Althouse: "Barack Obama’s decision to base his re-election campaign outside of Washington seems to be working pretty darn well."

May 7, 2012

"Barack Obama’s decision to base his re-election campaign outside of Washington seems to be working pretty darn well."

"The campaign’s massive, high-rise headquarters in Chicago’s Loop achieves a fine balance between 2008’s hip-casual dorm room (there’s a Ping-Pong table and cheeky homemade signage) and 2012’s systematized Death Star (there are more employees than I have ever seen in a political campaign, with work stations subdivided as ever more employees are added). The place hums from early morning until late at night, designed for maximum efficiency and manifest focus."

This, in Time Magazine, by Mark Halperin, is a particularly silly example of press love for Obama.

Hip-casual dorm room... cheeky homemade signage... systematized Death Star... so embarrassing. Halperin sounds like the new, overeager intern.

84 comments:

Christopher in MA said...: Not to mention the hip-casual mouthwash cabinet and the cheeky sink where they rinse and spit after fellating The One.; 5/7/12, 12:38 PM
Palladian said...: The last 3.5 years have been the hip-casual dorm room presidency.; 5/7/12, 12:46 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: It would have made more sense to outsource the campaign to China.; 5/7/12, 12:46 PM
TosaGuy said...: And virtually all white; 5/7/12, 12:52 PM
Known Unknown said...: How can he interview anyone with a metaphorical dick in his mouth?; 5/7/12, 12:57 PM
Known Unknown said...: Also, when I think of tackling the major issues facing this country, it will be cute to see it happen with cheeky homemade signage.; 5/7/12, 12:59 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Helperin sounds like the new, overeager intern.

Still hasn't gotten his knee-pads?; 5/7/12, 1:00 PM
cubanbob said...: Hip-casual dorm room... cheeky homemade signage... systematized Death Star.

Time magazine has been a joke for over a decade. Don't they get tired of playing the fool?; 5/7/12, 1:03 PM
sakredkow said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/7/12, 1:05 PM
Carl Vero said...: Mark Halperin & Associates:The ululating sound of liberal penmen performing hysterectomy on their hysteric heart.; 5/7/12, 1:10 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: choke, gasp, spit, sputter.

My reaction to this story is ineffable.; 5/7/12, 1:10 PM
Nonapod said...: I was wondering about Time magazines circulation. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_%28magazine%29#Circulation>Wikipedia</a> their annual circulation number jumped up by 7 million in 2010. Why would that be?; 5/7/12, 1:11 PM
Anonymous said...: Time Magazine's Obama Love: Things White People Like.; 5/7/12, 1:12 PM
edutcher said...: Zero kicks it off in a half-empty auditorium and Halo Joe has to be told to shut up by Axelrod.

Oh, yeah, things are "working pretty darn well", all right.

Edward Smith said that right after he told the helmsman to pull over so they could pick up some more ice.; 5/7/12, 1:12 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: And virtually all white

Hoist upon their own petard of disparate impact racial discrimination.

The problem for getting enforcement against the Obama campaign, above and beyond any 1st Amdt. issues, is first that the enforcement apparatus is controlled by guess who? But, probably as importantly, you would need a representative plaintiff, and who would that be? I think that you would need to find some African-American who applied for a job there, didn't get it, and then sued for discrimination. Good luck with the latter.

Women might have a slightly better chance there, but, I would expect that most of them are "Julias", which is why they are working there is the first place. But, that would probably be the place to slip in a ringer, having a married middle aged woman, maybe Hispanic, with children, apply and get rejected.

Again, much fun and excitement from Obama and his campaign.; 5/7/12, 1:13 PM
Robert said...: What a dick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2-HjBI_1ag; 5/7/12, 1:19 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Casual hip is though incredibly important for the Obama campaign. One of the other big demographics that Obama won decisively in 2008 were the slacker generation, the 20 somethings who would rather have the government take care of them so that the guys can go play, and the gals can get their free birth control. And, he got that vote so decisively a lot because he was so cool, trendy, and hip. The first post-racial candidate, blah, blah, blah.

Now, he is facing the problem that these young adults have been hurt the most by the Dems economic programs that so deepened and broadened the recession, and meanwhile the smarter ones are now realizing that this was done on their dime - by borrowing money to pay for it that this generation, as well as their children, if any, will have to pay back.

