October 21, 2012

Email from the Obama campaign: "Ann -- Have you seen the 'Gangnam Style' music video? (So great.)"

"Well, here's another video you can't miss."
Last night, President Obama went on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He talked about the debates, his plans for a second term, and Joe Biden's swimwear.

... Seriously.
Seriously? Why do you people want to seem like such lightweights? Like it's all a big joke? Because you think that's what young people respond to? 1. I'm not young, and you sent this to me, and 2. It's actually possible that young people are struggling and suffering and worried about the future, and they are looking to the government to solve some real problems, and they're disgusted by concept of government as silly entertainment.

79 comments:

rhhardin said...

It's not their choice, it's their only option.

campy said...

Why do you people want to seem like such lightweights?

"... seem ..."?

madAsHell said...

Why do you people want to seem like such lightweights?

...and who might you be addressing??

I couldn't find a link to the "Joe Biden's swim suit" quote. So, you must be addressing me, and I could have told you in 2007 that Jughead isn't serious.

Sorun said...

"...and they are looking to the government to solve some real problems"

The bright side is that young people will learn sooner, rather than later, that government is incompetent at most things. Not all, but most.

Ann Althouse said...

@campy It's a separate question wanting to "seem" like something and actually being that thing. There are many situations where you are something and you endeavor not to seem like what you are. Often you find that you're something bad and fixing that is difficult or you like being bad or whatever, but you still choose to hide it. I'm saying: Why don't they want to hide it? Where's the shame?

Ann Althouse said...

"I couldn't find a link to the "Joe Biden's swim suit" quote. So, you must be addressing me, and I could have told you in 2007 that Jughead isn't serious."

Here's the link to that episode of "The Daily Show":

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-october-18-2012/barack-obama-pt--1?utm_medium=email&utm_source=obama&utm_content=img+srchttpassetsbostaticcomimagesvideoscreenshotsDailyShow1DailyShowpng+altPresident+Obama+on+The+Daily+Show&utm_campaign=em12_20121019_mm_ya&source=em12_20121019_mm_ya

The swimsuit is in there, somewhere. Stewart also tries to get Obama to talk about whether women are "turned on" (sexually) by one politician or the other. He declines because he's the President.

Jason said...

So the email copy was not optimal?

Anonymous said...

Ann: This is the best Gangnam style improvisation, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpZhZAr1cQU.

Okay-dokey, I have decided to vote for POTUS Obama for re-election. This is why:
- I do not want to be the one person/voter who caused a minority from winning the re-election. I will never forgive myself.
- I have decided to believe the press. They are smarter than me. The NYT, NPR, PBS, all say: Obama is the best. Who I am not argue?
- Every-one says that Romney likes to fire. What if he fires me? I cannot have that.
- I predict the Obama will win re-election easily.

Cheers,
AKB

campy said...

I'm saying: Why don't they want to hide it? Where's the shame?

Okay, then I guess they must think being lightweight is a good thing.

Hard to imagine a heavyweight lightworker, I guess.

madAsHell said...

Hmmmm....apologies all around.

I might have read that too fast.

Clyde said...

The Obama administration cannot solve those real problems you mentioned, Ann. It can only exacerbate them. All they have left is trying to entertain and distract those who are foolish enough to want entertainment from their government over substance.

Let's hope it doesn't work.

Issob Morocco said...

There is no shame because they know the MSM won't say anything negative. Hence no inhibitions to openly flout it.

What they are missing out on is that the new media, the internet, is saying something, like you are. New media is replacing old (bye bye Newsweek).

It is now, through the new media, being propagated for what it is, a Potemkin Village in which we are greeted by an empty suit in an empty chair next to a smile with a body behind it.

What if McCain had said or did this in 2008? Imagine the hue and cry!

Nov. 6th

mesquito said...

I sent a nasty reply to Stephanie Cutter. Now I don't get these emails.

Curious George said...

Dear Obama Campaign:

Have you seen the security video of the Benghazi attack (not so great):

Thank god we can flush these turds in a few weeks.

Sorun said...

Here's another popular culture reference: Obama has jumped the shark.

MagicalPat said...

Obama prefers to appear on entertainment shows because that is what he aspires to be. An entertainer. A celebrity. He does not like "Work".

