WBLG In Cinncinati
Two great non-starters…
First, if anyone at EW is really whining about the Harry Potter date move, they should line up with Moriarty in the shut-the-fuck-you-whinny-spoiled-brat line. The only thing more stupid than EW whining is media pretending it matters… or buying into the bull that EW and WB don’t have a “special” relationship… oy!!!
Thing is, like AICN boycotting Star Wars, EW could attack Potter every week from now until the bitter end and it would by cost the franchise a single greenback. Boo Hoo! The “problem” has gotten more media attention for EW than it’s generated on its own in years.
NEXT – It doesn’t matter whether McCain sat in the front row of the Obama section of the public chat the other night. And it doesn’t matter if media thinks McCain or Obama “won.” What matters is that Obama answered the questions directly and with thought and McCain stump speeched his way through an past almost every question.
The question of this election becomes clearer… does America want a thinker in the presidency or a guy who tells stories that are well off point, throwing out plattitudes, some lies, and distraction? They wanted the latter for the last two elections. They may prefer it this time. We’ll see.
Meanwhile, if McCain wins, it will be the most profoundly sad choice of my adult life of elections (this is my 7th cycle). W is nothing in comparison… because Gore and Kerry were true car wrecks as candidates. Obama can only lose to lies. Of course McCain is locked into 40% of the vote. But the rest? To push away from a candidate of ideas and sincerity based on utter crap about being too thoughtful and too smart and too popular?
Then again, on spite of endless Republican spin, McCain has not make significant incursions into Obama’s poll numbers anymore than Hillary Clinton had a way to win the nomination after losing Texas’ delegate count. But the lie can be powerful. And it is time for the left to start calling out the lies instead of cowering like a child who fears another unexpected beating.
Finally, the reality is actually one sided…
I don’t know, the W re-election still stings like a bitch. But I see what you’re saying. Maybe I just don’t want to consider it yet.
It *is* McCains “turn.” I mean, like an abused wife he let the GOP slap him around and throw his ass under the bus 8 and 4 years ago just for this chance so….he could get in.
“Obama can only lose to lies.”
It’s a bit early to be getting your excuses in order, isn’t it?
He could also just lose to being a black guy whose middle name is Hussein, that could just be sufficient.
Seriously, though, this is one of the things that had me apprehensive about Obama during the primaries: unlike Clinton, he seems to have a real apprehension and distaste for being aggressive and going negative, which McCain obviously will not have.
Wow. I come here for entertainment news, but I end up having a poltically cathartic moment reading a post that says lot of what i believe.
Thanks for that, David. You have an open invite to my dinner table anytime.
“Thing is, like AICN boycotting Star Wars, EW could attack Potter every week from now until the bitter end and it would by cost the franchise a single greenback.”
Hm, maybe. But for the record, AICN’s coverage of Star Wars *did* cost Warner and Lucas my particular “greenback”. As a lifelong Star Wars fan, I was on the fence for this one until I read the pans and in particular, Moriarty’s vitriol. Professional or not, it was enough ill will to tip me from a maybe to a no. Which I suppose, was the point of all the coverage.
I doubt I was the only SW fan to be so persuaded.
If Obama wins this election, I’ll be leaving the country. B/c if a nobody can win on a nothing campaign full of meaningless platitudes, this country has no hope for the future.
I remember reading in USA Today, I think, back in ’95 maybe, a poll that said 65% of Americans believed that in the year 2000, Jesus Christ would return to Earth to battle Satan.
2008 is like 2004 in reverse. Now the Republicans are the one’s whining about leaving the country if their Vietnam vet doesn’t win the presidency. Complete with opposite Baldwin brothers threatening to move. Astonishing.
“He could also just lose to being a black guy whose middle name is Hussein, that could just be sufficient.”
Just being black is plenty sufficient. Isn’t that right, Governor Bradley?
If electing the Onion’s “Nightmare Ticket” would get all the Baldwin brothers to move out of the country, then sign me up. Now what country should we send them to?
