Newt’s sweet nothings

By Jennifer J. Foster

Newt Gingrich has some advice for John McCain.

For VP, Gingrich said McCain should pick Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Barack Obama would have a hard time objecting to Jindal’s age, he said:

Gingrich said the case can be made that Jindal’s “experience in the executive branch and in the legislative branch is greater than” that of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).

“It strikes me that it’s going to be very hard for Obama’s campaign to explain that Jindal, as a governor, who has served as an assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, has served as a congressional staffer, has served as a congressman, is not qualified but Sen. Obama is qualified,” Gingrich said.

And as for the gloomy prognosis politicos everywhere are giving congressional Republicans, Gingrich has the antidote:

“At $4 and $5 a gallon—if you have a more-production, lower-cost Republican Party running against a cripple-the-economy, hit-your-pocketbook Democratic Party, this election will change radically in September and October,” Gingrich said.

That Newt always had a way with words.

McCain wants Hillary supporters

By Jennifer J. Foster

John McCain will be doing his best this afternoon to convince Hillary Clinton’s supporters that he’s the guy for them.

McCain will host a telephone-town-hall-conference-call at 3:30 p.m. today for Clinton’s campaign volunteers.

From the Washington Post:

McCain himself will participate in the call, fielding questions from HRC fans, and some former Clinton backers will be allowed to attend the event in person. McCain’s campaign confirmed the call, but did not say where the telephone town hall would be held.

“There’s no doubt that she has inspired millions of women around the country, and the world,“ McCain said, noting that he and the former First Lady “share a number of views about national security.“

A quick read through the comments below the Post post reveals why Democrats are so concerned about uniting their party.

Anyone out there participating in the call? Let us know. We’d love to share your inside look.

As for Clinton herself, she’s virtually disappeared since endorsing Barack Obama last week.

“Where has Clinton gone?“ CNN’s Political Ticker asked.

Her Georgetown home? Chappaqua? Some exotic tropical locale?

No one knows—or, if they do, they’re not saying.

“She’ll be back before you know it,“ senior adviser Philippe Reines said.

Big news

By Jennifer J. Foster

If you want to understand the impact the death of Tim Russert is having on the world, consider this:

Nine of the top 10 Google searches today—and about half of the top 100 searches—are about Russert or Russert-related items.

Check it out here.

The death of Tim Russert

By Jennifer J. Foster

If you’re like me and you watch a lot of news, it’s rare that you hear or see something that is hard to believe. There is so much evil in the world, it takes a lot to shock us anymore—and that’s the sad reality of the world in which we live.

But this is one of those stories that is hard to believe.

Tim Russert is dead.

I agree with the comment Fox News’ Chris Wallace made as he was talking with Neil Cavuto about it: I can’t believe this is really happening.

Tim Russert is the preeminent political journalist of our time. Russert is one of the only national journalists out there who had objective credibility.

And I agree with CNN’s Larry King: It’s hard to use the past tense when talking about Tim Russert.

Read NBC’s article about Russert’s death here, see a slideshow about his life here and see video coverage here.

You can read Russert’s last interview—about how Internet rumors about the presidential candidates are eclipsing the real issues facing this country—here.

gEYE tre-BAYYYYYY and Michelle Obama

By Jennifer J. Foster

When I wrote that post about

Skipper

Cindy McCain and her wardrobe the other day, I had no idea that I was touching on a subject that’s apparently all the rage these days.

Political junkies like me have Super Tuesday.

Fashion junkies have, apparently, the candidates’ wives.

Consider this article from the New York Times’ “Fashion Diary” –

SIDEBAR:

Fashion Diary? The New York Times has a Fashion Diary?

Does the ombudsman know about this?

END SIDEBAR

– in which Guy Trebay (I can’t hear that name in my head without a French accent: “gEYE tre-BAYYYYYY) discusses the fashion sense of Michelle Obama.

tre-BAYYYYYY analyzes Mrs. Obama’s outfit last Tuesday night, when her husband laid claim to the Democratic presidential nomination.

The “gumball pearls,” tre-BAYYYYYY said, are “a retro wink at traditional decorum.” Mikki Taylor, beauty director and cover editor of Essence magazine, offered that the pearls “are not little ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ pearls … Those are large pearls. Those are pearls you have to deal with.” This, in addition to pointing out that the wannabe First Lady apparently took to the stage – GASP!! – WITHOUT the “prerequisite suntan stockings.”

Obviously, Taylor said, Michelle Obama’s look says, “I’m here to do business.”

Oh, obviously.

As for the belt, tre-BAYYYYYY called it a “another signature accessory,” noting that Vanity Fair had taken notice of it when it named Mrs. Obama to its International Best-Dressed List. The belt she had worn 15-plus months ago “signified to me that this woman had an independent and strong and distinct fashion sense,” said Amy Fine Collins, a Vanity Fair contributor and “a guardian of the 68-year-old list,” tre-BAYYYYYY said.

OK ... accessories, whatever. To each his own. But then I read this:

But it was particularly the color Michelle Obama chose Tuesday night that seemed symbolically rich, even if its message may have been so subtle as to be subliminal.

“I don’t know if that’s something they consciously thought about,” said (First Ladies biographer Carl) Anthony, referring to the fact that purple is, as every schoolchild knows, created by mixing the primary colors red and blue.

When I first read that, I ended up having to take some Tylenol because my eyes hurt from rolling them so far back in my head.

Seriously? He’s saying Michelle Obama chose to wear purple because of the whole red-blue thing?

????????

It seems appropriate to paraphrase Chandler Bing here:

gEYE? I think you’ve gone over to the bad place.