But, maybe, if the Obama campaign can regain its hip and fashionable allure, it can make a lot of these young adults forget what Obama actually did for them. Or, more accurately, did to them.; 5/7/12, 1:21 PM
edutcher said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/7/12, 1:24 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Halperin's attempt at facetime.; 5/7/12, 1:24 PM
rehajm said...: and 2012’s systematized Death Star

You just know they blew the budget on a scary looking bridge to show to the press and ignored the memo to shore up that exhaust vent flaw...; 5/7/12, 1:24 PM
edutcher said...: Consider something else:

Breitbart has a piece detailing the faux pas of the McCain campaign, noting that they were ahead until the crash. Add to that another piece (can't remember whose) saying the re-election campaign is looking like an effort more typical of that for a Chicago alderman's seat - that is, the Axelrod machine is only geared for a local candidacy and wasn't as good last time as it may have looked, it lucked out because of circumstances.

I submit we're seeing proof of that.

Much like the $1 Bil they were supposed to have to work with, but don't.

It's going to be interesting to see if their game improves, particularly if the economy continues to decay.; 5/7/12, 1:27 PM
Scott M said...: "All death spheres have one vulnerable opening!"; 5/7/12, 1:28 PM
Brian Brown said...: Yes, it is working so well!

Obama is cool, smart, popular and his critics are racist!

Oh, and Romney is ahead by 10 with Independents. But no matter, Obama is awesome!; 5/7/12, 1:42 PM
Ipso Fatso said...: Obama is my god, Obama is my soul, Obama is my Julia and Althouse will still vote for him.; 5/7/12, 1:45 PM
damikesc said...: Sad that the love of Althouse and Meade is so brutally trumped by the love of the press for Obama.

I remember last week Chris Matthews said Romney is "dangerous" because he is unlikely to watch news that opposes his views...like MSNBC. Not watching MSNBC, of course, makes Romney part of the 99% who don't watch that channel.

We know who Obama reads and watches. Can Tingles provide a source who actually is critical of him regularly?; 5/7/12, 1:51 PM
paul a'barge said...: Mark Halperin is Obama's whore.; 5/7/12, 1:53 PM
edutcher said...: According to Gallup (registered voters), they're tied in the 10 swing states and Politico has them dead even nationally.

Yeah, this is going just fine.; 5/7/12, 1:54 PM
sakredkow said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/7/12, 1:55 PM
Unknown said...: And it's fully encased in its own cocoon.; 5/7/12, 2:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Interesting that so many comments referred to oral sex. Somehow I was thinking that receptive anal intercourse was more apt. I'm puzzled.; 5/7/12, 2:13 PM
sakredkow said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/7/12, 2:14 PM
Tim said...: EMD said...

"How can he interview anyone with a metaphorical dick in his mouth?"

Nina Burleigh is PISSED.; 5/7/12, 2:19 PM
ricpic said...: Chicago loop, Chicago loop,
Wherein the vultures circle;
Let's liberate ourselves from Urkel
And fly his filthy coop.; 5/7/12, 2:24 PM
Alex said...: Notice the point of these Obama threads is to rile up the Althouse hillbillies into a froth. It's really brilliant as it's a sure way to gin up the user hits and get more ad dollars!

Obama rules you.; 5/7/12, 2:24 PM
Tim said...: gutless said...

"Interesting that so many comments referred to oral sex. Somehow I was thinking that receptive anal intercourse was more apt. I'm puzzled."

It's quicker when no one has to drop trou...and easier to accomplish the goal without drawing too much attention to oneself.

When catching his breath, Helperin is really trying to tell big-money contributors, "Obama is going to get re-elected, so give now to buy protection, before it's too late."; 5/7/12, 2:25 PM
Michael K said...: "Breitbart has a piece detailing the faux pas of the McCain campaign, noting that they were ahead until the crash. "

I really thought McCain was going to win until September when the market crashed. After the, no Republican could have won. The TARP bailout, while it might have done some good, could not be explained and doomed McCain,; 5/7/12, 2:38 PM
Gene said...: The media is so far in the tank for Obama I hate to wake up in the morning and open the LA Times. But when anyone points out their bias they claim that it doesn't affect their news coverage in any way.