Meaningless platitudes? GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE. Do you have any idea how this shit works? Do you?
People want to believe. They believed with JFK. They even believed in Carter. Heck; a big part of George the Revenge’s first campaign was built around BRINGING THE COUNTRY TOGETHER. Do you remember this? Do you smart boy?
If not; then keep your dark and twisted thoughts to your Facebook page. Seriously; this country wants to believe again, and you are giving them shit for it. Which leaves me with only response: fuck you.
Do I have to be civil? Nah. I just have to be honest. So fuck you and go find a better reason than the one you currently have.
If you have to leave. Please visit a place in South America. Chavez would love a guy like you.
Oh yeah Blackcloud; if we lose three out of the four Baldwins to your silliness. YOU WILL BE THE FIRST ONE I CAME AFTER! 30 ROCK AND DIRTY SEXY MONEY MUST BE SAVED!
“Meaningless platitudes” is a scam now as it always was. Obama has detailed position papers on everything. If you disagree with the approach, okay. But “meaningless platitudes” is, in fact, a LIE… one that some people have convinced themselves is the truth.
Don’t even get me started on McCain’s pledge to kill Bin Laden… what year is this?
I’m not leaving America if Obama loses. And I am not anticipating that he will lose. But nothing is more pathetic than a man who returns to the scene of the crime done to him only to try to victimize someone else as he was victimized. That’s McCain… desperate enough to win to follow the man who destroyed his run 8 years ago with the same kind of LIES.
It’s not complicated… I am fine with having a national debate on McCain’s current take on things vs Obama’s. And no matter how false the man now is, if you agree with his politics, you should vote for him. But if you have to spin hate and lies in order to convince yourself that its okay to vote for this guy – and could McCain have been clearer about going after Roe vs Wade in his comments, not only taking the pro-life position, but also saying he would not have taken any of the liberals on the Supreme Court, again, not with any detail (like Obama offered), but purely on politics – then you have lost any integrity your vote has, even if it still counts the same.
Plus McCain said he would not have nominated three justices that, in fact, he voted to confirm (Breyer, Ginsburg, Souter).
I can’t wait to not vote and then, no matter who wins, watch absolutely nothing in my day-to-day life change because of the presidential election results.
All this energy over something that doesn’t affect most of us, not to mention my consistently ignored point that CALIFORNIANS MIGHT AS WELL SIT IT OUT, since Obama will take CA in a landslide. What, Poland or McDouche’s ONE UNCOUNTED VOTE is gonna make the difference?
Stay home and watch porn on election day.
Who cares who’s president?
I absolutely do not.
Don’t wanna vote for President? Fine. Show up at the polls anyway to vote against the gay marriage ban.
Oh, and since the D- to the Warsaw namedropped this flailing publication in his original post, I’d like to make the point that EW is a worthless pamphlet these days.
It’s like a fucking Whedon jerkfest week in and week out… no matter what’s going on in the world that week, they’ll find a way to shoehorn in some tired-ass BUFFY retrospective, not to mention all the TV critics write like the fat cat ladies on any TV spoiler site.
That Diablo Cody column oughta be grounds for rescinding her Oscar, and Liza Schwarzbaum remains the Nikki Blonsky version of Nora Ephron trying to be Pauline Kael.
That was a great paragraph. I’ll accept the Pulitzer via my MySpace, son.
And Mark Harris is like the fucking EMPEROR OF DOUCHE.
PS: Lex, I wish your above posts was one of your ‘acts’ but I think we all know it was genuine and sincere.
Lex… get the fuck out of here. If you do not understand how a president and his policy effects your life. You have had your fucking doink in your vasoline covered hands for far too long.
Everything they do effects your life on a macro and micro scale. You have to be an ignorant baffoon or totally oblivious to how small the world has become like a homie that I have, to make such a statement. It matters.
