** John Grisham: “I am just shocked at the idea the Allen campaign would be this desperate. This is a clear sign of a desperate campaign if they plow through novels trying to find evidence of character. The old saying is ‘everything is grist for the writer’s mill.’ Every person you see, every country you visit, every bizarre, vile, repulsive act could one day be in a novel. That is not reflective of your character as an author; it is reflective of what you witnessed as someone looking for material.” from the Washington Post
** Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s re-election campaign moves into uplift mode today with the release of a new TV ad entitled “33.” That’s the current number of newspapers that have endorsed him over trailing Democratic candidate Phil Angelides. As the names of endorsing newspapers crawl across the bottom of the screen and the announcer reads some of the laudatory things written about the former action superstar as governor, pull quotes from the endorsements are superimposed on the screen over a spectacular montage of California scenes. With appropriate music, of course, which you’ve heard throughout the fine ad campaign produced for Schwarzenegger. The announcer manages to work in the word “bipartisan” twice in only 30 seconds.
The former Mr. Universe has pulled off the biggest sweep of newspaper endorsements for California governor in my lifetime. It’s especially striking in that many of these papers would not endorse him when he was elected in the tumultuous 2003 recall. It’s even more striking given the criticism he received from these newspapers just a year ago during his unsuccessful special election.
Angelides, to my knowledge, has only two newspaper endorsements. La Opinion, the Spanish language newspaper in Los Angeles, which could hardly endorse Schwarzenegger given his continued opposition to drivers license for illegal immigrants, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the most left-wing weekly newspaper in the state. Angelides had also been blitzed in the battle for newspaper endorsements by his narrowly defeated primary rival, ex-eBay honcho-turned state Controller Steve Westly, winning only the latter mentioned paper and two dailies, his hometown Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Times, which went at Schwarzenegger hammer and tong in the recall campaign. Schwarzenegger, of course, won the endorsements of those two dailies for the general election.
** No sooner does former U.S. Navy Secretary James Webb move into the lead (in the LA Times/Bloomberg poll) for the first time in that heated Virginia race against Republican Senator George Allen than he gets hit for his … novels. Webb, one of the most highly decorated Marine Corps officers of the Vietnam War, is a highly acclaimed novelist. But Allen’s staff has cherrypicked salacious and, in one or two cases, arguably pornographic passages from his novels and presented them as evidence of Webb’s perversity and disrespect toward women. Webb’s novels are, for the most part, about current and former soldiers. The sexual side of that milieu is not all, shall we say, Norman Rockwell, which Allen might know had he been in the military. In the most inciting passage cited, a character in Webb’s acclaimed Lost Soldiers engages in what seems to be an act of incest and pedophilia.
Last night, the Drudge Report, which is the main conduit being used by the Allen campaign to inject this material into the media, splashed the scene, in all its explicitness, on the front page as “Allen’s Revenge.” That will not be the practice of NWN. Matt Drudge has since toned down his front page, but this is still the screaming headline there. The principal novel in question, incidentally, received a strong review from the Wall Street Journal. One of its principal endorsers was Senator John McCain, Webb’s fellow Vietnam vet and the Republican frontrunner for president.
** It was former Senator Bob Kerrey vs. Senator John Kerry in Connecticut’s Senate race earlier this week. Bob Kerrey, the former Nebraska governor and senator and presidential candidate, winner of the nation’s highest military award in the Vietnam War, the Medal of Honor, now president of the New School in New York, was there to help his old colleague, independent Senator Joe Lieberman. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, current Massachusetts senator and Silver Star winner in the Vietnam War, was there for trailing Democratic nominee Ned Lamont. Many Democratic senators have held back from the Lamont campaign, after rushing to endorse him in the aftermath of dramatic primary win over Lieberman last August. Only a few have contributed money to him. Lieberman looks like the winner now, despite all the hyperventilation over Lamont’s primary win. Kerry, in contrast, has been very active for Lamont, leading many to conclude that he hopes to curry netroots favor the 2008 presidential primaries.