Just imagine the things he will say and do when he is no longer constrained by the dignity of the office.

I look at Romney and I see a man who can't wait to roll up his sleeves, get his hands dirty and get a job done.

I look at Obama and I see a child who wants a passing grade just for showing up for class. Sometimes. Not every day. He wants an "A" for recess.

Anonymous said...

Please. Colbert let Joe Biden "serve" troops on his show to generate positive publicity for Affirmative Action's administration.

Stewart is just doing what he has always done: cheap propaganda for the left wing of the Demonrat party.

Bob Ellison said...

The Professor wrote above: "The bright side is that young people will learn sooner, rather than later, that government is incompetent at most things. Not all, but most."

This reminds me of the Roe Effect conjecture.

Consider: as the population ages, and fewer voters have children, the average voter will be older, wiser, and more conservative. The conservative wave grows as a result.

Anonymous said...

Some years ago now Neil Postman argued that entertainment values were pushing aside all other values in American culture. Perhaps he was right. Maybe that's why some people actually think Jon Stewart should be our president. He's funny, right?

Bruce Hayden said...

I look at Obama and I see a child who wants a passing grade just for showing up for class. Sometimes. Not every day. He wants an "A" for recess.

But, keep in mind that he also likes the perks of the office. He has the big house, a lot of servants, two private 747s, a private band to play his tribute song, a private resort, etc. Plus, he gets go hang around with the beautiful people, and, indeed, they dream about being invited to join him in his big house with all the servants.

And, all he needs to do is campaign every 4 years for a bit, and then play golf, a little hoops, sleep in, etc., for the next 3 years. Maybe one or two meetings a day. Nothing too strenuous. What is there not to love?

john said...

Little or no campaign funds were used for this appearance. I think it's just saving some money as well as gaining access to a large audience.

exhelodrvr1 said...

They actually are lightweights. It's hard for someone to indefinitely hide their true nature - you're seeing now what a lot of us saw in 2008.

edutcher said...

Remember, they're counting on low-information voters.

Curious George said...

Dear Obama Campaign:

Have you seen the security video of the Benghazi attack (not so great):


Or the drone video of the 6 hour siege.

Anonymous said...

Of-course, I forgot to mention in my posting, 10/21/12 8:46 AM.

POTUS Obama is a SCHOLAR. No one can dispute it. He is an EXPERT in every-thing he puts his mind to - speech, policy, etc. No one can dispute it. He himself has said that.

SO, how could I not vote for him? It is no brainer to support his DESTINY to be our re-elected POTUS.

Anonymous said...

Any insights in how I can meet-up or hook-up with Stephanie Cutter? It is vital for me to have a SO who is so political loyal to the POTUS that in our history that there has never been any-one like it. I love politics, 24/7, 365. I need this set-up badly. Your help will be most appreciated.
Cheers,
AKB

Anonymous said...

Lots of language issues these days, it seems: the vague antecedent of the second presidential debate (anaphora, English grammar), Obama's echo utterance of Stewart's term "optimal," with an added misstep (conversation analysis), and, today, Ann's discomfort being the implied reader of an Obama-staff email (reader response criticism).

wyo sis said...

Cabaret syndrome?
Fiddle while Rome burns?

Carnifex said...

Bread and circuses, Ann(to use the presidential robo-mail vernacular)

Don't Throw Things Dammit! said...

So this is the Obama campaign focusing in like a laser on the remaining undecided voters.

How is that working out for you Ann? Are you still perched precariously on that fence?

KCFleming said...

This what Biden's inappropriate laughter looks like in an email.

Wince said...

Did Titus and America's Politico mate and spawn Ali Karim Bey?

wyo sis said...

Pogo
That made me laugh out loud and wake up my husband.

Derve Swanson said...

Lightweight is in.

Remember how you embraced american idol and all those junior high tv shows when you were getting the blog going?

You found appealing to a lower common denominator improved your visibility. They're hitching the bandwagon to Gangnam; you hitched yours to cheap tv shows.

Same strategy.

clint said...

Big Bird and Binders may have flopped, but Romney's in trouble now. Obama's found another major issue to propel him to victory: Biden's swimsuit.