I don't know who they think they're fooling. Liberals would suffer a cerebral hemorrhage if you tried to convince them that a newsroom of Tea Party members only was completely impartial. But that's the line they try to feed us.

They don't even try to hide their bias. When Obama walked into the press room at the 2008 Democratic convention they all stood up and cheered. Right. They were so unbiased they just had to cheer.; 5/7/12, 2:41 PM
Richard Dolan said...: "This, in Time Magazine, by Mark Helperin is a particularly silly example of press love for Obama."

Yes. And, putting this in context, it bearns noting that Helperin passes for one of the more objective pundits in the MSM.

In past elections, there were claims that the bias in favor of the Dem candidate was worth quite a bit at the ballot box. The change over the last 10 years, due almost entirely to the development of internet-based punditry as well as Fox as an alternative, is that the standard leftward bias of the MSM is no longer of much electorial significance.

That's the kind of hope 'n change you can believe in.; 5/7/12, 2:57 PM
Comanche Voter said...: Yep Helperin is doing the full Lewinsky here.; 5/7/12, 3:09 PM
harrogate said...: Oh for heaven's sake.

No wait, I mean..... How dare any news outlet at all release anything that suggests there might be some enthusiasm, or lots of support for Obama! Or that the campaign might be innovative! The mere presence of such suggestions vindicates Mark Levin to the nines!; 5/7/12, 3:11 PM
Carl Vero said...: phx at 2:14 pm:
"The ululating sound of liberal penmen performing hysterectomy on their hysteric heart encased in its own cocoon"!

I knew there had to be a reason for this sterile performance. However, hysterectomy differs from fellatio, or the latter would indeed be a bloody affair that would render the One a lame duck.; 5/7/12, 3:12 PM
gadfly said...: How about a "hip-causal dorm room" with a picture of the flag of the Castro-led Cuba regime, with Che Guevara's face superimposed on the side?

From yesteryear . . . and I truly miss Captain's Quarters. Captain Ed was better then.; 5/7/12, 3:21 PM
Barry said...: Not trying to be pendantic, but it's "Halperin", and not Mark "Helprin" who is a very different animal.

I make the mistake myself after having read Helprin's "Winter's Tale" in school and later his op-eds, then seeing Halperin's "reporting" in Time.; 5/7/12, 3:26 PM
Rusty said...: harrogate said...
Oh for heaven's sake.

No wait, I mean..... How dare any news outlet at all release anything that suggests there might be some enthusiasm, or lots of support for Obama! Or that the campaign might be innovative! The mere presence of such suggestions vindicates Mark Levin to the nines!

Hey. It's none of my business, but if you want to blow him too.....
Knock yourself out.; 5/7/12, 3:45 PM
Amartel said...: Deep in the massively populated bowels of the high-rise-hip-casual-dorm-room-systematized-Death-Star, America's Politico crafts another enlightening comment of maximum efficiency and manifest focus.

Forward Gutsy Call Still Opposed to Gay Marriage But Not Really Wait Til After the Election!; 5/7/12, 3:59 PM
campy said...: "Barack Obama’s decision to base his re-election campaign outside of Washington seems to be working pretty darn well ..."

"... because I don't know anyone who's not voting for him!"; 5/7/12, 4:05 PM
ndspinelli said...: Chicago wonkish:

Actually, if their offices are on Michigan Ave. then they're techically outside the loop. Wabash is the easternmost street of the loop.; 5/7/12, 4:10 PM
harrogate said...: Rusty, you're so right. It isn't possible to find anything to praise about him, anything at all, unless you are interested in blowing him.

Lots of obsession with that particular metaphor on this thread btw. As AA might say, that's "so interesting."; 5/7/12, 4:24 PM
Alex said...: America's Politico crafts another enlightening comment of maximum efficiency and manifest focus.

I have to admire his dedication and focus. Imagine AP has a commissar with the power of life & death over the rest of us who were less focused during this trying time.; 5/7/12, 4:32 PM
Mick said...: And you participate, by not bringing attention to Obama's ineligibility "law prof". History will look poorly on your cowardly ilk.; 5/7/12, 4:34 PM
Anonymous said...: harrogate said...

".... It isn't possible to find anything to praise about him, anything at all, unless you are interested in blowing him..."

