, well. Chalk it up to peer pressure, worldwide shame or just plain pervasive ridicule, but the IOC has come around to reality on the Chinese gymnast controversy. From the Times of London:

The International Olympic Committee has ordered an investigation into mounting allegations that Chinese authorities covered up the true age of their gold-medal winning gymnastics star because she was too young to compete.

An IOC official told The Times that because of “discrepancies” that have come to light about the age of He Kexin, the host nation’s darling who won gold in both team and individual events, an official inquiry has been launched that could result in the gymnast being stripped of her medals.

Oh, if only someone had brought the “discrepancies” to the IOC’s attention earlier, before the Games ... someone like, perhaps, the New York Times!

Oh, wait ... they did.

Sarcasm notwithstanding, I’m an idealist at heart, so I’m hoping the IOC will yet do the right thing—if not for themselves and their own moral consciences, for history and the sake of the Olympic Games.

We shall see.

The unbridled hypocrisy of the IOC

By Jennifer J. Foster

The IOC has jumped all over Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt for what they called the lack of sportsmanship he displayed winning gold medals with record-breaking performances in the 100 and 200 meters.

“That’s not the way we perceive being a champion,“ IOC president Jacques Rogge said.

[Insert huffy voice here] Well (sniff).

The IOC’s disdainful reproach might carry a little more weight with Bolt—if the IOC had any credibility on the issue at all.

Too bad it doesn’t, thanks to its deliberate, determined and continuing refusal to investigate claims that at least two of the gymnasts who participated in women’s gymnastics for China are underage.

In addition to documents that have been provided to the IOC that call the girls’ ages into question, the girls simply look too young to compete. Just today, there is yet another report of someone who’s uncovered documents that all but prove that China is cheating.

But rather than investigating the claims with an even hand and a determination to get to the truth, the IOC simply takes the word of the Chinese government—even though that very government produces the documents they used to “prove” the girls’ ages.

At first, it was almost funny: Grown men and women suspending reality to take the word of a communist government at the risk of offending the host nation.

But when it continued into the competition and the girls were allowed to participate, it stopped being funny, and it became insulting. There’s a word for people who break the rules: They’re called cheaters. But the IOC doesn’t seem to mind.

The unbelievable nature of this situation is compounded by the lengths to which the IOC has prepared itself to go to address questions about athletes’ genders. From the U.K. Guardian:

For more than a year, officials in Beijing have been designing a special laboratory to determine the sex of any athletes taking part in this year’s Olympic games. “Suspected athletes will be evaluated from their external appearances by experts and undergo blood tests to examine their sex hormones, genes and chromosomes for sex determination,“ says Professor Tian Qinjie. The tests will not be conducted on every female athlete, but will be required if serious doubts have been raised about an individual competitor—invariably one competing in the women’s events. “The aim is to protect fairness at the games while also protecting the rights of people with abnormal sexual development,“ he says.

So, let me get this straight: The IOC is willing to subject athletes with genetic abnormalities beyond their control to medical examinations that are invasive down to the chromosome “to protect fairness at the games,“ but it refuses to arrange for a pediatric dentist to examine the little girl gymnasts—or even take seriously the veritable mountain of proof that is stacking up despite their determination to ignore China’s cheating?

Not only is China cheating. The IOC is helping them cover it up.

No wonder Bolt doesn’t care what the IOC thinks.

Iraq deal near

By Jennifer J. Foster

All but lost in the furious vigil the national press is keeping over Barack Obama’s VP selection is news that the United States is close to finalizing a deal with the Iraqi government that could have U.S. troops leaving Iraqi cities as soon as June 30, 2009.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Baghdad today for an unannounced meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to address outstanding issues left unresolved by the nations’ respective negotiators as they drew up the plans and an accompanying “strategic framework agreement,“ which spells out in broad terms the political, security and economic relationships between Iraq and the United States, according to the Associated Press.

As for the withdrawal agreement itself, the AP reports:

In addition to spelling out that U.S. troops would move out of Iraqi cities by next summer, the Iraqi government has pushed for a specific date—most likely the end of 2011—by which all U.S. forces would depart the country. In the meantime, the U.S. troops would be positioned on bases in other parts of the country to make them less visible while still being able to assist Iraqi forces as needed.

U.S. officials said the outstanding issues include the timeline for U.S. troop withdrawals, immunity for U.S. troops and the handling of Iraqi prisoners, and Rice said simply, “There are still issues concerning exactly how our forces operate. The agreement rests on aspirational timelines.“

Yes, the T-word—timeline—which the Bush Administration has been so averse to using.

The AP said Rice described her visit as “a chance for me to meet with the prime minister and see what we can do from Washington to get to closure.“

Closure. In Iraq. By 2011.

Maybe it’s just me, but there was something about hearing Rice use that word—“closure”—that seemed to indicate an oblique resignation among Bush Administration officials that a long-term American presence in Iraq is not only unsustainable and undesirable, but it is also unwanted.

If the agreement is reached, does it make Iraq more or less of an issue for the general election campaign?

Poverty in big cities

By Jennifer J. Foster

CNN’s Glenn Beck thinks he’s discovered the reason why poverty is so pervasive in many of America’s biggest cities.

Here’s a hint: He’s talking trend lines at City Hall.

Check it out here, then come back and tell me what you think.