If anyone watched it... did the President actually lay out a second term agenda?

Derve Swanson said...

"So this is the Obama campaign focusing in like a laser on the remaining undecided voters.

How is that working out for you Ann? Are you still perched precariously on that fence?"

She's married now.
In tight economic times, women tend to look for a man to secure them. No one here can deny she's gotten more... level-headed since getting married the second time.

(Remember her account of her post 9-11 walking across campus thinking all the buildings would come tumbling down? That doesn't happen when you've got some internal sense of security and can put things in context. If you try it, your husband is likely to tell you you're being irrational.)

KCFleming said...

@wyo sis

My apologies. But I blame Bush.

Michael K said...

I think they know they have lost the people who watch cable news except MSNBC, and even many of them. What is left to reach are the low information voters who watch Comedy Channel and think it is news.

I asked my 22 year old daughter, who is a college student and who does not sound like a student of the news, about Benghazi. She knew about the ambassador and that it was in Libya but did not recognize Benghazi as a place. She is in Tucson and lives with kids her age. The U of A is a big Obama support zone. I think even the low information voters are figuring it out.

Anonymous said...

That email will impress the geniuses who told Jimmy Fallon that Michelle clearly won the First Lady debate.

KCFleming said...

Actually, I blame Dole and Bush, and Reagan and even Ford.
Whatever, it ain't Obama's fault.


What were we talking about again?

Anonymous said...

Speaking of trivial fluff, Sandra Fluke is on the campaign trail for Obama. She drew a grand total of 10 people outside of a supermarket in Reno:

http://www.rgj.com/article/20121020/NEWS19/310200053/Fluke-takes-center-stage-Reno

Someone's 15 minutes are nearly up.

purplepenquin said...

I'm still amazed that the Romney/Ryan team aren't sending out any emails this election cycle....or, if they are, that they are totally ignoring one of the top conservative blogs in the country.

Are they simply out of touch with modern tech, or don't they have any idea who the conservative bloggers are? Either way makes 'em seem out-of-touch...

Derve Swanson said...

I heard she drew only 2 people: the others were Obama people and local media covering her event.

This from the comments section of a woman who attended.

Darrell said...

You assume a lot, Penguin.
Perhaps it's because you know so little.

Derve Swanson said...

" if they are, that they are totally ignoring one of the top conservative blogs in the country."


??
Wise strategy. This is not a consistent conservative blog, and no doubt would leverage such emails for it's own advantage.

Lots on here the Romney campaign would not want to be associated with. They go for the basic issues, not splashing in the (sometimes) shallow waters. Hth.

Anonymous said...

Obama the boyfriend's coming back around your house, and he's getting desperate. Really desperate.



Rusty said...

madAsHell said...
Why do you people want to seem like such lightweights?


Because they are.
Look at the people here who defend them. Incurious,unserious,and unkind.

Strelnikov said...

They didn't start the e-mail with "Heeeeyyyy Sexy Lady"?

Anonymous said...

Why don't more women want to be up on the Obama float with Sandra Fluke giving out condoms, and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz deflecting the exact number condoms she's giving out?

Obama's twenty-something reelection team via Valerie Jarrett are telling him he's solid with 16-32 white, urban/surburban female vote (Daily Show crowd).

What could be going wrong?

Derve Swanson said...

"What could be going wrong?"

He's aging and they're moving on to a new boyfriend crush?

purplepenquin said...

Perhaps it's because you know so little.

The little that I know about this particular issue is that our hostess says she has never gotten an email from the Romney/Ryan team.

What more do you know about it?

Bayoneteer said...

Obama's social media operation have tailored the message to the targeted audience. Althouse bitches about it but look at the stuff she posts about how the bi-coastal Beautiful People all look so knarly any more. The prof is a lawyer, lives in deep blue Madison, WI, and is female. No wonder she gets that kind of message sent to her. If she were a single mom living in PA or FL she'd likely get a message tailored for that demographic. I can't tell if Althouse is too cynical or not cynical enough.

Darrell said...

Why do you doubt your Hostess?
Then leap to a charge of incompetency with respect to the Romney campaign. I would think someone would have clued the Obama people in on their emails to AA and the negative attention they are getting here. Is that just incompetence? Or stupidity as well?