** Track global and national energy prices in near real time via Bloomberg. Crude oil prices are holding steady at or near sixty dollars a barrel amidst signs of ample supply for the holidays.
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Why did Lamont prove to be such a pushover?
I am more worried about the voting machines in the suburbs outside DC that Webb carries a lead in being screwed up than his novels…and MichaelJ.Fox appears with Webb on Nov 2. on support for stem cell research….
Allen is running a campaign like the Dems here in California …like nothing has changed in the last 10 years…I think Virginia is looking forward not backward too…I hope so …outside of California I love Virginia…
Drudge is a loathesome little toad.
Ann, Lamont is reported to be uninspired in public appearances and in debates plus mostly a one-note johnny with an anti-war message and not much else. This appealed to the democrate who voted in primaries but general election voters desired more.
Remember a while back all the hue and cry over how much Schwarzenegger was paying his campaign staff and consulatants? I think Team Arnold 3.0 has now proved they are worth it with a well honed campaign that sucked the oxygen out of the Angelides campaign by co-opting many issues (admittedly often taking stances Schwarzenegger had long espoused). Angelides (who by all accounts micromanages his campaign) seems to not have anticipated this happening and appears to be at a loss for countermoves.
With Pennsylvania going Democratic, Democrats can focus more resources on Virginia. Webb is campaigning with former VA Gov. Mark Warner through the election.
Re: Michael J.Fox appearance in support of James Webb Nov 2
A study (conducted by HCD Research and Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) during October 24-25) shows that voters’ support for stem cell research increased AFTER they viewed an ad featuring Michael J. Fox in which he asserts his support for candidates who favor stem cell research.
See: the last bullet point as the findings here prove relevant to Webb/Allen race
“Among the study findings:
Among all respondents, support for stem cell research increased from 78% prior to viewing the ad, to 83% after viewing the ad. Support among Democrats increased from 89% to 93%, support among Republicans increased from 66% to 68% and support among Independents increased from 80% to 87% after viewing the ad.
The level of concern regarding a candidate’s view on stem cell research increased among all respondents from 57% prior to viewing the ad to 70% after viewing the ad. Among Democrats, the level of concern increased from 66% to 83% and Republicans’ level of concern increased from 50% to 60%. Independents’ level of concern increased from 58% to 69%.
The perception that the November election is relevant to the U.S. policy on stem cell research increased across all voter segments, with an increase of 9% among all respondents pre- and post-viewing from 62% to 71%. The Democrats’ perception increased from 75% to 83%, Republicans’ perception increased from 55% to 62% and Independents’ perception increased from 60% to 68% pre- and post-viewing.
The advertisement elicited similar emotional responses from all responders with all voter segments indicating that they were “not bored and attentive” followed by “sorrowful, thankful, afraid and regretful.”
The vast majority of responders indicated that the advertisement was believable with 76% of all responders reporting that it was “extremely believable” or “believable.” Among party affiliation, 93% of Democrats 57% of Republicans and 78% of Independents indicated it “extremely believable” or “believable.”
Respondents were asked to indicate what candidate they would vote for in the U.S. House of Representatives election if it was held today before and after viewing the ad.
Republicans who indicated that they were voting for a Republican candidate decreased by 10% after viewing the ad (77% to 67%). Independents planning to vote for Democrats increased by 10%, from 39% to 49%”. PER Business Wire
Re: Lamont/Lieberman
I watched all the debates via C-span …the last one was a great fun…Lamont -not ready for prime time, Lieberman, looks and sounds very old and tired …very tired, very old!!! The REEP was a kick! even with his Reepy views … he was still a kick!
The Webb race ws bound to tighten as the eletion gets nearer. Webb’s folks spent quite a lot of time on the Macaca business and whether the N-word was ever uttered, etc, so I would guess that they weren’t too surprised by these recitations from the novels coming their way.
Hap:” would guess that they weren’t too surprised by these recitations from the novels coming their way.”