You taught us that 'criticism is the highest form of patriotism' during the Bush administration. We learned the lesson well.; 5/7/12, 4:39 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Sorry about misspelling Halperin's name. Corrected.; 5/7/12, 4:40 PM
Alex said...: The bottom line - Obama's cool and you're not. Just ask Anne Hathaway.; 5/7/12, 4:41 PM
harrogate said...: Lars, I'd forgotten all those discussions I had with you during the Bush Administration. Those were good times, you got to know me so well.; 5/7/12, 4:42 PM
Alex said...: What I think we need is a series of articles on the impact of Hollywood celebrity culture on politics. I wonder how many of the 18-30 crowd is largely influenced by these actors.; 5/7/12, 4:45 PM
Seven Machos said...: Mick! Holy shit! How is your lawsuit going down there in Florida? Voeltz v. Obama, I think it is.

You winning?; 5/7/12, 4:57 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: I really thought McCain was going to win until September when the market crashed. After the, no Republican could have won. The TARP bailout, while it might have done some good, could not be explained and doomed McCain,

I think that if any Republican could have won, it would have been Romney, at that point, because he is much more likely to have actually understood what was going on. McCain suspended his campaign, tried to work a quick solution, and ended up crashing. Obama said nothing, just looking sage and intelligent, despite likely knowing less than McCain. And won.

Imagine someone actually understanding what was going on, and explaining it to everyone. And, maybe opposing TARP.

Of course, we will never know.; 5/7/12, 5:44 PM
Seven Machos said...: TARP worked. It's the only thing that worked.; 5/7/12, 5:49 PM
Seven Machos said...: Also, Althouse, your alleged fix of the post now has two different spellings. I am thoroughly confused.; 5/7/12, 5:53 PM
Automatic_Wing said...: Barry's so dreamy. He killed Bin Laden, too, ya know.; 5/7/12, 5:55 PM
pm317 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/7/12, 5:56 PM
pm317 said...: Will they allow women in BUrkas to work there? They would not allow a woman in Black Burka in their Richmond, VA rally.
see the video at the link.
BTW, in Northern VA, in Tysons Mall, I see a lot of new middle-eastern immigrants in black burkas, covered head to toe and I also see a lot of women in head scarves. So what if this woman in burka at the rally was genuinely an attendee from Norther VA, wanting to see Obama?; 5/7/12, 5:57 PM
Quaestor said...: Nonapod wrote:
According to [Wikipedia] their (Time Magazine's) annual circulation number jumped up by 7 million in 2010. Why would that be?

Two possibilities:

1) Desperate library admins (99% irredentist liberal) ordering ten additional monthly copies for the shelves, lounge tables, etc. in hope of diluting the Tea Party ground swell with some good old-fashioned propaganda.

2) Time staffers on editing the Wiki page.; 5/7/12, 6:07 PM
Seeing Red said...: --and 2012’s systematized Death Star--

That blew up in the end.; 5/7/12, 6:08 PM
David said...: I was particularly struck by this little gem of projection:

"First, in the view of the Obamans, Romney is still a weak candidate. His stump skills continue to be uneven at best, with speeches plagued by awkward jargon and passionless rhetoric."

This is how a lot of people see Obama.; 5/7/12, 6:16 PM
Seeing Red said...: Prof. Glenn has been barely gone for 24 hours and the kids already broke Instapundit?

wv: ikdoc spermiso; 5/7/12, 6:16 PM
Quaestor said...: Seven Machos wrote:
I am thoroughly confused.

Mark Helprin (two syllables, emphasis on the first) is a writer first and foremost, an accomplished novelist, essayist and a conservative.

Maqrk Helperin (three syllables, emphasis on the first, secondary on the second) is a twerp, a Democratic hack with a mast head position at Time, which should alert one to the integrity of Time (Henry Luce must have augered his way twelve plots over, he's done so much grave spinning lately.) Besides being a twerp and a shameless hack, he's a abysmal writer -- formulaic, hackneyed and trivial. He's employed as a political commentator, yet his commentary is stylistically hardly above middle-school lunchroom gossip.; 5/7/12, 6:21 PM
Michael Haz said...: Mitt Romney's decision to base his presidential campaign out of Boston seems to be working pretty darn well.; 5/7/12, 6:21 PM
Quaestor said...: Oops, not "Maqrk" just Mark. Damned fingers! (That's pronounced dam-NED to keep the meter, damn it! As in dam-NED whale!); 5/7/12, 6:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Helperin is not Obama's whore, whores get paid. Helperin is Obama's slut. Can we use that word anymore?; 5/7/12, 6:26 PM
JimMuy said...: Did he mention they can't seem to find any qualified black people to work in his headquarters?
Funny that, how white the whole Obama re-election team is.; 5/7/12, 6:33 PM
Quaestor said...: Hilary Rosen, SLUT.