Anonymous said...

His base is really the public sentiment, on say, the Oprah show or The View. Women. Healing. The Children. Coming together, bridging the racial divide, and talking about Self-help and the latest novel.

The high and low-brow daytime crowd. Julia seems to be how he envisions women.

He's got most black folks, but not all. He's got many hispanics but it's contingent on how many goodies he can give out, and about what he promises them but ultimately can't deliver given economic reality and (gov't jobs, the 'middle class' etc.). He's got liberal elite (media, dying print, many academics, Hollywood).

Of course, how politics actually works is another matter.

More broadly, maybe our politics is promising things it can't deliver, a return to some former greatness, which may be why so many are paying attention to it, enflaming the kinds of passions politics engenders.

Bush-Clinton-Clinton-Another Bush-Instead of another Clinton...Obama-

This may be pushing us toward a very large generational divide as well.

Anonymous said...

No, Ann, you're not young but certainly you know that a not-insignificant number of your fellow boomers are determined to maintain their hipness onto death.

A couple of years ago, I saw a drunk, aging hippie with a long gray ponytail blissfully dancing on a picnic table at the Brady Street festival in Milwaukee. He fell off the picnic table and screamed, "My hip! My hip!" An ambulance was called.

This email is also aimed at boomers who still think they look cool, rather than pathetic when they dance on picnic tables.

purplepenquin said...

Why do you doubt your Hostess?

Doubt her? I'm taking her at her word when she says she has yet to receive any emails from the GOP-camp. Do you think she is lying?

I also beleive this advertising service when they claim Althouse is one of the top conservative voices in our country. Do you think they are lying?

I would think someone would have clued the Obama people in on their emails to AA and the negative attention they are getting here

True dat.

I would also think that if our hostess was as annoyed by the emails as she claims she is that she would have hit the "unsubscribe" link a long time ago.

But obviously she isn't that bothered by 'em, and instead finds them useful for her own personal fundraising...



...then again, given how it took her a "long time" to figure out this site then perhaps she simply hasn't been able to locate that unsubscribe link at the bottom of the emails yet.

*shrug*

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

It's all about the Obamas. We tax payers have spent more on Mr. and Mrs. Obama than any other president. They have a sweet gig. Don't you care about the Obamas?

What matters most - worshipping dear leader. Isn't he cool?

Lyssa said...

PurplePenquin: I'm still amazed that the Romney/Ryan team aren't sending out any emails this election cycle

I get an amazing amount of email from the Romney campaign (although I was once on Obama's list, they seem to have dropped me for some reason before this election really got started). I get an amazing amount of email from them, at least 5-6 per day, I'd say. 90% are deleted, unread, though the ones that I have read have never been nearly as, well, let us say, interesting, as the Obama ones Althouse quotes.

Darrell said...

So you don't want me to believe my eyes? Instead you want me to believe that Althouse is one of the leading conservative voices in the country? And you say this with a straight face because some other wankers said it?

And that is what make you a lying sack of shit, one of the disingenuous lefties that crap here daily. No wonder you can't influence anyone who stops by except others of your ilk.

purplepenquin said...

So you don't want me to believe my eyes? Instead you want me to believe that Althouse is one of the leading conservative voices in the country?

???

Your eyes tell you that this site isn't one of the top Conservative blogs? Or do your eyes tell you that Ann has actually received emails from the GOP?

Please clarify...thanks.

And you say this with a straight face because some other wankers said it?

???

If you click on the link then you'll see that it is an advertising service, rather than just some "wanker", that Althouse uses who is saying this site is one of the top conservative voices in America.

Do you think they are being dishonest when making their claims? If so, should folks who have bought advertising under that premise be allowed a refund?


And that is what make you a lying sack of shit, one of the disingenuous lefties that crap here daily. No wonder you can't influence anyone who stops by except others of your ilk.

Whoa! That sure escalated quickly.

Thanks for sharing...it has been very insightful.

Darrell said...