California sitting it out is easily the stupidest thing you have ever posted on this blog. California is not a certitude for anyone at this point, and without the state Obama would be screwed.
So please go back to discussing whatever actresses you find hot and the other repetitive nonsense you love sharing with us on a daily basis. The rest of us will try to have a discussion without cursing each other out. It will be hard, but I am trying. I really fucking am.
To be fair to Lex, IOI, California is indeed a dead lock for Obama, unless he actually does turn out to be a secret Muslim.
Jeff, I am sincere as can be on this issue.
I will not be voting. Unless Paris Hilton or Daniel Fucking Plainview runs for office, there is no candidate I can get behind.
And Obama should NOT wear that skin-tight windbreaker (last seen in his Georgia press conference). In general, that is one guy who NEEDS to wear a suit, or he looks weak, wimpy and ineffectual.
I would vote for a third term of Bush, however, since he GAVE ME 600 DOLLARS, which neither current candidate is likely to do.
600 BUCKS! Fuck yeah!
I know you’re sincere. I believe it.
And the trade-off is, you should be ashamed of yourself. But thanks for being honest.
Jeff, are you familiar with George Carlin’s brilliant rant about (not) voting?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u6lCBnRoHQ
“If Obama wins this election, I’ll be leaving the country. B/c if a nobody can win on a nothing campaign full of meaningless platitudes, this country has no hope for the future.”
And George Bush is a somebody?
“First, if anyone at EW is really whining about the Harry Potter date move, they should line up with Moriarty in the shut-the-fuck-you-whinny-spoiled-brat line.” This cracks me up to no fucking end. I just wanted to add this just because it seems prudent. Seriously though; moving HP out of November is fucking stupid. Warners are looking to capitalize on a date and time that only worked for the Bat because IT’S THE BATMAN.
They released Harry Potter on the BAT date a year before, and it barely did anything compared to the Bat. It did solid numbers, but does anyone really see Potter doing anything better than Phoenix numbers next year with HBP? It’s just silly.
It guarantees the Bat is the film of the year, but it’s still silly. It’s silly all over, but this is Warners. The studio who still lack a fucking clue. So I really should not be surprised.
“Plus McCain said he would not have nominated three justices that, in fact, he voted to confirm (Breyer, Ginsburg, Souter).”
That’s not a good point at all, Jeff. Senators often vote to confirm Supreme Court justices who they wouldn’t personally have nominated had they been president. Voting to confirm involves a very different decision-making process than deciding who to nominate if you’re POTUS. 22 Democratic senators voted to confirm John Roberts. Do you think any of them would have nominated him?
The question of this election becomes clearer… does America want a thinker in the presidency
It’s all well and good to be a “deep thinker”. But how about actually coming to some decisions before assuming the most powerful position in the world. Obama’s “above my pay grade” line has a chance to be this year’s “I voted for it before I voted against it”. It shows someone who simply isn’t ready to assume the Presidency because he hasn’t yet thought out who he is and what he believes.
PS: How “thoughtful” was it to say that you wouldn’t have nominated Clarence Thomas to the Bench … because he didn’t have enough experience? THAT line will be in an RNC ad in October. Book it.
The last Harry Potter made more money than TDK will likely make. As of yesterday, TDK was at $801M, while Phoenix was at $935M.
IO
While Potter won’t take the same domestically as TDK it will do over 250 and probably be in the top three of the summer. Warners does not want to go from their highest grossing picture one summer to relying on a non-Arnold Terminator movie the next.
Speaking of AICN, its Star Wars rant has made the showbiz page of Fark.com with a Silly tag.
“The last Harry Potter made more money than TDK will likely make. As of yesterday, TDK was at $801M, while Phoenix was at $935M.”
TDK is on track to go over $900 million worldwide. It could well gross more than Potter 5. TDK is still going strong internationally, making $42.4 million over the weekend as it opened in France, Spain, and Russia.