Sandra Fluke, SLUT (or a fish related to the flounder and halibut)

Mark Helperin, SLUT

Yeah, that works.; 5/7/12, 6:34 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: Most of the media are over eager interns.; 5/7/12, 6:39 PM
alan markus said...: According to [Wikipedia] their (Time Magazine's) annual circulation number jumped up by 7 million in 2010. Why would that be?

Has to be a mistake on the Wikipedia chart. According to this, 2011 circulation was 3,298,390; down -0.5% from 2010 circulation of 3,314,946.

Magazines: By the Numbers

The Wikipedia page does mention a deal between TIME & Apple where buyers of IPads were going to get a free digital subscription - wonder if that was blended into the "paid circulation" chart.; 5/7/12, 6:57 PM
Carnifex said...: I don't know, it sounds like our esteemed hostess and Allie Oop do sometimes. Then they say it's all a lark.

I'm not going to give Time any hits. 'Eff 'em.

As far as the other liberals, except for C4, the sycophancy is worse.

@harrogate

tell us jackanapes, what success has zero had without killing someone? Because, we know how you feel about war. You hate it when it's a R, but love it when it's a D...don't you?; 5/7/12, 7:14 PM
Mark said...: My question is, did Halperin keep the dress?; 5/7/12, 7:38 PM
MadisonMan said...: Journalism school assignment: Rewrite the article, same facts, Republican candidate. Would the same adjectives be used?; 5/7/12, 7:44 PM
yashu said...: I have to agree that, strictly speaking, one can term Halperin Obama's slut, not his whore.

In fact, even during the 2008 campaign and throughout his presidency, Obama has notoriously treated the press like shit. Treated them with more contempt than any POTUS I can remember. O doesn't compensate or reward his MSM bootlickers for their services: but he does punish (and threaten to punish) them if they get out of line.

On a very rare occasion even his sluts will stand up to him (e.g. when O intended to exclude FOX from the WH press conference, even the NYT objected). But that's very rare. Usually his sluts just take it, whatever it is, eager to please and serve.; 5/7/12, 7:46 PM
garage mahal said...: I have to agree that, strictly speaking, one can term Halperin Obama's slut, not his whore.

Oh please. Halperin is a conventional wisdom D+ beltway douchebag who normally nags Democrats that they need to be more like John McCain. Actually, he serves your purposes beautifully .; 5/7/12, 8:52 PM
Mark said...: "Halperin is a conventional wisdom D+ beltway douchebag who normally nags Democrats that they need to be more like John McCain."

Well, McCain was the better Democrat in 2008.; 5/7/12, 9:11 PM
Nora said...: from the article: "... [Romney's] tenure as head of Bain Capital and his term as governor of Massachusetts conceal vulnerabilities yet to be unveiled. “No one’s ever looked at Romney’s record, and there’s a lot there,” said one senior [Obama] campaign official. “He developed this set of values at Bain about what the economy is all about … Whatever it took to make money … He took that same philosophy to Massachusetts [as governor].”

Gee, and Obama campaign thinks this compares badly to Obama's record of spending money he does not have? Geniuses.; 5/8/12, 12:23 AM
harrogate said...: "Journalism school assignment: Rewrite the article, same facts, Republican candidate. Would the same adjectives be used?"

Not a bad assignment. Let's add a second. Write a blog post filled with comments, in response to an article that gives credit to Romney and his campaign. Would the same adjectives, same comments appear?; 5/8/12, 6:29 AM
George said...: Halperin observes confidence among 20 year old Obama staffers and concludes his campaign is in good shape.

Hm. Ok.; 5/8/12, 7:18 AM
Known Unknown said...: Sorry about misspelling Halperin's name. Corrected.

I thought it a semi-clever mashup of Halperin and "help", like that's what he's trying to do with this reportage.; 5/8/12, 9:12 AM