Sure. Play the fool now.
Althouse is a left-leaning independent thinker--one who is intellectually honest. One who doesn't check in with the Democrat Politburo every morning to get her talking points--like all the Lefty Blogs do. And one who will call Obama a clown when he acts like a clown--not make endless excuses and spin to retain control like the others do. All this sets her apart from the crowd and explains why Lefties don't want to claim her--because they can't control her. She is the biggest thing they fear--a loose cannon--one who will tell the truth as she sees it. All this makes Althouse unique. Conservatives come here because she has created a place where all topics are discussed and everyone gets to speak their piece without censure from the management.

You--pp--come here to live up to your name and push some talking points and leftist agenda. Your
shtick (like many other Lefties that drop by) generally involves criticizing the Hostess, implying some sort of dishonesty on her part, challenging her choice of topics. You long for the day when the NYT set the agenda for topics discussed.

Did I get it about right?

Michael said...

I hope that after this administration folds its tent and goes home that we can resume adult behavior in the President. No more "The view" no more "The daily show". Press conferences. No permanent campaign.

Michael said...

PurpleP: The emails I receive from the Romney campaign are traditional requests for contributions and reminders that without a change in leadership we are in a lot of trouble. no kowtowing to hipness, no bullshit

Bodacious said...

When O first went on the Tonight Show (1st sitting Pres to do such a thing), I knew it was setting a bad precedent. But I never how imagined just how bad it really was,and how cheapened the office of POTUS could be in just one term. Since then O's done multiple Tonight Show appearances, multiple Daily Shows, multiple Letterman shows, Fallon, Oprah, The View ... what have I missed? Oh yeah, he did that live webchat recently on Reddit, the site that hosts kiddie porn and 'creepshots.' Classy, prez. This week he'll be hawking "O" logo merch on QVC, and I hear there's a deal in the works for O to ride shotgun on the Bangbus the Friday before the election. He's cool.

purplepenquin said...

Althouse is a left-leaning independent thinker

So you say.

Meanwhile, she is generating revenue due to this blog being branded as one of the top conservative voices in the country.

*shrug*

One who doesn't check in with the Democrat Politburo every morning to get her talking points--like all the Lefty Blogs do.

Do all the lefty blogs REALLY check in with the Dems every morning, or are you just a "lying sack of shit" when you say that?

*rolls eyes*

Comments like this make it hard to take you seriously. You're either deluded by your zealotry or just another moby trying to make the right look deranged.

Did I get it about right?

Nope, your lil' meltdown was way off base.

Everything from your constant attempt to label me as a lefty to the way you completely ignored the question about if advertisers are due a refund was more wrong than right.

You also completely ignore the fact that she had to sign up in order to be part of the "Conservative Blog Ad Network"...it ain't as if they are selling advertising on this site without her permission.

If I truly am a "lying sack of shit" for saying Althouse is a conservative blog, then what is she for making money by being labeled as a conservative blog?

Darrell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Darrell said...

We--the conservatives commenters here--are the advertisers target market. Are all Lefties stupid when it comes to economics/business? Or are you especially so? No advertiser is due a refund because they reached a genuine conservative audience. Does logic confuse you? Do you need to go saok your head? Althouse waves the conservative label. She would be liable for what an ad group says, something she never said herself? That adds "law" to your areas of ignorance. I suspect there are many more. So now you are trying to add shouting "fraud" to your shtick? I wouldn't want you darkening my doorstep. Luckily the Hostess sees thing differently than I.

purplepenquin said...

Still can't tell if Darryl is serious or just trollin'

Darrell said...

Well since you cannot reproduce my name correctly when it appears each time I comment, I suspect you have bigger problems.

purplepenquin said...

Well since you cannot reproduce my name correctly when it appears each time I comment, I suspect you have bigger problems.


LOL.

Seeing how you also failed to reproduce my name correctly when you attempted to use it, (10:19am) it seems that you are just trollin'


Seriously...Althouse is generating revenue (NTTAWWT, of course!) by branding this website as a conservative one, so how can you honestly call me a lying sack of shit for saying the same thing without saying it about her and the advertising company that represents her?

Damon said...

The email is calculated to be 'relatable.' In this age of A/B testing (comparing response rates for various emails) they have determined that apparent authenticity works. It is tried and true email marketing copy-writing (AKA - SPAM techniques).

Darrell said...