“It doesn’t matter whether McCain sat in the front row of the Obama section of the public chat the other night.”
Funny, the “cone of silence” is all some people want to focus on.
“And it doesn’t matter if media thinks McCain or Obama “won.” What matters is that Obama answered the questions directly and with thought and McCain stump speeched his way through an past almost every question.”
The opposite is true. The media is just (begrudgingly) reporting the reality of the perception– McCain was better. That’s what matters. Both candidates offered a mixture of direct responses and canned rhetoric. CNN senior political correspondant Candy Crowley said, “We did hear a lot of stump speeches from both of them,” and CNN political analyst Roland Martin called Obama “long-winded”.
“…but also saying he would not have taken any of the liberals on the Supreme Court, again, not with any detail (like Obama offered), but purely on politics”
No detail? McCain said, “This nomination should be based on the criteria on a proven record of strictly adhering to the Constitution and not legislating from the bench.” That’s purely on politics? Its actually more of a philosophical stance.
Citizen R, read up a little further to see what my comment was in relation to…
(A) Lex, there’s some deep irony going on if you’re comparing your stance with George Carlin’s. That is, pardon my French, a crock of shit.
(B) Citizen R, I know that and you know that, but stick it in an ad and most people will see a flip-flopper, not a nuanced player in the game of politics who still sticks to his principles.
(C) SaveFarris, the thing is, it’s a pretty agreed-upon notion that Clarence Thomas was not experienced enough to be on the Supreme Court. And neither of those soundbites will be in an ad because most Americans don’t know who Clarence Thomas is (which is too bad).
“This nomination should be based on the criteria on a proven record of strictly adhering to the Constitution and not legislating from the bench.”
Isn’t this a pretty predictable and routine statement on a topic of this nature? Conservatives go on and on about legislating from the bench, but what does it mean? Does it only apply to judges they disagree with?
How was McCain better (and for the record this is not a defense of Obama)? What about his answers made his performance in this venue superior? His answer to what it means to be a Christian (“I’m saved and forgiven)? His explanation of how he defines rich? His pandering-to-the-crowd abortion musings?
Personally I think it’s ridiculous that the candidates even participated in this in the first place. There are far more vital issues than who is more Christian. I am puzzled by this “McCain was better” talk though because it’s been a given in this campaign that Obama is far more comfortable and articulate when the subject is religion.
mutinyco, I think Potter 6 will likely make $900 million plus, and perhaps even over a billion, when it’s released in summer 2009. I don’t see the move as a mistake. So I get what you were reacting to and I agree with it in that respect. But TDK is on track to reach those same Potter-level worldwide numbers (albeit obviously with a very different domestic/international split). That’s the point I was making.
Christian — George Bush WAS the governor of texas i believe. whether or not he’s a moron is secondary. he was a somebody when elected.
And Obama is Senator from Illinois.
Actually, you could make the argument that Obama has more foreign policy experience than Reagan or W. (or, for that matter, Clinton) did when they were elected President.
Thanks for that reminder of Bush’s dismal reign as guvn’r of a state that prides itself on lazy-fair government. And since I lived in Texas while Bush was executing retards, mocking those on death row, and setting up crook Ken Lay to help rape the energy markets, I have perhaps more insight.
Of course, you’ve seen that Texas experience writ large on the world and you still think that Bush’s tenure counted as good training?
Of course, Obama didn’t have a rich daddy to pull him up by his bootstraps.
“EW is a worthless pamphlet these days.”
As opposed to a decade ago, when a month didn’t go by without a cover story on FRIENDS or THE X-FILES?
I am puzzled by this “McCain was better” talk…
Same here. The rehearsed McCain was answering questions before they were asked, and then made the ultimate slip-up of calling anyone making under $5 million dollars middle class. That right, you aren’t rich until you make $5 million. A year. Nevermind that puts you in the top 1.5%.
Anyways, politics, Batman, and Harry Potter? This is easily my favorite Hot Blog entry ever.