Allen opened a can of worms with the “novel attack” on Webb! Now everyone is asking Sen. Allen about what is in his sealed record divorce file….rumors are it is far more shocking than any fiction Jim Webb has written….
The race hasn’t merely tightened, that happened quite a few weeks ago. Webb took a slight lead.
There is no equivalence between a politician making statements as, well, himself — “Welcome to America!” — and a writer assigning dialogue and action to a character in a work of fiction.
If, for example, I were to write something like this — Hearing the news, Jack worked the slide of his nine millimeter and growled, “Motherfucker took my car? Let’s get on the news, baby!” — I have neither endorsed incest nor advocated murder.
I’m sure you see the distinction.
Bill,
I’m shocked that you would use such language and advocate such actions. Stunned. Shocked. Waiting for more…more…Oliver Twist me…please!
Bill, I meant that the race was bound to tighten in the sense that the lead of Webb was likely to become more razor thin as the election approaches. I do see the distinction, thank you for illustrating it, between something someone says to another in real time versus something one writes about in a fiction novel. The point is merely that I would bet that his campaign staff no doubt predicted, and perhaps even discussed with Webb, that focusing on Allen personally, rather than on policy differences, would tempt the other side to respond in kind as best they could. I am sure you understand the distinction.
Personally I like Webb, and think he has a good shot, despite this excerpting from his novel business. I didn’t think anyone should examine his novels for titilating passages because it is quite the irrelevancy, but as folks say,it doesn’t have to be true (or relevant) in order to qualify for a mailer or an ad.
Webb had just taken a lead; it had been a dead heat for weeks prior to that. Now … Novelgate!
Webb didn’t take a tack against Allen; Allen revealingly and arrogantly shot off his mouth to a guy pointing a video camera at him.
I agree that Allen cooked in a stew of his own making, which was also a revealing insight into his character. But it is also a fact that Webb used it in his own arsenal, hence the perception by the Allen campaign that they needed to answer back in kind. At least that is what I would imagine they were thinking.
Whatever the reason, I have believed that it would be difficult indeed to keep the momentum on a linear scale upwards in favor of Webb, simply because he is running against an incumbent Senator, a very difficult task.
Incidentally, a Midwest law school professor noted that you can use the search inside the book feature in Amazon and read the whole passage of Webb’s novel that has folks interested. She notes that it’s not really a sex scene at all, and was not written to be titillating. It merely seems to be something strange he saw in Vietnam….
Webb certainly has the momentum these past few days. The LAT poll showing him with a slight lead was a big dose of needed good news. It’s true he’s campaigning with Mark Warner – this weekend, they’re going to be in SW Va., which is very rural and the heart of Allen country. it’s also where Warner did well when he ran for governor, and he’s still very popular there. This attack by Sen. Macaca on Webb’s books is nothing but a sign of desperation – clearly, it seems like he feels it moving away from him and he’s grabbing anything he can get his hands on to throw at Webb. this is really despicable. As bad as that RNC race-baiting ad that was run against Ford in the Tenn. Senate race earlier this week…
Re: Lamont/Lieberman
Knowing the general election electorate to be larger, more centrist, less partisan and less politcally obsessed than Dem primary voters, Joe has smartly tweaked his message on Iraq (distancing himself from Bush just enough to be a little closer to the center than Ned) and reaped the advantages earned by 18 years of incumbency. Lamont, the focus of enormous attention for a couple of months when there weren’t many other races taking place, is now just another opportunity among many for Democratic activists and funders, even less so because other Dem candidates in close races are up against bonafide Reeps; Lamont was essentially a tool of antiwar Dems who sought to move the party in that direction. Should Joe win, and the Dems hold 50 of the other 99 seats post-election, his leverage would be phenomenal, as he could choose to caucus with either party.
Hallelujah! Steven Maviglio did his “TOP TEN CALIFORNIA RACES TO WATCH” Alas, Phil is off the Top Ten and gets only a Special Mention!…You know what that means! …Steven Maviglio is signaling that The DEMS are getting serious about winning the Dem down ticket, legislature and congress seats! ….Look Out McClintock and Strickland! Go Mavigilio! woops! That’s MAVIGLIO!!!!