Penguin's not your name? Like in The Fuck You Penguin Blog? Lots of people call you Penguin. Me included. So you're purple. Get over it.

Provide your proof that she brands this blog as conservative, not the ad people that approached her and offered her an ad deal for her blog. And what's your stupid point anyway? You should go to Kos and the DU and voice your complaints there. Maybe you can organize a protest in Madison. If you're lucky, you can get Sandra Fluke to headline it. That'll guarantee two people besides the Obama handlers and press they bring.

purplepenquin said...

Penguin's not your name?

Nope, the shorter version of my nickname is "Penquin"

And yes, many folks outside of BlogWorld do call me that.

Like in The Fuck You Penguin Blog?

Nope, that site ain't me. Gotta use my full name, spelled correctly, to get to my site.

Lots of people call you Penguin

Yup, lots of people fail to pay attention to detail.

Ain't a big deal, really...just found it funny how you had to point out I misspelled your name when you had already done the same thing with mine.

You should go to Kos and the DU and voice your complaints there. Maybe you can organize a protest in Madison. If you're lucky, you can get Sandra Fluke to headline it. That'll guarantee two people besides the Obama handlers and press they bring.

???

I have no idea what you're babbling about now. What exactly is it that I am supposed to be protesting? I ain't the one who says Ann is wrong to brand this blog as a conservative one, 'cause I agree that is exactly what it is.

I just find it weird that the Romney/Ryan team (or all the GOP for that matter) completely ignores Althouse when it comes to sending out emails, even tho this blog is considered one of the leading conservative voices in America.

purplepenquin said...

PS:

Provide your proof that she brands this blog as conservative, not the ad people that approached her and offered her an ad deal for her blog

Did she accept their offer or are they selling ads on this site without her permission?

(Are you assuming they approached her, or are you aware of the inside wheeling&dealings in regards to this blog?)

ken in tx said...

Does no one else remember that Nixon was on 'Laugh In' and said “Sock it to me.” I never heard anyone say he was a lightweight.

Darrell said...

My, you are clever puple penquin.
I just thought you couldn't spell it right, being a bird and all. You are just as stupid as I thought.

What is your point about her blog and advertisers. And how is any of that your business. No one comes to your blog intentionally. Is that why you're always so pissy?
You hit AA's tip jar for giving you free publicity. But you won't, will you? Fucking Lefties.

Bodacious said...

@ken in sc, when Nixon did 'Laugh In' he was a candidate (68 race). When Clinton did Arsenio and when BushJr. did Letterman, they also were still candidates. And most recent presidents have made such appearances AFTER leaving office. But AFAIK, Obamba is the first to appear on entertainment programs as a "celebrity guest" while actually serving as POTUS.

Balfegor said...

re: purplepenguin:

I'm still amazed that the Romney/Ryan team aren't sending out any emails this election cycle....or, if they are, that they are totally ignoring one of the top conservative blogs in the country.

Yeah, they're sending out emails. All the time. They're kind of annoying, actually.

What I find more amusing is that the Obama campaign/Organizing for America has reached out to me multiple times. I got a call from them this morning and a call yesterday. I'd received calls from them a week or two ago, and first received calls longer ago than that. I don't know how they got my phone number, although I suspect they think I'm a potentially sympathetic voter since I sent Sen. Webb's office a few positive emails.

First call I received, I was totally up front with them that I was not going to vote for the President. But they still try. Second call, they asked whether I would be interested in volunteering with them on election day, which seems kind of stupid of them, but oh well. Most recent call, I told them again I'm not supporting the President (it was their first question). That sort of deflated the woman who was calling, and she finished with a spiel about listening to what the candidates have to say.

Anonymous said...

Hey, you voted for him, not me.

The campaign has obviously done exhausted market research and that's what they have decided will work with their target audience.

I like lightweight stuff, in its proper place - which is not the presidency.

I like coolness in pop culture, but I loathe cool presidents. Paraphrasing PJ O'Rourke, I want a cranky, boring guy who is going to watch our money and keep people on the up and up.

I don't want a president that Hollywood actually likes. That's a bad sign.

Anonymous said...

exhaustive.

(When is blogger going to get a post-edit function?)