The Media Coverage of National Politics, Again (updated)

Frank Rich, as is his wont, makes some salient points.

UPDATE: This is interesting: Massive police raids on suspected protestors in Minneapolis.

The media coverage angle? Apparently there has been no coverage of this in the traditional media.

Karl Rove on Sarah Palin

From Talking Points Memo.

Michael Jackson Turns Fifty

In commemorating the half-century mark for the one-time four-foot-tall lead singer of the Jackson Five, it seems like a good idea to avoid any of the obvious choices. At the height of his popularity twenty-five years ago, he was such a dominant force that even someone like Miles Davis honored his influence by recording his music. Therefore we have this live version of "Human Nature."

August 28

Two items today.

Item number one:
Obama Wins Nomination

Item number two:

Obama at his High School Graduation

When I hear people hinting that Barack Obama secretly hates white people, I think of this picture. It's Obama at his high school graduation, with the grandparents who helped raise him.

Michelle Lee - Knowing When To Leave

A song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David that came to mind after watching Bill Clinton recently.

I voted for Bill Clinton twice. If there were no 22nd Amendment and he were running for a fifth term, I'd be voting for him this year. But that isn't the case. He had two full terms and then moved on. Senator Clinton, although she came close, is not the nominee, and so the access to presidential decision-making that he would have had if she were elected will not be his. I'm not really joking when I say, I feel his pain. But it's time to move on.

Miles Davis - Fall

Happy birthday to Wayne Shorter, who turns seventy-five today. Here is one of my favorites of the many compositions that he crafted for his friend and bandleader Miles Davis in the 1960s.

As in so many of his songs, the underlying structure is rather long and not easily discernable, but the music never sounds awkward or forced. In fact it could easily fit into a "smooth jazz" playlist (God help us). Shorter has now outlived many of his colleagues (such as Davis and, last year, Joe Zawinul) and suffered more than his share of personal tragedy. Still he remains out there, a model of unshowy brilliance.

Photo: Tom Beetz