CMR : Special Mention: Governor — Angelides (D) vs. Schwarzenegger (R)
I said it last week and I’ll say it again. At any given moment, anything Arnold Schwarzenegger says or does could turn the race upside down. On top of that, there hasn’t been a single respected public poll showing Schwarzenegger over 50 percent; even the widely reported PPIC numbers had the Governor at 48-30. Angelides has a heavy schedule of campaigning with the state’s top Democrats down the stretch, including Senator Barack Obama, Democratic chairman Howard Dean, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. If Democrats come home as expected, this race could tighten quickly.
Tim, I am weary of the ad hominem stuff coming both from dems and reeps, and I think that people across the country are as well. My uncle lives in Iowa and my cousin in Virginia, and they were formerly quite political, and have turned away from party politics in recent years and are both now DTS, which is where I went a while ago It just doesn’t seem to be much fun anymore being part of the party politics world. Maybe it is simply my age showing, but it seems like the fights of old between dem and reep were more akin to friends debating each other in a humorous and respectful manner. Attacks existed, especially at the end, but they seem in the haze of memory to have been taken a little more in stride, and more respectful in the first place.
Now the reeps at the national level stand for re-electing themselves as permanent officeholders to do nothing other than protect their own status quo, and the dems stand for getting rid of the reeps so they can get back in the game to do basically the same thing.
Incidentally, the Survey USA robopoll, which the Angelides campaign and boosters used to brandish like a silver cross against all the other evidence, now has Schwarzenegger up, 55-37.
Oddly enough, they’re not mentioning that.
http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportEmail.aspx?g=4b46c51b-9a26-4991-8d4a-c7e9f8da61a0
Barbara – thank you for monitoring the “Arnold can’t get to 50%” canard for us. It is pretty laughable to read someone say that we are “only” losing 48-30%. . . Reminds me a little of “It’s just a flesh wound”
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Ok..just watched the new Arnold ad. Nice way to put the final final, nail in the coffin of Phil. But whatever happened to the Arnold ringtones that were supposed to “coming soon”? I see the webisite no longer has a page for them.
Hap:
I hear what you’re saying, and I somewhat agree, but Allen going after Webb’s books is really out of bounds. It’s fair for Allen to go after Webb’s writings about the role of women in the military, etc., etc, but I go back to my earlier point – this smacks of last-minute desperation. As for the rest of what you’re saying, yes, I agree. I lived and work in DC in the ’80s, when people disagreed without believing each other was a pedophile or slimebag. And I watched as Gingrich and his fellow Reps. set out to demonize the Dem. majority in the House – rmemeber the guys who wore bags over their heads? I agree that the Reps. are fighting to hold on to power for no other reason than to have power. The conservation rebellion has long since run its course and run out of steam. If the Dems win the House – and I don’t believe it’s a lock they will – but if they do, it will be interesting to see what, if any, lessons they’ve learned from their years in the wilderness.
by the way, the New Yorker had an excellent Allen-Webb story last week. it’s at:
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/061030fa_fact
Tim – Agree that if it is fair to go after Webb’s writings at all, it should be on the role of women in the military, and the like, not about how he writes fiction.
Interestingly to me, I just read a litle blurb about Webb in the New Yorker which made me all the more respectful of Webb’s reason for writing (at least for writing Fields of Fire):
“Webb concluded that they [Georgetown Univ. studenbts] not only had figured out ways to avoid the risk and sacrifice of military service but had convinced themselves, as they proceeded along their education and career tracks, that theirs was the true heroism of the time [1969-70]. Inspired by his rage, he decided to write. . . “
Tim – just had read and quoted from the New Yorker article only to see your reference come up on the comments! It is a well written story.
I think it was Bill who commented a week or so ago that Webb hasn’t really played his cards as a war hero up till now.
