Free Republic

Channel 73 on the Dish Network is now The Obama Channel. Obama's media buying strategy has been marked by a willingness to work the angles, and to try to pick up a few votes at the margins. The decision to go to everything from extensive radio buys to odd-hour infomercials reflects the fact that the campaign media buyers spend a lot of time thinking about how much persuasion any given dollar can buy, and given a very cheap format -- late night cable channels that need filler, for instance -- will settle for a thimblefull of persuasion. The satellite channel...

Today's banking crisis demonstrates that keeping our banks safe is the President's highest responsibility. If our banks are collapsing, we can't pay our bills, and our government can't fund health care, fight wars to defend us, rebuild our roads, or make our cities safe from hurricanes and other natural disasters. Franklin Roosevelt's first "fireside chat" famously began, "I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking." Our next President's first words to the nation are also likely to be "about banking." So which man do we want to be talking to us...

The family of Joe Biden, who will be officially nominated as the vice presidential candidate of the Democratic Party's 'reform Washington' ticket with Barack Obama Thursday night, appears to be enmeshed in the same D.C. money game that Obama denounces. One of the senator's sons -- Hunter, a Washington lobbyist -- and the senator's brother, James --received a $1 million investment in their purchase of a hedge fund company from the senator's largest political donor, an Illinois law firm, SimmonsCooper. The brother and the son subsequently repaid the $1 million to the law firm, which specializes in representing asbestos victims....

Biden's career provides grist for McCain's mill By PETE YOST and HOLBROOK MOHR – Aug 23, 2008 WASHINGTON (AP) — In August 2007, three men who later became entangled in a Mississippi bribery scheme raised money for Sen. Joe Biden's run for president. A month later, two of the three were overheard in a phone call recorded by the FBI discussing federal legislation and a prospective meeting with Biden's brother, Jim. It's unclear whether any meeting ever occurred or whether legislation was ever discussed, so the episode may mean little — except as an example of the potential political vulnerabilities...

Biden's career provides grist for McCain's mill By PETE YOST and HOLBROOK MOHR – Aug 23, 2008 WASHINGTON (AP) — In August 2007, three men who later became entangled in a Mississippi bribery scheme raised money for Sen. Joe Biden's run for president. A month later, two of the three were overheard in a phone call recorded by the FBI discussing federal legislation and a prospective meeting with Biden's brother, Jim. It's unclear whether any meeting ever occurred or whether legislation was ever discussed, so the episode may mean little — except as an example of the potential political vulnerabilities...

Veteran political analysts wondered why Obama would release the news on the slowest news day of the week, and sandwiched right before the DNC convention. Revealing Joe Biden’s name in this manner assured the least amount of news coverage possible on his choice. Why? It was a very long time ago when Biden first ran for President in the 1987/1988 presidential race. He was forced to exit the race in shame when disturbing plagiarism charges were proven against him amid charges of lying. What launched the public inquiry into Joe Biden’s words was a debate in September 1987 in which...