These novels grow out of that experience, as Grisham alluded. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see that connection now being brought forth. Allen may have actually opened the door to playing the Medals and Sacrifice cards in a way that isn’t braggadocious but merely elucidates, possibly through proxies, what a wanker that draft-dodging a**shole Allen is, he apparently can’t see the connection between those horrific and tawdry images and the horrors of war because he was hiding somewhere in comfort and privilege instead of being there in the blood and the mud with the Real Men like Jim Webb.
What stretch of coast is that in Arnold’s “33″ ad?
I believe that is Virginia.
The John Grisham quote made me laugh out loud.
And “Novelgate!”? Clever turn of phrase, Bill.
I’ve heard of oppositional research but searching for it in fiction? What th? Sad.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone. And rest up, Bill!
Thanks, Dana, that’s the plan.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Brown, Bill Lockyer, and, of course, Dianne Feinstein are all in. But the other statewides are all still close. As are the propositions.
So we will be looking hard at those races, looking ahead to how Arnold, Jerry et al will work and play together, and looking at the national picture.
Hurray for John Grisham!
The Nedster just comes across like a dorky, ungainly amateur. (Gee, could there be a parallel in CA this year?!) A little smarter version of Jethro Bodine from the Clampett clan comes to mind. Totally in over his head. And now the fanatical bloggers who claimed they were solely responsible for his primary victory have basically abandoned him and are promoting Alan Schlesinger, the histrionic, conservative Republican nominee, as a cynical way to draw votes from Lieberman. Highly principled operators, all. Lieberman by 8.
Hey, about Novelgate: Remember the movie “Three Days of the Condor,” in which there was an obscure government bureau in a NYC townhouse who employees did nothing but pore over foreign novels with a fine-tooth comb to see if they could ferret out any subversive or threatening phrases or code words? I would say maybe Allen hired them to vet Webb’s novels — except that, other than the Robert Redford character, they were all blown to bits in the movie! How about a sequel: “Sick Days of the Macaca”?!
For the record, I think Angelides has also been endorsed by the Bay Area Reporter and the Claremont Courier.
What in the world are those?
Three Days of the Condor, great movie! I think the unit was part of the CIA. Actually, I have the DVD right here and will check. Excuse not to think about California politics, coming right up! (Soon we will be on presidential politics. While retaining a major California focus.)
The novel, incidentally, by ex-CIA guy James Grady, was SIX Days of the Condor. (Condor being the Redford character’s code name.) But in classic cinematic manner, it was “compressed.”
In Six Days of the Condor, the character played by Max Von Sydow was marvelous.
Recounting terrific movies is far more stimulating than anything happening in California politics this year.
Sayeth Sooth
Three Days of the Condor! Took 5 minutes to get it out of the shrink wrap. (Like many things, I ordered it and hadn’t used it.)
Redford is in the CIA, a cover unit called “The American Literary Historical Society.”
Have not seen the movie for years, and I think have not seen the very beginning since I saw it in a theater, all the other times being on TV. Redford riding to work on his moped wearing a silly blue knit cap is priceless.
As is his panicked call to CIA headquarters to report the slaughter of his co-workers while he was out — from a phone booth, how many plots turned on the unavailability of a phone? — in which he forgets his code name and finally says: “I’m not a field agent, I just read books!”
Sooth, you’re right, Max von Sydow’s character is marvelous. In the end, as I recall it, the deepest belief he had left was in his own professionalism.
Any resonance with politics there, perhaps?
Mr. Bradley, are you and Sooth talking about the same film? …he sees 6 condors and you see 3…
Oh read to fast cause I amputting on my chaps and trying to read you …big mistake …condor discussion now makes sense…even Sooth makes sense this morning! Toodles!
3 Days of the Condor = Movie.
6 Days of the Condor = Novel.
From Washington Post radio: “We have known this one was coming for quite some time.” Webb said advisers had warned him his opponent would pore over his novels to find incendiary passages..
James Grady was a classmate of mine at the University of Montana. Not that that means anything, of course.
What is he doing now?
Still noveling. Lives in DC area. Just introduced his latest novel at U of M homecoming.